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I’ve had a blast reviewing the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025, it obliterated every obstacle to buying a flagship flip phone
4:02 pm | May 15, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Motorola Phones Phones | Tags: , , | Comments: Off

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025: Two-minute review

Motorola Razr (2025)

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

I really dig the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 – this phone delights in ways other flat slabs simply can't. Using it with the cover display like a tiny, competent smartphone? Love it. The sheer satisfaction of snapping the phone shut to end a call – or my doom-scrolling session? Chef's kiss. The Razr Ultra makes every other phone feel like a boring rectangle. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty great.

What’s your excuse for not owning a Motorola Razr? Cameras? Durability? Raw gaming power? Whatever your hesitation, the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 is here to gently overcome your doubts. This isn’t just the best Razr ever; it's a genuinely remarkable mobile device.

Let’s get the sticker shock out of the way early: the Razr Ultra 2025 is more expensive than any previous Razr (yes, even that golden Dolce & Gabbana Razr V3i from the 90s). Starting at $1,299 / £1,099.99, it’s a cool $600 pricier than the base Razr 2025. That's a leap.

However, more than any other phone in this lofty price bracket, the Motorola Razr Ultra earns every penny. Consider what you're getting:

Motorola Razr (2025)

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

A glorious 7-inch main display. That’s one of the biggest screens you'll find on a non-tablet-style foldable. And it's not just big; our testing found that it's incredibly bright, and just as colorful as Moto claims.

But wait, there's more! The Razr Ultra's cover display isn't just for glancing at notifications. It’s a bona fide second screen that ran every app I threw at it. Plus, it's bright, sharp, and boasts a silky-smooth 165Hz refresh rate. Yes, the Razr Ultra's bonus screen is faster than any iPhone display.

This year's Razr Ultra 2025 also finally packs a flagship-level chipset: the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, a processor that's been crushing it in every Android phone I've tested.

That powerful processor contributes to remarkable battery life. Despite its folding nature, the Razr Ultra packs enough juice to last all day, and even beat most competitors in our lab tests.

Even the cameras are good this year! During my cloudy New York City review period, I pitted it against the iPhone 16 Pro and Galaxy S25 Ultra. The Razr Ultra 2025 held its own, with photos sometimes better, sometimes worse – the hallmark of a decent camera shootout.

Motorola Razr (2025)

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Need more? The Razr Ultra boasts the most unique selection of materials and finishes around. My review unit is literally made of wood (responsibly sourced, no less).

My colleague at Tom's Guide has one in Alcantara, like a fancy sports car steering wheel. The Alcantara and faux suede devices are technically plastic, but they feel much more premium.

The best you'll get from Samsung and Apple? Glass or titanium. Oh, and speaking of titanium, this year's entire Razr family uses it to reinforce the hinge. Take that, boring slabs!

The Razr is catching on, and Motorola loves to talk about iPhone switchers. After a week with the Razr Ultra 2025, I'm surprised I'm not seeing more of these flip phones in the wild.

Durability is a common concern, and it’s a fair one. The Razr Ultra is the first foldable to use Gorilla Glass Ceramic on its cover display. And did I mention the titanium? It’s also IP48 rated, meaning it can handle an unexpected dip, but dust remains its nemesis.

Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) in wood grain from side showing USB-C port on bottom

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

I’d love to say the Razr Ultra is bulletproof, but my first review sample had a screen hiccup within a day – it turned white intermittently, then fixed itself after a few days.

Moto replaced it, and the second unit has been flawless. I'll chalk it up to a fluke for now, but reliability is a hurdle for foldables. That said, the folding mechanism feels incredibly solid, closing with a deeply satisfying clap.

More than anything, using the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 reminds me how refreshing a unique design and capabilities can be. Also, I adore hanging up on… well, everything.

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 review: Price and availability

Motorola Razr (2025)

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • $1,299 / £1,099 for 512GB storage and 16GB RAM
  • No Australian pricing or availability announced yet

The Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 is Motorola’s priciest Razr, starting at $1,299 / £1,099 / AU$TBC. A 1TB US model is an extra $200, but it's not available in the UK. We'll update this article with Australia pricing when we get it.

Yes, it's expensive – Galaxy S25 Ultra territory, and more than an iPhone 16 Pro Max. Only tablet-style foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 cost more.

I'd argue that you get more bang for your buck with the Razr Ultra. The Galaxy Ultra gives you a stylus. Do you really need a stylus? The iPhone 16 Pro Max gives you… well, more iPhone. Both have more cameras, but that’s about it.

Motorola Razr (2025)

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Razr gives you a huge, foldable display that vanishes into your pocket like magic, and a 4-inch cover display larger than the original iPhone's screen. It’s genuinely two phones in one.

You also get a design with unmatched colors and materials. If natural titanium and moody blues are your jam, Apple and Samsung have you covered. For tactile wood and soft suede, Motorola is your dealer.

A word to the wise: the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 was frequently on sale. Discounts, bundles, you name it. Right now, US buyers get a free storage upgrade to 1TB at launch. If you want to save some money, patience might be rewarded with a future deal.

  • Value score: 5/5

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 review: Specs

Motorola Razr (2025)

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Finally, a Razr that’s mostly flagship with few compromises. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is fast and efficient. The cameras are on a par with flat smartphones (though you only get two lenses). Even battery life is admirable.

I wouldn’t pay extra for 1TB of storage, and at launch, it's a free upgrade. My concern? Instead of price drops on the 512GB model, we might just see "special deals" offering the 1TB version at the 512GB price.

Dimensions:

154.7 x 73.3 x 8.9mm

Weight:

185.9g

Display:

6.3-inch Actua display

Resolution:

1080 x 2424

Refresh rate:

60-120Hz

Peak brightness:

2,700 nits

CPU:

Google Tensor G4

RAM:

8GB

Storage:

128GB / 256GB

OS:

Android 15

Cameras:

48MP main; 13MP ultra-wide

Selfie Camera:

13MP

Battery:

5,100mAh

Charging:

23W

Colors:

Obsidian, Porcelain, Peony, Iris

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 review: Design

Motorola Razr (2025)

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Excellent material options, including actual wood and Alcantara
  • There’s a new button… for AI. You can mostly ignore it

The Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 looks almost identical to last year’s Razr Plus 2024, but it's available in new materials and new Pantone-inspired colors: Mountain Trail (real, responsibly sourced wood!), Rio Red, Cabaret, and Scarab (Alcantara suede).

No other phone feels like this. Motorola has refined the Razr design to a peak.

It’s not all sunshine and wood grain. There’s a new button on the left side of the Razr Ultra 2025, and I’ll give you one guess what… never mind. It’s AI. It’s a Moto AI button, and you can’t reprogram it to do anything but open Moto AI features (or just to do nothing at all).

To be fair, you can tie Motorola’s fascinating 'Pay Attention' feature to the button, and that intrigues me. I’ll talk more about the AI features in the Software section below, but it really bugs me that there's a whole new button and it’s just for AI.

Motorola Razr (2025)

The new Moto AI button on the side of the Razr Ultra 2025 (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Why? Because Google’s Gemini AI already uses the power button on the other side! So, now there are two different AI buttons sitting on opposite sides of your Razr. Ugh.

If you’re concerned about the crease, don’t be. It never bothered me once. It’s hardly visible, and easy to ignore. It may look dramatic if you’ve never used a foldable phone, but it’s actually quite smooth. When you look at the unfolded screen head-on, you won’t see the crease at all.

  • Design score: 3/5

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 review: Display

Motorola Razr (2025)

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Incredibly large man display folds into a surprisingly small package
  • The large cover screen is also fantastic

Think of the Razr Ultra 2025 as a two-screen device, because the cover display is half the fun. Using it closed, interacting with just the 4-inch display, feels wonderfully clever and so convenient; I loved finding new ways to enjoy it. It became my Roku remote, my palm-sized hiking navigator via AllTrails, and my Slack monitor so I could keep my desktop less cluttered.

Motorola Razr (2025)

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

That 4-inch cover display isn't just capable with software; it's advanced, refreshing up to 165Hz! Overkill? Maybe. Awesome? Definitely.

The inner display is remarkable as well. It’s a 7-inch, LTPO AMOLED panel that's Dolby Vision certified. The display is nearly the same size as the 6.9-inch screen on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but the Galaxy is also a millimeter thicker and 20 grams heavier than the Razr.

