I’m wrapping up a two-week trip to China, which has taken me to two cities, allowed me to attend the Oppo Find X8 Ultra launch, and visit Huaqiangbei, the world’s most vibrant technology market.

With the prospect of price hikes and RAM shortages on the horizon, we might remember the current era as a good one for smartphones – even if phone design has actually hit a pretty boring plateau.

We’re coming to the end of the year, and we’ve already seen the first next-generation flagship Android phones launching around the world. These phones give us a rough idea of what to expect from the ...