The best smartphone can really help you out in a pinch . It not only allows you to make and receive vociferation and check messages , but depending on the sound you opt for , it can also duplicate up as a capable camera , a portable gambling car , and even an AI - powered supporter .
The challenge is that plenty of smartphones are vying for your attention , all claim to have the practiced compounding of specs and innovation for the money – but not everything is worth your hard - bring in cash .
That ’s where we at Trusted Reviews come in ; we constantly review the up-to-the-minute smartphones , from budget blower like theMotorola Edge 50 Fusionto top - closing flagships like theiPhone 16 Pro MaxandSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra .
With our rigorous testing cognitive operation , which include both semisynthetic benchmark and material - public examination , we ensure that the phones we urge have the good cameras , best battery aliveness , just performance , and exceptional value for money .
As such , our hand - picked survival of the very good smartphones that money can corrupt in 2025 is comprised of smartphones that have achieved a four - star rating or in high spirits .
We ’ve also include a variety of options , whether you want a satisfying all - rounder , a camera phone , or something a footling cheaper , to make it even easier to determine which is best for your motive . There ’s no point in splosh out on theXiaomi 15 Ultraif you ’re not a liberal photography buff , after all !
We have also curated other best listing if you ’re looking for something a trivial more specific . Ourbest photographic camera phoneround - up focus on a machine ’s photographic and videography skills and ourbest gambling phonelist focuses on those that excel at on - the - go gaming .
And if you ’re more implicated about price , then control out ourbest cheap phoneandbest mid - range phone lists , which focus only on more low-cost options and on that note , we now have a bestSIM only dealsarticle .
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Learn more about how we test mobile phones
Every headphone included in the below list has been by rights screen and used for an extensive period by one of our intersection experts . We do n’t retrospect phones base strictly on glasses or a manufacturing business ’s claim – we apply them as our workaday devices for at least five days and commonly for much longer .
If you read a phone review on Trusted Reviews , you ’ll bonk the reviewer has bolt down their personal SIM card into the telephone , transfer across their most - used apps and even their backlog of WhatsApp messages . We go all in , so you lie with you ’re scram an reliable view of a intersection .
Our review process admit a mixture of real - domain trial , along with more than 15 measured tests and industry - standard bench mark . We conceive this gives the most rounded view of a gadget . The loads a headphone receive from a run under our professional colourimeters are n’t deserving much if the blind ca n’t be used well on a sunny day .
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Pros
Cons
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
Oppo Find X8 Pro
Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition
Motorola Razr 50 Ultra
Honor Magic V3
Google Pixel 9a
Motorola Edge 50 Fusion
Trusted Score
bury just being a corking Android phone , there are enough bells and whistles in theSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultrato make even thebest iPhonesjealous . This is a creature of a smartphone , and while its starting price of £ 1249/£1299 does make it quite an investment compare to the competition , if you do want the sound out there then this is it .
Admittedly , the overall amount of upgrade compared to theGalaxy S24 Ultraare relatively belittled , so if you presently own that phone ( or even theGalaxy S23 Ultra ) then Samsung ’s latest flagship might not warrant an immediate swap . However , one key alteration that is welcome is the bump to a 50MP ultrawide lens .
sit alongside the three other rear - facing lenses , this newfangled and improved ultrawide offers up more detailed landscape scene , have them appear more center - catching and less washed out than before . Of course , those other sensors are still firing on all cylinders as the S25 Ultra excels in everything from rapid climb photography to close - up portraiture .
The bezel have also been shaved down to make the projection screen somewhat larger at 6.9 - inches . This have Samsung ’s Ultra phone well than ever for streaming films on the go or featherbed in a spot of gambling , as the screen thread you in with slap-up effect .
The inclusion of the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy micro chip brings about a huge rise of office too , including new Galaxy AI features such as Now Brief which can analyze your day and give you central scrap of contextual info when the AI experience you ’ll gain from it the most .
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If you ’re looking for a true flagship earphone and have settled on Io as your operating system of choice , you ’re going to be looking at theiPhone 16 Pro Max – the currentbest iPhoneon the market .
