The iPhone 16 Pro, Google Pixel 9 Pro and Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra, have tons in frequent. From their lightning-fast efficiency and pro-level cameras to their huge, vibrant shows, these flagships are all among the many finest telephones you should purchase in 2025. It’s no shock then that these fan-favorite telephones have one thing else in frequent, 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 machine for on a regular basis use. Thankfully, there’s an enormous array of choices on the market catering to all wants and budgets, whether or not you are on the lookout for top-end mannequin or a extra reasonably priced choice, just like the Google Pixel 9A. You’d suppose the huge variety of selections would make procuring easy. But the truth is that generally all of the choices make it extra complicated. To enable you to lower by a few of the jargon and spend your cash sensibly, I’ve put collectively ideas for getting a cellphone.Oh, and for those who’re contemplating shopping for a brand new iPhone 16 proper earlier than Apple is predicted to launch its new iPhone 17, this is why it is best to wait — no matter whether or not you need Apple’s newest handset.How to purchase a brand new cellphone: Top phone-buying ideas Know what you care about most: Is it display measurement? Camera high quality? Battery life? This will assist slim down your selections. Phones just like the iPhone 16 Pro, Galaxy S25 Ultra or Xiaomi 15 Ultra, for instance, pack unbelievable cameras that nearly rival the standard you’d get from a mirrorless digicam. If you are eager on images and all the time wish to carry an excellent digicam for when inspiration strikes, then spending cash right here is a good suggestion. If not, you may seemingly save your self a bundle.Don’t low cost the midrange: Features of final 12 months’s flagships all the time trickle all the way down to this 12 months’s midrange handsets.You can get an amazing cellphone that does nearly every thing {that a} premium cellphone can do for a fraction of the value. Google’s Pixel 9 Pro packs an amazing zoom digicam, however the base Pixel 9 has many of the similar key specs and comes at a extra cheap worth. Shop the gross sales: Look 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 change.Consider final 12 months’s telephones: They can typically be an amazing deal, too. Wait for this 12 months’s launch to get final 12 months’s cellphone for much less, when shops and carriers could also be making an attempt to dump their current inventory. You also needs to examine for used choices as these can prevent a ton of cash, so long as no matter you purchase nonetheless receives safety updates.Hold the cellphone at a retailer first: You might love or hate the best way it appears to be like and feels in particular person.Check for those who’re already invested: Have you already purchased a number of iPhone apps and iTunes motion pictures? Stick with an iPhone for those who nonetheless need entry to them. Likewise, for those who’ve invested in a great deal of Android apps, you will wish to keep on that aspect of the fence. Otherwise, it is easy sufficient to change platforms.Buy a case and display protector: You’ll defend your cellphone from pricey injury and can enhance the cellphone’s resale or trade-in worth for once you’re prepared to maneuver on. If you are cautious with how you employ your cellphone, it ought to final for years. Andrew Hoyle/CNETSmartphone efficiency vs. price range In normal, efficiency strains up with value. The very newest, best expertise often comes at a premium. Flagship telephones pack the very best cameras, essentially the most highly effective processors and should even sport cutting-edge tech like foldable shows. 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, nonetheless, or might merely be unwilling to spend the $1,000 or extra usually required to get it. Luckily, the midrange sector of the cellphone 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. Features like wi-fi charging and cameras with a number of lenses that had been as soon as the area of flagships are actually commonplace on midrange telephones. Even price range telephones will nonetheless supply first rate digicam high quality and sufficient energy so that you can take pleasure in all your on a regular basis net shopping, WhatsApp-ing and Instagramming.Screen sizeAll telephones have gotten steadily greater over the previous few years, with the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Galaxy S25 Ultra measuring a whopping 6.9 inches. Small telephones aren’t that frequent anymore, with nearly no telephones measuring underneath six inches in measurement. Apple killed off its iPhone Mini line, and whereas its 2022 iPhone SE remained the smallest iPhone you possibly can 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 not too long ago with the Pixel 9A and in so doing elevated the display measurement to 6.3 inches. Sorry, small cellphone followers, appears to be like such as you’re out of luck. Andrew Hoyle/CNETSoftware help periodA cellphone stays secure to make use of solely so long as it receives safety updates from the producer to guard it from hackers. In the previous, this was an even bigger concern since most telephones had been supported for simply two or three years, leaving them with a brief shelf life. Today, nonetheless, prolonged help has change 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 Pro will nonetheless be secure to make use of in 2031, whereas Samsung has promised an analogous help interval for its Galaxy S24 and S25 strains. Samsung’s Galaxy S20, launched in 2020, acquired its ultimate safety replace in 2024, nonetheless, so it is essential to substantiate how lengthy your cellphone of selection will probably be secure to make use of, particularly for those who’re