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If you’re looking for a big phone packed with high-end specs and features, look no further than the iPhone 13 Pro Max. This is the most premium phone you’ll find running Apple’s iOS operating system. 

The iPhone 13 Pro Max is the largest iPhone available right now, with it’s 6.7-inch OLED display making it a full 0.6-inches bigger than the iPhone 13 and the 13 Pro. The display has a smaller notch than the iPhone 12 Pro Max, along with a faster 120Hz refresh rate. 

The phone is powered by the A15 Bionic chipset with a five-core GPU and up to 1TB of storage. 

There’s also a triple camera array consisting of a 12-megapixel (f/1.5) wide lens, a 12-megapixel (f/1.8) ultra-wide lens and a 12-megapixel (f/2.8) telephoto lens which supports 6x optical zoom and 15x digital zoom. 

The battery on the iPhone 13 Pro Max is very impressive as well, allowing the phone to run longer than pretty much every mainstream flagship phone we’ve reviewed in the past year. 

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: iPhone 13 Pro Max Review

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the top Android phone to come out in 2021 so far and a great pick if you’re willing to pay a little extra to get the best of the best. 

The S21 Ultra is packed with high-end features. The list includes fast performance thanks to its Exynos 2100 chip (or the Snapdragon 888 if you’re shopping in the States), 5G support, up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. 

One of the headline features is the display. The S21 Ultra boasts a 6.8-inch, curved, WQHD+ screen. It’s bright, hitting 1500 nits, and supports HDR content as well as an adaptive 10-120Hz refresh rate. The fact that this display can handle 120Hz while still maintaining its 1440p WQHD resolution puts the screen ahead of that on its 2020 predecessor. The display even has S-Pen support to coax fans of the Galaxy Note over to the S series – albeit without a slot to store the pen. 

The quad-camera system is impressive. It includes a 108MP wide sensor that offers great depth of field, a 12MP ultra-wide sensor and two 10MP zoom sensors for capturing images from far away. 

The Galaxy S21 Ultra isn’t the smallest phone on the market and it might be difficult to come to terms with the £1149/€1249/$1199 price, but if you can part with the cash you’ll struggle to find a better smartphone.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Review

The iPhone 13 is, in our opinion, the best iPhone for most iOS users looking for an upgrade this year. The phone packs a large number of Pro-level upgrades over previous iPhones without attaching the Pro and Pro Max’s more premium price. 

Like the 13 Pro, the iPhone 13 features a 6.1-inch OLED display with a 20% smaller notch compared with the iPhone 12. However, it lacks the 120Hz refresh rate found on the Pro models. 

The iPhone 13 is also powered by the A15 Bionic, this time with a four-core GPU and up to 512GB of storage, along with the same six-core CPU and 16-core Neural Engine. 

The dual camera is excellent and consists of two 12-megapixel sensors – one a wide lens with an aperture of f/1.6 and the other an f/2.4 ultra-wide lens. The camera is able to capture 4K at 60fps and also supports Dolby Vision. 

The iPhone 13 also showcases improvements in battery life over its predecessors. 

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: iPhone 13 Review

The iPhone 13 Pro is the most advanced iPhone available if you prefer a slightly more compact display over the 13 Pro Max’s sizable 6.7-inch screen. 

Otherwise, many of the specs remain the same across both Pro models. 

The 13 Pro packs the same 120Hz refresh rate and shrunken down notch on a smaller 6.1 display, along with the same A15 Bionic, five-core GPU and massive 1TB of storage. The 13 Pro also takes advantage of the same extended battery life as the 13 Pro Max. 

The triple camera array is identical, made up of a 12-megapixel (f/1.5) wide lens, a 12-megapixel (f/1.8) ultra-wide lens and a 12-megapixel (f/2.8) telephoto lens, capable of 6x optical zoom and 15x digital zoom. Both phones also include a LiDAR scanner for Night Mode portraits and faster autofocus in low light. 

The 13 Pro offers everything the Pro Max does in a smaller package and at a smaller price. 

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: iPhone 13 Pro Review

The Asus Zenfone 8 is the smartphone surprise of 2021 so far. This dinky flagship offers a wildly different experience to other Android phones on this list and it does so without sacrificing too many high-end features.

The size here is similar to that of the iPhone 12 (rather than the 12 mini) which is rare in the Android space. It’s small and perfectly usable with one hand, but it packs internals like the flagship Snapdragon 888 chipset, up to 16GB RAM and 30w charging.

During testing, we found the Zenfone 8 snappy and as capable as anything from Samsung, OnePlus or Xiaomi. It does get a little hot during gaming sessions, though.

The 5.9-inch display is great with a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling, OLED for rich colours and deep blacks and only a very small cutout for the front camera. Asus has even found zoom for a set of stereo front speakers and a headphone jack.

The main camera is good, however the lack of any zoom (aside from the digital one) is a shame. Same goes for the lack of wireless charging.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: Asus Zenfone 8

Oppo impressed us a lot with the Oppo Find X2 Pro so it’s hardly a surprise the follow-up, the Find X3 Pro, is one of the best phones you can buy right now.

The handset goes toe-to-toe with Samsung’s best for specs and features. Matching the specs of most current flagships, it comes with a super-powerful 5G-ready Snapdragon 888 chipset, wonderfully calibrated, 120Hz, 6.7-inch screen, and a lovely curved glass design.

