Best Smartphones of 2017-2018 in India (Flagship Mobile Phones)

Today, we are here to discuss about the best smartphones of 2017-2018. The smartphones in this list are the best in business with the latest hardware and software prowess. They can click the best pictures, they are the fastest smartphone in the world and they are the most gorgeous piece of art in the field of technology. If you’re here to take a look at the best mobiles of 2017, then you certainly do not care about the budget smartphones and would not settle for anything less than a super premium smartphone. These ultra super fine smartphones come from the houses of Apple, Samsung, Google, OnePlus, Xiaomi, LG, HTC and others. You can also check out best dual camera smartphones, if you’re a heavy smartphone camera user.

Let us remind you that like all our other articles, this article is also in no particular order. These devices are absolutely the best in the smartphone world right now and we cannot rank them in any order. So without any further ado, let’s get started.

Find the best mobile phones of 2017

1. Samsung Galaxy Note8

Samsung Galaxy Note8, one of the very best smartphones of 2018, was announced at an event in New York back in August 2017. It is expected to be launched in India in September and will go on sale by October for Rs. 74,900. The Note8 is the most premium flagship phablet from the house of Samsung ever as it is based on the Galaxy S8 platform. It comes with an improved S Pen stylus with finer tip and improved pressure sensitivity.

In terms of screen, we get a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED Infinity display with a resolution of 2960 x 1440 pixels (Quad HD+), pixel density of 522 PPI and aspect ratio of 18.5:9. It is a gorgeous bezel-less display with a screen-to-body ratio of 83.2%. This display is a piece of glass that is magical to look at. The colors pop out and thus it is a dream screen for viewing photos/videos and playing games.

Now coming to the processing prowess of the Galaxy Note8, there is an Exynos 8895 octa-core processor along with Mali-G71 MP20 GPU in the Indian variant. We also get 6GB RAM and 64GB internal memory, which can also be expanded further up to 256GB by adding a microSD card. As expected, you can run all the high-end apps and games and the multitasking experience is just superb.

The Samsung Galaxy Note8, one of the best smartphones 2018, comes with a dual camera setup at the back - a 12 megapixel primary wide-angle lens with f/1.7 aperture and another 12 megapixel secondary telephoto lens with f/2.4 aperture. As usual, the dual setup lens help in clicking awesome portrait images and also provide 2x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom. We also get a 8 megapixel selfie shooter on the front with f/1.7 aperture.

The Galaxy Note8 is a Dual SIM phone but comes with a hybrid slot. It supports 4G VoLTE, 3G HSPA+, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual Band) VHT80 MU-MIMO, USB Type-C 3.1, GPS with GLONASS, NFC and MST in the connectivity department. We get a fingerprint sensor along with Iris scanner for unlocking the device. The phablet is also waterproof because of IP68 certification and comes with a lot of sensors including heart rate sensor.

If you’re looking to purchase the best premium phablet from the Indian smartphone market with no compromises whatsoever, then just go for the Samsung Galaxy Note8.

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2. Samsung Galaxy S8 / Galaxy S8+

Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, unveiled in March 2017 globally, was launched in India back in April 2017. These are two of the best smartphones in 2017 without any iota of doubt. Coming to their specifications, they pack in a 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch Super AMOLED Quad HD+ (2960 x 1440 pixels) Infinity displays, respectively, which are the best displays in a smartphone so far this year. The Galaxy S8+ has a big screen.

The phones are powered by the Exynos 8895 octa-core processor along with Mali-G71 MP20 GPU. They come with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The Galaxy S8+ now also comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB ROM. You can also expand the storage further up to 256GB with the use of a microSD card.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ run on the latest TouchWiz UI based on Android 7.0 Nougat OS. They support Dual SIM (nano) but come with a hybrid SIM slot. Coming to the camera department, there is a 12 megapixel Dual Pixel primary rear camera with f/1.7 aperture and LED flash.  On the front, they have a 8 megapixel selfie camera with f/1.7 aperture.

They pack in a fingerprint sensor (back) and also features an Iris scanner and Face Recognition for unlocking the devices. There is a heart rate sensor along with a barometer as well. Like the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, the S8 and S8+ are also be IP68, hence they are water and dust resistant. Others connectivity features include 4G VoLTE, 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual Band) MU-MIMO Bluetooth 5.0 LE, USB Type-C, GPS with GLONASS, NFC and ANT+.

Under the hood, the S8 packs in a 3000mAh battery, while the S8+ sports a 3500mAh battery. Both of them support fast charging via both wired and wireless (WPC and PMA) charging. They will easily last for a day with moderate usage.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are two of the best among the best smartphones 2018 list as these are the best looking flagship smartphones from the house of Samsung ever.

