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The Galaxy S25 FE has all the looks of the Galaxy S25 Plus, but none of the snap

12:40 am | December 4, 2025

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: One-minute review

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE in hand with long green leaves behind — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Fan Edition range, now dubbed FE, offers a premium flagship experience at a more affordable price, but this is naturally achieved through compromises on the specs sheet. This year’s Galaxy S25 FE tries to be a lower-cost Galaxy S25 Plus, and toward this goal, Samsung has completely delivered.

The Galaxy S25 FE features a solid specs sheet and an experience that’s mostly akin to its more expensive siblings, but some of the tradeoffs result in an experience that’s hard to recommend. The Galaxy S25 FE delivers the same battery life and charging speeds, the same great display, and two of the three cameras are also identical. Yet, the reduction in RAM to 8GB and the switch to last year’s Exynos 2400 processor resulted in performance I found considerably wanting.

A key challenge is the competition - rivals are proving that Samsung may need to tweak its approach to the Fan Edition to deliver on its value. If you’re in the US, the Galaxy S25 FE is much easier to recommend at its starting price of $650, but even then, the OnePlus 13R is a worthy alternative.

In the UK, the Galaxy S25 FE is much harder to recommend. It's starting price is still £649, but there are competitors in this price range that you won't find in the states, like the Honor 400 Pro and Poco F7 Ultra, which both offer more powerful chipsets, better cameras, faster charging, and longer battery life.

That ultimately sums up the biggest challenge for the Galaxy S25 FE. It offers a solid, yet unremarkable experience that doesn’t excel in any particular area and struggles to stand out against its rivals, whether from Samsung or others. It’s a good phone that’ll keep you mostly happy, but there are better choices out there.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Price and availability

Starts at $649 / £649 / AU$1,099 for 128GB/8GB configuration
That’s $350 / £350 / AU$600 less than S25 Plus, although this has double the storage.

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE Blue in the hand — (Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

The US and UK launch prices for the Galaxy S25 FE are competitive, especially as they’ll likely reduce further with sales, and Samsung is offering incentives such as a free Watch 7 and Buds in the UK. It’s worth noting that this pricing applies to the 128GB storage option; the 256GB model costs an extra $50, £50, or €50. If you want the top 512GB model, it’ll cost you a further $100, £100, or €100; at $799 in the US, other devices offer a true flagship experience and also come with similar amounts of storage.

At $649, the Galaxy S25 FE offers considerable value for US audiences and fills an emerging market need. Still, Samsung could do more to deliver a truly competitive experience at this price point.

Storage	US price	UK price	AU price
128GB	$649	£649	AU$1,099
256GB	$699	£699	AU$1,199
512GB	$799	£799	AU$1,399

Value score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE review: Specs

The Galaxy S25 FE is effectively a pared-back version of the Galaxy S25 Plus at a lower price. It weighs the same, has the same-sized screen, the same battery life and charging speeds, and two of the three cameras are also identical.

To achieve this, Samsung chose to cut down on the RAM (from 12GB to 8GB), reduce the peak brightness of the screen to 1,900 nits, and drop the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor for its own Exynos 2400 processor. The periscope camera is lower resolution and has a longer focal length, but it still offers the same 3x optical zoom.

The 4,900 mAh battery is identical to the Galaxy S25 Plus, as is the 45W charging, which is faster than the 25W included in the more expensive Galaxy S25. There’s also 15W wireless charging and Qi2-Ready cases that add magnetic wireless charging support. As it launches with Android 16 and One UI 8 out of the box, the Galaxy S25 FE will receive one more software update than its namesake siblings.

	Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
Dimensions	161.3 x 76.6 x 7.4 mm
Weight	190g
OS	OneUI 8, Android 16, up to 7 major Android upgrades promised
Display	6.7-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, 1,900 nits peak brightness
Chipset	Exynos 2400 (4nm)
RAM	8GB
Storage	128GB / 256GB / 512GB
Battery	4,900mAh
Rear cameras	50MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, 8MP telephoto
Front camera	12MP
Charging	45W wired, 15W wireless
Colors	Icyblue, Jetblack, Navy, White

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE review: Design

The same familiar design as the rest of the Galaxy S25 lineup
The rear finish is less prone to scratching than the S25 Plus

Put the Galaxy S25 FE and Galaxy S25 Plus next to each other, and by design, they’re virtually indistinguishable. The Galaxy S25 FE offers most of the Galaxy S25 Plus experience at a lower price by retaining the same design language as the rest of the Galaxy S25 series.

The exception to this is in the rear glass finish. Almost a year after the Galaxy S25 Plus, the Galaxy S25 FE solves one of my key problems with the Plus's navy finish: it scratches extremely easily. Although there’s no notable change to this finish, during my time with the Galaxy S25 FE, I’ve found that the rear finish is more durable than the Galaxy S25 Plus, which is a welcome improvement that wasn’t even applied to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 a few months ago.

Beyond this, the build is virtually identical to the Galaxy S25 Plus, right down to the same 190 grams weight. By virtue of larger bezels — more on that below — the Galaxy S25 FE is almost 3 mm taller and 1 millimeter wider than the Galaxy S25 Plus, but this doesn’t have a large impact on daily usage. Instead, it feels just like the Galaxy S25 Plus does.

If you’ve seen a recent Samsung phone, the design of the Galaxy S25 FE will feel instantly familiar. However, I hope that, in future versions, Samsung aims to differentiate it somewhat so it feels unique, in much the same way that the Galaxy S25 Edge feels familiar yet unique within the rest of the Galaxy S25 family.

Design score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Display

Large, vibrant display that's on par with the Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Plus
Just as capable as the best Samsung phones.

The key selling point for the Galaxy S25 FE is that it offers a display of the same size and quality as the flagship Galaxy S25 Plus, but at a more affordable price. In this vein, the 6.7-inch screen on the FE absolutely delivers, and it’s one of my favorite features on this phone.

A peak brightness of 1,900 nits is lower than the Galaxy S25 Plus (which reaches 2,600 nits) and lower than key rivals such as the Pixel 10 (up to 3,000 nits) and OnePlus 13R (up to 4,500 nits). Yet, under the bright sunshine in Bali over the past few days, I’ve had zero issues with this lower brightness and it’s proven to be just as capable as its siblings in direct sunlight. There’s also the same 1-120Hz dynamic refresh rate and HDR10+ support, although it lacks the Dolby Vision support that some non-Samsung rivals continue to offer.

Although the screen size is the same, the bezels around the Galaxy S25 FE display are slightly larger than on the Galaxy S25 Plus, but this doesn’t affect daily usage. Similarly, the drop from Gorilla Glass Victus 2 to Gorilla Glass Victus+ on both the front and rear hasn’t led to any reduction in protection, at least in the time I’ve been using it, especially since both feature the same Mohs hardness rating for durability.

Samsung consistently makes my favorite smartphone screens, and the Galaxy S25 FE screen is up there with the best Samsung phones. If you want a large, vibrant, and colorful display, this one hits the mark!

Display score: 5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Software

Seven years of Android and security updates
Slower AI performance thanks to more reliance on the cloud

The Galaxy S25 FE runs One UI 8 on top of Android 16 out of the box, and comes with the same seven-year commitment towards software and security updates as the rest of the family. By launching with the latest Android version out of the box, the seven-year commitment means it will support up to Android 23, whereas the rest of the Galaxy S25 is only guaranteed to support up to Android 22.

Samsung has proven to be quite adept at rolling out updates quite quickly — a stark contrast to its past history of being amongst the slowest — so it’s likely that the Galaxy S25 FE will receive updates in a timely way like the rest of the lineup.

One UI 8 remains one of the most polished Android experiences you can find, and the Galaxy S25 FE does nothing out of the ordinary that you won’t find on the rest of the lineup. However, the lower RAM and change in processor — more on that below — also mean AI performance is far weaker, with more tasks requiring cloud assistance rather than being performed on-device.

Samsung’s Galaxy AI suite has all the features you’d expect from an AI suite on a flagship smartphone, but the lack of performant capabilities means you are less likely to use these. That’s a shame as Writing Tools, editing in the Gallery app, and Circle-to-Search are all features I use quite often. On the Galaxy S25 FE, I’ve found I use them less often simply because there’s a notable delay in responses and completing requests.

Beyond this, you’ll find that the Galaxy S25 FE feels just like any other Samsung smartphone. It’s designed to be instantly familiar to anyone who has used a modern Samsung smartphone, and it delivers the same experience and interface as the One UI 8 update for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy S25 Edge, and Galaxy S25 Plus.

Software score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Cameras

A nearly identical experience to the Galaxy S25 Plus camera
A poorer telephoto camera, that's even farther behind the competition

Look at the Galaxy S25 Plus camera and the Galaxy S25 FE camera, and you'll notice that they're virtually the same. This is both a blessing and a curse, as it's easy for Samsung to use this camera system again — it's been the same in many recent Samsung phones — but it continually struggles against the competition.

However, dive deeper, and you'll notice that while the 50MP main and 12MP ultrawide cameras are the same as the Galaxy S25 Plus, the 8MP telephoto is a step lower than the 12MP telephoto in the Galaxy S25 Plus. As a result, average telephoto performance on the Plus is even worse on the Galaxy S25 FE.

The net result is that while this camera is mostly as capable as the rest of the Galaxy S25 family — save for the flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra — it's not a true flagship camera. Instead, the main and ultrawide cameras are slightly above average at best, while the telephoto is below average, especially compared to the competition.

Despite this, the Galaxy S25 FE does retain one of my favorite camera features on any smartphone camera: color point in portrait mode.

Samsung's portrait mode has proven more versatile than the competition, with a variety of options that can be adjusted before or after taking a photo.

Color Point is the most unique feature on a phone. It lets you keep a subject in color while turning the background grayscale. While performance is less capable on the Galaxy S25 FE than on other Samsung phones, it still lets you capture unique photos that no other phone can natively.

Then there's the 12MP selfie camera, and this delivers the same performance as the rest of the lineup, which uses the same selfie camera. I've found that images are a little soft and lacking in detail, but this is true of most of its siblings.

That mostly summarizes the entire Galaxy S25 FE camera experience: it's virtually identical to the Galaxy S25 Plus, but this isn't necessarily a positive, especially as the Galaxy S25 Plus camera is slightly above average at best. However, the Galaxy S25 FE offering this at a lower price does mean it's better than most phones at this price point.

Camera score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Camera samples

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Camera sample captured on the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE — (Image credit: Nirave Gondhia)

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Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Performance

Average performance from the Exynos 2400 processor in daily tasks
Below average performance under heavy usage, or when using AI features.

If there's one area where the Galaxy S25 FE has proven disappointing, it's performance.

Samsung managed to reduce the price of the Galaxy S25 FE (compared to the Galaxy S25 Plus) by switching from Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy to last year's Samsung Exynos 2400. While this is acceptable for daily use, it has a marked impact on performance under gaming, heavy loads, and AI.

Simply put, the Galaxy S25 FE begins to struggle under heavy loads, especially since the lower RAM means it's often bumping up against the edge of available memory. This is also readily apparent in the camera app, where image processing takes considerably longer than on the Galaxy S25 Plus.

In most daily tasks, the Galaxy S25 FE delivers flagship-level performance, but if you're a heavy user, you will likely find it wanting. Similarly, the fingerprint sensor remains one of the worst on a smartphone to date — just like the rest of the Galaxy S25 family — and Samsung needs to improve it considerably in future phones, especially as the competition is significantly better.

Performance score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Battery

Solid battery life that delivers a day of use with a little to spare.
45W charging is also a welcome improvement

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE charging — (Image credit: Max Delaney / Future)

The Galaxy S25 FE features the same 4,900 mAh battery as the Galaxy S25 Plus, and as such, it delivers mostly the same battery life.

During my time with it, it has mostly lasted a full day of use with around 5-6 hours of screen time, but it doesn't achieve much more than that. With heavy usage, this slips to just under five hours, and the battery needs recharging by the end of the day, but this is mostly when using the camera extensively or gaming heavily.

When you need to recharge the battery, charging speeds have improved from 25W to 45W, reducing overall charging time to around an hour.

However, like the rest of Samsung's lineup, achieving the top speeds requires using Samsung's own 45W charger, or another higher-rated PPS charger. When plugged into my trusty Nomad wall charger — which can deliver up to 100W for most phones — or my Anker power bank, I've experienced charging speeds closer to 30W, and overall charging time dropped to around an hour and 20 minutes.

Then there are two different occasions where the Galaxy S25 FE decided to trickle charge and took over 3 hours to charge to full. When I next charged it with the same charger, it had suddenly returned to the fast charging speeds, and even restarting the phone didn't help when it had entered this trickle charging mode. There's no specific reason this should have happened, and I've yet to replicate it beyond those two occasions, but it's puzzling and a little concerning.

Overall battery life is more than good enough for most people, but the charging situation remains somewhat puzzling. It can deliver a fast charge in an hour, but it can also take much longer, and there seems to be little rhyme or reason for it.

Battery score: 3 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge score card
Value	If you want a Galaxy S25 Plus at a more affordable price, the Galaxy S25 FE delivers. However, rivals stand out for key reasons in ways that the Galaxy S25 FE just can't.	4/5
Design	An improved rear finish over the Galaxy S25 Plus, but otherwise this is virtually indistinguishable from the rest of the Samsung's lineup. I wish Samsung had found a way to make it stand out.	4/5
Display	The same great display I saw on the Galaxy S25 Plus (with the same below-average fingerprint scanner). It’s vibrant and sharp, even in direct light despite the lower peak brightness, but it remains one of the best screens on a phone.	4/5
Software	Samsung’s One UI looks as good as ever, though the lack of performance means the AI features are less useful than ever. Thankfully, this phone still gets seven years of updates so is a solid buy for long-term support.	3/5
Cameras	The cameras are virtually identical to the Galaxy S25 Plus, meaning you get the same above-average camera experience. Yet, this is the same camera system found on Samsung phones for years, and doesn't stand out in any way, especially when rivals offer better zoom performance.	3/5
Performance	The Exynos 2400 is a key difference to the rest of the Galaxy S25 family, and also a source of disappointment for overall performance, but especially on-device AI features. An older Snapdragon chipset would likely have performed better here.	3/5
Battery	Solid but unremarkable battery life, that's just shy of the battery found on the Galaxy S25 Plus.. The 45W charging is a welcome improvement, but doesn't markedly change overall charging times and neither stands out against the competition.	3/5

Buy it if...

You want a cheaper Galaxy S25 Plus
The Galaxy S25 FE is effectively a more affordable Galaxy S25 Plus, so if your budget doesn't stretch that far, or deals aren't as widely available, you should consider the Galaxy S25 FE.

The camera isn't as important to you. If you don't take many photos or don't care about the best camera, the Galaxy S25 FE is worth considering.

Don't buy it if...

You want the best phone.
If you want the best phone, look elsewhere. The Galaxy S25 FE is fine, but there are better phones you can buy at a similar price.

You want a camera that doesn’t disappoint.
The Galaxy S25 FE's camera can be disappointing if you want the best or if you take a lot of photos.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Also consider

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus
The Galaxy S25 Plus is a better version of the Galaxy S25 FE, and is often available at a similar price, especially outside the US. If it's between these two, the Galaxy S25 Plus is a much better purchase.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
If you want the best Samsung phone you can buy, this is it, as it comes with an S Pen, anti-glare screen, two zoom lenses, incredible battery life, and up to 1TB of storage. The only problem? It's twice the price.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge

I used the phone as my primary phone for a week, and as a secondary phone for another two weeks.
I took over 100 photos and videos in a variety of lighting conditions
I played games and watched movies
I checked my email, posted on social media and worked in Slack
I used AI features extensively

I've been using the Galaxy S25 FE for over two months since its launch in early September.

Before posting this review, I used it extensively in the US, UK, and Bali for a week, complete with two active SIM cards. I tested all of the AI features on both Wi-Fi and mobile data connections, as well as

Future Labs tests phones using a mix of third-party benchmark software and proprietary, real-world tests. We use Geekbench, CrossMark, JetStream, WebXPRT, Mobile XPRT, and 3DMark for performance testing. We test a phone's performance on video tasks using Adobe Premiere Rush. We also measure display color output and brightness.

For battery testing, we perform proprietary tests that are the same for every phone, which enable us to determine how long it takes for the battery to run down.

Read more about how we test

Why you can trust TechRadar

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I was skeptical about the Nothing Phone 3, but after a month of testing, I finally get what it’s all about

8:37 pm | November 26, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Nothing Phones Phones | Tags: Gorilla Glass | Comments: Off

Nothing Phone 3 two-minute review

After several years of standing at the edge of the pool and occasionally dipping its toes in, British phone maker Nothing has finally decided to jump into the cold lido that is the premium smartphone market. Perhaps it took those “no running” signs too literally, because while the Nothing Phone 3 is one of the best Android phones I've tested recently, it hasn’t made enough of a splash to truly threaten its big-name rivals.

The Nothing Phone (3), as it’s officially called – excuse the odd bracketing, but if you're new to the brand, the company is a grammatical law unto itself – marks an ascension from the mid-range Phone 1 and Phone 2. It's now priced akin to the Samsung Galaxy S25 and iPhone 17, and shall be judged accordingly.

In many ways, this is a phone that meets or even exceeds any expectations that such comparisons may evoke. Its quartet of 50MP cameras gives the big-name phones some needed pointers in hardware, especially with its far-reaching periscope lens. The battery is bigger than what Apple or Samsung use in their similarly priced mobiles, and the Phone 3's charging speed likewise outstrips the competition (as long as you don't treat mid-range Android phones from non-Samsung companies as 'the competition', because you can spend less and get more from certain lesser-known devices).

I also like some of the software touches Nothing has brought to its fork of Android. The icons of apps you download will automatically be converted into Nothing's house style, which, on my sample, worked more often than it didn't and maintained a consistency to the Phone 3's design that's rare among smartphones these days.

What I'm about to write next will upset Nothing fans, but it's something that struck me repeatedly through weeks of testing the Phone 3: it's the most novel and ‘Nothing’ touches to the phone's software that might put people off.

Take, for example, the design. Nothing likes a unique, blocky design for its phones, but ‘unique’ isn't the same as ‘good’. The Phone 3 is also a fair bit heavier than the average handset and feels ungainly to hold.