In our Future Labs tests the Razr Ultra 2025 displayed a wider color gamut than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and it was just as bright. Samsung still doesn’t support Dolby Vision, so if you’re a Netflix fan, that might give the Razr Ultra’s display a leg up over Samsung’s mightiest screen.

  • Display score: 4/5

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 review: Software

Motorola Razr (2025)

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Useful gestures to open the camera and turn on the torch
  • AI image generator can be... problematic, producing stereotypical and offensive results

First, the good: Motorola’s interface gestures are great. Twist your wrist for the camera – it's the fastest camera shortcut out there. Chop thrice for the flashlight. I use these constantly; so does every Moto fan I've met.

Now, the AI. Motorola has also partnered with Perplexity AI. Perplexity is known to have trained its AI engine by ignoring the robots.txt page on media sites, a serious violation of web ethics. This allowed Perplexity to steal content freely, even content that was behind a paywall. I’m not going to say more about Perplexity here, they don’t deserve my support. Let's move on.

Moto AI has some interesting tricks. ‘Pay Attention’ records and summarizes audio. It can record phone conversations, or it can just record you and your friends talking.

‘Catch Me Up’ summarizes notifications, though it was hit-or-miss in my testing, often ignoring texts or other key alerts.

Motorola Razr (2025)

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Then there’s the AI image generator. Guardrails seem optional. You can generate images of copyrighted characters and realistic-looking humans. Ask for humans, and you will likely get offensive stereotypes.

If you ask for an image of a person of any nationality or ethnicity, and you'll get a picture of what a bigot might think that person looks like. Ask for a "successful person"? Expect white dudes in suits.

  • Software score: 2/5

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 review: Cameras

Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) cover display showing camera app

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Better than expected, occasionally even outshining the competition
  • Great macro mode helps compensate for the lack of a dedicated zoom lens

Cameras were always the Razr's Achilles heel, but the Ultra 2025’s dual 50MP shooters are a huge step up. I was more impressed with its images than I have been with images from any previous flip phone.

AI processing clearly helps. Compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, the Razr Ultra showed less noise and better detail in distant signs, though close inspection reveals some artificial sharpening. The end result is still pleasant. These aren't the best cameras, but they're very good. You're no longer sacrificing photo quality for that cool flip.

In fact, the Razr Ultra sometimes outperformed top camera phones. Its macro mode is excellent, capturing sharper, more vibrant low-light macros than the Pixel 9 Pro. Motorola seems to have borrowed Samsung’s color tuning philosophy – photos are 'Pantone validated' to be vibrant, making my flower shots pop against dreary scenes. Photographers might prefer the iPhone's naturalism, but I liked the Razr's shareable, satisfying images.

Plenty of modes are available, including Pro and a cool camcorder mode. The Photo Booth feature, using the folded phone as a stand, is perfect. There's room for improvement, but this Razr no longer feels like a camera compromise, especially for selfies using the main 50MP camera and cover display.

  • Camera score: 3/5

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 review: Camera samples

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 review: Performance

Motorola Razr Ultra in Scarab showing apps on cover display

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Excellent Snapdragon 8 Elite performance
  • Tons of RAM helps, but occasional lag during busy moments

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite continues its reign, with the Razr Ultra 2025 delivering impressive real-world performance and benchmark results.

It's great for gaming. Call of Duty Mobile ran maxed out with my Xbox controller connected, and Vampire Survivors was smooth with tons of enemies on screen.

You can game on the cover display. Vampire Survivors and Mighty Doom were playable, but CoD was illegible.

Benchmarks put the Razr Ultra 2025 on a par with the OnePlus 13 (another Snapdragon 8 Elite, 16GB RAM phone), and slightly below the Galaxy S25 (which gets a slightly overclocked Snapdragon). You won't notice the difference.

The only lag I saw was with cloud-dependent AI features or when downloading multiple apps, where button presses sometimes became unresponsive.

  • Performance score: 4/5

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 review: Battery

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 in Scarab from bottom showing USB-C port

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Excellent all-day battery life
  • Faster charging than most of the flagship competition

The Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 turned in impressive battery life. The phone had no trouble lasting all day in my weeklong review period, every day I used it.

The phone kept going whether I was using it for work, making video calls and using productivity apps, or using it for fun, taking photos and playing games on the train home. The Razr Ultra never quit before I went to bed.

In our Future Lab tests, the Razr Ultra is a top performer, lasting 18 hours and 30 minutes – just five minutes less than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which has a larger battery. Moto's power management is clearly on point.

It also charges at 68W, faster than many rivals at this price (the Galaxy S25 Ultra is 45W). With a compatible Motorola charger, you get nearly a full charge in 30 minutes, while the Galaxy Ultra hits around 70% in the same time.

  • Battery score: 5/5

Should you buy the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025?

Motorola Razr (2025)

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

The most expensive Razr, but also the first that doesn’t compromise on flagship specs, from the processor to the cameras. The Razr Ultra gives you more than other phones this expensive.

4 / 5

Design

Excellent Razr design keeps getting better, with improved durability, more unique materials and color options, and a new titanium hinge. Not to mention the cover display. Forgive the AI button, there’s still plenty to love if you ignore it.

5 / 5

Display

If the Razr Ultra only had the excellent 7-inch internal screen it would be great, but the 4-inch cover puts this phone in a class of its own. It’s the only flip phone that is truly two phones in one.

5 / 5

Software

Motorola has a clean interface and useful software editions. I especially love the added gestures. Moto AI may have some promise and I like the ‘Pay Attention’ feature, but an offensive image generator spoils the party.

2 / 5

Camera

Much better cameras than you’d expect on a flip phone, and I even liked some of the Razr Ultra’s photos better than my iPhone’s pics. It also excels at macro, which almost makes up for the lack of telescopic zoom.

3 / 5

Performance

Excellent performance from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite inside. It’s not the fastest you can find, but it keeps up with all the best flagship phones and it plays my favorite games at their highest settings with no trouble at all.

4 / 5

Battery

Surprisingly good battery life, as good as the Galaxy Ultra even though the battery is smaller. Fast charging makes it worth splurging on a faster Moto charger – this is a phone that doesn’t want to miss the party, after all!

5 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a phone that is actually stylish
Are you tired of raw metal and phone colors that aren’t colorful? Motorola is making phones stylish again, with faux suede and real wood.

You want two devices in one, a big phone and a compact
Somehow the Moto Razr Ultra gives you one of the biggest displays on any smartphone along with one of the smallest, and both are quite capable.

You're really, really into AI and all the AI apps
AI isn’t my thing, but if you love AI, the Moto Razr puts AI tools front and center – literally, on the cover display, so you can talk to the robot without opening your phone.

Don't buy it if...

You need serious zoom cameras
If your kid plays a sport or you love bird watching, you might want that extra reach to get better photos from far away. The Razr Ultra doesn’t have it.

You want all the style but don’t need the performance
You can get a stylish flip phone for much less if you don’t care about performance or great cameras. The Razr 2025 is just over half the price of the Ultra.

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 review: Also consider

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Razr Ultra 2025 might be great, but the king of smartphone heap is the Galaxy S25 Ultra, with the fastest performance, most versatile cameras, and so many features.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review

Motorola Razr 2025
You don’t sacrifice any style by choosing the less expensive Razr 2025, just the faster processor and better cameras. You still get great colors and two amazing displays.
We'll have a full review of the Razr 2025 on TechRadar soon.

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Motorola Razr 2025

Price (at launch):

$1,299 / £1,099 / AU$TBD

$1,299 / £1,249 / AU$2,149

$699 / £799 / AU$TBD

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy

Mediatek Dimensity 7400X

Display(s)

7-inch AMOLED / 4-inch pOLED

6.9-inch AMOLED

6.9-inch AMOLED / 3.6-inch pOLED

Cameras

50MP main / 50MP ultrawide

200MP main / 10MP 3X zoom / 50MP 5X zoom / 50MP ultrawide

50MP main / 13MP ultrawide

Charging

68W wired / 30W wireless

45W wired / 15W wireless

30W wired / 15W wireless

How I tested the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025

I used the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 for one week. I tested the phone on AT&T’s network in the greater New York area, throughout the city and suburbs. I used the Razr Ultra as my primary work phone with all of my work accounts and apps, as well as using it as a personal phone for photos and gaming.

I tested the Razr Ultra with a Pixel Watch 3 and OnePlus Buds Pro 3. I connected the phone to my car and tested Android Auto. I connected an Xbox wireless controller for gaming.

I tested the Razr Ultra camera to the iPhone 16 Pro and Galaxy S25 Ultra. For macro photo comparisons, I compared to the Pixel 9 Pro.