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Must Read: Best Smartphones Under 50000

3. Apple iPhone 7 Plus

The iPhone 7 Plus from the house of Apple, launched back in October 2016 in India, is still one of the best smartphones in 2017. It is the first iPhone to sport a dual camera setup at the back - there is a 12 megapixel wide-angle lens and a 12 megapixel telephoto lens. It helps in taking pictures by 2X optical zoom and up to 10X digital zoom with very less distortion. Also, you get the special Portrait mode to click pictures with shallow depth of field (bokeh / fake blur). Although this mode is still in beta, the images come out superbly well in natural lighting condition. There is a 7 megapixel selfie camera as well and it does a decent job.

The iPhone 7 Plus is a single SIM phone with a 5.5-inch Retina IPS 3D touch display. It has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a pixel density of 401 PPI and it comes with a wide color gamut, which looks wonderful. You’ll love to watch your favourite movies and TV shows on it. There is an Apple A10 quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz along with a M10 motion coprocessor and six-core GPU.

In terms of performance, iPhone 7 Plus might be the best in the world right now, hence it can handle everything thrown at it. It packs in 3GB RAM and it has three different storage options - 32GB/128GB/256GB. It runs on iOS 10 out of the box and boasts of a fingerprint sensor embedded into its new home button, which is now pressure sensitive and comes with a new generation of Taptic Engine.

The iPhone 7 Plus is IP67 certified and hence it is water and dust resistant. It has ditched the 3.5mm audio jack and instead comes with an EarPods with lightning connector. Thus, it is also one of the smartphones without 3.5mm jack among few others. Apple also gives a lightning to 3.5mm adapter inside the box for free so that you can use your old headphones that have the 3.5mm jack. We also get stereo speakers now, that sound twice as loud as the iPhone 6s Plus.

It is a 4G VoLTE supported phone and other options include 3G HSPA+, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC (Apple Pay), GPS and GLONASS. Under the hood, it has a 2900mAh battery, which should easily last a day with moderate to heavy usage, but it does not support fast charging or wireless charging, which is a bummer.

In the best smartphones 2017 category, the iPhone 7 Plus is a strong contender. If you want the best iPhone ever, go for this one or you can wait for the next iPhone which is due in September 2017.

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4. LG G6

LG G6, one of the best phones in the world in 2017, was unveiled at the MWC 2017 event in Barcelona in February 2017 and came to India in April 2017. Coming to the hardware of the phone, we get a 5.7-inch Quad HD+ LCD FullVision display, which has a pixel density of 564 PPI, aspect ratio of 18:9 and a resolution of 2880 x 1440 pixels. The LG G6, being one of the best smartphones, is being powered by a Snapdragon 821 quad-core processor clocked at 2.35GHz along with Adreno 530 GPU. It is IP68 certified, hence the phone is water and dust proof.

For multitasking and storage, we are getting 4GB RAM and 32GB internal memory, that can be expanded further up to a whopping 2TB if you wish to insert a microSD card. It runs on LG UX 6.0 based on Android 7.0 Nougat OS and will surely get updated to Android O when it gets launched. It also supports Google Assistant.

In the camera section, we get dual rear cameras – a 13 megapixel primary camera with f/1.8 aperture, dual-tone LED flash, Laser Auto Focus, OIS 2.0 and a 13 megapixel secondary camera with f/2.4 aperture and 125-degree lens. It can record 4K videos. On the front, there is a 5 megapixel selfie camera that has 100-degree lens and f/2.2 aperture for clicking some awesome wide-angle selfies.

The G6 is the world’s first smartphone to come with Dolby Vision technology and HDR 10 support. It is a 4G VoLTE enabled Dual SIM phone, that comes with other options like WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual Band), Bluetooth 4.2 LE, 3G HSPA+, GPS, GLONASS, NFC and USB Type-C.

There is a fingerprint sensor located at the back. The G6’s body is made up of metal, which is 7.9mm thick and weighs 163 grams. Under the hood, there is a 3300mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0 and it should last for a day easily with moderate usage.

The LG G6 is a great Android smartphone and if you want one of the best mobiles of all time, then definitely check it out.

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5. Google Pixel XL

Pixel XL and Pixel are the first smartphones that are completely made by Google and they have done a terrific job. Here, we are talking about the Google Pixel XL, which was launched back in October 2016 and still remains in our best smartphones 2017 segment. Coming to the best feature of the phone first, it rocks a 12.3 megapixel rear primary camera, which can shoot 4K videos. The Pixel XL camera is by far the best smartphone camera in the world in almost all situations because of its HDR+ mode. There is a 8 megapixel selfie camera on the front as well and it is very good too.

Another photo related feature of this phone is that you can back up unlimited photos and videos in full resolution on Google Photos for free of cost. There is a 5.5-inch AMOLED display, which has a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and a pixel density of 534 PPI. The phone runs on Snapdragon 821 quad-core processor clocked at 2.15GHz along with Adreno 530 GPU. It is one of the best processors in the business and can handle everything.

