The 20 best smartphones in the world
20. BlackBerry Passport
19. BlackBerry Classic
If you were a BlackBerry fan back in the company's heyday, you're going to love the BlackBerry Classic. It looks similar to older BlackBerry models, but features a sharp touchscreen and an excellent physical keyboard.
Price: $280
18. BlackBerry Priv
The BlackBerry Priv is a huge departure for BlackBerry. Instead of running BlackBerry's own operating system, the Priv runs Android. While it may look like a standard Android phone, the Priv has a slide-out keyboard. This could be a great device for those who want a physical keyboard but still have access to Google's apps and services that aren't available on other BlackBerry devices.
Price: $400
Click here for the BlackBerry Priv review >>
17. Moto G4
The Moto G4 is available in three different models, including the regular $200 G4, the $250 G4 Plus, and the yet-to-be-priced G4 Play that's coming later this summer.
We reviewed the G4 Plus model, which has a 16-megapixel camera compared to the 13-megapixel shooter on the regular G4, and found that it's the best cheap smartphone you can buy. The G4 Plus also comes with a fingerprint sensor while the other models don't.
Price: $200 - $250
Check out the three new Moto G4 smartphones here >>
Check out the Moto G4 Plus review here >>
16. Samsung Galaxy Note 5
The Galaxy Note 5 is a killer big-screen phone. Like previous versions of the Note, it has a large, vibrant display and a stylus for taking notes. The new metal and glass design is great too.
Price: $543
15. ZTE Axon 7
The Axon 7 is made by ZTE, a relatively unknown Chinese smartphone maker in the US.
Why does it deserve a spot on this list? Because it offers the same, if not better, specs as the top Android players here, and it'll cost you $250 less that going for the big name brands like Samsung, LG, or HTC. That means if you don't like the Nexus devices, and you don't want to pay top dollar for a Galaxy S7 or HTC 10, the ZTE Axon 7 might just be the phone for you.
Price: $400
Check out our hands-on with the ZTE Axon 7 for more details >>
14. LG G5
LG's G5 smartphone has a gorgeous all-metal design. It also has a removable bottom that lets you swap out a dead battery with a fresh one. The removable bottom can also be exchanged with "modules" that offer new functions, like a camera grip with a zoom dial and a shutter button for better control.
If that weren't enough, it's also got a dual-lens camera, which gives you unusual versatility when it comes to taking pictures.
Price: $560
13. LG V20
The LG V20's second screen at the top of the device is genuinely useful, as it gives you shortcuts to your favorite apps and music controls even when the screen is locked.
It also has great specs and a good camera, and it's incredibly light for its size. It'll also appeal to Android die-hards holding on to legacy Android features, like a removable battery and expandable microSD storage.
Unfortunately, those legacy Android features mean that LG had to compromise on the overall build quality of the V20, which doesn't match the premium flagship league it's in.
Price: $617
12. HTC 10
The HTC 10 is a beautiful, extremely well-built smartphone. It runs a near-pure version of Android, and can be bought unlocked, which means you won't find annoying bloatware on the 10.
Price: $549
Click here for the full HTC 10 review >>
11. Moto Z
The regular Z model is one of the thinnest phones we've held, and it's gorgeous. We also love the fact that it runs a near-pure version of Android.
The Moto Z phones also support different modules that can be attached to the back of the phone to give them new and better functionality. For example, you can attach a speaker module for better sound, or a projector module to project videos on a nearby wall.
The Moto Z will be released later this fall, and it should work with most carriers. The Moto Z Force model is a Verizon exclusive that's currently available for a pricey $720. Compared to the regular Z model, it has an extra strong screen that Motorola claims is shatter-proof, as well as a larger battery.
Price: $625 - $720
10. OnePlus 3
The OnePlus 3 is easily one of the best Android smartphones you can own right now, and unlike previous OnePlus phones, you don't need an invite to buy it.
The new metal back looks and feels fantastic, and it runs a near-pure version of Android, which is also a huge plus in our book. It also has some of the highest specs around for smooth and speedy performance, including an enormous 6GB of RAM. Some might dislike the fact that it doesn't have expandable storage, but the OnePlus 3 comes only with 64GB of storage, which should be more than enough for most users. It also has a camera that rivals the Galaxy S7's, which is considered the best smartphone camera ever made so far.
If you don't care about water-resistance like the Galaxy S7 has, and you'd like to save $250 from the usual premium smartphone price tag, the $400 OnePlus 3 is absolutely the smartphone for you, and it's worth every penny.
Alert: New model coming out November 22.
