The Best Smartphones You Can Buy Right Now

The champion telephone should beryllium a jack of each trades, and the OnePlus 15 proves that OnePlus knows what it’s doing for different twelvemonth successful a row. You won’t get the champion cameras, oregon the champion performance, oregon the champion bundle support, but you volition get precise bully versions of each three. Just astir each different facet of the instrumentality delivers excessively without coming up lacking similar different phones competing with the OnePlus 15 thin to.

Let’s commencement with the hardware. The OnePlus 15 is built well. It has a sturdy operation that tin clasp up to immoderate abuse. The IP69 extortion for blistery h2o jets is simply a measurement supra what you’ll find from astir phones. It packs successful a gorgeous show that’s big, bright, and smooth. It offers a 165Hz refresh complaint that goes faster than astir mainstream phones for adjacent much fluid visuals, though there’s truly diminishing returns astatine this point.

You’ll get a competent triple-camera strategy connected the rear of the OnePlus 15 that tin springiness Pixels and iPhones coagulated competition. The camera strategy isn’t a large upgrade implicit the OnePlus 13, and I wouldn’t urge anyone really upgrade from that oregon the OnePlus 12 to this one, arsenic those 2 should inactive beryllium precise competitory successful conscionable astir each respect but one: performance.

The OnePlus 15’s show is simply a chopped above. When I tested it, the lone telephone that it didn’t bushed retired successful conscionable astir each azygous benchmark was the RedMagic 11 Pro — an utmost gaming telephone with progressive aerial and liquid cooling. The OnePlus 15’s show comes by mode of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 spot inside, which is simply a stunner. Even erstwhile much Android phones with that spot commencement cropping up connected the market, I don’t expect astir to compression immoderate much retired of it than OnePlus has.

On apical of each its packing, the OnePlus 15 squeezes successful a immense artillery that delivered multi-day artillery beingness successful my testing, letting maine spell 4 afloat days of regular usage earlier needing to complaint it backmost up.

OnePlus brings each of this astatine a competitory starting $899 terms that whitethorn beryllium much costly than a base-tier iPhone, Pixel, oregon Galaxy S model, but delivers up an acquisition that’s much successful enactment with upper-tier configurations and Pro models. The OnePlus 15 comes with 4 years of OS updates and six years of information patches, which is simply a spot shy of what those competitors offer. But if you’re chasing the latest and top show and capabilities, you’ll astir apt privation to upgrade your telephone again earlier that enactment expires anyway.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro is simply a superb telephone erstwhile it comes to photography. It offers a triple-camera strategy connected the rear that provides a ton of flexibility, and each sensor successful the stack snaps prime photos, whether you privation to punch successful connected a distant taxable oregon zoom mode retired to seizure a landscape. Even the selfie camera snaps vibrant, crisp photos.

The telephone itself is nary little beauteous than the photos it takes. Google has refined the plan of its Pixel enactment again, and the Pixel 9 Pro benefits greatly. It’s inactive somewhat tame with aluminum and glass, not opting for the titanium of Apple’s and Samsung’s flagships. But it comes unneurotic elegantly.

Thin bezels wrapper astir a humble 6.3-inch display, which is simply a spot of a star. It’s reasonably sized without making the Pixel 9 Pro an unwieldy behemoth similar the iPhone 17 Pro Max oregon Galaxy S25 Ultra, though you tin spell that way by upgrading to the Pixel 9 Pro XL. The show is besides excellent, with a super-bright OLED panel, creaseless refresh rate, and poppy color.

The Pixel 9 Pro whitethorn not beryllium the fastest telephone connected the market, arsenic its Tensor G4 spot lags good down caller Apple and Qualcomm flagship chips, but it’s plentifulness peppy for mundane usage and works rapidly with AI applications. And it inactive runs lighter games reasonably good too. Google is besides backing the telephone up with longer-term bundle enactment than you’ll find connected a batch of Android devices.

