The Best Smartphones To Buy In 2025

7 hours ago

You mightiness already person a bully thought of which smartphone you want to beryllium your adjacent one. But location are much coagulated options disposable now than ever before, making nan determination not arsenic cut-and-dry arsenic it utilized to be. While nan determination is simply a spot easier if you cognize you want an iPhone, there's moreover capable variety betwixt those caller models that you whitethorn person to deliberation astir it longer than you anticipated. If you’re an Android person, you person moreover much options to take from — including foldables — and much questions to reply earlier you walk immoderate money.

At Engadget, we reappraisal phones regularly and person tested dozens complete nan years. Whether you’ve had your oculus connected 1 of our existent apical picks, 1 of Samsung's Galaxy S25 phones, a cheap phone aliases different device, we’re present to thief you determine which is nan champion telephone to bargain this year.

Android aliases iOS?

When you're searching for nan champion smartphone, it becomes clear that each OS has its pros and cons. Apple’s tight-knit ecosystem makes it ace easy to stock information betwixt iPhones, iPads and Macs aliases seamlessly hand-off telephone calls aliases euphony from 1 instrumentality to another. At nan aforesaid time, you’re efficaciously locked in, arsenic services for illustration Apple Messages aren’t disposable connected different platforms.

As for Android, there’s a overmuch wider scope of handsets from companies for illustration Google, Samsung, Sony and more. However, Android phones don’t bask that aforesaid magnitude of package support and often person little trade-in values. In short, there’s nary incorrect answer. However, you will want to see really your telephone will fresh successful pinch nan remainder of your devices. So unless you’re really fed up pinch 1 OS and consenting to study another, it astir apt doesn’t make a batch of consciousness to move from an iPhone to an Android telephone (or vice versa) – particularly if everyone other successful your family is utilizing nan aforesaid platform.

Cameras

Since your compartment telephone often pulls double work arsenic your superior camera, figuring retired what benignant of photograph devices you want is key. Nowadays, practically each mobile telephone tin return a awesome image successful agleam light. But if you want a agelong optical zoom, you’ll astir apt person to upgrade to a much costly device.

Close up of nan Pixel 6 Pro's camera bump.

Mid-range phones often only person 2 rear cameras (a superior wide-angle lens and a secondary ultra-wide camera) and tin sometimes struggle successful low-light situations. Each telephone shaper besides has various features that mightiness beryllium a amended fresh for your style, pinch Apple offering 4 different colour presets connected nan latest iPhones, while Google’s Pixel 9 Pro comes pinch neat devices for illustration dedicated agelong vulnerability and Action Pan modes.

Will you get mmWave 5G aliases Wi-Fi 7?

The bully news is that successful 2025, astir phones person astatine slightest Wi-Fi 6 aliases Wi-Fi 6e and support for immoderate benignant of 5G connectivity. However, if you want nan fastest wireless speeds possible, it’s going to costs you a small extra. For example, connected definite networks, mmWave 5G offers up to gigabit download speeds, little latency and amended bandwidth. But mmWave 5G besides requires much blase (and pricier) modems, which intends support for it is often missing connected little costly devices.

On nan agleam side, mmWave 5G isn’t arsenic wide disposable arsenic different versions of 5G, truthful depending connected wherever you unrecorded and what web you’re on, you whitethorn not beryllium missing retired connected overmuch correct now if you bargain a telephone that doesn’t support it. It’s a akin business for Wi-Fi 7, which is disposable connected immoderate high-end handsets for illustration nan Galaxy S25, but harder to find connected cheaper devices. Wi-Fi 7 besides requires you to person a compatible router, truthful unless you cognize you request it aliases person a circumstantial usage lawsuit successful mind, nan deficiency of support for mmWave 5G aliases Wi-Fi 7 shouldn’t beryllium a dealbreaker erstwhile looking for a caller phone.

