Techloy Readers' Choice Smartphone Awards 2025

Taking a look back at 2025, it’s safe to say most companies did not hold back when it came to smartphone releases this year. We've seen a significant number of major performance improvements and bold design changes, making this year one of the most competitive we’ve seen in a while.

With more companies embracing newer technologies like Silicon Carbon batteries and applying AI to enhance the overall software experience, it has been challenging to pinpoint which phone is the best. Even base models received such substantial upgrades that recommending a single “best” phone has become more complicated than ever. Simply put, 2025 delivered an almost overwhelming abundance of options.

Some phones are designed for specific audiences, others tailored to specific budgets. This is why we have given the power to you, our readers and users of these phones, to decide which ones are the best across a myriad of categories.

Introducing the Techloy Readers' Choice Smartphone Awards, the first-of-its-kind series where you get to decide the phones that stood out in the year.

See the Categories

We have ultimately settled on 10 key categories that we believe best define the perfect smartphones, testing for everything from battery life to innovations, to, of course, camera, and a lot more.

Here are the categories, and don’t forget to click the form to vote for your favourite.

1. Best Overall Flagship

These are the top-of-the-line, highest-end smartphones you can get from companies this year. They all put their best into these, but which one truly stands out?

2. Best Camera Phone

Most professional photographers will tell you that a phone will never replace a camera, but it feels like the gap between phones and cameras is now slimmer than ever.

But which phone really closes that gap the most this year?

3. Best Budget Smartphone

Forget about the expensive, top-of-the-line products for a second; not everyone needs the S pen or Gen lock or some other hyper niche feature. Sometimes, we just want something that'll give us the most for our buck.

Which one stood out to you this year?

4. Best Flagship Killer / Upper Mid-Range

It might not be the top of the line, but it's definitely really close in features while not being as expensive.

Here are our nominees for the best upper mid-range devices announced this year.

5. Best Foldable Phone (Book-Style)

One 6-inch screen? Why not two side by side that can open up into one massive screen?

Tell us, which one of these foldables made you really consider getting one (if you didn't already)?

6. Best Foldable Phone (Clamshell)

Some might want two screens, others just want the one they already have to fold in half. These clamshell-style phones almost feel like working with flip phones, but better.

But which one was the best this year?

7. Best Gaming Phone

When it comes to raw power to handle massive and intensive games, all the way from Genshin Impact to Call of Duty, you would need a proper performance beast.

We got a lot this year, but only one can really outshine the rest.

8. Best AI Features (On-Device Intelligence)

AI is ubiquitous now, and you can't run from it anymore. Now, everyone's using it to improve user experience in one way or the other.

Which phone has the AI features that really stuck out to you this year?

9. Best Battery Life

Literally, the battery life of a phone can be the difference between life and death. In a world where we have become increasingly reliant on our phones to connect with loved ones, call an Uber, book a dentist appointment and schedule a date, very few features are as important in a phone as the battery life.

Which one did it for you this year?

10. Most Innovative Phone

More than any other year, it feels like companies really came out of their shells to try new things, whether that be copying what others have or coming up with something entirely new.

But they can't all be the best, right? Which one was most innovative to you?

How to Vote

Voting polls have been rolled out across the Techloy website and can be accessed by tapping the pop-up below. However, the polls will also run on all our social media channels, including YouTube, Instagram, X and TikTok, so be sure to check those out too.

Voting is currently open and will run till 11:59 PM GMT on December 17th, after which your votes from all platforms will be combined to determine the winners of each category.

When Will the Results Be Announced?

Once voting closes, we’ll tally all entries and publish the full list of winners on December 19, 2025. So, go ahead, champion your favourite device, rally your friends, and let’s decide the best smartphones of 2025 together.