Ultimate 2025 Flagship Smartphone Showdown: Which Elite Device Truly Reigns Supreme?

2025 Flagship Smartphone Showdown: Apple vs Samsung vs the World

Flagship smartphones in 2025 have pushed boundaries in every dimension – from raw performance and camera prowess to innovative designs and AI-powered features. Top brands like Apple, Samsung, Google, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and more have all unleashed ultra-premium devices this year, including both classic slab phones and cutting-edge foldables. Competition is fiercer than ever as each manufacturer strives to deliver the best displays, fastest processors, longest battery life, and most advanced cameras. In this comprehensive report, we compare all the major 2025 flagships side-by-side – evaluating their specifications, performance (CPU/GPU), camera systems, battery endurance, display quality, design and build, software experience (including AI features), and pricing. We also include the latest foldable flagships that are redefining what a smartphone can do. Throughout, we’ll cite insights from industry experts and reviewers to separate the hype from reality. By the end, we’ll crown the top picks in categories like Best Camera, Best Performance, Best Value, Best Foldable, and more. Let’s dive into the ultimate 2025 smartphone showdown.

Apple: iPhone 16 Pro Max – Polished Powerhouse

Apple’s current flagship, the iPhone 16 Pro Max, carries the torch for Cupertino in 2025 and remains one of the most formidable phones on the market tomsguide.com tomsguide.com. Launched in late 2024, the 16 Pro Max refines Apple’s formula with subtle but meaningful upgrades. It packs Apple’s custom A18 Pro chipset, a blazing-fast 3nm processor that ensures iOS runs butter-smooth. In fact, in some tasks the iPhone’s chip still outpaces Qualcomm’s latest – for example, video encoding on the iPhone 16 Pro Max took half the time of Samsung’s Galaxy S24/25 Ultra in one test tomsguide.com. Day-to-day performance is superb, with iOS animations, games, and apps all flying. Apple pairs the chip with 8GB RAM, which may seem modest next to 16GB on Android rivals, but tight hardware-software integration keeps the user experience ultra responsive.

Apple bumped the display to a spacious 6.9 inches on the 16 Pro Max, making it the largest iPhone ever tomsguide.com. It’s an OLED panel with high brightness and a 120 Hz ProMotion refresh rate for silky scrolling. While not quite 1440p, the screen is pin-sharp and color-accurate, ideal for media and outdoor visibility. Build quality is, as expected from Apple, top-notch – the phone uses a rugged titanium alloy frame (introduced on 2023’s iPhone 15 Pro) and Ceramic Shield glass. Despite the big battery (~4400 mAh), Apple managed to keep it relatively sleek and light for its size. Battery life is exceptional: reviewers report the iPhone 16 Pro Max lasts over 17.5 hours in video playback tests tomsguide.com tomsguide.com. Tom’s Guide calls it “obscenely long” battery life, one of the best in any flagship tomsguide.com. The only downside is charging speed – Apple still uses 30W Lightning/MagSafe charging (now up to 25W wireless), which feels slow compared to some 80–100W fast-charge systems on Android tomsguide.com tomsguide.com.

The camera system on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is Apple’s most advanced yet, and a major selling point. It features a 48 MP main sensor (24 mm, f/1.8), a 48 MP ultra-wide, and a 5× telephoto (120 mm equivalent) – carried over from the iPhone 15 Pro Max tomsguide.com. Image quality is outstanding across all focal lengths. Apple leans into realistic image processing: photos have a natural, true-to-life look with less aggressive HDR tuning. “Every zoom level, my photos look authentic and natural, like real photographs instead of over-processed frames,” one expert wrote techradar.com. Colors are balanced and skin tones accurate. The trade-off is that iPhone images may appear less saturated or “punchy” than, say, a Samsung Galaxy – but they are extremely adaptable in post-processing techradar.com. In fact, professional photographers often laud iPhone output for its editing flexibility and consistency. Low-light performance is greatly improved as well, thanks to larger sensor pixels and Apple’s Night mode algorithms. Apple’s Achilles’ heel has been long-range zoom, where the 5× lens can’t quite match the 10× periscope zooms on some competitors. Indeed, tech reviewers note that on extreme zoom shots the iPhone 16 Pro Max is bested by phones like the Galaxy S24/S25 Ultra or Pixel 9 Pro tomsguide.com tomsguide.com. Nonetheless, in overall camera capability, the iPhone remains “one of the best camera phones we’ve tested” tomsguide.com. It particularly shines for video recording – Apple added a 4K/120 fps mode this generation, enabling gorgeous slow-motion UHD footage techradar.com. The iPhone’s cinematic video stabilization and Dolby Vision HDR continue to lead the industry for prosumers.

On the software side, iOS offers a refined, privacy-focused experience with an unrivaled ecosystem of apps. The iPhone 16 Pro Max launched with iOS 17 and Apple’s new “Apple Intelligence” features suite. This includes on-device machine learning tricks for text recognition, personalized widget suggestions, and the headline-grabbing new Camera Control button (a dedicated hardware button that can launch the camera or perform context-specific actions) techradar.com. However, early feedback on Camera Control has been mixed – it functions more as a shortcut than a true customizable shutter key, and Apple’s AI assistant Siri still lags behind Google Assistant. (Major Siri upgrades tied to generative AI are promised for 2026, so Apple is a bit behind the AI curve tomsguide.com.) Still, features like Live Text (copying text from images), Visual Look Up, and personal voice cloning give a taste of AI in iOS. Apple’s strength remains its polished user experience and long-term support – the 16 Pro Max will get 5+ years of iOS updates, outlasting any Android for software longevity techradar.com. And despite costing a wallet-busting $1,199 starting for 256GB, it does hold value well. As one reviewer put it, “you get a lot of power and polish for your money” with the iPhone 16 Pro Max tomsguide.com.

Bottom line: The iPhone 16 Pro Max is a no-nonsense powerhouse that excels in design, performance, and imaging. It may not fold or have gimmicky features, but it delivers an “best-in-class experience” with superb cameras and “obscenely long battery life” tomsguide.com. For iOS users and anyone seeking a reliable, premium all-rounder, the iPhone remains a top choice in 2025.

Samsung: Galaxy S25 Ultra & Foldables – Feature-Packed Flagships

Samsung entered 2025 in full force by launching the Galaxy S25 series early in the year. At the apex sits the Galaxy S25 Ultra, a device that Tom’s Guide currently ranks as the “best phone overall” in 2025 tomsguide.com. Samsung didn’t radically redesign the S25 Ultra’s hardware from the previous S24, but instead doubled down on AI-driven features and refinements tomsguide.com tomsguide.com. The result is a hyper-capable flagship that tries to do it all: huge high-refresh display, top-tier cameras, integrated stylus, PC-like productivity, and now a heavy dose of on-device AI.

Performance & Battery: Powering the S25 Ultra is the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset (the next-gen 8 Gen 3), paired with 12GB RAM tomsguide.com. In most regions (including the U.S. and Europe) Samsung uses this Qualcomm chip; there were rumors of an Exynos 2400 return, but for the Ultra at least, it’s Snapdragon across the board. The 8 Elite delivers blazing performance on par with Apple’s A18 – and in graphics-heavy tasks or AI workloads, the S25 Ultra arguably has an edge thanks to its specialized AI cores and larger memory pool. Benchmarks aside, the phone feels fast and fluid, handling DeX desktop mode, split-screen multitasking, and high-end games without breaking a sweat. Samsung also optimized thermals, so the large device stays relatively cool. Despite the power, battery life is stellar. The S25 Ultra carries a hefty ~5,500 mAh battery (slightly up from 5,000 in S23U), yielding over 17 hours in Tom’s Guide’s battery test tomsguide.com. In real use, this is easily an all-day (and then some) phone – in fact Samsung says the S25 Ultra is “the longest-lasting Samsung phone we’ve tested” tomsguide.com. Fast charging is supported at 45W wired and 15W wireless (no major change there), filling 0–70% in about 30 minutes. One quirk: Samsung dropped support for Qi2 magnetic alignment in this model (no MagSafe equivalent yet) tomsguide.com.

Display & Design: Samsung’s displays continue to lead the industry, and the S25 Ultra’s screen is magnificent. It’s a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED with 3120×1440 resolution (WQHD+) and an adaptive 1–120 Hz refresh rate tomsguide.com. The panel is pin-sharp (515 ppi) and can hit extreme brightness levels (well over 1,500 nits) for easy outdoor visibility. HDR content looks stunning on it. Samsung slightly tweaked the design – the edges are subtly more rounded this year for better ergonomics techradar.com, though the display itself is essentially flat (with a very slight curve at the sides). The build uses an Armor Aluminum frame (some sources say a titanium alloy frame, but Samsung’s official spec lists aluminum) and Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The S25 Ultra is a tank of a phone at ~234 g, but feels refined with excellent fit and finish. Notably, it retains the S Pen stylus siloed in – a unique feature among flagships that allows for note-taking, sketching, and remote camera shutter use. Samsung did remove Bluetooth from the S Pen this round (no more Air Gestures), perhaps to save power tomsguide.com. The phone is IP68 water resistant as expected. Color options include Phantom Black, green, cream, and new online-exclusive hues.