Apple’s base-tier iPhone is simply a deed this year. The iPhone 17 brought much upgrades each astir than it has successful erstwhile years, and that makes for a basal tier that comes person to the Pro models than typical. Perhaps 1 of the astir breathtaking upgrades is that the iPhone 17 yet brings a 120Hz show to the basal tier, delivering connected the fluid visuals that had antecedently been constricted to Pro models. Combine that with the brilliance of its OLED sheet and the anti-glare decorativeness connected the display, and you’ve got a large leap successful show prime implicit erstwhile models.

The iPhone 17 besides runs connected a caller A19 spot with ample representation and a bumped up basal retention of 256GB. The retention is large for storing much photos, video, and apps. Those apps tin see games, arsenic the iPhone 17 is simply a worthy gaming instrumentality that handles astir games successful the App Store, with lone heavyweights similar Assassin’s Creed Mirage making it stutter astatine their highest graphical presets successful our testing.

You whitethorn not get the almighty camera strategy of the Pro tier with the iPhone 17, but you inactive get a susceptible acceptable of cameras that are blessed to drawback photos successful astir settings, grounds high-quality video (even from the beforehand and backmost astatine the aforesaid time), and supply flexible selfie shooting with automatic switching betwixt representation and scenery without the request to set the phone’s position.

The iPhone 17 whitethorn not beryllium the top-tier iPhone but it brings plentifulness to the table, and with its considerably little starting price, it’ll beryllium the champion enactment for astir users.

The Pixel 8 mightiness not beryllium the champion of the champion oregon a caller exemplary successful 2025, but it’s inactive got a batch to offer. The Tensor G3 spot wrong improved connected the G2 not lone with accrued show but, critically, with amended thermals. Since vigor is the force of astir telephone components, being capable to debar it volition assistance the longevity of the device.

The different large get for the Pixel 8 is that Google promised 7 years of OS, security, and diagnostic updates erstwhile it launched. That means it inactive has a agelong beingness up of it. Thanks to its age, the terms of the telephone has dropped considerably though. So you tin often snag the Pixel 8 for a mid-range terms of $500. While galore radical whitethorn deliberation the Pixel 8a is the astute mid-range option, the full-fat Pixel 8 astatine conscionable $100 much is simply a astute prime acknowledgment to the superior design, which includes Gorilla Glass Victus connected the beforehand and back, improved h2o resistance, and amended cameras.

On the enactment of cameras, the Pixel 8 boasts an fantabulous 50MP main camera that snaps large shots successful airy oregon acheronian settings. The ultra-wide sensor is coagulated successful daylight, but struggles successful the dark. And the selfie camera is bully and crisp with a wide tract of view. The Pixel 8 whitethorn not connection the champion cameras retired here, but it’s large for the price.

Ultimately, the Pixel 8 remains a large enactment for mid-range shoppers. But it’s worthy remembering however pivotal terms is successful its ranking here. The newer Pixel 9 oregon Pixel 10 whitethorn mostly outgo more, but they tin spot discounts arsenic well. If either of them is disposable for beneath $600, they supply capable other worth to beryllium worthy grabbing instead.

It utilized to beryllium that you couldn’t expect excessively overmuch from a fund smartphone. But these days, that feels similar it’s hardly the case. You whitethorn not get the astir susceptible cameras oregon perfectly top-tier performance, but there’s inactive a batch you can get. The Poco X7 Pro is simply a cleanable illustration of this.

At $299, the Poco X7 Pro is little than fractional the terms of astir flagship phones, but it doesn’t upwind up feeling similar it’s fractional the quality. The prima of the amusement has to beryllium the display. The Poco X7 Pro fits a fantastic 6.67-inch AMOLED show that’s colorful, poignant, and creaseless with a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s the benignant of show that should person made everyone wonderment wherefore Apple was inactive putting 60Hz displays connected immoderate of its caller phones.

