To choose a good phone is not that difficult, but to choose the best smartphone is a totally different story. This is not because there are so many phones featuring the same specs, but because there are so many similar phones in the terms of specs and features which run on different types of operating systems. And what trolls you through confusing is that regardless how good you think your target phone is, you’ll always hear of some other unit that has better cameras, better display, has more storage etc.. Thus, is tough to name one device as best smartphone in the world.
Before wanting to be the one that owns the world’s best smartphone you should know in what way your phone must be the best. Here, I will provide some phone usage categorizing that might help you figure out what are you looking for in a smartphone.
Best Android smartphones
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Those that put hands on the Galaxy S7 Edge can say that this is the best phone made so far (we gotta wait to see what Apple reserves on the upcoming iPhone 7). The 5.5-incher S7 Edge brings with curved its Quad HD display is perfection in a mobile device.
The S7 Edge brings Android 6.0 Marshmallow on top of the 64-bit Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with four CPU cores clocked at 2.2GHz and other four at 1.16GHz, paired with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage supporting expansion via microSD by up to 2TB (lots of storage, right?).
Despite speed, Samsung has brought on its flagship the water resistance, one of most popular and secure online payment methods available today called Samsung Pay, a mind-blowing dual-pixel 12MP rear-facing camera capable of shooting videos at 4K resolution, a perfect 5MP CMOS selfie camera, Fingerprint Sensor, 4G LTE network, Bluetooth 4.2, smart battery consuming, fast charging, and dozens of multi-purpose sensors. Find out here everything about the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
Price: $658.49 | Amazon | Best Buy
Samsung Galaxy S7
The differences between the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are minimal and more focused in design rather than supports and features, but they still worth to be noted. The S7 sports a 5.1-inch Quad HD screen with the same resolution as that of the S7 Edge, with the exception of not being curved. The battery that powers the Samsung Galaxy S7 is a 3,000 mAh while the Edge version has a relatively larger battery capacity measuring 3,600 mAh.
As for the cameras, connectivity supports, processors, memory, sensors, and network they remain to be the same with those of the S7 Edge. Except design and screen, S7 and S7 Edge differ in their pricing, as you may guess, the S7 is a little bit cheaper than its curved big brother.
Price: $632 | Amazon | Best Buy
HTC 10
Something’s sure when it comes about the HTC 10, there’s no better phone than it. The HTC 10 and Galaxy S7 Edge share the curved edge display as a common, however, the HTC 10 is a little smaller. Its 5.2-inch of curved Corning Gorilla Glass screen features Quad HD resolution (2560 x 1440p). HTC made its flagship with durability in mind, its makers claim that it can survive low drops, scratches, and temperatures ranging from -20°C to 60°C.
As for photography, this mobile device is backed by company’s own 12MP UltraPixel 2 camera with OIS, dual-tone LED flash, auto HDR, f/1.8 aperture lens, autofocus, and capable of shooting 4K videos with hi-res audio quality and slow-mo videos at a maximum resolution of 1080p. On the front is located the 5MP camera with OIS, f/1.8 aperture, auto selfie feature support, and it shoots videos at 1080p.
HTC 10, same as the Galaxy S7, runs on the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, backed by 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (expandable by up to 2TB via microSD), and it ships upgraded to the Android 6.0 Marshmallow with HTC Sense UI on top.
The connectivity supports are as you can expect, 4G LTE network, NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, Fingerprint Sensor, and a package of sensors.
Price: $628.99 | Amazon | Best Buy
LG G5
LG G5 is one of those smartphones that always has got you covered. If you think of an innovative technology your old phone misses, take a look at the G5 and surely you’ll be finding that feature upgraded to the next level.
The 5.3-incher G5 comes with sporting a metallic framing with a Quad HD touchscreen display, and uniquely its battery slides out of the device to let you attach SIM cards or microSD cards.Something that we used to see in sci-fi movies.
Where the LG G5 takes over any competitor is for the camera features, its dual 16MP rear cameras allow you to shoot the best photos ever shot via a mobile device, up to 5312 x 2988p in maximal resolution (name a phone that can shoot better cameras). As for selfies, the 8MP camera unit has got you covered as well, selfie’s and video chatting never had this kind of quality and enjoyment.
