Best phones of 2021 – buyer’s guide (US market)

The iPhone 13 Pro Max is currently Apple’s best iPhone. It finally brings some long-overdue features like a ProMotion 120Hz display, a smaller notch, and a more prominent camera upgrade with a larger sensor for the main camera, a 3x telephoto, and an improved ultrawide camera with macro mode.

The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max offers fantastic dust and water resistance, plus its Ceramic Shield is incredibly crack proof. Of course, the latest iPhone is unmatched when it comes to performance. If you are an iPhone type of person, the 13 Pro Max is a no-brainer. If you are after the best flagship – that’s also this iPhone 13 Pro Max, as long as you don’t mind using Apple iOS.

All of these apply to the regular Pro, in fact. It’s up to you to decide which size suits you best. No matter the hardware differences, you will still get the same experience. Got to love Apple for that.

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The new waterproofed Galaxy Z Fold3 is a handset you can get if a regular bar doesn’t cut it anymore. It has an improved hinge and offers ingress protection, plus it introduces an under-display selfie camera. Truly innovative, some may say.

Samsung’s third generation of phone-turns-into-tablet foldable comes with an improved build, chipset, cameras. On the software side, OneUI is there to help if you’re wondering what to do with the form factor, but multi-tasking and selfie-taking are two areas elevated to a whole different level.

The camera system isn’t half bad, but it’s not quite a match for Samsung’s non-folding top-end models – a periscope is missing, the others aren’t state-of-the-art either. The Z Fold3 battery life is quite uninspiring, though, and there is no charger inside the box. The stereo speakers are still as wonderful. Overall, Samsung’s way past the proof of concept stage with this one, so it’s worth a look if you’re shopping with an unlimited budget.

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The Galaxy S21 Ultra gathers all the cutting-edge tech Samsung can offer to the public so far, short of a foldable screen. It’s only natural that it has a superb display with all the bells and whistles, this time including S Pen support. Battery life is excellent, the latest-gen fingerprint reader is great, the stereo speakers are loud and clear.

Then there are the cameras. A quad setup means you have two teles on this Galaxy Ultra going all the way up to 10x natively. On the ultrawide end, there are developments, too – the addition of autofocus has left us with one less thing to complain about and made it competitive for a change. And the main unit is a new and improved take on the 108MP Nonapixel concept with advancements in HDR, low light and autofocus performance. The selfie camera continues along the same lines, delivering praise-worthy results.

The barebones retail package is not our favorite trend, even if it’s being marketed as environmentally friendly. The disappearance of the microSD slot for this generation is hardly ideal either. Ultimately though, these are small enough as to be largely immaterial, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra is one of the best flagships and the best Android smartphone.

Bear in mind that it’s an ongoing model that’s due to be replaced in February 2022 if rumors are to be believed.

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Sure, the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G is a last year’s phone, but it’s still very much relevant, especially on US soil. It’s a feature-packed flagship, and going by recent rumors, it’s the last of its kind too. A rare chance to own one now. The latest in the Note lineup has a superb display, great battery life and a very capable tri-set of cameras. But it’s the S Pen that makes it a unique proposition for any type of creative use as well as general note-taking.

The continued regional divide that leaves the bulk of the world with the somewhat inferior Exynos chipset is hardly ideal, and that’s probably our biggest issue with the Note20 Ultra. Other minor niggles include the relatively slow charging speed and maybe the ultra-sonic fingerprint reader, as well as Samsung’s refusal to enable 1440p resolution at 120Hz refresh rate. For all its image capture prowess, the camera assembly is anything but pretty, physically, but is that really a reason not to get the most complete Android smartphone available?

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A rather niche choice here, so if you are not looking for a gaming phone, it might not be the right one for you. However, the Asus ROG Phone 5s is polished through and through, so if you don’t mind the gaming aesthetics, you can still use it as a standard daily driver.

Our review findings of the Asus ROG Phone 5 and 5s Pro can easily apply to the regular 5s as well. This means you will be getting superb OLED, 144Hz display, excellent battery life, capable cameras on the front and back, unrivaled sound quality and loudness from the stereo speakers and possibly the best gaming experience on a smartphone. This leads us to our next selling point of the ROG Phone 5s.

