The best phones of 2025 were also the wackiest

It was a surprisingly fun year for smartphones. I didn’t expect this to be the case; the category is often described as stale or “plateaued”. But as a resident of WIRED phone reviewerI tested almost every handset this year, devices like cheap at $130 up to $2,000 – and I don’t think there’s been a year filled with such diverse styles in a while.

It all started with the Nothing Phone Series (3a)that the British company launched at Mobile World Congress at the start of the year. Although I wasn’t a fan of the Pro model’s top-heavy camera module, the electric blue phone (3a) stands out. It’s unlike any other smartphone on the market, with a transparent backplate, a pop of color from a small red square, and the company’s signature Glyph lights, which flash when you receive notifications. These LEDs may not be the most useful, but they are fun and wacky.

This fanciful design has been sorely lacking for several years. Remember the 2020s LG Wing? The five cameras Nokia 9 PureView from 2019? The weird Motorcycle mods Ten years ago, who added things like cameras and speakers to Motorola’s Moto Z? These phones may not top the charts, but they tried something different.

Smartphones are a necessity in today’s world and, like all commodities, that means that nice, fun designs are often sacrificed in favor of manufacturing efficiency. When businesses chase the bottom line, we end up with simple, straightforward phones designed for the widest possible audience. That’s why the recent move to devices with a little more character seems significant.

Nothing had another victory in hand this year with the CMF Phone 2 Proa sub-$300 phone that looked nothing like its budget price. Uniquely, you can unscrew the back of the phone and replace the back plate with one in a different color, or remove the Accessory Point module and attach items like a lanyard. Fairphone, focused on sustainability, had a similar idea with The Fairphone (Gen.6)except this smartphone did all that while also getting a 10/10 rating iFixit repairability score.

The phone nothing (3a).

Photography: Julian Chokkattu

The Motorola Razr 2025 series.

Photography: Julian Chokkattu

Then came Motorola, which saw great success in recent years with his Razr Foldable Flip Phones. With the Razr 2025 modelsthe company leaned heavily into different materials and textures. You can buy a Razr with a back covered in Alcantara microfiber textile, vegan leather, or polished black Gorilla Glass. There is even a version with Wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. It helps that Motorola remains one of the only manufacturers to offer a foldable flip phone for under $700. (It even becomes as low as $600 during sales events.)

You may still be hesitant to invest in one of these hinged handsets, considering their uneven history with sustainabilitybut they are harder than ever. I’ve dropped several Razrs, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and even the Galaxy Z Flip7 this year, and aside from minor scrapes on the frame, none of them are cracked. Motorola introduced a titanium-reinforced hinge plate this year. Google promises More than 10 years of folding for its latest Fold And finally got an IP68 rating for its foldable design. Samsung claims its Galaxy Z Fold7 can withstand 500,000 folds, which is more than a decade of typical use.

We should expect more of the look and feel of gadgets in our lives. As with a good watchI find that I really enjoy using devices that put a little more care or effort into the design and build quality. This year I was delighted with the sharp look Light Phone III—the anti-smartphone that does not run traditional applications—while the Minimal phonewhich is built with the same goal of reducing time spent staring at a screen, had a plastic construction that seemed off-putting. Even with all this experimentation with form, you don’t need to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a nice phone. from Motorola Moto G 5G Stylus has a striking design with a lovely leather-like texture, and it’s frequently on sale for $300.

The light phone III.

Photography: Julian Chokkattu

The Moto G Stylus 5G 2025.

Photography: Julian Chokkattu

Thinness, as always, was also very present. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge and the iPhoneAir These may not be original ideas, but I’m not kidding, holding a super thin and light phone is actually pretty awesome. Unfortunately – and unsurprisingly – Samsung’s design suffered from poor battery life, and while the iPhone Air delivered better-than-expected runtimes, its single camera system and high price weren’t exactly good value in a tumultuous economic year. (These flaws likely explain rumors suggesting Samsung may have canceled plans for successor to its thinnest handset and that Apple has resisted poor Air sales.)

But we’ve already seen the benefits of thinner phones. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold7 is one of the best foldable phones of the year, thanks in large part to the massive reduction in size and weight compared to its predecessors. Apple is also rumored to be working on a Foldable iPhoneAnd learning of the iPhone Air would go a long way toward creating a device that isn’t bulky to hold.