Smartphone is your most important possession –
it makes you productive and efficient, allows you access to the world. Do you have the phone you should have? This website answers that question.
I rate phones – I don’t review them. Rating is measuring and comparing values while reviewing is expressing one’s opinion. I will spare you my opinions except where fully flagged with an EDITORIAL: badge. I rank each phone based on 10 categories – things that we all want and value in a smartphone. For details on how I rate each phone and to contact me, please visit the About page > .
RECENTLY ADDED phones…
Here are the new phones on the list. Click on phone’s name to see it’s ranking, features and scores:
Google Pixel 10 Pro > , Vivo V60 > , Motorola G86 > , OnePlus Nord 5 > , Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 > , Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 > , Nothing Phone (3) > , Honor Magic V5 > , Xiaomi 15S Pro > , Vivo X200 FE > , Fairphone (2025) > , Oppo Reno 14 Pro > , Oppo Reno 14 > , Xiaomi Poco F7 > , Huawei Pura 80 Pro > , Huawei Pura 80 Pro+ > , ZTE Nubia Redmagic 10s Pro > , Motorola RAZR 60 > , Huawei Pura 80 Ultra > , OnePlus 13s >
What do the numbers mean?…
Here is the Samsung S25 Ultra’s score string:
15+8+13+12+15+5+5+0+5+5 = 83
This string of 10 numbers separated by plus signs shows the score for each of the 10 categories I use to evaluate a phone. The maximum possible score is 100 points. The bigger number is always better. Here are the categories (with number of maximum points in parentheses):
1st: Performance (15) 2nd: Battery (15) 3rd: Screen (15) 4th: Ingress protection (15) and 5th: Main camera (15)
6th: Selfie camera (5) 7th: Video recording (5) 8th: SD memory (5) 9th: Software (5) and 10th: Desktop replacement (5)
To see how I rate each category, please visit the About page > .
The score string allows you to quickly compare phones. For example, to compare Battery and the quality of Main camera photos of two phones, you will compare 2nd and 5th numbers in their score strings.
Phones also score BADGES to underline important features:
FOLD badge after phone’s name indicates a “fold” type of foldable phone with a hinge running on the long edge of it’s body.
FLIP badge after phone’s name indicates a “flip” type foldable phone – a hinge along the short side of it’s body.
* BEST badge indicates the BEST – better than all others and it is given to the Top scoring phone of the season. It is also assigned to a phone consistently judged as the best in a single category. Only a few phones hold the BEST badge in a single category:
• Battery: OnePlus 12, (Oppo) Realme GT 5 Pro and (Oppo) Realme GT 6 Pro got the BEST Battery badge for their battery endurance combined with the top charging speed (0 to 100% in less than 30 minutes).
• Screen: Samsung S25 Ultra
• Protection: Motorola Thinkphone 25 and Ulefone Armor Mini 20T Pro for adding Military grade drop and element protection to already maximum water and dust resistance.
• Main camera: Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
• Video recording: iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max
* TOP badge goes to the phone with maximum points in a category (i.e. Battery) or a subcategory (i.e. Battery endurance). In the “TOP Battery endurance” case, it marks a phone with a “more than a full day of battery life” (12 or more points at the 2nd position in the score string)
* TOP PHOTO/VIDEO badge is given to a phone with maximum scores in all three camera categories (the 5th, 6th and 7th number in the score string)
* BEST Midranger badge is given to the best scoring phone with a midrange processor like SD 7 (or lower) series or a Mediatec Dimensity 8xxx series or lower. Midrange phone score string will start with a number 9 or less indicating it’s processor performance
* TOP Midranger badge is given to top scoring midrange phones
★ star is added to the listing that displays expected (but not yet confirmed) test results. I will add and update these phones to give you more options to consider when making your purchasing plans.
100 BEST PHONES in the world:
follow below. This list features all of the best phones, globally. Updated daily, here you’ll find ratings and rankings based only on numbers. The list is sorted by each phone’s total points. When two phones share the same score, the more recent one is placed above. If the total score and the release date are the same, the narower phone (easier to use and more difficult to make) ends up on top.
Every phone’s listing includes: ranking and name, phone’s width, release month and the score string showing value for each of the 10 categories and the total. For phones that don’t have the usual 4 cameras (a selfie plus main, zoom and ultrawide lense), I will add a number of lenses next to the release date.
