This was a surprisingly enjoyable yr for smartphones. I wasn’t anticipating it to be; the class is usually described as stale or “plateaued.” However as WIRED’s resident phone reviewer, I’ve examined practically all of this yr’s handsets—units as cheap as $130 all the best way to an eye-watering $2,000—and I don’t assume there’s been a yr full of as many various types in fairly a while.
It began with the Nothing Phone (3a) series, which the UK firm launched at Mobile World Congress early within the yr. Whereas I wasn’t a fan of the Professional mannequin’s top-heavy digital camera module, the electrical blue Cellphone (3a) is a standout. It seems to be like no different smartphone available on the market, with a clear backplate, a pop of coloration from a small pink sq., and the corporate’s signature Glyph lights, which blink if you obtain notifications. These LEDs might not be essentially the most helpful, however they’re enjoyable and wacky.
That whimsical design has been sorely missing for a number of years. Bear in mind 2020’s LG Wing? The five-camera Nokia 9 PureView from 2019? The bizarre Moto Mods of a decade in the past, which added issues like cameras and audio system to the Moto Z from Motorola? These telephones could not have topped the charts, however they tried one thing completely different.
Smartphones are a necessity in immediately’s world, and like all commodities, which means good and playful designs are sometimes sacrificed for the sake of producing effectivity. When corporations chase the underside line, we find yourself with plain, simple-looking telephones designed for the broadest doable viewers. This is the reason the current shift to units with a little bit extra character feels important.
Nothing had one other win on its fingers this yr with the CMF Phone 2 Pro, a sub-$300 cellphone that didn’t look or really feel something like its funds value. Uniquely, you may unscrew the again of the cellphone and exchange the backplate with one which’s a distinct coloration, or take off the Accent Level module and fix issues like a lanyard. Sustainability-focused Fairphone had an analogous thought with The Fairphone (Gen. 6), besides this smartphone did all of that whereas additionally reaching a ten/10 repairability score from iFixit.
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Subsequent got here Motorola, which has seen a lot of success in recent times with its Razr folding flip phones. With the 2025 Razr models, the corporate leaned closely into completely different supplies and textures. You possibly can purchase a Razr with a again coated within the microfiber textile Alcantara, vegan leather-based, or polished black Gorilla Glass. There’s even a model with Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood. It helps that Motorola stays one of many solely producers providing a folding flip cellphone below $700. (It even will get as low as $600 throughout sale occasions.)
You should still be hesitant to put money into certainly one of these hinge-reliant handsets, given their spotty history with durability, however they’re more durable than ever. I’ve dropped a number of Razrs, the Pixel 10 Professional Fold, and even the Galaxy Z Flip7 this yr, and out of doors of minor scuffs on the body, none of them have cracked. Motorola launched a titanium-reinforced hinge plate this yr. Google guarantees 10-plus years of folding for its latest Fold and has finally earned an IP68 rating for its folding design. Samsung says its Galaxy Z Fold7 can face up to 500,000 folds, which pencils out to greater than a decade of typical use.
We must always anticipate extra out of how the devices in our lives appear and feel. As with a good watch, I discover that I genuinely take pleasure in utilizing units that put a little bit extra care or effort into design and construct high quality. This yr, I used to be delighted by the sharp-looking Light Phone III—the anti-smartphone that doesn’t run conventional apps—whereas the Minimal Phone, which is constructed with the identical purpose of serving to scale back time spent gazing a display, had a plasticky construct that felt off-putting. Even with all of this experimentation in type, you don’t should spend a whole lot and a whole lot of {dollars} on a handsome cellphone. Motorola’s Moto G Stylus 5G has a placing design with a beautiful leather-like texture, and it’s continuously on sale for $300.
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Skinny, as at all times, was additionally very a lot in. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge and the iPhone Air might not be authentic concepts, however I child you not, holding an ultrathin and light-weight cellphone is definitely fairly dang superior. Sadly—and unsurprisingly—Samsung’s design suffered from lackluster battery life, and whereas the iPhone Air delivered better-than-expected run occasions, its single digital camera system and excessive value didn’t precisely scream good worth in an economically tumultuous yr. (These flaws probably clarify the rumors that counsel Samsung has canceled plans for a successor to its thinnest handset and that Apple has been weathering lackluster sales of the Air.)
However we’ve already seen the advantages of thinner telephones. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold7 is among the greatest folding telephones of the yr, largely as a result of large discount in measurement and weight over its predecessors. Apple can be rumored to be engaged on a folding iPhone, and the learnings from the iPhone Air would go a good distance in making a tool that’s not cumbersome to carry.
