The first new devices of 2025 have found their way into our test lab, which means its time to revise our picks for the best phones you can buy right now.
1. iPhone 16 Pro Max: Best overall
2. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Best Samsung phone
3. Pixel 9 Pro: Smartest phone
4. Pixel 8a: Best under $500
5. OnePlus 13: Best Android flagship value
6. iPhone 16: Best iPhone value
7. Galaxy S24 FE: Affordable AI
8.. OnePlus Open: Best foldable
9. Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: Battery champ
The OnePlus 13 is the first new phone of the year that we've had a chance to test, but it won't be the last. We're also looking at the midrange OnePlus 13R, which offers many of the flagship phone's features but at a lower price. And on January 22, Samsung holds its latest Galaxy Unpacked event, where we expect the Galaxy S25 lineup to make its debut. That figures to cause a major shake-up among the leading smartphones.
Until those new models arrive, though, there are still plenty of great options out there, highlighted by Apple's latest iPhones. The best of the bunch — and the best phone overall — is the iPhone 16 Pro Max, thanks to its epic battery life, superior cameras and expansive screen. But if you don't want to pay top dollar, the iPhone 16 is also a good choice, while also supporting the same Apple Intelligence features you'll find on the more expensive Pro phones from Apple.
Android users have strong choices to, even if you're wary of buying the Galaxy S24 Ultra ahead of the Galaxy S25 Ultra launch. Google has a pair of phones — the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 8a — that have excellent camera features and offer some of the smartest AI features found on mobile devices.
I've reviewed many of these phones first-hand, with the rest of the phones team at Tom's Guide adding their thoughts and insights for an in-depth look at which devices you should consider. Between every one of our phone reviewers, we've got more than four decades of experience evaluating phones from every possible angle.
Our best phone picks are based on our lab tests and real-world use of each phone we get our hands on. Here are the 10 phones you should consider if you're looking to get a new handset right now.
I'm the managing editor for mobile at Tom's Guide, where I've been working since 2015. In total, I've covered technology for 25 years now — I was even there when Steve Jobs showed off the original iPhone back in 2007. I've been looking at and testing phones since that day, and if you visit my Northern California home, you can marvel at the stacks of phones I keep handy for head-to-head testing.
The best phone overall
The iPhone 16 Pro Max holds down the top spot among the best phones based on the impressive results it produced when my colleagues and I got the chance to test its display, processing power and — especially — its cameras. The new phone offers a bigger screen (without increasing its overall size too much from the iPhone 15 Pro), an upgraded ultrawide camera and a faster processor. Even better, the first Apple Intelligence features are now available, with more to come in subsequent iOS updates for the next few months.
You won't have to ditch your iPhone 15 Pro Max if you upgraded a year ago, and anyone worried about missing out on the first round of Apple Intelligence features should relax. While a good first step, Apple Intelligence is more of a nice-to-have than a must-have at this point. That said, there are plenty of compelling reasons to upgrade to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, particularly if you've got an iPhone that's at least a couple years old.
Price and value: While this model commands the same $1,199 cost as its predecessor, a larger 6.9-inch screen and bigger battery means you're getting more for your money. That particularly true in light of the $100 price hike Samsung gave to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which means Apple's top device remains the less expensive option. "Less expensive" is relative, though, as the $1,199 starting price is a lot for some people to pay.
Camera performance: iPhones live and die by their cameras, and the telephoto lens on the iPhone 16 Pro Max offers some notable improvements to both its main camera and its ultrawide lens. These complement the 5x telephoto lens that returns from the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Because the iPhone 16 Pro features the same camera setup for $200 less, we rank that phone as the best camera phone overall, but you won't be disappointed with what the iPhone 16 Pro Max cameras produce. We've even put it through a 200 photo face-off against the Galaxy S24 Ultra to crown an undisputed champion, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max came out on top on the strength of its superior dynamic range and low-light shooting capabilities.
Battery and charging: The battery on the iPhone 16 Pro Max lasts more than 17.5 hours on our battery test, where we have a phone surf the web until its battery gives out. The average phone barely makes it past 10 hours, but the iPhone 16 Pro Max was just getting warmed up at that point. No other iPhone has ever lasted that long, with the iPhone 16 Plus coming the closest with an average result of around 16.5 hours. If only the phone could charge quickly, but at least MagSafe charging is improved to 25W speed.
Overall performance: Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip dishes up heated competition, but the A18 Pro chipset powering the iPhone 16 Pro Max turns out to be a very fast chip, topping the Snapdragon silicon in speed testing and tasks like video encoding. (Samsung's Galaxy S24 phones did turn in better scores with higher frame rates in graphics testing.). We noticed the extra oomph when using the iPhone 16 Pro Max to perform everyday tasks and switch between apps. When we used the iPhone 16 Pro Max to transcode a video, the task took half as long as it did on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Verdict: The iPhone 16 Pro Max wins top marks for design, photography and performance. Charging speed and digital zoom features could be further refined, and it's very expensive relative to some of the other phones on this list, but you definitely get a lot of power and polish for your money.