Same as other hi-end smartphones that stand on the top of the mountain, the LG G5 also comes powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor backed by 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and supports memory expansion by up to 2TB. As you may expect, the Android 6.0 Marshmallow is also pre-installed on the device.
The connectivity supports are as stunning as the rest of features, 4G LTE network, 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, Fingerprint Sensor, lots of sensors, and the pre-installed health-oriented app LG Health will make your fitness more exciting.
Price: $500 | Amazon | Best Buy
OnePlus 3
And how could we forget about the smartphone that “Never Settle“, OnePlus 3? The 5.5-inch One Plus 3 comes sporting a metal unibody design and a touch-enabled display panel with Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080p) made of Corning Gorilla Glass 4.
Not having a Quad HD display does not make the OnePlus 3 worse than its competitors, when you will be fully introduced with this device, you’ll know why I say so.
The 3rd generation of OnePlus phones comes sporting a 16MP rear-facing Sony IMX 298 camera with OIS, f/2.0 aperture lens, autofocus and which lets you shoot 4K videos. At the front side, is found the 8MP Sony IMX179 selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture, auto selfie, and shoots videos at 1080p. There’s nothing OnePlus 3 lacks for camera features.
Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, the OnePlus 3 brings memory supports to a new level, because it has 6GB of RAM and 64GB of flash storage. The handset comes running on the OxygenOS 3.1.3 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
OnePlus 3 supports two SIM cards, 4G LTE, 3G, Fingerprint Sensor, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, multiple sensors, and gesture control.
Price: $399 | Amazon
Best iOS Smartphones
Apple iPhone 6s Plus
The iPhone 6s Plus is Apple’s best phone until the iPhone 7 rolls out. The 5.5-inch body of the 6s Plus is made to be durable, its aluminum body features the same materials as used in aerospace, and its display panel is dubbed to be the world’s most resistant smartphone glass.
Is the 6s Plus to be the first phone device hosting a touchscreen display with 3D Touch, and this very same display is a Retina one with 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. The 3D Touch lets you feel the way your fingers cross and touch your phone.
The main camera of the 6s Plus is a 12MP iSight camera with five-element-lens, OIS, True Tone Flash, autofocus, f/2.0 aperture lens and auto image stabilization, which shoots 4K videos, and panorama photo-shots up to 63-megapixel. Besides the main camera, the selfie-addicts are covered by the 5MP Facetime HD camera with Retina Flash, f/2.2 aperture, and capable of shooting 720p videos.
The Apple iPhone 6S Plus is powered by the company’s own 64-bit A9 processor with the M9 graphics processor and comes backed 2GB of RAM and up to 128GB of expandable internal storage. As for the operating system, Apple has got you covered with the iOS 9.
In the terms of connectivity, the 6s Plus supports 4G LTE connectivity, 3G network, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, GPS, Touch ID built in the Home button, lets you make safe payments via the Apple Pay, and it comes with the world’s most advanced virtual assistant, Siri.
Price: $749 | Amazon | Best Buy
Apple iPhone 6s
If you aren’t into 5.5-inch phones but you’re totally into Apple devices, then the best alternative to the 6s Plus is its own standard-sized version, the 4.7-inch Apple iPhone 6s.
In the terms of specs the both phones are almost identical, some tiny differences consist of the iSight camera of the iPhone 6s not supporting OIS and fewer pixels on the display
Price: $649 | Amazon | Best Buy
Best Windows phone
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL
The best smartphone running on the Windows 10 Mobile is undoubtingly the Microsoft’s Lumia 950 XL.
The 5.7-inch Lumia 950 XL boasts a premium Quad-HD display panel with 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, gets powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 with four Cortex-A57 and four Cortex-A53 CPU cores clocked at 2.0GHz paired with the Adreno 430 GPU and backed by 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage supporting expansion by up to 2TB.