The extra side button that Nothing has added to the edge of the mobile is useful in certain situations, as it lets you take a screenshot with one tap. However, it's poorly placed – I kept mistaking it for the power button – and doesn't do as much as I would've liked. I was longing for it to double as a camera app shutter button, like on the Sony Xperia 1 VII, but no cigar.

As I've already alluded to, I can also see many people finding the software as divisive as the phone’s design, although with Nothing OS, you get out as much as you put in (i.e, if you don’t like its look, you can change a lot about it), which can't be said for every Android fork.

Going into this review, with knowledge of the price in mind, I imagined that the Phone 3 would be a Samsung Galaxy S25 and iPhone 17 rival that would pale in comparison to two of the most popular devices out there. And having used the handset for four weeks, I don’t imagine it’ll challenge those heavyweights in terms of sales.

But at the same time, I do understand the appeal of the Nothing Phone 3. It’s slick, but unafraid of its rough edges; not attempting to be the ‘everyone phone’ but trying to do something different. And you've got to respect that.

Nothing Phone 3 review: price and availability

The Nothing Phone 3 leaning on a wine rack. — (Image credit: Future)

Released in July 2025
12GB / 256GB: $799 / £799 / AU$1,509
16GB / 512GB: $899 / £899 / AU$1,689

The Nothing Phone 3 was released in July 2025 in two variations. You can pick up the Phone 3 with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, and that’ll cost you $799 / £799 / AU$1,509, or there’s a model with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage, and that sells for $899 / £899 / AU$1,689.

That’s a fairly premium price, and a marked step up from the $599 / £579 / AU$1,049 asking price of the Nothing Phone 2, but the brand is pushing this as its first "true flagship", and so the bump makes sense.

For context, the 256GB model of the iPhone 17 costs $799 / £799 / AU$1,399, and the Samsung Galaxy S25’s lowest-storage variant starts at the same price everywhere except Australia (where it isn’t on sale). Admittedly, for the latter, that’s a 128GB model, but you get the picture – this is the ‘premium’ price to aim for.

If that price increase is too much for you to stomach, you should consider all of the Phone 3's budget siblings, which are already out: there's the Phone 3a, Phone 3a Pro, and Phone 3a Lite.

Nothing Phone 3 review: specs

Nothing Phone 3 specs

Dimensions:	160.6 x 75.6 x 9mm
Weight:	218g
Screen:	6.67-inch FHD (1260 x 2800) 120Hz AMOLED
Chipset:	Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
RAM:	12/16GB
Storage:	256/512GB
OS:	Android 15, Nothing OS 4
Primary camera:	50MP, f/1.7
Ultra-wide camera:	50MP f/2.2 114-degree
Periscope camera:	50MP, f/2.7, 3x zoom
Front camera:	50MP, f/2.2
Audio:	Stereo speakers
Battery:	5,150mAh
Charging:	65W wired, 15W wireless, 7.5W reverse
Colors:	White, black

Nothing Phone 3 review: design

The Nothing Phone 3 on a shelf, showing its power button and Essential Key. — (Image credit: Future)

Chunky (9mm) and heavy (218g)
Unique twists: Glyph Matrix and Essential Key
Blocky design

It’s been a while since I’ve used a phone that felt quite as chunky as the Nothing Phone 3. Partly, this is down to the 218g heft, putting it in a weight class above many of its premium rivals (it matches the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, despite being smaller in most regards), but partly it’s the sheer blocky design of the thing.

I’m no thin-phone evangelist, but at 9mm thick, the Phone 3 is at the other end of the spectrum from the likes of the iPhone Air. It’s 160.6mm tall and 75.6mm wide, so it’s big, but it’s not Ultra or Pro Max big. But in some ineffable way, it still feels chunkier than its bigger rivals. This is clearly a phone that’s been designed meticulously, yet in a lot of ways it feels poorly thought-out.

Like its predecessors, the Nothing Phone 3 has a robot-like, mechanical-looking back, which is ostensibly see-through so you can see some screws, but not any of the real internals. The two horizontal camera lenses stick out quite far, though the higher, periscope one doesn’t; the orderly part of me hated how slightly offset this camera was. I see the whole aesthetic of the Phone 3 being quite divisive, but if you know enough about the brand to be reading this review, you’ve already decided whether you like it or not.

A new feature for the Phone 3 is the Glyph Matrix, which is an upgrade on the Glyph interface that past Nothing phones had (which were basically just light strips). The Matrix lets you display information like a stopwatch or the battery level, and there are a few games too, like Spin the Bottle and Rock, Paper, Scissors. You can scroll through the options or select them by pressing or holding the white circle midway down the body below it. Many of the Matrix functions that Nothing touts on its website, like photo previews or a torch mode, were not readily available on the phone I tested (at least via the Glyph menu, or anywhere else I checked).

So, the Glyph Matrix is an interesting feature with a few neat use cases, but there weren’t enough useful features to make it a core part of my user experience, and due to the nature of pressing the touch button, I found it easier just to flip over my phone to see the time or battery percentage.

Another feature worth flagging is the Essential Key button, which Nothing has spitefully put exactly where a power button would be on any other handset. Due to this placement, I was constantly accidentally pressing it when I wanted the phone to power up or down; hopefully, experience would eventually teach me not to do this, but it was endlessly frustrating.

The button’s actual function is fine: press it for a screenshot or hold it for a video, both of which you can caption with a written or voice memo, before they’re sent over to the Essential Space. More on that later.

Above the Essential Key is the power button, with the two positioned close enough to each other that, at first glance, you could think they were both part of the volume rocker. The latter is on the left edge of the phone, positioned high enough that I couldn’t reach volume up with my fingers, but could get to volume down.

Due to it being 2025, there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack, so the USB-C port on the bottom edge serves instead. The other important thing to note is the phone's IP68 protection, meaning it’s sealed up from dust and water resistant up to depths of 1.5 meters for up to half an hour.

Design score: 3.5 / 5

Nothing Phone 3 review: display

The Nothing Phone 3 showing an Essential Key screenshot of Call of Duty: Mobile. — (Image credit: Future)

6.67 inches, 2800 x 1260 resolution
120Hz refresh rate, 4500 nits max brightness
Protected with Gorilla Glass 7i

Nothing’s apparently still not decided on the perfect screen size. After bumping up the inch count from Phone 1 to 2, it’s now dropped it ever so slightly on the 3; you’re now looking at a 6.67-inch panel, though one with a higher pixel count. That’s 1260 x 2800, for an FHD display.

The screen supports a billion colors with a 10-bit color depth, and it’s noticeable when you’re watching supported content on streaming services or online.

Some more specs: like many premium phones, the refresh rate is 120Hz, with a lower touch sampling rate than previous models at 1,000Hz, but that’s not a spec most people notice. The peak brightness is a glorious 4500 nits, and if the sun had come out once during my testing period, I’m sure I would’ve reaped the benefits of this particular spec.

The screen’s made from Corning Gorilla Glass 7I, which is designed to offer mid-range and budget phones added toughness. Bearing in mind the aforementioned IP68 rating, the handset seems very hardy.

Display score: 4 / 5

Nothing Phone 3 review: software

Android 15 with Nothing OS 4 atop
Five guaranteed updates; one already here
Unique look and many bespoke features

When the Nothing Phone 3 launched, it ran Android 15, but by the time I tested it, the rollout to Android 16 had commenced. That's the first of the five major software updates promised to the phone, taking it to Android 20 if Google keeps its numbering system consistent.

Of course, you've seen pictures of the phone, so you know it doesn't run stock Android. Layered atop Google’s software is the company's fork: Nothing OS 4. This is quite a dramatic change versus Android proper, bringing a new look and extra features.

Design-wise, there's obviously the retro-inspired blocky look, which isn't mandatory but which I opted for. I was impressed by how the system converted app icons for all my downloads into the house style, which kept a consistency across the board that I haven't seen before in forks like this. Admittedly, it stumbled a few times – the NYT Puzzles app lost basically its entire logo, and several of Nothing’s own apps have near-identical logos to one another – but it shows admirable commitment to a look.

There are also a few novel features that are unique to Nothing OS, or are at least rare among other brands. Essential Space is a repository of your screenshots, notes, and memos, with organization tools to create collections. The Recorder app has extra features to focus on voices or environmental sounds, and the Essential Key has a shortcut to quickly begin recording. And, of course, there’s the Glyph Matrix and everything that comes with it.

Nothing OS has some AI tools, like integration with ChatGPT and a wallpaper generation tool, but thankfully, these are optional and turned off by default.

There’s some degree of customization in Nothing OS, as you can change the color scheme, add widgets, and create shortcuts, but you’re not getting as much versatility as in most other Android forks. You can change the icon shapes between Nothing’s versions and the standard Android model, and there’s also a storefront to buy alternatives, although, for the most part, these cost money.

Software score: 4 / 5

Nothing Phone 3 review: cameras

50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide and 50MP periscope lenses
50MP front-facing
Testing is a work in progress; more samples to come

Nothing has decked the Phone 3 out with a camera array that's easy to remember: 50MP, 50MP, and 50MP. One of those is the main snapper, another has an ultra-wide lens with a 114-degree field of view, and the other has a periscope lens for 3x optical zoom.

I'm particularly glad to see the periscope camera, as lenses like this add a certain 'oomph' to a camera array. Not only is it useful for long-range shots, but it also improves the natural bokeh of Portrait photos and the close-up detail of Macro mode.

The selfie camera is – you guessed it – another 50MP snapper, f/2.2. That marks a megapixel increase over the Phone 2, although both use pixel-binning. I found selfies a little washed-out, and in Portrait mode, the artificial bokeh kept fuzzing out parts of my hair.

The Nothing Phone 3 showing its camera app. — (Image credit: Future)

My initial impressions of the Nothing Phone 3's camera are rather positive. Its trio of cameras gives you versatility in your shooting, and the Night Mode detail was great. Autofocus was quick, and some of the extra tweaks, like modifiable bokeh, added nice touches.

Nothing's focus seems to be on fine-tuning the standard camera modes rather than adding brand-new ones, though, which seems at odds with its mode of operations in other areas of the device. But I don't mind if I have access to a periscope camera.

You can see some initial camera samples from my time with the Nothing Phone 3 below, but I'm still playing around with it. In the coming days, I'll add more camera samples as well as some fleshed-out thoughts on the phone's photographic performance. I just need to get around to using the three cameras that aren't the zoom one...

Camera score: 4 / 5

Nothing Phone 3 camera samples

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A photo of London at night taken on the Nothing Phone 3. — (Image credit: Future)

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A photo of ship rigging and a city scape taken on the Nothing Phone 3. — (Image credit: Future)

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A photo of a berry bush taken on the Nothing Phone 3. — (Image credit: Future)

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A photo of a beer taken on the Nothing Phone 3. — (Image credit: Future)

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A photo of a man hanging from rigging, taken on the Nothing Phone 3. — (Image credit: Future)

Nothing Phone 3 review: performance and audio

Top-end Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset
12GB or 16GB RAM and 256GB or 512GB Storage
Stereo speakers or Bluetooth 6.0

Nothing hasn’t given the Phone 3 the very best chipset available, but one so close that you’d only know the difference by looking at its specs sheet. This is the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 from Qualcomm, with that little ‘s’ denoting that this is a step behind the top option (which was the Snapdragon 8 Elite at the time of release, though the Snapdragon Elite Gen 5 has since debuted in newer Android phones like the OnePlus 15).

At the top end of chipsets, though, the performance differences are so minuscule that this really doesn’t matter. When I put the Phone 3 through the Geekbench 6 benchmark tests, the average multi-core score was 6847, and as of the 2025 generation of flagships, any score around 6,500 is the realm of the giants.

I tested the phone on a number of popular mobile titles, and I could always crank the game’s graphics to the max and still enjoy a cracking time. At certain times, including during benchmarking and in certain games, I did notice the phone heat up a fair amount, so be warned if you’re planning on gaming all day.

Depending on which phone you opt for, you’ll get 12GB or 16GB RAM, and I tested a model with the latter. For most people, 12GB is enough, though power users or people buying phones for specific high-intensity use cases might prefer 16GB. The same goes for the storage capacity, which is 256GB or 512GB – I know the former would be enough for me, but if you’re using the handset for work or photography, maybe you’ll want to stretch.

Audio-wise, Nothing has never released a phone with a headphone jack to my knowledge. Instead, you can use a USB-C adaptor, connect headphones through Bluetooth 6.0 or, if you’re home alone and not bothering anyone by using them, the stereo loudspeakers which sound just the same as on every other smartphone.

Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Nothing Phone 3 review: battery life

The Nothing Phone 3 laid down, showing its volume rocker. — (Image credit: Future)

5,150mAh battery
65W wired charging
15W wireless powering, 7.5W reverse

The Nothing Phone 3 has a 5,150mAh battery – I’m told the Indian model has an extra 350mAh on top of that, but the rest of us get slightly less – which is slightly smaller than many of its contemporary flagships but does beat Samsung and Apple’s price-for-price alternatives.

That’s a solid battery capacity, and it facilitates full-day phone use; I don’t imagine many people will need to charge the Phone 3 mid-way through the working day.

I wouldn’t rely on the phone for a second day of use, though, with the big screen, powerful processor, and Glyph lights all demanding juice.

You’ve got the full hat-trick of charging options here. There’s 65W wired, 15W wireless, and 7.5W reverse wireless (that’s when you use your phone as a wireless charging mat for other devices). None of those speeds is the best in the biz, but – in what’s becoming a refrain for this section – they trump the respective charging speeds of the Galaxy 25 and iPhone 17.

Battery score: 3.5 / 5

Nothing Phone 3 review: value

The Nothing Phone 3 laid down, showing its rear cameras and Glyph matrix. — (Image credit: Future)

The problem with Nothing’s jump into the big leagues is that the brand’s existing fans, who know the company for mid-range mobiles, might feel a little left in the lurch.

Specifically, fans who are used to the usual Nothing value proposition might not feel that the increased price demanded by the Phone 3 is matched by its spec improvements. Case in point, you can get faster charging, a more premium design, and a bigger battery on much cheaper Android phones.

In short, you’re getting what you pay for, but that’s not the Nothing way – you usually get a little more.

Value score: 3.5 / 5

Should you buy the Nothing Phone 3?

Nothing Phone 3 score card
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Value	Fans of the brand will be disappointed, but you're getting what you pay for.	3.5 / 5
Design	It'll be divisive in the same way that past Nothing phones have been, but there are some unique touches.	3.5 / 5
Display	It's a good-looking panel that's well-protected and very bright.	4 / 5
Software	Whether you love or hate the look, you've got to admit Nothing has created the most consistent piece of phone software since stock Android.	4 / 5
Camera	Solid hardware with a focus on refining the basics of the smartphone camera experience.	4 / 5
Performance	A powerful chipset is accompanied by lots of RAM and storage.	4 / 5
Battery	It's a decently-sized battery, with a fine charging speed, but there's nothing to write home about.	3.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You like the Nothing aesthetic
If the design of the Phone 3 and its software speaks to you, then you should pick it up right away. Outside of other Nothing phones, no other handsets compare, visually speaking.

You need lots of processing power
The combination of the Qualcomm chipset and loads of RAM makes the Phone 3 a surprisingly capable gaming phone.

You take frequent screenshots
If you're always snapping your phone screen and sharing it with people, the Essential Key is going to prove incredibly handy.

Don't buy it if...

You want a slender smartphone
The Nothing Phone 3 is not a light phone. You really feel it when it's in your hand.

You don't want to spend too much
As the most expensive phone from the brand, this isn't the Nothing phone for people who don't want to spend too much.

Nothing Phone 3 review: Also consider

I keep comparing the Nothing Phone 3 to two particular rivals, so let's take a proper look at them as well as the Phone 3's predecessor.

Nothing Phone 2
The Phone 2 has some scaled-back specs versus the Phone 3, and it misses a few of its unique features. But it's cheaper.

Read our full Nothing Phone 2 review

Samsung Galaxy S25
This handset starts for the same price, but that gets you less storage. Samsung's premium mobile may be a bit boring, but it's powerful and has decent cameras.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 review

iPhone 17
Another same-priced phone, this is the option for people who want to use iOS. It's a powerful and long-lasting handset, but with no zoom camera.

Read our full iPhone 17 review

	Nothing Phone 3	Nothing Phone 2	Samsung Galaxy S25	iPhone 17
Starting price (at launch):	$799 / £799 / AU$1,509	$599 / £579 / AU$1,049	$799 / £799 / AU$1,399	$799 / £799 / AU$1,399
Dimensions:	160.6 x 75.6 x 9mm	161.2 x 76.4 x 8.6mm	146.9 x 70.5 x 7.2mm	149.6 x 71.5 x 8 mm
Weight:	218g	201.2	162g	177g
OS (at launch):	Nothing OS 4, Android 15	Nothing OS 2, Android 13	OneUI 7, Android 15	iOS 26
Screen Size:	6.67-inch	6.7-inch	6.2-inch	6.3-inch
Resolution:	2800 x 1260	2412 x 1080	2340 x 1080	2622 x 1206
CPU:	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy	A19 Bionic
RAM:	12GB / 16GB	8GB / 12GB	12GB	Unconfirmed
Storage (from):	256GB / 512GB	128GB / 256GB / 512GB	128GB / 256GB / 512GB	256GB / 512GB
Battery:	5,150mAh	4,700mAh	4,000mAh	Unconfirmed
Rear Cameras:	50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide, 50MP periscope	50MP main, 50MP ultrawide	50MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, 10MP telephoto	48MP main, 48MP ultra-wide
Front camera:	50MP	32MP	12MP	18MP

How I tested the Nothing Phone 3

The Nothing Phone (3)'s company logo.

(Image credit: Future)

Review test period = 3 weeks
Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
Tools used = Geekbench 6, Geekbench ML, GFXBench, native Android stats

I used the Nothing Phone 3 for four weeks before writing this review, and continued additional testing during the writing process.

During said process, I used the Nothing Phone 3 as my main smartphone. This meant it was my tool for taking photos, scrolling social media, gaming, and working. Before and after this testing, I also conducted benchmarks, as well as standardized battery and charging tests.

