Phones

Honourable mention in the budget category as one of two pretty special phones.

Ridiculous value at 500 with powerful hardware, but the phones feel rushed with half-baked software.

Just-announced budget phone given an honourable mention.

The most extreme gaming phone, topping a flagship in almost every spec, but it costs 1500.

Standout design with an even, uninterrupted screen thanks to a decent in-display selfie camera.

Realme's highest-end phone, stacked with specs for 500, though specs are not everything.

Feels like a 700 phone for 400, but reports of exploding units make him hold off recommending it.

Best gaming phone of 2021, avoiding the Red Magic's software issues while nearly matching the Asus on performance.

Crowned ugliest phone of the year for its chaotic alphabet-covered design.

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.

A psychedelic, ridged back sits against a very vanilla unboxing and ordinary software.

A wild gaming phone with a great unboxing and aggressive design, let down by plain software with no Bruce Lee theming.

A gorgeous blue and gold limited edition with a refreshed software look, though the extras are fairly ordinary.

Technically the most impressive camera phone he has used, but too niche and too expensive for most people.

Has Google services back, but lags and has weaker cameras than the identical Huawei Nova 9, so it does not make sense either.

Smooth and polished with slightly better cameras than the Honor 50, but he cannot recommend it without Google services.

Cited as an example of Honor moving into top-tier flagships.

Rumoured rollable Samsung phone he finds fascinating, scoring the concept 7 out of 10.

His daily phone, with a phenomenal camera, though he wants sharper-edge changes, USB-C, bigger battery and more customisation.

Not the best on specs, but a phone that just works, with a superb camera and the most affordable way into iOS.

The Pro is a smaller jump over the standard model than last year, but the steel frame, matte back and LiDAR make it a nicer phone.

The first Vivo phone he loves: sophisticated, fun camera and near-best performance, with a mono speaker and average battery.