Price: $400
9. iPhone SE
The iPhone SE, with its 4-inch screen, is the best small-form smartphone you can buy at the moment. You get all the best apps, ecosystem, support, and the same performance as the iPhone 6s for a relatively low $400 price tag.
It also comes with Apple Pay among other premium features, like Live Photos and a fingerprint sensor, not to mention great battery life.
Price: $399
8. iPhone 6S
The iPhone 6s is also a great deal, as you still get the premium Apple experience for $100 less than the new iPhone 7.
In addition to beautiful hardware, iPhone owners are guaranteed to always get the best apps first from third-party developers and reliable software updates with the latest and greatest features from Apple.
Price: $549
7. iPhone 6S Plus
Now that the iPhone 7 Plus is out, the iPhone 6s Plus gets a $100 price cut, and that's a great deal.
Fine, you don't get all the latest features that the iPhone 7 Plus has, like water-resistance or that fancy dual-lens camera, but the iPhone 6s Plus is no slouch, either. It runs on the powerful A9 chip and has features like 3D Touch, which can detect how hard you press down on the screen and open up a new layer of controls for you apps.
It also has an incredibly fast fingerprint sensor, as well as Live Photos, which captures a three-second video with audio when you press the shutter button.
Price: $649
6. Pixel XL
The new Pixels are Google's "first" smartphones, where the company took more control over the hardware than it did with its line of Nexus devices.
What you get is a sleek-looking aluminum phone with a stylish glass panel on the back, and a camera that holds its own against the iPhone 7 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S7.
Google's Pixel XL is the larger model with a 5.5-inch screen, and it shares exactly the same specs as its smaller sibling, the Pixel.
That's including the powerful and power-efficient Snapdragon 821, 4GB of RAM, and an excellent 12.3-megapixel camera that holds its own against the iPhone 7 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S7.
The XL ranks behind the regular Pixel because it doesn't offer much much apart from a larger screen and a higher price tag. At least the iPhone 7 Plus offers a dual-lens camera, and the S7 Edge's curved edges look amazing compared to the regular S7's flat front surface.
Price: $769
5. Google Pixel
The Pixel smartphones run Google's Pixel launcher, which gives Android a cleaner look and bakes in Google's helpful AI, Assistant. At the moment, the Pixel launcher is an exclusive for the Pixel phones.
Price: $649
4. Samsung Galaxy S7
The Galaxy S7 sports the best camera we've seen on a smartphone, even beating the iPhone 7 Plus. It's also very powerful and it sports some great features, like water resistance and a MicroSD card slot for expandable storage.
You also get Samsung Pay, which works with almost any payment terminal in any store, which the iPhone's Apple Pay can't do.
Price: $527
Click here for the Galaxy S7 review >>
3. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
The Galaxy S7 Edge has a bigger 5.5-inch display and larger battery than the regular Galaxy S7, while retaining the same features (water-resistance, a MicroSD card slot for expandable storage, and Samsung Pay).
Price: $615
2. iPhone 7
Without a doubt, the iPhone 7 brings the best apps and ecosystem to its users. And by ecosystem, we mean the support you get from Apple if something goes wrong, as well as getting the latest software updates straight from Apple. It also works amazingly well with other Apple products, too, like the new AirPods wireless earphones.
The hardware also got a few improvements over the iPhone 6s, like water-resistance, a camera that performs better in low light, a more powerful processor than its predecessor, and even redesigned antenna bands.
Price: $650
1. iPhone 7 Plus
The iPhone 7 Plus is the best smartphone you can buy for the apps, ecosystem, water resistance, and its dual-lens camera.
The dual-lens camera is the key feature that places the larger iPhone 7 Plus in the top spot over the iPhone 7. It lets you take pictures with a professional-looking "bokeh" effect where the background is blurry in contrast to the subject — that particular feature won't go live until later this year, but you can still use the iPhone 7 Plus' second telephoto lens to achieve 2x optical zoom, which means it zooms into subjects without sacrificing picture quality like digital zoom does on most smartphone cameras.
Price: $769
BONUS: OnePlus 3T
OnePlus pulled an unusual move by announcing the OnePlus 3T just five months after the OnePlus 3's release.
The good news is that OnePlus 3 owners need not feel left out, as the OnePlus 3T isn't much of an upgrade.
The changes include a slightly faster processor (Snapdragon 820 versus the 821), a slightly larger battery, a 16-megapixel front camera (versus 8), better stabilization for video, and a new darker color option.
It'll sell on November 22 for $440, which is a little more than the OnePlus 3's $400 price tag.
Price: $440
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