Cameras: Samsung gave the Galaxy S25 Ultra one of the most versatile camera setups ever seen on a phone. It’s a quad-camera system with a 200 MP main sensor, a new upgraded 50 MP ultra-wide (up from 12 MP last year), a 10 MP 3× telephoto, and a 50 MP 5× periscope telephoto tomsguide.com. On paper, it’s an imaging beast – and in practice, it lives up to that promise. The main camera uses Samsung’s ISOCELL HP2 sensor (1/1.3”) and bins 16-to-1 for 12.5 MP shots by default, yielding excellent detail and dynamic range. The ultra-wide getting a 50 MP sensor means it captures far more detail in wide landscapes and doubles as a great macro shooter (with autofocus). But it’s the zoom where Samsung still outshines most: the combination of a short 3× lens and a longer 5× periscope (both stabilized) allows crisp coverage from 0.6× all the way to 30×. At 10× zoom, the S25 Ultra’s dedicated tele lens produces sharper images than any digital crop. Pushing beyond, it can achieve up to 120× “Space Zoom” – mostly a party trick, though slightly improved via software this year. Importantly, Samsung worked on image processing (the new ProVisual Engine) to boost photo quality across the board tomsguide.com. Reviewers note significant improvement in low-light and HDR scenarios – “upgrades to the processing have paid off big, and the S25 Ultra reaps the rewards,” with cleaner night shots and more accurate colors tomsguide.com. Samsung also narrowed the gap in color science: earlier Galaxy cameras could produce over-saturated or overly warm images, but the S25 Ultra tends to a more balanced output (though still more vivid than Apple’s neutral look). In a recent 200-shot face-off, Galaxy S25 Ultra’s photos were judged on par or better than iPhone 16 Pro Max’s in many scenarios, especially in zoom and low light tomsguide.com tomsguide.com. Mark Spoonauer of Tom’s Guide even concluded that thanks to improved zoom and Night Mode, the S25 Ultra “has regained the lead” as the best camera phone (at least until Apple’s next move) tomsguide.com tomsguide.com. On the video side, the S25 Ultra can capture up to 8K 30fps or 4K 60fps with great stabilization. Samsung’s video still isn’t quite as foolproof as Apple’s (especially for HDR handling), but it’s excellent and offers fun modes like 8K timelapse and Director’s View.

Software & AI: Samsung ships the S25 Ultra with One UI 6.1 on Android 14 (upgradable to Android 15 quickly, and One UI 8 coming with Android 16). Samsung promises 4 years of OS updates and 5 years security, which is among the best support policies (only Google and Fairphone rival it) techradar.com. One UI on the S25 series is absolutely loaded with features – perhaps the biggest story this year is Samsung’s emphasis on AI features. The company integrated what it calls “Galaxy AI” throughout the experience tomsguide.com tomsguide.com. For instance, the S25 Ultra has on-device AI that enables cross-app voice commands – you can tell Samsung’s voice assistant to, say, “find a restaurant nearby and send the address to John,” and it will perform a multi-step action across apps (search in Google Maps, then share via Messages) tomsguide.com tomsguide.com. A new Personal Data Engine learns your habits and populates a “Now Brief” widget with context-aware info (meetings, travel plans, etc.) tomsguide.com. There are also AI photo editing tools (similar to Google’s Magic Eraser and Adobe generative fill) accessible in the Gallery – Samsung’s “Circle to Search” can identify or remove objects in images, and a “Galaxy AI Image Atlas” can create themed albums automatically tomsguide.com tomsguide.com. In short, “mobile AI gets to the next level with the Galaxy S25 Ultra,” as Tom’s Guide writes tomsguide.com. These additions make the phone feel more personalized and proactive over time, though some features (like Now Brief) were a bit basic at launch. Beyond AI, One UI offers Samsung’s unique capabilities like Samsung DeX (which provides a desktop-like UI when connected to a monitor), and deep customization options. Samsung continues to bundle a lot of its own apps (which can duplicate Google’s apps), but the upside is tight integration with Samsung’s ecosystem of TVs, watches, and laptops.

Pricing: The Galaxy S25 Ultra is a very expensive device, even by flagship standards. It launched at $1,299 (256GB) in the US – notably $100 more than Apple’s and Google’s top models this cycle tomsguide.com. (In Europe, it’s around €1,399.) Samsung justifies this by starting at 256GB (versus 128GB on some rivals) and by positioning the Ultra as a no-compromise, productivity and camera monster. There are often carrier deals or trade-in credits to soften the blow tomsguide.com. If the Ultra is too pricey, Samsung also offers the regular Galaxy S25 ($999) and a new Galaxy S25+ ($1,099) which share many features. Additionally, Samsung introduced an Galaxy S25 Edge model – an “impossibly thin” flagship variant tomsguide.com. The S25 Edge is essentially a super-slim (about 7 mm thick) version of the S25 with a slightly smaller battery, aimed at those who prioritize a sleek form factor tomsguide.com. All S25 variants still benefit from the core strengths: the Galaxy AI features and the excellent Snapdragon 8 Elite performance.

Samsung Foldables – Galaxy Z Fold7 & Flip7: Beyond slab phones, Samsung remains the leader in foldables and made a splash in summer 2025 with the unveiling of the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7 ts2.tech. These 5th-generation foldables (Samsung skipped numbering to 7 to align with the year) bring meaningful improvements. The Galaxy Z Fold7 is Samsung’s tablet-style foldable, opening up to an 8-inch mini tablet. It’s notably Samsung’s thinnest and lightest Fold yet – just 8.9 mm thick when folded, about 26% thinner than its predecessor ts2.tech ts2.tech. Samsung engineered a new hinge mechanism that allows a tighter teardrop fold, significantly reducing the screen crease and increasing durability ts2.tech. The Fold7 is also the first Samsung foldable to include a 200 MP main camera, bringing foldable camera quality on par with candybar flagships ts2.tech. This triple camera setup (200 MP main + 12 MP ultrawide + 10 MP 3x tele) means you no longer sacrifice imaging by choosing a foldable. The inside display is a brighter 8.0-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2K panel, great for multitasking and S Pen support (yes, Fold7 continues to support the special Fold Edition stylus, though it’s still an add-on). The cover screen is around 6.2 inches, with a traditional 120 Hz AMOLED that’s now more robust thanks to updated Gorilla Glass Victus+. Samsung also baked in all the One UI 8 foldable software tricks, like improved multi-window (you can run up to 3 apps split-screen and have floating pop-ups) and AI enhancements tuned for big screens ts2.tech. The Fold7 runs on the same Snapdragon 8 Elite, so performance is top-tier. However, battery capacity is roughly 4,800 mAh – decent, but it will drain faster when using that big inner screen extensively. The Fold7 carries a $1,999 starting price in the U.S., about a 5% hike from last year ts2.tech ts2.tech. It’s a halo device for Samsung, targeted at productivity users and Android enthusiasts willing to pay double the price of a normal phone.

The Galaxy Z Flip7, on the other hand, is a pocket-friendly clamshell that got major upgrades in 2025. Samsung enlarged the Flip7’s external cover display to a 4.1-inch edge-to-edge “FlexWindow” – basically the entire front is screen when closed ts2.tech. This makes the Flip7 far more usable when shut, allowing full texting, apps, and viewfinders on the outer display (competing directly with Motorola’s Razr). Samsung also managed to fit the largest battery in any Flip yet: 4,300 mAh ts2.tech. That is a huge jump (last year’s Flip had ~3700 mAh), dramatically improving the Flip’s battery life weakness. The Flip7 uses the same new hinge as Fold7, so it’s slimmer folded and rated for more folds with less creasing ts2.tech. Both Fold7 and Flip7 launch with Android 16 / One UI 8 out of the box, showcasing Samsung’s latest software and AI features tailored for foldables (like Flex Mode panel enhancements and context-aware task suggestions when you unfold) ts2.tech. “Galaxy Z Fold7 combines Galaxy AI with powerful hardware to deliver our most advanced smartphone experience yet,” Samsung’s mobile chief TM Roh proclaimed at the launch, calling this the “next chapter of foldables” that’s “powerful, immersive, intelligent, and portable all in one.” ts2.tech. Clearly, Samsung is positioning foldables as equal-footing flagships. The Flip7 starts around $899 for a new Fan Edition base model ts2.tech, making it more accessible, while the main Flip7 is about $1,099 fully specced – competitive with other flips.

It’s worth noting that despite improvements, foldables are still a niche segment (~1.5% of global smartphone sales) and Samsung’s own foldables comprise only ~4% of its volume (albeit a higher share of revenue) ts2.tech. High prices and durability concerns keep them from mainstream dominance. Still, Samsung’s refinements address prior pain points of bulk and fragility – the Fold7 is ~10% lighter and the Flip7’s hinge is sturdier than before ts2.tech. Samsung also hinted at experiments beyond bi-fold – a tri-foldable concept is in the works, with Roh teasing that Samsung is “working towards” a tri-fold device by year-end ts2.tech. For now, the Galaxy S25 Ultra remains Samsung’s ultimate slab phone, while the Fold7 is the king of multi-tasking and the Flip7 is a stylish, compact trendsetter.

Bottom line: Samsung’s 2025 flagships offer something for everyone. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is a do-it-all Android powerhouse – “you can’t top it for performance and features,” with its quadruple cameras, S Pen utility, and Galaxy AI smarts tomsguide.com. Meanwhile, Samsung’s Fold7 and Flip7 push foldables closer to the mainstream, with improved designs and fewer compromises. Whether you value a huge display, a pocketable foldable, or the most feature-packed camera phone on the planet, Samsung has a flagship to meet that need – at premium prices to match.

Google: Pixel 9 Pro (and Pixel Fold) – The AI All-Star

Google’s flagship phones may not sell at Apple/Samsung scale, but they remain critically acclaimed for their camera excellence and pure Android experience. In late 2024 Google launched the Pixel 9 series, which carries through 2025 as its top offering until the Pixel 10 arrives (likely late 2025). The Pixel 9 Pro is the headliner – joined by a larger Pixel 9 Pro XL and a smaller base Pixel 9. While Google hasn’t radically changed its design language (the Pixel 9 Pro retains the signature horizontal camera bar and matte glass back), it did introduce an all-new look with more premium materials and bold colors techradar.com. The build feels more high-end this generation, with polished aluminum rails and a slightly flatter display compared to Pixel 8.

