It is easy to assume that one of the best telephones in 2025 are rising stale. The product class has matured over the previous 20 years, and plenty of updates are incremental. For example, the latest Samsung Galaxy S25 sequence appears to be like just like the Galaxy S24 lineup with a number of tweaks. Comparable issues may be mentioned concerning the newest iPhones and latest Pixels, to a lesser diploma.
Actually, Android Central’s resident cellphone knowledgeable, Nicholas Sutrich, previewed the marketplace for smartphones in 2025 on the finish of final 12 months with an outlook that may very well be described as miserable. He is proper. For many cellphone consumers in North America, this 12 months might be similar to the final one — stuffed with incremental updates, rising costs, and little selection.
Here is the factor: it does not need to be this fashion. Smartphone consumers within the U.S. particularly silo themselves when shopping for their handsets, usually sticking to a handful of cell carriers and even fewer cellphone manufacturers. It is a phenomenon that appears to solely exist in North America.
Put merely, shopping for smartphones via service contracts is a nasty concept. It limits your choices, restricts your flexibility, and may find yourself costing you extra in the long term. It is easy to see how.
Samsung routinely provides boosted trade-in values for telephones, however you’ll be able to’t make the most of them except your cellphone is paid off. Wish to pay your cellphone off early to maximise your trade-in worth? You will seemingly lose all of the reductions and promotions you bought if you purchased your present cellphone out of your service.
An analogous scenario happens in case you break your cellphone and do not have insurance coverage. Say your cellphone is simply too broken to repair and also you want a brand new one — you can be hit with an enormous invoice that features the quantity wanted to repay your present cellphone, plus the worth of a brand new one and any service charges that apply.
These are just some causes that you simply may need to contemplate shopping for a cellphone outright in 2025 moderately than buying it from a cell community supplier — like AT&T, T-Cell, or Verizon. However there are different causes, like the provision of extra cellphone manufacturers and fashions past what you see in your service shops. Primarily based on what I’ve seen from the cellphone market in late 2024 and early 2025, there are many thrilling and enjoyable smartphones out there in case you look past the restrictions imposed by carriers.
The OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R are two nice telephones to begin with as a result of they’re smart choices. The OnePlus 13 is a $900 cellphone with {hardware} that may match or beat the $1,299 Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely, which is fairly thrilling to me. On high of that, the cellphone has IP68 and IP69 safety in opposition to mud and water ingress. In different phrases, you’ll be able to stick the OnePlus 13 in a dishwasher, and it ought to survive (although we do not advocate you attempt it).
The OnePlus 13 is not the one cellphone in 2025 that may survive a dishwasher run. The Honor Magic 7 Professional is dishwasher-safe as effectively, and I noticed it used as a reducing board, too. If that is not enjoyable, I actually do not know what’s.
Again to the smart nature of this part, it is laborious to overlook the OnePlus 13R. It delivers flagship specs for $600, and that is downright cool. I believe there are numerous individuals in North America which were conditioned by Apple and Samsung to assume that flagships need to price $1,000 or above. In 2025, that could not be extra improper. There has by no means been a time when $500 or $600 might get you extra in a smartphone.
As a cellphone reviewer, I usually take a look at out quite a lot of evaluation items every year. However I additionally purchase method too many telephones and different devices with my very own cash, and I’ve by no means been extra conflicted about which one to purchase. The OnePlus 13 is the smart possibility, like I mentioned, though there are numerous others that match the “enjoyable” invoice higher.
A type of gadgets is the ASUS ROG Telephone 9 Professional. It got here to the U.S. in January and is solely a beastly and distinctive gaming cellphone. The ROG Telephone 9 Professional has a loud design with nods to ASUS’ gaming aesthetic, however issues actually get loopy with “Anime Imaginative and prescient.” That is what ASUS calls the LED show on the again of ROG Telephone 9 Professional, which incorporates 648 particular person white and crimson LEDs.
You’ll be able to put logos, textual content, and different designs on the again of your smartphone with the ROG Telephone 9 Professional. In the event you’re not impressed but, the ROG Telephone 9 Professional’s again LED show can really be used to play retro-style mini-games and present your cellphone’s battery proportion. From a {hardware} perspective, the ROG Telephone 9 Professional has a 3.5mm headphone jack and two USB-C ports designed to connect with equipment like controllers or a cooling fan.
Severely, anybody who thinks telephones aren’t enjoyable these days is not trying laborious sufficient. The ASUS ROG Telephone 9 Professional is likely one of the most enjoyable gadgets I’ve ever seen, and I’d pay over $1,000 simply to get my palms on one.
Lastly, I believe it is value emphasizing how a lot aptitude and customization may be added to telephones, particularly these bought outdoors the U.S. For instance, the TECNO Spark 30 Bumblebee Version is designed like a Transformer, which is insanely cool for robotic nerds like myself. If superheroes are extra your type, there’s the Poco X7 Professional Iron Man version, which wants no introduction.
It doesn’t matter what form of smartphone purchaser you might be, there is a “enjoyable” gadget for you in 2025. Like a brilliant sturdy smartphone? The OnePlus 13 is best for you. Want a flagship on a finances? Do not depend out the OnePlus 13R. Need a cellphone so cool it will get into ludicrous {hardware} territory? That is the ASUS ROG Telephone 9 Professional, plain and easy. Wish to categorical your fandoms with out a case or pores and skin? The Bumblebee or Iron Man telephones are insanely neat.
It is true that the finest Android telephones from manufacturers like Samsung or Google can get boring. Nevertheless, it could be a mistake to restrict your self to these corporations or to no matter your mobile service provides. There’s an entire lot of telephones on the market, and so they’re extra enjoyable than ever.