I've been testing smartphones for TechRadar for nearly seven years now, so I have copious amounts of experience in experimenting with gadgets and assessing whether they're right for the general consumer.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed November 2025

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: has Sony’s long-standing Xperia family lost what it takes to compete?

5:25 pm | November 19, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phones Sony Xperia Phones | Tags: AI, HDR, Sony Alpha, Sony Xperia | Comments: Off

Sony Xperia 1 VII: Two-minute review

The Xperia 1 VII is Sony’s top Android phone. It’s simultaneously refreshing among its peers and too conservative to be considered all that interesting or dynamic.

It’s very similar to its predecessor, the Sony Xperia 1 VI, but stands out as one of the few higher-end phones with a headphone jack and microSD expandable storage. These are not expensive features, but do partially come to define the Xperia 1 VII’s appeal against its rivals.

The other side of the phone is a bit more problematic. Aside from using what was at launch the latest, most powerful, Qualcomm chipset, the Xperia 1 series is falling behind in a few areas.

Charging speed, battery capacity, camera slickness, and video modes nowadays feel a little regressive in this class, and some of these areas are more limited than they were in some earlier generations of the Sony Xperia 1 VII’s family.

This would not matter so much were the Sony Xperia 1 VII not extremely expensive, but it costs more than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which is the more dynamic phone.

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: price and availability

Sony Xperia 1 VII review images — (Image credit: Future)

Starts at £1,399 (roughly $1,870 / AU$2,885)
Launched in June 2025

The Sony Xperia 1 VII was released in June 2025, following an announcement in May.

It costs £1,399 or 1,499 euros, equivalent to around $1,870 / AU$2,885 in a direct currency conversion at the time of writing, but with no current availability in those regions. This is for the model reviewed, which has 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage. There is also a 512GB model in some parts of the world, but this isn't available in the UK.

In any case, that price puts the Sony Xperia 1 VII among the most expensive Android phones to date, short of unusual models encrusted with jewels or gold bling.

Value score: 2 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: specs

Here's a full specs list for the Sony Xperia 1 VII, so you can see what it has going for it at a glance:

Sony Xperia 1 VII specs

Dimensions:	162 x 74 x 8.2mm
Weight:	197g
Screen:	6.5-inch 19.5:9 FHD+ (1080 x 2340) 120Hz LTPO OLED
Chipset:	Snapdragon 8 Elite
RAM:	12GB
Storage:	256GB
OS:	Android 15
Primary camera:	48MP, f/1.9, 24mm
Ultra-wide camera:	48MP, f/2.0, 16mm
Telephoto camera:	12MP, f/2.3-f/3.5, 3.5x-7.1x zoom (85-170mm)
Front camera:	12MP, f/2.0, 24mm
Audio:	Stereo speakers
Battery:	5,000mAh
Charging:	30W wired, 15W wireless
Colors:	Moss Green, Orchid Purple, Slate Black

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: design

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Sony Xperia 1 VII in the hand — (Image credit: Future)

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Gorilla Glass Victus 2 screen protection
Familiar Sony 'monolith' design
3.5mm headphone jack

Phones these days are often accused of being boring, and in many ways the Sony Xperia 1 VII is also guilty of that. It looks virtually identical to its predecessor, and is part of a design family tree so long it could shame some monarchical dynasties.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII is a metal and glass brick that offers very little in the way of visible outer progress in tech or style. But that’s kind of the point with this series.

Sony offers lots of the bits other manufacturers have long since discarded in the noble pursuit of copying Apple. For example, the Sony Xperia 1 VII has a headphone jack, which I love as someone who actually bought a pair of wired in-ear monitors during testing.

It also has space for a microSD card in its SIM tray, and there’s no notch or punch-hole in the screen, just larger-than-most display borders. And it has a two-stage shutter button for the camera too. I’m not much of a fan of the latter these days, but Sony can make treading water seem valuable because it offers so much that other flagship phones just don’t have anymore.

Most of the build bullet points are largely beyond reproach too. The Sony Xperia 1 VII is a full metal and glass phone, with Corning’s tough Gorilla Glass Victus 2 up front, and aluminum sides. Its rear panel is 'just' Victus rather than its successor, which has better drop resistance, but this still provides a respectable amount of protection.

The back is also textured, with a series of embossed dots, apparent when you look real close. It’s very fingerprint-resistant, and simply gives the Sony Xperia 1 VII a different feel than that of flat glossy glass.

It is basically an identical feel to the Sony Xperia VI, though, especially as the two generations also have a sort-of corrugated effect to the frame.

The rectangular shape makes the Sony Xperia 1 VII feel tough, the sort of phone you could use as a bludgeoning weapon. But in previous generations I’ve found it less than ideal for the finish’s longevity. Eventually the paint will wear off the sharp corners of the frame, showing up as bright, raw aluminum highlights. A couple of weeks in, that wear is already visible on the Sony Xperia 1 VII's camera lens housing.

You can fix that with a case, of course, but the Sony Xperia 1 VII does not include one.

Like other phones in this series, the Xperia 1 VII also has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor rather than an in-screen one. It doesn’t feel as instantaneous as some, and I find it annoyingly picky. As soon as I’ve done a little exercise, just a bit of sweat will cause my finger not to be recognized.

The speaker array deserves a note too. There are front-mounted stereo speakers, with the fairly full-sounding audio I’ve come to expect of top-tier phones. It may not be the loudest stereo pair among flagship phones, but I’ve happily spent many (many) hours listening to podcasts using nothing more than these speakers.

Water resistance is excellent too, as is typical for Sony. The Xperia 1 VII is rated for IP65 and IP68, for protection from immersion in fresh water and being subjected to jets of the stuff. This finish may be easy to scrape, but the phone is difficult to drown.

Design score: 3 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: display

Bright screen makes good use of HDR
Lower resolution than older Xperia flagships
Colorful and contrasty

This Sony series used to employ some pretty wild display panels, with ultra-tall shapes and ultra-high resolutions. But the Sony Xperia 1 VII has a far more ordinary 1080p screen that measures 6.5 inches across.

There’s no notch, it’s a totally flat panel, and this is a 120Hz OLED screen with OLED staple deep color and flawless contrast.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII’s default color mode has strong saturation, but there’s also a Creator mode that lowers saturation for a more measured appearance. This also kicks in as standard in apps that try to take over the color presentation of the screen, which is great.

It means your photos end up looking as they will on other well-calibrated screens, rather than severely oversaturated.

There’s nothing too special going on here, but the Sony Xperia 1 VII's screen is at least very bright. Legibility in strong direct sunlight is good, and the high peak brightness makes the most of the latest movements in HDR.

And I’m not just talking about HDR video. You’ll notice in Instagram that sometimes the highlights of the picture are brighter than the app’s white border. That’s HDR for you, and it can look great. It’s used when you look at your own photos in the gallery too, most notably bringing out the bright highlights in clouds in a very eye-catching manner.

Let’s not get carried away, though. Phones are currently on an upwards peak brightness trend thanks to the underlying OLED panel tech developing fairly rapidly in the background. Even fairly affordable phones have ridiculously high peak brightness claims — like the 3,000-nit Nothing Phone 3a.

Display score: 3.5 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: cameras

High-quality primary camera
Could feel more responsive and quick
Zoom is fun to use but disappoints on image quality in 2025

You’d think phones like the Sony Xperia 1 VII would have the best phone cameras in the world. A division of Sony, after all, does make almost all of the camera sensors used by the best phones.

Yet despite that the Sony Xperia 1 VII doesn't quite match the best rivals here, not in all respects anyway. While the Sony Xperia 1 VII has mostly top-tier hardware, the experience of actually using the camera doesn’t have the standard-setting gloss and slickness you might expect.

For example, the shutter doesn’t always feel instantaneous, and there’s sometimes a fractional wait between captures as you shoot single stills. The best-feeling phone cameras appear to operate as fast as your finger will go. The Sony Xperia 1 VII isn’t quite there.

Its preview image isn’t the best either. For example, Samsung provides a solid estimation of what a photo will look like before you even take it, including the effects of its HDR processing. The Sony Xperia 1 VII will sometimes show blown highlights in the preview view, even if it pretty much always fixes those highlights by the time the image hits your gallery.

As we’ve seen across the phone, much of the camera is pretty familiar compared to the last generation. The Sony Xperia 1 VII has a large-sensor 48MP primary camera and a still-unusual genuine optical zoom lens – virtually every other phone zoom has what’s known as a prime lens, where the view is fixed.

The ultra-wide gets a notable upgrade, though. Sensor resolution jumps from 12MP to 48MP, which could be good or bad depending on the sensor used. But this time it’s also a much larger sensor, jumping from 1/2.5-inch in the Xperia VI to 1/1.56-inch here. It’s one of the higher-spec ultra-wide cameras you’ll find.

Sure enough, the ultra-wide takes lovely pictures, giving the Xperia 1 VII an admirable sense of consistency between the wide and ultra-wide lenses. Colors aren’t oversaturated, instead appearing largely natural.

Are these two lenses actually equals? It’s not even close, and that becomes clear at night. The Sony Xperia 1 VII can only take (barely) passable low-light shots with the ultra-wide, lacking the dynamic range and detail of the main camera. Far-away brick work turns to mush, and it also seems the ultra-wide shots don’t get as much low-light processing either.

The main camera’s night shots are good, although Sony perhaps leans slightly less egregiously on computational photography to enhance dynamic range. This can mean photos look more natural than the norm, if also less impressive in some scenes.

The deficiencies of the zoom camera aren’t too hard to find either, even though having what amounts to 16mm-170mm framing versatility is amazing. This camera allows you to shoot at anywhere from 3.5x to 7.1x optical zoom, but when shooting at the further reaches of the zoom in particular, detail integrity and clarity are actually pretty poor considering we are looking at a non digitally-zoomed image.

It’s likely down to a conjunction of two factors that limit the quality of photos we’ll be able to get. There’s the lowly f/3.5 aperture – which is fine in a 'proper' camera but very poor in a mobile phone. And the sensor itself is small. That said, I’ve found that image quality issues can appear in any kind of lighting, from blazing sunshine to night.

That’s not to say the Sony Xperia 1 VII’s extreme zoom images are unusable. They can look good on the surface, but fall apart a bit when approached with a critical eye.

The zoom camera also has a kind of amazing macro mode, which is available at the 120cm focal length. You can focus at up to 4cm away from the camera. It’s enough to reveal the printed dots in a Magic the Gathering card, or the subpixels in a MacBook Air’s display. I’ve used it to identify tiny spiders, and get a closer look at ripening blackberries, but you need a steady hand as the depth of field is extremely shallow. Thankfully the Xperia 1 VII does have a focus peaking option to help out. This is where in-focus elements of the scene are highlighted.

But, stepping back once more, compared to the more conventional pericope designs in phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Xiaomi 15 Ultra, Sony needs to up its game to compete.

For video, the Sony Xperia 1 VII has some solid skills, with some odd missing parts. It can capture 4K video at up to 120fps, and there’s a software-generated 'bokeh' blur video mode and an extra stabilized 'AI' mode.

However, where Sony used to be the master of slow-mo video, the Xperia 1 VII has no real notable skills here. Back when ultra-powered slow-mo modes became a show-off contest, there was often interpolation involved. But it was fun to play around with, and that’s largely absent here.

Around the front, the Sony Xperia 1 VII has a 12MP selfie camera. It’s good, capable of rendering natural-looking skin tones, and has the detail to pick out pores, single facial hairs and so on – when you aren’t obliterating such details with filters.

Camera score: 3.5 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review camera samples

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Sony Xperia 1 VII camera samples — (Image credit: Future)

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Sony Xperia 1 VII review: performance

Gradual thermal throttling attempts to manage heat
A high-performing phone
Still gets a little too warm on occasion

The Sony Xperia 1 VII has one of the best chipsets available to Android phones in 2025. This is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. It’s enormously powerful (though now beaten by the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5), and here it’s paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

This will be able to handle any game you throw its way and, the largely non-processor-related camera hitches aside, general performance is great. But that's as it should be, as we have every right to expect one of the best possible processors in the Sony Xperia 1 VII, given how much it costs.

When pressure is applied, Sony takes a highly progressive approach to thermal throttling in the Xperia 1 VII. Where some phones hang on for dear life until the internal temperature sensor reaches a certain level, here the performance scales with temperature in a more fine grain way, chipping down almost from the beginning of a gaming session or benchmark test.

After 20 minutes the Xperia 1 VII ends up at 55% of its peak performance. And as that test was performed on a hot day during the summer, I also slung the phone in a fridge to see what happened with the same test. Once again, there was that very gradual loss of power, ending up with 78.8% of its max after 20 minutes.

I have also noticed that the Xperia 1 VII gets hot on occasion, which is predictably accompanied by faster power drain.

In any case, losing up to 45% of peak power may sound pretty bad, but it’s not uncommon to see up to a 55% loss in phones with these high power chipsets.

Some folks had major reliability issues with the Xperia 1 VII at launch, spurring a response from Sony itself. Thankfully, it’s been mostly smooth sailing day-to-day during testing, though.

Performance score: 4 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: software

Sticks to the AI basics
Fewer Sony apps than some older phones
Familiar Sony interface style

The Sony Xperia 1 VII runs Android 15 and has Sony’s long-standing custom interface on top. It comes with the promise of four years of operating system version updates and six years of security patches.

There’s nothing too surprising here. It has an app drawer, one that can be arranged either alphabetically or using your own layout. Choose the latter and you can also sort apps into folders.

The only interface niggles we’ve found are that the Wi-Fi switch wasn’t put in the feature toggle drop-down as standard, and that the standby behavior and lock screen layout means it’s easy to accidentally have podcasts or songs skip while the phone is in your pocket.

These are not problems without fixes, but they are annoying.

A while back, Sony went big on its own apps, including multiple camera apps for enthusiasts and the point ’n’ shoot crowd. It made a minor splash at the time, but all that has mostly been scaled back in favor of simplicity.

And, let’s be honest, having to maintain multiple apps for the same job has got to be a pain.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII gets a single camera app, a basic video editor, the Music Pro multi-track recorder app, and what Sony calls the Creators’ App. This is part social network, part a way to bring over the photos taken with your 'proper' Sony camera(s).

Sony’s concept here does kind of make sense, to bring together the other sides of Sony’s wider business to lend the Xperia 1 VII additional credibility. It desperately wants to make phones for creatives, but doesn’t really have a hope in hell of bringing many of them over to its stable, especially as there are alternatives to all of these apps floating around, ones with more workflow-boosting features.

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This phone also does not have an app pre-installed that lets you use the phone as an external monitor for Sony Alpha mirrorless cameras, despite that feature once being hailed as a photographer’s USP for buying a top-tier Xperia. I did install a Sony app that appeared to do that job, but it also appears to be largely brand-agnostic on the phone side, and I’m primarily a Fuji camera user anyway.

Sony has not gone heavy on AI software in the way other manufacturers have – which may be appealing or a turn-off depending on your tastes. It is here, though. Long-press the side power button and Google Gemini AI appears. There’s just not much in the way of Sony-made AI features, which is probably for the best given how at-risk they’d be of coming across as superfluous and try-hard.

Software score: 3 / 5

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: battery

Bottom rung 'fast' charging
One-day real-world battery life
5,000mAh capacity

The Sony Xperia 1 VII has a 5,000mAh battery, just like its predecessor. I have found that with my use it lasts a solid day and no more.

Is it worse than last year’s model? Perhaps not, or at least not hugely, but Sony has not caught up with one of the new meaningful developments in phone tech of late. This is the silicon-carbon battery, which allows for higher-capacity batteries in the same size of cell.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII lasts a full day with my kind of use, but rarely has much spare to keep it going overnight or into the next day. On a couple of occasions – usually when I’ve watched too much YouTube – it has needed an evening top-up too. And, as noted earlier, there have been moments when it has inexplicably got warmer than it should, indicative of excess power drain.

I think if you are able to get Sony’s claimed two-day use, you’re not using your phone intensively enough to justify one this pricey.

Charging speeds are not particularly impressive either, as 30W is the power ceiling. Sony does not include a power adapter with the phone, but plenty of non-Sony plugs will be able to charge it at max speed, over USB-PD.

A full charge from flat took 88 minutes, while it reached 50% in a much better-sounding 29 minutes. It’s not a real fast charger, and is now also beaten by Samsung – not a fast-charging pioneer either, but at least top phones like the Galaxy S25 Ultra support 45W charging.

The Sony Xperia 1 VII can be charged wirelessly too, but at up to a dismal 15W. Reverse wireless charging is in as well, though, which should come in handy if you have wireless earphones that support Qi charging.

Battery score: 3 / 5

Should you buy the Sony Xperia 1 VII?

Sony Xperia 1 VII score card
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Value	The phone costs a fortune. And while it has the raw power expected at this level, and uses great materials, it’s not clear Sony has really done enough to justify asking for this.	2 / 5
Design	It’s that same old Sony design. Largely impeccable materials and great water resistance, but the brick-like shape creates areas that wear down quickly, and Sony doesn’t include a case.	3 / 5
Display	It’s bright and it has OLED color and contrast. But it’s also pretty ordinary considering the panels Sony used to employ. You don’t miss much, other than the sense you’re paying a lot for a screen like this.	3.5 / 5
Software	Sony offers us some creative apps we imagine most buyers will ignore, but the rest of the software is business as usual. Android 15 with a layer of Sony interface pasted on top, and no obvious AI obsession for better or worse.	3 / 5
Camera	A zero-fat camera array like this is what we want to see. And the phone can take beautiful pictures. It could be better on the slickness of the experience, though, and the zoom is falling behind rivals despite sounding great on paper.	3.5 / 5
Performance	Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset is swiftly and progressively throttled in the phone to manage heat. A sensible move, if not one the techy gamers may love.	4 / 5
Battery	We’re in the process of seeing a big leap in phone battery capacities. But Sony isn’t there yet, and this phone doesn’t last more than a day in our experience. Fast charging needs to improve too.	3 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a phone with a headphone jack
Old-school in a great way, the Sony Xperia 1 VII has a high-quality 3.5mm headphone jack, which has been a rarity in all but budget phones for years now.