Read the full review: iPhone 16 Pro Max
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | This is the most expensive iPhone Apple sells. You can save $200 with the iPhone 16 Pro, if you don't mind the smaller screen and less battery life. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Cameras | The iPhone 16 Pro Max is one of the best camera phones we've tested, though both the Pix9 Galaxy S24 Ultra beat it on zoomed shots. | ★★★★☆ |
| Power | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered phones may have caught up to Apple's silicon, but the A18 Pro continues to be a top performer, particularly when it comes to overall speed and daily tasks. | ★★★★★ |
| Battery life | You won't need to charge your phone up during the day. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the second longest-lasting iPhone we've ever tested, finishing ahead of the iPhone 16 Plus. | ★★★★★ |
More on the iPhone 16 Pro Max
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Best Samsung phone
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is about to exit stage-left, but until the Galaxy S25 Ultra arrives to replace it, this is the phone that delivers a peak Android experience. When my colleague Mark Spoonauer tested this phone last year, he was blown away by the S24 Ultra's upgraded processor, brighter display and camera improvements. But the real star of the show here is Galaxy AI, as Samsung has successfully tapped into artificial intelligence to handle tasks like translation, transcription and summaries.
Galaxy AI may be Samsung's first attempt at putting AI front and center, but features like Circle to Search and notes auto-formatting already felt very polished when I put them to the test on other S24 models. And more importantly, Samsung integrated its AI improvements into things you're already using your phone for, like photo editing, searching and writing messages. You don't have to learn new skills to get the most out of Galaxy AI.
Price and Value: Though its price went up up by $100 over the previous generation, you still get what you pay for with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and it's possible that the best Galaxy S24 Ultra deals. will whittle down that price as the Galaxy S25 Ultra launch gets closer.
Even at full price, Samsung's offer of seven years of software and security updates mean that you'll be able to hold onto the Ultra as long as you want. That said, Samsung can be slow with updates, as the One UI 7 interface incorporating Android 15 only arrived as a beta last month. The full version should launch with the Galaxy S25, which is four months after Android 15 first arrived.
Camera performance: Swapping out a 10MP telephoto lens with a 10x zoom for a 50MP shooter with a 5x zoom has felt like a step back to me, even though the new telephoto sensor offers higher resolution. (At least you can still enjoy 10x zooms by cropping down those 50MP shots. And the 100x Space Zoom feature is as impressive as before.) Even though I'm not a fan of the change, the Galaxy S24 Ultra remains a top camera phone, with a better handle on color than previous Samsung flagships. My colleague John Velasco compared 200 photos shot by the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S23 Ultra to gauge the camera improvements, and though they were slight year over year, you can see better color and more consistent quality in the S24 Ultra shots. Only the iPhone's superior low-light performance keeps the S24 Ultra out of the top spot for camera phones in my opinion.
Battery and charging: The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 powering the Galaxy S24 Ultra is very efficient, helping the S24 Ultra last for 16 hours and 45 minutes on our battery test, That's only 50 minutes behind the iPhone 16 Pro Max's impressive average. Wired charging speeds remain at 45W, which is good but slower than the OnePlus 12 and its 80W charging speeds.
Overall performance: In addition to its power management features, that Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 silicon inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra delivers stellar performance — enough to beat last year's iPhone 15 Pro models in some tests, particularly when it comes to graphics. And now that the iPhone 16 Pro models are out with A18 Pro silicon, Samsung's phone still tops them in graphics testing, though the iPhone proved to be the faster speed demon overall.
Unlike other S24 models, which use different chipsets depending on their region, every Galaxy S24 Ultra uses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, so you're guaranteed the best Android performance no matter where you live in the world.
Verdict: The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra gives the iPhone 16 lineup all it can handle, lasting longer than most other Android phones, but it comes up short against the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Still, for Android users, this has been the best phone you can get. I can't wait to see if the Galaxy S25 Ultra can clear the very high bar that Samsung has set.
Read the full review: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Samsung raised the price on the Galaxy S24 Ultra by $100 over the S23 Ultra. This is the most expensive phone that doesn't fold. | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Cameras | The hardware that makes up the S24 Ultra's camera array impresses, but Samsung augments that with some great AI-powered features that help you edit and fine-tune your photos. | ★★★★☆ |
| Power | Forget about a performance gap with the iPhone. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 holds its own against any phone, particularly in terms of graphic pefromance. | ★★★★★ |
| Battery life | This is Samsung's longest-lasting phone, beating the latest many iPhone models on our battery test. | ★★★★★ |
More on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Smartest phone
AI is the feature of the moment right now with smartphones, as both Apple and Samsung spent 2024 adding AI-powered features to their phones. Google's an old hand at this, though, having switched to the AI-focused Tensor chipset with the Pixel 6. Now, we're up to Tensor G4 on the Google Pixel 9 Pro, and having used Apple Intelligence, Galaxy AI and Google's AI tools, I think Google has the most capable AI of them all. The Pixel 9 phones — including the 9 Pro — certainly had several of my favorite AI phone features introduced in the last year.
