Smartphones: A Side-by-Side Look

Key specs:

• 6.3-inch Actua OLED display, 1080 x 2424, 422 PPI, 60-120Hz
• 4,985mAh typical battery, up to 55 percent in about 30 minutes (30W USB-C PPS)
• Google Tensor G6 processor, Titan M3 security coprocessor
• 48MP wide + 13MP ultrawide + 10.8MP 5x telephoto camera system

Pros:

• Camera system produces consistently excellent photos with minimal processing delay; new Camera Looks feature offers sensor-level presets
• Qi2 25W wireless charging with Pixelsnap magnetic alignment, a notable upgrade from the Pixel 10
• MediaTek modem replacement improves signal retention and battery drain compared to the Samsung modem in Pixel 10 series

Cons:

• Tensor G6 chip shows gaming limitations: Wuthering Waves had dropped frames even on Balanced settings; 3DMark Wild Life Extreme score of 3,354 vs 7,353 for S26 Ultra
• Face Unlock still does not work in the dark; eSIM-only in the US (no physical SIM slot)
• Battery capacity increased only 15mAh over Pixel 10 (4,985mAh); Google 30-hour claim not fully verified in testing

Key specs:

• 6.2-inch FHD+ (2340x1080) Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, 120Hz, 2600 nits peak brightness
• Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, 12GB RAM, 256GB storage
• 50MP wide (f/1.8, OIS) + 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) + 10MP 3X telephoto (f/2.4, OIS)
• 4000 mAh battery, 25W wired fast charging, 15W wireless charging

Pros:

• Compact 6.2-inch form factor — one of the smallest flagship phones available
• Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy delivers top-tier performance and efficiency
• Seven years of OS and security updates promised by Samsung
• IP68 water and dust resistance with Armor Aluminum frame

Cons:

• 25W charging is slower than competitors — full charge takes over 1.5 hours
• Base 128GB storage model uses slower UFS 3.1; 256GB model gets UFS 4.0
• No charger included in box
• Battery life improvement over S24 is modest despite more efficient chip

Key specs:

• 6.78-inch LTPO 1.5K display, up to 165Hz refresh rate
• 7,300mAh battery, 80W SUPERVOOC wired charging
• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, up to 16GB LPDDR5X Ultra+ RAM
• Triple 50MP camera system with 3.5x periscope telephoto zoom

Pros:

• Battery life lasts 26 hours 11 minutes in PCMag video streaming test, longest among Android phones tested
• 80W wired charging (included in box) recharges 0 to 100 percent in 31 minutes; 50W wireless via AirVooc
• IP66/IP68/IP69/IP69K ingress protection exceeds most flagships, surviving high-pressure water jets

Cons:

• No mmWave 5G support (sub-6GHz and C-band only), limiting access to fastest US carrier speeds
• Only 4 years of OS updates and 6 years of security updates, short of Google and Samsung 7-year commitments
• Camera hardware downgraded from OnePlus 13 with smaller sensors; telephoto performance falls beyond 30x zoom

Key specs:

• 6.9-inch display, 7.9mm thickness, 214g weight
• 200MP Wide camera f/1.4, 50MP Ultra Wide f/1.9, 50MP Telephoto f/2.9
• 5,000mAh battery, up to 75 percent charge in around 30 minutes
• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, S Pen included

Pros:

• Privacy Display is a built-in hardware feature that makes the screen nearly invisible from side angles, with per-app activation
• 200MP main camera with f/1.4 aperture captures 47 percent more light than S25 Ultra; Horizon Lock video stabilization keeps footage level
• 60W wired charging goes from 0 to 76 percent in 30 minutes; CNET Lab Award for fastest wired charging among 33 phones tested

Cons:

• Battery life of 15 hours 5 minutes in PCMag test trails OnePlus 15 (26h 11m) and iPhone 17 Pro Max (32h 11m)
• No native Qi2 magnetic wireless charging (requires a case), unlike iPhone 17 and Pixel 10
• Display has worse viewing angles than the S26 and S26+ even with Privacy Display off; more reflective glass prone to glare

Key specs:

• 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED Plus display, 120Hz refresh rate
• 5,000mAh battery, up to 60 percent charge in 30 minutes (45W)
• Exynos 1680 processor, 8GB LPDDR5X RAM
• 50MP OIS Wide + 12MP Ultra Wide + 5MP Macro camera, IP68 rated

Pros:

• 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with slim bezels and 1,900-nit peak brightness; Trusted Reviews called it a fantastic panel for the price
• IP68 water and dust resistance (first for the A-series) plus Gorilla Glass Victus+ on both front and back
• 6 years of OS upgrades and security updates; 5,000mAh battery delivers 5.5-6 hours of screen-on time with heavy use

Cons:

• Exynos 1680 chip runs hot under stress: Android Auto caused the phone to become almost completely unresponsive with 5-6 second app launch delays (Android Authority testing)
• Optical fingerprint sensor is slow and unreliable, requiring 1-2 seconds and frequent first-attempt failures
• No wireless charging; 5MP macro camera described as spec filler by multiple reviewers; 4K video limited to 30fps

Key specs:

• 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, 2622 x 1206, 460 ppi, ProMotion up to 120Hz, 3000 nits peak (outdoor)
• Apple A19 chip, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
• 48MP Fusion Main (f/1.6, sensor-shift OIS) + 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide (f/2.2, 120° FOV) camera system
• Up to 30 hours video playback, 50% charge in 20 minutes with 40W adapter