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.

Read more about how we test

Why you can trust TechRadar

☑️ 100s of smartphones reviewed
☑️ 15 years of product testing
☑️ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total
☑️ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech

First reviewed May 2025

I spent time with the Galaxy S25 Edge and it’s the phone for Samsung fans who complain about Samsung phones
3:01 am | May 13, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phones Samsung Galaxy Phones Samsung Phones | Tags: | Comments: Off

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Two-minute review

The Galaxy S25 Edge is the phone for Samsung fans who like to complain. Does your Galaxy S25 Plus feel too thick for your tight jeans and small hands? Is the Galaxy S25 Ultra too heavy for your bag? The Galaxy S25 Edge is precisely the phone you want, nothing more and nothing less.

The Galaxy S25 Edge is the solution to a very simple formula. Take a Galaxy S25 Plus. Shave 1.5mm off the thickness by removing the zoom camera and shrinking the battery. Add a 200MP camera sensor. Wrap it in titanium. Voila: Galaxy S25 Edge!

Seriously, that’s it; that’s the whole phone. The Galaxy S25 Edge has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset inside, with the same 12GB of RAM as the Galaxy S25 Plus. There’s a bigger vapor chamber for improved cooling, but we’re talking about a minuscule space made slightly less so.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

The Galaxy S25 Edge is only 5.8mm thin, the thinnest Galaxy S ever (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Even though it’s thin, this isn’t a phone you should experience on paper. You need to get your hands on a device to see just how thin and light it feels. I spent a couple of hours with Samsung to get hands-on time with the new Galaxy S25 Edge, so I can tell you what to expect: expect a little bit.

It feels a little bit thinner and a little bit lighter than other phones I’ve used. Just a little bit. It’s not the thinnest phone ever. Even Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 is thinner when it’s open; it’s just the thinnest ever Galaxy S phone.

It’s not even close to the thinnest flat smartphone ever. The Vivo X5 Max from 2014 was more than 1mm thinner than the Galaxy S25 Edge at less than 4.75mm.

The Galaxy S25 Edge won’t spark a revolution. It won't make your current phone look fat. There will be other thin phones – Apple’s long-anticipated iPhone 17 Air is expected to launch later this year. But I don’t expect a Pixel Edge, or a OnePlus Edge.

Holding the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge immediately put me in mind of past Samsung phones. Foremost, the ancient Samsung SGH-U100 Ultra 5.9, an incredibly thin phone Samsung launched in 2007 at the sunset of feature phones. That was the last time I remember Samsung making a phone whose main feature was being thin.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

The Galaxy S25 Edge is thin, but not shockingly thin (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

That phone shocked onlookers. Nobody could believe Samsung could make such a thin phone. You wondered how there was space for the buttons to move; it felt so thin.

That’s not true of the Galaxy S25 Edge. It’s very thin, but nobody is going to be shocked. I expect the reaction will be more like ‘huh, that’s pretty thin,’ and not ‘WOW, what a THIN PHONE!’

That’s ok, because the Galaxy S25 Edge is priced right for a subdued reaction. The phone is a bit more expensive than the Galaxy S25 Plus. You lose some battery and some zoom, but you gain a much better camera. Plus, you have the thinnest Galaxy S!

What’s the benefit? Samsung says the Galaxy S25 Edge is easier to hold than the Galaxy S25 Plus. I had an iPhone 16 Pro Max in my pocket to compare, and the Edge was definitely much thinner and lighter than the biggest iPhone. Easier to hold? Maybe a little, but I keep my phone in a case anyway.

All eyes now turn to Apple to see if it can deliver an even thinner iPhone 17 Air to beat the Galaxy S25 Edge. With a 5.1mm iPad Pro on the market, it seems likely that Apple will launch an even thinner phone, but if it packs cheaper cameras or lacks flagship features, it won’t match the thin new Galaxy.

Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (2024)

The iPad Pro is only 5.1mm, will the iPhone 17 Air be just as thin? (Image credit: Future)

Which brings me to some big concerns about the Galaxy S25 Edge – everybody is going to put this phone in a case. Samsung is offering its own thin cases, but any case will add bulk. The phone is durable, but it’s not military standard rugged.

With a benefit of only a millimeter or so, you’re already paying more for less battery life and fewer cameras. If you slap a case on it, can you still feel how thin it is? Not as much.

My second concern is that this is the slimmest Galaxy S phone… today. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is thinner, so we know that even thinner phones are possible. Will tomorrow's Galaxy S26 be just as thin as today’s Galaxy S25 Edge? Is a 5.8mm phone impressively thin in the long run? If you’re going to keep this phone through years of updates, I doubt it’s going to feel as thin as it does today in two years.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black against a blue background with two white vases

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

With that in mind, the Galaxy S25 Edge doesn’t stand out. It’s thin, but it isn’t going to blow anybody away. It’s the thinnest Galaxy S today, but not the thinnest phone ever, and not even the thinnest phone Samsung makes right now.

However, it scratches an itch. If you were considering the Galaxy S25 Plus, you can spend a bit more and get a thinner, arguably cooler phone. But coolness, like being thin, doesn’t last forever.

I wish there was something unique to this phone to make it stand out from the rest of the Galaxy lineup, but I’m not sure what that should be. Even a new theme or some Edge-related widgets would have been a nice addition. It just feels like otherwise this phone launch is all about giving us the perfect compromise, with no new benefits.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge hands-on: Price and availability

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Starts at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849 for 256GB and 12GB of RAM
  • That’s $100 / £100 / AU$100 more than the Galaxy S25 Plus

The Galaxy S25 Edge is available for pre-order now, and it should be in hands by May 30, assuming the current global economic climate causes no delays. That was a question I heard Samsung folks discussing, but they don’t anticipate any problems.

The phone will come in three colors: black, blue, and silver. You can get it with 256GB or 512GB of storage, and Samsung will have a deal at launch to double the storage for free. Both models include 12GB of RAM inside.

The Galaxy S25 Edge slots in nicely between the Galaxy S25 Plus and the Galaxy S25 Ultra on Samsung’s price ladder. It also costs more than an iPhone 16 Pro, but less than an iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Storage

US Price

UK Price

AU Price

256GB

$1,099

£1,099

AU$ 1,849

512GB

$1,219

£1,199

AU$ 2,049

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge hands-on: Specifications

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Galaxy S25 Edge has most of the same specs as the Galaxy S25 Plus, with some Ultra inspiration thrown in. It has the important Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor that made the Galaxy S25 Ultra such a winner.

The camera is a 200MP sensor, but Samsung said it is not the exact same sensor found on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Megapixels don’t mean anything, it’s the sensor size that really matters, so I’m assuming there is a smaller sensor in this phone than its bigger Samsung brethren.

The Galaxy S25 Edge has a 3,900mAh battery, which is much smaller than the 4,900mAh cell in the Galaxy S25 Plus. Samsung says we should expect better battery life than the Galaxy S24, but not as much longevity as the Galaxy S25 provides.

For charging, the Galaxy S25 Edge tops out at 25W, slower than the 45W charging that the rest of the Galaxy S25 family can use. There is wireless charging, at least, along with reverse wireless power sharing.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge

Dimensions

75.6 X 158.2 X 5.8mm

Weight

163g

OS

OneUI 7, Android 15. 7 major Android upgrades promised.

Display

6.7-inch LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz

Chipset

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy

RAM

12GB

Storage

256GB / 512GB

Battery

3,900mAh

Rear cameras

200MP main, 12MP ultra-wide with macro

Front camera

12MP

Charging

25W wired, 15W wireless

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge hands-on: Design

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black against a blue background with two white vases

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Thinnest Galaxy S ever, thinner than any iPhone
  • More Galaxy Ultra than Galaxy Plus

Samsung might be selling the Galaxy S25 Edge short by comparing it freely to the Galaxy S25 Plus. In fact, with its titanium frame and muted color options, it feels more like a waifish Galaxy S25 Ultra. In any case, the phone is clearly a current-generation Samsung device, while veering just a bit from the formula.

The camera bump looks, frankly, more like the leaked design of the iPhone 17 than the current Galaxy S25 family. It’s not small portholes, it’s an entire bar that seems to be attached to the back of the phone.

The look is decidedly less polished and clean than the similar round bar that holds the Google Pixel 9 cameras. Google’s phone seems to be a single block of metal, while the Galaxy S25 Edge looks like pieces stuck together.

