These are the phones we used and loved the most in 2019

With the best battery life, night-scene shots and dark interface mode of any current phone, the forbidden fruit Mate 30 Pro has a certain rebel feel to it that gets you back to modding and working for it.

First, the battery life. While others are promising two-day battery life phones, the Mate 30 Pro actually delivers. It’s the first high-end phone I’ve used that consistently delivers more than 48 hours of usage with 8-10 hours of screen on time.

Unlike its Korean and Japanese counterparts, this phone maker is wise enough not to shoot for ultrahigh screen resolutions, and that, combined with a huge 4500mAh battery, good background app management, and ubiquitous interface dark mode, delivers the best battery life on a flagship.

When I say ubiquitous dark mode, I mean it. Not only the home, notification bar and settings are pitch black and contrasty, but the interface renders all default apps like Health on a dark background as well, making the phone a joy to use at night, with only Chrome (nudge, wink, Google) sticking out like a sore white thumb, forcing me to switch to a browser with dark mode.

The camera set was hit or miss in the beginning, especially for nighttime video, but a few huge updates later, it is pretty good, and the video capture situation improved drastically. Thanks to the RYYB sensor pixels array, the phone is unsurpassed when it comes to low-light shots, if you are a fan of turning night into day, while the camera does well in most other situations.

The premium build and centered camera plateau keep things aesthetically pleasing to look at and handle, too. The beautiful waterfall display is both a blessing when using the back swipe gesture, and a curse when some edge interface elements interact with the accidental touch prevention.

All in all, if battery life and low-light shots are important to you, the Mate 30 Pro is a fine bet if you don’t mind some tinkering (yes, you have to use an older app version in order for Netflix to work, sad).

I've been using the Google Pixel 3a for the second half of the year and it replaced my trusty old OnePlus 6. While I did love the OnePlus 6, I find the Pixel 3a suits me even better: it is lighter and more compact than the OnePlus, so it's much easier to carry in your pocket during longer walks, it captures outstanding photos which I have come to appreciate more and more, it gets the latest updates faster than many other Android flagships and not least, it has no bloatware.

It's not the perfect phone by any means: I find battery life to be just okay, but not great, the fingerprint reader also does not always register from the very first attempt as it should and I do miss that mute switch from the OnePlus 6. Still, I am quite happy with my Pixel 3a and would gladly recommend it to others too.

Since I'm a long-time user of Google phones, some months back, I was looking forward to buying the (then unreleased) Google Pixel 4. But I haven't done so because I stumbled upon a great deal - I found a Motorola Moto G7 Plus offered for the equivalent of just around $200 (in Europe). I knew that this phone was good even for its regular price of around $300, so I bought it.

I am currently using the Moto G7 Plus as my daily driver and I'm a bit amazed at how good it is - that is, for a $200 phone. This handset looks nice, feels good in hand, and performs well in pretty much any scenario. Granted, the cameras on the G7 Plus are nothing spectacular, but still quite good for a non-high-end phone. When I use manual mode (including RAW), I can actually take some impressive photos.

Battery life on the Moto G7 Plus could be better. On the bright side, the phone came with a Moto TurboCharger in the box, and this thing charges like crazy, going from 0% to 100% in about 45 minutes. In real life, since I almost never let the battery go down to 0%, or even under 10%, my phone usually needs half an hour or so to be fully charged. Beat that, Pixel 4!

I still plan to purchase a Google Pixel 4 at some point, because it is an impressive piece of tech - at least when it comes to photography. Until that happens, I think I'll consider the Moto G7 Plus to be a nearly perfect mobile companion.

Georgi: OnePlus 5T

"Newer phones seem to be moving further away from perfection rather than towards it"

Aside from the month I spent using the iPhone XS and a few weeks here and there testing other phones, I’ve been using the OnePlus 5T as my daily driver. For my needs, the 5T has been as close to a perfect phone as possible and unfortunately, newer phones seem to be moving further away from perfection rather than towards it.

Here’s what I like about it:

The display. A big screen that’s not too tall, doesn’t have any notches or holes, doesn’t have any curved edges or rounded corners. In 2019 it’s pretty hard to find a phone that has just a boring rectangular as a screen.

The LED light. Different colors for different apps and even some dedicated to specific people mean that with one glance I have a pretty good idea what I’m about to find when I unlock my phone. I still don’t understand why something so small but so useful is removed from smartphones.