You are a big Sony Alpha mirrorless camera fan
The phone has software to link up to your 'proper' camera’s photo library, and the screen is a great way to review photos.

You just love Sony’s style
Recognizable from way further than arm’s length to any phone geek, Sony’s phone design hasn’t changed much over the years, and fans may be glad of it.

Don't buy it if...

You want cutting-edge tech
While it has a high-end Snapdragon chipset, other areas of the device do not feel as though they are pushing at the edge of what’s possible in phone tech.

You want a deal
This is one of the most expensive Android phones in existence, and there’s a good argument that Sony doesn’t really justify the outlay fully.

You love fast charging
30W power supply support means the Xperia 1 VII takes almost 90 minutes to charge from flat, which seems a lot in 2025.

Sony Xperia 1 VII review: Also consider

Not sure about the Sony? Here are a few alternative options.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
There are plenty of more aggressive and competitively priced phones at this level. The perhaps most obvious one is the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which has better zoom skills, costs less and has a larger screen. There’s no headphone jack, of course.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review

Google Pixel 9 Pro
The Google Pixel 9 Pro sticks with a smaller screen, costs loads less and still has a solid 5x camera zoom. It makes much more use of software AI, though whether that’s your bag or not depends on your proclivities.

Read out full Google Pixel 9 Pro review

Xiaomi 15 Ultra
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is an alternative you might not instantly think of. It uses more aggressive camera hardware, and has a larger, faster-charging battery. A more cutting-edge design also fits in a significantly larger screen even though the phone itself is only fractionally wider.

Read our full Xiaomi 15 Ultra review

	Sony Xperia 1 VII	Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra	Google Pixel 9 Pro	Xiaomi 15 Ultra
Price (at launch):	£1,399 (roughly $1,870 / AU$2,885)	$1,299 / £1,249 / AU$2,149	$999 / £999 / AU$1,699	£1,299 (roughly $1,740 / AU$2,675)
Dimensions:	162 x 74 x 8.2mm	162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2mm	152.8 x 72 x 8.5mm	161.3 x 75.3 x 9.4mm
Weight:	197g	218g	199g	226g
Displays	6.5-inch OLED, 120Hz	6.9-inch AMOLED, 120Hz	6.3-inch OLED, 120Hz	6.73-inch AMOLED, 120Hz
Cameras	48MP main, 48MP ultra-wide, 12MP telephoto	200MP main, 50MP ultra-wide, 10MP telephoto, 50MP telephoto	50MP main, 48MP ultra-wide, 48MP telephoto	50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide, 200MP telephoto, 50MP telephoto
Chipset:	Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite	Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite for Galaxy	Google Tensor G4	Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite

How I tested the Sony Xperia 1 VII

Review test period: several weeks
Testing included: everyday use, photography, long days away from a charger, a weekend away
Tools used: Geekbench 6, 3DMark

The Sony Xperia 1 VII was used as my primary phone for several weeks, to get the best idea of how it works. I took hundreds of photos with its cameras, and used it during a weekend away, with long days away from the charger.

Some benchmark performance testing was done too, in order to back up, or potentially challenge, observations I found from my everyday phone use. However, there were not any grand surprises to be found in those benchmarks anyway.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed October 2025

I tested Motorola’s cheaper iPhone Air alternative, but it still didn’t win me over to team thin-phone

6:00 pm | November 16, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Motorola Phones Phones | Tags: AI, AU, Star Wars | Comments: Off

Motorola Edge 70 two-minute review

The Edge series from Motorola has been one of the most consistently interesting lines of Android phones for cost-conscious buyers; they’re not always the best smartphones around, but they look classy and get you unrivaled value for money in the Android world. But I’m not so sure about the Motorola Edge 70, which has fallen in with the wrong crowd by trying to follow the new thin-phone ‘trend’.

Super-thin smartphones are starting to feel like a new bandwagon that tech companies are leaping on, apparently after having noticed the huge lack of interest buyers had in the last bandwagon: AI. This bandwagon’s turning out no better: we didn’t love the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, and the iPhone Air was lambasted online, and so the Motorola Edge 70 has a lot to prove.

Before testing the Edge 70, I thought Moto would be preaching to the choir; I gave the Edge 60 a glowing review (I think it's my favorite phone of the year), and was fond of the Edge 60 Pro too. Perhaps it should have been telling that the previous generation of Edge mobiles came out only six months prior, because this new Edge is nothing to write home about.

Yes, it’s thin, and yes, it’s light, but it’s still just as wide and tall as your average Android smartphone, so these two tweaked specs don’t exactly amount to a revolutionary redesign.

Beyond its chassis, this is another solid mid-range Android phone. There’s a decent processor and enough RAM to blast through games, a good-looking screen, a classy color scheme, and a competent camera array (albeit with a few downgrades from the Edge 60 Pro in certain areas).

However, the huge price jump up from the Edge 60 – and the solid increase on the Edge 60 Pro too – throws my ‘mid-range’ argument into disarray; this is an expensive mobile which doesn’t go nearly far enough in justifying that price.

Bear in mind the number of downgrades from the still-very-fresh Edge 60 line: the new Edge 70 loses a camera from the 60 and 60 Pro, and also misses out on the fast charging and strong performance of the latter. And remember: the 60 Pro is a cheaper phone.

That’s doubly painful when you consider how much bloatware there is on this newer device; it's a symptom of a cheap phone that feels out of place when you’re buying a phone that’s only a little less pricey than the Samsung Galaxy S25 or iPhone 17.

Generally speaking, the Edge 70 runs smoothly, and there are a few things to like. I like how the Water Touch feature makes the phone easy to use when your hands are wet, the screen looks good, and the amount of on-board storage and RAM is great. And there's no denying that the Edge 70 is cheaper than its thin-phone rivals, even if that's simply because they're even more ludicrously priced.

A slightly-thinner-than-average body doesn’t make the price make sense, though, especially when the Motorola Edge 60 is basically half the price. Even though it’s a solid phone all around, the cost makes it hard to recommend the Edge 70 over its six-month senior.

Motorola Edge 70 review: price and availability

The Motorola Edge 70's home screen, while the phone is being held in a hand. — (Image credit: Future)

Released in November 2025
£699.98 (roughly $920, AU$1,400)
No US release expected; AU possibly

Motorola announced the Edge 70 on November 5, 2025, and put it on sale shortly afterwards.

You can buy the Motorola Edge 70 for £699.98 (roughly $920, AU$1,400). The phone won’t be released in the US, as Moto has a different Edge strategy there, but I’m expecting it to come out in Australia at some point in the near future based on precedent.

That’s a massive price increase from the £379 (roughly $520, AU$700) asking price of the Edge 60, but also more than the £599 (around $800, AU$1,250) of the Edge 60 Pro.

The Edge is, at least, cheaper than its rivals: the Galaxy Edge (Samsung’s phone, not the Star Wars theme park) begins at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849, while the iPhone Air goes for $999 / £999 / AU$1,799. Yikes.

Motorola Edge 70 review: specs

Motorola Edge 70 specs

Dimensions:	159.9 x 74 x 5.9 mm
Weight:	159g
Screen:	6.7-inch FHD (1220 x 2712) 120Hz P-OLED
Chipset:	Snapdragon 7 Gen 4
RAM:	12GB
Storage:	512GB
OS:	Android 16
Primary camera:	50MP, f/1.8
Ultra-wide camera:	50MP f/2.0 120-degree
Front camera:	50MP, f/2.0
Audio:	Dolby Atmos stereo speakers
Battery:	4,800mAh
Charging:	68W wired, 15W wireless
Colors:	Gadget Grey, Lily Pad, Bronze Green

Motorola Edge 70 review: design

The Motorola Edge 70 face-down on a brown table. — (Image credit: Future)

Thin (5.9mm) and light (159g)
Comes in three Pantone colors
Military-grade protections

I spent the introduction to this review comparing the Moto Edge 70 to its thin-phone contemporaries; it’s 5.9mm thick, and you can feel how svelte it is just by picking it up. It's so thin, in fact, that I felt duty-bound to protect it with the rigid plastic in-box case, thereby mitigating the benefits of a slender mobile in the first place.

The rest of the dimensions are more in line with your standard smartphone: it's 74mm wide and 159.4mm long. Mind you, in weighing 159g, it feels lighter in the hand than the average mobile.

Color company Pantone continues its quest to paint all the Edge phones in various distinct hues; this time around, we’ve got Gadget Grey (a mostly-boring grey but with some blue highlights), Lily Pad (olive green with some orange highlights), and the one I used, Bronze Green (dark green with lighter-green highlights – there’s no bronze to speak of).

As always, the use of some interesting colors immediately makes this Moto one of my favorite-looking phones of the year, and the textured back just adds something to the panache. I do wish that Motorola had given the Edge 70 a curved-edge screen like in some of the past generations, but presumably, this wouldn’t work with the thin body. The lack of it means that, visually speaking, the Edge 70 is ‘one of’ my favorites, but the Edge 60 family pips it to the post.

Let’s talk about ports and buttons. There’s a USB-C port on the bottom edge (no 3.5mm jack for audio), a power button and volume rocker on the right edge, and, right out of reach on the left, the AI button.

The Edge 70 is IP68/69 protected against dust and water submersion, and is also compliant with the military MIL-STD-810H standard, which means it’s tough against the knocks and bumps that a military-grade piece of kit would need to be.

If you decide to use the in-box case to protect the phone, you're not making a bad decision because it's nice and solid (not a cheapie silicon thing that many phone makers put in the box). But it's also incredibly hard to get onto the phone, and nearly as hard to remove, so you're going to need some good luck and brute strength. If you're buying this phone for your grandma, you should stick around to help her get the thing on!

Design score: 4 / 5

Motorola Edge 70 review: display

The Motorola Edge 70's home screen. — (Image credit: Future)

6.7 inches, 2712 x 1220 resolution
120Hz refresh rate, 20:9 aspect ratio
Water Touch adds some extra usability

The Motorola Edge 70 has a 6.7-inch screen, which is roughly the average size for an Android smartphone. The resolution (2712 x 1200) is also what you’d expect from such a mobile.

A few other specs and features help the phone’s display stand out, though. It has a nice high max brightness of 4,500 nits, a 120Hz refresh rate, support for HDR 10+, and some optimizations from Pantone.

A feature I really appreciate is Water Touch, which basically just means the screen will pick up your touches better if you’ve got wet hands or if the display has droplets on it. No longer does bathtime prohibit the use of screens.

Breaking up the display at the top is a punch-hole cut-out for the front camera, but it’s so small and unobtrusive that you’ll easily forget it was there.

Display score: 4 / 5

Motorola Edge 70 review: software

The Motorola Edge 70's software immediately upon booting up the device. — Here are the apps pre-installed on the Edge 70 (although I can excuse Ecosia, since that's the one I picked as my browser on load-up). (Image credit: Future)

Android 16 with four guaranteed updates
Bloatware (pre-installed apps) abounds
Moto's AI app has yet to prove itself

While Motorola phones have long used stock Android as their operating system, the company has slowly been tweaking the formula in myriad ways over successive generations of Edge. So, while the Edge 70 technically has stock Android 16, it’s not exactly the same as the stock Android software you’d see on Pixel phones – mostly for the worse.

The worst is that, at least on first start-up, Motorola has opted to copy some cheap Chinese phone makers in plastering its devices with bloatware. When you first boot up the Edge 70, it’s already full of apps like Amazon Music, TikTok, and Booking.com, and while you can delete them all, it doesn’t help but make it feel like your own mobile is one walking billboard.

Most of these apps are innocuous, at least, but some raise eyebrows. Perplexity is one – an AI search engine with myriad active lawsuits and accusations against it – and controversy-laden e-retailer Temu is another. It bears repeating that this phone isn’t that different in price from the iPhone 17 – seeing pre-installed apps at all, especially ones of this caliber, leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Motorola’s also pushing harder into its own AI tools than most other companies, mostly with its Moto AI, an assistant that’s slowly gaining skills and tools with each new Moto phone I test.

However, its feature list is still quite eclectic (note-taking, playlist generation, and file organization seem to be its main tools, according to Moto’s website), and none of them really solve problems I’d otherwise have on my smartphone. I used Moto AI when I was testing the Edge 70, but I no doubt would have ignored it if I were using the phone normally.

Not all the changes to stock Android are terrible, and I’ve long liked Motorola’s customization and navigation features. And if you ignore the AI and delete the bloatware, the phone runs decently well. It’s set to get four years of security updates (presumably up to Android 20), and five years of security updates.

Software score: 3 / 5

Motorola Edge 70 review: cameras

The Motorola Edge 70's camera bump. — (Image credit: Future)

50MP main and 50MP ultra-wide cameras
50MP front-facing
Some odd over-brightening issues

Motorola’s marketing materials make a point of how the Edge 70 has three 50MP cameras; this is technically true, but don’t imagine for a moment that the Edge 70 has three rear cameras like the Edge 60 members did. Instead, it only has two, with that third high-res snapper being the one on the front, and I’m disappointed that Moto opted to drop the telephoto lens that made the last generation surprisingly solid camera phones.

On the back, then, we’ve got a 50MP main snapper with OIS and a 50MP ultra-wide with a 120-degree field of view. Nope, no telephoto lens.

I've previously been quite negative about the cameras on Motorola phones, as the optimization software doesn't match that on rival mobiles, making pictures look a little dull. Usually, the low price of the phone justifies these shortcomings, but that's obviously not the case here. Thankfully, I wasn't too put out by the snaps either.

With sufficient lighting, pictures have a fair amount of color and detail, and autofocus was fairly quick to find objects. Manual focus was a bit of an issue, though; usually, I find tapping on an object in the viewfinder does the job, but when I tried it in the Edge 70's camera app, it also changed the brightness of the shot... quite dramatically.

Look at the two snaps of cookies in the camera sample section; the first one is default, the second is when I pressed on the snack. I like a bright picture as much as the next guy, but it's a little too much in that particular case.

The Motorola Edge 70's camera app, while the phone is pointed to plants. — (Image credit: Future)

I took quite a few low-light photos with the camera; it's that period of the year where we have about three minutes of sunlight, after all. The camera held up well, presumably thanks to a solid sensor that takes in lots of light.

Around the front, the selfie camera uses pixel binning to ensure snaps have enough light; you can see the results on a pretty gray day below.

Taking a stroll through the rest of the phone app, you'll find most of the standard options you've come to expect on a smartphone: night vision, panorama, portrait photography, slow-mo and time-lapse videography, and so on.

You can record video at 4K at 30fps or FHD at 60fps, and slow-mo switches between 120fps at FHD or 240fps at HD.

Camera score: 3.5 / 5

Motorola Edge 70 camera samples

Image 1 of 11

A picture of the London Eye taken on the Moto Edge 70. — (Image credit: Future)

Image 2 of 11

Image 3 of 11

Image 4 of 11

A snap of some fireworks taken on the Moto Edge 70. — (Image credit: Future)

Image 5 of 11

A snap of two lego figures taken on the Moto Edge 70. — (Image credit: Future)

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A photo of some cookies taken on the Moto Edge 70. — (Image credit: Future)

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Image 8 of 11

An image of a bonfire taken on the Moto Edge 70. — (Image credit: Future)

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A selfie in standard mode taken on the Moto Edge 70. — (Image credit: Future)

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A selfie in Portriat mode taken on the Moto Edge 70. — (Image credit: Future)

Image 11 of 11

A photo of a scarecrow taken on the Moto Edge 70. — (Image credit: Future)

Motorola Edge 70 review: performance and audio

Mid-range Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chipset
12GB RAM and 512GB Storage
Dolby Atmos-tuned stereo speakers

Looking under the hood, the Motorola Edge 70 has a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chipset, which is a mid-range piece of kit we’ve seen in a handful of Androids, including the Realme 15 Pro and Vivo V60. While seeing ‘mid-range’ may cause you to be wary, let me win you back over: there’s 12GB RAM and a hearty 512GB storage. Now those are specs I like to see!

I took the Edge for a whirl (well, many whirls over two weeks) playing Call of Duty: Mobile and Northgard, and was impressed by how close the performance was to that of phones with top-end chipsets or more RAM. Playing hectic online games, I never felt like I was lagging or dropping behind in a way that affected my performance, and the phone seemed fine to render loads of assets or enemies at once.

When I put the Edge 70 through the Geekbench 6 multi-core benchmark test, it returned an average score of 4,115 (though, notably, with a bigger variation in results than I normally see with this test). That reflects the mid-range status of the mobile, with Snapdragon 8 Gen chipsets scoring in the 5,000-6,000 range (or even higher), though it is a little way behind the Edge 60 Pro, which used a top-end chipset from a different company.

Honestly, though, when you get to a certain point, these numbers are just numbers. I never felt that the Edge 70 lacked performance when I was gaming, and that’s what matters.

Audio-wise, the Edge 70 has dual stereo speakers, which were tuned with some Dolby Atmos magic. Otherwise, for listening to music, you can use the Bluetooth 5.4 to connect wirelessly, or via a wired connection if you can find an adaptor to plug your cans into the USB-C port (there’s no headphone jack).

Performance score: 4 / 5

Motorola Edge 70 review: battery life

The Motorola Edge 70's Google folder. — (Image credit: Future)

4,800mAh battery
68W wired charging
15W wireless powering

Despite being a thin smartphone, the Edge 70 has a battery that’s roughly average in capacity: 4,800mAh, which a few years ago we’d have called positively huge.

I’m not going to pretend it grants the Edge a miraculously long battery life, as it’s powering a pretty big display, but it ensures the handset will easily last a full day of use. During my testing, the Edge 70 reliably waltzed through half of day two before needing to be powered up.

Charging is done at 68W, which is the same as most past Moto Edge phones, and 15W wireless charging has been thrown in for good measure. You’re getting from empty to full in about 40 minutes if you charge with a compatible cable.

Battery score: 3.5 / 5

Motorola Edge 70 review: value

The Motorola Edge 70's AI button. — (Image credit: Future)

Thin phones are, unfortunately, exceedingly expensive devices. When you consider that, in the Edge 70, you’re getting one for substantially less than the iPhone Air, perhaps you can convince yourself that you’re getting a good deal.