The USB-C port on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge

The Galaxy S25 Edge is not symmetrical, and the pieces don't seem to fit perfectly (Image credit: Future)

The phone is not very symmetrical, and it doesn’t seem to have the same fit and finish as the Galaxy S25 Ultra. On the bottom, USB-C port is centered, but the speaker port and the SIM card slot are both haphazardly aligned. The SIM card holder doesn’t even seem to fit perfectly flush with the phone on some of the units I saw, as you can see in my photo below.

I worry about this phone. I worry that it will bend easily, even with a titanium frame. I worry that the protruding camera will make the lens glass more vulnerable in a fall. I worry the gap between the camera bump and the back of the phone will gather unsightly dust and grime.

I’ll feel better if our review unit proves solid, so check back soon once we’ve had an opportunity to run this phone through a thorough battery of tests.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge hands-on: Software

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • All of the Galaxy software you know...
  • Nothing special to the Edge, but plenty of Galaxy AI

Samsung’s OneUI 7 is looking good on the Galaxy S25 Edge, running on top of Android 15. All of Samsung’s software tricks are here, including the Edge panels, which now sport some AI selection tools. You can even hook this phone up to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and use the Samsung DeX desktop environment.

I’m a big fan of DeX, so I was thrilled to see it wasn’t left off. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 inexplicably lacks DeX, so I was worried it would be sacrificed for thinness. Nope, DeX is here, along with all of Samsung’s software features. The endless layers of Settings menus. The massive flotilla of bloatware.

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Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

That latter is probably just a regional choice, because not every Galaxy S25 Edge I saw had the same software preloaded, but some of the devices were jam-packed with junk. There were tons of garbage games, along with carrier software, additions from Microsoft and Google, and then the Samsung folder of apps.

There was a brief time when it seemed like Samsung was pulling back its software bloat, but those days have been washed away with the tide.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge hands-on: Cameras

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • 200MP main camera, but not the same as the Ultra
  • 12MP wide lens with macro capabilities

The camera on the Galaxy S25 Edge is just what I was hoping to see… I hope. We knew that Samsung would be reducing its camera load from the triple-lens system on pretty much every other Galaxy phone besides the Galaxy Z Flip series. I was hoping for one big main camera with a big sensor, and that could be what we got with the 200MP sensor on the Edge.

I don’t expect quality on par with the Galaxy S25 Ultra and its 200MP main camera. Samsung says the sensor is not the same, and it would not tell us what sensor it's using or the size of the sensor.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

A tiny sensor cut into 200 million pieces will not produce high-quality images. Megapixels don’t matter, what really matters is the size of the sensor, and it’s likely the Edge sacrifices some sensor size compared to the Ultra.

The marketing might say this phone has 2X 'optical quality zoom,' but in fact Samsung is using the 200MP sensor to simulate a variety of zoom lengths, and then enhancing the results with AI.

I kind of wish more phones would use this technique, paired with a larger sensor, because I think we’d get better photos than we do from today’s 5X zoom lenses mated to teeny-tiny sensors.

We’ll see if Samsung can pull off a satisfying camera with only two lenses instead of three. It can’t be too good, of course, or else you won’t want to buy the Galaxy S25 Ultra, still the most expensive in the Galaxy S family.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge hands-on: Battery

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in black, blue, and silver

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • 3,9000mAh battery is smaller than even the Galaxy S25
  • Battery life won’t be great, and charging will be slower

The Galaxy S25 Edge packs a 3,900mAh battery inside. That’s much smaller than the 4,900mAh cell in the Galaxy S25 Plus – it’s closer to the smaller Galaxy S25, which uses a 4,000mAh battery inside.

In fact, Samsung says battery life will fall somewhere between the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S25, and you'll be able to get a full day of normal use out of this phone. So, it won’t be great for a phone this big, but it will be acceptable. That’s an expected trade-off for a much thinner phone.

@techradar

♬ stellar (Sped Up) - .diedlonely & énouement

What I didn’t expect was slower charging. I was hoping for a charging miracle, maybe even faster charging speeds than the Galaxy S25 to make up for the smaller battery.

If I could charge this phone to full in 30 minutes, I wouldn’t mind that it can’t last all day on a single charge. But with only 25W charging, Samsung says 30 minutes will get me just over halfway, to 55% charged.

We’ll know just how long the phone can last after we’ve tested it in Future Labs and given it a full review. For now, don’t buy this phone expecting great battery life. Buy it for the style.

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A couple of weeks thoroughly testing the CMF Phone 2 Pro showed me it’s not just a bargain, it’s in a class of its own
7:42 pm | May 9, 2025

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

CMF Phone 2 Pro: Two-minute review

With the CMF Phone 2 Pro, Nothing has delivered a truly remarkable bargain phone, treating you, the user with endearing respect, rather than sticking you with a watered-down version of the device you really want.

This phone has one of the most distinct and recognizable designs I’ve seen, but that design is also practical and extensible. I can’t imagine buying a CMF Phone 2 Pro without thinking of all the accessories I might make for it.

For less than $300 / £300 / AU$525 you can have a phone that isn’t just good, but special. The modular design, though a bit less adaptable than the first-generation CMF Phone, means you can make this phone your own in ways that Samsung Galaxy and iPhone owners can only dream of doing.

Even if you don’t want to create your own cases or accessories, the CMF Phone 2 Pro is still one of the best smartphones you can buy at this price. Its performance is solid – better than other bargain competitors, at least – and battery life is excellent.

It may not be quite as durable as a Samsung Galaxy A26 or Motorola Moto G Power 2025, but it’s more resilient than I expected. It has an IP54 rating against rain and splashing water, and Nothing also says the phone will survive in 25cm of water for 20 minutes, so you don't have to panic if it gets wet.

CMF Phone 2 Pro with widgets displayed on the screen

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The CMF Phone 2 Pro certainly gives you one of the most distinctive versions of Android that you’ll find on a phone today, using the NothingOS interface as found on the Nothing Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro. NothingOS is all about a minimalist, almost monochromatic aesthetic, so you get black-and-white icons on the home screen with no labels, and a set of matching widgets to complete the look.

Of course there are some AI features as well, and I honestly ignored them because they revolve around taking screenshots. I’m just not a screenshot type of user, but Nothing isn’t alone in this – the latest Google Pixel 9 also relies on screenshot-based AI tools. You can also use Google Gemini, but don’t expect the robust set of AI features that you might find on more expensive Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones.

With such a low price tag there are bound to be compromises. The cameras are not good, even compared to those on the cheapest Pixel, the Pixel 9a, although that phone costs almost twice as much as the CMF Phone 2 Pro. Performance also lags, and I experienced stuttering in the interface, and occasional delays as the system worked to catch up with whatever task I wanted to perform.

I used the CMF Phone 2 Pro as my primary phone for work, and I really enjoyed it. I like the style of NothingOS; it’s refreshing, with fewer distractions than my Galaxy phone. I committed to using the bright orange lanyard screwed into the back of the phone for my entire review period, and I now understand the appeal of being able to sling the phone over my shoulder and having it readily at hand.

CMF Phone 2 Pro in light green showing back with exposed screws and cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The worst thing about the CMF Phone 2 Pro is how hard it might be to buy one – and then to buy all the accessories you want. In the US, you can only get the model with 256GB of storage as part of Nothing’s so-called 'Beta' program. I used the Phone 2 Pro on AT&T near New York City, and after an initial warning message from AT&T that my phone wouldn’t work properly, it worked just fine.

The phone is easier to buy in the UK, Australia, and the rest of the world, with an even cheaper 128GB version available. Still, comparable phones from Samsung and Motorola are available at your local carrier store, and you can surely get one for free if you sign a contract. The CMF Phone 2 Pro may be cheap, but you probably won’t find one for free.

Only a few accessories will be available for US buyers, and those won’t include the back cover that lets you use attachable macro and fisheye camera lenses, or the magnetic wallet stand. I’m not a fan of snap-on lenses for smartphones, so that’s no big loss, but I wish more of the unique accessories were available here. Since they’re not, I’ll just have to head to my library’s 3D printer and make my own.

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Price and availability

CMF Phone 2 Pro in light green showing back with exposed screws and cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • $279 / £249 / AU$509 for 256GB and 8GB of RAM
  • £219 / AU$449 for a 128GB model, not available in the US

The CMF Phone 2 Pro by Nothing is available directly from Nothing in two storage options: 128GB and 256GB. The smaller-capacity model is not being sold in the US, however, and neither is the light green color – the color of my review sample – but you can still get the phone in white, black, or a very bright orange.

