Phones

Solid fundamentals and a big battery, undermined by heavy bloatware and advertising; rated 6 out of 10.

The hero of the haul: a $200 Indian phone with the best screen he has seen at the price and near-stock Android; rated 9.

Nokia faked the Lumia 920's image stabilisation ad using a proper cinema camera, then had to apologise.

Smartphone of the year and a masterclass box-ticker, with only video graininess in low light as a complaint.

A collector's phone that took him two years to track down, packaged in a Pokédex with plenty of custom accessories.

Looks fairly plain at first, but the furry texture and colour-changing photochromic glass make it a proper limited edition.

He rates it as the best of the three for attention to detail, with 3D artwork, earbuds in a mini backpack and a themed interface.

Dated 2012 phone, but the effort in packaging and theming is unmatched, earning a 9 out of 10.

Brilliant lunchbox packaging and a mostly well-judged fire theme, with a few over-the-top touches, scoring 92.

Great packaging and a charming story, but the phone itself is barely themed, so a 6.

Impressively thorough Disney theming across software, back texture and even the camera, though large.

A well-made, unique microcrystalline rock back, but too subtle to see, so he gives it 5 out of 10.

His favourite smartphone of all time in an ultra-rare official gold version, beautiful though gold isn't practical.

Top-tier Pokédex packaging, but the phone is basically vanilla, so he gives it 6 out of 10.

A cheap Tecno Camon 20 with a glow-in-the-dark Mr Doodle design that only shows up when you look closely.

Very generous package for the price, with a clever LED leather back, earning 8 out of 10.

Rare 32 of 50 edition that's the first Nokia assembled in Europe, tough and trust-focused rather than flashy.

A fun nostalgic tribute to the SGH-E700, but he rates it only 6 out of 10 next to the wilder editions.

The best Transformers phone he has seen, with intentional theming and wallpapers that avoid the usual software mess.

Celebrity-only Pixel Fold with vinyl player, jewellery and VIP extras, a rare look at the celebrity experience.

Praises the Fairphone 5 for being easy to repair, with swappable parts, a long warranty and long software support, though it is not fully w…

Lots of clever ideas but carrier bloatware and cameras that fall far behind the iPhone 15 Pro Max; five out of ten.

Wooden spoon winner: old chip, weak camera, poor screen and battery at a full $429 price.

Mid-range phone of the year: no real weak link, great photos and a price that drops fast.