The iPhone 16 Pro, Google Pixel 9 Pro and Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra, have tons in widespread. From their lightning-fast efficiency and pro-level cameras to their huge, vibrant shows, these flagships are all among the many best phones you can buy in 2025. It is no shock then that these fan-favorite phones have one thing else in widespread, too: Whopping costs.
Costing $1,000 and extra, these elite handsets are out of attain for many people — or they’re merely pointless for these of us who simply need an all-around gadget for on a regular basis use. Fortunately, there’s an enormous array of choices on the market catering to all wants and budgets, whether or not you are searching for top-end mannequin or a extra reasonably priced possibility, just like the Google Pixel 9A.
You’d assume the huge variety of decisions would make procuring easy. However the actuality is that generally all of the choices make it extra complicated. That will help you lower via among the jargon and spend your cash sensibly, I’ve put collectively suggestions for purchasing a telephone.
Oh, and in the event you’re contemplating shopping for a brand new iPhone 16 proper earlier than Apple is predicted to launch its new iPhone 17, here’s why you should wait — no matter whether or not you need Apple’s newest handset.
Learn how to purchase a brand new telephone: High phone-buying suggestions
- Know what you care about most: Is it display screen dimension? Digital camera high quality? Battery life? It will assist slender down your decisions. Telephones just like the iPhone 16 Professional, Galaxy S25 Extremely or Xiaomi 15 Ultra, for instance, pack unimaginable cameras that just about rival the standard you’d get from a mirrorless digital camera. When you’re eager on pictures and all the time need to carry an outstanding digital camera for when inspiration strikes, then spending cash right here is a good suggestion. If not, you possibly can doubtless save your self a bundle.
- Do not low cost the midrange: Options of final yr’s flagships all the time trickle all the way down to this yr’s midrange handsets.You will get a fantastic telephone that does nearly all the pieces {that a} premium telephone can do for a fraction of the worth. Google’s Pixel 9 Professional packs a fantastic zoom digital camera, however the base Pixel 9 has a lot of the identical key specs and comes at a extra affordable value.
- Store the gross sales: Search for deep reductions and promo offers round main holidays, particularly Amazon’s Prime Day and Black Friday. And discover out what your grace interval is in case you want a fast return or alternate.
- Think about final yr’s telephones: They will usually be a fantastic deal, too. Look ahead to this yr’s launch to get final yr’s telephone for much less, when shops and carriers could also be attempting to dump their current inventory. You must also verify for used choices as these can prevent a ton of cash, so long as no matter you purchase nonetheless receives safety updates.
- Maintain the telephone at a retailer first: It’s possible you’ll love or hate the way in which it appears to be like and feels in individual.
- Verify in the event you’re already invested: Have you ever already purchased a variety of iPhone apps and iTunes motion pictures? Persist with an iPhone in the event you nonetheless need entry to them. Likewise, in the event you’ve invested in a great deal of Android apps, you may need to keep on that aspect of the fence. In any other case, it is easy sufficient to switch platforms.
- Purchase a case and display screen protector: You may shield your telephone from pricey harm and can enhance the telephone’s resale or trade-in worth for if you’re prepared to maneuver on. When you’re cautious with how you employ your telephone, it should last for years.
Smartphone efficiency vs. price range
Basically, efficiency traces up with price. The very newest, best expertise often comes at a premium. Flagship telephones pack the perfect cameras, essentially the most highly effective processors and should even sport cutting-edge tech like foldable displays. The excessive costs imply that these telephones are price contemplating solely by those that need absolutely the newest tech of their pockets.
Not everybody wants such high tech, nevertheless, or might merely be unwilling to spend the $1,000 or extra sometimes required to get it. Fortunately, the midrange sector of the telephone world has been one of many fiercest battlegrounds for firms to compete in, leading to some wonderful telephones that will not break the financial institution. Options like wi-fi charging and cameras with a number of lenses that have been as soon as the area of flagships at the moment are commonplace on midrange telephones.
Even price range telephones will nonetheless supply first rate digital camera high quality and sufficient energy so that you can take pleasure in your entire on a regular basis net looking, WhatsApp-ing and Instagramming.
Display screen dimension
All telephones have gotten steadily greater over the previous few years, with the iPhone 16 Professional Max and Galaxy S25 Extremely measuring a whopping 6.9 inches. Small telephones aren’t that widespread anymore, with nearly no telephones measuring underneath six inches in dimension.
Apple killed off its iPhone Mini line, and whereas its 2022 iPhone SE remained the smallest iPhone you could possibly purchase, the corporate changed it with the 6.1 inch iPhone 16E, which hardly qualifies as small. On the Android aspect, the Google Pixel 8A’s 6.1-inch show makes it one of many higher smaller telephones, however just like the iPhone 16E, it is hardly what you’d name tiny. Google changed it just lately with the Pixel 9A and in so doing elevated the display screen dimension to six.3 inches. Sorry, small telephone followers, appears to be like such as you’re out of luck.
Software program help interval
A telephone stays protected to make use of solely so long as it receives safety updates from the producer to guard it from hackers. Prior to now, this was a much bigger concern since most telephones have been supported for simply two or three years, leaving them with a brief shelf life. Right now, nevertheless, prolonged help has turn into a aggressive function, with Google now providing a powerful seven years of software program and safety updates on its newest telephones.