Though it may not see all that unlike to its predecessor , the iPhone 16 Pro Max comes with a host of small , yet meaningful upgrades . The 6.7 - column inch 120Hz OLED concealment has increase to a whopping 6.9 column inch , though without much of an expansion of the overall footprint thanks to much slimmer bezel . Seriously , this matter has some of the slimmest filmdom bezel on the securities industry .
Not content with the customisable Action Button , the iPhone 16 Pro Max also feature a Camera Control button with a touch - sensitive surface that lets you purloin to rapid climb , change modality and more , as well as take the actual photo . However , the idea is better than the execution , with a less - than - ideal placement of the release that makes using it awkward .
It ’s also impressively herculean with the A18 Pro chipset at its heart , bear benchmarks that flap every unmarried other smartphone in our chart , making it the most powerful smartphone around decently now – and that ’s reflected in everyday performance .
The A18 Pro also power the Modern Apple Intelligence functionality , but none of the killer AI features are usable just yet , and the functionality is also limited to US owners right now – so do n’t be dissipate by Apple ’s worldwide AI merchandising push .
Throw in firm photographic camera performance with a new 48MP ultrawide alongside the returning 48MP main and 12MP 5x telephoto lens system and true all - day battery life sentence and you ’ve aim the good iPhone to date .
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TheGoogle Pixel 9 Pro XLis a wondrous Android phone that , even with a price ascension for a second yr , still undercuts competition like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra when it comes to price while offering a comparable experience .
Google ’s tardy flagship , plunge alongside the new compact Pixel 9 Pro and regular Pixel 9 , tick just about all the boxes our reviewers front for in a phone that ends up on this lean . It has a great 6.7 - inch Super Actua screen with a smooth adaptive 120Hz refresh charge per unit and impressive max cleverness that makes it easy to utilize in daylight , go with by a refreshed figure with categorical bound , rounded corners and even a redesigned photographic camera lodging that pee it wait slick .
But the biggest reason to opt for the Pixel 9 Pro XL is the tv camera performance . Our referee was very impressed with the photography skills of this phone , praising its dead on target - to - life skin tones , colours and crisp nature of images . It handle skin and pictures of face better than the iPhone 16 Pro , or Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra , and delivers a better - quality digital soar too .
That ’s thanks to Google ’s usual suite of photo - centre AI tools and functions like Super Res Zoom and Magic Eraser , but it goes so much further than that .
Using the latest Tensor G4 , the Pixel 9 Pro XL can run Google Gemini on - equipment for a faster , more antiphonal experience , and it boasts several key new features like the ability to search for message in screenshots , get images , summarise calls ( in the US , anyway ) and much more . It really does permeate the entire OS , offering a more holistic approach to AI than much of the competition .
But while it powers the upgraded AI experience , the Tensor G4 is n’t quite as equal to as the compete Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and that mean the telephone can get pretty toasty when gambling . Still , it ’s power efficient enough to deliver hearty all - day battery life without clamber for a charger by the evening .
Oh , and did we name that it ’ll get seven days of atomic number 76 climb too ? Because it will .
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For a good while it was theOppo Find X8 Prothat held this patch , and while that phone does still surpass in the assault and battery department , it ’s theOnePlus 13that truly floored us in testing . On the Earth’s surface , the phone ’s 6000mAh cell is already impressive , peculiarly at a time when assault and battery sizes are decreasing amidst some flagship phones , but it ’s the carrying out of that cell that really hits home .
In our testing period with the OnePlus 13 , we truly struggled to run through the battery wholly over the course of study of an intensive day of manipulation . Just for context , half an hour spend playing Mario Kart Tour resulted in a battery drop cloth of only 4 % .
What this mean is that if you ’re a heavy smartphone user who still wants some succus left in the tank by the remainder of the day , or you ’re the type of person who wants to see their telephone last into a 2d twenty-four hours under temperate use then the OnePlus 13 has you covered .
fortunately , this headphone is n’t a one - trick pony either as beyond the outstanding stamp battery spirit , there are gobs of other feature to value admit a versatile camera band - up that ’ll have you prepared for almost any lighting scenario , as well as unlikely operation that comes courtesy of the Snapdragon 8 Elite .
The 6.82 - inch AMOLED display is also a joy to use , still have that same OnePlus look where the sides hang over the edges for a wonderful sense of dousing . It does n’t necessarily outdo theOnePlus 12by a wide margin , but the OnePlus 13 is still a great phone overall .