Under the hood, the Pixel 9 Pro runs on Google’s custom Tensor G4 chip, which, like prior Tensor chips, prioritizes AI and machine learning tasks. Raw performance of Tensor G4 is roughly equivalent to a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 – not as blisteringly fast in benchmarks as the latest Snapdragon 8 “Elite” or Apple A18, but more than sufficient for smooth daily operation. Google did beef up cooling and efficiency, so the Pixel 9 Pro doesn’t throttle as quickly under load as the Pixel 8 did. The real benefit of Tensor is its tight integration with Google’s AI software features. The Pixel 9 Pro comes “loaded with fun AI features… and the best cameras I’ve used on a Pixel phone,” according to one TechRadar reviewer techradar.com.

Camera & AI: The Pixel line is famous for computational photography, and the Pixel 9 Pro lives up to that legacy. It sports a triple-camera array co-engineered with Google’s AI prowess: a 50 MP main sensor, 48 MP 5× telephoto, and 48 MP ultrawide techradar.com techradar.com. Notably, Google gave both the standard Pro and the larger Pro XL the exact same camera hardware, so you don’t have to buy the biggest phone to get the best cameras techradar.com. Image quality is outstanding – the Pixel’s photos have that contrasty, HDR+ pop that Google’s tuning is known for, which can make for stunning shots straight out of camera. Dynamic range is where Pixels still lead; they can pull detail out of extreme shadows and highlights that other phones might lose. The Pixel 9 Pro also introduced new AI-powered editing tools that feel almost like magic. The most notable is Magic Editor, which uses generative AI to let you recompose photos – you can move subjects around or erase and replace background elements, and the software will intelligently redraw the scene. There’s also the classic Magic Eraser (for removing photobombers), Best Take (which merges group photos to ensure everyone’s smiling), and Photo Unblur (which can sharpen a blurry photo after the fact). These features set the Pixel apart for folks who love editing and perfecting shots right on the phone. TechRadar named the Pixel 9 Pro “the best for AI editing” in their camera phone rankings techradar.com. They praised the Pixel’s “amazing AI camera tricks” that can literally salvage or enhance pics in ways competing phones can’t techradar.com.

In terms of pure camera output, the Pixel 9 Pro is among the best. Its main camera produces sharp 12.5 MP binned images with Google’s signature look. The telephoto is excellent up to about 10× – beyond that, Super Res Zoom takes over and quality drops, but casually useful up to ~20×. The ultrawide is also sharp and doubles as a macro shooter. If there’s any area Pixel fell slightly behind, it’s extreme long zoom (Samsung’s 10× lens still wins there) and perhaps speed – the camera app can be a beat slower to process shots, especially when using computational features. Also, some users note the Pixel’s colors can sometimes skew cooler or its white balance might shift between lenses techradar.com techradar.com. But these are minor nitpicks on an otherwise phenomenal camera system. Worth noting: Google bumped the front camera to a high-res 42 MP sensor on the Pixel 9 Pro, enabling 4K selfie video and sharper selfie shots (with an ultrawide mode for group selfies) techradar.com.

Software Experience: The Pixel 9 Pro delivers the purest Android 14/15 experience with Google’s Material You design and zero bloatware. Pixels are first in line for updates; indeed the Pixel 9 was among the first phones updated to Android 15 in 2025. Google guarantees 7 years of OS and security updates on the Pixel 9 series techradar.com, which is industry-leading and ensures this phone will be usable through 2030. Day-to-day, the software is clean and intuitive, but also smarter than any other thanks to Google Assistant. The Pixel is essentially a showcase for Google’s AI: features like Call Screen (the phone can answer unknown calls and transcribe the conversation asking who/what they want) are immensely useful. There’s also the new Assistant with Bard integration rolling out, where Google’s AI can do things like summarize your emails or even hold continued conversations that blend search and personal data (with privacy controls). Pixel 9 Pro also debuted Assistant Voice Typing 2.0, which dictates texts with almost human-like accuracy and can even insert emojis by hearing your command. On the Pixel, these features all run on-device via the Tensor’s TPU, meaning they work fast and offline. Additionally, Pixel’s At a Glance widget has gotten more AI-savvy – reminding you of travel reservations, package deliveries, or even to clean your camera lens if it detects blur. All told, the Pixel 9 Pro feels like the “smartest” phone of the bunch, even if its raw horsepower isn’t blowing away benchmarks techradar.com. As TechRadar put it: “Most of that power is going to AI features, especially on flagship Android phones from Samsung and Google… better to embrace the AI features now, because it’s not going away.” techradar.com The Pixel exemplifies that ethos.

Other Aspects: The Pixel 9 Pro’s display is a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED at QHD+ (2990×1440) and 120 Hz. It’s colorful and gets up to ~1600 nits in HDR – not the absolute brightest, but plenty bright. Google fine-tuned colors for accuracy; it’s a beautiful screen for media. Design-wise, the Pixel is less flashy – some call it utilitarian, but the new soft-touch back glass (on some colorways) and the distinct camera bar have their charm. One small ding: the Pixel 9 Pro is a hefty device and slightly thick, partly due to its substantial 5,050 mAh battery. The upside is excellent battery life – easily a day and a half for moderate use, thanks also to Tensor’s efficiencies. Google finally enabled slightly faster charging at 30W wired (previous Pixels were 23W), but it’s still behind Chinese brands that do 80W+. There’s also 23W wireless via Google’s Pixel Stand. Connectivity is modern with mmWave 5G on some models, Wi-Fi 7, UWB (used for Pixel’s new object tracker support and Nearby Share). One cool new feature: Ultra Wideband spatial sensing – you can use the Pixel to precisely locate a compatible tracker or even another UWB phone at close range, similar to Apple’s AirTag finding.

Finally, a note on Google’s foldable: In mid-2023 Google launched its first foldable, the Pixel Fold. While there hasn’t been a Pixel Fold 2 as of mid-2025, the original Pixel Fold is still around (often discounted). It features a compact 5.8” outer screen and a 7.6” inner tablet screen. Its form factor is shorter and wider than Samsung’s Fold, which many found more ergonomic. The Pixel Fold’s cameras were basically Pixel 7 Pro level (very good, though lacking the latest Pixel 9 innovations). Where it shined was software: Google optimized Android for the big screen with neat tricks like dual-screen translation (each person sees a different language on each screen during a conversation). If Google releases a Fold 2 in late 2025, we expect it will adopt Tensor G5 and improved cameras to catch up. But for now, Pixel 9 Pro is Google’s flagship and is highly recommended for camera enthusiasts and those who want bleeding-edge AI features in their phone. It’s priced at $999 (Pixel 9 Pro) and ~$1,099 (Pro XL), undercutting some rivals. For a true Google experience and brilliant camera + AI combo, the Pixel 9 Pro is the one to beat – it even earned the title “Smartest phone” of the year from Tom’s Guide tomsguide.com.

OnePlus: OnePlus 13 – Speed Demon & Value Champ

OnePlus has long been known for delivering flagship specs at lower prices, and in 2025 they arguably hit their peak with the OnePlus 13. Launched in January 2025, the OnePlus 13 immediately wowed reviewers – TechRadar crowned it the “best overall Android phone” of early 2025, praising how it “blew me away with amazing performance, superlative battery life, and the most durable design OnePlus has created.” techradar.com In an increasingly expensive market, OnePlus 13 stands out by matching (or beating) the big-name flagships in core hardware, while coming in hundreds of dollars cheaper.

Performance: At the heart of the OnePlus 13 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite (the same top-tier chip as in Samsung’s S25 Ultra) paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM. This phone is blazing fast – it posts chart-topping benchmarks and, more importantly, feels incredibly responsive. OxygenOS (now based closely on Oppo’s ColorOS) is tuned for speed, with quick app launches and smooth multitasking. One reviewer noted “the OnePlus 13 simply blew me away with amazing performance”, adding that it handled everything thrown at it and “left no crumbs” techradar.com. Importantly, OnePlus built a robust cooling system (vapor chamber), so it sustains performance under heavy loads (gaming, 4K video recording) better than many rivals that throttle. The phone also supports a bunch of high-performance features: HyperBoost gaming mode to stabilize framerates, and up to 165Hz touch sampling for ultra-responsive input.

Battery & Charging: OnePlus managed to include a large 5,500 mAh battery in the 13, contributing to its slightly thicker build but yielding “superlative battery life” techradar.com. Many users easily get 1.5 to 2 days on a charge. Even when pushing hard with 120Hz mode on, it’s an all-day phone with some cushion. And in classic OnePlus fashion, charging is exceptionally fast. The OnePlus 13 supports 100W SuperVOOC charging, which can refill the battery from 1–100% in about 25 minutes (and a 10-minute top-up gives ~60% charge). It’s astonishingly convenient and makes you forget about battery anxiety. OnePlus also includes 50W wireless charging support, a nice perk (wireless charger sold separately). This easily beats Samsung, Apple, and Google in charging tech – an area where Chinese brands lead.

Display & Design: The OnePlus 13 features a gorgeous 6.7-inch Fluid AMOLED display, 1440p resolution, and 1–120Hz LTPO refresh. It’s as good as any panel out there: vibrant colors (calibrated well for accuracy too), deep blacks, and high brightness (~1500+ nits peak). The screen is slightly curved at the sides, giving a sleek edge-to-edge look, though OnePlus has minimized the curvature compared to older models to reduce glare. OnePlus put a lot of effort into durability and premium feel this round. The phone uses ceramic for its back (on some editions) and a sturdy metal frame. TechRadar called it “the most durable and lasting design OnePlus has created.” techradar.com The ceramic back not only resists scratches better than glass, but also gives the device a high-end heft reminiscent of phones like the Xiaomi 13/14 Pro. A textured matte finish means no fingerprint smudges. The OnePlus 13 is IP68 rated finally (older OnePlus devices sometimes skipped official water resistance), so it’s on par with others for waterproofing. A nice design touch: tactile alert slider is still present, letting you quickly mute or vibrate the phone – a signature OnePlus convenience many users love.