The Light Green is available in the UK, but not Australia, and all the other colors are available globally. That’s too bad, I like this light green very much, and it looks cool with the bright orange lanyard attached.

Don’t get too attached to the lanyard if you're in the US, though, because the accessories are only available in the UK and Europe, and Nothing says quantities may be limited.

The 128GB model has an incredibly low price for a phone this good, and if you use cloud storage services there isn’t a pressing need to buy the larger capacity.

Even so, the 256GB model is also an incredible bargain. For around the same price – $300 / £299 / AU$499 – you'll get a Samsung Galaxy A26 or Motorola Moto G Power with 128GB of storage. Both of those phones are a bit more durable, though, with true IP67 and IP68 ratings for water resistance, respectively. Otherwise, there are no significant benefits in terms of specs and hardware, and the CMF Phone 2 Pro has a slight edge in performance.

  • Value score: 5/5

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Specs

CMF Phone 2 Pro in light green showing back with exposed screws and cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The CMF Phone 2 Pro has a MediaTek 7300 Pro 5G chipset inside, which is a bit faster than the Exynos 1380 you’ll find in a Galaxy A26 or the MediaTek 6300 in the Moto G Power 2025. The phone ships with 8GB of RAM, which is adequate for a bargain phone, and there's a microSD card slot behind the SIM tray if you need more storage space.

The camera specs are impressive for a phone in this price range, even if, as mentioned, the images aren’t noteworthy. The main camera uses a 0.63-inch sensor, which is much larger than the sensors you’ll find in competing Samsung and Motorola phones. There's a real 2x optical zoom, in addition to a third lens for ultra-wide shots and macro photos.

As with most phones at this price there’s no wireless charging, but you do get slightly faster charging speeds if you buy a 33W charger.

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Design

CMF Phone 2 Pro in light green showing back with exposed screws and cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Exposed screws and removable bits
  • More durable than before, even water resistant

The CMF Phone 2 Pro design is a whole choice. Like its big-sibling Nothing Phones, the CMF Phone stands out; it looks, er, nothing like other phones you’ve seen. The back of the phone is punctuated by exposed screws, a removable circular plate, and cameras that look like internal components laid bare.

I like it. It doesn’t feel haphazard – it’s clear that there's thought and design behind the asymmetry. You can't remove the whole back cover of the CMF Phone 2 Pro, as you could with the original CMF Phone, but there is still the small circular screw that you can remove to screw in accessories like the lanyard (or just the lanyard holder, which can also be a loop for dangling charms).

The CMF Phone 2 Pro only comes with an IP54 rating, which means it's protected against dust, but when it comes to water it can only handle rain or splashing, not a full dunk.

However, Nothing has tested the phone itself, and claims it can be submerged in 25cm of water for 20 minutes – so I wouldn’t wash this phone in the sink, but I also wouldn’t worry if you drop it into the toilet by accident.

That’s a huge improvement over last year’s CMF Phone, likely thanks to that new back panel that doesn’t come off as easily. Still, the Samsung Galaxy A26 is IP67 rated for longer dips underwater, and the Moto G Power 2025 is fully military MIL-STD 810H rated, so it can take a serious beating.

My phone came in a lovely light green color that is becoming popular this year – the Galaxy S25 Ultra is available in the same hue as a Samsung online-exclusive color. Unfortunately, you can’t buy this color in the US; you can only get the black, white, or orange versions. I haven’t seen the orange in person, but if it’s as bright as the matching lanyard I got, be aware that it could stop traffic.

  • Design score: 4/5

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Display

CMF Phone 2 Pro in light green showing back with exposed screws and cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Brighter than competitors at this price
  • Colorful and durable with Panda Glass

The CMF Phone 2 Pro has a very nice display for a phone at this price. It was brighter and more colorful in our labs tests than the Samsung Galaxy A26, a solid win for Nothing since Samsung is usually known for its superlative displays.

Does it get to 3,000 nits at peak brightness? Not that we could see, but it was bright enough in my review time for me to take photos in outdoor light, and to use the phone in a variety of lighting conditions. My content always looked great on the display, whether I was watching movies or perusing my photo albums.

This is one area where spending more will get you better technology, however. The Pixel 9a costs a bit more, but it has a much brighter display that's easier to see in bright, outdoor light. Even paying just a bit more for the Nothing Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro will get you brighter displays than what you'll see on the CMF Phone.

If I were going to pay to upgrade any feature, it would be this, because more expensive phones have displays that are brighter and easier to use in bright sunlight. I’d also like a stronger glass panel, though the CMF Phone 2 Pro is no slouch here.

The CMF Phone 2 Pro has a screen that's durable and should stand up to mild abuse. The phone uses Panda Glass from Chinese glass maker Tengshu, and it offers many of the same physical qualities as Corning’s Gorilla Glass. I didn’t see any scuffs or scratches after an intense week using the phone as my primary device.

  • Display score: 3/5

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Software

CMF Phone 2 Pro in hand with screen showing settings and widgets

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • NothingOS on top of Android 15 for a signature style
  • For folks who want fewer distractions, not more features

If you want a smartphone with helpful display-edge software panels, tons of features, and customizations galore, buy a Samsung with One UI. If you want to minimize distractions with a signature look and feel that's different from any other smartphone, you should check out NothingOS on the CMF Phone 2 Pro (and other Nothing phones).

That doesn’t mean Nothing gives you nothing on top of Android 15. In fact, Nothing offers a plethora of cool widgets to enhance your home screen, all in Nothing’s signature monochromatic style.

At startup, you can choose between a Nothing interface and a standard Android home screen. Go with Nothing and you’ll see fewer colors, fewer labels on app icons and settings, and presumably fewer distractions. I actually like the NothingOS design, especially with its home screen widgets and monochromatic wallpapers, so I stuck with it for my review period.

There is some AI on board, but frankly I never used it. Just like with the latest Nothing Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro, you get a so-called Essentials key, which is a glorified screenshot button. Press the button to take a screenshot that saves to Nothing’s Essential Space. Hold the button to take a screenshot and add a voice memo.

Essential Space is an AI tool that scans whatever you save so it can offer answers later. Unfortunately, I don’t screenshot very much. I don’t save every bit of useful information as a screenshot. I don’t screenshot my emails, text messages, or calendar invitations, since those already live in their own app.

So I didn’t get much value out of Essential Space. If you screenshot everything, or if you’re willing to change your behavior, you may find this more useful. I, on the other hand, did not feel the CMF Phone 2 Pro was missing anything when I skipped these AI features.

  • Software score: 3/5

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Cameras

Rear of CMF Phone 2 Pro in light green showing exposed screws and cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Lots of megapixels and big sensors don’t equal great photos
  • If photos matter, you’ll need to spend more (or get a camera)

The CMF Phone 2 Pro's cameras offer plentiful examples of pretty much every way smartphone cameras can go wrong. There’s a lack of detail in most shots, and evidence of strong digital sharpening that makes photos look more like still frames from a low-quality video camera. Backgrounds are frequently over-sharpened, leaving dark edges around objects. In even my most simple shots it can be so hard to tell what I was photographing.

Don’t take photos of anything red, because the cheap sensors on this phone can’t handle the hue, and flowers become a garbled mess, even in bright, outdoor light that should have made for the best results. I was equally unimpressed with the zoom lens, which took photos of birds that were so muddy I couldn’t tell if the water fowl were covered in feathers or plastic.

CMF Phone 2 Pro in light green showing back with exposed screws and cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The wide-angle lens produces a lot of barrel distortion, so buildings will look rounded and weird. I saw plenty of chromatic aberration along high-contrast edges, and the camera falls apart when asked to shoot in low-light near darkness.

It’s hard to find a good camera on a phone this cheap, but the Samsung Galaxy A26 will certainly produce better results in most situations. If photos truly matter, though, you’ll need to step up at least to a Pixel 9a, or perhaps look for a cheap digital camera to carry alongside your phone. I carried an older point-and-shoot camera during my review time, and I barely thought about the CMF Phone 2 Pro for my photography needs.