That show is fitted into a stylish capable chassis that whitethorn not beryllium each metallic and glass, but inactive gets immoderate durability bonafides with an IP68 extortion standing to grip submersion arsenic good arsenic flagship phones. The Poco X7 Pro adjacent includes a 3.5mm headphone jack for usage with wired headphones, thing much costly phones person seen acceptable to exclude.

Now you mightiness expect that show is lacking, since Poco had to chopped corners somewhere. But the Poco X7 Pro really proves rather competent. The MediaTek Dimensity 8400-Ultra whitethorn not beryllium the astir potent, but it comes shockingly adjacent to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s show and tin adjacent travel adjacent to the iPhone 16’s graphical performance. It whitethorn not beryllium capable to max retired each game’s graphical settings, but it should comfortably tally conscionable astir immoderate Android crippled you propulsion astatine it.

The telephone adjacent runs connected a sizable, 6,000mAh artillery that’s much than capable for a afloat time (or two) of regular use. You whitethorn miss retired connected semipermanent bundle enactment and top-tier networking speeds, but the Poco X7 Pro proves a precise competent telephone that punches good supra what its terms tag would person you expect.

If you’re a gamer, the RedMagic 11 Pro is wherever it’s at. This caller exemplary takes each the lessons that made the RedMagic 10 Pro specified an exceptional exemplary and dials it up to 11 (pun intended). In my testing, the RedMagic 11 Pro managed to pb the mode successful astir each azygous benchmark, mounting plentifulness of caller records on the way. That show translates to exceptional gaming show with the telephone hardly breaking a sweat successful immoderate crippled I threw astatine it.

Part of that excellence stems from the phone’s unsocial features: progressive aerial cooling and h2o cooling. This not lone lets the telephone spot starring show levels but besides prolong them amended than the competition. While it could inactive get plentifulness blistery during benchmarks, it held up amended than rival gaming phones and ne'er saw specified precocious temperatures erstwhile playing existent games.

The show is enactment connected show with a fantastic screen. It’s a crisp and ample AMOLED sheet that doesn’t adjacent fto its selfie camera get successful the way. The surface hides the camera completely, doesn’t circular disconnected the corners much, and has bladed bezels, giving you a large and wide presumption of your games.

The plan whitethorn not beryllium to everyone’s taste, but the RedMagic 11 Pro is stylish successful an concern mode that doesn’t spell overboard with gamer aesthetics. It’s besides robust, feeling plentifulness sturdy successful the manus and really offering waterproofing successful spite of the unfastened aerial duct that provides its progressive cooling.

You’ll miss retired connected a fewer things, similar prime cameras and other semipermanent bundle support, but the telephone is wide astonishing and really thing of a bargain with its starting terms of $749.

With its seventh procreation of foldables, Samsung looked to radically alteration things up. And portion the Z Flip 7 doesn't get the aforesaid benignant of thinness that makes the Galaxy Z Fold 7 specified a wonderment to behold, that doesn't mean it didn't get the aforesaid magnitude of love.

The biggest alteration present is the extracurricular display. It's larger now, covering an full fractional of the backside of the phone, stretching from borderline to borderline erstwhile folded up. And while, yeah, it looks nicer, the bigger alteration is successful what it can do. Now, you tin tally afloat apps connected it, truthful you don't person to settee for the weird half-app widget things you had to usage connected the (admittedly incredible) Z Flip 6. Though, you volition person to fiddle with immoderate experimental settings to alteration afloat apps connected the smaller display.

The Flip 7 didn't get the aforesaid benignant of chassis simplification that the Fold 7 did, but that doesn't mean Samsung conscionable near it alone. While the instrumentality has larger screens some connected the wrong and the outside, Samsung maintained fundamentally the aforesaid value arsenic the past generation, with the Flip 7 weighing successful astatine 188g, compared to past year's 187g. That's fundamentally not adjacent a difference.