Other features to consider

Because not everyone agrees connected what makes nan champion phone, you should deliberation astir immoderate different specs that mightiness beryllium other important for you. Mobile gamers will almost surely admit nan 120Hz refresh rates you get connected phones for illustration nan Samsung Galaxy S25 aliases nan Apple iPhone 16 Pro. Alternatively, if agelong artillery life is important, you’ll astir apt want to spell pinch a larger iPhone aliases an Android telephone pinch a artillery that’s betwixt 4,000 and 5,000 mAh successful size. Meanwhile, if you find yourself juggling a batch of devices, it tin beryllium really bully to person a telephone that supports reverse wireless charging, which connected Samsung phones moreover lets you recharge nan company’s Galaxy Watches.

Read our afloat iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max review

Screen size: 6.3-inch | Storage capacity: Up to 1TB | SIM support: Dual eSim | Battery Life: About 1 day

Just for illustration past year, if you want nan champion iPhone experience, you should get an iPhone 16 Pro aliases iPhone 16 Pro Max. Not only is location not overmuch of a leap betwixt nan 2 erstwhile it comes to camera array aliases wide performance, but these handsets will get each of nan benefits of Apple Intelligence — connected apical of nan useful customizations that comes pinch iOS 18.

The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max person somewhat different sizes this clip around: 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches, respectively. Aside from that meaning you’ll person to ammunition retired money for a caller lawsuit if you upgrade, it won’t make excessively overmuch of a quality successful regular use. The biggest hardware differences that you’ll perfectly announcement are nan Camera Control fastener and nan Fusion Camera. The erstwhile is simply a caller broadside fastener that has touch and unit sensors, making it easier to not only motorboat nan Camera app but power things for illustration vulnerability erstwhile you’re really taking photos. As we discovered successful our testing for nan iPhone 16 Pro review, it’ll return a spot of getting utilized to astatine first. But overall, nan Camera Control fastener is simply a nett affirmative that shutterbugs will appreciate.

The caller Fusion Camera sports a faster quad-pixel sensor, among different improvements, and allows for 4K video astatine 120 fps successful Dolby Vision and “zero shutter lag.” The second intends you’ll beryllium capable to really seizure nan infinitesimal erstwhile you property nan button, alternatively than nan infinitesimal correct aft it. The Fusion Camera besides supports caller features for illustration Photographic Styles, which are nosy enhancements that are moreover much customizable than regular filters.

Elsewhere, nan caller A18 Pro chipset provides fantabulous capacity for some nan iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, positive support for Apple Intelligence. Whereas successful years past, location would person been a important quality successful nan Pro and Pro Max camera arrays, this twelvemonth that spread isn’t arsenic noticeable. Where you will spot awesome gains pinch nan Pro Max is artillery life — it’ll past 2 days (like its 15 predecessor), while nan modular 16 Pro has conscionable full-day artillery life. Only you tin determine if that’s worthy ponying up nan other $200 for nan Max, but regardless, some nan Pro and Pro Max handsets connection stellar performance, fantabulous photography chops, enhanced customization pinch iOS 18 and (soon) nan afloat big of Apple Intelligence features. — Valentina Palladino, Deputy Editor

Pros

Fast camera pinch precocious value video capture
Photographic styles are effective and pretty
Nice customizations disposable throughout

Cons

Relatively short artillery life
Camera Control isn't perfect

$999 astatine Apple

Read our afloat Google Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL review

(Pixel 9 Pro) Screen size: 6.3-inch | Storage capacity: Up to 1TB | SIM support: 1x nano SIM, 1x eSim | Battery Life: 24+ hours

Finally, a smaller Pixel Pro. Google's Pixel bid has agelong been 1 of nan champion Android phones around, pinch nan Pro exemplary being nan superior version. But it was ever a small excessively large and excessively cumbersome for those of america who person smaller hands aliases want our phones to fresh successful our pockets. Cue nan Pixel 9 Pro, which is nan littler type of nan Pixel 9 Pro XL. Instead of a comparatively ample 6.8-inch surface for illustration that connected its bigger sibling, nan modular Pro has a 6.3-inch show that is easy to maneuver. No much worrying astir dropping your Pixel Pro conscionable because you fumbled while trying to scope nan apical of nan screen!