  • Camera score: 2/5

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Camera samples

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Camera image samples taken with the CMF Phone 2 Pro

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Camera image samples taken with the CMF Phone 2 Pro

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Camera image samples taken with the CMF Phone 2 Pro

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Camera image samples taken with the CMF Phone 2 Pro

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Camera image samples taken with the CMF Phone 2 Pro

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
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Camera image samples taken with the CMF Phone 2 Pro

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Performance

CMF Phone 2 Pro in hand with TechRadar website on screen

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Budget-level performance means delays
  • Still very usable, and lags weren't noticeable in lighter usage

The CMF Phone 2 Pro uses a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro 5G chipset, which is a slight step up from the Dimensity 7300 5G in last year’s CMF Phone. In Future Labs tests, the CMF Phone 2 Pro edged out the competition, including Samsung Exynos 1380-equipped Galaxy A26 and Motorola’s Dimensity 6300-driven Moto G Power 2025. In pure benchmark terms, this phone performs about as well as the Galaxy A36, a more expensive phone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 inside.

In the real world, performance could be very laggy as I navigated the interface and performed advanced tasks. If I tried to select more than a dozen or so apps to download all at once, the phone came to a halt and stopped registering my taps. When I tried to add six-dozen photos to a single photo album, the phone flatly refused to move so many images at once. I got an error message that I could never defeat.

For most of my daily tasks, however, I didn’t notice any slowdown. Network speeds were fine on AT&T’s network near New York City, and web pages loaded slowly but steadily. All of my messages came through, and I was able to hold video chat meetings.

This isn’t a powerhouse phone, but it gets the job done, even for professional work. The phone handled TechRadar's AirTable content management system with no trouble, and it loaded up the over-complicated AirTable app to show me behind-the-scenes planning.

Any step up in price will get you a phone with more power, but I would pay more for better cameras and a better display before I worried about much faster CPU performance. As long as you’re not a hardcore gamer you might just need a little more patience, so maybe just stare at the cool design while you wait for your phone to catch up.

  • Performance score: 2/5

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Battery

CMF Phone 2 Pro in light green showing back with exposed screws and cameras

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Excellent battery life, among top performers overall
  • Charging could be faster; no charger included

The CMF Phone 2 Pro delivered excellent battery life, both in the real world and in our Future Labs testing. During my review time the phone always lasted through a full day of use, although it probably helped that I didn’t play many games and didn’t use the cameras very much. In any case, I could forget to charge this phone overnight and still have enough juice to get me through to lunchtime the next day.

In our Future Labs battery rundown test the CMF Phone 2 Pro was a top performer, managing to last just over 16 hours. In the same test, the Samsung Galaxy A26 lated around 10 hours, and the Pixel 9a and iPhone 16e (the cheapest iPhone right now) both lasted just over 12 hours.

Much of this longevity is down to how you’ll use the phone. With a slower processor on board, you’ll use less battery power; the Moto G Power 2025 is even slower, and that phone lasted slightly longer in our lab tests. You also won’t use the cameras on the CMF Phone 2 Pro as often as you might with one of the best camera phones.

That said, bargain phones offer great battery life, just like cheaper cars usually get better gas mileage. It’s a benefit of saving money, and I’m happy to take it.

For juicing up, the CMF Phone 2 Pro can charge up to 33W, but there’s no charger in the box (except in India). There's also no wireless charging, but that feature is a rarity at this price point.

  • Battery score: 3/5

Should you buy the CMF Phone 2 Pro?

CMF Phone 2 Pro in light green side-on and slightly tilted, showing buttons on left side and camera array

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Buy it if...

You have a 3D printer and want to make phone accessories
The CMF Phone 2 Pro offers creative types unique options to make accessories that enhance the phone’s capabilities more than any other device.

You want more than just a cheap version of another phone
The CMF Phone 2 Pro is unique. It doesn’t try to look like a more expensive model, and it stands out with its own design that’s like nothing else.

You want a distinctive look that minimizes distractions
With NothingOS you can dial down the colors and distractions from all the apps on your phone that suck you in like candy.

Don't buy it if...

You need great cameras, or even very good cameras
It’s got megapixels, but that doesn’t equate to great photos, and the pics I got from the CMF Phone 2 Pro were disappointing in every way.

You want to play a lot of games with serious graphics
This phone performs better than most other phones you’ll find at this price, but you’ll notice lag on normal apps, and intense games are out of the question.

You plan on beating this phone up
The CMF Phone 2 Pro is more durable than the last CMF phone, but if you’re going to beat up on a phone, get something more durable.

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Also consider

Samsung Galaxy A26
The Samsung Galaxy A26 has Samsung’s OneUI software with more AI features, as well as a water-resistant build that can take a serious dunk.

Motorola Moto G Power 2025
The Moto G Power 2025 isn’t the most powerful (ironic), but it is the most durable phone you’ll find at this price, and it comes in some great Pantone-approved colors

How I tested the CMF Phone 2 Pro

I used the CMF Phone 2 Pro for almost two weeks. I tested the phone on AT&T’s network in the greater New York area, throughout the city and suburbs. I used the CMF Phone 2 Pro as my primary work phone with all of my work accounts and apps, and as my personal phone for photos and gaming.

I tested the CMF Phone 2 Pro with a Pixel Watch 3 and CMF Buds Plus. I connected the phone to my car and tested Android Auto. I connected an Xbox wireless controller for gaming, and connected to a Bluetooth speaker for audio.

I tested the CMF Phone 2 Pro camera against the Nothing Phone 3a, among numerous other phones, in Future Labs.

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 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, and which measure how long it takes for the battery to run down.

Read more about how we test

Why you can trust TechRadar

☑️ 100s of smartphones reviewed
☑️ 15 years of product testing
☑️ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total
☑️ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech

First reviewed April 2025

Sony Xperia 1 VII runs Geekbench, confirming its chipset, RAM amount, and Android version
4:36 am | May 2, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Sony's Xperia 1 VII is coming soon - that's pretty much a given considering the fact that its predecessor launched in May 2024, but it's also obvious from the fact that we've seen it in CAD renders and then live certification images already in April. And a prototype Xperia 1 VII also seems to have run Geekbench. Thus, its chipset, RAM amount, and Android version have been revealed in the benchmark's online database. It's not surprising at all to see it being powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, as Sony always went with the latest top of the line Snapdragon. The SoC is paired with 12GB...

Sony Xperia 1 VII runs Geekbench, confirming its chipset, RAM amount, and Android version
4:36 am |

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Sony's Xperia 1 VII is coming soon - that's pretty much a given considering the fact that its predecessor launched in May 2024, but it's also obvious from the fact that we've seen it in CAD renders and then live certification images already in April. And a prototype Xperia 1 VII also seems to have run Geekbench. Thus, its chipset, RAM amount, and Android version have been revealed in the benchmark's online database. It's not surprising at all to see it being powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, as Sony always went with the latest top of the line Snapdragon. The SoC is paired with 12GB...

iPhone 18 models to get enhanced memory, iPhone 17 series to have 12GB of RAM
2:58 am | April 30, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: | Comments: Off

According to a new rumor from the usual reliable Digital Chat Station over on Weibo, all four iPhone 17 models will sport 12GB of RAM, and the A19 Pro chip used for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will be made on TSMC's 3nm process with significantly improved performance versus the A18 Pro. A previous rumor claimed three out of four members of the iPhone 17 family were set to get 12GB of RAM, with the vanilla model still up in the air until next month when Apple would be finalizing its decision regarding it. Additionally, the iPhone 18 family is said to be switching to using a...

iPhone 17 Air’s insane thinness shown again as its RAM amount leaks
12:59 am | April 25, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: | Comments: Off

A couple of days ago a video showed us a mold of the upcoming iPhone 17 Air, showcasing how insanely thin it is with its 5.65mm silhouette. Today three new images have been leaked showing all four members of the iPhone 17 family on top of each other, and it's very, very obvious which one is the Air. There's barely any room for the buttons on the sides and the USB-C port at the bottom, that's how thin it is. Of course, rumor has it this will come at the expense of battery capacity, unsurprisingly, and it will also only have one rear camera. iPhone 17 family dummy units...

Here are Google’s new minimum RAM and storage requirements for Android phones
7:20 am | April 15, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: | Comments: Off

With Android 15, Google requires at least 32GB of storage for smartphones that want to have its suite of apps and services preinstalled (this is usually referred to as Google Mobile Services or GMS). Of those 32GB, at least 75% of the storage size has to be dedicated to the data partition, which stores preinstalled system apps, system app data, certain system files, and all user apps and files. The previous limit was 16GB, enforced ever since Android 13, and before that it was 8GB. Note that a phone with less than 32GB of storage can't even get updated to Android 15 if it launched on an...

