Best phone gifts for graduates in 2018

Air horns have been blown and hats have been thrown. After the confetti settles, your graduate will need a reliable phone to take them through the next stage of life. 

The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are terrific, stylish and pricey all-arounders that take great photos and will let your grad go crazy customizing the phone. Excellent speakers are great for making an impromptu party in a dorm room or quad. You'll definitely want a case to protect your Galaxy S9 from accidental drops on campus.

The larger Galaxy S9 Plus (right) has a second camera on the back for taking portrait shots, which captures moments well at high school campuses, college dorm rooms, and the first day of a new job.

The Galaxy S9 phones also have a feature called AR Emoji that makes 3D avatars of you (yep, just like on the iPhone X). I'm not a huge fan of their quality, but new grads won't have to miss out if their friends brag about the trick on iPhone.

Samsung's costliest phone, the Galaxy Note 8 has one thing no other phone has: a digital pen you can use to write notes and draw if you leave the laptop at home. Samsung's priciest phone, its large, 6.3-inch screen gives you lots of room for reading and watching.

Keep in mind, Samsung is expected to release the new Galaxy Note 9 some time in August or September. If you can wait, it means either getting the freshest phone skills, or a slight discount on "last year's" Galaxy Note 8. Don't worry, the Note 8 will still be a great choice.

There's no way around it: the iPhone X is a splurge. iPhones work best with Macs, and if you get it, there's peace of mind in the cutting-edge face unlocking feature that's secure enough to also pay for items with a glance (the previous Samsung phones can also do that with their own proprietary tool).

The slightly cheaper iPhone 8 Plus is hefty in the hand, but has the exact same terrific photo skills as the iPhone X, including portrait mode with dramatic lighting scenes.

It'll still cost a bundle, but the most affordable iPhone introduced this year is premium enough to do everything well, yet familiar and easy to use. For a limited time, you can also the iPhone 8 in red. 

What makes the Moto Z2 Play so great is its looooong battery life -- and if you need more, there's a snap-on Mod for that. It performs very steadily for a midrange phone, and it still looks good. Moto has my favorite alarm clocks on a smartphone, which is important for making those morning commitments. 

We've only briefly seen the just-announced Motorola Moto G6, but we're already hopeful that this budget phone is worth the $250 price tag. Moto has a good track record here, and we like the looks of that dual camera on the back. The Moto G6 sells in "late spring."

The similar Motorola Moto G6 Play ($200) has a much larger battery for longer life, which promises to extend a safety net if your grad can't get to an outlet to recharge. Otherwise, it has simpler hardware than the Moto G6, and is shaping up to be a good option for wallet-watchers, or first-time phone users.

Even less expensive are the Motorola Moto E5 Plus and Moto E5 Play. The details start getting a little cloudy among all these Moto phones, but here's a handy guide to help you figure out which is which.

Here's one example: The Motorola Moto E5 Play looks much more plasticky.

Small phones are hard to find, but the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact is one of them. It's joined by the Xperia XZ2, which is larger and has more advances specs. Sony phones fly under the radar in the US, though they're typically reliable workhorses. You won't be able to buy them with a carrier, but you can get one at Amazon or Best Buy.

The phones can shoot HDR photos in 4K resolution and super slow motion video at a higher resolution than the Galaxy S9.

We got 24 hours of battery life from our Samsung Galaxy S8 Active lab tests (we run down a looped video on airplane mode). While the Galaxy S8 Active is just as water-resistant as the regular Galaxy S8, its tougher exterior makes it more resistant to those inevitable drops.

Don't discount the Samsung Galaxy S8 even though its successor is already on sale. It's still a great phone and it'll cost less now than it did a few months ago.

It's too early for the Google Pixel 3, which we think will come in October if Google keeps to its schedule. In the meantime, the Google Pixel 2 and 2XL take great photos and have a clean, simple Android interface.

Keep your eyes peeled for this one. We know LG is launching its next big phone May 2, but apart from the name, we don't know for sure what we're getting. Here are the most important LG G7 ThinQ rumors we know.

Similarly, we know that the OnePlus 6 is coming -- even an Avengers-themed version -- but we don't know exactly when. These phones typically bring on top-notch specs at less than the cost of a premium phone. Here are all the OnePlus 6 rumors and facts.

Apple's low-cost, smaller iPhone SE is overdue for an upgrade, and rumors are pointing in that direction. If we do see it, we think it'd be around early June. The current SE is a great starter phone for Apple fans who just want to do the basics well, but we'd urge grads to hold out for the refresh.

If you've been hearing about the three-camera Huawei P20 Pro and regular Huawei P20, I'm sorry to say you're out of luck. Neither of these phones will sell in the US. But you can always gaze from afar...

See more from CNET's Grads Gift Guide.