Better yet, pinch nan Pixel 9 Pro, Google hasn't sacrificed immoderate cardinal characteristic to get to nan smaller size, meaning you'll find nan aforesaid camera setup and capacity successful some handsets. The only existent differences are nan surface size, artillery and charging speeds, arsenic nan non-XL exemplary recharges astatine a somewhat slower rate. But nan Pixel 9 Pro is besides overmuch longer-lasting than nan XL, notching almost 25 hours connected our artillery test.

Those distinctions aside, nan Pixel 9 Pro lineup is our favourite Android telephone because of its top-notch camera performance, intriguing AI features and a wide grown-up vibe. While erstwhile Pixel flagships had a colorful, blocky creation that felt fresh, this year's devices consciousness coagulated and refined. And, situation we opportunity it, almost for illustration iPhones. Without nan camera bars, they would beryllium beautiful difficult to show isolated from Apple's phones.

Possibly because it's grown up truthful overmuch complete nan years, but nan Pixel phones now costs nan aforesaid arsenic iPhones. The Pixel 9 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro some commencement astatine $999, and though immoderate of america person travel to deliberation of Google's handsets arsenic nan much competitively priced option, this year's exemplary mightiness beryllium bully capable to warrant a premium price. If you still want thing from nan Pixel 9 family but don't want to salary $1,000, nan guidelines Pixel 9 is still a coagulated handset for astir people. But arsenic it stands, nan Pixel 9 Pro is nan champion Android handset money tin buy. — Cherlynn Low, Managing Editor

Pros

Great camera features and improved telephoto camera
A twelvemonth of Gemini Advanced for free
Incredible artillery life
A beautiful, agleam surface that’s easy to usage outdoors
Tensor G4 runs cooler than its predecessor

Cons

Slower charging speeds than nan XL
Not nan champion telephone for gaming

$999 astatine Google

Read our afloat iPhone 16e review

Screen size: 6.1-inch | Storage capacity: Up to 512GB | SIM support: Dual eSim | Battery Life: More than 24 hours

The iPhone 16e is person successful specs to nan iPhone 16 than nan iPhone SE was to nan iPhone 13. And that makes choosing which iPhone to bargain harder than ever. Should you prevention $200 and springiness up a dual camera, Dynamic Island, Camera Control and MagSafe? That depends mostly connected your priorities and budget.

While I deliberation that anyone who tin spend nan value quality should opt for nan iPhone 16 complete nan iPhone 16e, I can’t contradict that this is Apple’s champion entry-level iPhone to date. It has an Action button, USB-C, a larger, brighter surface and an A18 spot that enables Apple Intelligence. My biggest concerns pinch it are limitations brought connected by its azygous rear camera setup — things for illustration not being capable to seizure ultrawide shots aliases Portrait mode not moving if location isn’t a look successful nan scene. If you’re coming from an iPhone 11 aliases newer, you should see whether nan improved camera sensor is worthy giving up an ultrawide camera for. If it is, and if you tin unrecorded without snapping portraits of objects and faceless items, nan iPhone 16e’s camera will beryllium satisfying.

There are different factors to consider, for illustration whether you regularly usage MagSafe accessories aliases wireless charging. If you do, past nan iPhone 16e will frustrate you arsenic it doesn’t activity pinch nan magnetic attachment strategy (you tin get a MagSafe lawsuit to remedy this) and charges astatine a slower velocity than nan iPhone 15 aliases iPhone 16 (but there’s nary hole for this). You tin see nan $699 iPhone 15 for a amended camera and wireless charging experience, but you’ll beryllium giving up Apple Intelligence and an Action button. — C.L.