Google says customers wanted a more compact version of the Pro to go with the big-screen model. (If you prefer more screen real estate, consider the Pixel 9 Pro XL, which has the exact same features as the regular Pro, but a 6.7-inch display and bigger battery, instead. It's also harder to use with one hand in my experience.)
Price and Value: The Pixel 9 Pro costs the same $999 that Google charged for the Pixel 8 Pro. But that older phone had a larger screen, which makes me feel like I'm being asked to pay more for less phone. Then again, with the improvements to battery life and display brightness — not to mention the latest AI features — you can't really claim that Google is shortchanging you on anything other than size.
Camera performance: Actual camera improvements are modest — a new ultrawide sensor adds a Macro mode that performed very well when I tried it out, though I think the iPhone 16's macro photos are a little sharper. (They're different phones, but the iPhone 16 Pro Max vs. Pixel 9 Pro XL photo face-off John Velasco did illustrates the superiority of Apple's macro images.) As for the Pixel 9 Pro's front camera, it gets an upgraded sensor, too, though I think Google needs to dial back the camera's tendency to make faces look too smooth. Really, though, the Pixel 9 Pro's camera performance lives on the strength of its photo processing, and that remains strong, the cameras producing well-composed shots that showed off fine details when I tested them.
Battery and charging: Battery life hasn't been a strong suit for recent Google phones, but the Pixel 9 Pro breaks that losing streak. With a 4,700 mAh battery and a more efficient Tensor G4 chipset, the Pixel 9 Pro lasted an average of 13 hours and 30 minutes in our web surfing test — behind the comparably sized iPhone 16 and Galaxy S24 models, sure, but well, ahead of that 10-hour average for other smartphones. Other Pixels struggled to reach even that threshold so I like what I've seen from the Pixel 9 Pro's ability to get through the day on a charge.
Overall performance: The Tensor G4 that powers the Pixel 9 Pro can't keep pace with other top Android phones in benchmark testing, and it trails the iPhone 16, too. But that's not the focus of Tensor. Instead, it powers a number of helpful AI features, including Pixel Screenshots for easy searches of content within screenshots, Add Me for inserting people into group shots and Call Notes for transcriptions and summaries of phone calls. Potentially, the best addition is Gemini Live, a smarter version of the Google Assistant. Pixel 9 Pro owners get a year of Gemini Advanced for supporting for complex features.
Some of the AI tools need some more polish, though they're still further along than Apple Intelligence features at the moment. Right now Pixel Screenshots has been the most useful addition for me since I take a lot of screenshots to remember important details. Using Pixel Screenshots, I'm able to search for those images by their content, and the Pixel 9 Pro is smart enough to show relevant results. If you're more into producing images from nothing, the Pixel Studio generative AI tool lets you create things with nothing more than text prompts.
Verdict: If you're willing to bet that the Pixel 9 Pro's AI features will improve over time, the camera performance, longer battery life and bright display should be enough to give you a great device right now.
Read the full review: Google Pixel 9 Pro
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | On the bright side, the Pixel 9 Pro costs the same $999 as the Pixel 8 Pro. But you're paying the same for a smaller screen. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Cameras | You'll find few hardware changes outside an improved ultrawide sensor and higher-resolution selfie cam, but the Pixel 9 Pro still takes great shots. And the AI features are second to none. | ★★★★☆ |
| Power | The Tensor G4 enables a bunch of new AI-powered features that make the Pixel 9 Pro standout. But it badly lags behind Samsung and Apple phones in terms of speed. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Battery life | We've finally got a series of Pixels that outlasts the average smartphone, with the Pixel 9 Pro beating the average result on our test by 3 hours. | ★★★★☆ |
More on the Google Pixel 9 Pro
Best under $500
Like the Pixel 7a it replaced, Google's Pixel 8a is the best phone to get when you refuse to spend more than $500. In exchange, you'll get one of the best camera phones for the price, along with the AI features found on current Pixel flagships. The only reason to pass on the Pixel 8a at this point is you'd prefer the more powerful Tensor G4 chipset and newer AI capabilities in the Pixel 9 series. Even so, the Pixel 8a remains a great option for bargain hunters who don't want to pay the extra $300 you'd have to spend on a Pixel 9.
Price and value: In addition to saving you money in the near term, the Pixel 8a can be a phone that you hold on to for a long time. Google offers seven years of software and security updates, matching the level of support the regular Pixel 8 phones get. With the Pixel 8a, Google is showing other phone makers how a midrange device should be. That said, Samsung does undercut the Pixel 8a's price by $100 with its midrange model, the Galaxy A35, though the Pixel 8a enjoys some advantages when it comes to performance.
Camera performance: You'll find the same cameras on the Pixel 8a as you did on 2023's Pixel 7a, and photo processing capabilities work the same, too. While we wish there were more substantial improvements, you can't knock the camera performance of the Pixel 8a, especially compared to other camera phones in this price range. For instance, in our 200-photo face-off between the Pixel 8a and Galaxy A35, Google's phone really showed how it excels in photo processing and handling low-light images. People with the Pixel 7a won't need to upgrade, but if you have an older midrange model, you'll definitely see an uptick in photo quality with the Pixel 8a.