The headphone jack. Yes, I use it regularly.

The slim and durable body. Sure, having a large battery is nice, but with its slim profile and metal back, the OnePlus 5T feels good in the hands and is very durable.

The software. Despite being a 2017 phone, I don’t have any complaints about the performance of the 5T. It’s snappy, bloatware-free and will even receive Android 10 next year.

The fast charging. That’s nothing unique to the 5T, of course, but its fast charging has saved me from dealing with battery anxiety more than once and I’ve started to greatly appreciate this smartphone feature.

And here are some things I’m not happy about having to deal with.

The selfie camera. Yes, the main camera is also not something to rave about, which is why it’s not on the list above, but my gripe is with the selfie camera. Even though I’m not a big selfie taker, when I do have to use it, I always end up taking a few shots because they don’t come out great.

The vibrations. The vibration motor of the 5T is too weak, often causing me to miss notifications when I’m on the go. Additionally, the haptic feedback feels crude and tinny. The sensation is hard to explain with words but it’s something that you do notice in a bad way when you compare it against newer phone with better haptics.

The battery life. This has only recently become an issue for me and it’s like due to the age and use this phone has seen. The diminishing battery life is likely the reason I’ll be switching phones soon and I’m not happy about it.

Joshua: Huawei P30 Pro

"In many regards, the Huawei P30 Pro provides what several 2020 flagships are going to bring to the table"

The past twelve months have been pretty great for smartphones across all segments but the one that stands out to me is the Huawei P30 Pro.

Although I’m far from a professional photographer, I value smartphone cameras a lot because I enjoy taking photos of almost everything I see. The Huawei P30 Pro offers one of the most versatile photographic experiences out there, which is why I love it so much.

Its primary camera can shoot some amazing pictures during the day and, when the sensor’s high megapixel count is combined with Huawei’s software wizardry to enable Night Mode, this is also the case in low-light scenes. The smartphone’s ultra-wide-angle shooter is also pretty decent and the accompanying Time-of-Flight sensor helps with portrait photos. My main highlight, however, is undoubtedly the zoom camera.

Most mainstream manufacturers have settled for the usual 2x telephoto camera on their devices this year but Huawei hit the ball out of the park with an amazing 5x optical zoom implementation. It allows you to get closer than ever to buildings or objects and the results really are amazing.

In many regards, the Huawei P30 Pro provides what several 2020 flagships are going to bring to the table – a high megapixel count, an impressive Night Mode, and 5x optical zoom – despite being released a year earlier.

These days, the second most important thing in a smartphone for me is probably battery life, which is another area where Huawei’s phone excels. It easily lasts a full day on a single charge and can sometimes even be stretched to double that with light usage.

This is all backed up by an impressive 40W fast charging technology, wireless charging support, and reverse wireless charging. The latter has saved me a number of times by allowing me to charge up another device.

My final highlight has to be the phone’s performance because, like many other premium phones, it just feels nice and snappy. This aspect of things recently received a boost with the arrival of Android 10 and its accompanying gesture-based navigation system.

Milen: Samsung Galaxy S10

You will honestly be so let down to hear about my most used phone of 2019, but when switching between so many devices you need to have a backup phone at all times and my backup phone was actually my most used one this year. That phone is the good old OnePlus 5. Launched two and a half years ago, it obviously doesn’t compare to the fancy flagships of late 2019. Its camera is probably the one component that’s aged the worst, but the reason this phone remains on me at all times is just how well designed this phone is, it’s thin and lightweight, and you almost forget it’s in your pocket, it’s also superb in terms of overall speed of the interface, the fingerprint scanner is fast and reliable, and the battery life is still holding up well after more than two years.

And if you ask about a 2019 favorite, my go-to would be the OnePlus 7T. While I really, really wish OnePlus finally figured out a way to make a great camera (the 7T is not quite it), when it comes to the actual performance of a phone, this one is unsurpassed. It’s lightning fast and smooth, it has a beautiful screen, it’s a joy to type on, it has great haptics, a dedicated mute switch, and it has good battery life. Last but not least, this phone is sized right for me, meaning that it is not freaking gigantic (that’s the reason why I wouldn’t go with the 7T Pro, that one is just too huge). At $600, the OnePlus 7T is also great value for the money and won’t burn a giant hole in your purse like others.