Q4 Smartphone Royal Rumble: iPhone 8, Galaxy Note 8, Pixel 2, and LG V30

As the “ber” months roll in, the top tech giants of the world gear up for their annual Q4 slugfest. Just like in previous years, Samsung will be lead with their premium Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and they’ll be up against the new iPhone 8 of Apple and the Google Pixel 2. A potential wild card is the new LG V30 which is also set to launch later this month at IFA in Berlin, Germany. After digging through all the leaks and rumors we’ve come up with a few observations on how the 2018-2019 smartphone landscape will look like.

All of Them Will Have Amazing Cameras

“Wala na sa telepono yan, nasa photographer na.”

All devices will pack rear-facing dual camera set-ups. This allows for a variety of shots including everyone’s favorite creamy bokeh. As all flagships have kick ass cameras already, the question should no longer be “which smartphone is better for photography” but “have you taken a photography 101 class yet”.

iPhone 8 and Google Pixel 2 Will Still Have One Camera

It’s sad to note that the iPhone 8 will most likely get left behind. If rumors are to be believed, the new iPhones will follow the iPhone 7 trend where only the bigger brother (the iPhone 8 Plus in this case) will have the dual-camera set-up. If this pushes through, it doesn’t make sense anymore to go for the smaller iPhone 8.

Google is also not following the dual-camera trend. The latest leaks for the new Pixel 2 show that they’re keeping things very similar to the first generation Pixel (yes, including their ugly design).

Ugly.

The Note 8 is Unique Among the Lot

Among all the devices that will be released, the Galaxy Note 8 stands out because of the S Pen. This gives it a unique selling point which can appeal heavily to Android-loving executives, creative professionals, and artists.

See: Galaxy Note 8 vs Galaxy Note 5 — What’s Different?

We also foresee massive sales for the Note 8 as Note loyalists have been waiting for a new Note since last year’s Note 7 was an explosive failure. That anticipation and hype will make it even more buzz worthy.

The LG V30 Will be the Most Affordable

Among the competing brands, chances are the LG V30 will be the most affordable option. We already saw this when they launched the LG G6. It was priced aggressively against the Samsung Galaxy S8 earlier this year.

We kinda feel bad for LG. They’ve been making really good phones, especially with the LG G6, but they’re not getting the sales that they deserve. Hopefully they reverse their fortunes with the LG V30 when it comes out later this month.

So to summarize —

If you want to save money but still get a great phone, go for the LG V30.
If you’re a Note loyalist, this is your time. Finally.
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus will be a big jump forward in design compared to the small changes of the iPhone 7 vs 6S.
Pixel 2 will be boring and ugly but it will still be one of the best Android smartphones you can get.
All of them will have kickass cameras and BEASTLY internals.

Makes you wonder what the 2019-generation flagships will pack.