Battery and charging: Like the Pixel 9 above, the Pixel 8a beats the average smartphone's performance on our battery test, though less decisively. The Pixel 8a was able to surf the web for 11 hours and 21 minutes before running out of gas. To put that result in context, it's an hour and 16 minutes longer than the Pixel 7a lasted. Wired charging speeds could be faster, low-price phone or no, but Google includes wireless charging on the Pixel 8a after adding it with the Pixel 7a.
Overall performance: As always, the story with Pixel phones is the AI features supported by the Tensor core on Google's silicon. With a Tensor G3 running the show, the Pixel 8a matches the feature set found on Pixel 8 flagships, with Magic Editor and Best Take photo-editing features stealing the show. (The latter is particularly impressive, giving you the ability to edit group shots so that everyone is putting their best face forward.) But don't sleep on the phone's call management features, either, as I think they're some of the best AI features on the Pixel and unique to Google's phones. Forget about blazing speeds, though, as that's not in the Tensor chips' locker. That said, the Pixel 8a does handily out-perform the Galaxy A35, which uses older Exynos silicon.
Verdict: The Pixel 8a is a worthy addition to the A series, with excellent cameras for a budget phone. With better battery life than before and extended software support, Google's midrange phone is a even better bargain than its predecessor.
Read the full review: Google Pixel 8a
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Google kept its midrange phone under $500, making the Pixel 8a one of the better values you can find if you don't want to pay flagship prices. | ★★★★☆ |
| Cameras | The Pixel 9 cameras perform better than the Pixel 8a's, but not so much that you're sacrificing a great camera phone by paying less. This is the best cheap camera phone you can buy. | ★★★★☆ |
| Power | The Pixel 8a uses last year's Tensor G3, so you miss out on newer features (for now), but it's still a pretty smart chip with unique AI features. | ★★★★☆ |
| Battery life | You'll get better than average battery life with the Pixel 8a, though it doesn't last as long as Google's Tensor G4-powered phones. | ★★★★☆ |
More on the Google Pixel 8a
Best Android flagship value
My colleague Richard Priday calls the OnePlus 13 one of the best Android phones out there after testing the phone, and it's hard to argue with him, at least until the new Galaxy S25 models come along in a few weeks. Whatever you want in a phone, the OnePlus 13 delivers it, from strong performance to a long-lasting battery. Even camera performance, long the Achilles heel of OnePlus phones, measures up well to top camera phones. Simply put, the OnePlus 13 delivers a complete package for less than what you'd pay for most flagships, even after a price hike
Price and value: Let's talk about that price hike. The OnePlus 13 starts at $899, which is $100 more than what the OnePlus 12 cost when it debuted. (You can knock that price down by trading in a phone when you buy the OnePlus 13 directly from the phone maker.)
If you compare that to the starting price of entry-level flagships, it doesn't reflect well on the OnePlus 13, though many of those $799 models have smaller displays than the 6.78-inch panel on OnePlus' phone. Compare it to similarly sized phones like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max, and the OnePlus 13 still costs substantially less while delivering equivalent features.
Camera performance: Teaming up with lens specialist Hasselblad continues to pay dividends for OnePlus, as the OnePlus 13 cameras perform better than anything we've seen from the phone maker. Testing produced photos that were very bright and colorful, and I'm particularly impressed with how the OnePlus 13 balances external light sources. Shots in low light turned out well, and the OnePlus 13 clearly has a knack for portrait shots, especially if your subject wears glasses. In some situations, photos shot by the OnePlus 13 can be a little **too** bright, robbing the final image of warmth and depth. But overall, I think the OnePlus 13 cameras hold up well against the competition.
Battery and charging: There's not much to complain about here. A 6,000 mAh battery and the power management features found in the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset powering the OnePlus 13 produced the second-best result we've ever seen in our phone battery test. The new OnePlus flagship lasted 19 hours and 45 minutes, which is nearly 10 hours better than the average smartphone. Only the gaming-focused ROG Phone 9 Pro lasts longer on a charge.
You won't have to wait long to top off that battery either, thanks to 80W charging speeds in the U.S. (It's 100W elsewhere.) With an 80W charger, we got the OnePlus 13 to a 92% charge in half-an-hour after draining its battery.
Overall performance: The top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset inside the OnePlus 13 means the phone can keep pace with just about any flagship. Wile the performance-focused ROG Phone 9 Pro churns out better results with Qualcomm's new chip, the OnePlus 13 tops the latest iPhones in graphics testing as well as in some CPU tests.
Just as importantly, OnePlus doesn't turn its back on AI features with this edition of its flagship. AI photo-editing tool take some of the guesswork out of removing blur and reflections from shots while an Intelligent Search tool makes it easier to find what you're looking for on the phone.
