Concept & rare

The most premium Xiaomi so far, but the year's delay left it behind the Galaxy S7 Edge.

His one-of-a-kind engraved S10 5G blew up, which devastated him as it was special to him.

Elaborate box and an electrochromic colour-changing back make it the coolest phone so far, with a fun detective puzzle to unlock.

Great box and a handy cooling case, but the phone itself is vanilla with no custom wallpapers or icons.

Loved the rocket box and slick design, with only minor gripes about heavy software customisation and an impractical LED ring.

Likes the colour balance and restrained customisation, and praises the charging animation, though the icon pack did not win him over.

Loves the Pac-Man theming, software touches and glow-in-the-dark back, and notes it is the cheapest phone on the list.

Plausible on paper, but he thinks transparency is a gimmick that would force too many compromises to ever sell, though he still kind of wan…

Finds the 3D skin-scanning camera system fascinating and weird, but would not queue to be told how ugly he is.

Believes the 270-degree curved display has enormous potential if accidental touches are solved, though Huawei's US ban makes it unlikely to…

Clever eight-section folding concept with battery worries, but he rates the thinking and expects something like it within a few years.

Thinks the phone with a launching drone camera is a really dumb idea that solves a problem that doesn't exist.

Thinks the wraparound back-screen design is a surprisingly good idea and would be a winner if released as is.

Tiny rugged phone whose two-way radio mode gave clearer, free calls than a normal call over about a kilometre.

Its 15,600mAh battery beat the Galaxy S22 Ultra through sheer capacity despite likely poor efficiency.

A laser rangefinder phone with an underwater mode, but its underwater footage looked dreadful.

Absurdly loud speaker, thermal and infrared night vision and a built-in flashlight impressed him.

A phone that doubles as a vape appeals to hardly anyone, scoring 5 out of 10.

A sports-focused phone with a huge monthly fee that almost nobody signed up for, rated 5 out of 10.

A crowd-sourced eye-tracking phone with poor specs, which shows consumers don't always know what they want.

Clunky, prototype-feeling design, but the camera and audio with the bundled earphones are impressive enough to forgive the name.

A properly redesigned phone with brilliant theming and a well-executed camera filter, and probably OnePlus's coolest limited edition.

A stunning Kodak-themed leather-clad edition with a top-five box, though he questions the Kodak partnership.

A very soft, comfortable frosted grey phone with fun Mars touches, though the colour itself is not new.