The best smartphones of 2025 include some surprises

Apple, Samsung, Google, and OnePlus brought their A-games with new phone releases in 2025.

Not every aspect of every new device that those companies released was great. Some of the devices themselves were disappointing. Still, whether you want a mid-range powerhouse or a fabulous foldable, or anything in between, you have plenty of great options in 2025.

Here are the best smartphones that launched in the past 12 months.

OnePlus 15

It's a little generic-looking, but who cares? Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

For the past few years, Chinese firm OnePlus has offered pretty excellent flagship phones at competitive prices. If you want to escape the Apple/Google/Samsung ecosystem and go with something a little different (but arguably just as good, if not better), the OnePlus 15 is a great way to go.

There's nothing especially distinctive or gimmicky about the OnePlus 15 — just a reliable, solid Android handset. For $899, you get three good rear cameras, a huge display with a staggering 165Hz refresh rate, and a gargantuan 7,300mAh battery that holds up for exceptionally long stretches of time.

The OnePlus 15 is the most recently released phone on the list, and absolutely stands its ground against the rest.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7

It's simply absurd how thin this phone is. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

One of the big problems with tablet-style foldables (which I personally prefer to clamshell-type phones) is this: most feel bulky when folded up. You can use the outer display like a normal phone — but on almost all of these devices, the form factor doesn't make that a super fun thing to do.

That's what makes the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 so remarkable: Samsung fixed that problem entirely. The solution, it turned out, was just to make the phone extraordinarily thin.

The Fold 7 has the most impressive physical design of any device on this list; it really needs to be seen to be believed. It's a great phone in many respects, but the fact that it actually feels like a regular phone when you fold it up is a true game-changer. This is easily the best foldable I've ever used.

Motorola Razr Ultra

Samsung's Z Flip 7 has gotten the most attention among foldable fans, but don't count out the premium Razr Ultra.

This smartphone has an incredible battery life, and it lasted over 24 hours in our rundown tests. On top of that, it starts with 512GB of storage and comes with a Snapdragon processor, unlike the Z Flip 7.

In short, the Razr Ultra feels more like a flagship phone, whereas Samsung's flip phone is a clear step down from the flagship Z Fold 7. The early versions of the foldable Razr had some problems, which we've covered in depth. But the 2025 version fixes these bugs, and it's a satisfying flip-style phone that actually fits in your pocket.

This phone went a long way in convincing our tech editor that foldables are finally ready for the mainstream market; he called it the "unsung hero" of the year.

Google Pixel 10 Pro

Not the most exciting color options, sadly. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

I'm an iPhone guy and probably will be for the rest of time — but if I ever had to move to Android, Google's Pixel line is where I'd go.

The Pixel software is always clean and intuitive, and Google tends to favor Pixel phones when it comes to releasing new Android software features first. Then there's the fact that they have some of the best cameras in the business.

Most of that remained true with the Pixel 10 Pro this year. It delivered amazing photos (at least during the daytime) and some of its new AI features, like Daily Hub, can be useful. Google didn't do much tweaking to Pixel this year, but it didn't need much.

iPhone 16e

It's a blend of old and new. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

For years, Apple's mid-range iPhone was the iPhone SE. These were generally pretty good devices, and in particular, they appeased folks who yearned for the physical home button.

Unfortunately, Apple never got into the habit of releasing new SE models annually, and the line was sent out to pasture.

The good news is that Apple didn't give up on mid-range iPhones entirely. The iPhone 16e is the first in what we expect to be an annual line of cheap-ish iPhones, and while its $599 starting price is a bit on the high end for a mid-range device, the phone itself is great.

For far less than the price of a flagship iPhone, you get a nice A18 chip for quality performance, outstanding battery life, and all of the current Apple Intelligence features you could ask for. Hopefully Apple keeps up the momentum and eventually gets the iPhone e-series up to par with the next phone on this list.

Google Pixel 9a

Nice color. Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

Google's Pixel A-series has been its budget-friendly standard bearer for years, and the Pixel 9a was no different. Aside from a somewhat dull redesign, this $499 handset is almost as good as the regular Pixel 9.

All the AI features are here, the cameras aren't bad, the battery lasts a long time, and you can get it in pink. As a budget phone, it doesn't bring any new features to the table, but the fact that you don't really miss out on much from the regular Pixel 9 is a great selling point in itself.

iPhone 17 Pro Max

Sadly, we didn't get the orange one. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

No, we were not going to end this list without talking about 2025's new flagship iPhone. You can breathe easy.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is a powerhouse. You can get up to 2TB of onboard storage, it has some of the best smartphone cameras money can buy, and you will never have any concerns about performance thanks to powerful internal hardware.

Oh, and the battery is pretty great too; we noted as much as 39 hours of battery life when it comes to video playback. It's not a cheap phone, but if you can afford it, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is worth the investment.