Smartphones

How to Buy the Best Smartphone in 2025?

The world of smartphones is evolving fast with every passing day and is witnessing innovations and cutting-edge AI capabilities. With 4.69 billion mobile phone users, the market is huge, forcing manufacturers to offer the best in the market. The competition is becoming ever fiercer, making it hard for ordinary users to choose the best Android or iOS phone that can meet their needs effectively. The year 2025 is exciting and momentous for smartphone users.

The major highlights are the scheduled launching of Xiaomi 15 Ultra, Nothing Phone 3a, Samsung Galaxy S25 Series, Apple iPhone SE 4 and iPhone 17 Series, Google Pixel 9a or even Google Pixel 10, OnePlus 13, and OnePlus Open 2. Quite naturally, the market is exciting, and users are anxiously waiting for their launch to know how leading manufacturers such as Apple, Samsung, Google, Xiaomi, and the like compete with their rivals.

In this recent mention, it has certainly become a difficult task to choose an Android or iOS smartphone that can best meet their needs. In this write-up, we are discussing all you need to know to solve this puzzle, and at the end, we also offer our top picks to help you make a well-informed decision.

Let’s start with some basics.

What to Look for in a Best Quality Smartphone?

Here are some factors that you should look into before making a final decision. Whether you are an iPhone user or an Android smartphone, these tips & tricks can help you make the most of your money.

1. Screen Size:

Over the years, almost every manufacturer has started to produce smartphones with bigger screens. Normally, the bigger the screen size, the better. However, a bigger screen size comes with a trade-off: a drain on the battery and shorter battery life. Therefore, you need to strike a balance and find a sweet spot between screen size and optimized battery life.

In this regard, the iPhone 16 Pro Max with a whopping 6.86 inches, the Google Pixel 8 Pro with 6.7 inches, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra with chunky 6.9 inches are some choices you should look into. On both Android and iOS sides, smartphones are becoming bigger and bigger, allowing users to perform even productivity tasks on their cell phones.

2. Software Support:

Software support is another major feature you should consider. Security updates from the manufacturers are key to keeping your phone safe from threats. In the past, it has been a major headache, but now, many leading mobile manufacturers are offering extended software support.

Google is a clear winner in this area. It is offering impressive 7-year software and security updates on its Pixel series. For instance, Google Pixel 9 Pro will remain updated and secure till 2031, which is certainly a big source of relief. Other brands, such as Samsung, are also offering extended software and security support for Galaxy S24 and S25 lines.

Similarly, Apple is also a trustworthy name when it comes to software support. It offers major iOS updates for 5 to 7 years. For instance, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 series are expected to receive iOS and security updates till 2029-2030 and 2030-2031.

3. Battery Life:

Needless to say, battery life is an important feature, however, you should keep in mind that all smartphones, from budget-end to elite flagships, can last a day with a single charge. Bigger phones come with larger batteries, but they have large-sized screens and more powerful processors, draining your batteries quickly.

You should look into the Fast Charging feature. This can help you charge your cell phone quickly. For instance, the OnePlus 13 comes with 80 W charging support. It can allow you to charge fully within 30 minutes.

Here are some mobile phones with the longest battery life:

• Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: It can last 20 hours and 34 minutes.

• iPhone 16 Pro Max: It can last 17 hours and 17 minutes.

• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: It can last 17 hours and 14 minutes.

• Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus: It can last 16 hours and 56 minutes.

• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: It can last 16 hours and 45 minutes.

4. Processor Performance:

Normally, top-end mobile phones such as the Google Pixel 9 Pro, OnePlus 12, iPhone 16 Pro, and Samsung S25 Ultra are packed with powerful processors to help you perform all everyday tasks quite easily. But they come at a steep price. You don’t need to spend such a huge amount of money to enjoy excellent processor performance, many mid-range smartphones are quite a wonderful job in this department.

Here are our recommendations regarding the most powerful mobile processors you should look into.

• Apple A18 Pro (available in iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max)

• MediaTek Dimensity 9400 (available on the Vivo X200 series and the Oppo Find X8 series)

• Snapdragon 8 Elite (available in iQOO 13 5G (review), the OnePlus 13, and the Realme GT 7 Pro 5G (review)

• Apple A17 Pro (available in iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max )

5. Camera Performance:

Similar to processor performance, the camera is also a major consideration for smartphone users. They always look for a mobile that can deliver excellent image and video quality. Mobile phone manufacturers are responding. Be it the number of cameras installed on the rear and front side or the number of megapixels, competition is fierce. Nowadays, three cameras on the rear side are common. Cell phones feature a regular camera, an ultrawide camera, and a telephoto camera, allowing users to enjoy more shooting options.

