Need a new smartphone but don't know which one is the very best? Here's a guide comparing the current top-end smartphones from Apple, Samsung, Huawei and others to help you pick the best handset for you. There has never been a better time to buy a new flagship smartphone with many quality handsets available at a wider range of prices than ever before. Whether your priority is two-day battery life, fantastic camera performance or a spectacular screen, there's plenty to choose from. This Guardian buyer's guide to top-end smartphones was last updated on 6 March, and represents the best available models at the time. As new models are released and tested, this guide will be updated to help you choose the right flagship phone for you.

The notch enables slimmer display borders and features like Face ID on the new iPhones and a dual selfie camera system on Google's Pixel 3 XL. But if you prefer a phone without the notch, your choices are limited – at least among the best smartphone picks. Fox News has compiled a list of five of the best. The Pixel phone line was first introduced just a little more than two years ago. The third generation Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL (the latter now with a notch) are among the best smartphones on the planet.

OnePlus is going to make the first 5G phone available in Europe, the company has said. The decision could entirely change the way that phones work and will introduce a transformative technology to the UK, Andy Lau, OnePlus's chief executive and founder, told The Independent. The phone maker has teamed up with EE to make the handset available, aiming to have it ready for users in 2019. The two companies have signed a research and development partnership that will help deliver much faster and more reliable internet connections across the UK, they said. But the promise has been clouded by concerns about infrastructure and questions about when the technology required to make it work will arrive.

At trade fairs like the Mobile World Congress and IFA, Huawei, Samsung and Qualcomm are the main companies that focus on AI. You can also throw in Apple's new bionic processor and Google's Pixel Visual Core into that mix. Of course, this is only the current state of AI functions. AI is growing rapidly in the world of smartphones, and in the future we'll see many more applications. Development is progressing and we're still just at the beginning. Yet, even today there are exciting AI functions you can enjoy, if you have the right smartphone.

The iPhone XR looks to offer most of what made the iPhone XS a knockout for £250 less – but with a colourful body and a slightly larger screen is this the iPhone to buy? With the iPhone XS and XS Max starting at £999 and £1,099 respectively, Apple has room to shoehorn a slightly lower cost, but still expensive, model in underneath. The iPhone XR is that model, but with a slightly larger screen than the 5.8in iPhone XS that's also a little smaller than the 6.5in iPhone XS Max, it offers something subtly different too. The 6.1in LCD is colourful and relatively crisp with excellent viewing angles, but just not quite as brilliant as the OLED displays on the top iPhones or rivals of a similar price. The bezels are also noticeably larger than the other iPhones, making it look a little like an iPhone XS permanently in a case.

Apple will hold its next big event at the end of the month, it has announced. The launch – to be held in New York City on 30 October – is widely expected to see the unveiling of a new iPad Pro and fresh Macs. It comes just a few weeks after Apple launched its new iPhones. And it will come just days after the release of the iPhone XR, a cheaper handset that Apple delayed despite launching alongside the XS in September. Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, speaks about the Apple iPhone XS and Apple iPhone XS Max Philip W. Schiller, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing of Apple, speaks about the new Apple iPhone XR Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, speaks about the new Apple iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max Philip W. Schiller, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing of Apple, speaks about the new Apple iPhone XR Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, speaks about the Apple iPhone XS and Apple iPhone XS Max Philip W. Schiller, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing of Apple, speaks about the new Apple iPhone XR Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, speaks about the new Apple iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max Philip W. Schiller, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing of Apple, speaks about the new Apple iPhone XR The company is expected to release a new iPad Pro that will include the Face ID facial recognition technology found in the iPhone X.

Last year's iPhone X was a groundbreaking device, in part due to the removal of what made the iPhone so iconic. Gone was the fingerprint-scanning home button, and in its place was an aesthetically controversial "notch" to make room for the Face ID security (and Animoji) functionality. It was also groundbreaking in terms of price. It may have debuted alongside the $699-and-up iPhone 8, but it was the first thousand-dollar smartphone from Apple, a price a surprisingly high number of people were able to stomach for the sake of having the coolest phone on the block. With the new iPhone XS and XS Max, Apple is trying to tell us something: like it or not, this is the future of the iPhone.

Boasting a 6.5inch OLED screen, the iPhone XS Max is the biggest phone Apple has ever made. While on paper the screen may seem almost too big, the curved design means that in the flesh, it's incredibly easy to pick up and handle - and absolutely stunning to look at. There is something of a jaw dropping moment the first time you load up a picture of press play on the movie. Apple's new iPhone XS Max is shown (right) beside the smaller XS That screen is sharp and incredibly bright, and the phone (and even the still present notch) are almost invisible, making this the closest thing yet to Apple's'all screen' vision. The sound has also had a huge boost, and even in the crowded scrum like experience of the hands on area at Apple's event, audio was loud enough to hear clearly - if you want to annoy the neighbours of fellow commuters, this is definitely the speaker system to do it with.

SAN, FRANCISCO/SEOUL – As of early fall, it was clearer than ever that production problems meant Apple Inc. wouldn't have enough iPhone Xs in time for the holidays. The challenge was how to make the sophisticated phone -- with advanced features such as facial recognition -- in large enough numbers. As Wall Street analysts and fan blogs watched for signs that the company would stumble, Apple came up with a solution: It quietly told suppliers they could reduce the accuracy of the face-recognition technology to make it easier to manufacture, according to people familiar with the situation. With the iPhone X set to debut on Nov. 3, we're about to find out whether the move has paid off. Some analysts say there may still be too few iPhone Xs to meet initial demand.

Yet another report, this time from Nikkei, claims Apple is facing production issues with the iPhone X's 3D sensors for the new Face ID feature. This could severely impact the availability of the iPhone X on its release date as pre order for the phone are set to begin. The dot projector, dubbed Romeo, uses a laser to beam 30,000 infrared dots on the user's face to map their unique traits, while the receiving module is called Juliet. Trouble with Romeo modules are reportedly holding back mass production of the iPhone X. The report comes as Apple gears up to start taking pre-orders for the iPhone X this month.