Phone size has no bearing on it’s total score. But in case you prefer typing by swipe and like to use your phone with just one hand – below each phone’s name, you will find it’s width in millimeters. It conveniently lives right below phone’s name and will help you quickly focus on phones that best fit your hand size. To comfortably use a phone with one hand, phone’s width should be equal or less then the length of your pinky finger.
EDITORIAL: my 100 BEST phones list is divided into 3 sections: the SUPERIOR group, EXCELLENT phones list and a GREAT phones list – after all, these all are the best phones in the world. This grouping follows how makers and marketers pitch the top end , flagship and midrange phones but I reserve the “flagship” and “midrange” adjectives for CPU chip classification.
1 – 15: the SUPERIOR phone group
you won’t regret getting any one of these phones. You could even consider yourself lucky to get your first choice as many of them are not universally available. The biggest difference between them is in size and price. Battery and cameras will vary to some degree but none of these phones will disappoint you in a day-to-day use (altho Galaxy phones in this segment will run out of battery faster than others). Here are the best flagship phones in the world…
76.8 mm / Apr 2025
15+14+15+12+15+5+5+0+5+0 = 86
77.6 mm / Sep 2024
15+12+13+12+15+5+5+0+5+0 = 82
16 – 55: the EXCELLENT group
EDITORIAL: below are the phones with flagship processors and performance (and more years of use that comes along) with some of the top midrange chip phones sprinkled in. These are all excellent devices that will bring you more value and better experience compared to the GREAT phones group that follows them. All of these phones are great options if you’re looking for years of good performance, great build, good screen, reliable cameras and long software support at a lower price then phones in the SUPERIOR phone group.
FLAGSHIP vs the MIDRANGE adjectives create some confusion but are the current industry jargon for different hardware and price points. On this site, a flagship phone has a top tier (flagship) processor (currently Apple’s A18, SnapDragon 8 Elite, Mediatec 94xx series or the new Xiaomi XRing 01). Midrange phones have processors that are considerably less powerful. Having a high-end chip pushes the price up but provides much more processing power so it is safer to expect they will remain fast after more years of additional software updates.
Use the score string below each phones name to easily compare any two listings on my site. The string shows scores for: (1) Performance + (2) Battery + (3) Screen + (4) Protection + (5) Main camera + (6) Selfie + (7) Video recording + (8) Expandable memory + (9) Software + (10) Desktop replacement software. The first 5 categories can each have a maximum of 15 points and the second 5 can only go up to 5 points each (for a maximum possible total of 100 points). To see what points mean, please visit my ABOUT page > .
79 mm / Jan 2024
13+6+15+12+12+5+5+0+5+5 = 78
76.7 mm / Sep 2023
13+12+13+12+12+5+5+0+5+0 = 77
78.1 mm / Feb 2023
11+8+13+12+12+5+5+0+5+5 = 76
77.6 mm / Sep 2022
11+12+13+12+12+5+5+0+5+0 = 75
73 mm / Apr 2025 / 3 lenses
3+14+13+15+9+3+4+5+3+3 = 72
56 – 100: the GREAT group
EDITORIAL: I divide the TOP 100 phones into SUPERIOR, EXCELLENT and the GREAT group to give you a better sense of different types of phones and customers they target. As mentioned before: on this site, all flagship phones have flagship processors and midrange phones do not.
The bottom 44% of world’s TOP 100 PHONES has many excellent choices too. This is a group to focus on, if (like the many of us) you are looking to spend as little money on a phone as you can. There are many flagships in this group, phones over a year old that are now underpriced but can be used for another 3+ years. But overall, all of the phones in the GREAT phone part of the list offer lower performance and less years of updates than phones landing above.
Please consider that these phones offer less value then the phones in the first two groups (SUPERIOR and EXCELLENT). This is because the lower price will bring you lower quality components (processor speed, screen clarity, battery and camera performance) you will have to live with every day you have this phone. When divided over 30 months of use, the price difference between a $800 and a $400 phone is only $13 per month – a price of just one or two meals. You will do better to consider getting the best phone you could get and maybe holding onto it longer if your main concern is the price.
Use the score string to easily compare any two phones in my list. The string shows scores for: Performance + Battery + Screen + Protection + Main camera + Selfie + Video recording + Expandable memory + Software + Desktop replacement. The first 5 numbers carry a Max score of 15 points each and the second 5 numbers can only go to 5 points each.
101… : Phones outside the TOP 100…
As lowest scoring phones lose their spots in the TOP 100 list, they are moved here…