But if you look at the Motorola Edge 70 as the sum of its parts, it’s hard to deny that it doesn’t offer great value for money. Its specs are mostly all mid-ranged, with much cheaper alternatives from various rivals beating it six ways from Sunday.

So, if you absolutely need a smartphone that’s a few millimeters thinner than your current one, no matter the price, at least this is getting you better value than the iPhone or Samsung. But if you’re happy to consider all your options, no matter their thickness, skipping the Edge 70 is a no-brainer.

Value score: 3 / 5

Should you buy the Motorola Edge 70?

Motorola Edge 70 score card
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Value	From another brand, a phone with the same specs would have a price tag that's half of the Edge 70's.	3 / 5
Design	Pantone wins again, but the slender body helps too.	4 / 5
Display	It's just as good-looking as the last time we saw this screen on a Moto phone.	4 / 5
Software	The bloatware's getting worse, and Moto's more preoccupied with its AI tool than fixing it.	3 / 5
Camera	The cameras are fine for the price, though I miss the better hardware of the Edge 60.	3.5 / 5
Performance	You get a solid set of power specs for the price.	4 / 5
Battery	Any kind of reliable battery is a miracle in a thin phone like this.	3.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You must have a thin phone
If you're looking at the iPhone Air or Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge with envy, then the Moto Edge 70 is your way to get a thin phone without breaking the bank.

You need lots of storage
With 512GB of on-board storage, you're never going to need to choose which photos you need to delete to get more space, or pick and choose the apps that take up that space.

You like the look
Honestly, all of Moto's Edge phones have a little extra pizzazz thanks to Pantone's decorations; they're a splash of color in a monochromatic market.

Don't buy it if...

You don't care about your phone's thickness
All thin phones are expensive... but if thinness isn't an important thing for you, your money will go a lot further with a different device.

You're on a budget
Many people associate Motorola with cheap phones, because it makes some of the best. But the Edge 70 is certainly a premium model.

You're not an AI fan
Moto's been very gung-ho about its own AI tools, but the Edge 70's bloatware includes lots more, like Copilot and Perplexity. If you're on the righteous anti-AI train, this isn't the right phone for you.View Deal

Motorola Edge 70 review: Also consider

Let's take a proper look at those phones I've been comparing the Motorola Edge 70 to:

Apple iPhone Air
Apple's thin phone is 0.3mm more slender than the Edge 70, but a little heavier. It's the one to buy if you want an Apple phone, although it's not the strongest specs-wise.

Read our full Apple iPhone Air review

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
This is a powerful phone with top specs across the board, and it's also thinner than the Moto, though not as light. It's super slow to charge, though.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review

Motorola Edge 60
It's cheaper and it's weaker, but otherwise this slightly older phone matches or exceeds the specs of its newer relative. So, it's certainly well worth keeping on the wishlist.

Read our full Motorola Edge 60 review

	Motorola Edge 70	Apple iPhone Air	Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge	Motorola Edge 60
Starting price (at launch):	£699.98 (roughly $920, AU$1,400)	From $999 / £999 / AU$1,799	From $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849	£379 (roughly $520, AU$700)
Dimensions:	159.9 x 74 x 5.9mm	156.2 x 74.7 x 5.6mm	158.2 x 75.6 x 5.8mm	161.2 x 73.1 x 7.9mm
Weight:	159g	165g	163g	179g
OS (at launch):	Android 16	iOS 26	OneUI 7, Android 15	Android 15
Screen Size:	6.7-inch	6.5-inch	6.7-inch	6.67-inch
Resolution:	2712 x 1220	2736 x 1260	1260 x 2736	2712 x 1220
CPU:	Snapdragon 7 Gen 4	A19 Pro Bionic	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy	Mediatek Dimensity 7300
RAM:	12GB	Unconfirmed	12GB	12GB
Storage (from):	512GB	256GB / 512GB / 1TB	256GB / 512GB	512GB
Battery:	4,800mAh	Unconfirmed	3,900mAh	5,200mAh
Rear Cameras:	50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide	48MP main	200MP main, 12MP ultra-wide	50MP main, 10MP telephoto. 50MP ultra-wide
Front camera:	50MP	18MP	12MP	50MP

How I tested the Motorola Edge 70

Review test period = 2 weeks
Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
Tools used = Geekbench 6, Geekbench ML, GFXBench, native Android stats

I used the Motorola Edge 70 for two weeks in order to write this review. That's the usual TechRadar test period, and a figure I use as an absolute minimum in order to ensure I've given every gadget a fair shake.

In that time, I used the Edge 70 as my normal smartphone for tasks like social media, photography, and gaming. Outside of full testing, I also took it for a few camera tests to collect more samples for the gallery. Alongside experiential use, I used a few lab tests to gauge certain metrics of the phone.

I've been reviewing mobiles at TechRadar for over six years now. I tested both members of the Edge 60 family, and have used most previous Moto Edge devices, as well as countless other handsets made by the company (and, of course, non-Moto phones too!).

Read more about how we test

First reviewed November 2025

The OnePlus 15 is the cure for the common phone, and it’s the first phone I’ve tested that’s earned a perfect score

5:30 pm | November 13, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets OnePlus Phones Phones | Tags: Google Pixel, Qualcomm Snapdragon | Comments: Off

OnePlus 15: Two-minute review

If a smartphone genie offered me three wishes for my dream phone, I couldn't have created a device as great as the OnePlus 15. It delivers more than the most demanding smartphone fans could wish for, with priorities that reflect the ways I really want to use my phone.

My three wishes? First, I'd wish for a battery that lasts all day. The OnePlus 15 watches my dream phone fall asleep then parties hard for another day and a half. I let this phone go uncharged for three days during my review and I still had some juice left. And that’s not to mention the incredibly fast charging speeds.

My second wish would be for a durable phone, water resistant with glass that is tough enough it won't break if I drop it. OnePlus makes its flagship phone more durable than any Samsung or Apple phone you can buy. I watched last year’s OnePlus 13 survive a run through a dishwasher, and the OnePlus 15 is even tougher than that. Bring on the hot water jets!

My final wish would be to get back some of the great smartphone features we've lost over the years. I remember when Android phones were about personality and customization. Now you can't even organize your app drawer on a Pixel phone.

OnePlus 15 in Times Square New York City on the busy street showing the cameras and sides of the phone in addition to home screen panels and Settings menus — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The OnePlus 15, on the other hand, is the phone for people who love smartphones. You can customize it, but it looks great even if you don't. It has a ton of unique widgets that add functions to your home screen, or you can hide those on a separate shelf.

Oh, and it has an IR blaster. Remember when phones had those? Every Galaxy S6 could change the channel on your TV (or the bar TV playing Fox News), and the OnePlus 15 brings that back. It can act as a universal remote control, a feature I treasure when I lose my TV remote after I turn out the lights.

The OnePlus 15 is great at everything you want to do on your phone. For gaming, it's a next-level handheld. I was able to play games with Settings in the Experimental realm. The OnePlus 15 pushes past limits you never noticed on other smartphones, and there are enough game developers on board to make the advantage worthwhile.

Call of Duty looked as good on my phone as it does running on a console, with an even better frame rate, and I say that as a long time gamer, not a casual interloper.

What's the catch? Well, you might have to explain to people who OnePlus is when they ask about your phone, because most people I talk to have never heard of them.

That's because OnePlus doesn't sell its best phones in carrier stores. You won't see the OnePlus 15 available free with a contract and a trade on AT&T or Vodafone. That means you pay more up front, which is a shame. Lots of my friends would love this phone, but don't have hundreds to shell out. At least OnePlus usually has decent trade-in offers when you buy directly from the company.

There are a few other shortcomings, but they don't amount to much when you consider this phone competes with the base model iPhone 17 and Galaxy S25, even though it offers as much as an Ultra or Pro Max.

We used to call this a flagship killer. Now I just call it the best phone you can buy, and the first phone I've tested that deserves a perfect score.

OnePlus 15 review: Price & availability

Black version costs $899.99 / £899 for 12GB RAM and 256GB storage
Other colors available for $999.99 / £999 with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage

The OnePlus 15 is a flagship smartphone, but it isn’t the most expensive flagship around. It costs more than the iPhone 17 but less than the iPhone Air. It’s more expensive than a Google Pixel 10, but less than the Pixel 10 Pro. The Galaxy S25 Plus is more expensive than the black OnePlus 15 with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Sadly, the best colors are only available on the more expensive model with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. I’m sure the lower-spec OnePlus 15 performs admirably, but my review sample is the Sand Storm model with more goodness inside. It’s not a necessary upgrade, but even at this $999.99 / £999 price, it’s a great deal for such a powerhouse phone.

OnePlus only makes one flagship – there isn't a Pro or an Ultra or an XL model with better cameras or a faster chip. While Samsung and Apple lure you in with aspirational models that cost more than $1,000 / £1,000 / AU$2,000, the OnePlus 15 is the company's best phone, not a step down.

In the past, OnePlus has offered great trade-in deals that knock at least $100 off the price in the US, but it hasn’t announced similar offers for the OnePlus 15.

I’d still recommend this phone at its full price. You won’t find a more capable phone without paying hundreds more, and even the most expensive phones – the Galaxy Z Fold 7 or Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max come to mind – can’t beat the OnePlus 15 in the things it does best.

OnePlus 15 pricing
Storage	US Price	UK Price	AU Price
256GB	$899	£899	AU $TBD
512GB	$999	£999	AU $TBD

Value score: 5 / 5

OnePlus 15 review: Specifications

The OnePlus 15 features a unique spec list that highlights it's capabilities. It's the first phone most of us can buy with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset inside, and that platform seems to pay dividends in performance and power management.

The OnePlus 15 has a 7,300 mAh battery inside, which should make the phone enormous, but it's actually just as thin as an iPhone 17. That huge battery equates to the best battery life I've ever experienced on a smartphone. The OnePlus 15 also has 80-100W charging (80W on my US review sample), and it can charge wirelessly up to 50W, if you have a OnePlus AirVOOC charger.

The display on the OnePlus 15 can refresh up to 165Hz in gaming mode. It can also force itself to draw 120fps consistently on certain competition games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

OnePlus 15 specifications
Dimensions:	161.42 x 76.67 x 8.1mm
Weight:	211g
Display:	6.78-inch LTPO OLED
Resolution:	2772 x 1272 pixels
Refresh rate:	1-120Hz; 165Hz for select games
Peak brightness:	1,800 nits
Chipset:	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5
RAM:	12GB/16GB LPDDR5X Ultra/Ultra+
Storage:	256GB/512GB/ UFS 4.1
OS:	OxygenOS 16.0 based on Android™ 16
Main cameras	50MP main; 50MP ultrawide; 50MP 3.5x telephoto
Selfie camera:	32MP
Battery:	7,300mAh
Charging:	80-100W wired; 50W wireless
Colors:	Infinite Black, Ultra Violet, Sand Storm (tested)

OnePlus 15 review: Design

Incredible durability - can withstand more than you’ll encounter
Restrained colors and design compared to past OnePlus flagships

I’ve tested phones that were as durable as the OnePlus 15, and phones that packed a battery just as large or larger. They were as big as school buses and just as heavy. The OnePlus 15 is a marvel of design because it looks simple and refined – totally normal. It isn’t trying to be gorgeous; it’s just a very nice looking smartphone.

Astonishingly, the OnePlus 15 packs the largest battery of any smartphone I’ve tested, but it’s only a hair thicker than the iPhone 17, which has a battery almost half the size.

Does that mean the OnePlus 15 could have been much thinner with a normal battery? Who cares, apparently nobody wants a thin phone with a small battery. The OnePlus 15 is the phone you’ve been asking for instead of the iPhone Air.

The OnePlus 15 is more restrained than previous OnePlus phones, and while I miss the navy blue curves of the OnePlus 13 and the swirling jade green OnePlus 12, I understand the impulse to be less flashy. Those camera bumps were very large. The phones were downright wobbly.

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OnePlus 12 from the back in Flowy Emerald color — The OnePlus 12 design, especially in Flowy Emerald, was gorgeous, but divisive (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

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The OnePlus 12 phone, from the back — That camera bump is admittedly very large (Image credit: Future)

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OnePlus 13 from back in blue showing cameras and H Hasselblad logo

The OnePlus 13 tried for classier color options, but the cameras still stand out (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

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OnePlus 13 in blue from back showing cameras — OnePlus reps said its own fans were asking for a smaller camera bump on the back (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The OnePlus 15 looks like it could descend from the same lineage as the Google Pixel 10. It has a prominent camera bump that feels precisely machined, taking up a square of the corner on the back. The curves of the phone, the camera bump, and the camera lens windows are all symmetrically aligned on the same axis.

The color options for the OnePlus 15 are a bit staid compared to previously flashy hues, but each comes with its own benefits. My review unit came in the Sand Storm color that OnePlus claims is slightly more durable than the rest, owing to the electrified way the color is applied to the frame. The lilac color will be more limited, which only makes me want it more.

Design score: 5 / 5

OnePlus 15 review: Display

Excellent display for gaming with special features
Bright, colorful, and incredibly responsive

The OnePlus 15 has a display made for serious gaming. That doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy its benefits if you don’t play hardcore, online multiplayer games. It’s still incredibly bright and colorful. But for gaming it stands out like no other phone I’ve tried.

How fast is the OnePlus 15 display? You’re going to need to find the Experiment settings in Call of Duty Mobile to truly take advantage of what this phone can do. For a number of games, the OnePlus 15 can refresh up to 165 Hz. For the rest of its functions, it refreshes from a 1Hz always-on sleep screen to 120Hz.

I was a big fan of the OnePlus 13 fingerprint sensor, and I’m pleased to report the OnePlus 15 has the most consistent scanner I’ve used on a phone this year. While Samsung phones regularly fail to register my fingerprint, the OnePlus 15 opened the first time I tried, every single time. Only Apple’s FaceID system is this consistent and quick, other Android makers haven’t been able to match this convenience.

Is this the best display around? Our lab tests say the Google Pixel 10 Pro is much brighter, with better color. I definitely preferred the Pixel 10 Pro for taking photos outdoors, but the OnePlus 15 still has a great display, and its fast response time pushes it to the top.

Display score: 5 / 5

OnePlus 15 review: Software

Oxygen OS 16 is a polished and friendly version of Android
Plenty of features to reward power users and iPhone switchers alike

OnePlus has its own version of Android 16, Oxygen OS, and it's a very elegant design that takes great advantage of the sharp resolution of the display. You get plenty of tools like a widget shelf and a pop-up sidebar, or you can just ignore all of those an enjoy the uncluttered, effective look.

There are tons of unique features built in that are actually useful and don't require too much digging. If you're daring, try the Zen Space, which will lock you out of your own phone for a minute. No joke, no half measures. Nothing you do can get you back in. Like I said, it's daring.

I like Oxygen OS, it's clearly inspired by iOS without feeling derivative or amateur. It rewards OnePlus owners who know other OnePlus owners with special sharing and communication features that work between devices. If you're an iPhone owner considering a switch, this is the first Android stop I'd recommend on your bus out of Apple town.

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There are AI tools on the OnePlus 15, and even a button that will take a screenshots to save to a special AI mind space. This is similar to Google’s Screenshot app on its Pixel phones, and it's an unobtrusive way to let AI collect your personal data on your own terms. The OnePlus AI also did a fine job transcribing my recordings, which is an AI tool I use frequently across my devices for meetings and interviews.

OnePlus says this phone will get four years of major Android updates, hopefully taking Oxygen OS 16.0 all the way up to Oxygen OS 20, though we’ll have to hold OnePlus to this promise. It will get six years of security updates as well, even after the OS updates stop.

Software score: 5 / 5

OnePlus 15 review: Cameras

Versatile cameras with effective zoom that captures great detail
Best action camera for fast-moving subjects in any light condition

With the OnePlus 15, you get a versatile camera array that rises to any occasion. For hundreds less than a Pixel 10 Pro XL or Galaxy S25 Ultra, you get a camera with the same capabilities – especially a real 3.5x optical zoom lens.

The photos I got from the OnePlus 15 were usually just as good as pics from the best camera phones, and in some cases the OnePlus 15 shots were the best. Compared to the Pixel 10 Pro and Galaxy S25 Ultra, for instance, the OnePlus 15 camera achieves more clarity edge to edge in most photos.

The OnePlus 15 does have some special tricks up its sleeve. It's the best camera phone I've used when I am shooting a fast moving subject. For my kid’s football games, the combo of zoom plus action mode means I get shots with the ball hovering in mid air, taken from high up in the bleachers. Other phones can manage the same zoom, but not the same speed.

Maybe there are too many modes in the camera, but there are some I'm dying to try, like the underwater mode that balances for the blue light and gives you controls to use when the screen doesn't work. I'll need to wait until it's warmer for that one.

Is the OnePlus 15 the absolute best camera phone? I still think the iPhone 17 Pro is tops, but for the price, the OnePlus 15 offers unique features and excellent quality, and it surpassed my expectations once again.

Camera score: 5 / 5

OnePlus 15 review: Camera samples

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Camera image samples taken with the OnePlus 15 — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

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OnePlus 15 review: Performance

Stellar performance from Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Gaming mode pushes display to 165 Hz for superlative gamers

As one of the first smartphones with the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset inside, I knew the OnePlus 15 would be incredibly fast, but I usually wonder where all that speed goes? Thankfully, OnePlus offers concrete examples for gamers, and if you haven't taken mobile gaming seriously before, maybe it's time.

I usually test phones by playing Call of Duty Mobile with my Xbox controller on Bluetooth. I max out the settings and play multiplayer games to test the frame rate. Not only did the OnePlus 15 play CoD better than any previous phone I've used, I maxed out all the settings, including every option in the Experiment mode, and the game ran just as smoothly. It looked like a current-gen console game running on my phone.

The OnePlus 15 even supports a 165Hz display refresh rate, which means some games will be able to run at a theoretical 165 fps. Those include: Clash of Clans, Brawl Stars, Real Racing 3, Standoff 2, Blood Strike - FPS for all, and of course Call of Duty.

Even if you're not a gamer, you'll still appreciate the smooth performance of the OnePlus 15 in everyday tasks. Oxygen OS offers a variety of visual transitions between your home screen panels, for instance, as well as other pop-up features. All of these respond instantly as you tap and swipe.