Here are the top features that you should find in a smartphone.

• Optical zoom rather than digital zoom

• Night mode for better low-light conditions

• Optical image stabilization

Here are our top picks when it comes to the best smartphone for mobile photography.

• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

• Apple iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max

• Google Pixel 9 Pro

• Xiaomi 14 Ultra

• Oppo Find X8 Pro

And if you are looking for more budget-friendly options, go for the Google Pixel 7 Pro, Google Pixel 8 Pro, or Google Pixel 8a.

6. Phone Storage:

Phone storage is another area where mobile manufacturers are competing fiercely. Now, even budget mobiles support 64GB storage. It should be noted that 10 GB of storage is occupied by pre-installed apps and operating systems. If you don’t plan to record videos or download games, 64GB would be a decent option; otherwise, go for 128GB as a minimum storage.

Higher-budget mobiles that support 4K videos are offering 256GB or even higher storage. In this case, you are recommended not to settle for less than 256GB of storage. However, if your mobile features support microSD cards, then it is a totally different perspective. Unfortunately, fewer and fewer mobiles are offering this scalable feature. Alternatively, you can purchase an external USB-C type SSD storage. This will help you offload the additional data in case you go outside and make high-resolution videos and images.

Here are the smartphones with the highest storage capacity.

• OnePlus 13 with 1TB storage and 24GB RAM

• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra with 1 TB storage and 12GB RAM

• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra with 1TB storage and 12GB RAM

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 with up to 1TB storage and 12GB RAM

Having discussed the must-have features, we now make some recommendations regarding the best smartphones for different end uses.

Best Smartphone to Buy in 2025:

Here are the top picks when it comes to the best smartphones available in the market.

1. Best Smartphone Overall:

The iPhone 16 series is so the best option you can find in both the iOS and Android markets. Featuring handy photography features, convenient action buttons, elegant design, and newly-launched Apple Intelligence all make the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max the best smartphones in the market.

In this iOS category, the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max stands out. Equipped with a 6.9-inch screen size, iOS 18 Operating System, 2868 x 1320 pixels resolution, A18 Pro Processor, 8GB RAM, and 256GB / 512GB / 1TB storage options, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is one the biggest, fastest, longest-lasting iPhones you can find in the market.

2. Best Android Phone for AI:

Google Pixel 9 Pro is the best choice when you need to create a lot of things with the help of AI. Featuring 6.3-inch screen size, Google Tensor G4 CPU, 1280 x 2856 resolution, 16GB RAM, 128GB / 256GB / 512GB / 1TB internal storage, 50MP (main); 48MP (5x telephoto); 48MP (ultrawide) rear and 42MP front cameras, and more, Google Pixel 9 Pro is a certainly a power beast when you need AI tools for various creative tasks.

3. Best Android Smartphone for Most People:

Samsung Galaxy S25 is ranked as the best Android smartphone for most users. Unlike its pricier siblings, such as the Samsung S25 Plus and S25 Ultra, the Galaxy S25 provides all its features at a far lower price. Supporting a custom Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, 12GB RAM, AI Select tool, Audio Eraser, and a deeper integration of Gemini, the Samsung Galaxy S25 can meet all of your everyday needs at a comparatively lesser price.

4. Best Smartphone for Professional Photography:

The Sony Xperia 1 VI 256GB is considered the best smartphone option when it comes to professional mobile-based photography. Featuring the Android 15 operating system, 6.5-inch Bravia HDR OLED with a 120Hz refresh rate, 12MP selfie, 48MP rear, 12MP telephoto, 12 MP ultrawide cameras, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, and Sony Xperia 1 VI 256GB, this is the best option you can get when you prioritize mobile photography.

5. Best Affordable Smartphone: 

OnePlus 12 256GB is known for offering top-tier features available in elite flagship smartphones but at a lesser price. Equipped with 512GB version internal storage, Android 14 operating system, 6.8-inch AMOLED, 120Hz variable refresh rate screen, 50 MP main, 48 MP ultrawide, 64MB telephoto, 32MP selfie cameras, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU, this OnePlus 12 series can help you enjoy premium smartphone experience at an affordable price tag.