The main camera on the Lumia phone is a 20MP unit with Optical Image Stabilization, autofocus, f/1.9 aperture, and it shoots 4K videos at a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160p. For selfies is a 5Mp camera with f/2.4 aperture and records videos at 1920 x 1080 pixels. If you’re a Windows fan then with this phone will have high-quality photos and videos with both cameras.
Other supports of the Lumia 950 XL consist on the 4G LTE, 3G network, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and a very popular personal assistant called Cortana.
Price: $494 | Amazon
Microsoft Lumia 950
The Lumia 950 is the standard 5.2-inch version of the Microsoft’s flagship, it also has a Quad HD display resolution same as the Lumia 950 Xl, but in this case, pixel density is higher because the display is smaller.
Microsoft Lumia 950 does not run the Snapdragon 810 but it runs on the hexacore Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, RAM, storage, cameras, and connectivity supports are the same as those featured on the XL larger version.
What makes smartphones running on the Windows 10 Mobile OS special is that when paired with a large screen they can provide the same PC-like experience, completing ever task you would normally do on a Windows desktop computer.
Price: $347 | Amazon
Best BlackBerry phone
BlackBerry Passport
BlackBerry is known for its loyalty toward phones with a physical keyboard (the company broke its tradition by launching the touch-screen enabled Android-powered BlackBerry Priv and it didn’t go as well as they’d expect, the tiny physical keyboard is terrible).
BlackBerry is one of the few mobile manufacturers that still produces smartphones with physical keyboards, and the company has its own operating system for them called BlackBerry OS.
The passport-shaped BlackBerry mobile measures a 5.17-inch body but only 4.5″ of it stands for the display, a boxed touch-enabled display with 1440 x 1440 pixels. Sports a 13MP rear-facing camera with OIS, LED flash, touch-to-focus, records videos at 1920 x 1080 pixels, alongside a 2MP selfie camera with OIS and capable of shooting videos at 720p (not the best camera smartphone).
Passport is powered by 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor and backed by 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage supporting microSD up to 128GB and ships running BlackBerry 10 OS. It supports 4G LTE network, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, and has it’s own smart virtual assistant.
Price: $329 | Amazon | Best Buy
Best camera phones
Huawei P9 Plus and Huawei P9
Huawei and Leica partnered to give life to the world’s best smartphone camera branded as the Huawei P9 and P9 Plus. This phone does not feature one impressive camera, but two 12MP with BSI CMOS sensor, Dual Tone Flash, and f/2.2 aperture lens to capture more light, shoot the best photos and videos ever made before via a mobile device, 4K videos never been shot as good as with the Huawei’s and Leica’s P9 phones.
Besides combing their technology in hardware, the both firms combined their software and sensor engineering to allow P9 be the king of phones for shooting photos and videos.
Huawei P9 boasts a 5.2-inch touch-enabled 2.5D AMOLED display with resolution of 1920 x 1080, the bigger P9 Plus has a 5.5-inch screen with the same FHD resolution, they run on the 64-bit Huawei Kirin 955 processor with four Cortex-A72 CPU cores clocked at 2.5GHz and four Cortex-A53 clocked at 1.8GHz, backed by 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and ship upgraded to Google’s latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS with Emotion UI 4.1 on top.
Connectivity supports are highlighted by dual SIM cards, 4G LTE network, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi, NFC, USB Type-C, GPS, and Fingerprint Sensor.
Price: $474 | Amazon
Best phone for outdoors
Sonim Xp7
If you need a military-grade smartphone to survive harsh environments and brutal use, then the pricey and powered-by-people Sonim Xp7 surely has more than what you need (mass production of the Sonim Xp7 was powered via a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGogo).
The Sonim Xp7 is dubbed as the best rugged Android smartphone, or best-rugged 4G LTE smartphone, anyway, it is the most durable phone you can find.
This phone lets you shoot videos and take photos underwater, survives drops from up to 6 feet, sports loudspeakers, is fully operational in extreme weather conditions, and has a battery that lasts three times more than any other phone.
The bad side is that this phone has low display resolution, except 4G LTE network, you’ll barely find something matching top hi-end phones of this era, but, if you’re extreme, you do need an extreme phone such as Sonim Xp7 is.
Price: $1,193.99 | Amazon
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