I've Reviewed Smartphones Since 2012, Here Are 5 of My Favorites

Here's thing telephone reviewers ne'er archer you: we play favorites. I've reviewed dozens of the champion smartphones implicit the past 13 years, but lone a fewer were genuinely memorable. Here are 5 phones I couldn't enactment down aft my reviews were published.

The precise archetypal telephone I recviewed was the HTC Titan II each the mode backmost successful May 2012. Since then, I've penned my sanction connected reviews for a expansive full of 37 phones–the astir caller being the Samsung Galaxy S25. Some phones I couldn't propulsion my SIM retired of accelerated enough, but others I ne'er wanted to return.

5 OnePlus Open

I reviewed the OnePlus Open successful October 2023, and it was the archetypal clip I had utilized a book-style foldable. Honestly, it kinda blew maine away. After I finished my review, I continued to usage the telephone and wrote an editorial titled "I Was Wrong About Book-Style Foldable Phones."

My presumption was that book-style foldable phones would beryllium excessively bulky, but past OnePlus made 1 that was precise reasonably sized. It felt similar immoderate different telephone erstwhile folded successful my pocket. I was impressed with the physique prime and OnePlus' bundle tweaks for the large surface experience. If lone the telephone had wireless charging I would person fixed it a 9/10.

4 LG V30

Remember erstwhile LG made phones? I definite do. In my 15 years of reviewing phones, I tested 10 of them. My implicit favourite from the bunch, however, was the LG V30 successful October 2017.

LG was trying a batch of weird worldly during this time: modular accessories, curved displays, tiny secondary screens, etc. Some of it was cool, but astir of it was trying excessively hard. The LG V30 ditched each of it for a cleanable and polished plan on with fantabulous performance. I loved it and utilized it arsenic my regular telephone for a agelong time.

3 Google Pixel 7

There was 1 bid of phones I was dying to reappraisal erstwhile I archetypal started retired arsenic a writer: the Google Pixel. Finally, successful October 2022, I had the accidental to review the Pixel 7 close present connected How-To Geek, and I loved it.

Having antecedently owned the Pixel 3 and Pixel 5, it felt similar the Pixel bid was maturing. The Pixel 7 didn't person the somewhat unpolished "enthusiast phone" consciousness similar it's predeccessors. The biggest stamp of support I tin springiness immoderate telephone is putting my ain wealth down to bargain it myself erstwhile I person to nonstop the reappraisal portion back, and that's precisely what I did with the Pixel 7.

2 HTC Windows Phone 8X

Now it's clip to instrumentality a travel successful the Wayback Machine. Literally, I had to use archive.org to find this review due to the fact that the website isn't online anymore. In November 2012 I reviewed my favourite Windows Phone of each time: the HTC 8X.

I perfectly emotion the plan of this phone. The bluish colour is agleam and fun, the rounded edges and crisp corners are ace unique, and the soft-touch consciousness of the polycarbonate backmost is great. HTC fundamentally designed a telephone that looked similar a Windows Phone Live Tile. Unsurprisingly, the Windows Phone OS looked unthinkable connected it. I would inactive gladly usage this telephone contiguous with modern internals.

1 HTC 10

My past with HTC goes each the mode backmost to the beginning, with my precise archetypal smartphone, the HTC Droid Eris. I ever had a brushed spot for the company, but I missed a fewer of its biggest hits successful the aboriginal 2010s. Then, successful 2016, I was sent to New York City to screen the motorboat lawsuit for the HTC 10, and I fell successful love.

The HTC 10 launched during the aforesaid gimmick-filled epoch of phones arsenic the LG V30. For the astir part, HTC didn't instrumentality portion successful that trend. The HTC One M8 and One M9 flaunted simple, concern designs. Yet, the HTC 10 idiosyncratic managed to simplify the plan adjacent more.

The all-metal physique with a dense chamfer astir the backside edges felt coagulated and important successful my hands, and I loved however it wasn't excessively big. It had a ace accelerated recessed fingerprint scanner/capactive fastener connected the front. HTC Sense had travel a agelong mode astatine this point, too. Long gone were the dense gradients and skeumorphism that had fallen retired of fashion.

In the months pursuing the time I got the HTC 10, I would recieve the LG G5, Samsung Gaalxy S7 Active, Samsung Galaxy Note 7, LG V20, and LG G6. None of them pulled maine distant from the HTC 10 arsenic my regular driver. It wasn't until the aforementioned LG V30 came crossed my table that I was persuaded to enactment it down.

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For those funny (and due to the fact that I spent a sizeable magnitude of clip tracking these each down) here's the afloat database of phones I've reviewed successful chronological order.