Powering the telephone is the Exynos 2500, alternatively than the Snapdragon 8 Elite that powers the Fold 7. This is simply a beauteous monolithic change, fixed the Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 were some powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It besides marks a alteration of direction, with Samsung fundamentally positioning the Flip 7 arsenic the instrumentality you get erstwhile you privation agelong artillery life, alternatively than the earthy powerfulness offered by the much costly (and bigger) Fold. In our review, this paid off, with the Flip 7 present lasting each day, which is thing the tiny foldable has struggled with successful past generations. Now, support successful caput that owed to the size of this instrumentality artillery beingness and show are conscionable thing you're trading disconnected for the portability – but astatine slightest that trade-off isn't arsenic terrible arsenic it's been successful past generations.

Samsung overhauled its apical foldable this twelvemonth and it’s proven a worthy change. The caller Galaxy Z Fold 7 has shrunk down by 26% compared to the earlier Fold 6. That makes it conscionable implicit 4mm heavy erstwhile unfolded and 8.9mm heavy erstwhile folded. It's plentifulness adjacent to the thickness of different non-folding smartphones, similar the 8.9mm-thick Asus ROG Phone 9, for example.

Even arsenic Samsung managed to trim down the dimensions of the phone, it inactive kept the artillery capableness from the anterior exemplary astatine 4,400mAh. While this doesn’t marque it a two-day warrior, our reviewer recovered the Galaxy Z Fold 7 easy lasted done the time during testing, mostly with immoderate complaint near the adjacent morning. That's adjacent aft playing games for 4 hours 1 of the days.

While the Galaxy Z Fold 7 whitethorn not beryllium specifically for gaming, it inactive tin clasp up. Part of the equation is the caller surface sizes. The Z Fold 6 had a precise gangly outer show that wasn’t perfect for a batch of games that targeted antithetic facet ratios. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a much communal 21:9 facet ratio connected the outer display. When combined with the thinness of the phone, it’s casual to usage the Galaxy Z Fold 7 conscionable the aforesaid arsenic immoderate mean smartphone. Of course, erstwhile you privation to spell big, you tin unfold the instrumentality and usage the 8-inch interior show for gaming, media, multitasking, oregon immoderate other you consciousness like.

Another cardinal facet of the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s show is the Snapdragon 8 Elite inside, a potent spot successful each instrumentality I’ve seen it successful truthful far. The instrumentality manages coagulated bursty speeds, and it has capable horsepower to tally games similar Honkai Star Rail. One downside of the bladed plan is that it volition vigor up considerably during long, sustained workloads similar gaming and its show volition sag. You’ll inactive beryllium amended disconnected with a gaming telephone oregon adjacent conscionable thing thicker if you’re readying to bash a batch of gaming.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7’s $1,999 terms tag whitethorn beryllium a hard pill to swallow. It’s much than what you’d wage for a OnePlus 15 and Redmagic Astra – an fantabulous telephone and large gaming tablet – combined. But if the convenience of 1 gadget that does it each is worthy it to you, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is simply a large instrumentality that fits the measure and stands retired arsenic the champion foldable connected the marketplace close now.

What About the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge?

Having wrapped up testing, I've concluded the Galaxy S25 Edge won’t beryllium joining the ranks of the champion phones connected the market. While it is simply a surprisingly thin phone, I wouldn’t spell truthful acold arsenic to telephone it impressively thin. Phones person been this bladed successful the past, and I deliberation there’s a crushed they’ve gotten thicker implicit the years. The S25 Edge makes sacrifices to get that thin. It has a smaller artillery than comparable phones. It whitethorn connection the aforesaid speedy Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset powering different large phones, but it rapidly runs into thermal throttling erstwhile trying to instrumentality afloat vantage of that chip. And the S25 Edge lone gets 2 rear-facing cameras erstwhile it’s priced similar a telephone that should person 3 oregon 4 prime cameras to offer. All of those trade-offs to shave a mates millimeters from the instrumentality conscionable don’t enactment retired successful this phone’s favor.

Originally posted:

Dec 10, 2025 10:34 pm