It means the latest Pixel 9 Professional will nonetheless be protected to make use of in 2031, whereas Samsung has promised an analogous help interval for its Galaxy S24 and S25 traces. Samsung’s Galaxy S20, launched in 2020, acquired its remaining safety replace in 2024, nevertheless, so it is vital to substantiate how lengthy your telephone of alternative shall be protected to make use of, particularly in the event you’re shopping for an older telephone on the used market. An extended help interval not solely provides you higher worth for cash over the lifetime of the gadget, it is also higher for the planet, because it retains older, however nonetheless usable telephones out of landfill and reduces the variety of new gadgets being made and shipped.
Digital camera efficiency
Digital camera options have been a significant level for bragging rights in current telephones, with producers all the time wanting a much bigger, extra thrilling quantity, be it the variety of megapixels or amount of precise digital camera lenses. Three rear cameras at the moment are widespread — a daily lens, an ultrawide lens and a telephoto lens — with even budget-focused telephones packing a number of cameras.
Learn extra: Best Camera Phone to Buy in 2025
That is nice, as extra lenses imply extra capturing choices if you’re out and about. However that does not imply that any multilens digital camera is pretty much as good as one other. As with processor efficiency, the extra you spend, the higher the outcomes you may sometimes get, with the very best cameras round often being discovered on the costliest flagships.
Look out for options like optical (reasonably than digital) zooms, evening mode for higher low-light photos, and optical picture stabilization. Typically these options won’t be clear, and it isn’t attainable to guage a digital camera’s efficiency simply by wanting on the specs. When you actually care about your telephone’s pictures expertise, then take a while to take a look at the critiques and see how its digital camera performs earlier than you spend your cash.
Battery life
Most telephones, from the price range finish via to elite flagships, can final most of a day on a single cost. Larger telephones might need greater batteries, however additionally they have greater screens and infrequently extra highly effective processors, so that they suck that further juice down shortly. Few telephones offers you greater than a day of use. Listed here are some issues to remember:
- At all times plan on giving your telephone a full cost in a single day.
- Search for options like quick charging, that permit your telephone to tackle a variety of energy in a brief area of time. Some telephones, just like the OnePlus 13, help 80W quick charging that may take it from empty to full in round half-hour. Verify to see in case your telephone comes with a suitable quick charger although, as an outdated USB plug doubtless will not supply the ability output required.
- Your battery will last more in the event you keep away from extra demanding duties similar to gaming or video streaming. Protecting the display screen brightness down will assist too and in the event you’re actually attempting to eke out that previous couple of % to assist get you dwelling, turning off Wifi and Bluetooth may also assist.
Processor efficiency
High-end telephones pack highly effective processors together with 12GB of RAM or much more. It is sufficient to make these telephones run any process with out breaking a sweat, however you need not spend flagship stage cash to get nice efficiency.
Most first rate midrange telephones supply sufficient energy to deal with your entire on a regular basis wants. You may nonetheless have the ability to play nearly any recreation from the Google Play retailer and edit your high-resolution photos in apps similar to Snapseed or Adobe Lightroom. There’s little you could possibly throw at most midrange telephones that they would not have the ability to deal with.
As you progress into the price range finish of the spectrum, that is if you’ll begin to discover some slowdown with issues like gaming. Extra demanding 3D video games may look extra stuttery and should even unexpectedly stop. Nevertheless, fundamental duties similar to sending emails, listening to Spotify and looking Instagram should not be an issue.
4G or 5G?
5G is the most recent normal that guarantees lightning-fast cell knowledge speeds if you’re out and about. Whereas 5G protection nonetheless is not in every single place but, it is widespread sufficient that it’s best to completely look towards a 5G telephone. And that is simple, as nearly all of them are, from top-end flagships all the way down to entry-level price range telephones.
The one motive it’s best to think about shopping for a 4G telephone now could be in the event you’re wanting on the used market and you have discovered deal on an older-generation mannequin that may tide you over for a few years.
How a lot telephone storage do you want?
Most telephones, even the price range ones, include at the least 64GB of storage, of which 10 could also be taken up by preinstalled apps and the telephone’s working system. When you do not plan on recording video, and gaming is not your factor, 64GB may be sufficient, however in any other case it’s best to think about 128GB to be a safer minimal.
Greater-end telephones — notably these that may file top quality 4K video — supply capacities of 256GB or extra. With that a lot area, you may barely have to assume twice about having to filter out outdated recordsdata.
If the telephone helps microSD playing cards then it is a totally different matter, as you possibly can decide up 32GB microSD playing cards (or greater) for little or no cash today and popping one into your telephone will dramatically enhance the quantity of storage you may have entry to. Sadly, expandable storage is a really uncommon function on telephones today. Nevertheless, most telephones will help exterior storage over USB-C, so in the event you’re occurring vacation and need to shoot a variety of high-resolution video, taking a small SSD drive to dump your footage to may be a good suggestion.
Bonus options
Many of those options at the moment are widespread on telephones at varied value factors and are price holding in thoughts if you’re procuring.
- Fingerprint scanner or face unlock: A scanner could also be on the again and even invisibly constructed into the show. Biometric safety, because it’s referred to as, is safer than having to recollect a PIN.
- Waterproof: Do you usually take calls within the rain? Search for a telephone with at the least an IP67 ranking to maintain it protected from water and spilled drinks.
- Wi-fi charging: That is obtainable on many telephones, with some now providing quicker wi-fi charging speeds, so long as you employ a suitable charging pad.
