This was a surprisingly enjoyable yr for smartphones. I wasn’t anticipating it to be; the class is commonly described as stale or “plateaued.” However as WIRED’s resident phone reviewer, I’ve examined almost all of this yr’s handsets—units as cheap as $130 all the way in which to an eye-watering $2,000—and I don’t suppose there’s been a yr crammed with as many assorted kinds 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 digicam module, the electrical blue Telephone (3a) is a standout. It seems to be like no different smartphone in the marketplace, with a clear backplate, a pop of shade from a small crimson sq., and the corporate’s signature Glyph lights, which blink once you obtain notifications. These LEDs will not be probably 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, meaning good and playful designs are sometimes sacrificed for the sake of producing effectivity. When firms chase the underside line, we find yourself with plain, simple-looking telephones designed for the broadest potential viewers. That is why the latest shift to units with just a little extra character feels vital.
Nothing had one other win on its palms this yr with the CMF Phone 2 Pro, a sub-$300 cellphone that didn’t look or really feel something like its price range value. Uniquely, you possibly can unscrew the again of the cellphone and exchange the backplate with one which’s a unique shade, or take off the Accent Level module and fix issues like a lanyard. Sustainability-focused Fairphone had the same concept with The Fairphone (Gen. 6), besides this smartphone did all of that whereas additionally attaining a ten/10 repairability score from iFixit.
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Subsequent got here Motorola, which has seen a lot of success lately with its Razr folding flip phones. With the 2025 Razr models, the corporate leaned closely into completely different supplies and textures. You 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 underneath $700. (It even will get as low as $600 throughout sale occasions.)
You should still be hesitant to spend money on one in every of these hinge-reliant handsets, given their spotty history with durability, however they’re harder 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 stand 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 just a little 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 aim of serving to cut back time spent watching a display screen, had a plasticky construct that felt off-putting. Even with all of this experimentation in kind, you don’t need to spend tons of and tons of of {dollars} on a handsome cellphone. Motorola’s Moto G Stylus 5G has a placing design with a stunning leather-like texture, and it’s incessantly 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 will 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 instances, its single digicam system and excessive value didn’t precisely scream good worth in an economically tumultuous yr. (These flaws seemingly clarify the rumors that recommend 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 likely one of the finest folding telephones of the yr, largely because of the 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.