shopping for an older cellphone on the used market. An extended help interval not solely provides you higher worth for cash over the lifetime of the machine, 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. Camera efficiency Camera options have been a significant level for bragging rights in current telephones, with producers all the time wanting an even bigger, extra thrilling quantity, be it the variety of megapixels or amount of precise digicam lenses. Three rear cameras are actually frequent — an everyday lens, an ultrawide lens and a telephoto lens — with even budget-focused telephones packing a number of cameras. Read extra: Best Camera Phone to Buy in 2025This is nice, as extra lenses imply extra taking pictures choices once you’re out and about. But that does not imply that any multilens digicam is nearly as good as one other. As with processor efficiency, the extra you spend, the higher the outcomes you will usually get, with the very best cameras round often being discovered on the most costly flagships. Andrew Lanxon/CNETLook out for options like optical (reasonably than digital) zooms, night time mode for higher low-light pictures, and optical picture stabilization. Sometimes these options won’t be clear, and it is not doable to guage a digicam’s efficiency simply by wanting on the specs. If you actually care about your cellphone’s images expertise, then take a while to take a look at the evaluations and see how its digicam performs earlier than you spend your cash. Battery life Most telephones, from the price range finish by to elite flagships, can final most of a day on a single cost. Bigger telephones might need greater batteries, however in addition they have greater screens and infrequently extra highly effective processors, in order that they suck that further juice down shortly. Few telephones gives you greater than a day of use. Here are some issues to bear in mind: Always plan on giving your cellphone a full cost in a single day.Look for options like quick charging, that permit your cellphone to tackle a number of energy in a brief area of time. Some telephones, just like the OnePlus 13, help 80W quick charging that can take it from empty to full in round 30 minutes. Check to see in case your cellphone comes with a suitable quick charger although, as an previous USB plug seemingly will not supply the ability output required.Your battery will last more for those who keep away from extra demanding duties reminiscent of gaming or video streaming. Keeping the display brightness down will assist too and for those who’re actually making an attempt to eke out that previous couple of % to assist get you dwelling, turning off Wifi and Bluetooth may also assist. Andrew Hoyle/CNET Processor efficiency Top-end telephones pack highly effective processors together with 12GB of RAM or much more. It’s sufficient to make these telephones run any job with out breaking a sweat, however you needn’t spend flagship degree cash to get nice efficiency. Most first rate midrange telephones supply sufficient energy to deal with all your on a regular basis wants. You’ll nonetheless have the ability to play nearly any recreation from the Google Play retailer and edit your high-resolution pictures in apps reminiscent of Snapseed or Adobe Lightroom. There’s little you possibly can 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 once you’ll begin to discover some slowdown with issues like gaming. More demanding 3D video games would possibly look extra stuttery and should even unexpectedly give up. However, primary duties reminiscent of sending emails, listening to Spotify and shopping Instagram should not be an issue. 4G or 5G? 5G is the newest normal that guarantees lightning-fast cellular knowledge speeds once you’re out and about. While 5G protection nonetheless is not in every single place but, it is widespread sufficient that it is best to completely look towards a 5G cellphone. 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 solely cause it is best to think about shopping for a 4G cellphone now could be for those who’re wanting on the used market and you’ve got discovered an excellent deal on an older-generation mannequin that can tide you over for a few years. Andrew Hoyle/CNET How a lot cellphone 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 cellphone’s working system. If you do not plan on recording video, and gaming is not your factor, 64GB may be sufficient, however in any other case it is best to think about 128GB to be a safer minimal. Andrew Hoyle/CNETHigher-end telephones — significantly these that may file prime quality 4K video — supply capacities of 256GB or extra. With that a lot area, you will barely must suppose twice about having to filter previous recordsdata. If the cellphone helps microSD playing cards then it is a totally different matter, as you may decide up 32GB microSD playing cards (or greater) for little or no cash lately and popping one into your cellphone will dramatically enhance the quantity of storage you will have entry to. Unfortunately, expandable storage is a really uncommon function on telephones lately. However, most telephones will help exterior storage over USB-C, so for those who’re occurring vacation and wish to shoot a number 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 are actually frequent on telephones at numerous worth factors and are price retaining in thoughts once 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. Water-resistant: Do you typically take calls within the rain? Look for a cellphone with at the least an IP67 ranking to maintain it secure from water and spilled drinks.Wireless charging: This is on the market on many telephones, with some now providing sooner wi-fi charging speeds, so long as you employ a suitable charging pad.
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