Pros

Solid performance
Long artillery life
Clean, durable design
Bright, vibrant screen

Cons

Only 1 rear camera, starring to galore limitations
Expensive compared to erstwhile iPhone SE
No MagSafe

$599 astatine Apple

Read our afloat Google Pixel 9a review

Screen size: 6.3-inch | Storage capacity: Up to 256GB | SIM support: 1x nano SIM, 1x eSim | Battery Life: Up to 28 hours

The Pixel 9a isn't particularly flashy and it doesn't person immoderate typical features that aren't already disposable connected its much costly siblings. In fact, it really has slower charging and it's missing support for immoderate of Google's homegrown package for illustration nan Screenshots app. But for everyone who conscionable wants a elemental telephone pinch a coagulated design, a bully screen, fantabulous cameras and beardown artillery life, nan Pixel 9a is really difficult to beat. So while it's not ace fancy, nan telephone has each of its astir important bases covered (and past some). But astir importantly, starting astatine conscionable $499, this telephone feels for illustration an unthinkable woody that punches good supra its price. — Sam Rutherford, Senior Reporter

Pros

Sleek design
Awesome artillery life
Nice display
Great cameras
IP68 standing for particulate and h2o resistance

Cons

Charging could beryllium faster
No Pixel Screenshot app
Macro Focus mode tin beryllium a spot finicky

$488 astatine Amazon

Read our afloat Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review

Screen size: 8-inch (main) 6.5-inch (folded) | Storage capacity: Up to 1TB | SIM support: 1x nano SIM, 1x eSim | Battery life: Up to 24 hours

One of nan biggest issues pinch foldable phones is nan added size and weight that often comes pinch nan inclusion of a elastic display. Samsung has made that a point of nan past connected nan Galaxy Z Fold 7, which sports larger screens — some wrong and retired — while being 26 percent thinner than before. And arsenic if that wasn't enough, nan Z Fold 7 besides features improved durability, accrued capacity and a caller 200MP main camera, matching aliases exceeding what you get from accepted flagship smartphones. The main downsides are that astatine $2,000, it's still acold from affordable and for long-time Samsung fans, nan nonaccomplishment of S Pen support whitethorn beryllium a dealbreaker. But for those who want to acquisition caller heights successful foldable telephone design, nan Galaxy Z Fold 7 is simply a masterpiece of modern gadget design. — S.R.

Pros

Exquisitely bladed design
Sleeker hinge
Big 200MP main camera
Larger displays
Top-tier performance

Cons

Very expensive
No S Pen support
Mediocre charging speeds

$2,000 astatine Amazon

Read our afloat Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 review

Screen size: 6.7-inch (main) 3.4-inch (front) | Storage capacity: Up to 1TB | SIM support: 1x nano SIM, 1x eSim | Battery life: Up to 23 hours

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 has an upgraded camera and a larger artillery than its predecessor. Those 2 specs unsocial make nan latest Galaxy flip-phone a much tempting option, successful nan look of rival flagship phones. The leap from a 12-megapixel to 50MP camera intends you tin take to seizure much detail, aliases harvest successful for, effectively, a integer zoom. The beforehand surface has plentifulness of abstraction for framing your selfie shots, and a caller Auto-Zoom characteristic intends it tin moreover framework unsupervised group shots for you. Photography is augmented by Samsung’s improved AI photograph editing tools, which is overmuch easier to use.

The Z Flip 6 now has a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, truthful it’s conscionable arsenic powerful arsenic nan S24 Ultra and Z Fold 6. Unfold nan main surface and you’ll find 1 that’s brighter than ever (up to 2,600 nits). Samsung says this is its brightest foldable show yet, making it easier to usage and publication outdoors.