Software: The OnePlus 13 runs OxygenOS 14 (on Android 14) out of the box. OxygenOS has evolved – it’s no longer the ultra-stock Android of years past, but it’s a clean and very refined interface with tons of customization. In fact, reviewers have praised it as “the best Android interface design” currently techradar.com. You can personalize always-on displays, icon packs, and even retheme the system UI with colors and fonts easily. It also includes thoughtful features: a robust Privacy Safe, advanced game mode, Zen Mode for unplugging, etc. OnePlus (with Oppo’s backing) has committed to 4 Android OS updates and 5 years security for its flagships now, which is much improved support putting it in the same league as Samsung techradar.com. One minor critique – OxygenOS does come with some duplicate Oppo apps and a few preloads (Netflix, etc.), but nothing too bothersome, and most can be uninstalled. Notably, OnePlus doesn’t push AI features as heavily as Google or Samsung; their approach is a bit more traditional Android. That said, some AI-based optimizations are present (like scene detection in camera, AI noise reduction in calls).

Camera: Historically, cameras were a step behind on OnePlus phones, but the OnePlus 13 aims to change that. It’s equipped with a triple 50 MP camera system co-developed with Hasselblad: a 50 MP main (1/1.35” sensor, f/1.6 lens), 50 MP telephoto (~3.2× optical), and 50 MP ultra-wide techradar.com techradar.com. This uniform approach (all 50 MP sensors) ensures consistency in color and detail between lenses. Hasselblad’s input is seen in the color tuning – OnePlus offers a “Hasselblad Authentic” mode for more natural colors and a “Hasselblad Vibrant” for a punchier look techradar.com. The results are impressive: daylight photos are rich and detailed, with a pleasing color balance. The ultra-wide camera in particular benefits from the high resolution, capturing wide scenes without that typical drop in quality. OnePlus also really focused on speed and “action” photography. The OnePlus 13 has an ultra-fast burst mode that can capture moving subjects with crisp clarity – “fast action shooting freezes motion,” as one review noted in reasons to buy techradar.com techradar.com. Uniquely, OnePlus implemented a clever multi-exposure technique in its burst: when you hammer the shutter button, the camera can take a short and long exposure nearly simultaneously and merge them techradar.com. This means even in lower light or fast motion, it reduces blur significantly. In practice, reviewers were blown away by how well the OnePlus 13 captures moving subjects: water splashes, sports, kids, pets – all came out sharp where iPhones or Galaxy phones might show some blur techradar.com techradar.com. One tech journalist even remarked that shots of their kid playing football were noticeably sharper with the OnePlus 13 than the same scenes on an iPhone 16 or Galaxy S24, which would blur the fast action techradar.com techradar.com. This makes the OnePlus 13 arguably the best phone for action photography in 2025 techradar.com techradar.com. For other camera aspects: the OnePlus 13 takes lovely portraits with nice bokeh (thanks to Hasselblad tuning and that large main sensor), and its Night Mode has improved greatly, capturing low-light scenes with good detail, though Google and Samsung still edge it out in the darkest conditions. The 32 MP selfie camera is solid, with natural skin tones and wide field of view.

Perhaps the most attractive part of OnePlus 13 is its price. In the U.S. it debuted around $799 for 256GB, undercutting Samsung/Apple by hundreds while offering similar (or better) specs. Even the maxed 16GB/512GB model is usually ~$899. In Europe and India too, it’s priced very competitively. This makes it arguably the “best value flagship” of 2025 – a sentiment echoed by experts tomsguide.com tomsguide.com. “Best Android flagship value” is how Tom’s Guide describes it tomsguide.com. You’re not compromising on any major feature yet saving a good chunk of money.

Bottom line: The OnePlus 13 is a performance beast and a bargain. It delivers elite speed, a beautiful display, long battery life with insanely fast charging, and a greatly improved camera system – all in a premium, durable package that undercuts rivals on price. If you want a cutting-edge Android phone without paying $1K+, OnePlus 13 should be at the top of your list. It’s the culmination of OnePlus’ “flagship killer” ethos, legitimately trading blows with the likes of Galaxy S25 Ultra and coming out ahead in areas like charging and software fluidity, all while being more affordable techradar.com techradar.com.

(OnePlus has also dipped a toe into foldables – late last year they released the OnePlus Open, a book-style foldable with a wider design and Hasselblad cameras. While that device was well received, it launched in 2023. We anticipate a successor in 2025, but for now the Open shows OnePlus bringing its value proposition to the foldable space too. It featured a huge 7.8” inner display and was priced around $1,499 – notably less than Samsung’s Fold. If OnePlus launches a second-gen foldable in late 2025, it could further heat up the foldable competition.)

Xiaomi: 15 Ultra – The Camera Juggernaut

Xiaomi’s flagship phones in 2025 are making waves for their bleeding-edge hardware, especially in the camera department. The crown jewel is the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, which TechRadar currently ranks as “the best Xiaomi phone right now,” thanks to its exceptional performance and truly unique cameras techradar.com techradar.com. Xiaomi has long delivered great value in its flagships, and in 2025 they’re not just about value – the 15 Ultra is a genuine contender for best camera phone in the world and a powerhouse in every spec. (Note: Xiaomi tends to release flagships in China first – the Xiaomi 15 series launched in early 2025 in China, succeeding the 14 series from late 2024. Global releases often follow under the same or slightly different naming, but we’ll refer to the Chinese names here.)

Design & Display: The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a large slab smartphone with a bold design. It features a 6.7-inch 1440p AMOLED display (120 Hz LTPO) that is fantastic – bright, punchy, and high-resolution, on par with Samsung’s best panels techradar.com. The build quality is ultra-premium: the 15 Ultra uses materials like ceramic or eco-leather back options and has IP68 water resistance techradar.com. One immediately noticeable aspect is the absolutely massive rear camera module – it occupies much of the top half of the phone’s back techradar.com. Xiaomi isn’t shy about making a statement with it, and it’s even bigger than the already-huge module on last year’s Xiaomi 14 Ultra techradar.com. Some might find the design conspicuous (it’s definitely a conversation starter, albeit a bit thick and heavy), but it’s part of Xiaomi’s “no-compromise” approach on the Ultra. Despite all the tech inside, Xiaomi managed to include a 5,410 mAh battery – a bit more than most rivals – yet the phone still lasts slightly less than expected due to power-hungry components (more on that later) techradar.com. It’s still an all-day battery, but perhaps not a two-day phone unless used moderately techradar.com techradar.com.

Performance: The 15 Ultra is fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset with a whopping 16GB of RAM (in top configuration) techradar.com techradar.com. This makes it as fast as any device on the market. Xiaomi actually has a performance mode that can push the device to score even higher in benchmarks, but even in default mode it’s on par with the Galaxy S25 Ultra and OnePlus 13. Multitasking is a breeze with that 16GB RAM – you can keep tons of apps in memory. TechRadar notes the 15 Ultra “bears all the hallmarks of a top-end Android phone in 2025” from its chipset to its high specs techradar.com. In side-by-side use, you won’t find any lag or stutter. It also features HyperOS (Xiaomi’s new software replacing MIUI, built on Android 14/15) which is fairly smooth, though loaded with features. One caveat: Xiaomi’s software tends to come with bloatware and ads out of the box (especially in certain regions) – you might see pre-installed apps or occasional ads in system apps, which is a common complaint techradar.com techradar.com. The good news is you can disable/uninstall most of it, and once “spring cleaned,” the experience is much better techradar.com. HyperOS is quite customizable and brings improvements over previous MIUI, but it’s not as clean as Pixel or OnePlus. Xiaomi promises 4 years of major OS updates and 5 years security for the 15 series, which is decent, though slightly behind Samsung/Google’s 5 years OS promise techradar.com.

Cameras: Now to the headline – the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s insane camera system. Xiaomi collaborated with Leica on camera tuning (as they have for a couple of years now), and they’ve thrown literally everything at this setup. The 15 Ultra has four rear cameras, and the specs are eye-popping:

• A 50 MP main camera (using a big 1-inch type Sony sensor, as seen in the Xiaomi 13/14 Ultra),
• A 50 MP ultra-wide,
• A 50 MP telephoto (3×),
• And above all, a one-of-a-kind 200 MP periscope telephoto camera with a 5× optical zoom that uses a 1-inch sensor – yes, the telephoto has a massive sensor too techradar.com. This 200MP 5× lens is the showstopper: it’s Leica-branded and literally takes up the entire top half of the phone’s rear module techradar.com. We’ve never seen such a large sensor dedicated to zoom on a phone. In practice, this means the 15 Ultra can capture zoom photos with unprecedented detail and low-light capability (the large sensor + high megapixels lets in lots of light and allows smart cropping). It can even do a form of continuous zoom by crop – some early tests show that from 5× up to ~10×, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra produces images that rival or beat the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s zoom in clarity. TechRadar flatly stated: “The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is among the best camera phones we’ve ever tested, and as Xiaomi phones go, it’s the best model overall.” techradar.com They highlighted that Xiaomi’s camera system delivers “authentic-looking images… ‘unparalleled professional-grade photography’ largely accurate in our experience.” techradar.com techradar.com Colors have Leica’s influence – you can choose Leica Authentic for true-to-life tones or Leica Vibrant for a snappier look techradar.com. Reviewers were especially impressed by how natural and filmic the photos can look; Xiaomi leans into a slightly restrained processing (compared to Samsung’s sometimes overzealous processing), yielding shots that resemble what a standalone camera might produce techradar.com. This will please photography enthusiasts who know how to edit, though casual shooters might wonder why Xiaomi images aren’t as saturated – it’s a stylistic choice in Leica Authentic mode.