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If you require the best possible headphone for playing games on the go , our top recommendation is theAsus ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition .
functioning is a top priority for gamers , which is why Asus has gone all - out with the Snapdragon 8 Elite and a whopping 24 GB of RAM . Combined with Asus ’ proprietary inner cooling technical school and the optional cooler that flog to your phone , the ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition delivered consistently hearty carrying out even in high - oddment demanding mobile games like Genshin Impact .
It ’s the play - specific features that really stand out though , with the AirTriggers allowing you to use and hold the phone like a gamepad , while the Armoury Crate software allow you to display the frame rate and optimise public presentation configurations . Honestly , there ’s a bevvy of optional accessories for the telephone to customize the experience to your liking .
Like its predecessor , the ROG Phone 9 Pro does n’t really seem like a gambling phone – though the telling augury are there if you really look . The light-emitting diode - power AniMe Vision screen is back , though with a massive increase to the LEDs taking the total up to 648 LEDs , allowing it to display graphics , textual matter and even stamp battery level via the back of the phone . Elsewhere , though , it ’s very tone - down for a gambling phone , something that ’ll likely invoke to more casual mobile gamers .
We also apprize the slimline bezels on offer from the gaming phone , and the camera public presentation is n’t horrific for a play phone even if it pales in comparison to the likes of the Galaxy S24 Ultra , helping it warrant that top - remainder price shred .
That said , costing well over £ 1000/$1000 , this is a gravely expensive telephone . Those who need a more versatile phone may need to appear elsewhere , as the tv camera quality is still behind that of the competitor . But if you fancy a gaming speech sound that does n’t depend like a gambling phone , there is no better choice than the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro Edition .
While the Z Flip from Samsung can be learn as the pioneer of the advanced insolent phone , theZ Flip 5isn’t the very well phone we ’ve tested with this innovation . In fact , the best clamshell foldaway we ’ve reviewed is theMotorola Razr 50 Ultra .
While theRazr 40 Ultrawas impressive enough , the Razr 50 Ultra takes things to the next level . That ’s chiefly down to its screen display , which has expand to a whopping 4 inch , learn up much the full front gore . it ’s not just size though ; the Razr ’s covering screen permit you to do more than the competition , from afford any app on your phone to accessing Google Gemini from the cover concealment .
Motorola has also ditch the ultrawide lens of the eye for a 2x telephotograph lens , sporting the same 50MP firmness as the raise main photographic camera . Both deliver impressive results , both in well - lit and low - lighter conditions , with decent 4x digital rapid growth capability too .
There ’s also a boost in execution , up to the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 , and it ships with 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of repositing as touchstone , make its £ 999/$999 price tag all the more tempting .
Sure , it ’s not the most knock-down foldable , and its promise of 3 O upgrades and 4 days of security patches is n’t the good ever , but we think the experience , on the whole , is among the best you ’ll find on the foldaway market .
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If you ’re on the market for a Word of God - style foldable that ’s not thick and heavy , the impossibly thinHonor Magic V3is the one to go for . It measures 9.2 millimetre thick when folded , seduce it thinner than the 12.1mmSamsung Galaxy Z Fold 6and some regular candybar sound . And , matter just 226 one thousand , it ’s easy than the Galaxy S24 Ultra .
But if you opine this was only a thin foldable with no heart and soul , you ’d be wrong . Honor has thrown the kitchen cesspool at this thing , boasting a fully - specced out 6.34 - inch OLED cover screenland that sports flagship technical school including a 120Hz LTPO refresh pace and 5000nits peak light , and that ’s matched by the 7.92 - column inch inner display too . What ’s more , Honor has made expectant step in reducing the flexure of the screen , down to just 78um . For circumstance , the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a astuteness of 217um .
There ’s also a solid television camera offering comprise of a 50MP main , 50MP 3.5x periscope genus Lens and 40MP ultrawide that , while not truly in the league of the best camera around , does pretty well for a foldable . It ’s also powerful with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 , and with a 5150mAh battery , it has no trouble lasting all sidereal day on a exclusive care .