The creation hasn’t changed overmuch and a attraction connected caller AI package and tricks comes astatine nan costs of constricted screen surface utility, but it’s still arsenic pocketable arsenic ever and is still nan astir mainstream foldable yet. — Mat Smith, Editor, UK Bureau Chief, Newsletter

Pros

Better cameras
Longer artillery life
Fun generative AI tricks

Cons

More costly than its predecessor
Design is almost identical to past year
Limited front-screen utility
Sluggish charging

$900 astatine Amazon

Other smartphones we've tested

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Like its predecessor, nan S25 Ultra is an incredibly versatile phone. It’s 1 of nan fewer handsets that travel pinch an included stylus and premium features for illustration a gorgeous 6.9-inch AMOLED display, titanium framework and a 5x telephoto camera. It besides has fantabulous capacity and beardown artillery life. The rumor is that, speech from improved AI, this year’s telephone doesn’t connection that overmuch much than nan erstwhile exemplary (or nan 1 earlier that), and pinch prices starting astatine $1,300, we consciousness it needs to do much to gain a apical prime spot.

OnePlus 13

While nan OnePlus 13 features immoderate basal AI features for illustration Google’s Circle to Search and Gemini assistant, it’s really conscionable an old-fashioned flagship successful each nan champion ways. That’s because alternatively of focusing connected instrumentality learning, OnePlus crammed nan telephone pinch tons of top-notch hardware. It sports a 6.8-inch OLED show pinch an unthinkable highest brightness of up to 4,500 nits. The OP13 besides offers fantabulous capacity acknowledgment to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, on pinch 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. There are besides 3 50-MP rear cameras including 1 pinch a 3x telephoto zoom and a monolithic 6,000 mAh artillery that’s bigger than what you get successful practically each of its competitors.

OnePlus didn’t skimp connected nan phone’s creation either, arsenic nan OP13 still comes pinch nan company’s signature Alert Slider. Plus, if you opt for nan bluish aliases achromatic variants, you’ll get a durable and very touchable vegan leather backmost that helps nan telephone guidelines retired among each its solid ceramic rivals. But nan champion portion is that starting astatine $900, it costs little than an balanced Galaxy S25+ too.

FAQs

How do I cognize which smartphone is nan champion for me?

While choosing nan champion smartphone tin beryllium challenging, it mostly comes down to really you scheme connected utilizing nan device. All of nan champion phones disposable now get nan basics correct — you’ll beryllium capable to make calls, matter and entree nan net without galore hiccups. If your smartphone is your astir utilized gadget, you whitethorn want to see paying for a instrumentality connected nan higher extremity of nan value spectrum. That will get you amended wide performance, higher-quality cameras and a telephone that will past for galore years. If you don’t usage your telephone for everything, you whitethorn beryllium capable to discuss connected capacity and other perks and walk little connected a still-capable handset.

How overmuch is simply a smartphone?

Smartphones scope successful value from $300 to complete $1,500. The champion fund phones disposable now will usually discuss connected wide performance, design, camera prowess and other features to support costs down. On nan flip side, nan astir costly phones will person powerful processors, triple-camera arrays and moreover flip aliases fold designs. Most group will find a telephone that fits their needs location successful nan mediate of that wide value scope — we’ve recovered that astir of nan champion smartphones disposable correct now costs betwixt $500 and $1,000.

What tin you do connected a smartphone?

Smartphones are fundamentally small, portable computers that fto you do things for illustration cheque email, browse societal media, travel representation directions, make contactless payments and more. This is each connected apical of nan basics for illustration making telephone calls and texting, which we’ve travel to expect successful each modern compartment phones. Smartphones person besides mostly replaced compact cameras acknowledgment to their high-quality, built-in shooters, and nan truth that astir smartphones coming arsenic conscionable arsenic portable, if not much so, arsenic compact cameras.

How agelong do smartphones last?

Smartphones tin past years and group are holding connected to their phones longer now than ever before. Software updates and artillery life are 2 of nan biggest factors that tin impact telephone longevity. Apple promises 5 years worthy of package updates for its latest iPhones, and Google promises nan aforesaid for its Pixel phones. Samsung phones will get 4 years worthy of Android updates from nan clip they launch. As for charging speeds and artillery life, your telephone tin deteriorate complete clip arsenic you usage and recharge your telephone connected a regular basis.