I reviewed Lenovo’s answer to the Mac Studio – but can this mini desktop survive in the business world?
9:02 pm | April 11, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Tags: , , | Comments: Off

The Apple Mac Studio made a huge splash when it entered the market a few years back. The form factor with that kind of power was nearly too good to be true. Now, the best mini PC manufacturers are replicating that style of desktop powerhouse.

The Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra is an excellent example of that. Lenovo took the exact size of the popular Mac Studio and threw their machine into it, claiming it was the business version of a Mac Studio.

For the most part, it has excellent ports, an option for up to 8 displays, beats out the Mac Studio, an RTX 4060 GPU, and even a discrete AI NPU. But can this machine match the performance ability of the Mac Studio at its best?

Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)

Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra: Price and Availability

The Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra starts at around $3,000 but's frequently discounted to under $2,000. If you spec this thing out, you can run over $5,000. The Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra is available for purchase through Lenovo.com and enterprise partners, so if you are looking to pick this up, I'd check first at Lenovo to snag one of those great deals on this machine.

Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)

Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra: Unboxing & first impressions

The Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra is nearly the exact dimensions of the Apple Mac Studio. It comes in a compact box with the cable and paperwork you'd expect. Unlike the popular silver on Macs, the ThinkCentre Neo Ultra comes in a Luna Gray chassis that looks more like what I'd expect a Lenovo device to look like.

Much like other compact desktops, the ThinkCentre Neo Ultra would fit easily under a monitor, even if not on a monitor arm, or if you wanted to, you could tuck it off to the side, keep it front and center to show off or mount it behind the monitor or under the desk.

Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)

Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra: Design & build quality

Specs

CPU: Up to Intel Core i9-14900 vPro
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4060 8GB
RAM: Up to 64GB DDR5
Storage: Up to 2x 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
Ports:
1x USB-C 20Gbps, 1x 3.5mm combo jack, 2x USB-A 5Gbps, 4x USB-A 10Gbps, 2x HDMI 2.1, 4x DisplayPort 1.4a, 2.5GbE LAN
Optional: Configurable punch-out ports (HDMI, VGA, USB-C, LAN, etc.)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Dimensions: 7.68” x 7.52” x 4.25” (3.6L), 7.7 lbs

The Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra is a very professional and simple-looking machine. Lenovo has done a great job at making this a machine that does not stand out, is not overly flashy, but looks professional and top-tier at the same time. It's got a solid frame with rounded off edges, but not so much so that it looks round, more just not sharp. The top panel looks like it's the roof to a building with a row of windows, leaving plenty of room for ventilation to keep this powerhouse from overheating.

For those who like being able to upgrade RAM and SSD on their own, it’s great to see that the bottom panel can easily be removed. This is something that I see less and less in computers in general. But it’s a vital component for some users.

Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)

Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra: In use

I work predominantly from a laptop. It has always appealed to me to have a single computer that I can easily take from place to place. However, having used this computer in my rotation of devices for the last several weeks, I can say there is something fantastic about a desktop that is set up, ready to rock, no dock needed, no charge needed, plugged into multiple displays, set up when you’re ready—a kind of desk setup.

As you can see in the desk shots, I usually have this on a single monitor setup. However, I ran five displays on this at one time simply because that was the number I had with me at the time of testing. I can confidently say that this is an excellent desktop if you are working primarily on business tasks and want to use multiple displays.

There is no need for an external graphics card or a dock with DisplayLink like I need with my M2 Series MacBook Pro, and there are no issues when running different types of monitors, as I have seen questions about. I was running a 49-inch ultrawide, a 32-inch, a 27-inch, a portable monitor, and a TV, all without any issues.

Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)

Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)

During my testing, I used this display for a few virtual meetings, a lot of writing and admin work, some basic photo editing, some video rendering, a lot (40+) of heavy Chrome Tabs (multiple extensive project management tools), Slack, Asana, Jira, Basecamp, ZenDesk, Hubspot, Postman, VS Code, WhatsApp, Email, and more. I worked on some web design, system automation, large Google Docs with 40+ pages of 11pt font and many comments, and so on. I tried to crash this computer, which handled everything while easily outputting to an abundance of screen real estate.

I wouldn’t use this machine for heavy video editing because I don’t think it's one of the best video editing computers available, but it is one of the best business computers in this form-factor, ideal for administrative or more standard business tasks like project management, documents, emails, virtual meetings, and so on.

After testing, I also see a lot of advantages to using this if you're a project manager or supervisor. It would allow for ample displays to show everything that kind of role needs to see all at once, without compromise.

Lenovo ThinkCentre Neo Ultra: Final verdict

The ThinkCentre Neo Ultra is a powerhouse of a machine. I’d still choose a Mac Studio for creative tasks, but this machine is a genuine contender for classic business performance. It’s got better video outputs, is just as compact, and has leading enterprise security and great software.

For business professionals, developer teams, or even things like conference rooms, command centers, or other setups that need a lot of screens, this machine is a fantastic one to consider. Just know that it doesn’t have Thunderbolt, so file transfers will be quite a bit slower than on something that does support a version of Thunderbolt.


For extra power, we reviewed the best workstations you can get right now.

I tested the Google Pixel 9a, and it would be the perfect bargain phone if it wasn’t so dang ugly
4:03 pm | April 10, 2025

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

Google Pixel 9a: Two-minute review

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Google Pixel 9a is a solid Android phone that punches far above its weight in important ways, even if the new direction for A-series phone design is a letdown. I'll try not to spend this whole review dwelling on how ugly this phone is – the photos speak for themselves – but I was surprised that Google abandoned its excellent Pixel design for this phone.

The Pixel 9a performs as well as the Pixel 9 in almost every way. It takes photos that look nearly as good as the pics I get from my Pixel 9 Pro. It has most of the latest AI features that make the Pixel a compelling choice for Google fans. I just wish it looked like a Pixel.

Don’t get me wrong; I love the color of the Peony review sample that Google sent me. Actually, TechRadar got two samples, and both were pink, so clearly Google likes this color as much as we do. The color is a perfect match with the Peony silicone case that Google supplied, and I kept the phone covered for most of my time testing it.

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

The Pixel 9a, Pixel 9, and Pixel 9 Pro (left to right) (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Putting the phone in its case was like putting lipstick on a pig. For the Pixel 9a, Google took the sharp, stylish, distinctive design language it used the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro and threw it in the garbage.

This phone is flat and boring. The camera bump is apologetic, rather than the bold statement the bump on the Pixel 9 makes. You would be forgiven for mistaking this phone for a cheap Motorola or Nokia, or an off-brand phone you find in the back of your carrier store.

I don’t get it. The best explanation I can muster is that the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro camera bar is expensive to produce, and the A-series phones are supposed to be a bargain. But Google cut plenty of other corners on this phone that should have offset the cost of a better design.

For instance, the camera sensors are much, much smaller than the sensors on the Pixel 8a. The main sensor is less than half the size, and that’s a massive drop for the most important spec in terms of camera quality. The Pixel 9a still manages to snap great photos, but this downgrade should have saved Google enough money to pay for a fancy new dress.

Google Pixel 8a in aloe green showing

The Pixel 6a, Pixel 7a, and Pixel 8a (left to right) all look like the other Pixel phones in their series (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Pixel 8a also launched with the same 8GB of RAM as the Pixel 8. The Pixel 9a keeps the 8GB of memory, but the Pixel 9 now offers 12GB (and the Pixel 9 Pro packs 16GB!), which makes a difference when it comes to running all of the AI features on the phone.

The Pixel 9a has a larger battery than the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro, even though all three phones have a 6.3-inch display. However, in my time with the Pixel 9a, battery life was good but not extraordinary, and our Future Labs tests show that its battery life is somehow not measurably better with that larger cell inside.

Is the Pixel 9a a letdown? Not at all! Google’s AI features remain the most useful smartphone AI tools you’ll find – I regularly use the AI phone call features to hang up on spammers, wait on hold for me, or record an especially important phone call.

Google Gemini on the Pixel 9a has also gotten much better – and it even improved during my two weeks with the phone, as Google added the ability for Gemini to use the camera and discuss what it sees.

For the price – $499 / £499 / AU$849 – you won’t find a phone that feels so polished and capable. You may find more camera features on a phone like the Samsung Galaxy A56, but you won’t get better photos than you’ll take with the Pixel 9a, especially not macro shots, which is the Pixel 9a’s new specialty.

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

Trying to beautify the Pixel 9a as best I can (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

You might find snappier performance elsewhere, but the Pixel 9a’s Tensor G4 chip is powerful enough to for Google to guarantee seven years of major Android and security updates, and that’s the best promise you’ll get in this price range. If you need a bargain phone and you don’t want to replace it, like, ever, the Pixel 9a would be the first phone I recommend.

