Why 2017 was a smartphone year we’ll remember

From the ten-year ceremony of the iPhone, to Samsung bouncing aback from its 2016 issues; this year the smartphone industry became the best aggressive it’s anytime been.

What a year it’s been. From the ten-year ceremony of the iPhone, which helped ascertain smartphones as we apperceive them, to Samsung bouncing aback from its 2016 issues, and every OEM bringing their best; this year the smartphone industry became the best aggressive it’s anytime been.

We all accepted smartphone brands to footfall up their portfolio in a big way. Android phones are generally billed as iPhone-killers (though they’re usually advised added to be Samsung-killers), and this backward accurate at the end of aftermost year, as the approaching barrage of the iPhone X crept into every conversation. Apple was accepted to accompany a above about-face to the iPhone appear the end of this year, and every Android cast had to accompany the best they could. Best of them delivered.

While Android continues to boss the smartphone bazaar share, the ambiguous iPhone buyer charcoal the ambition for anniversary Android OEM, and for acceptable reason. These consumers are some of the best loyal and best accommodating to absorb added on a phone. To angle any adventitious of capturing these users during a big year for the iPhone, every cast bare to do something. In the end they all delivered article that helped them angle out.

Think Android and abounding anon anticipate Samsung Galaxy — in some markets, these agreement are changeable — and this year, Samsung showed why it is the world’s baton in smartphones. The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus pushed the smartphone industry appear the taller anatomy agency and the Galaxy Note 8 accepted that alike an exploding flagship couldn’t stop Samsung’s juggernaut phablet line.

LG stepped up its efforts this year with both the G6 and V30, accomplished accessories in their own right. The aforementioned goes for Huawei. The P10 and P10 Plus found success, but the absolute brilliant was Huawei’s Mate 10 Pro, which launched backward in the year and won our coveted Phone of the Year award.

Those are the big ones but attractive about the blow of the industry, every cast brought their best. Alike companies that accept commonly struggled managed to acquisition article to action this year. Motorola broadcast its Moto Mods accessory band with the Moto Z2 Force and others. Sony connected its re-emergence as a smartphone player.

HTC’s U11 Plus launched aftermost month, and seems a flagship that could absolutely bear in every area. It’s yet to be broadly available, but it’s got the abeyant to be HTC’s savior. The phone was absolutely meant to be the Pixel 2 XL, and could accept done a lot for HTC (and Google too, for that matter). As acceptable as the Pixel 2 XL is — and its camera is incredible — it was still one of the bigger disappointments of the year, at atomic for me.

This year additionally saw accessories advancing from some new players. Andy Rubin alternate to smartphones with the Essential phone. It may not be perfect, but it’s accepting bigger with approved updates. Razer bought Nextbit and apace appear a gamer’s paradise in the Razer Phone, which offered one of the best gaming adventures on a adaptable device.

Then there was Nokia, a cast acquired by HMD All-around aftermost year. The aggregation hit the bazaar in a big way. The Nokia 8 brought with it a partnership with Zeiss, which should bring even bigger smartphone cameras in 2018 as able-bodied as the somewhat altered “bothie” feature. The phone was absorbing and bent us by abruptness so abundant it alone almost absent the adventitious to be crowned best blast for your blade smartphone to the OnePlus 5T. And what of OnePlus? This was a year area the aggregation connected its accomplished aisle over the accomplished four years, alms accomplished flagships at aberrant amount for money.

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Looking aback on this year, one affair absolutely sticks out. Commonly there are alone a few accessories that absolutely amount by the end of the year. This year it’s accessible to altercate that most, if not all, accessories amount for altered reasons.

Take BlackBerry. A year ago abounding would accept said the KEYone was a failure, but it’s an all-embracing acceptable accessory with a specific ambition bazaar that alike had some of our aggregation switching over. Not every cast had an accomplished year, but as technology advances, alike accessories with flaws action abundant to be aces contenders.

Devices at a added affordable amount are no different, and abounding alike chase the latest trends. At $199, the Honor 7X is actual affordable, but it still sports bifold cameras, abate bezels and taller 18:9 aspect arrangement of this year’s flagships. In antecedent years, the affordable flagship bazaar has been abaft the ambit back it came to features. Now the gap has diminished to a minimum.

This year antagonism was added acute than ever, but what does 2018 hold? With beneath affectation fingerprint sensors not accepted until the additional bisected of the year at least, and no added acceptable breakthroughs accepted in the accouterments market, 2018 will acceptable be an accepted year.

We may yet see some software innovation, as AI-based administration become added refined. Bixby may assuredly see a abundant added all-around rollout, Siri will hopefully accretion a much-needed overhaul, and Google Assistant will acceptable get added avant-garde in compassionate you. Amazon launched its Alexa on a few adaptable accessories this accomplished year. Next year it may assuredly go arch to arch with Google Assistant on added devices, aloof as their action heats up in the acute home.

The year in recap

A bad phone? No such thing.

Looming on the horizon

As technology advances, alike accessories with flaws action abundant to be aces contenders.