In low light, the combination of large sensors and Xiaomi’s Night Mode yields stellar results – very low noise and lots of detail, often without needing a long exposure thanks to the sensor size. The 15 Ultra’s ultra-wide and 3× telephoto also being 50MP means no weak link in this camera array. You basically have four flagship-grade cameras. It’s no wonder TechRadar said the 15 Ultra’s camera specs “put it on par with the Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max.” techradar.com In fact, in some ways Xiaomi even outguns them on pure hardware. The 15 Ultra’s images were so good that TechRadar called it “as Xiaomi phones go, the best overall” and placed it at #1 in their Xiaomi rankings techradar.com. They did temper that with a note on software: Xiaomi’s new HyperOS is bloatware-heavy and you’ll have to “reckon with… spring cleaning” to get it how you like techradar.com. But for many, that’s a minor annoyance considering the hardware on offer.

Video is also top-notch on the 15 Ultra – it can shoot 8K, and thanks to those big sensors, video quality (especially at 5× zoom) is better than most. Xiaomi/Leica’s color science in video is pleasing, and there are pro controls for those who want LOG footage.

Battery & Charging: Xiaomi continues to lead in charging tech. The 15 Ultra supports 90W wired charging and 50W wireless techradar.com. Wired, it charges 0–100% in around 24 minutes – incredibly fast for a 5410 mAh cell. Wireless it can do 0–100% in under an hour with Xiaomi’s stand. These are far beyond what Apple/Google/Sony offer. However, the battery life, while good, didn’t blow reviewers away. With such powerful chips and bright screens, the 15 Ultra lasted a solid day, but some expected even more from 5410 mAh (one con listed was “expected better battery life”) techradar.com. Still, few will complain given you can top up so quickly.

Pricing & Availability: Xiaomi’s flagships often launch in China first at aggressive prices relative to specs, and then sometimes come to Europe/Asia markets at a markup. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra in China starts around CNY 6999 (approx ~$960) for 16GB/512GB. If it launches in global markets, expect it to be around $1199–1299, which would still undercut a Galaxy Ultra in many regions. Xiaomi also has the non-Ultra Xiaomi 15 and 15 Pro, which have slightly toned-down camera setups (the standard 15 has triple 50MP without the 200MP periscope) techradar.com techradar.com. Interestingly, the standard Xiaomi 15 is considered a better all-round value for most – it’s cheaper but “offers comparable performance… and a more wieldy design” for those who don’t need the crazy camera of the Ultra techradar.com techradar.com. The 15 and 15 Pro still share the Snapdragon 8 Elite, so performance is identical. They also have slightly smaller batteries (~5240 mAh) but still 90W charging techradar.com techradar.com. Xiaomi’s strategy is giving consumers choice: the 15 Ultra for bleeding-edge camera tech, the 15 Pro/15 for a still high-end but more mainstream flagship experience (and even those out-spec many competitors).

Bottom line: Xiaomi’s 2025 flagships, especially the 15 Ultra, are spec monsters that illustrate how far smartphone cameras have come. With a one-inch sensor on a 5× zoom and four 50MP+ shooters, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a photographer’s dream in your pocket, aiming to truly replace a dedicated camera. Performance and charging are top-tier as well. The only downsides are some software bloat and slightly less polish in the user experience compared to Samsung/Apple. But for those who crave cutting-edge hardware, Xiaomi delivers in spades – the 15 Ultra “has specs that put it on par with the S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max,” and in some ways even surpasses them techradar.com techradar.com. It’s a reminder that Chinese manufacturers are at the forefront of smartphone innovation, and why Xiaomi is often mentioned among the world’s top phone makers.

Oppo: Find X8 Pro – Cutting-Edge Comeback

Oppo came back swinging in 2025 with the Find X8 Pro, a flagship that represents Oppo’s return to the global stage and their most advanced device yet. After a year of regrouping (Oppo had scaled back some markets in 2023–24), the X8 Pro shows Oppo’s ambition to compete at the very high end. TechRadar calls it a “ridiculously powerful” phone and lists it as the #1 Oppo handset for 2025 techradar.com. It’s packed with innovation: from a unique chipset choice to a refreshed design and even a new battery technology.

Performance & Internals: Interestingly, Oppo chose to power the Find X8 Pro with a MediaTek Dimensity 9400 chipset rather than the Snapdragon. This is MediaTek’s flagship 2025 SoC, and it does not disappoint – in fact, reviewers noted the X8 Pro sits “happily alongside the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Galaxy S24 Ultra performance-wise.” techradar.com With 12GB or 16GB RAM options, the phone flies through tasks. It appears Oppo optimized ColorOS extremely well for the Dimensity chip, and the phone doesn’t thermal throttle easily. The Dimensity 9400 with its 3.1 GHz prime core and beefy GPU handles gaming and AI tasks with aplomb. And speaking of AI, Oppo promises five Android version updates for the X8 Pro techradar.com, indicating confidence that the hardware can support future features for a long time. This matches Samsung/OnePlus on longevity, a great sign for users. Storage options go up to 512GB/1TB UFS 4.0, and there’s no SD slot (like most flagships now).

A notable highlight is the battery technology: Oppo equipped the X8 Pro with a “silicon-carbon” battery techradar.com. This is a new battery chemistry that can increase energy density – the Find X8 Pro’s battery is around 5,000 mAh but in a smaller footprint, and it supports super fast charging (Oppo’s typically around 80W or more, though specifics aren’t given, we suspect 100W SuperVOOC). This battery tech also purportedly extends battery lifespan (more charge cycles). In practice, battery life is very good – easily a day – and the fast charge tops it up in under 30 minutes typically.

Display & Design: The Find X8 Pro is a sleek device with a 6.78-inch OLED display (1264×2780 resolution) at 120 Hz techradar.com. The screen is gorgeous: sharp and vibrant, with curved edges. Oppo has always excelled at making stunning displays (recall the Find X3’s billion-color display); the X8 Pro continues that with excellent color accuracy and HDR10+ support. The design is where Oppo really shines. The X8 Pro has “rounded flat sides and a ring-shaped camera module” that give it a distinctive look techradar.com. It feels very refined – metal frame, glass (or possibly ceramic) back, slim bezels. The camera module is a circular “Oreo” style bump centered on the back, which looks elegant compared to huge rectangular slabs on some rivals. Oppo offers it in two colors: a classic glossy black and a beautiful pearlescent white that shimmers in light techradar.com. That white version has gotten a lot of positive remarks for its aesthetics. Build quality is top-tier, with tight tolerances on the buttons and an IP68 rating as well. Overall, the Find X8 Pro is “sleek, swift, and sophisticated” – many say it’s Oppo’s best design yet techradar.com.

Cameras: Oppo’s Find series has historically pushed camera innovation (the Find X3 had a microscope cam, Find X5 had its own NPU chip for imaging). The Find X8 Pro sports a quad-camera system that’s “ridiculously great,” per TechRadar techradar.com. It includes: a 50 MP main (likely using Sony’s IMX989 1-inch sensor or similar), a high-resolution ultra-wide, a telephoto (possibly around 3×) and a fourth camera that could be either a small periscope or a microscope/monochrome sensor. The details mention a ring flash, etc., but what’s clear is that image quality is excellent. Early reviews say it “sits alongside iPhone 16 Pro Max and Galaxy S24 Ultra” in performance techradar.com. A big part of that is the MariSilicon X imaging NPU Oppo has (unless they moved to built-in ISP, but likely they still use their custom chip for processing). This allows advanced night mode and 4K HDR video with very low noise. Low-light photos from the X8 Pro are reportedly stellar, and daytime shots have Oppo’s typically natural color tuning (less saturated than Samsung, a bit more contrast than Xiaomi/Leica’s Authentic mode, arguably closest to a Pixel’s look).

One unique thing: instead of Snapdragon’s ISP, the Dimensity 9400’s ISP plus Oppo’s algorithms seem to work wonders. And Oppo/OnePlus’s partnership with Hasselblad might carry here too – though it’s not explicitly stated for Oppo, they might share resources (OnePlus 13 had Hasselblad, Oppo might not use that branding this year). Nonetheless, the camera system is versatile and high-performing. The front camera also got an upgrade to a high-res sensor with autofocus, making for great selfies.

Software: The Find X8 Pro runs ColorOS 14 (on Android 14, updateable to Android 15+). ColorOS in 2025 is quite polished – it has tons of features but can mimic a lighter Android if you use simple mode. There are nice touches like always-on display customizations, a sidebar for quick tools, and improved privacy controls. Oppo has minimized bloatware for global versions (in China it’s heavy with Oppo services, globally it leans on Google’s). Importantly, Oppo committed to 5 years of updates for this flagship techradar.com, matching OnePlus (which makes sense since they share parent company BBK’s resources). This is a newer commitment – likely a reaction to European market expectations. It gives buyers confidence that the phone will last.

Price: The Find X8 Pro isn’t cheap, but it’s priced slightly below some competitors. In the UK it starts at £1,050 (roughly $1,300) techradar.com. In Europe about €1199. This does undercut an iPhone 16 Pro Max and is about on par or a touch lower than a Galaxy Ultra. For what you get, TechRadar noted it “offers more value for money than its closest competitors.” techradar.com That’s likely because you’re getting maxed specs (16GB RAM, etc.) at that price.