Verdict: It's time to start thinking about OnePlus in the same way you'd consider Samsung or Google when mulling over which Android phone to get. The OnePlus 13 belongs in the same conversation as any leading Android device, thanks to its strong performance, long-lasting battery and surprisingly strong cameras. Software support can't quite match what those other phone makers offer, but overall, the OnePlus 13 gives you a top Android experience.
Read the full review: OnePlus 13
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | You'll pay more for the OnePlus 13 than you did for last year's flagship. However, at $899, the OnePlus 13 still costs anywhere from $100 to $400 less than the premium big-screen phones it competes against. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Cameras | A Hasselblad partnership continues to pay dividends for OnePlus, as the OnePlus 13 cameras perform better than any of their predecessors. In our testing, images compared favorably to ones shot by leading camera phones like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max. | ★★★★☆ |
| Power | The best Qualcomm chip you can buy powers the OnePlus 13, and the benchmarks results we tallied show why that's important. The OnePlus 13 thrives at playing graphically intense games, and it can speedily handle any tasks you throw at it. | ★★★★☆ |
| Battery life | Only one other phone posts a better time on our battery test than the nearly 20 hours that the OnePlus 13 lasted. In terms of real-world use that translates to multi-day battery life before you need to charge the phone. | ★★★★★ |
More on the OnePlus 13
- Best phone battery life: Where the OnePlus 13 ranks
- OnePlus 13 vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max
- Best OnePlus phones
Best iPhone value
The iPhone 16 is the latest entry-level flagship in Apple's lineup. Not only is it the least expensive way to get Apple's latest hardware, this phone also offers incredible value against the pricier iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max — especially when it has a lot in common with them. In fact, my colleague John Velasco argues that it's a Pro model in disguise, reversing the recent trend of Apple giving all its attention to the Pro phones. Certainly, no one would claim the iPhone 16 is an afterthought, given all the new additions.
Price and value: The $799 starting price of the iPhone 16 remains a lot to pay for most people. But it's cheaper than the $899 iPhone 16 Plus, not to mention those iPhone 16 Pro models., which start at $999 and only climb upward from there. Whether it's the Galaxy S24 or Pixel 9, you're going to pay $799 for an entry-level smartphone, so at least Apple's not charging you more.
Camera performance: The 48MP main camera unlocks a lot of photography potential in the iPhone 16, but its ultrawide camera gets an even better upgrade with a wider f/2.2 aperture that allows it to gather in more light than previous iPhones. That also enables a new macro mode on the iPhone 16, which produces more striking close-ups than I've seen from other phones.
The iPhone 16 continues to offer lossless 2x zoom without the need of a telephoto camera too, which helps bridge the gap between itself and the Pro models. I've tested that feature against phones like the Galaxy S24 that have a dedicated zoom lens, and the iPhone holds its own when comparing 2x zooms. Zooming in further, though, will make the differences more apparent.
Battery and charging: Apple's larger iPhones have more room for bigger batteries but the iPhone 16 still lasts nearly 13 hours on a single charge — that's well ahead of the average smartphone, but not the Galaxy S24. I remain frustrated by Apple's 20W wired charging speeds, even after the company switched to USB connectivity with the iPhone 15. USB was supposed to be faster than Apple's Lightning standard, so where's the innovation? At least Apple improves wireless MagSafe charging to 25W.
Overall performance: The A18 chipset within the iPhone 16 is potent, proving just as capable as the A18 Pro. (Apple's Pro chipset has a little more muscle when it comes to graphics, thanks to an extra core in its GPU.) Even more impressive is how it puts up better scores in GeekBench than most Android phones running the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. This boosted chipset allows the iPhone 16 to support AI-powered Apple Intelligence features just like Apple's Pro models, though as we've noted it's very early days for Apple Intelligence.
Verdict: The iPhone 16 is a better value than the iPhone 15 that came before it, thanks in part to its significantly longer battery life, stronger A18 performance, and how it now carries similar features found on the 16 Pro models — like Camera Control, Action Button, and support for spatial photos and videos. If you prefer a bigger screen and a longer-lasting battery, it may be worth an extra $100 for the iPhone 16 Plus, but Apple's standard iPhone remains a compelling option in its own right.
Read the full review: iPhone 16
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Sporting the same $799 as before, the iPhone 16 is a better value than ever mainly because of how it has more in common with the Pro models than ever before. | ★★★★☆ |
| Cameras | The 48MP main camera does a lot, but it still can't beat a Pro iPhone due to the lack of a dedicated telephoto lens. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Power | Apple uses a variant of its latest chipset, but the A18 manages to deliver outstanding results that narrows the gap against the A18 Pro. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Battery life | As a compact phone, the iPhone 16 offers all-day battery. | ★★★★☆ |
More on the iPhone 16
Most affordable AI phone
Here's a phone that will stick around after the Galaxy S25 launch, largely because the Galaxy S24 FE arrived many months after the rest of the S24 models. With most of the same Galaxy AI features as Samsung's more expensive flagships, the S24 FE offers an affordable way to gain AI capabilities. It's also solidly constructed if a bit larger than the more compact Galaxy S24.
