The Best iPhones in 2025: Which Model Should You Buy?

The iPhone 16 Pro gets large props for filling successful the spread betwixt the basal iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Its much compact signifier origin volition beryllium much manageable for astir users successful one-handed usage than the tremendous Pro Max, but it doesn’t miss retired immoderate features oregon camera sensors – dissimilar erstwhile iterations that had antithetic cameras connected the smaller Pro model. Of course, if you privation the larger screen, you tin simply upgrade to the iPhone 16 Pro Max and number connected getting an different akin experience.

The iPhone 16 Pro gets each the latest from Apple, including the A18 Pro spot that’s exceedingly almighty for mundane cognition and gaming. In the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the spot had the azygous fastest Geekbench 6 single-core people I’ve ever measured successful a telephone (and successful a laptop for that matter). This besides pairs with a GPU that rips. Playing the latest games, the spot is readily capable to pump retired precocious framework rates astatine max settings.

Apple’s physique is large and feels luxurious, though it doesn't travel successful the astir vibrant colors. The surface is brilliant, offering some the operation of precocious brightness and opposition with the much fluid question of a higher refresh rate. While Apple hypes up the durability of the caller phones Ceramic Shield glass, I recovered it’s inactive capable to get scraped up easily, truthful it’s worthy immoderate protection.

The cameras connected the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are strong. The main sensor is downright excellent, exhibiting its spot successful low-light scenarios wherever smartphone cameras typically struggle. The ultra-wide successfully squeezes much into the shot, though struggled a spot with softness and sound successful my testing, seemingly arsenic a effect with a focusing contented (which you could debar with manual focus). There’s besides a adjuvant 5x telephoto sensor that makes each the quality erstwhile you’re trying to seizure portraits with earthy bokeh oregon request to get person to a taxable you can’t physically get person to. The caller Camera Control besides provides a mode to navigate settings and sprout photos with a much shutter-button-like control, though I deliberation Apple has immoderate much enactment to bash perfecting it successful aboriginal updates and hardware iterations.

The iPhone 16 is simply a decently superb mid-range enactment successful the iPhone lineup. The instauration of Apple Intelligence required much from the internals, which meant Apple couldn’t permission the basal iPhone successful the past connected an outdated SoC similar it has successful erstwhile years. As a result, the iPhone 16 ends up with the A18 chip, which puts up superior show overmuch similar the A18 Pro spot successful the phone’s Pro siblings. The A18 lagged down the A18 Pro by a precise tiny margin, but different it readily blasted past the Geekbench 6 CPU show I’d seen from each telephone moving a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset successful Android devices. Single-core adjacent remains capable to outdo what I’ve seen from the newer Snapdragon 8 Elite.

With each that performance, the iPhone 16 easy holds up successful mundane usage and tin play demanding games similar Wuthering Waves with ease. Even aft agelong play sessions, the telephone remains comfy to hold.

This exemplary has much colorful options for the hardware, should you similar that, though you tin besides opt for a cleanable achromatic oregon achromatic design. The iPhone 16 besides gets Ceramic Shield arsenic protection, though I inactive urge immoderate other extortion for the phone. The size of the iPhone 16 is large successful the pouch and successful the hand, with its smaller width making it overmuch much wieldy than the wide Pro Max models.

While you’ll miss retired connected the other smoothness of the 120Hz refresh complaint connected the Pro models, the iPhone 16 inactive gets a large display. It’s plentifulness crisp for a 6.1-inch screen, and it offers a gorgeous OLED panel. That pairs with punchy speakers that marque watching shows and movies connected the telephone each the much enjoyable.

The main camera connected the iPhone 16 snaps beauteous photos, capturing vibrant colour and pulling successful capable airy to marque bash adjacent successful dim environments. The ultra-wide and selfie cameras aren’t bad, but they bash conflict with immoderate softness, seemingly a absorption contented overmuch similar I encountered connected the Pro. This is thing Apple volition hopefully remedy successful an update.

If you’re looking for an iPhone connected a budget, Apple isn’t making your enactment process overmuch easier. With the instauration of the iPhone 16e, Apple's offerings stepped adjacent further distant from affordable than before. The anterior iPhone SE whitethorn not person been a precise bully phone, but it astatine slightest had a much palatable starting terms astatine $429. The caller iPhone 16e enters arsenic Apple’s lowest-priced iPhone presently available, but it starts astatine $599. While it becomes the de facto fund iPhone, this proposal comes with immoderate caveats.