Also worth noting: Oppo has a range of other phones – the Reno series for mid-range, and interestingly the Find N5 foldable. In 2025, Oppo introduced the Find N5 (following N3 in 2023; they skipped N4 to avoid the number 4 which is unlucky in China). The Find N5 is a foldable that “blew us away with its thin design”, though availability is limited techradar.com. The Find N5 has a different approach than Samsung’s Fold – it’s more compact when folded (similar to the Oppo Find N and N2 which were shorter and wider). The N5 reportedly is even thinner and lighter, likely among the thinnest large foldables. It shows Oppo’s innovation in hinge tech and design, even if it’s more niche. For the sake of completeness: Oppo also launched the Reno 13 Pro in late 2024/early 2025, which covers the upper-midrange with a good balance of features at a lower price, and a Reno 12 series just before that – but these aren’t flagships.

Bottom line: The Find X8 Pro is Oppo’s statement that they’re back in the global flagship race. It’s “a sleek, swift, and sophisticated flagship” with a ridiculously good quad-camera, a beautiful 120Hz display, and fast silicon-carbon battery charging techradar.com. With its powerful MediaTek chip and promised long-term updates, it doesn’t compromise on performance or longevity either. At around $1,299 it undercuts some rivals while delivering on value. Oppo even impressed with the Find N5 foldable, showing they’re innovating in new form factors as well. For anyone looking for an alternative to the Apple/Samsung duopoly, Oppo’s Find X8 Pro is a compelling choice – it “sits comfortably with the best phones on the market” yet brings Oppo’s own design flair and fast-charge, camera-focused DNA to the table techradar.com.

Vivo: X200 Ultra – The Camera King Strikes Again

Vivo may not be as internationally famous as some rivals, but among smartphone enthusiasts, Vivo’s X-series flagships are legendary for pushing camera technology. In 2025, Vivo’s X200 Ultra has taken the spotlight as one of the most technologically advanced camera phones ever produced. It’s set to launch (or was launched) in April 2025 and is “built to impress”, loaded with boundary-pushing camera hardware androidcentral.com. If the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is vying for best camera phone, Vivo’s X200 Ultra is its fiercest competitor, each taking a slightly different approach.

Cameras: The Vivo X200 Ultra’s camera system is nothing short of extraordinary. Vivo confirmed it includes a “wild 200 MP periscope telephoto lens” with an equivalent focal length of 200 mm – that’s around a 10× optical zoom androidcentral.com androidcentral.com. This is double the optical reach of most flagships (which top out at 5× or maybe 10× in Samsung’s case at lower resolution). It’s basically a telescope in your pocket. Additionally, the X200 Ultra uses dual large sensors for its main and ultrawide cameras: reportedly two 1/1.28-inch sensors (around 50 MP each) for a 35 mm main lens and a 14 mm ultrawide androidcentral.com. These sensors are enormous, nearly the size of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s main, and having one for ultrawide means amazing wide-angle shots even in low light (a traditional weakness). Vivo has a longstanding partnership with ZEISS for optics and color tuning, which continues here – expect natural colors and professional modes co-engineered with Zeiss (including Zeiss Portrait styles that mimic their lenses’ bokeh).

Vivo also incorporates its custom Vivo V3+ imaging chip (successor to the V2) and a separate “VS1” chip androidcentral.com. These handle heavy image processing and AI noise reduction. The result: the X200 Ultra can capture crisp 4K 120fps video (for slow-motion UHD) and likely has class-leading night photography with minimal noise androidcentral.com. An AndroidCentral editor who tested the X200 Ultra said “it has the best cameras of any phone I’ve used yet.” androidcentral.com That’s high praise, suggesting Vivo might have an edge even over Samsung and Xiaomi in some aspects. The 200MP periscope uses Samsung’s ISOCELL HP9 sensor (same 200MP class as S25 Ultra’s main, but here for zoom) with a wide aperture to gather more light androidcentral.com. This means even zoom shots in dim light come out bright and detailed – a scenario where other phones struggle. With such hardware, the X200 Ultra likely produces lossless zoom at various lengths (possibly 5×, 10×, even 15× with minimal loss via in-sensor crop).

The camera system is so ambitious that the phone has a “thicc camera bump” – leaked photos show a massive rectangle housing those big sensors androidcentral.com. It’s not subtle, but anyone buying this phone probably prioritizes camera performance over aesthetics of the camera bump.

Performance: The X200 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite (no surprises here, top Android chip) androidcentral.com. But Vivo doesn’t stop there – they include two co-processors (VS1 and V3+) to offload camera and AI tasks androidcentral.com. This means in shooting, the phone can use the extra ISP power to do real-time RAW HDR, super night mode without lag, etc. General performance with SD8Gen3 (Elite) and likely 16GB RAM is as fast as any flagship. Fun fact: Vivo’s origin as a BBK brand means their OS (Funtouch OS / OriginOS in China) is pretty optimized; it’s smooth and quick, though global Funtouch OS is closer to stock Android feel with some added features.

Display: Vivo gave the X200 Ultra a 6.82-inch 2K OLED display androidcentral.com androidcentral.com. It’s being marketed as a “Zeiss Master Color display” with special polarized tech to be easier on the eyes (reducing blue light and flicker) androidcentral.com androidcentral.com. Expect a superb screen: likely 120 Hz, very high brightness (Vivo’s X90 series had up to 1300 nits, X200 Ultra might push beyond). The large screen combined with their Android 13/14-based software provides a great canvas for content and for using the camera viewfinder to the fullest. The phone supports a new 1.5K or 2K resolution at maybe 6.82″ which is very sharp.

Build & Battery: The X200 Ultra, due to that camera, is not slim – but Vivo strives to keep it manageable. It’s rumored to come in cool finishes: black, a bold vine red, white, and even a silver with striped pattern teased by Vivo androidcentral.com. Build likely includes a metal frame, glass back (maybe vegan leather option for the red?). It should be IP68 as the X100 series was heading that way. The battery is expected around 5000 mAh. Vivo usually offers fast charging ~80W and wireless ~50W on their flagships – we can assume similar or better for X200 Ultra (perhaps 100W wired, given iQOO sub-brand has hit 120W).

Despite the huge camera tech, Vivo tends to price aggressively in China. The X200 Ultra likely starts around CNY 6,999 (~$960) in China for base, climbing for higher storage. If it comes to other markets like India or Europe, it could be priced around $1200–1300 – still good relative to features, though Vivo’s global presence is limited (they focus on Asia; Europe availability is sporadic via importers, the X100 Pro launched in India for example).

Software: Vivo’s global phones run Funtouch OS, which is a customized but fairly straightforward Android experience. It’s not as heavy as Xiaomi’s MIUI; closer to OnePlus’s Oxygen in feel, with a bit of iOS-like design elements (especially in OriginOS on Chinese models). Vivo typically promises 3 years OS updates globally (though they may extend that; not sure if the X200 Ultra will get a longer promise – given competitors doing 4-5 years, Vivo might at least do 4 for this premium device). The phone will launch with Android 14 (if in early 2025) or Android 15 if slightly later. It includes a lot of camera-centric software: a full Pro mode for both photos and video (the Vivo can shoot LOG format video and has LUTs co-developed with Zeiss, per previous models). Also features like gimbal stabilization (some X-series had micro gimbal OIS, not sure if X200 Ultra does, but previous X90 Pro+ had very good stabilization). AI scene detection, portrait effects, etc., are all present but they lean into giving the user control if desired.

Bottom line: Vivo’s X200 Ultra is a camera-centric tour de force, arguably the “holy grail” for mobile photography in 2025. With dual 200 MP shooters (main + periscope) and huge sensors, it’s poised to take on all comers for the camera crown androidcentral.com. Beyond the camera, it’s a powerful flagship with a big beautiful display and all the trimmings (fast chip, fast charging). It might not be widely available globally, but for tech enthusiasts, it’s the kind of device that pushes the industry forward. If your goal is to have the most advanced camera on a phone, the Vivo X200 Ultra should be at the top of your list – early impressions suggest it “puts Samsung to shame” in some areas and may produce the best photos seen to date on a handset androidcentral.com androidcentral.com. Vivo is showing that when it comes to innovation, they are in the big leagues with Samsung, Apple, and Xiaomi.

Sony: Xperia 1 VI – A Niche Powerhouse for Creators

While most flagships chase trending features, Sony’s Xperia 1 VI (Mark 6) goes against the grain, catering to a professional and enthusiast crowd that values features no other phone offers. Launched in 2024 and carrying through 2025 as Sony’s latest, the Xperia 1 VI is “a no-nonsense flagship” embodying Sony’s unique ethos techradar.com. It doesn’t fold, it doesn’t have flashy AI tricks – but it packs pro-grade camera hardware with continuous optical zoom, a 4K display, expandable storage, and even a headphone jack, making it an outlier in the modern market techradar.com.

Design & Display: The Xperia 1 VI looks similar to its predecessors: a slim, tall slab with a 21:9 aspect ratio display. Sony continues to use a 4K HDR OLED, 6.5-inch 120 Hz screen (3840×1644) – the only phone series with true 4K resolution panel. This makes it incredibly sharp (643 ppi) and ideal for media creation and consumption. Reviewers note it’s “not as flashy” as the vibrant curved panels on Samsung, but it’s completely notch-free (no punch-holes) and uncompromising in quality techradar.com techradar.com. The bezels are slim top and bottom, just enough to house front stereo speakers (no need for cutouts). It’s a design that prioritizes function: you get full display area for your content, and you can watch widescreen movies without black bars. The build is classic Sony – understated matte finish, Gorilla Glass Victus, metal rails. It’s IP65/68 water resistant and has a grippy flat frame. Uniquely, on the right side you’ll find a textured hardware shutter button for the camera, a signature Xperia feature that photographers love techradar.com. It gives a satisfying half-press focus and full-press capture, just like a standalone camera. And yes, 3.5mm headphone jack is present on top, delighting audiophiles who want to plug in high-end headphones without dongles techradar.com. There’s also a microSD card slot (shared with the SIM tray) for expandable storage – nearly extinct in other flagships, but alive in Sony’s world.

