Was 2025 a boring year for smartphones? Thin phones flopped, big time. The Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold elicited a collective yawn from my colleagues.

Phones are boring! I hear them say as they gaze into Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses or get sucked into Steam Decks. Phones aren’t as new as those gadgets, but that doesn’t make this year boring. It was a very exciting year for phones, from an expert’s perspective.

Apple changed the iPhone design, and every iPhone got better

It was a huge year for Apple, and a rare moment we got to see Apple being experimental. It tried out two new phones this year – the iPhone 16e in February and the iPhone Air in September. Not the best iPhone models, but that wasn’t the point. The point was to try something new: the C1 modem in the iPhone 16e, and the thinner, more durable design of the iPhone Air.

Even Apple’s flagship iPhone 17 launch was noteworthy. The iPhone 17 Pro got a redesign that strikes me as the biggest departure ever from Apple’s minimalistic look. The mix of textures, colors, and materials, along with the lack of symmetry, makes this at least the most significant redesign in memory, if not the most contentious.

Most importantly, though, Apple brought its base model iPhone into modern times with a telephoto zoom lens and more powerful hardware all around. The screen can finally refresh at a modern 120Hz, fast enough to keep up with iOS 26.

Android phones beat iPhones in benchmark tests

I’m just gonna say it: the Snapdragon 8 Elite is a better chipset than whatever Apple is using in your iPhone. It isn’t just the benchmark results, even though it’s a really big deal that Qualcomm is finally beating Apple on mobile benchmarks. Of course, it’s only in multi-course benchmarks. And most graphics tests. But still…

The real Snapdragon advantage is its efficiency. Phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite platform saw significant battery life improvements, in addition to performance gains. This phone drinks from the battery like it’s a sippy cup. We’re seeing phones that can last more than two full days… Android phones, that is. Apple’s phones are lagging behind in performance and now longevity.

A company nobody has heard of is making the best phones

It’s geek mythology: there’s a quiet company you probably haven’t heard of that makes the best Android smartphone ever (and I’ve tried almost all of them). It doesn’t advertise much. It doesn’t sell the phone at your carrier’s store. You almost have to be in the know to know about them. That might be the point.

The OnePlus 15 is a perfect Android smartphone. It has incredible performance, and it’s the most durable phone you’d want to buy. Its battery life is literally unbelievable, but it charges so fast that you can top it up for days while you shower and get ready to leave.

As long as it isn’t sitting on Verizon’s shelves next to the Galaxy S25 Plus, the OnePlus 15 will remain the insider’s choice. But trust me, this is a choice you want to make.

Google stole the iPhone’s most unique feature

Are magnets in smartphones a big deal? It depends on who you ask. If you ask a longtime iPhone owner who has accumulated a collection of MagSafe accessories, then yes, it’s a very big deal. Ask anybody else about the feature, and they’ll tell you they could take it or leave it. That’s because they don’t know. Until you’ve gone all-in on magnets, you can’t appreciate how much easier they make your smartphone life.

I use magnets everywhere, and now my Google Pixel 10 Pro fits into that magnetic lifestyle. I have bedside charging docks so my phone can be my alarm clock. I have desktop chargers at home and at work. I have magnetic battery packs that let me charge my phone on the go without a wire. But charging is just the beginning.

My wallet is a magnetic slap-on wallet from UAG that attaches to my iPhone or my Pixel (or my other phones when I’m using a magnetic case). It has a built-in stand, which I’ve come to appreciate scrolling my feeds in a cafe. I also use a magnetic tripod for photos and time-lapse video. I use a magnetic camera mount to shoot videos for my job.

I have a lot of magnets, and I use them with my phone every day. Adding magnets is a big deal, trust me.

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Starting more than 20 years ago at eTown.com. Philip Berne has written for Engadget, The Verge, PC Mag, Digital Trends, Slashgear, TechRadar, AndroidCentral, and was Editor-in-Chief of the sadly-defunct infoSync. Phil holds an entirely useful M.A. in Cultural Theory from Carnegie Mellon University. He sang in numerous college a cappella groups.

Phil did a stint at Samsung Mobile, leading reviews for the PR team and writing crisis communications until he left in 2017. He worked at an Apple Store near Boston, MA, at the height of iPod popularity. Phil is certified in Google AI Essentials. His passion is the democratizing power of mobile technology. Before AI came along he was totally sure the next big thing would be something we wear on our faces.