If by any chance you are actually looking for a gaming smartphone, the ROG Phone 5s is pretty much your only option in the US. And that’s without even getting into the rich ecosystem of gaming accessories that Asus provides.

We can certainly go on to praise Asus’ excellent handling of the fast 144Hz refresh rate on the ROG Phone 5s’ OLED panel or the in-depth control mapping and customization offered by Armory Crate, with control schemes often bordering on unfair advantage.

However, to be fair, the ROG Phone 5s would not be our top pick if you can still find the ROG Phone 5 (better thermals) or even the ROG Phone 3 (more compatible accessories). Unfortunately, both of these devices have been discontinued already.

The Pixel 6 Pro is finally here and has a lot of new features we liked instantly. The new design is cool, the 120Hz OLED screen is great, and the phone has one of the fastest chips on the market.

The Pixels are known for their cameras, and the Pixel 6 Pro delivers handsomely – it has a triple rear camera – a 50MP primary, a 12MP ultrawide, and a 48MP snapper with long-range 4X zoom. The photo and video quality have been improved significantly, and there are even some new tricks thanks to the Tensor chip. Finally, since it’s a Pixel, you can expect on-time Android updates

The new Pixel 6 Pro also brings a brand-new selfie camera – a long-overdue upgrade over the previous models. It’s an 11.1MP sensor with 4K video capturing.

It’s not all great, though. Its battery life is uninspiring; the HDR+ won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. There are also color inconsistencies between the primary and the ultrawide cameras.

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OnePlus is having a field trip in the US with its balanced offerings there. The OnePlus 9 Pro is the company’s top smartphone for 2021, and it’s an easy recommendation in the US market with all the bells and whistles. A proper flagship for just under $900.

The handset packs one of the best displays around (LTPO AMOLED at 120Hz), blazing-fast charging and a versatile and capable camera setup. Sure, it’s not on par with the flagship-level competition in this regard, but it gets the job just fine.

The clean-ish Android experience and 3-year-long software support are a breath of fresh air in the Android segment in the US. Although OnePlus’ recent direction change when it comes to software is rather polarizing and that’s definitely something worth considering by the pure Android fans. In any case, the good price/performance ratio remains a staple of OnePlus’ phones in the US.

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It does lack a high refresh rate screen, but it’s our top pick in this category easily. It’s also a much more recent phone than the Galaxy S21 5G. The iPhone 13 is one of the most durable and powerful phones on the market, yet lightweight and comfortable. The OLED screen is great; it has reduced though still huge notch, offers outstanding contrast and brightness, Dolby Vision and HDR10 support.

The iPhone 13 has the latest Apple chip with 5G, there is also latest Apple dual-camera with Cinematic mode, you get stereo speakers, fast charging, and even MagSafe support.

The iPhone 12 is still on sale if you want to spend €100 less – it’s pretty much the same phone sans the halved storage and lack of Cinematic mode. The rest are mostly cosmetic changes.

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The Samsung Galaxy S21 is one of the most compact Android flagships available, and the small size didn’t come at the cost of cut features. Well, if we don’t count the lower screen resolution across the non-Ultra S21 models, that is.

The new Galaxy S21 comes with a 1080p 120Hz AMOLED and flagship hardware. It has the same camera system as the S20 that’s fully capable for stills and video, day and night, and goes from ultrawide to tele – sort of losslessly up to 3x.

The smallest Galaxy S21 offers a decent battery life and sustained performance even if it scores a bit lower than the rest of the series, probably due to thermal constraints. Still, it is one of the most compact droids available right now and an easy enough recommendation.

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The OnePlus 9 is another all-round smartphone that deserves a spot on this list. It did not make it to the flagships, or the flagship killers, but its current price of €640 makes it an excellent contender in its price bracket.

The OnePlus 9 has a superb 6.55-inch 120Hz Fluid AMOLED screen with HDR10+ support, and it employs the most current Snapdragon 888 5G chipset. We found its primary and ultrawide cameras on the back to be quite capable with a good photo and video quality.

The good OnePlus traits continue with powerful stereo speakers and the incredibly fast 65W charging.