Performance: The Xperia 1 VI is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (branded as Snapdragon 8 Gen2 in last year’s 1 V, but the Mark VI bumped to Gen3, referred to as “Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform” by Sony) along with 12GB RAM. It’s fast – not much to say there, as expected it handles Android 13/14 smoothly. But Sony doesn’t focus on benchmarking glory; instead they ensure sustained performance. The phone has a vapor chamber cooling and in “HS Power Control” mode, it can bypass battery to power directly when plugged in (to avoid heat buildup during gaming/recording). The Xperia 1 VI also has a healthy 5000 mAh battery techradar.com. Battery life is surprisingly good given the 4K display – in 60Hz mode it can last all day, though at 120Hz it’s slightly less than some 1440p rivals (4K at full resolution all the time can drain). Still, one review measured 17+ hours video playback, which is excellent. Charging, however, is not Sony’s strength: it supports only 30W wired charging (and no charger in box), taking roughly 1.5 hours for full charge. No wireless charging either on some models (Sony sometimes includes Qi on certain region variants, but notably the 1 V had wireless; the 1 VI likely does have Qi actually, since 1 V did – Sony wouldn’t remove it, but they keep wattage low ~15W). This is an area where Sony lags behind the rapid charging of Chinese competitors.

Cameras: Here’s where it gets really interesting. The Xperia 1 VI carries Sony’s cutting-edge camera tech, leveraging their Alpha camera division expertise. It has a triple camera setup: a 12 MP main (24 mm, f/1.9), a 12 MP ultra-wide (16 mm), and a 12 MP telephoto with true continuous optical zoom from ~3.5× to 5.2× (85–125 mm range) techradar.com. That variable zoom lens is something no other smartphone offers – inside the periscope module, lenses move to provide optical focus at any point in that range, rather than just two fixed magnifications. Practically, it means you can zoom smoothly from 3.5× to 5× and everything in between with optical quality. It also simplifies the camera interface: one tele lens to cover mid to long telephoto. The Mark VI improved this zoom from the Mark V’s 85–125 mm by enhancing image quality and autofocus speed. In use, the Xperia produces stunning images if you know how to get the best out of it. By default, Sony’s Photography Pro app mimics a real camera – you can toggle auto or manual modes (adjust ISO, shutter, etc.). Out of camera JPEGs are more neutral and less processed than Samsung/Apple – some might even say a bit flat – but that’s deliberate so photographers have a clean base to edit. With the proper adjustments or in post, the results can be phenomenal. Dynamic range is great (thanks to large sensors and Sony’s tuning), and colors are accurate to reality. Motion capture is a highlight: using technology from Alpha cameras, the Xperia can do up to 30 fps burst shooting with AF/AE tracking on the 24 mm lens. It also has eye autofocus for humans and animals; you half-press the shutter and it locks focus on the eye, ensuring portraits are tack sharp – a feature basically exclusive to Sony.

Low-light performance is solid especially in manual mode (where you can use longer exposures or flash). However, Sony doesn’t heavily stack night images like others, so in extreme low light the fully auto mode might not appear as bright as a Pixel’s Night Sight. Enthusiasts often shoot RAW or use manual tweaks to get fantastic night shots with less noise reduction smearing than other phones. The video capabilities are top-tier: up to 4K 120fps on all lenses for slow-mo, manual video controls via Cinema Pro app, and even an external monitor function (you can input HDMI from a camera to the phone’s 4K screen for monitoring!). For creators, it’s unmatched. “A deep camera app and physical shutter button make it a choice for photographers… a capable creative workhorse,” says TechRadar techradar.com techradar.com. On the front, a simple 12 MP selfie camera (no under-display trickery) yields decent selfies without beauty filters by default.

Unique Features: The Xperia 1 VI is truly feature-laden in ways others are not: It’s one of the last to have expandable microSD storage – you can pop in a card (up to 1TB or more) to store tons of 4K footage or music, which creators love. It’s also a multimedia powerhouse: the 21:9 4K OLED is perfect for watching high-quality movies, and there’s support for BT2020 color, HDR, and creator mode for accurate content. Audio-wise, the stereo speakers support Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio, and the headphone jack has a high-end DAC that supports hi-res audio output (up to 24-bit/192kHz and LDAC codec for wireless). Gamers also get some love: the 120Hz 4K display plus game enhancer mode and low touch latency make it great for Android gaming. It can even output video via USB-C HDMI-out to a monitor if needed.

Drawbacks: The Xperia 1 VI is, as Sony tradition, expensive. It launched at £1,299 / ~$1,399 in Europe – even pricier than an iPhone 16 Pro Max or Galaxy Ultra techradar.com. And in the US, Sony doesn’t sell through carriers, only unlocked (and often with a delay after global launch). It’s a niche product, so volume is low and thus price stays high. Also, Sony’s focus on a certain user means if you just want simple point-and-shoot, an iPhone or Pixel might actually give more instant gratification in auto mode. Reviews often mention it “demands a certain way of working” and a bit of patience to get the most out of it techradar.com. But if you invest the time, it “offers rewards in the form of its expanded feature set.” techradar.com

One more consideration: No US carrier 5G support (usually Sony’s US model is limited to 4G/LTE and sub6 5G on T-Mobile, lacking some bands and no mmWave). And Sony’s market presence is tiny now, meaning you won’t find cases/accessories as easily at local stores.

Bottom line: The Sony Xperia 1 VI is a powerful workhorse for creative professionals and enthusiasts techradar.com. It’s virtually in a class of its own – “a spec sheet unlike any other” with things like continuous zoom lens, 4K display, headphone jack, microSD, and pro camera apps techradar.com. For the average consumer, it’s probably overkill (and the cost hard to justify), but for photographers, videographers, or those who yearn for the “old-school” flagship features, it’s a dream device. Sony charges a premium for this uniqueness, and without broad carrier support it’s a tough sell for mainstream. But the Xperia 1 VI has earned its spot as “the best Sony phone you can get right now” techradar.com and indeed one of the most interesting flagships of 2025 for those who march to the beat of a different drum.

Other Notable Flagships in 2025

Beyond the brands above, a few other manufacturers have noteworthy devices at the high end:

• Huawei Mate 60 Pro: While not officially “global” (due to trade bans, Huawei phones lack Google services outside China), the Mate 60 Pro is a significant 2023/2024 flagship that carried into 2025 in markets like China and parts of Europe via import. It made headlines for its 7nm Kirin 9000S chipset – Huawei’s first homegrown 5G chip since sanctions, representing a breakthrough in China’s semiconductor tech techinsights.com. The Mate 60 Pro also features a unique 50 MP main camera with a physical variable aperture (f/1.4–f/4.0), allowing it to adapt optically to lighting conditions finance.yahoo.com. Its triple camera system (50 MP main, 48 MP ultrawide, 48 MP telephoto) delivers excellent images, co-engineered with Huawei’s XMAGE imaging—which many rate at the level of top competitors. The phone has a stunning curved 6.82” OLED and a robust build (ceramic back) with satellite SMS capability. In China, it’s a coveted device. However, without Google apps it’s a tough sell elsewhere. Still, it demonstrates Huawei’s innovation under constraints, and camera enthusiasts importing it have praised its balanced, natural image quality and powerful zoom. (Huawei also released a Mate 60 Pro+ and a foldable Mate X5 in late 2023. By 2025, we expect a P70 series or Mate 70, but details were scant at time of writing.)
• Honor Magic5 Pro / Magic Vs2: Honor, once Huawei’s sub-brand, now independent, has its own flagships. The Honor Magic5 Pro (2023) is still a contender in early 2025 – it has a powerful triple 50MP camera setup and a beautiful quad-curved display. DXOMark even crowned its camera #1 at launch. Priced a bit lower than Samsung/Apple, it offered great value. Honor’s more interesting play is in foldables: the Honor Magic V2 (launched mid-2023 in China) and a lighter Magic Vs2. The Magic V2 set records as the thinnest and lightest book-style foldable (just 9.9 mm folded, under 240g) yet still packed a 5000 mAh battery ts2.tech. This engineering feat shows foldables can be slim. If Honor brings Magic V2 globally (they hinted at it for Europe), it could challenge Samsung’s Fold for a productivity foldable, albeit without Google services in China (global version would have GMS). By 2025 Honor likely will launch a Magic6 series with top Qualcomm chips and improved cameras, continuing their push to be seen on par with OnePlus/Xiaomi in global markets.
• Motorola Edge 40/50 Ultra & Razr 2025: Motorola’s flagship strategy in 2025 has two prongs: the bar-type Edge series and the iconic Razr foldables. The Motorola Edge 40 Ultra (aka Moto X40 in China, late 2022/early 2023) featured Snapdragon 8 Gen2, a super-smooth 165Hz display, and a 200MP main camera – a strong spec sheet, though camera tuning was a step behind the best. For 2024/25, a rumored Edge 50 Ultra might arrive with Snapdragon 8 Gen3 and camera improvements. However, Moto’s true flagship highlight is the Razr Ultra (2025), their latest flip-foldable. Released mid-2025, the Razr Ultra finally goes all-in on specs: it has a 7.0-inch internal pOLED at 165Hz and a giant 4.0-inch external display – the largest cover screen of any flip hothardware.com hothardware.com. More importantly, it’s equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, 16GB RAM, up to 1TB storage, and a big 4700 mAh battery – these are class-leading for a flip phone hothardware.com phonescoop.com. It basically matches slab flagships on internals. The build uses premium materials (aluminum frame, Gorilla Glass Victus, and even a mix of vegan leather or wood back options in special editions) hothardware.com. The Razr Ultra’s cameras include dual 50MP rear shooters (standard + ultrawide) and a 50MP selfie inside hothardware.com. HotHardware’s review dubbed it a “masterful folding flip phone,” noting how Motorola “cranked specs to eleven” to leapfrog Samsung’s Z Flip hothardware.com hothardware.com. At $1,299 it’s pricey but still under the Galaxy Z Fold. Motorola also released a Razr (2025) base model around $699–799 with a mid-tier chip (Dimensity 7400) for more budget-conscious buyers. With these, Motorola is leveraging the beloved Razr brand to regain relevance at the high end, and it earned accolades – Tom’s Guide named the Razr Ultra (2025) “Best foldable” phone of the year for its combination of big screens, big battery, and top performance tomsguide.com tomsguide.com.
• Google Pixel 9a / 9e: While not flagships, a quick nod that Google’s Pixel 9a (branded Pixel 9a or 9 “e” in some rumors) launched in mid-2025 as a budget alternative. At ~$499 it uses a toned-down Tensor G4 but retains many flagship Pixel features (same software, a great camera for the price). Tom’s Guide actually called it “a great low-cost flagship alternative” because it punches above its weight in camera and software tomsguide.com tomsguide.com. It’s the “Best value” pick for many who want Pixel goodness cheap.