We'll probably see a slightly faster version of this chipset when the Samsung Galaxy S26 is launched in early 2026, but the big question will be what Samsung does with so much power. Will the next Galaxy have a high-refresh rate display and a stable of games ready to run fast? Or will that power be squandered on AI? The benchmarks might give Samsung a future win, but the OnePlus manages to put all of its power to use, for once.

Performance score: 5 / 5

OnePlus 15 review: Battery

Unbelievable battery life - lasted 3 days in my testing
Super-fast charging, wired or wireless (with a OnePlus charger)

Last year’s OnePlus 13R was my pick for the best phone to buy for battery life, but this year’s OnePlus 15 raises the bar higher than I thought possible. Its battery seems obnoxiously large on paper, but the phone feels no heavier or thicker than any other flagship smartphone. Is there really a 7,300 mAh cell inside? Our Future Labs test say yes, indeed, and it’s more impressive than it sounds.

How long should a smartphone last? A day? Two day? I woke up on Wednesday with a fully charged OnePlus 15. I went to bed on Friday night and the phone still had battery power in the single digits. It lasted nearly three full days of use. You can leave your charger at the office for the weekend without worrying too much.

Even better, bring the charger along, because the OnePlus 15 charges faster than any other phone you’ll find. In 30 minutes of charging with the included 80W charger (it can charge to 100W in regions outside the US) I had more than 80% battery life. In less than 45 minutes I was fully charged.

That means you might get a week of real world use from this phone with just over an hour sitting on the wired charger. Want to go wireless? Like everything else on the OnePlus 15, wireless charging will demolish your expectations. This phone can charge faster on a OnePlus AirVOOC wireless charger than an iPhone 17 Pro can charge with wire.

Too bad it doesn’t have magnets built-in, then, but I highly recommend getting a OnePlus case. All of the new OnePlus 15 cases have magnets that align the wireless charging with your favorite MagSafe accessories, but I highly recommend splurging on AirVOOC. A few moments on a charging stand and you’ll be ready for hours more play time.

Battery score: 5 / 5

Should you buy the OnePlus 15?

OnePlus 15 scorecard
Value	Priced less than competitors’ Pro and Ultra models, with features that blow those flagships out of the water. I wish it were available on a payment plan, but it’s a fantastic value nonetheless.	5/5
Design	A more refined design gives up flashy colors and a ginormous camera bump for extreme durability and classy looks. It’s astonishing OnePlus got so much tech into this phone, especially the huge battery.	5/5
Display	Excellent display is bright and colorful, and capable of extreme gaming performance with the right titles. It can refresh up to 120Hz, or up to 165Hz on select games, and you can really see the difference when you play.	5/5
Software	Smooth and polished version of Android 16 in Oxygen OS, with plenty of useful customization options and features, and just the right touch of AI (that you can also ignore). This phone also has 4 years of updates on the way.	5/5
Cameras	Excellent camera quality beats anything at this price range and aims to be one of the best camera phones you can buy. For action shots and detailed zoom photos, the OnePlus might be the best choice, but all of my pics looked good and there are camera modes I still want to try.	5/5
Performance	Top notch performance makes this phone a benchmark champ, and OnePlus puts all of that power to use in fantastic gaming. Max out the graphics on your favorite title, this phone can defeat whatever monsters you throw its way.	5/5
Battery	Unbelievable battery life thanks to a massive cell hidden inside the svelte design. This phone beats everything by hours and hours - it lasted almost three days in my real world testing. Also it charges super fast, if you ever need to charge it.	5/5

Buy it if...

You want battery that lasts and lasts and lastsThis isn’t just the best battery life, it is so far ahead that it’s practically into next week while the iPhone is still charging today

You play the latest multiplayer mobile gamesGames on the OnePlus 15 look more like current-gen console titles than the mobile games you’ve seen before. The difference is striking

You need durability to survive a volcanic eruption
Exaggeration? The OnePlus 15 is the only phone I’ve seen certified to survive intense, high-temperature water sprays. This phone is Jurassic tough

Don't buy it if...

You don’t have the cash to shell out up frontSadly, OnePlus doesn’t have the best distribution, so you probably won’t be able to pay for this phone on a monthly plan

You love magnets and everything that contains magnets
It’s too bad there aren’t magnets built into the OnePlus 15, but the case options all have magnets, if magnets are your thing

You’re a pro photographer who uses only smartphones for some reason
The OnePlus 15 camera is one of the best, but the iPhone 17 Pro is still better all around for pixel peeping perfectionists who can’t accept less

Also consider...

Apple iPhone 17 Pro
If you want an iPhone that is as powerful with cameras this good, you’ll have to go for a Pro model, and it still can’t match the OnePlus battery.

Read our in-depth Apple iPhone 17 Pro review

Google Pixel 10 Pro
The Pixel 10 Pro is durable with a great design and fantastic software. It just lacks the battery life, performance, and even camera quality of the OnePlus 15.

Read our in-depth Google Pixel 10 Pro review

	OnePlus 15	Apple iPhone 17 Pro	Google Pixel 10 Pro
Price:	$899 / £899	$1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,999	$999 / £999 / AU $1,699
Processor:	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5	Apple A19 Pro	Google Tensor G5
Display:	6.78-inch OLED up to 165Hz	6.3-inch 1-120Hz OLED	6.3-inch 60-120Hz OLED
Battery Test Results (HH:MM:SS)	26:25:00	15:21:36	13:43:30

How I tested the OnePlus 15

I have been using the OnePlus 15 for more than two weeks as my primary business phone, with all of my personal and work accounts loaded onto the device. I used the phone on AT&T’s 5G network in the greater New York Area, including around our Times Square offices and my home in Connecticut.

I used the OnePlus 15 as my camera, testing almost every camera feature (I couldn’t test the Underwater mode). I connected the OnePlus 15 to my OnePlus Watch 3, my OnePlus Buds Pro 3, and many other Bluetooth headsets and devices. I used Android Auto in my Kia and my friends’ Acura and Subaru cars, and connected to Bluetooth in an older BMW.

I've been testing phones for more than 20 years, since the days of BlackBerry and Palm OS smartphones and Samsung flip phones. I've tested hundreds of devices myself, and our Future Labs experts have tested hundreds more.

Future Labs tests phones using a mix of third-party benchmark software and proprietary, real-world tests. We use Geekbench, CrossMark, JetStream, WebXPRT and Mobile XPRT, and 3DMark for performance testing. We test a phone's performance on video editing tasks using Adobe Premiere Rush. We also measure display color output and brightness.

For battery testing, we have proprietary rundown tests that are the same for every phone, which we use to determine how long it takes for the battery to run down.

First reviewed November 2025

The Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank helps tame bag clutter thanks to a built-in cable

7:17 am | November 12, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phone Accessories Phones | Comments: Off

Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank review

I rely on a power bank daily, and only the most powerful options can keep up with the demands of laptop charging or topping up portable gaming devices.

While there are plenty of great options in our guide to the best power banks, most don’t have built-in cables, so you need to carry some extras when on the go.

And that’s where the Lenovo Go slots in, with up to 65W output and a built-in cable that hides away in the power bank itself, so it's ready to go whenever needed.

Aside from the cable, it also has both a USB-C and a USB-A port and can charge three devices at once.

The Lenovo Go features a typical 20,000mAh, 74Wh (though the unit itself says 77Wh) capacity, which makes it ready to take on flights without permission, and capable of topping up a laptop at least once or keeping your phone charged for days. It’s also enough to give the 50Wh battery in the Steam Deck a full charge.

Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank from above showing the unfolded USB-C cable — The Lenovo Go power bank includes a built-in 44 cm USB-C cable. (Image credit: Future)

At 170 × 72 × 23 mm (6.69 × 2.83 × 0.91 inches), it’s reasonably compact, and the 390 grams (0.86 lb) weight is fairly typical considering the capacity. The design is slim enough to slip into a bag (including briefcase-style laptop bags) without adding bulk.

The built-in USB-C cable is 44 cm (17.3 in) long and wraps around a recess in the power bank for storage. While secure and easy to deploy, it’s very slightly fiddly to put back into place neatly once you are finished charging.

The USB-C end is slightly bulky, so it may not fit in some USB-C ports with tight access, such as phones with thicker cases.

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Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank from the top front — (Image credit: Future)

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Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank close up showing capacity lights — The power bank shows the remaining capacity with LEDs – each representing a 25% increment. (Image credit: Future)

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Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank viewed end on showing USB-A and USB-C ports — The power bank includes USB-A and USB-C ports on the end. (Image credit: Future)

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Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank close up from the side showing the tucked away USB-C cable — The built-in USB-C cable has a handy pull tab to help release it. (Image credit: Future)

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Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank close up of USB-C cable end just starting to be deployed — (Image credit: Future)

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Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank close up of the end of the built-in USB-C cable — The USB-C connector on the end of the cable has a slightly bulky protective cover, so may not fit in tight ports. (Image credit: Future)

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Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank showing that the USB-C cable does not slide cleanly back into place. — The built-in USB-C cable is tough, but does not sit neatly unless firmly pushed back in. (Image credit: Future)

The power bank uses a simple four-LED system to display remaining capacity in 25% steps, which works fine but isn’t quite as nice as a digital readout. The plastic shell feels solid in hand and is quite tough, and despite rattling around in my bag for a few weeks, it shows no signs of undue wear.

The Lenovo power bank does face stiff competition from similar-spec power banks, such as the often slightly cheaper Anker 20,000mAh 87W power bank. The Lenovo is slightly slimmer (but longer) and lighter, but to give comparative value for money, it needs to be picked up when on sale.

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Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank with a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra smartphone sitting on top as a size comparison — The power bank is about the same horizontal dimensions as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, but of course much thicker. (Image credit: Future)

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Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank with a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra smartphone sitting next to it as a size comparison — (Image credit: Future)

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Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank sitting on a Yoga Slim 7i laptop to show the size — The power bank looks chunky compared to the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i laptop, but it's slim enough to slip into a bag without adding bulk. (Image credit: Future)

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The Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank outputs USB PD3.0 spec voltages on the USB-C cable and USB-C port – 5V 3A, 9V 3A, 15V 3A and 20V 3.25A. This means it will happily fast charge most phones, laptops and other devices like handheld gaming machines at up to 65W. The USB-A port supports the QC3.0 protocol, with 5V, 9V, 12V or variable from 3.6V to 12V, at up to 18W.

Notably, it doesn’t support PPS (Programmable Power Supply), so it won’t do 45W Samsung Super Fast charging like the Iniu P50 can.

The Lenovo power bank also doesn’t output 12V on the USB-C ports, which isn’t a problem for most users, but it’s still worth mentioning. There aren’t many devices that exclusively need 12V USB-C charging, but, for example, a 12V option is needed to get the fastest charging on DJI Mini drone batteries.

So while the Lenovo doesn’t have the latest protocol support, for normal use it’s still more than capable of fast charging any of your devices.

Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank: Price & specs

You can buy the Lenovo power bank directly from Lenovo or various other marketplaces and retailers.

List price is $140.99 / £84 / AU$138, but it's often sold for much less during sale events, so it's well worth waiting for a discount if you don't need it right away.

The power bank has a standard 1-year warranty, and we are a little disappointed that Lenovo didn’t offer at least 2 years.


Price	$140.99 / £84 / AU$138
Capacity	20,000mAh / 74Wh
Single Port Output	65W
Number of Ports	3
USB-C	2x in/out
USB-A	1x
Dimensions	170 × 72 × 23 mm (6.69 × 2.83 × 0.91 inches)
Weight (measured)	391 g (0.86 lb)
Phone charges	3 to 4 times
Laptop charges	0.5 to 1 times

Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank: Test results

Many power banks make bold claims, but in real-world testing they don't live up to the hype. So to weed out the duds, I do comprehensive testing to verify charge voltages, confirm protocol support and log capacity tests.

Overall, the Lenovo power bank gives solid results considering it is slimmer and lighter than many similar-spec options and has a built-in cable.

Test	Usable Capacity	Efficiency	Score
65W laptop charging	61.5 Wh	83.1%	3.5 / 5
30W laptop charging	62.5 Wh	84.4%	3.5 / 5
20W phone charging	65.3 Wh	88.2%	4 / 5
10W charging	68.1 Wh	92%	4.5 / 5

For 65W laptop charging, the Lenovo Go outputs 61.5Wh of the rated 74Wh available, giving a typical 83.1% efficiency rating. Lenovo also rates the power bank at just 48Wh when outputting 65W (20V 3.25A), so the real-world test results of 61.5Wh are much better.

I will note, though, that after it hits about 45% capacity remaining, it does renegotiate to a slower charge rate to protect the battery cells. This is fairly typical, and when testing it on a laptop that is being used the lower average power draw does not trigger this mode.

At an average 30W output when running a laptop, efficiency is slightly better, at 84.4%.

For phone charging at 20W, the Lenovo power bank hit an excellent 88.2% efficiency, and if charging slowly at 10W, it can output 92% of the rated capacity.

The power bank is rated for 74Wh by Lenovo online, but the actual power bank notes 77Wh. This is a slight over-provisioning of capacity by Lenovo, which is a good thing, and for the efficiency calculations above I used the 74Wh rating.

Lenovo Go USB-C laptop power bank specs close up — The Lenovo power bank includes detailed specs on the sticker underneath. (Image credit: Future)

When pushed hard with a sustained maximum output until empty (such as when charging a laptop), the Lenovo power bank reached a warm but not problematic 42°C (108°F), while phone charging only saw it reach 28°C (82°F). While it’s generally best to charge a laptop on a desk, the Lenovo power bank stays cool enough that I would have no problem using it in a bag.

The power bank can charge at up to 100W via the built-in cable or USB-C port and takes about 1.5 hours to top back up.

Rated Output Capacity	2400 mAh / 48Wh at 20V 3.25A
PPS support	No
Included cable	Built-in, 5A
IN1 (USB-C port)	5V⎓3A; 9V⎓3A; 15V⎓3A; 20V⎓5A
IN2 (USB-C cable)	5V⎓3A; 9V⎓3A; 15V⎓3A; 20V⎓5A
OUT1 (USB-C port)	5V⎓3A; 9V⎓3A; 15V⎓3A; 20V⎓3.25A
OUT2 (USB-C cable)	5V⎓3A; 9V⎓3A; 15V⎓3A; 20V⎓3.25A
OUT3 (USB-A port)	5V⎓3A; 9V⎓2A; 12V⎓1.5A

Should I buy the Lenovo Go power bank?

Buy it if…

You need laptop charging
The 65W output is ideal for quick top-ups.

You want a power bank with a built-in cable
The 44 cm cable helps cut down clutter in your bag.

Don't buy it if…

You need PPS charging
The Lenovo power bank does not support PPS so it can’t hit the full Samsung Super Fast charge speeds.

You are after a more affordable option
While not too bad when on sale, the Lenovo power bank is expensive at list price.

Also consider

The Lenovo Go laptop power bank is a great option for everyday laptop and phone charging, but below are a few other options if you are looking for something different. For even more recommendations, check out our guide to the best power banks. Or, if you are planning a holiday soon, get a full rundown on the airline rules when traveling with power banks.

Iniu P50 power bank
Need something smaller for charging a phone? With 45W fast-charge capability and a 10,000mAh (37Wh) capacity, the Iniu P50 is a great power bank to slip into your bag when on the go.

Read our full Iniu P50 power bank review

ZMI No.20
This power bank uses premium components, has a large 25,000mAh (90Wh) capacity and is able to fast-charge anything from a phone to a laptop at up to 100W.

Read our full ZMI No.20 review

What's your favorite power bank for everyday carry? Or is there a specific model you think I should test?

Let me know in the comments below.

How I test power banks

I get hands-on with every power bank I test and conduct extensive evaluations in both lab and real-world scenarios. Using tools like the ChargerLab POWER-Z KM003C, I measure charge voltage, check protocol support, and log capacity tests.

Each power bank is also tested with everyday devices, including phones, tablets and laptops, and is connected to a programmable load tester for multiple charge cycles. I carry a selection daily in both pockets and bags to assess their durability and ability to withstand everyday use.

All measurements and weights are personally verified, ensuring accuracy beyond the manufacturer’s listings. It’s worth noting that many power bank reviews don’t do this sort of testing, so they should be taken with a grain of salt.

Want to know more? Read about how we test.

I spent a week with the DJI Osmo Mobile 8, and it’s just as good as pricier Hohem and Insta360 rivals

3:49 pm | November 11, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phone Accessories Phones | Comments: Off

DJI Osmo Mobile 8: two-minute review

To my knowledge, the DJI Osmo Mobile 8 is the first smartphone stabilizer to come with three distinct types of subject tracking. Not only is it able to track faces, bodies, and other objects when the mounted phone is running the DJI Mimo app – it can also track using third-party apps, either through Apple DockKit compatibility or the new Multi-Functional Module, a tiny camera-equipped add-on that also includes a fill light.

To be clear, none of the above is new exactly – we've seen both DockKit-compatible tracking stabilizers and those that use modules to track before. What is new is having both options in a single device. It's a best-of-both-worlds approach, and one of the things that sets the Osmo Mobile 8 apart from its myriad competitors.

The other is the low price: it's just £135 or AU$219, which is slightly more affordable than contemporaries like the Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra (£169 / AU$299) and the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro (£144.99 / AU$289.99). You'll no doubt have noticed that I haven't included a US dollar price. That's because, like other recent DJI launches, it's not coming to American stores. At least not officially.

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DJI Osmo Mobile 8 smartphone stabilizer — (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

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Design-wise, it's pretty much the same as every other compact smartphone stabilizer, which is no bad thing in my book.

It folds down to near pocket-size – you'll get it in a coat pocket, maybe, but not your jeans – and powers on automatically when the gimbal is pulled out. Your smartphone is mounted via a magnetic clamp, which can accommodate a good range of device sizes and weights (if not quite as wide a range as the Hohem iSteady V3) and is easier to deploy than a clamp that's permanently fixed to the gimbal arm. The arm also includes a USB-C output, allowing you to charge your phone from the stabilizer's own battery.

