The Best Phones in 2021 (updated August)

If money is no object and you want an iPhone, the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max is the best one you can get. It features one of the best displays in its class: its 6.7-inch screen has excellent pixel density and color calibration, and peaks at a whopping 1200nits of brightness, making it easy to discern outdoors. It also has the fastest chip on any smartphone as of now.

The camera has also improved like every year and this time around one of the major new features is Dolby Vision HDR video. Apart from the professional-looking 4K video footage and the crazy-fast chip to process it, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the first iPhone to use “sensor-shift” stabilization for taking photos, meaning images in low-light conditions are clearer. The iPhone 12 Pro Max comes with the familiar iOS interface and the beautiful Apple ecosystem, coupled with the typical for Apple 5 years of software updates, making sure the phone will remain fast even after years of use.

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is the new super-premium S Pen-wielding smartphone by Samsung. It’s an extra large phone with a huge camera bump, plus it’s heavier than before and it barely fits in a pocket. If you like a big phone, though, this one is among the best: it has a luxurious feel, and it features a new toughened glass that can theoretically survive a head-high drop. The 6.9-inch screen is class-leading and features a 120Hz refresh rate for a buttery smooth experience. Under the hood, the Note 20 Ultra is the equivalent of a muscle car: Snapdragon 865+ is perfect for gaming, and you have 12GB of RAM for effortless multitasking. Camera quality is also excellent and you have up to 50X zoom. Battery life, however, is just good, not quite great. You will need to charge it every night.

Last but not least, at $1,300 we feel the price is a bit too high, but Samsung often runs deals, and chances are that you will be able to get it for less. S Pen lovers won’t be disappointed, but those looking for the best value-for-money or for a more compact phone might want to look elsewhere.

Gaming phones are a bit of a meme, but it’s nice to see Asus fully embracing it. The ROG Phone 5 Ultimate has an aggressive-looking design, a tiny screen on the back whose sole purpose is to display custom logos, and 4 hardware pressure point buttons for enhanced gaming. It wouldn’t be a “gaming phone” if it didn’t have absolutely silly specs, too, and the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate delivers. 18 GB of RAM on a smartphone? 144 Hz screen? External cooler that you need to connect to the phone via a proprietary port? Yes, yes, and how else would you have it?

It’s a niche phone, absolutely, but it’s hard to keep it away from a “best” selection. After all, it is probably the (or among the) most powerful Android phones out on the market right now. Even if you don’t need all the power — you definitely get the bragging rights.

If the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is a bit too much for you, go for the non-Ultimate version. It’s just as good, it just cuts back on all of that overhead that you may or may not need.

The OnePlus 9 is not as flashy as the Pro, but it has all the basics down — a super-snappy performance, powered by top-tier hardware, clean software experience, beautiful 120 Hz AMOLED screen, and a pretty good camera. What makes the OnePlus 9 a true contender is its price tag — $729.

Its drawbacks include a plastic frame and the fact that the camera is outperformed by the Galaxy S21, which is within the same price range. But the OnePlus 9 can still stand on its own two feet and is worth looking twice at.

The Apple iPhone 12 mini is the best compact phone that you can get right now. It features the iPhone 12's blazing-fast processor and camera system, and it comes at a reasonable starting price of $700. Its 5.4-inch display is OLED with excellent colors and brightness, and its thin and compact body makes it perfect to use with one hand and very easy to carry in most pockets.

If you want a compact phone with top-notch performance and an excellent camera system, the iPhone 12 mini is the one for you. Like any other iPhone, it comes with 5 years of software updates to make sure it’s still fast after years of use.

Read more: Apple iPhone 12 mini review