The BEST Smartphones of 2021! (Mid Year)

Ranked last: admirable sustainability message but far less capable than cheaper Xiaomi phones.

Pleasant but overpriced for what it is, when £500 nearly buys a real flagship.

Comfortable with a unique microscope camera, but undermined by the OnePlus flagship and its high price.

Top specs for around $800, but the cameras and software feel well behind the competition.

A speedy flagship that fits in your palm, held back commercially by pricing, and fine for anyone not needing big battery life.

A beast with huge battery and punchy speakers, but only for a specific kind of user.

Best gaming phone: matches the ROG with more RAM and storage, built-in fans and a lower price, but software lags.

A very good phone with a great selfie camera, but only a slight spec bump on last year's model.

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

Great phone, but just an optional extra over the 12 for most people beyond extra storage.

Nearly as good as the 12 Pro for $200 less, held back by 60Hz screen and 64GB base storage.

Not exciting and a side-grade from the S20, but better looking with many small improvements and cheaper.

Grouped with the S21: a side-grade with nice quality of life improvements and a better design.

A high-end flagship with a best-in-class display, cheaper than the S21 in most regions.

Rough launch over the Hasselblad hype, but updates made the camera good for the price and software is fast and clean.

The best flagship phone under $1,000, worth the extra over the OnePlus 9 if you have the budget.

Carried by phenomenal software and a great compact size; still worth recommending at $299.

Best compact phone: a flagship with good battery where small size has no negative consequences.

His daily phone: supremely reliable with great battery and tough enough to use caseless, but uncomfortable and no high refresh rate.

Samsung's most refined and polished phone, recommended without reservation if your hand is big enough.

Best overall flagship if money is no object, one-upping Samsung in almost every area for the same price.

Second place with stupid levels of value: 108MP camera, 120Hz display and big battery for $279.

His number one: the most worth-it phone of 2021, with flagship-level performance for around 350.

Mentioned as a cheaper alternative that is fantastic value.

Briefly mentioned as a cheaper option at around 200.