Buyers guide
Last updated: June 28, 2025
Welcome to the always-up-to-date GSMArena Smartphone Buyer's Guide where we round up the best smartphones you can buy.
You will find the different categories of phones below with our top pick as a highlight. Click on the category to see the other suggested options.
Flagship phones
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
All prices
Full specs
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
256GB 8GB RAM
$ 824.99
C$ 1,641.00
512GB 8GB RAM
$ 949.35
C$ 1,872.67
You do not get the most premium iPhone for a single feature. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is worth getting for its well-rounded user experience, luxurious design, its premium services and warranty, for its clockwork iOS, and for its versatile camera experience with great photos and exceptional videos. And a thousand other little things we cannot fit in here.
Continue reading Flagship killers
Xiaomi Poco F7 Ultra
All prices
Full specs
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
256GB 12GB RAM
$ 757.50
£ 541.99
512GB 16GB RAM
$ 759.99
£ 559.00
As Poco F-series phones go, this one is Ultra alright, with the Elite performance the most expensive phones offer.
Continue reading Camera phones
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
All prices
Full specs
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
512GB 16GB RAM
$ 1,418.47
£ 899.00
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a truly great option and the best cameraphone in 2025. Its unique design is beautiful, iconic even. Then there is one of the best displays in the industry - a 1440p LTPO OLED with 12-bit color depth, dynamic 120Hz refresh, and Dolby Vision support.
Continue reading Gaming phones
Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro
All prices
Full specs
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
512GB 16GB RAM
$ 1,299.00
£ 1,218.95
1TB 24GB RAM
$ 2,789.00
£ 2,075.00
If you want nothing short of the best mobile gaming experience, we believe that the ROG Phone line is still the way to go. The ROG Phone 9 family has the most in-depth and comprehensive set of gaming features on top of excellent and, in many ways, specifically crafted hardware.
Continue reading Battery life champions
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
All prices
Full specs
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
256GB 8GB RAM
$ 824.99
C$ 1,641.00
512GB 8GB RAM
$ 949.35
C$ 1,872.67
We are putting the iPhone 16 Pro Max as our top pick here for being not only one of the best flagships, but also one of the phones to offer the longer battery life nowadays.
Continue reading Compact phones
Motorola Razr 60 Ultra
All prices
Full specs
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
512GB 16GB RAM
$ 999.99
£ 1,085.00
Once an iPhone mini domain, nowadays the top pick in this category has been a reserved spot for the Moto Razrs. Indeed, the new Motorola Razr 60 Ultra offers a ton of flagship features in its super compact body.
Continue reading Premium all-rounders
Xiaomi 14T Pro
All prices
Full specs
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
256GB 12GB RAM
$ 625.95
£ 487.88
512GB 12GB RAM
$ 470.99
$ 1,045.14
The Xiaomi 14T Pro is among the best phones you can get for about €600. It delivers on every single promise and has plenty of flagship-grade, class-leading features. It's among the fastest charging phones in the industry and it's got a 144Hz display, and that's in addition to a high-end chipset and a camera system that only falls short in one or two niche areas
Continue reading Midrange phones (around €400)
Xiaomi Poco F7
All prices
Full specs
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
256GB 12GB RAM
$ 524.99
$ 394.90
512GB 12GB RAM
$ 519.00
$ 445.84
The €400 Poco F7 is an easy recommendation. It is the same phone as our top pick from the previous price category – the Poco X7 Pro, but with an even faster chip – the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. The phone lives up to the F-series legacy with yet another well-balanced, performance-first offering that's hard to ignore. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset delivers excellent overall performance, whether gaming or just nigating the UI.
Continue reading Midrange phones (around €300)
Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro
All prices
Full specs
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
256GB 8GB RAM
$ 349.99
£ 219.99
512GB 12GB RAM
$ 375.00
£ 254.70
The €300 Poco X7 Pro turned out to be an excellent bang for the buck offer as it offers unmatched flagship performance for its price class. It also has a cool and stylish design, a great AMOLED screen and an attractive design with a solid build. The battery life and the charging are quite alright, and so are the speakers.
Continue reading Midrange phones (around €200)
Xiaomi Poco X7
All prices
Full specs
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
256GB 8GB RAM
$ 282.99
£ 179.00
512GB 12GB RAM
$ 289.50
£ 196.00
The Poco X7 is not a major step up from the Poco X6, but still a very good offer. It is also a reworked version of the recent Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G and since it is cheaper than its Redmi counterpart, it easily made it to the top spot in this category.
Continue reading Entry-level phones
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
All prices
Full specs
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
128GB 4GB RAM
$ 129.00
$ 199.99
128GB 6GB RAM
$ 139.99
The Galaxy A16 5G is a nicely constructed device covering most bases. We particularly like Samsung's fairly new commitment to up to six major Android upgrades on modest devices. Undoubtedly, there is a lot to love about One UI and all of the added features it offers. The Super AMOLED and the thin bezels are nice development here, as well as the IP54-rating.
Continue reading US market phones
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
All prices
Full specs
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
256GB 8GB RAM
$ 622.44
C$ 1,175.00
512GB 8GB RAM
$ 732.50
C$ 1,149.95
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is Apple's current best iPhone and we think it’s the best phone you can buy in the US. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is worth getting for its well-rounded user experience, luxurious design, its premium services and warranty, for its clockwork iOS, and for its versatile camera performance with great photos and exceptional videos. The great battery life doesn't hurt, and the introduction of USB-C means one fewer built-in shortcoming too.
Continue reading Best phones by category
Flagship phones
Flagship killers
Camera phones
Gaming phones
Battery life champions
Compact phones
Premium all-rounders
Midrange all-rounders
Entry-level smartphones
US market smartphones
Reviews
Best smartphones of 2025 - buyer’s guide
Comments (794)
Best smartphones of 2025 - buyer’s guide - Reader comments
B
Bloodin
M5L
18 hours ago
This list should be updated...
Reply v vanguard478 7t} 05 Oct 2025Why is there no link whatsoever for the buyer's guide on the Home page for the website? Something similar for full battery test results. Atleast earlier there used to be some link for the buyer's guide but now that's also gone
Reply ? Anonymous MiQ 27 Sep 2025update??
Reply Read all comments Post your comment Total reader comments: 794