Smartphones reviews
Flagship and budget smartphones tested across daily use, gaming, and photography.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
The iPhone 16 Pro is the most polished small flagship of this generation. After 6 months of daily use, we measured top-of-class CPU performance (A18 Pro), the most reliable point-and-shoot camera system in the category, and 7:42 of screen-on time under our heavy-use script. The 1TB pricing is hard to swallow, and Apple Intelligence is still rough around the edges, but nothing else under 6.5 inches comes close.
Apple iPhone 16
The standard iPhone 16 is the smart buy this year. After 6 months of daily use, we measured CPU performance within 9% of the iPhone 16 Pro, an ultrawide camera that finally autofocuses for macro shots, and 8h 04m of screen-on time in our heavy-use script (longer than the Pro). At $799 it is $400 cheaper than the Pro, and most buyers will not notice what they gave up.
Google Pixel 9 Pro
The Pixel 9 Pro is the best point-and-shoot camera phone we have tested, full stop. After 5 months of daily use, we measured a 22% improvement in low-light shadow detail over the Pixel 8 Pro, real 6h 32m of screen-on time in our heavy-use script, and the most usable AI features on any 2026 phone. CPU performance is still a generation behind Apple and Samsung, and Google's update story has slipped, but for photography-first buyers, nothing under $1,000 comes close.
Google Pixel 9a
The Pixel 9a is the easiest phone recommendation we make in 2026. For $499 you get most of the Pixel 9 Pro's camera output, the same Tensor G4 chip, seven years of OS updates, and 8h 12m of screen-on time in our heavy script. The Tensor G4 still throttles hard under sustained load and the build feels plasticky next to the iPhone 16 Pro, but nothing else under $600 comes close.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is the most complete Android phone you can buy in 2026. After 5 months of daily use, we measured the highest sustained GPU performance of any phone we have tested, a 200MP main camera that beats the Pixel for low-light detail, and 7h 18m of screen-on time in our heavy-use script. It still loses to the iPhone 16 Pro on single-core CPU and consistency in mixed-light video, but for power users who want a stylus and a deep One UI feature set, nothing else comes close.