The iPhone 16e volition springiness you a modern telephone moving connected a potent spot successful the A18 – the aforesaid spot you’ll find successful the iPhone 16, albeit with 1 less GPU core. This means you’ll get a accelerated capable telephone and entree to Apple Intelligence features. The iPhone 16e thankfully updated distant from the anterior iPhone SE’s design, which was already incredibly dated erstwhile it launched successful 2022. You’ll get a larger and sharper 6.1-inch OLED display. That updated plan besides brings with it an aluminum framework and pugnacious Ceramic Shield solid connected some sides. Apple has besides raised the basal retention to a much agreeable 128GB.

However, Apple took a batch away. Since the instauration of the iPhone 12, each of Apple’s non-SE models person had a fewer shared features. They each offered MagSafe for magnetically connected accessories and wireless charging. They each supported mmWave 5G. They each had UWB support, which allowed for precise determination tracking connected devices similar the Apple AirTag and immoderate different accessories. And they each included astatine slightest 2 cameras connected the rear. The iPhone 16e omits each of these. That strips it of a batch of functionality and limits its camera capabilities. That whitethorn not beryllium capable to marque it a atrocious phone, but it’s each worthy weighing.

Now, I won’t reason that you should conscionable ammunition retired for the $799 iPhone 16 instead. If you conscionable request a elemental telephone and privation it to beryllium a caller iPhone, you tin spell up with the iPhone 16e. But if you’re not loving the galore things it omits and aren’t sold connected Apple Intellgence’s AI features, it’s worthy considering that there’s a satellite of refurbished and renewed devices retired determination offering superior discounts. Amazon has refurbished iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15 units successful fantabulous conditions for nether $500, for instance. For my money, I’d instrumentality the refurbished iPhone 14 Pro woody implicit the iPhone 16e.

The iPhone is beloved for its easy-to-use software, coagulated cameras, and fantabulous performance. But if you’re not committed to the operating strategy oregon don’t privation to wage the premiums to get immoderate of the features locked distant successful the apical tier of Apple’s phones, past the OnePlus 13 provides an breathtaking alternative. The OnePlus 13 comes successful astatine $899, but alternatively than competing with the iPhone 16 oregon iPhone 16 Plus astatine this price, it’s much of a rival to the $1199 iPhone 16 Pro Max. Where Apple’s top-line telephone brings a bigger display, smoother refresh rate, much cameras, and upgraded processing to the table, the OnePlus 13 besides delivers similarly.

It boasts a triple-camera setup connected the backmost implicit with a 50MP telephoto sensor that helps punch successful connected far-off subjects, and that’s backed up by a 50MP main sensor and 50MP ultra-wide sensor. Combined, these sprout large photos and video, and the selfie camera connected the beforehand is simply a knockout.

The show is iPhone-worthy. It stretches 6.82-inches crossed country to country and has a 3168x1440 resolution, conscionable a hairsbreadth shy of the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It besides boasts a 120Hz refresh complaint for creaseless visuals, positive it tin driblet each the mode down to 1Hz to prevention powerfulness erstwhile displaying static content. On apical of that, it’s a superb OLED sheet with ultra-bright peaks and inky blacks.

Performance had agelong been the country that adjacent the champion Android phones couldn’t rather interaction Apple, but the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 started to shingle that up successful Android flagships successful 2024, and the Snapdragon 8 Elite successful the OnePlus 13 lone moves the needle further. The OnePlus 13 astir caught the iPhone 16 Pro Max successful single-core performance, bushed it successful multi-core performance, and swept up successful 3DMarks’ graphics tests. It’s a champ erstwhile gaming, too. And with a 6,000mAh battery, it’s acceptable for dense usage each day. Never caput that erstwhile the artillery gets low, you tin foodstuff backmost up with 80W wired charging oregon 50W wireless charging.

Did I notation that the telephone is besides elegant? It gets a stylish plan with either a metallic and achromatic colorway, a metallic framework and vegan leather backing successful a bold blue, oregon a blacked-out colour strategy with the backmost solid etched to amusement a wood atom pattern. The telephone besides includes an alert slider akin to the aged iPhones’ Ring/Silent switch. And portion the iPhone 16 lineup has respectable h2o ingress protection, the OnePlus 13 steps it up with IP68 extortion against submersion and IP69 extortion that keeps the internals harmless adjacent against hot, high-pressure h2o jets.

The OnePlus 13 has truthful overmuch going for it, and if you’re not dormant acceptable connected an iPhone, it’s decidedly worthy considering.

Originally posted:

Mar 31, 2025 9:20 pm