Price and value: It's hard to argue with a phone that delivers both a telephoto lens and Galaxy AI features for $649. At the same time, you also enjoy the same seven years of software and security updates Samsung extends to the rest of the Galaxy S24 lineup. There are reasons to pay up for those phones — you want a more powerful telephoto lens than what the FE offers, for example — but it's really hard to beat this model on price. You're getting a device with the same screen size as the 6.7-inch Galaxy S24 Plus, but at a $350 discount.
Camera performance: My colleague John Velasco tested the cameras in the Galaxy S24 FE, saying its output rivaled those of the OnePlus 12 in some instances. He was also impressed by how well the Galaxy S24 FE camera performs under low light, by delivering a fair amount of brightness to the shot to better expose the details that are hiding in the shadows. There are better camera phones on this list, but you're not sacrificing too much in terms of camera quality with the Galaxy S24 FE.
Battery and charging: With an average time of 11 hours and 38 minutes on our battery test, the Galaxy S24 FE bests the average smartphone by a little more than 1.5 hours. Still, you're not getting as much battery life as you would with the Galaxy S24, which lasted nearly 2 hours longer. You should be able to get through the day on that kind of battery life, but you'll certainly need to recharge the Galaxy S24 FE by the end of the day. The phone's 25W charging speed matches the s24 and gets the phone up to 50% capacity after 30 minutes.
Overall performance: Unlike its flagship kin and their more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 silicon, the Galaxy S24 FE is powered by an Exynos 2400e chip that does decently for what it is. This silicon definitely isn't flagship caliber, but it does manage to deliver outstanding results in various synthetic benchmark tests we ran on it. In fact, Geekbench 6 scores are very close to the Galaxy S24 Plus, while its GPU performance and support for ray-tracing can handle most of today's demanding titles.
Verdict: The Galaxy S24 FE may not be Samsung's most feature-packed flagship, but it offers a telephoto lens, Galaxy AI capabilities, and the same seven years of software support — only at much lower cost than those other S24 models. As a lower-cost model, the Galaxy S24 FE isn't really affected by the upcoming Galaxy S25 launch, so this is a phone you can buy with confidence right now.
Read the full review: Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | You get a lot of phone for your $649, especially when you find many of the same features on the Galaxy S24 Plus. | ★★★★☆ |
| Cameras | Not many sub-$650 phones have a telephoto lens, so the Galaxy S24 FE stands out in that regard. It also benefits from having useful AI-editing features. | ★★★★½ |
| Power | It doesn't get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 like its S24 siblings, but the Exynos 2400e still puts out a good performance. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Battery life | It' does last as long as all the other S24 phones, but the S24 FE's battery life is still better than the average phone. | ★★★☆☆ |
More on the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
Best foldable phone
Both the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Pixel 9 Pro Fold may have come out more recently, but the OnePlus Open still tops them both, especially now that it's cheaper than Samsung's top foldable. Not only is the OnePlus Open well made, but it offers up a more practical multitasking experience for users — easily the biggest argument we can make for choosing this phone over other foldables with a similar design.
The OnePlus Open has everything power users crave, and the arrival of a variant called the OnePlus Open Apex Edition delivers storage enhancements and AI photo-editing tools. There's talk of a OnePlus Open 2 follow-up showing up at some point in 2025, so adjust your buying plans accordingly, especially given the high price that foldables demand.
Price and value: OnePlus has an attractive proposition for prospective buyers. It already undercuts other notebook styled foldables with its $1,699 starting cost, but the extra $200 trade-in credit offer effectively makes it $1,499, which is a much better deal than the $1,899 cost for the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Camera performance: Armed with a Hasselblad camera system, the OnePlus Open handles most situations with ease, excelling mostly with its main camera when lightning conditions are ideal. Its 3x telephoto zoom camera is just as good as the Pixel Fold's 5x zoom camera. That said, when John Velasco tested the OnePlus Open for Tom's Guide, he found that the foldable's cameras struggle in extreme low light conditions.
Battery and charging: Foldable phones don't always last a long time on a charge, given the super-sized screens they have to keep powered. Yet, the OnePlus Open goes the distance lasting over 11 hours on our battery test — easily beating out the Galaxy Z Fold 6. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold finished just a few minutes behind the OnePlus Open, so this is the foldable to get if you want a device that can stay powered up through the day. Like other OnePlus phones, the Open charges quickly, as we got the phone up to 85% capacity after 30 minutes.
Overall performance: Since the OnePlus Open is more than a year old, you're getting a phone with an older chip. But as I noted with the OnePlus 12R, it's not like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 from 2023 is showing its age. Just be aware that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 can handle tasks faster, and even the Tensor G4-powered Pixel 9 Pro Fold has a bit more pep.
But even if the OnePlus Open can't out-muscle newer foldable phones, it still boasts the Open Canvas multitasking feature that John Velasco calls the best implementation of multitasking that he's seen on all the foldable phones he's reviewed for us.
Verdict: The OnePlus Open improves upon what existing notebook styled foldables have done already, but it includes all the necessary improvements to make it the best foldable phone. At the same time, it offers the longest battery life and fastest recharge speeds in a foldable, paired with a lower cost and premium design.