In summary, even outside the marquee brands, 2025’s smartphone arena is full of innovation – from Huawei’s chip defiance and Honor’s featherweight foldable, to Motorola’s spec-loaded Razr flip and more. It’s a great year for consumers as these alternatives provide strong competition and niche options in the flagship space.

Verdict: Best Picks of 2025 Flagships

Choosing “the best” in a year jam-packed with excellent phones is no easy task. Different phones excel in different areas. Based on our comparisons and expert reviews, here are the top picks in specific categories for 2025:

• Best Overall Flagship – Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: For most users, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the ultimate all-rounder. It earns this title for blending top-tier performance, an outstanding and versatile camera system, huge battery life, and a feature set that covers everything but the kitchen sink. “When it comes to giving you the best performance and the most features, you can’t top the Galaxy S25 Ultra,” writes Tom’s Guide, citing its quadruple cameras, S Pen stylus, and useful Galaxy AI smarts that put it over the top tomsguide.com. It’s the phone that “ticks all the boxes” – you get a magnificent 6.9” display, the fastest chip, superb cameras at wide and zoom (it’s regained the mobile photography crown from Apple according to many experts tomsguide.com), plus extras like DeX desktop mode and industry-leading 5 years of updates. It is expensive, but if you want the phone that can do it all, the S25 Ultra is the one to beat tomsguide.com.
• Best Camera Phone – Tie: Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Vivo X200 Ultra: 2025 saw two mobile photography titans emerge, and they’re so close that crowning one is difficult. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra offers an insane Leica-powered quad camera setup – including that unique 200MP 1-inch sensor periscope – and produces some of the most “authentic-looking, professional-grade” images reviewers have ever seen techradar.com techradar.com. Its combination of a huge sensor and finely tuned processing yields stunning low-light performance and natural color. Meanwhile, the Vivo X200 Ultra one-ups nearly everyone in zooming, with its 200mm-equivalent (10×) periscope and dual large sensors, plus Vivo’s Zeiss partnership delivering beautiful results androidcentral.com androidcentral.com. An AndroidCentral tester said the X200 Ultra “has the best cameras of any phone I used yet,” which is high praise androidcentral.com. If forced to choose, the Vivo might have an edge in zoom and video (thanks to its dual imaging chips and Zeiss T✻ lens coating), whereas the Xiaomi excels in overall balance and that 1-inch main sensor rendering. Both are on par (or beyond) the Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max in camera capability techradar.com techradar.com. For photography enthusiasts, you simply can’t go wrong with either – they represent the cutting edge of phone cameras in 2025.
• Best Performance – Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: In raw performance and especially in optimized real-world use, Apple’s A18-powered iPhone 16 Pro Max still takes the crown for speed and silicon prowess. Apple’s tight integration of hardware and software means this phone never breaks a sweat – from high-fidelity mobile gaming to 4K video editing. In fact, in cross-platform tests like video encoding, the iPhone’s A18 Pro chip often finishes tasks in half the time of even the fastest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Androids tomsguide.com. One benchmark example: the 16 Pro Max transcoded a video faster than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, showcasing Apple’s CPU efficiency tomsguide.com. The Snapdragon 8 Elite found in phones like the OnePlus 13 and Galaxy S25 Ultra deserves a mention – it has narrowed the gap, especially in graphics and AI tasks, and OnePlus in particular squeezed out incredible sustained performance (earning praise that the phone “blew away” the tester with its speed) techradar.com. But overall, the iPhone 16 Pro Max provides the smoothest, most responsive experience with its high-end GPU and industry-best neural engine, all while maintaining cooler temps and battery efficiency thanks to Apple’s 3nm process. For sheer performance with real-world reliability, the iPhone is 2025’s performance champ.
• Best Value Flagship – OnePlus 13: OnePlus has reclaimed its “flagship killer” heritage with the OnePlus 13, delivering a phone that offers 90% of what ultra-premium phones do at a fraction of the price. Starting around $799, it undercuts most competitors by hundreds of dollars, yet it packs the same Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, a 120Hz QHD+ AMOLED display, large battery, and even perks like super-fast 100W charging. TechRadar’s editors were so impressed they ranked it #1 in best Android phones, declaring “The OnePlus 13 simply blew me away” in performance and battery life techradar.com. Its camera, co-developed with Hasselblad, also steps up close to the big names (with particular strengths in fast action capture that even pricier phones struggle with) techradar.com techradar.com. Importantly, OnePlus now offers long software support (4 OS updates, 5 years security), so longevity isn’t sacrificed. For those who want a true flagship experience on a smaller budget, the OnePlus 13 is hands-down the best value – it’s even dubbed the “Best Android flagship value” by Tom’s Guide tomsguide.com. Google’s Pixel 9 (at $699) is another value option, giving the Pixel’s outstanding camera and AI features at a lower cost, but its build and raw specs aren’t quite at the OnePlus 13’s level. Thus, OnePlus 13 strikes the perfect balance of affordability and high-end experience in 2025 tomsguide.com.
• Best Foldable – Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Foldables took a leap forward this year, and the Galaxy Z Fold7 stands at the forefront as the most complete and advanced folding phone. Samsung’s latest large foldable earned its title by dramatically improving the form factor – it’s 26% thinner and 10% lighter than last year, with a new hinge that virtually eliminates the crease ts2.tech ts2.tech. Open it up, and you have a brilliant 8-inch AMOLED tablet display that’s brighter than ever, perfect for multitasking and media. It’s also the first foldable with a 200MP main camera, meaning no compromise on camera quality versus a normal flagship ts2.tech. Add to that the S Pen support and Samsung’s enhanced One UI 8 for foldables (with Flex Mode and improved task continuity), and it truly offers an “ultra” experience – “powerful, immersive, intelligent, and portable all in one,” as Samsung’s TM Roh said ts2.tech. Yes, the Fold7 is very pricey at ~$1999, but for those seeking the best foldable, it delivers an uncompromised mini-tablet and phone in one. It was a close call with the Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) for best foldable category – Motorola’s device is superb, but as a flip-style foldable it targets a different user. The Razr Ultra (2025) deserves a special mention as the best clamshell foldable, with its large 4” cover screen and top-tier specs making it far more practical and powerful than Samsung’s own Z Flip this year hothardware.com hothardware.com. In fact, Tom’s Guide named the Razr Ultra the best overall “foldable” of the year tomsguide.com. But comparing apples to apples, for the full tablet-like foldable experience, the Galaxy Z Fold7 is our pick for Best Foldable – it’s the one that pushes the foldable category forward the most in 2025 ts2.tech ts2.tech.
• Best for Photography Enthusiasts – Sony Xperia 1 VI: This category is a bit of a wild card, but worth noting. If you’re a serious photographer or creator who wants a phone that functions like a pro camera, the Xperia 1 VI is unparalleled. It’s the best “photographer’s phone” – offering granular manual control, a true zoom lens, and tools like a dedicated shutter button and color-accurate 4K display techradar.com techradar.com. As one review said, “the Xperia 1 VI offers features you’ll get nowhere else”, from the headphone jack and microSD slot to the continuous optical zoom techradar.com techradar.com. It’s pricey and niche, but for the target user, it’s the top pick.

In the end, 2025’s flagship landscape has something for everyone. Apple and Samsung continue to deliver superb do-it-all devices; Google and OnePlus offer tremendous software and value; Xiaomi and Vivo drive camera tech to new heights; Oppo and Motorola bring innovation in design and charging; and niche players like Sony and Huawei cater to specialized demands. The “best” phone depends on your priorities – but rest assured, whether you crave the best camera, fastest performance, greatest value, or the future of foldables, 2025’s crop of flagships has a winner in each category waiting for you.

Sources: The information and evaluations above are based on hands-on reviews and expert analyses from reputable tech outlets including Tom’s Guide tomsguide.com tomsguide.com, TechRadar techradar.com techradar.com, Android Central androidcentral.com androidcentral.com, and others, as well as manufacturer announcements ts2.tech ts2.tech. These sources have been cited throughout the report for specific claims and comparisons. Each flagship was considered in light of multiple reviews to ensure a well-rounded verdict.