Good phones drop all the time, but when I glance back at 2018's greatest hits, it's clear that this year brought us something special. The parade of top models from tried-and-true hitmakers Apple, Samsung and Google include the iPhone XR, Galaxy S9 and Pixel 3. 

But what made phones really sing in 2018 -- one of the best ever collections in my eight-plus years as a phone reviewer -- is the consistently high bar of quality across the board. Phones were fast, powerful, and brimming with exciting hardware and software. Photos have gotten so good, the best low-light camera on the planet outdid itself this year, by far.

5G phones from Samsung, LG, OnePlus and others vow to bring exponentially faster data speeds, while foldable phones are poised to introduce radical new designs that combine a tablet and phone in one.

Here's exactly how phones surged ahead, and the biggest winners and losers in 2018. Plus, a peek into the mobile world's emerging phone categories.

Best phones of 2018

• Google Pixel 3: Best photos

• iPhone XR: Best value iPhone

• Galaxy Note 9: Best phone for Android power users

• OnePlus 6T: Terrific midprice pick that rivals premium models

• Moto G6: Best budget phone, period

• Huawei Mate 20 Pro: Powerful and glamorous with a standout design

• LG V40 ThinQ: All-around excellence

• Most innovative phones of 2018

• Huawei P20 Pro: Gradient design, triple rear cameras

• Oppo Find X: Sleek pop-up camera module

• Vivo X21: First in-screen fingerprint reader

• Razer Phone 2: A true premium phone for gamers

• Red Hydrogen One: A camera phone aimed at Hollywood

Biggest phone winners of 2018

• Apple: Became a trillion-dollar company, propelled by iPhone sales

• OnePlus: Carrier support from T-Mobile boosted US sales by 249 percent

• Samsung: Hanging on as world's largest phone-maker

• Huawei: Ousted Apple as No. 2 phone brand by sales volume

Biggest phone losers of 2018

• Huawei: Business deals rotted on the vine over growing concern about Huawei's ties to the Chinese government, and violation of US trade sanctions.

• ZTE: This other Chinese brand got lumped in with Huawei, and President Trump had to intervene after sanctions crushed ZTE's business with a components ban. The ban has since lifted.

• Palm: A potentially huge comeback fizzled with this pricey accessory that isn't a phone at all.

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We've never been closer to true edge-to-edge screens

Phone designs were still relatively stagnant in 2018, but manufacturers dutifully shaved down bezels and stretched screen sizes to cram as much screen as possible into a footprint as small as possible.

In order to get around the pesky problem of the front-facing camera and a physical home button, phonemakers used every trick in the book, and then invented some new ones: We saw screen notches that create "wings" around the notch, hidden cameras that pop out from within when you invoke them (that's you, Oppo Find X and Vivo Nex) and a wider variety of gesture controls.

In-screen fingerprint scanners are a thing now

Last January, Chinese brand Vivo stunned us with a concept phone with the first-ever in-screen fingerprint reader. The optical sensor basically takes a picture of your fingerprint to confirm that you're you. 

Although this method was unreliable and its security questionable, other brands, from Huawei to OnePlus, embedded fingerprint scanners beneath the screen, too.

Now that Qualcomm, the world's largest chipmaker for mobile phones, has announced an ultrasonic fingerprint reader that uses sound for identifying your print, chances are high most premium Android phones will have one next year.   

Cameras and video are crazy-good

Excellent camera phones blossomed in 2018. The Pixel 3, iPhone XS and XR, Galaxy S9 and Note 9, and Huawei P20 Pro and Mate 20 Pro all produced excellent photography and videos. The Pixel 3's Night Site mode for low light shots is stunningly noteworthy, while Huawei's two "Pro" handsets include a similar feature.

More cameras used AI smarts to automatically match optimal settings to lighting scenes, like the Note 9 and Huawei's two phones, and super slow motion video (from Sony's XZ3 Premium especially) made its way across many high-end models.

2019 will incubate 5G phones, foldable, 3D selfie cameras

The phones of 2018 struck the right chords, building a momentum that will take us well into 2019.

These devices will get faster (for example, those using Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 chip), and more will get secure in-screen fingerprint scanners and 3D front-facing cameras that create depth maps of your face for more interesting selfies and let you securely pay for goods.

Phones in 2019 will also use more AI and their software capabilities will keep growing. For example, Android phones will develop as Google continues to roll out new updates for Google Assistant and Google Duplex, which can call real humans to make reservations on your behalf and could soon field incoming calls for you.

Alongside these changes, expect to see prices continue to swell as phones in 2019 become an even more essential part of your everyday life.

Source: cnet