Read the full review: OnePlus Open
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | With other foldable phones going up in price, the OnePlus Open is the least expensive model you can find with a design that opens up like a book. | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is thinner, but the OnePlus Open is lighter and easier to tote around. | ★★★★☆ |
| Power | While the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 was a strong chip in its day, the OnePlus Open is starting to fall behind rival foldables with newer silicon. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 beats it handily, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold can keep pace with it. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Battery life | The OnePlus Open doesn't last as long as smaller foldable flip phones, but among foldables with this design, it's the battery life champ. | ★★★★☆ |
More on the OnePlus Open
Longest-lasting phone
Each year a new ROG Phone comes along and sets a new standard in battery life, and while it doesn't surprise us, we certainly are impressed by how Asus continually manages to make already long-lasting phones hold out for even longer. But another thing catches our eye about the ROG Phone 9 Pro — it's the first phone we've tested that features Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Elite silicon. Many more Android devices will follow, but this gives us a glimpse of what the latest Snapdragon can do. The results of our testing are very promising indeed.
Price and value: The good news is that Asus hasn't raised prices from the ROG Phone 8 Pro. The bad news is that $1,199 remains a lot to pay for any phone, even a top-of-the-line gaming phone with a fast-refreshing, ultra-bright screen that also has a top-of-the-line system-on-chip running the show. The issue is compounded even further by the ROG Phone 9 Pro's limited availability as now — though we've been able to test the phone, Asus likely won't release it in the U.S. until 2025.
Camera performance: No one buys a gaming phone for the camera, but it would make the ROG Phone 9's high price go down a little easier if the phone produced better quality photos. When my colleague Richard Priday put the ROG Phone up against the similarly priced Galaxy S24 Ultra, the shots from the Asus device featured muted colors that made the images look flat. As a result, the images lack depth and fail to catch the eye. You'll get a competent camera performance with the ROG Phone 9 Pro, but nothing more.
Battery and charing: Here's where the ROG Phone 9 Pro really begins to justify its expense. You start with a big battery at 5,800 mAh and throw in the improved power management features of the Snapdragon 8 Elite. The end result is a phone that lasted more than 20.5 hours on hour battery test — nearly 2 hours better than the ROG Phone 8 Pro this model replaces and more than 10 hours longer than the average smartphone fares on our test. In less demanding conditions than our battery torture test, you're going to go days between charging your ROG Phone 9 Pro.
When you do charge the phone, you can count on 65W wired charging speeds. That got the drained ROG Phone 8 Pro back to 71% of capacity when we tested the charging features. Wireless charging is supported at 15W speeds, which is typical for a phone in this price range.
Overall performance: The Snapdragon 8 Elite promises to challenge any phone when it comes to speed, and that certainly proved to be the case when we took the ROG Phone 9 Pro out for a test drive. The phone was more able to handle graphically-demanding games, and it could switch between apps with ease.
Benchmarks reflect our experience with the ROG Phone 9 Pro, posting numbers on graphics tests that not only bested 2024's top-performing Android phones but also the iPhone 16 Pro Max. To get the most out of the ROG Phone's chipset, we enabled the phone's X Mode — a performance-boosting feature that kicks in when you're using particularly demanding apps. In X Mode, the ROG Phone 9 Pro's Geekbench multicore score topped what the iPhone 16 Pro Max can do, making this one of the fastest phones you'll use — at least until more Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered Android handsets come along.
Verdict: The ROG Phone 9 Pro certainly deserves consideration as the best gaming phone you can buy, and its more reserved design means you can tote around this handset without people instantly deducing that it's a gaming device. The performance and battery life impress, and you'll appreciate how bright the 6.78-inch screen can get. Ultimately, the so-so camera performance keeps us from being more enthusiastic about this device as anything other than a gaming phone.
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | The ROG Phone 9 Pro's price rivals what you'd pay for an iPhone 16 Pro Max. At least you get some stellar specs like a bright display and lots of RAM in return. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Cameras | The cameras on the ROG Phone 9 Pro are probably its most disappointing feature with dull colors that can't match what similarly priced phones produce. | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Power | The Snapdragon 8 Elite lives up to its advanced billing with stellar speed and great graphics features that gamers will love. The fast-refreshing display also adds to the game playing experience on this phone. | ★★★★★ |
| Battery life | It's another record time on our battery test for an Asus phone, with the ROG Phone 9 Pro blowing bast the 20-hour mark on a test where most phones give up after 10 hours. | ★★★★★ |
More on the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro
Best phones: Key specs compared
Here's a closer look at how our best phones pick compare when it comes to display brightness and battery life test results.
| Phone | Screen size | Brightness test results (nits) | Battery life test results (Hrs: Mins) |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max | 6.9 inches | 1,553 | 17:35 |
| Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra | 6.8 inches | 1,363 | 17:01 |
| Google Pixel 9 Pro | 6.3 inches | 1,880 | 13:30 |
| Google Pixel 8a | 6.1 inches | 1,329 | 11:21 |
| OnePlus 13 | 6.82 inches | 1,104 | 19:45 |
| iPhone 16 | 6.1 inches | 1,348 | 12:43 |
| Galaxy S24 FE | 6.7 inches | 1,516 | 11:38 |
| OnePlus Open | 7.2 inches (interior display); 6.3 inches (exterior) | 586 | 11:31 |
| Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro | 6.78 inches | 1,468 | 20:34 |
FAQ: Finding the best phones
Should I get an Android device or iPhone?
