The first new devices of 2025 2

The first new devices of 2025 have found their way into our test lab, which has led to some reshuffling among our best phone picks. But a bigger change to the rankings could be coming soon.

Best Phones: Quick Menu

1. iPhone 16 Pro Max: Best overall
2. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Best Samsung phone
3. Pixel 9 Pro: Smartest phone
4. Pixel 8a: Best under $500
5. OnePlus 13: Best Android flagship value
6. iPhone 16: Best iPhone value
7. OnePlus 13R: Best flagship alternative
8. Galaxy S24 FE: Affordable AI
9.. OnePlus Open: Best foldable
10. Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: Battery champ

That’s because Samsung has unveiled its latest flagships for 2025, and while the hardware changes aren’t the biggest we’ve seen, the additions to Galaxy AI features promises to bring new ways of interacting with your phone. We’ve posted some Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on impressions and have also spent some time with the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus, but need to complete our testing before we post full reviews. We’re keeping the current Galaxy S24 models among our best phone rankings, but we’d caution you to hold off on a purchase, with new Samsung models hitting stores February 7.

That leaves the iPhone 16 Pro Max as our top choice, and it still figures to rank highly among the best phones even after our Galaxy S25 tests are complete. That’s because of the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s epic battery life, superior cameras and expansive screen. And if you don’t want to pay the high price for that model, the more affordable iPhone 16 supports he same Apple Intelligence features you’ll find on the more expensive Pro phones from Apple.

One the Android side of things, the Pixel 9 Pro and OnePlus 13 battle it out for the top spot among Android devices, pending our full S25 reviews. If you’re looking for a great value, the Pixel 8a just edges past the OnePlus 13R, thanks to the former’s sub-$500 price.

I’ve reviewed many of these phones first-hand, with the rest of the phones team at Tom’s Guide adding their thoughts and insights for an in-depth look at which devices you should consider. Between every one of our phone reviewers, we’ve got more than four decades of experience evaluating phones from every possible angle.

Our best phone picks are based on our lab tests and real-world use of each phone we get our hands on. Here are the 10 phones you should consider if you’re looking to get a new handset right now.

Written by

Philip MichaelsManaging Editor

I’m the managing editor for mobile at Tom’s Guide, where I’ve been working since 2015. In total, I’ve covered technology for 25 years now — I was even there when Steve Jobs showed off the original iPhone back in 2007. I’ve been looking at and testing phones since that day, and if you visit my Northern California home, you can marvel at the stacks of phones I keep handy for head-to-head testing.

The best phone overall

1. iPhone 16 Pro Max

The best phone overall

Specifications

Display: 6.9-inch OLED (2868×1320; 1-120Hz)

CPU: A18 Pro

RAM: 8GB

Storage / Expandable: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB / No

Rear camera: 48MP wide (f/1.78), 48MP ultra wide (ƒ/2.2), 12MP telephoto (5x zoom; f/2.8)

Front camera: 12MP (ƒ/1.9)

Weight: 8 oz

Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 17:35

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Reasons to buy

+

Long lasting battery life+

Useful Camera Control button+

4K 120 fps video capture

Reasons to avoid

–

Slow charging speeds-

Apple Intelligence features aren’t yet essential

The iPhone 16 Pro Max holds down the top spot among the best phones based on the impressive results it produced when my colleagues and I got the chance to test its display, processing power and — especially — its cameras. The new phone offers a bigger screen (without increasing its overall size too much from the iPhone 15 Pro), an upgraded ultrawide camera and a faster processor. Even better, the first Apple Intelligence features are now available, with more to come in subsequent iOS updates for the next few months.

You won’t have to ditch your iPhone 15 Pro Max if you upgraded a year ago, and anyone worried about missing out on the first round of Apple Intelligence features should relax. While a good first step, Apple Intelligence is more of a nice-to-have than a must-have at this point. That said, there are plenty of compelling reasons to upgrade to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, particularly if you’ve got an iPhone that’s at least a couple years old.

Price and value: While this model commands the same $1,199 cost as its predecessor, a larger 6.9-inch screen and bigger battery means you’re getting more for your money. That particularly true in light of the $100 price hike Samsung gave to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which means Apple’s top device remains the less expensive option. “Less expensive” is relative, though, as the $1,199 starting price is a lot for some people to pay.

Camera performance: iPhones live and die by their cameras, and the telephoto lens on the iPhone 16 Pro Max offers some notable improvements to both its main camera and its ultrawide lens. These complement the 5x telephoto lens that returns from the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Because the iPhone 16 Pro features the same camera setup for $200 less, we rank that phone as the best camera phone overall, but you won’t be disappointed with what the iPhone 16 Pro Max cameras produce. We’ve even put it through a 200 photo face-off against the Galaxy S24 Ultra to crown an undisputed champion, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max came out on top on the strength of its superior dynamic range and low-light shooting capabilities.

Battery and charging: The battery on the iPhone 16 Pro Max lasts more than 17.5 hours on our battery test, where we have a phone surf the web until its battery gives out. The average phone barely makes it past 10 hours, but the iPhone 16 Pro Max was just getting warmed up at that point. No other iPhone has ever lasted that long, with the iPhone 16 Plus coming the closest with an average result of around 16.5 hours. If only the phone could charge quickly, but at least MagSafe charging is improved to 25W speed.

Overall performance: Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip dishes up heated competition, but the A18 Pro chipset powering the iPhone 16 Pro Max turns out to be a very fast chip, topping the Snapdragon silicon in speed testing and tasks like video encoding. (Samsung’s Galaxy S24 phones did turn in better scores with higher frame rates in graphics testing.). We noticed the extra oomph when using the iPhone 16 Pro Max to perform everyday tasks and switch between apps. When we used the iPhone 16 Pro Max to transcode a video, the task took half as long as it did on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Verdict: The iPhone 16 Pro Max wins top marks for design, photography and performance. Charging speed and digital zoom features could be further refined, and it’s very expensive relative to some of the other phones on this list, but you definitely get a lot of power and polish for your money.

Read the full review: iPhone 16 Pro Max

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