Looking for a new smartphone? This site delivers fast, objective comparisons of the world's best handsets — making it easier to decide what to buy. I score each phone across 10 objective categories. In detailed listings I add opinions and observations — always clearly marked as EDITORIAL.
Regardless of individual taste, everyone wants their smartphone to meet some basic requirements. We all want (1) powerful performance that allows for more years of software updates, (2) a full day of battery life, (3) a screen that makes it easy to interact with the phone, (4) reasonable water protection, (5) a good main camera and (6) selfie camera, (7) reliable video recording, and (8) a phone with expandable memory so we're not forced into a monthly cloud subscription.
The average phone is kept for about 3 years — so it is reasonable to expect (9) 4 or more years of OS software and security updates. Finally, to be green and potentially eliminate buying a separate computer, it would be great to have (10) one single device for all our internet, computing, storage and communication needs. Modern phone processors provide incredible computing power — so why not connect your phone to a large screen, keyboard and mouse when you need a computer?
This is not a new idea and real progress has been made. Top Samsung phones come with DeX (Desktop eXperience), turning those phones into a real desktop computer replacement with proper multitasking, resizable windows and file services. DeX can replace a desktop computer for most everyday tasks. Huawei, Honor and Motorola are also offering this feature, and there is a strong expectation that Google will add it to all Android phones in the future. This Desktop Replacement category completes the list of 10 categories I use to evaluate every phone.
Scores are based on published benchmarks, professional reviews, and hands-on testing where available. Pre-test listings (marked ⭐) are scored on reasonable expectations before full test results are available — these are updated once tests are published.
My phone listings are divided into 3 groups based on processor tier. The SUPERIOR and FLAGSHIP phones have flagship processors — significantly more power, capable of handling years of updates, and naturally: a higher price.
The SUPERIOR group includes top phones from the world's best phone makers: Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Honor, Vivo, Oppo, Huawei, and Motorola. You will want one of these phones for their excellence, top performance and many years of updates. In the SUPERIOR group, there is not a single phone you'll regret getting. The difference between them is just in size, battery and camera performance.
The middle group is the FLAGSHIP phones — the best value options that carry some compromises compared to SUPERIOR. Flagship phones have flagship processors, long OS update policies, excellent screens and cameras. Often (but not always) the compromises come with selfie camera and/or video recording quality. They include last year's SUPERIOR phones, and in general: last year's SUPERIOR and FLAGSHIP models are the best choice if you're looking to save money on your next phone.
The third group is the MIDRANGES. Focus on this list if you change phones frequently and are looking to spend the least money in the process. This part of my list includes the best phones with midrange processors, many with excellent screens and cameras. This is also where Google Pixel phones land — because of their weaker processing power and questionable ability to handle 7 years of Android and AI feature updates.
PHONE PRICES are not important in evaluating and comparing phones. Phone price is in fact secondary to a phone's quality — as most of us hold on to our phones longer than a year. If you divide the cost of a flagship phone over 24 months ($1,000 / 24 = $41), you arrive at a monthly number only slightly higher than a decent midrange phone ($500 / 24 = $20). The difference of one or two good meals is nothing compared to having a faster device with a better screen that records your memories much better and — hopefully — eliminates battery anxiety too. The price difference is so unimportant that you should consider a great midrange phone only as a luxury that allows you to change phones more often.
No phone maker pays for placement, review, or any form of promotion. Most of my listings include an EDITORIAL section as well as lists of PROs and CONs. While my ratings are purely based on numbers and facts, every EDITORIAL is only my opinion and advice. I receive no compensation from phone makers or marketers — all of my work is done in good faith, with a genuine desire to save you time and money. Yes, I know it sounds idealistic — but so am I.
It is okay if you don't agree with my opinion or recommendation. If you're bothered by either, please use other websites for your research. I promise I won't mind. If you think I made an error though, please use the form at the bottom of this page to point me to it.
I list the scored points in a score string below each phone's name, always following the same order. For example: the Main Camera score is always the 5th number, preceded by IP Protection and followed by the Selfie camera score, and so on.
This is what Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max's score string looks like:
It tells us the phone has top scores in 4 out of 10 categories: Performance: 13 (for last year's top flagship processor), Main Camera: 14 (for last model's top camera score), Selfie: 5 (this score does not degrade after an upgrade model is released) and Video: 5 (same as Selfie — stays the same after an upgrade model is released). It also shows 0 scores for Expandable Memory and Desktop Replacement — as usual for any iPhone. Battery at 10/15 means a solid full day but not more. Software scores 5/5 for Apple's stable iOS and the long update promise.
The first 5 categories score up to 15 points each. The second 5 score up to 5 points each. Maximum total: 100 points.
| # | Category | Max |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Performance | 15 |
| 2 | Battery | 15 |
| 3 | Screen | 15 |
| 4 | IP Protection | 15 |
| 5 | Main Camera | 15 |
| 6 | Selfie Camera | 5 |
| 7 | Video Recording | 5 |
| 8 | Expandable Memory | 5 |
| 9 | Software | 5 |
| 10 | Desktop Replacement | 5 |
The Performance score combines a phone's CPU raw power and the memory it uses. The processor contributes up to 10 points and memory adds up to 5. Performance is a key factor in how long you can keep and upgrade your phone — with a midrange processor, performance will noticeably degrade after a few major OS updates.
My Battery score combines endurance (how long it takes to bring a 100% full battery to 0% under moderate to heavy use) and charging speed (in minutes). Endurance is the more valuable component — no one likes topping up constantly, while charging overnight is easy. So endurance contributes up to 12 points and charging adds up to 3.
Worth noting: small batteries degrade much faster when fully topped up and fully emptied daily. All batteries last and perform better when they rarely drop below 20% and spend minimal time at 100%.
A smartphone screen needs to be bright enough to be used in sunny conditions, sharp enough to appear crisp, and have a fast enough refresh rate to keep scrolling smooth and comfortable. My Screen score uses these 3 components, each adding up to 5 points for a maximum of 15.
I combine the IP (ingress protection) rating with the US Military impact protection standard to arrive at a maximum IP Protection score of 15. In reality, the vast majority of phones offer only IP protection — which is good enough for most people.
Quality and consistency of back cameras in light and dark conditions, across wide, ultrawide and telephoto lenses. When a phone lacks one of them, not even the best shooter can compete with an excellent camera system that has all three. My scoring focuses on quality of photos, not on hardware.
This is often where SUPERIOR phones differ — they come with AF or even PDAF selfie cameras that produce superior selfie photos. With foldable phones (which allow their main cameras to be used for selfies) this score reflects the quality of main camera pictures — usually a 5.
Video recording is evaluated in day and night conditions across main and selfie cameras. As with Main Camera and Selfie scoring, I look at the quality considering combined hardware and software output.
Since phone makers started pushing cloud services, memory expansion slots have nearly vanished. This feature deserves attention — not just for avoiding monthly subscriptions, but for when signal is poor, data roaming is expensive, or your phone is full and you can't record another video.
All phones can accomplish basic tasks, but Software creates a big difference in our experience when it doesn't work as expected. With the Software category I grade phones according to their stability and years of OS (operating system) updates. Extra features like the level of AI integration are not included in this evaluation but I do mention them in EDITORIAL sections.
Samsung's DeX (Desktop eXperience), introduced in 2017, lets you connect your phone to a screen, keyboard and mouse for a real desktop experience with multi-tasking, resizable windows and file services. Huawei, Honor and Motorola have followed. One day all phones should do this.
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