The Osmo Mobile 8's handle includes a pull-out extension rod to add up to 21.5cm / 8.5 inches of extra distance between the user and the phone (which I found valuable for self-shooting, as it allowed me to get more into the frame), plus a plastic mini-tripod for setting up the stabilizer on the floor or a flat surface for hands-free use. There's also a standard tripod thread on the bottom of the handle for fixing it to third-party mounts.

The handle felt comfortable in my hand, and I found the controls simple and ergonomically sound; I was able to access them all with one hand, including the zoom/focus wheel. A trigger on the front offers various functions, including the ability to rotate the phone 180º or turn tracking on and off. There are dedicated buttons to stop/start recording and flip between front and rear-facing cameras on your phone, plus a thumbstick for manual gimbal arm control and a mode button to cycle through the four follow modes.

These are PTF (pan and tilt follow), PF (pan follow), FPV (pan, tilt, and roll follow), and SpinShot (a special mode that rotates the phone through almost 360º for bizarre shots). Basically, it's exactly what I'd expect from a smartphone stabilizer, and I can't see how any content creator would need anything more from one, particularly given the improved tracking capabilities.

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I've already mentioned the fact that the Osmo Mobile 8 has added DockKit tracking to the module-based or Mimo app-based tracking previously offered by the Osmo Mobile 7P. I should also point out that the Multifunctional Module now tracks dogs and cats as well as people, and that it can wirelessly connect to the DJI Mic Mini, Mic 2, and Mic 3, whereas the Osmo Mobile 7P's only worked with the Mic Mini. In fact, it can connect to two mics simultaneously.

Another upgrade over the Osmo Mobile 7P is 360º horizontal rotation, allowing the Osmo Mobile 8 to track a subject "infinitely" as they circle around it. This is something I've previously seen on rival gimbals, so it's good to see DJI keeping up with the competition.

Overall, the DJI Osmo Mobile 8 is yet another impressive, well-designed smartphone stabilizer that content creators looking to shoot smooth, stable footage should consider. With similar battery life and tracking performance to its rivals, I can't say it's worth ditching your existing Hohem or Insta360 stabilizer for, but if you're buying your first stabilizer and already own a DJI wireless mic, it makes a lot of sense to pick this up – particularly given its affordability.

DJI Osmo Mobile 8: price and availability

Priced from £135 / AU$219
Available in bundle with DJI Mic Mini

The DJI Osmo Mobile 8 was announced on November 5, 2025 and is available to order now worldwide – aside from in the US.

It's sold in a standard bundle including the stabilizer itself, a Multifunctional Module, a magnetic clamp, and a soft fabric carrying bag for £135 / AU$219, which I feel is a very good price considering the features and build quality.

It can also be purchased in a bundle with a single DJI Mic Mini transmitter for £165 / AU$274, which oddly doesn't represent a discount on the transmitter (it costs the same when bought separately).

DJI Osmo Mobile 8: specs

Dimensions:	190 x 95 x 46mm (folded)
Weight:	370g / 13.1oz
Compatible phone weight:	170 to 300g / 6 to 10.6oz
Compatible phone thickness:	6.9 to 10mm
Compatible phone width:	67 to 84mm
Connectivity:	Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C
Battery life:	4 hours (using tracking and fill light) / 10 hours (balanced and stationary)

Should I buy the DJI Osmo Mobile 8?

Buy it if...

You own a DJI Mic Mini, Mic 2 or Mic 3 already
With built-in support for the OsmoAudio ecosystem, the OM 8 works brilliant with DJI's wireless mics – aside from the first-gen model.

You want an affordable, compact gimbal
The Osmo Mobile 8 is smaller and cheaper than the Hohem iSteady V3, so if you want to travel light and save a little cash, it's the best option around.

Don't buy it if...

You own a heavy phone
If your smartphone weighs over 300g or is more than 10mm thick, the Osmo Mobile 8 can't grip it.

You want to control gimbal movements from a distance
Aside from basic gesture controls, there's no way to remotely control the Osmo Mobile 8.

Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra review: Also consider

Insta360 Flow 2 Pro
The Flow 2 Pro’s big party trick is native support for subject tracking in hundreds of third-party iPhone camera apps, plus an included LED fill light. With no tracking module, Android users are left out in the cold, however, and trackable subjects are limited to people and pets.

Read our in-depth Insta360 Flow 2 Pro review

Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra
A little pricier than the Osmo Mobile 8, Hohem's stabilizer offers excellent module-based tracking plus a touchscreen-equipped remote control unit. It doesn't have a quick-release mount option, but it can grip heavier, larger handsets than the Osmo Mobile 8.

Read our in-depth Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra review

How I tested the DJI Osmo Mobile 8

One week of use
Tested with an iPhone 13
Used for B-roll and vlog-style footage

I tested the DJI Osmo Mobile 8 for several days, using it both handheld and set up on its built-in mini tripod. It was used with my Apple iPhone 13's front-facing and rear cameras, both indoors and outdoors, and I recorded video using a range of apps (including the iPhone camera, DJI Mimo, and Instagram).

First reviewed November 2025

I tested a 3-in-1 MagGo iPhone and Apple Watch charger that juiced my watch so fast, I’m never going back to anything slower

12:00 am | October 29, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phone Accessories Phones | Tags: Apple Watch | Comments: Off

Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Pad review

The Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Pad is a conveniently designed tabletop charger capable of charging an iPhone, Apple Watch, and compatible earbud cases. It has a list price of $99.99 / £89.99 / AU$199.95 on the Anker website and is available for purchase at Amazon too. I was provided the Stone Black model of the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Pad, available here in the UK, the US, and Australia. Those over the pond in the US get an additional color choice of Shell White, too.

The design of the MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Pad is simple but attractive. All visible materials look good-quality, and there are some attractive little details like the metalized finish on the foldable stand of the iPhone charger. The top surface and sides of the charging station have a soft matt finish that didn’t appear to scratch easily, which proved advantageous as my very long (and very pink) nails can prove problematic for some matt finishes.

The iPhone charging pad is fully extended. — (Image credit: Future)

The Apple Watch and iPhone charging modules fold down to the 0.53 inch / 14mm deep base pad, but while the former sits below surface level, the iPhone charging pad sits at least 0.2 inches / 5mm above, which raised questions regarding how it would fair if packed into a drawer or bag.

The Apple Watch charger was easy to push up from underneath; however, the iPhone charging module proved more tricky to raise to a standing position. Again, I needed to push from underneath the base, but it proved awkward as the hinges of the iPhone charger’s arm were quite stiff, making it hard to extend and position it to the angle I wanted. The rigidity of the hinges meant they were sturdy enough to maintain the position while the phone was in situ though, so that’s a silver lining at least.

A close-up of the Apple Watch charging puck. — (Image credit: Future)

As expected due to the large surface area, the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Pad gets dusty easily. For the most part, this is easily remedied by a quick wipe thanks to the smooth surface, but the, presumably silicone, ring of the AirPods charging area tends to get a little attached to its fibery friends. Anker states this charger is “easily portable”, and whilst this may be true in terms of the slab-like design, its 12oz / 340g weight makes it too heavy to be as travel-friendly as some of the best wireless chargers.

I appreciated that the format of the charging station meant every charger was easily accessible and I could see each of my devices. The only downside to this is that it takes up a lot of surface space and, while I prefer this format to that of other well-performing chargers, such as the ESR Qi2 3-in-1 Watch Wireless Charging Set, at 9 x 3.37 inches / 229 x 86mm, the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Pad wouldn’t prove convenient if there’s limited free space on your desk or nightstand.

A close-up of the earbuds charging pad. — (Image credit: Future)

The Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Pad took just thirty-five minutes to charge a 3,095mAh iPhone 13 Pro to fifty percent, and a full charge took an hour and fifty-eight minutes, which is a fairly average speed compared to the other 3-in-1 MagSafe chargers I’ve tested.

That makes the iPhone charging speed almost twenty minutes faster than the Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe, and twenty minutes slower than the fastest wireless charger I’ve tested to date, the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand – but that wasn’t surprising, seeing as I’ve yet to find another wireless charger that comes close to matching this speed.

Where the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Pad proved above-average was with the speed of its Apple Certified Quick Apple Watch Charger. I did a double-take when it’d finished charging my series 9 Apple Watch, as it took just 55 minutes to revive it fully. This impressive speed makes it the fastest Apple Watch charger I’ve tested to date, with an eight-minute difference knocking the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Foldable Pad off the top spot.

A close-up on the USB-C charging port. — (Image credit: Future)

Overall, I found the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Pad to be a convenient and attractive charging station. I was happy with the charging speeds, and the outer materials appeared good quality.

Anker and I will have to agree to disagree on it being “easily portable”, and the hinges and folding of the iPhone module could be improved, but aside from this, it made a nice addition to my desktop. If you’re still considering your options, why not take a look at our selection of the best wireless chargers to see if there are any formats you’ve yet to consider?

Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Pad review: Price & specs

Price	$99.99 / £89.99 / AU$199.95
Model number	A25M1
Total power output	15W
Devices charged	3
USB-C	Yes - power in
Wireless charging	MagSafe / Qi2
Weight	12 oz / 340g
Dimensions	9 × 3.37 × 0.53 inches / 229 x 86 x 14mm

Should I buy the Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Pad?

Buy it if…

You want to have visibility of your devices
While this charger could prove a bit of a space invader, I loved that I could place it behind my keyboard as I worked at my desk, allowing me to observe the charging progress and view notifications as they came in.

You want a fast Apple Watch charger
The Apple-certified Apple Watch charger of this 3-in-1 charging station revived my series 9 Apple Watch to full charge in just 55 minutes, making it the fastest I’ve tested to date, and shortening the time I spent without my Watch on my wrist.

Don't buy it if…

You want a super-fast iPhone charger
While the charging speed was good, there are some faster chargers out there. The fastest I’ve tested happens to be from Anker too, which I talk about in more detail in the Also Consider section below.

You want something compact
If you’re looking for a 3-in-1 charging solution that won’t take up a load of surface space, or that can easily fit in any bag and be carried around all day, this charging station is not the one, due to its weight and the iPhone charging pad not folding completely flat.

Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Pad review: Also consider

Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand
Another fantastic 3-in-1 Anker charging station, this stable and somewhat quirky charger offers even faster charging speeds taking just an hour and thirty-eight minutes to fully charge an iPhone 13 Pro, and an hour and four minutes to charge a Series 9 Apple Watch when I tested it. Despite the difference in charging speeds, at the time of writing, the 3-in-1 stand and the 3-in-1 Pad are the same price, making it a choice between faster charging, or a design that’s easier to store. If you’d like to hear more about this alternative, why not take a look at my full Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Stand review?

I reviewed this compact Anker power bank and this one feature makes it unbelievably practical

7:42 pm | October 20, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phone Accessories Phones | Comments: Off

Anker Nano Power Bank 10K 45W Built-In Retractable USB-C Cable: review

Anker Nano Power Bank 10K 45W Built-In Retractable USB-C Cable retractable cable slightly exposed — (Image credit: Future)

The Anker Nano Power Bank 10K 45W Built-In Retractable USB-C Cable (don’t worry, I’ll shorten it from here on out), is exactly what it sounds like. It's a small-sized portable charger with a built-in cable for on-the-go charging, and boasts a 10,000mAh capacity and 45W maximum power output.

The real draw of the Anker 10K 45W is its convenience. Firstly, that integrated charging wire is a massive plus. Simply pull it out, and it auto locks to the length that suits you best. To unwind, all you’ve got to do is pull and release – easy as you like. In addition, this model is pretty compact, meaning it can easily slot into a pocket or small bag.

Is its charging performance as efficient as its build? Well, it would be hard to answer that question with a one-word answer. First of all, there are some restrictions worth noting. A 45W maximum power output means that it can’t charge more demanding devices, like laptops, at peak levels – something that a lot of the best power banks are capable of. Its 10,000mAh capacity isn’t the largest either, though it will be plenty to charge most phones and a pair of wireless earbuds a couple of times.

Anyway, I tried charging my Samsung Galaxy S24 FE – which has a 4,700mAh battery capacity – and fast charging was activated, enabling my device to go from 0-100% in around 80 minutes. That’s as fast as I’d expect, so no complaints there.

After a while, though, I wanted to recharge the portable charger, and performance could’ve been a bit better. After about 10 minutes, I realized it was only charging at 19W. This is because the model throttles charging input to keep temperature in check. Still, I got a full charge after approximately two hours, which is still fairly decent.

And let’s go back to that temperature control note. Sure, the charger can get a little warm, especially if you’re also making use of its additional USB-A and USB-C ports and edging towards maximum power use. But it never felt overly hot. You can also check the battery temperature and health of the model using its inbuilt display.

The display itself is behind a translucent exterior, and can also update you on the power output from the integrated cable and additional ports – pretty handy. It's not the brightest display I’ve ever used, but it’s certainly a nice-to-have.

Anker Nano Power Bank 10K 45W Built-In Retractable USB-C Cable retractable cable docked — (Image credit: Future)

Something I really like about this model is its well-designed cord, which you can adjust to fit onto a backpack or a belt loop, for instance. The exterior itself also has an attractive metallic, glossy finish, as well as a textured surface, which enhances grip. It can be yours in a range of colors too, specifically: Aurora White; Phantom Black, which is the variant I tested; or Sprout Green.

For the power and build quality on offer, I’d also say that this model is priced pretty well. It has a list price of $59.99 / £49.99 / AU$99.95. We’ve tested cheaper rivals – like the Samsung 25W 10,000mAh Wireless Battery Pack – but that model has a considerably lower wattage.

Combine that with the integrated table and the fact that this model is regularly on sale already, and I’d say the Anker 10K 45W is a strong value pick worth checking out. If you need to charge a laptop or power hungry phone like the the OnePlus 13, for example, something mightier will suit you better. Otherwise, I’m generally a fan of what Anker has to offer here.

Anker Nano Power Bank 10K 45W Built-In Retractable USB-C Cable review: price & specs

Price	$59.99 / £49.99 / AU$99.95
Total power output	45W
Number of ports	2 (excluding 1x inbuilt retractable USB-C cable)
Port type(s)	1x USB-C; 1x USB-A
Dimensions	3.2 x 2 x 1.4 inches / 81 x 50 x 36mm

Should I buy the Anker Nano Power Bank 10K 45W Built-In Retractable USB-C Cable?

Buy it if...

You only need to charge your phone
For a lot of modern iPhones and Samsung phones, for instance, this is a powerful enough pick. 45W means you’ll be able to access fast charging, with the 10,000mAh capable of supplying multiple full charges.

You don’t already own a USB-C cable
One of the best things about this power bank is that you don’t need to buy a separate USB-C cable to make use of it. Simply connect your device to the integrated cable, and you’re good to go. Also, Anker says that the cable can survive more than 20,000 bends and retractions, so it should last for quite some time.

Don't buy it if...

You want to charge your laptop
Unfortunately, this model doesn’t have the firepower to charge more demanding devices like laptops or certain phones at maximum capacity. That’s due to its fairly modest 45W power output. I’d recommend a model with around 100W if you want to charge one of the best MacBooks, for example.

You’re looking for a super-cheap option
I’d argue that this model is pretty solid value for money, but there are certainly cheaper options out there if you’re looking to spend a little less. Having said that, you can often find the Anker Nano 10K 45W for less than its $59.99 / £49.99 / AU$99.95 list price, so keep your eyes peeled for a sale.

Anker Nano Power Bank 10K 45W Built-In Retractable USB-C Cable review: also consider

Anker Nano Power Bank 10K 45W Built-In Retractable USB-C Cable against pink background — (Image credit: Future)

Anker 20,000mAh 87W Power Bank
Yep, I’ve got another Anker model for you, and this one’s really special. I used this one personally for a couple of weeks, mainly to extend the battery life of my Nintendo Switch 2. However, its 87W power output also means it can charge a lot of the most power-hungry phones at maximum capacity, and even juice up a good portion of laptops. With an integrated cable, additional USB slots, and a handy display, this power bank really has it all. Read our full Anker 20,000mAh 87W Power Bank review.

I used the Honor Magic V5 for a week and it put a spell on me

5:00 pm | October 19, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Honor Phones Phones | Tags: AI, Google Pixel, Qualcomm Snapdragon, RAM | Comments: Off

Honor Magic V5: Two-minute review

The Honor Magic V5 with a pond in the background — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

The Honor Magic V5 is a truly impressive folding phone. It’s the thinnest booklet-style folding phone ever, with two excellent displays, a design that expertly balances ergonomics and aesthetics, and fantastic battery life. Its rear camera system stands up to some of the best folding phones, while its internal hardware is as powerful as you’d expect from a device marketed on its multitasking capabilities.

The first thing you notice about the Honor Magic V5 is just how thin it is. At just 4.1mm thick (not including the sizeable camera bump), the Magic V5 is thinner than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, Google Pixel 10 Pro, and even the region-locked Oppo Find N5, only beaten by the tri-folding Huawei Mate XT (another China exclusive). It’s so thin that it’s made me ask whether folding phones should keep getting thinner – its 7.95-inch inner screen really does disappear into your hand thanks to that ultra-thin frame.

Speaking of displays, the Magic V5 sports two excellent panels. Its 6.43-inch cover screen strikes a nice balance between compact and useable, and its 20:9 aspect ratio isn’t far off that of the iPhone 17 or Samsung Galaxy S25. The inner display measures 7.95-inches, with an approximate aspect ratio of 18:19.5.

That almost-square display is one of the best I’ve used on a folding phone, and makes reading articles, watching videos, taking photos a real joy. I also can’t get over just how similar the viewing experience is between the two displays – that’s a hard thing to nail given the change in material between the glass cover screen and plastic inner display, but Honor has done an excellent job.

The winning streak continues when it comes to the Magic V5’s battery, which is huge not only for a folding phone, but for a smartphone in general. With incredible engineering and straight-up alchemy, Honor has fit a 5920mAh battery into this phone – that’s larger than the battery in any comparable folding phone, and it's even bigger than the battery in the current-gen iPad mini. Charging is fast, battery life is long.

The Honor Magic V5 is the strongest contender to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. The Magic V5 outclasses Samsung’s latest booklet foldable in so many ways, and where Samsung does take the lead it isn’t by much. At £1,699 the Magic V5 decisively undercuts the Z Fold 7, which starts at £1,899 – though like all other Honor phones, the Magic V5 is unfortunately unavailable in the US. That limited availability will keep it off of our lists of the best phones and best folding phones, but if you’re looking for a folding phone in the UK or Europe, the Honor Magic V5 should be a serious contender.