Pros:

• Best value among iPhone 17 models with Pro-level display and cameras at $899
• Fast A19 performance outguns most Android competitors including Pixel 10 and Galaxy S25
• ProMotion 120Hz display with 3000 nits peak brightness is a major upgrade over iPhone 16
• Excellent battery life at 24 hours 31 minutes in PCMag testing, better than iPhone Air

Cons:

• No telephoto camera; limited to 2x optical-quality zoom vs 4x on Pro models
• USB-C port is USB 2.0 only (480Mbps), while Pro models get USB 3.0 (10Gbps)
• eSIM only in US, no physical SIM card tray
• Speakers distort at maximum volume (93dB in testing)

Key specs:

• 6.9-inch Extreme AMOLED display, 2640 x 1080, 120Hz, HDR10+, 3000 nits peak
• MediaTek Dimensity 7450X processor, 4nm, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage
• 4800mAh battery, up to 36 hours, 30W TurboPower wired charging, 15W wireless
• 50MP main (f/1.7) + 50MP ultrawide (f/2.0) rear cameras, 32MP front camera

Pros:

• Outstanding battery life at 19 hours 10 minutes in PCMag testing, longest in foldable category
• Compact foldable design at $799.99 is hundreds less than Galaxy Z Flip or Razr Ultra
• Titanium-reinforced hinge with IP48 dust and water resistance
• 50MP ultrawide camera with 122° FOV captures excellent dynamic range in harsh sunlight

Cons:

• Display brightness limited to 3000 nits vs 5000 nits on Razr Ultra; struggles in direct sunlight
• MediaTek Dimensity 7450X performance is middling; Geekbench 6 multi-core 3312 vs 8717 on Razr Ultra
• Only 3 years of OS updates vs 7 years on Pixel and Samsung flagships
• No telephoto lens; digital zoom up to 2x produces soft results

Key specs:

• 6.3-inch Actua display, 1080 x 2424 pOLED at 422.2 PPI, 60-120Hz, 3000 nits peak
• Google Tensor G4 processor, Titan M2 security coprocessor, 8GB RAM
• 5100 mAh typical battery, 30+ hour battery life, 30W wired charging
• 48MP wide (f/1.7, OIS) + 13MP ultrawide (f/2.2) rear cameras, 13MP front camera

Pros:

• Outstanding cameras for the price; Pixel computational photography leads the $500 segment
• Bright 3000-nit display with 120Hz refresh rate at half the cost of flagship Pixels
• Excellent Google AI features including Gemini Live, Circle to Search, and Camera Coach
• 7 years of OS updates and security support, longest in the industry

Cons:

• Outdated Tensor G4 processor from 2024; benchmarks show minimal improvement over Pixel 9a
• No magnetic Qi2 charging (PixelSnap) unlike Pixel 10 and iPhone 17
• No mmWave 5G support, limited to sub-6GHz C-band
• Battery life at 12 hours 15 minutes in PCMag testing trails iPhone 17e (22h) and S25 FE (17h)

Key specs:

• 6.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, 2,340 x 1,080, 409 PPI, up to 120Hz, 2,600 nits peak brightness
• 4,300mAh battery, up to 55% charge in around 30 minutes (25W Super Fast Charging), 15W wireless charging
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor, 12GB RAM
• 50MP wide + 12MP ultra wide + 10MP 3x telephoto rear cameras, 12MP selfie camera

Pros:

• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 matches the far pricier S26 Ultra in CPU and GPU benchmarks while running cool
• At 167g and 6.3 inches it is one of the most compact, lightweight flagship phones; comfortable one-handed
• Seven years of OS updates and security patches, matching Google and Apple's commitment
• Bright 2,600-nit 120Hz AMOLED screen holds up well in direct sunlight

Cons:

• Battery lasted 15h10m in PCMag's streaming test vs 26h11m for iPhone 17 and 26h42m for OnePlus 15
• Same 50MP+12MP+10MP camera hardware since the Galaxy S22; Android Authority calls the sensors severely outdated for a $900 phone
• No mmWave 5G, no Ultra Wideband radio, no Qi2 magnetic charging, and 25W wired charging is slower than the S26+ (45W) and Ultra (60W)
• Price up $100 over the 128GB Galaxy S25; no charger in the box

Key specs:

• 6.7-inch HD+ (1,604 x 720) display, 120Hz refresh rate, up to 1,000 nits High Brightness mode
• 5,200mAh battery, TurboPower 30 wired charging
• MediaTek Dimensity 6300 6nm chipset, 4GB RAM with RAM Boost
• 50MP + 2MP rear cameras, 32MP selfie camera, 128GB storage + microSD up to 1TB, Android 16

Pros:

• 5,200mAh battery lasted 16h30m in PCMag's streaming test and 24 hours in ZDNet's YouTube test
• Expandable storage via microSD up to 1TB plus a 3.5mm headphone jack
• Vegan leather textured back stands out from glass-backed rivals; loud Dolby Atmos speakers

Cons:

• 720p screen resolution is low for 2026; text looks jagged next to 1080p rivals like the Galaxy A16
• Only two OS upgrades and three years of security updates vs six to seven years from Samsung and Google
• Hollow-sounding speakers at high volume, no wireless charging, Wi-Fi 5 instead of Wi-Fi 6
• Dimensity 6300 stutters in graphically demanding games like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail