Best phones 2021: the very best smartphones, ranked

T3’s guide to the very best phones on the market today in 2021. Discover the best smartphone for you now  

Fancy a new smartphone? This is a great time to buy, and our best phones guide will help you compare and contrast the top handsets on the market today in 2021. We’ll show you the very best smartphones no matter who makes them, what OS they run or how much they cost. 

If you already prefer a particular platform, such as Android or iOS, we also have a dedicated guide to the best Android phones and one for the best iPhones.

Some of these phones are quite expensive, but you don’t necessarily need to spend tons of cash on a new smartphone. In addition to the affordable models we’ve covered here we’ve also put together an entire guide to the best cheap phones, and if you’re looking for a compact device rather than an enormo-screened obelisk you’ll find plenty of choice in T3’s best small phones feature.

We’ve also put together a comprehensive roundup of the best gaming phones and a guide to the fastest 5G phones, too. And if you already have a brand affinity for your handset, then be sure to check out T3’s best Samsung phones and best Huawei phones guides.

Want a phone and a tablet? Then you won’t want one the handsets listed here but instead one of the best foldable phones on the market. These handsets tend to cost more than standard phones but combine two products in one, so really that is to be expected. Samsung, Huawei, Motorola and more have folding phones on the market, so there’s plenty of choice. 

Without further ado, let’s get to the fun bit: our picks of the very best phones you can buy right now, as tested by our resident reviewers. We’ve thoroughly tested every single one of these handsets to really put them through their paces, and we’ve used them in all kinds of environments to see how they perform in the real world. And when you’ve found the best smartphone for you, make sure you check out the best Black Friday deals: whether it’s an iPhone, a Samsung, a OnePlus or anything else, you can expect to see some really good discounting during the Black Friday sales frenzy. It’s a brilliant time to bag a smartphone bargain. 

THE BEST PHONES YOU CAN BUY TODAY

Apple has outdone itself with the four iPhone 12 models launched in late last year, and if you can’t stretch to the price of the Pro editions then the standard iPhone 12 could well be the best phone for you. It’s packed with power and comes with a stylish new design, though Apple’s handsets are still at the more expensive end of the scale.

5G has been added to the iPhone this year of course, which means you’re future-proofed when it comes to next-gen connectivity. The A14 Bionic processor is more power than you’re really going to need, while the improved dual-lens rear camera system can take spectacular photos in any kind of light. 

The iPhone 12 is the iPhone most people should get in 2021 – it gives you a stunning new design, a fantastic new screen compared to the iPhone 11, excellent cameras with a few new tricks, plus 5G and the world’s fastest phone processor for future-proofing.”

As such, we feel the iPhone 12 is the best phone Apple currently makes in terms of bang for your buck, and as such is an easy recommendation for most users. Do check out the other iPhone 12 models though, as there are plenty of different configurations to pick from.

Unsure whether you should plump for the iPhone 12 or a cheaper model? Then check out T3’s dedicated iPhone 12 vs iPhone SE (2020) comparison feature.