SMARTPHONES

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE9

WINNER: OVERALL  

Samsung’s productivity-focused Galaxy Note9 features a large 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display along with a new version of the S Pen that connects to the Note9 over Bluetooth. Now, the button on the S Pen can be used to open apps and take certain actions within apps, such as scrolling through PowerPoint slides. Also with the Galaxy Note9, Samsung has made it easier to use its DeX Android desktop by building the technology right into the smartphone. The Note9 “offers desktoplike capability through DeX, which allows for widespread enterprise usage,” said Marco Nielsen, vice president of managed mobility services at Norcross, Ga.-based Stratix, in an email. “This feature is paramount for enterprise mobile devices and begs the question, ‘Do you really need a laptop with DeX?’”

Finalist: Apple iPhone X

Along with pioneering the nearly edge-to-edge iPhone display (aside from the camera notch), the 5.8-inch iPhone X has offered notable features such as wireless-charging capabilities and a dualcamera setup. The iPhone X also introduced Apple’s FaceID facial recognition technology for unlocking the device, taking the place of TouchID fingerprint recognition.

Finalist: BlackBerry Key2

With the BlackBerry Key2, the biggest differentiator is the inclusion of a physical keyboard, which doubles as a trackpad for tasks such as scrolling. Other top features include the first-ever dual-camera setup on a BlackBerry device and battery life of up to 25 hours per charge.

Finalist: Google Pixel 2 XL

Google’s 6-inch Pixel 2 XL offers a small bezel around its OLED display, while its 12.2-megapixel rear-facing camera comes with features including improved autofocus and a new type of portrait mode. Importantly, the Google Assistant is also built into the Pixel 2 XL.

Finalist: OnePlus 6

Along with a sizable AMOLED display (6.28 inches) featuring high resolution, the OnePlus 6 brings terrific performance thanks to its Snapdragon 845 processor and up to 8 GB of RAM. Other key elements include a dual rear camera system with features such as automatic photo enhancement.