Best Phones of 2025: Revisiting the year

2025 did not just bring faster chips, it reshaped how cameras, AI and battery life work together in the best phones of 2025. Samsung, Apple and Google dominated global “phone of the year” lists, while brands like Vivo and OnePlus grabbed serious attention in India with big camera upgrades and battery breakthroughs among the best phones of 2025. Awards from PhoneArena, TechRadar, NDTV Gadgets360 and Indian Gadget Awards backed these best phones of 2025 with clear wins, and market data from Counterpoint and IDC showed Samsung and Apple leading shipments globally, with Vivo, Xiaomi and Samsung staying on top in India.

Best phones of 2025: ultra‑premium flagships

If you look at the ultra‑premium end, the best phones of 2025 clearly formed a tight pack around performance, cameras and AI. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max appeared again and again as “phone of the year” winners or top picks, thanks to powerful chips, all‑day battery life and reliable camera systems. PhoneArena named the iPhone 17 Pro Max its Best Overall Smartphone, while several guides and jury lists treated the Galaxy S25 Ultra as the most complete Android flagship, often praising its zoom camera and S Pen productivity.​

In 2025, Google’s Pixel 10 Pro joined this top table as the “smartest” phone with deep on‑device AI and strong photography, especially in Western markets. At the same time, Chinese camera flagships like Xiaomi 15/14 Ultra, Vivo X300 Pro and Oppo Find X9 Pro targeted users who cared more about photography than ecosystem, packing giant sensors, long telephoto lenses and advanced stabilisation. On itmatterss.in, the Vivo X300 Pro even earned the tag “the best camera phone you can buy in 2025,” thanks to its 200MP ZEISS telephoto and DSLR‑style extender support.​​

India spotlight: Vivo X300 series and OnePlus 15 step up

When we talk to Indian readers, the story looks even more interesting because you see global leaders and local favourites colliding. In India, award shortlists from NDTV Gadgets360 and Indian Gadget Awards put Galaxy S25 Ultra, iPhone 16/17 series, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Xiaomi 14 Ultra, Vivo X200 Pro and OnePlus 13 in the same ring, showing how crowded the premium space became. IDC data confirmed that Vivo topped India’s 2025 smartphone share at around the mid‑teens, while Xiaomi, Samsung, Realme and Oppo filled the rest of the top five, with Apple growing in the premium tier.​

Within this market, the Vivo X300 Pro and Vivo X300 turned into hot headlines for camera‑first users. Your own Vivo X300 Pro review called it the best camera phone of 2025, highlighting its 200MP telephoto, 4,500‑nit LTPO display and 90W charging at a price of around ₹1,09,999, while the Vivo X300 offered the same design language and a compact, camera‑rich option near the ₹75,000 mark. Meanwhile, OnePlus 15 came in as a battery and performance beast, using Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, a 1.5K 165Hz display and a massive 7,300mAh battery to deliver what your review described as “a well‑balanced flagship that checks almost every box.”​

Best phones of 2025 by price segment

Because you also look at value for your audience, here is how the best phones of 2025 break down by price band in simple terms. In the ultra‑premium ₹1 lakh‑plus segment, phones like Galaxy S25 Ultra, iPhone 17 Pro Max and Vivo X300 Pro carry the awards, with global lists and Indian reviews aligning around their cameras, displays and updates. For upper‑mid to premium shoppers around ₹60,000–₹80,000, devices such as Vivo X300, OnePlus 15 and some Xiaomi and Oppo flagships deliver near‑flagship experiences while undercutting the very top tier on price.​

In the ₹25,000–₹50,000 band, 2025 turned into a real battle zone. NDTV’s awards highlighted Motorola Edge 50 Pro as a mainstream winner between ₹25,000 and ₹35,000, while on itmatterss.in the OnePlus 15R stood out as the better all‑round choice over the Pixel 9a, thanks to stronger performance, bigger battery and a smoother display under ₹50,000. At the budget end under ₹20,000, your coverage crowned Realme P4 5G as the clear value pick, offering a 7,000mAh battery, 80W fast charging and Dimensity 7400 Ultra performance, which shows how aggressive 2025 got on entry‑level specs.​

Foldables, AI and what this means for 2026

If we zoom out, the best phones of 2025 also tell you where the next wave is going. Foldables like Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 grabbed “best foldable phone” titles and even landed in some overall top‑phone lists, especially after improvements in hinge durability and camera tuning. At the same time, AI moved from being a buzzword to a real buying reason, as Pixel 10 Pro, Galaxy S25 Ultra and OnePlus 15 used on‑device models for voice features, summaries, photo tools and smarter UI shortcuts instead of just raw benchmarks.​​

For readers planning a 2026 upgrade, this recap shows that the best phones of 2025 did three things very well: they pushed camera hardware like Vivo X300 Pro to near‑DSLR levels, they stretched battery life and charging speeds with phones like OnePlus 15 and Realme P4 5G, and they turned AI from a gimmick into everyday convenience on flagships and some mid‑range devices. So, when you pick your next phone, you now know which names actually survived awards, stats and long‑term tests, not just launch‑day hype.