The only impuissance is Honor ’s MagicOS . While it ’s good enough for day - to - day use , it miss the delicacy of other foldables like theOnePlus Openand its sorcerous Canvas multitasking software and the telling AI of the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold , with Honor ’s intent - base Magic Portal really only handy for corner use - cases .
If your budget does n’t quite pass as far as flagships like theSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra , the budget - focusedGoogle Pixel 9acould be what you ’re bet for .
feature a uninfected , understated design with flat edges and no camera ginmill that sort itself from the flagship Pixel equivalent for the first prison term , the 9a is a compendious 6.3 - inch smartphone that looks and feels like a flagship .
That flagship look is backed up by flagship performance in the kind of the Tensor G4 , also found in the Pixel 9 aggregation . While Google ’s SoC is n’t as performance - focussed as alternatives from Qualcomm and co , it offer responsive , snappy , unremarkable performance while also power some pretty impressive AI features .
It ’s this focus on AI , combined with Google ’s Malcolm stock approach to Android 15 , that gives the Pixel 9a its charm . It can do most things that the top - end Pixel flagship can , include the novel Add Me functionality , with only a few recession features undivided to the flagship equivalent .
It also make the Pixel flagship ’s seven - twelvemonth OS upgrade promise , almost unheard of in the mid - range market .
photographic camera execution continue to be a highlight for Google ’s mid - ranger , with a new 48MP main camera that can easy outshine similarly priced phones like theSamsung Galaxy A56 5G. The lack of a telephoto does endanger Google ’s say-so , but the digital Super Res Zoom still does the trick up to the 10x mark .
barrage fire life is also excellent , not just for the ‘ a ’ series but for Pixels in cosmopolitan , with a magnanimous 5100mAh cell easily getting our referee through the twenty-four hours without scrambling for a battery charger – and that ’s not always a given with Pixels .
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If your budget does n’t quite extend to the heights of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max , the £ 349Motorola Edge 50 Fusionshould be one for serious consideration . Do n’t let the budget nature fool you though ; this is very much a equal to phone that punches above its exercising weight class in many respects .
mensurate 7.9 mm compact and 175 gravitational constant , it ’s a pleasure to hold and use , further complement by a either vegan leather rear or silky plastic finish depending on the colour option you go for , of which there are three colourful options .
That ’s further improved by premium features like full IP68 detritus and body of water resistance and a 6.7 - in curved OLED panel with a 144Hz refresh pace that ’s quicker than most flagship . That makes the Neo particularly well suited to gaming , especially when paired with the nipping Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 and up to 12 GB of RAM that allows it to compete with mid - rangers that cost £ 200 more .
Despite its slight attribute , Motorola has packed a 5000mAh battery into the phone that does n’t struggle to last a full day , and with 68W charging and a 68W charger in the corner , you ’ll get 44 % charge in 15 minutes and 75 % in 30 minutes . That easily beats the like of the Pixel 9 Pro XL , iPhone 16 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in the charging department .
There ’s also a 50MP principal camera and 13MP ultrawide television camera that performs middling well in both well - lit and crushed - light scenario , and broth Android 14 is a nice touch too . Seriously , what ’s not to like ?
FAQs
Most of the phones included within this list boast a high refresh pace display , either at 90Hz or 120Hz . This means the display refreshes at either 90 or 120 times per second , up from the older criterion of 60Hz . Having a fast display piddle everything feel a bit smoother , be it swiping through Instagram or gaming . The iPhone 16 with its 60Hz display , for example , simply ca n’t compare to the smooth scrolling you ’ll get from the 120Hz iPhone 16 Pro .
Most novel phones , peculiarly those over £ 400/$400 , will now support 5G. This is the next step up from 4 G , and provides fast and more dependable download velocity in areas where the web is live . 5 gram varies by land , with the USA tout a technical school called mmWave that has far superscript swiftness if you ’re in the right spot . While 5 thou is n’t a must - have yet , it ’s always good to futureproof your purchase and as most new speech sound come with the tech now you likely wo n’t miss out .
There are excellent phones at all cost points these days , with the honest often be above a 1000 if you need the very good . If you are n’t so fussed about thing like camera execution and display quality you may get an excellent gadget for £ 500/$600 .
Test Data
Full Specs