Being one of the best Android phones in the world, it comes with 4GB of RAM, which is more than enough for any kind of multitasking and we get 32GB or 128GB of internal memory, which cannot be expanded further as it does not have a microSD card slot. It is a single SIM phone which runs on Android 8.0 Oreo OS.

It is also the first smartphone with built-in Google Assistant feature. There is a fingerprint sensor at the back and has a single bottom-firing speaker. In connectivity and networking segment, it boasts of 4G VoLTE, 3G HSPA+, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, GLONASS, NFC and USB Type-C.

Under the hood, it rocks a 3450mAh battery with fast charging support, which promises up to 7 hours of usage from only 15 minutes of charging. With moderate usage, it will easily last more than a day for sure.

In this curated list, the Google Pixel XL remains one of the best device without any doubt. If you want to use stock Android in the best phone and also would like to take awesome photographs, go for the Pixel XL.

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Must Read: Best Smartphones Under 40000

6. OnePlus 5

OnePlus 5, one of the best smartphones of this year, was launched back in June 2017 in India. Coming to the display section, it packs in a 5.5-inch 2.5D curved glass Optic AMOLED display, which has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (Full HD) and pixel density of 401 PPI. It has also DCI-P3 color coverage and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

The OnePlus 5 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor, clocked at 2.45GHz along with Adreno 540 GPU. It can literally handle everything. It is one of the first smartphones to rock 8GB RAM and thus it is insanely good for multitasking. It also comes in 6GB RAM variant. Onboard storage options include 64GB and 128GB variants. As usual, you cannot expand the internal storage as there is no microSD card slot.

The phone runs on Oxygen OS based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. It is a Dual SIM phone with 4G VoLTE support. Other options include 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual Band) MU-MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0 aptX, GPS, GLONASS, USB Type-C and NFC.

Under the hood, there is a 3300mAh battery with Dash Charge support. The phone promises up to one day of battery life with just 30 minutes of charge. There is a fingerprint sensor embedded into the home button and it can unlock the phone in 0.2 seconds.

Now coming to the camera section, the OnePlus 5 rocks a dual rear camera setup. We get a 16 megapixel primary camera along with a 20 megapixel secondary camera at the back. The secondary lens is being used for capturing portrait images with depth of field (bokeh) effect. It also offers 2x lossless zoom. On the front, there is the same 16 megapixel selfie camera, which was first seen on the OnePlus 3T.

The OnePlus 5 is a solid smartphone and definitely deserves a place in our best smartphones 2018 category. If you do not want to spend a lot of money on the best flagship smartphones, then do have a look at the OnePlus 5, as it comes very close to them.

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7. Apple iPhone 7

The Apple iPhone 7 is one of the best smartphones of 2017, which was launched back in October 2016. It features a Retina HD IPS display. It has a 2.5D curved glass display with a resolution of 1334 x 750 pixels. The phone is powered by the A10 quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz. It can handle any thing thrown at it with super ease.

For multitasking, we get 2GB of RAM. It is very less when compared to its Android counterparts but it handles heavy multitasking with ease. Internal storage starts at 32GB and goes up to 256GB. There is scope of extending storage since there is no microSD card slot. The iPhone 7 runs on iOS 10 and will be upgradable to iOS 11 and later for free.

It is a Single SIM phone with 4G VoLTE support out of the box. Other networking and connectivity options include 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual Band) MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GPS, GLONASS and NFC.

Under the hood, it packs in a 1960mAh battery. On paper, it looks really small but since iOS is very well optimized, we easily get a day of battery life with moderate usage. We also get a fingerprint sensor, that is embedded into the home button.

Now coming to the camera section, the iPhone 7 sports a 12 megapixel primary rear camera along with Quad-LED True Tone flash. We do not get a dual camera setup here, which is exclusive to the iPhone 7 Plus, however we get the same 7 megapixel front-facing camera for taking selfies and making video calls. Both of them perform really well and are one of the best in its segment.

iPhone 7 is undoubtedly one of the best smartphones of 2017 that you can buy now. It is a compact smartphone, which just gets the work done. Now, you can also get great deals on this smartphone from the house of Apple.

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This brings us to the end of our best smartphones 2018 category. We will keep on adding all the high-end devices that gets launched in India throughout the year 2018 in this listicle. We hope you have liked our researched article and have been able to purchase your dream smartphone. If you’re still confused about making a decision, do let us know in the comments section, our team will definitely help you out.

This curated list of best smartphone 2018 will get updated every month to reflect the necessary changes. You can also suggest us your opinions in the comments section. Do check out our other articles below, which belong to different price categories.