Honor Magic V5: Price and Specs

The Honor Magic V5 with some foliage in the background — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

Not available in the US
Costs £1,699 in the UK (512GB of storage)
Comes in three colors, including a unique gold option

Like all Honor phones, whether you can get the Honor Magic V5 depends on where you live. It’s not available in the US, but can be bought online or through carriers in the UK, Europe, and other regions.

In the UK, the Honor Magic V5 costs £1699.99 for the model with 512GB of storage – there are no other configurations to choose from. Honor is bundling a 66W power adapter and Magic Pen stylus in the UK – though as there is no stylus in the box, I'm not going to cover the accessory in this review.

Let’s address the elephant in the room – £1,699.99 is a lot of money for a phone. However, the Honor Magic V5 does manage to undercut its rivals quite significantly. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 starts at £1,899.99, while the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold starts at £1,799.99 – and both come with 256GB of storage, half of what the Honor Magic V5 offers.

And when you consider the Honor Magic V5’s impressive hardware specs, class-leading thinness and design, and impressive camera system, the value for money becomes even more apparent.

As for colors, the Magic V5 comes in Black, Ivory White (an online-exclusive option) and Dawn Gold, which has an eye-catching ripple effect on the rear panel. The specs below are for the Ivory White model I tested; the other two colors are actually a little thicker, at 4.2mm unfolded and 9mm folded, and are slightly heavier at 222g.

Honor Magic V5 specs
	Honor Magic V5
Dimensions (folded):	156.8 x 74.3 x 8.8 mm
Dimensions (unfolded):	156.8 x 145.9 x 4.1 mm
Weight:	217g
Main display:	7.95-inch LTPO AMOLED 2172 x 2352, 120Hz, 403ppi
Cover display::	6.43-inch LTPO OLED 2520 x 1080, 20:9, 120Hz, 404ppi
Chipset:	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
RAM:	16GB
Storage:	512GB
OS:	Android 15 / MagicOS 9
Primary camera:	50MP, f1.6, 23mm
Ultrawide camera:	50MP, f/2.0, 13mm
Telephoto	64MP, f/2.5, 70mm (3x)
Cover Camera:	20MP f2.2
Inner Camera:	20MP f2.2
Battery:	5,820mAh
Charging:	66W wired, 50W wireless
Colors:	Ivory White, Black, Dawn Gold

Value score: 4 / 5

Honor Magic V5: Design

Honor Magic V5, top edge, red tree in background — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

Looks simply phenomenal, and feels built to last
Very comfortable to use
Large camera bump and slightly noisy hinge

The Honor Magic V5 is the best-looking phone I’ve ever reviewed. This is a truly gorgeous piece of technology, and it’s clear that maximal attention has been given to achieving as much symmetry and ergonomic balance as the folding phone form factor will allow. The Ivory White color model is also the world’s thinnest folding phone at just 4.1mm thick when opened (not counting the substantial camera module). It’s a technical wonder that has me asking whether folding phones actually need to get any thinner.

Besides thinness, I noticed that the Magic V5 goes further than its contemporaries in providing a more comfortable experience. In the past, I’ve used folding phones with sharp edges and awkward bumps that make them uncomfortable to use for long sessions. On the Magic V5, Honor has flattened and rounded all the corners around the hinge, as well as the edges of the hinge itself – the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is almost as svelte, but has much sharper edges. The outer corners of the phone are also rounded off, which makes the unit very comfortable for one-handed or unfolded use.

Functionally, that hinge works well. It feels light to open, but not loose – it takes no real effort to open but won’t wobble much when partially unfolded.

The Honor Magic V5's smoothed hinge and corner — Check out those rounded corners - this is the first foldable I've used that feels actually comfortable. (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

As for construction, the Honor Magic V5 is composed of an aluminum chassis and a woven fiber rear panel that feels as solid as glass or ceramic materials used in other phones. The cover display is glass and the inner display is plastic, with raised plastic bezels housing the magnets that keep the phone snapped shut. Moreso than any other folding phone I’ve used the Honor Magic V5 lays totally flat when opened – and the crease on the inner display is so minimal that I had to remind myself to look for it when I set the phone up for the first time.

The camera housing is also superbly designed, and perfectly walks the line between subtlety and flair with its all-black coloring, textured metal ring, and octagonal bracketing. The phone also sports dual IP58 and IP59 dust and water resistance ratings – better than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 but not quite dust-sealed as the IP68-rated Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Fresh water shouldn’t be an issue, but keep it well away from fine dust, gravel, and sand.

The Honor Magic V5 is a wonder of engineering and the most comfortable folding phone I’ve ever used. I’m a large guy with a pretty big handspan, so I sometimes found it a bit difficult to get enough purchase on the phone to get it open, but I’m sure this experience varies.

However... after my test period for this review had concluded and about two months of use in total, I noticed that the inner screen protector had begun to separate from the folding display. That's not the type of thing we want to see from any folding phone, especially after such a short period of use. For now, we can't say whether this is a design flaw or just a one-off issue: we've contacted Honor directly to ask for comment and another test unit.

Design score: 5 / 5

Honor Magic V5: Displays

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The Honor Magic V5's cover display — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

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Honor Magic V5 unfolded on home screen — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

6.43-inch cover display
7.95-inch folding display
Both display have near-identical pixel density and top out at 3000 nits

The displays on the Honor Magic V5 are wonderful. The 6.43-inch cover display is amongst the sharpest and most vibrant screens I’ve used, and the 7.95-inch inner display is bright and immersive – what’s more, the viewing experience feels very consistent when switching between the two displays, something other folding phones have struggled to achieve.

In fact, when I unfolded the phone for the first time, I had to remind myself to look for a crease in the inner screen. It’s a far cry from the view-warping creases of folding phones from even a few years ago – I also noticed that, unlike some folding phones, the Magic V5 unfolds nearly perfectly flat, which makes it even easier to get lost in the expansive inner display.

In terms of technical specs, the Honor Magic V5’s cover display sports a resolution of 1060 x 2376 pixels, with 404 pixels per inch, while the inner display has a resolution of 2172 x 2352 pixels at 403 pixels per inch. What’s more, both panels top out at an absolutely ludicrous 5000 nits of brightness. Of course, those are theoretical limits, and your actual experience won't reflect those potentially harmful levels.

Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Magic V5 offers a sharper, higher resolution inner display, but can’t quite match the resolution and pixel density of the Galaxy’s cover screen.

Of all the folding devices I’ve used, the Magic V5 feels the most frictionless when switching between the two displays. Naturally, the glass cover display is a tiny bit sharper and looks a touch clearer, but Honor has calibrated these panels such that there’s little noticeable difference in color, brightness, or detail.

If there is an issue with the Honor Magic V5’s 7.95-inch folding display, it’s the issue common to all folding phones – that being that its larger screen space isn’t always efficiently used. Videos with a typical 16:9 aspect ratio can’t fill out the almost-square panel, and games often struggle to find a suitable safe zone (particularly first person games like Call of Duty). The inner screen is wonderful to look at, and perfect for reading, scrolling, and video calls, but a proper tablet might be better for streaming the best new shows.

Display score: 5 / 5

Honor Magic V5: Cameras

The Honor Magic V5's camera island — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

50MP main camera
64MP telephoto camera with 3x zoom
50MP ultra-wide camera
Twin 10MP selfie cameras

Folding phones have, until this year, had slightly weaker camera systems than their slab-phone counterparts – but times are changing. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 launched with a 200MP main lens, resetting expectations for the types of pictures that folding phones can produce.

The Honor Magic V5 sports three great rear cameras that come very close to producing flagship-standard images. Across a variety of shooting conditions I was able to take great photos with the Magic V5 – I was particularly impressed by how much detail the sensors captured; even noisy scenes with lots of foliage were reproduced with good definition, even if the contrast sometimes left me wanting. The image stabilization is also great all the way out to the maximum 100x digital zoom.

However, I found the post-processing could be fairly aggressive, and was often unsure of how much AI had impacted the final image, especially at long zoom ranges. That’s something to keep in mind if you prefer your photos to be a true reflection of the camera’s abilities, as there’s no way to fully disable the image processing pipeline.

The Magic V5 sports a triple-camera array housed on its rear panel, composed of a 50MP main camera, 50MP ultra-wide camera, and 64MP 3x telephoto camera. This gives the phone a lot of range and flexibility for still photography – the telephoto camera in particular strikes a nice balance between reach and usability for portraits and tighter landscape shots. Photos from all three cameras are bright and vibrant without looking unrealistically colorful, though there are some more vibrant profiles to choose from.

The Honor Magic V5 unfolded with the camera app open — Taking photos with the inner screen's huge viewfinder is a real joy. (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

Taking photos with the inner display is really intuitive – that 8-inch panel makes for a great viewfinder, and the unfolded frame allows the phone to rest steadily in-hand. However, I found the default camera app a little bit clunky, with some quick options (most notably aspect ratio) hidden behind an in-app menu.

The Magic V5 supports video shooting at 720p, 1080p, and 4K resolutions at either 30fps or 60fps. That large display is a boost for shooting video too, with plenty of blank space around the 16:9 frame to place your thumbs (though, for some reason, some controls are still placed over the viewfinder).

One of the only true let-downs on the Magic V5 is its pair of selfie cameras. The inner and outer displays house identical punch-hole 10MP selfie cameras that prove lacking in almost every situation. This is allayed by the rear camera selfie feature, which uses the cover display as a viewfinder, but that won’t always be the most convenient option.

Honor Magic V5: Camera samples

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A crossroads with a man on an e-bike riding past — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

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A building with mosaic decal — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

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A florist shop — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

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A viaduct bridge — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

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A building with gothic windows and towers — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

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A red flower up close — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

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A red tree with a bluey-grey sky — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

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A carved owl on a totem — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

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A red London bus — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

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A stream in a natural setting — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

Cameras score: 3 / 5

Honor Magic V5: Software and AI

The Honor Magic V5 in splitscreen mode — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

Android 15 with MagicOS 9
Honor AI and Google Gemini
Comprehensive multitasking tools

Like other Honor phones, the Magic V5 runs MagicOS 9, an Android iteration based on Android 15. As far as Android interfaces go, MagicOS sits somewhere between the speed and looseness of OnePlus’ OxygenOS and the stiffer, more structured feel of Samsung’s OneUI. It does the job.

As you might have guessed, the Honor Magic V5’s software shines brightest when it comes to foldable-specific features – the phone has a large suite of multitasking tools that allow for split screen and multi-windowed usage.

You can use a maximum of three apps at once in split screen mode (with one partially hidden off to one side), with another open in a floating overlay. To activate split screen mode you can either drag another app up from the taskbar or hold the bar that appears at the top of the screen. You can also open a single floating window when the phone is folded.

The situations that call for this level of multitasking are honestly pretty rare, but this is still an impressive amount of flexibility that helps the Honor Magic V5 feel like more than just a really big phone. Similarly to Apple’s Stage Manager tool for iPadOS, groups of windows stay together when you swipe up to see your opened apps, and I found it pretty easy to swap between split screen, multi-window, and full-screen modes with the on-screen buttons and contextual menus. However, some software isn't optimized for the folding display; I can give a pass to Honor on third party apps, but even pre-installed Google-made apps like YouTube sometimes gave me weird UI glitches. Luckily, this isn't too common.

MagicOS has a few more tricks up its sleeve. The phone can drive an external display at up to 1080p with the Magic Desktop feature, which is similar to Samsung’s DeX environment and allows for desktop-style usage with a keyboard and mouse. Back on the touchscreen, certain apps have a pull-down tab on the homescreen icon itself, which allows you to, say, quickly glance the time in another timezone or type down a quick note.

The phone is also loaded with AI tools from both Honor and Google (via Gemini, Circle to Search etc). These are found all over the OS, from generative note writing to AI image editing, and an uncanny feature that generates short videos from still images (first seen on the Honor 400 earlier this year). I personally found that Honor has been pretty heavy handed with implementing AI, to the point that it can be harder to find basic functions. For example, to crop an image in the photo gallery, you have to select “AI Edit”, which is now the catch-all term for photo editing.

Software and AI score: 4 / 5

Honor Magic V5: Performance

Crossy Road open on the Honor Magic V5 — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset
16GB of RAM
Never slow, but does heat up a bit

As is typical for high-end folding phones, the Honor Magic V5 is fully loaded with top-end internal hardware, which translates to consistently great performance across multitasking and gaming. It’s got the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and a full 16GB of RAM – that’s as good as it gets for Android phones, so you won’t come up against hardware constraints. The Magic V5 also comes with 512GB of storage, so no matter which configuration you choose you’ll have plenty of space for photos, videos, and apps.

I was able to make full use of the Magic V5’s software capabilities thanks to this array of high-end silicon. I never encountered any stuttering in the UI, and loading various apps was snappy and seamless, whether in full-screen or in MagicOS 9’s multitasking modes. There’s no lag when switching between apps or in games like Call of Duty Mobile – everything just runs, which is, in fairness, what you want from a phone that costs this much.

However, all that power in such a thin frame does mean the Magic V5 gets pretty warm. It never got uncomfortably hot, but it did seem to warm up very quickly compared to flagship slab phones. This is an these common to thin phone designs, as we’ve recently seen with the iPhone Air – the Magic V5 never got uncomfortably hot, but heat can have negative effects on battery life and potential performance over time, so it's something to keep an eye on.

With that said, I reviewed the Oppo Find N5 earlier this year – another ultra-thin folding phone with a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset – and didn’t notice much in the way of heat.

Performance score: 4 / 5

Honor Magic V5: Battery

The Honor Magic V5 USB-C port — (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

5820mAh battery capacity would be impressive on a slab phone, let alone a foldable
All-day battery life with plenty to spare
66W wired charging with 50W wireless charging

By some miracle of physics, the Honor Magic V5 has a 5,820mAh battery. Let’s put that into perspective – the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a 4,400mAh battery, the OnePlus Open has a 4,805mAh battery, and the Honor Magic 7 – a flagship slab phone – has a 5,650mAh battery. Folding phones are typically consigned to smaller batteries due to their split construction, but the Honor Magic V5 sports cells that add up to a fractionally smaller total than a massive Pro-grade cameraphone. It’s really quite something.

This translates to excellent battery life. I’ve used a few folding phones that sport ‘all-day’ battery life, but the Honor Magic V5 gets through a full day of mixed use so effortlessly that I might not think about recharging until midway through the next day. The phone supports 66W fast wired charging with Honor’s proprietary charging kit, but as there’s no brick in the box I could only test it with third party chargers (I got up to 80% in just under an hour with a 40W brick). The handset also supports an impressive 50W power draw in wireless charging. That’s much higher than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and many slab phones.

I will concede that the Honor Magic V5 seems to chew through battery a bit faster than slab phones, but the phone’s low-power mode is a real lifesaver when you’re caught away from an outlet. I felt fine leaving the house in the morning with around 50% charge, knowing that this would carry me through half a day or more of mixed use very comfortably. Of the folding phones I've used, this has the best battery life for sure.

Folding phones are known to be less efficient with their battery capacities than their slab phone contemporaries, as the cell is typically split between the two halves of the phone. That the Honor Magic V5 offers such impressive battery life is testament to Honor's engineering prowess.

Battery score: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Honor Magic V5?

Honor Magic V5 score card

Attribute	Notes	Rating
Value	The Magic V5 isn't cheap by any means, but offers more than the competition for less money.	4 / 5
Design	The thinnest and most comfortable folding phone on the market, and beautifully built too.	5 / 5
Displays	Two beautiful and remarkably consistent displays.	5 / 5
Cameras	Three great rear cameras that get close to flagship standard. Selfie cameras are terrible.	3 / 5
Performance	Never slows down, even in the throes of multitasking. Warms up quickly.	4 / 5
Software	MagicOS 9 is loaded with multitasking and AI tools. It can be a little complicated at times, but flexibility is always welcome.	4 / 5
Battery	A larger battery than most flagship slabs keeps things moving all day. No notes.	5 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a powerful all-in-one device

The Honor Magic V5 has enough hardware power and software flexibility to get through most everyday tasks with ease. It's a great pick for light productivity/View Deal

You want a beautiful phone

The Honor Magic V5 is the thinnest folding phone on the global market and looks absolutely gorgeous. Everything in its construction looks and feels premium.View Deal

You want a cheaper folding phone

At £1,699.99, the Honor Magic V5 costs a lot. That said, it's cheaper than the competition from Samsung and Google, and is possibly even more capable. View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You're on a budget

Despite the above, the Honor Magic V5 is still several hundred pounds more expensive than even the best slab phones. View Deal

You keep it simple

The Magic V5 has two screens, a suite of multitasking tools, an abundance of AI, and a total of five cameras. If you don't need loads of power, you might be better off saving some money on a simpler phone. View Deal

You want a familiar experience

The Honor Magic V5 runs MagicOS 9, which is a variant of Android, but those who value familiarity might prefer the simplicity of a Google Pixel or a phone in the well-known Samsung ecosystem. View Deal

Honor Magic V5: Also consider

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7

I've spent most of this review recounting the ways the Honor Magic V5 beats the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but if you're after a more familiar software experience, class-leading cameras, or Samsung DeX, you'll only get it with the latter.

Read our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review View Deal

iPhone Air

If you just want a thin, light, and powerful phone but don't think you'll use the folding display that much, the iPhone Air is the new thin and powerful handset that's got the entire tech world talking about it.

Read our iPhone Air review View Deal

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold

The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold isn't the thinnest or most powerful folding phone, but it is the only one on the market that offers IP68 certification (that means it's dust sealed and submersion resistant). Our phones go everywhere with us, so durability is something to seriously consider.

Read our Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold review View Deal

How I tested the Honor Magic V5

I used the Honor Magic V5 for an extended review period, culminating in a week-long stint as my daily driver. I used the Magic V5 to make calls, send messages, scroll through the internet and social media, play games, take pictures, and shoot video. I made sure to balance my use between the cover screen and folding display, and found that both screens could handle most tasks very well.