The OnePlus 9 is not without a few caveats, of course. The international model has no ingress protection, there is no zoom camera on the back, the selfies aren’t that good, and most importantly – the battery life is uninspiring.

Still, those omissions aren’t enough to distract us from this excellent versatile smartphone, and we do recommend exploring it.

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The Asus Zenfone 8 is probably the best compact Android flagship you can get today and if weren’t for the iPhone 12, it would have been our top pick for this category. Now, let’s say it’s the runner up.

The Zenfone 8 has commendable qualities across the board. Its built is as flagship as it gets – IP68 rating, GG Victus front, metal frame, GG3 back. There is the latest Snapdragon 888 5G chip with great sustained performance even when the phone gets hot. The camera quality turned out brilliant, no matter day or night, photo or video, or the type of camera you are using.

That’s not all. The Zenfone 8 impressed us with its speakers quality, the excellent OLED, and rich connectivity options, including a 3.5mm jack.

Finally, the Zenfone 8 may be a flagship, but its price of €699 is more in the upper mid-range territory.

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The new Apple iPhone 13 mini is a smaller version of the iPhone 13, and it’s lost nothing. The most important updates over the 12 mini are the larger battery capacity, the smaller screen notch, and the doubled base storage. We sure don’t think iPhone 12 mini owners should update, but we do consider the 13 mini as the best compact phone there is right now!

The iPhone 13 mini packs a 5.4″ OLED screen of 1080p resolution and the powerful Apple A15 chip with 5G connectivity! It has the same dual-camera as the regular iPhone 13, complete with sensor-shift stabilization, Night Mode and Dolby Vision video capturing. It also enjoys loud stereo speakers and improved battery life. The mini is one of the most durable phones to date as it has the same Ceramic Shield and IP68 waterproofing as the standard and Pro models.

You can also consider the Apple iPhone 12 mini as it is now cheaper, and the differences with the 13 mini aren’t exciting.

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The vanilla Google Pixel 6 is pretty much in its own category as it’s unmatched around these parts. It is a waterproofed smartphone with a reasonably large 6.4-inch OLED with 90Hz refresh rate support and HDR10+. The highlight of the Pixel 6 is Google’s first in-house developed Tensor chip, which turned out to be the fastest Android platform with incredibly powerful photographic skills.

The new dual-camera is impressive – it has a new 50MP primary with OIS and an improved 12MP ultrawide shooter. Super Zoom is supported, too, which is the AI replacement of the missing telephoto camera. The photo quality is the usual Pixel-level, which says a lot, plus there are some new cool tricks possible thanks to the Tensor chip.

The (€700) Pixel 6 is an excellent all-rounder with all sorts of flagship traits sold at a reasonable price. It will be getting the new Android updates first, will be leading the Android photography once again, and the Tensor chip is showing some great potential. Its limited availability, 90Hz instead of 120Hz screen refresh rate, and the missing telephoto camera is what’s stopping it from being a great choice.

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OnePlus coined the term that headlines this category, but with its ever-increasing prices, it’s been hard to place a phone in it. Until the OnePlus 8T. And now, even a year later and a new generation of OnePlus 9, the 8T still remains our choice for its feature set and lower price. And it’s our Editor’s top pick for under $500 too.

The OnePlus 8T impresses with a 120Hz display and some of the fastest charging in the business while also delivering solid battery life and overall nice camera output. The 120Hz display may be awesome and all, but the phone stays locked at 60Hz for most games, and that looks like wasted potential to us. The camera is pretty good, but not flagship-grade good.

The OnePlus 8T goes for about €500, and that’s why it still keeps its spot in this flagship-killer category – it has a flagship-like specs sheet on a mid-range price.

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Apple’s older iPhone 11 is not an easy recommendation given that it’s older than two years, but it’s one of the few devices that make sense in the category. Apple’s continuous software support for older devices and its compatibility with all US carriers help build a stronger case.

However, no high-end phone with any amount of self-respect can be seen with a 5W charger in the box, except the iPhone 11. It’s also on the bottom of the list when it comes to pixels on a screen per dollar spent, plus it’s one of the most expensive phones with an LCD. It’s not exactly a looker either, sporting a dated design made even less premium by the thickest of bezels.

Ah, but the iPhone 11 has a lot going for it if you look past all that. Obviously, it’s one of the most affordable of this year’s Apple crop, which means it’s a cheap way to get that beast of a chipset, industry-standard video recording, and Night mode, albeit with one camera short of the Pros. The superb battery life doesn’t hurt its case either.

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Then there’s the Pixel 5a 5G. Some time ago, the Pixels were a straight-up recommendation when it came to taking photos on the phone, but that’s no more. The competition has already caught up with Google’s computational photography, and the Pixels are beginning to look underequipped.

Now, however, it’s hard to find a phone in this price range that could beat the Pixel 5a in photography. Especially since the US market offerings are quite limited, to begin with.

Google promised that its Super Zoom based on AI will make up for the missing telephoto – we were talking about the king of computational photography after all. Well, the zoomed photos are surely better than the typical crop and upscale, but they are not on par with any optically zoomed ones. It seems that Google’s computational magic is finally running out of steam, though Pixel 6 and 6 Pro should be putting the Pixels back in the camera race.

Still, we are putting this Pixel in this category, as the Pixel series have enough following in the US, plus Google’s software support is quite a valuable thing for the fans craving for the latest Android versions.

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Apple released a new SE in 2020, and it’s definitely among our top picks in this Compact chapter. It’s hardly perfect, though, but Apple has the iPhone 12 mini for those seeking perfection. So, the SE revived a form factor introduced 6 years ago and last touched up in 2017 and reuses a lot of that 2017 iPhone 8 bits. That means a single camera, a small battery, giant screen bezels and the return of an almost forgotten means of authentication – TouchID. Wait, that’s a good thing – we missed TouchID, in a way.

Speaking of good things, perhaps the best one is the chipset – the SE (2020) has the Apple A13 Bionic chip, which is just 10% less powerful than the A14. There is no 5G, though. The A13 chip is more powerful than even the beefiest Android, and it’ll remain capable for years to come, during which time it’ll keep getting software updates – the iOS way. It’s a very affordable entry into that iOS world, too – relatively, of course – the iPhone 12 mini is going at roughly a 75% premium.

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The Motorola Edge (2021) is US-only smartphone that’s currently on discount and perfectly fits the $400 category. The device stands out with a fast 144Hz display, 108MP main camera and a powerful Snapdragon 778G SoC. Its clean Android experience remains the phone’s key selling point, though. To be honest, the device is rather hard to recommend in its original price bracket, but since it’s on discount (at the time of writing this guide), it’s easily one of the best sub-$400 solutions on the market.

It’s also one of the few handsets on the US market to feature the popular 108MP. Unfortunately, we haven’t reviewed the phone, and we don’t really know how it will perform, but we bet it’s going to be decent at the very least, judging by our previous experience with the said sensor.

Last, but not least, the Edge (2021) is a particularly sensible solution for anyone looking for a big-screen handset. At 6.8″, there’s hardly any alternative, and the best part is that Motorola didn’t cheap out with a panel. Sure, it’s LCD, but it does have that HDR10-compatibility and a higher than most 144Hz refresh rate. Games would look great, as long as you can find ones that utilize the display’s refresh rate. The 30W fast charging, a rare occurrence in Motorola’s mid-range portfolio, ensures that the big 5,000 mAh battery won’t take too long to charge.

Motorola’s One 5G Ace handset is a recently discounted powerful smartphone with the same Snapdragon 750G SoC and a big 6.7-inch HDR10-compliant screen. It definitely gives these Samsungs a run for their money. In fact, this phone easily wins our Editor’s Choice award in the under $300 category. It has a powerful, unrivaled Snapdragon 750G chipset for the money, a big 6.7-inch display, HDR10 at that, and a solid 5,000 mAh battery to run all that.

The One 5G Ace uses the same camera setup as its rivals and doesn’t miss on the microSD card, NFC and 3.5mm audio jack. More importantly, in typical Motorola fashion, the company made it splash-resistant – a nice bonus to have when buying a budget handset these days. And in case you are wondering, yes, the One 5G Ace works with Verizon, you just have to get the UW Ace version of the phone. It’s the same phone but compatible with Verizon’s 5G network.