During testing, we found its support for 65W fast-charging saw battery life go from 0-100% in around half an hour, which is a seriously impressive achievement.

The only downside is that, unlike the older X2 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, the zoom skills of the rear cameras are limited. Oppo has ditched the periscope zoom lens, instead offering a far better ultra wide sensor and a 3x optical zoom. 

During testing we found this means you can’t get quite as close to the action as you could before. At least the quality from the wide and ultra cameras are very good – with lovely colours and a strong low-light mode. There’s even a microscope camera that takes some interesting close-up shots.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: Oppo Find X3 Pro Review

The Samsung Galaxy S21 and the larger Galaxy S21 Plus are two great options if the S21 series appeals to you but you’re hesitant about spending S21 Ultra-level money on your next phone. Samsung has also decreased the price of its most affordable flagship devices this year, making this an even more tempting offer.

Both the S21 and S21 Plus pack the same fast Exynos 2100 chipset (or Snapdragon 888, depending on your region), 5G support and in-display fingerprint scanner as the Ultra, the latter being a major bonus right now with masks making face log-ins more challenging than usual.

There are a few differences between the standard S21 and the Plus model. While the Plus is all glass, the cheaper S21 has a plastic back. The WQHD+ resolution has also been swapped out for a FHD+ display on the more affordable smartphone. That said, during testing we found both the 6.2-inch (S21) and 6.7-inch (S21 Plus) OLED displays bright and sharp and the addition of an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate means the displays are smooth, too.

Both of these S21 models pack a triple camera made up of a 12MP wide sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide sensor and a 64MP zoom sensor. On the front, there’s a 10MP selfie camera and you can capture video up to 8K. Photos taken with the S21 are beautifully detailed and the colour is bright and punchy. 

The S21 may not be as advanced as the S21 Ultra, but the phone is slimmer, lighter and a lot more affordable for most people.

If you’re considering picking up the S21, you may want to hold out to learn more about the S21 FE, which is expected to launch this year at an even lower price.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: Samsung Galaxy S21 Review

The OnePlus 9 Pro is the best OnePlus phone you can buy and a real rival to the S21 Ultra and Oppo Find X3 Pro for the best overall Android phone award this year. During testing we found the 9 Pro only misses the mark slightly when it comes to overall camera quality, which falls below its two main competitors.

When compared to the OnePlus 9, the Pro model has a sharper 1440p display, a full metal body, a proper IP68 water resistance rating and very fast wireless charging. During testing, we found that the upgrades really are worth it if you’re willing to spend a little bit extra cash as they make the phone feel significantly better built.

While the camera system does fall below the very best camera phones, the Hasselblad-branded camera system with its main 48MP sensor and an 50MP ultra-wide is still capable and we found it a noticeable improvement when compared to the previous OnePlus cameras. We had standout praise for the ultra wide camera.

Performance is fantastic thanks to the Snapdragon 888 chipset and, aside from a slow camera app, the software is among the best you’ll find on any Android phone even if there are a few bugs here and there.
Another highlight is the rapid charging, both wired and wireless, which can give you a full charge in roughly 30 minutes.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: OnePlus 9 Pro Review

The Xiaomi Mi 11 is a strong alternative to the Galaxy S21 if you want a bigger screen and faster charging but aren’t keen on spending more.
The display is the star here, which we found doesn’t fall too far short of the panel used on the S21 Ultra when it comes to image quality and performance. At 6.81-inches it’s large and it packs a 1440p resolution, HDR support and a 120Hz refresh rate to give you smooth scrolling and responsive gaming.

Like the display, the internal and camera specs are high-end and great for the price. This is one of the more affordable Snapdragon 888 devices and it’s paired with 8GB RAM and up to 256GB storage.

It’s very speedy too, with any app or game playing with ease when we reviewed it. There’s really nothing that can push this phone too far. You’ve also got 5G support if you’re using the phone in a supported area.

There’s a main 108MP camera (along with two other sensors, which aren’t quite so good) on the back that takes decent pictures and 65w charging that’ll give you a full charge in about 40 minutes.

The most disappointing part of the Xiaomi Mi 11 is the software, which we found is a little too buggy making it slightly frustrating to use. Apps crash, wallpapers randomly change, notifications take an age to appear and there’s too much bloatware.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: Xiaomi Mi 11 Review

Gaming-focussed devices are still a niche sector of the smartphone space, but after a few years of being disappointed with what was on offer, we’ve finally been impressed by some of the gaming phones we’ve reviewed recently. 

While you’ll get excellent gaming performance from an iPhone 12, Galaxy S21 Ultra or OnePlus 9 Pro, the Asus ROG Phone 5 takes things up a notch with a ridiculously smooth 144Hz display, gaming accessories and booming speakers.

With a lot of the phones on this list trying to be more svelte, the Asus ROG Phone 5 goes the opposite way. This is a bigger phone so there is room for beefy speakers, a display without a notch and huge 6000mAh battery. There are also a couple of touch-sensitive triggers on the top, letting you ditch the usually terrible on-screen controls

If you’re all about smooth, modern design that you should probably look elsewhere.

Inside, the specs show this for the true power-user. There’s up to 18GB RAM, the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 888 chipset and plenty of storages for games.

Reviewer: Basil Kronfli
Full review: Asus ROG Phone 5 Review