Android phones give you more choice in terms of price, size and innovative designs. However, iPhones offer speedier software updates, better games and apps and better security and privacy. See our iPhone vs Android face-off for more on the strengths and weaknesses of the two mobile platforms.
When do new phones come out?
It helps to have some idea as to when new phones are on their way if for no other reason than you don't unwittingly buy a device that's about to be made obsolete. (There's an argument to be made for buying a phone as its successor is getting announced should the older model see a price drop.) Phone makers tend to keep launch dates close to the vest, but they also have a habit of releasing new models at the same time of the year. Here's out best guess as to what's coming next for the most anticipated phones of 2025:
- Galaxy S25: January 22, 2025 (confirmed)
- iPhone SE 4: Spring 2025
- Pixel 9a: Spring 2025
- Galaxy Z Fold 7/Galaxy Z Flip 7: Summer 2025
- Pixel 10: Fall 2025
- iPhone 17: Fall 2025
Is it better to buy an unlocked phone?
Most shoppers in the U.S. buy new phones through their wireless carrier. But an unlocked phone gives you the freedom to buy the device without any sort of contract and then bring it to the provider you want to use. And these days, it's pretty easy to bring an unlocked phone to any phone carrier.
That said, some phones cost more when you buy them unlocked. For example, Apple tacks $30 on to the price of the iPhone 16 for an unlocked model. Best Buy typically takes money off the price of a phone when you activate it with a specific carrier at time of purchase.
How big of a phone should I get?
Fans of the best small phones will have a hard time finding devices with screens smaller than 6 inches today, though a few still exist. Thanks to shrinking bezels, most phones with screens around 6.1 inches are fairly compact. If you prefer a big phone, you'll want something with a screen that's 6.5 to 6.8 inches. Anything bigger, and you'll likely want to turn to a foldable phone, where the device opens up to reveal a larger display.
What should I consider when looking at camera features?
Most phones will come with at least two rear cameras — a main lens and an ultrawide shooter, usually. Telephoto lenses offering an optical zoom are often reserved for more expensive flagship phones. Don't pay attention to the megapixel count. Instead, look at camera face-offs between phones to see the photo quality and look for special features like Night Mode to get better quality in low light. Also see our best camera phone roundup for more on the devices that really excel when taking photos.
What do I need to know about smartphone battery life?
Generally, phones with larger batteries (measured in mAh) offer the longest battery life, but that's not always the case. That's why we run our own battery test, in which we make phones surf the web until they run out of power. The average phone runs out of juice in 10 hours in our test, while the best phone battery life we've tested tends to pass the 14-hour mark with some phones lasting longer than 18 hours.
What about AI features?
Artificial intelligence is the talk of the tech world these days, and mobile phones are looking to capitalize on the buzz by adding AI-powered features that either simplify common tasks or help you create new images and documents on the go. Google's phones — whether it's the flagship Pixel 9 models or the budget Pixel 8a — have the most advanced AI, but Samsung has gotten very aggressive with adding Galaxy AI capabilities, whether it's introducing AI features in new phones or extending those features to older flagships. Apple trails both its rivals, though it hopes the just-launched Apple Intelligence features tha run on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 Pro models will close the gap somewhat.
How we test smartphones
In order for a smartphone to make our best phone list, it needs to excel on several tests that we run on every handset. We perform some of these tests in our labs and some in the real world.
When it comes to performance, we rely on such synthetic benchmarks as Geekbench 5 and 3DMark's Wild Life Unlimited to measure graphics performance. These tests allow us to compare performance across iPhones and Android devices. We also run a real-world video transcoding test on each phone using the Adobe Premiere Rush app and time the result.
To measure the quality of a phone's display, we perform lab tests to determine the brightness of the panel (in nits), as well as how colorful each screen is (DCI-P3 color gamut). In these cases, higher numbers are better. We also measure color accuracy of each panel with a Delta-E rating, where lower numbers are better and score of 0 is perfect.
One of the most important tests we run is the Tom's Guide battery test. We run a web surfing test over 5G or 4G at 150 nits of screen brightness until the battery gives out. As noted above, a phone that lasts more than 10 hour has good battery life, while phones that last around 12 hours or longer are among the longest-lasting phones we've tested.
Last but not least, we take the best phones out in the field to take photos outdoors, indoors and at night in low light to see how they perform versus their closest competitors. We take shots of landscapes, food, portraits and more, and also allow you to be the judge with side-by-side comparisons in our reviews.
For more information, check out our how we test page for Tom's Guide.