Except for one small thing: the Pixel 8a might be just as good. The Pixel 9a isn’t much faster, and it doesn’t do anything the Pixel 8a can’t do, other than offering the latest Google AI features. If the AI aspect of Google’s phones isn’t enticing, you might be just as satisfied saving even more money and getting the Pixel 8a, especially if it goes on sale again soon.

Actually, if you’re considering the Pixel 9a and you want the best possible bargain, you may want to wait a bit longer. The Pixel 8a went on sale in May of 2024 and the price dropped by $100 for one deal in the US in August. The current global economic uncertainty aside, Google loves to goose sales of its A-series phones with a great deal, so look out for price drops on the Pixel 9a. Or just buy the Pixel 8a – because at least that phone looks like a Pixel.

Google Pixel 9a review: Price and availability

Google Pixel 9a in black, peony pink, iris, and porcelain, showing back cover with camera and home screen

The Pixel 9a in Obsidian, Porcelain, Iris, and Peony (top to bottom) (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Priced at $499 / £499 / AU$849 for 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM
  • Available in Peony, Iris, Porcelain and Obsidian

The Pixel 9a is available now for $499 / £499 / AU$849, after a delay caused by a mysterious 'passive component' issue. My review sample did not seem to have any performance problems or build-quality issues, so I guess we’ll never know what held back the Pixel 9a for a few weeks.

The Pixel 9a costs the same as last year’s Pixel 8a did at launch, but this year there's no competing iPhone SE at an even lower price to consider. Apple has effectively vacated the $500 phone market by selling the new iPhone 16e for a laughable $599 / £599 / AU$999.

If you’re looking for a $500 phone, the Pixel 9a is one of your best options, along with the Samsung Galaxy A56. Samsung hasn’t started selling that phone in the US as I write this, but we have reviewed it, and we know it’s coming to the US later this year.

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro from back showing Glyph lights

See! A bargain phone can look cool, not clunky (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

You might also consider the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, a quirky Android that costs $459 / £449 / AU$849, though it’s only available in the US through a beta program.

Of all the phones in this price range, the Pixel 9a should get software and security updates for longer than the rest. The Pixel gets a seven-year promise, while Samsung gives you six years, and the rest of the Android world promises three or fewer.

  • Value score: 5/5

Google Pixel 9a review: Specs

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

The Pixel 9a hiding behind the Pixel 9 because it knows that it's ugly (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Pixel 9a uses the same Google Tensor G4 chipset as the Pixel 9 Pro and the rest of the Pixel 9 family. This is Google’s biggest strength with its bargain phones, because the Tensor contains the magic sauce that lets Google promise seven years of major OS updates for its latest phones (though none of them have actually been around for seven years, yet).

The Tensor G4 isn’t a performance beast, but it’s good enough for the Pixel 9a to get by, albeit with a bit of sluggishness. The initial setup process especially was a slog, as the phone gets bogged down when you try to download a lot of apps and then, you know, use them.

The paltry 8GB of RAM inside became noticeable when I used the AI features, and the Pixel 9a inexplicably doesn't have the new Screenshots app that debuted on the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro. That app gathers all of your screenshots and runs them through the AI so you can ask questions about what it sees; I guess 8GB of RAM is not enough for that level of on-device processing.

I'm very nervous about the next seven years with this phone, if we’re already seeing Google omit features on day one that the rest of the Pixel 9 phones have. I suspect that whatever Android update the Pixel 9a gets in seven years will be only a portion of what the rest of the Pixel phones will receive, but at least security holes should be plugged.

Google Pixel 9a review: Design

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • A major departure from Pixel design
  • The ugliest Pixel phone ever

Let’s start with a compliment: I like the colors. I like the Peony pink and the lavender Iris hues, and even the Porcelain and Obsidian look premium, not basic. I also like that the cases match perfectly with the phone, giving the handset some needed dimension and texture.

Okay, that’s all the nice I have in me for this phone's design. I’m only being mean to the butt-ugly Pixel 9a because I really liked the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro redesign, and I can’t believe Google didn’t carry the new look down to the bargain basement.

The Pixel 9a is just a flat slab of plastic broken by a round camera bump. It has no personality or character – it looks like somebody punched a Pixel 9 square in the nose and flattened its whole face.

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Pixel 9a has the same-size screen as the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro, but the bezels are noticeably thicker. The phone is nicely rounded, like the Pixel 9, but the back is a matte-finish plastic, not shiny glass. Google says 23% of the Pixel 9a is recycled materials, by weight.

To be fair, the Pixel 9a is thinner than the Pixel 9 if you count the camera bump – that bar adds 3mm to the thickness of the latter phone. If you really want a phone that is borin… er, flat, this is a good pick.

Google also says the Pixel 9a is the most durable Pixel A-series phone yet. It can withstand a dunk in up to 1.5m of fresh water for 30 minutes, so feel free to drop it in the toilet and give it a flush, then rinse it in the sink.

  • Design score: 3/5

Google Pixel 9a review: Display

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Very bright and colorful display
  • Questionable Adaptive Display settings should be turned off

The Pixel 9a has an excellent screen that's very bright and colorful, continuing Google’s dominance in this aspect of the smartphone world. This would be a great display for a phone at any price, but it’s a standout feature on a bargain phone; you won’t find a better or brighter screen on a phone this cheap.

I was feeling a bit let down by the display for my first few days with the Pixel 9a, but then I turned off the Adaptive Display mode and things got much brighter. For some reason, Adaptive Display was keeping my phone very dark no matter where I used it, but when I took control the experience got exponentially better.

The screen can refresh at up to 120Hz, but frankly I’m not sure the phone can keep up with any content moving that fast. Scrolling through the apps and settings menus felt more stuttery on the Pixel 9a than on the Pixel 9 Pro, and I can only assume that more RAM would pick things up.

The phone has Gorilla Glass 3 on the front, which is durable but not as scratch-resistant as the latest Gorilla Glass Victus materials. I noticed some hairline scratches on the screen after only a week of use, although these weren't distracting. The back of the phone is plastic, not glass, so it should be more durable.

  • Display score: 4/5

Google Pixel 9a review: Software

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • A polished version of Android, with many updates to come
  • Doesn’t have all the features of the rest of the Pixel family

The Google Pixel 9a launches with Android 15 on board, and it should get updates through Android 22 in 2032, if humanity survives that long. Google has only been making this seven-year promise for three years, so we can’t be sure what those eventual updates will look like, but Google also regularly drops new features, or brings newer features to older phones, in software updates it calls Pixel Drops.

Google’s version of Android is the most refined you can get, with the fewest extraneous features. Where Android used to be known for its heavy customization options, now you’d have to download a whole new launcher app if you want to organize your app list into folders or tweak the interface behavior. Today’s Android is simpler, and better for it.

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

You can no longer group apps into folders or even change the order of the app list (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Google also has some of the most useful AI tools on its smartphones; and, where other phone makers have the same features, Google does it better. For instance, Google’s Voice Recorder app is the best at transcribing what it hears into text. It will label individual speakers, and you can simply tap on a word to jump to the moment in the recording when it was spoken. Samsung and other Android phone makers have similar software, but it doesn’t work as well; not even close.

I especially like Google’s AI calling tools. When I get a mysterious phone call, I can have Google’s AI answer and screen the call; spammers always hang up at this point. If I’m on an important call that I need to remember details of, I can have the AI record and later transcribe the call. My caller will be alerted to the fact that they're being recorded, so there’s no privacy concern.

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

Gemini Live isn't interesting to look at, but it's fun to talk to the machine (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Google’s Gemini Live conversation tool also got a nice boost on the Pixel 9a. Just before this phone launched, Gemini Live went multi-modal, so it can now talk to you conversationally while it looks through your camera. I pointed Gemini at the blank wall beneath my TV and asked for suggestions on how to decorate it. Gemini suggested that I add plants, then we switched the conversation to what plants I could buy that I wouldn’t kill in a month.

Of course, there are plenty of AI slop tools on the Pixel 9a as well. There's the standard image-generating tool that probably shouldn’t exist, for legal and ethical reasons, and it can now create images of human beings, which was forbidden in the past.

I have a big problem with these tools. They're bigoted by nature. If I ask Pixel Studio for an image of ‘a successful person,’ I get five images of young, able-bodied people. The selection may be racially diverse, but it still holds onto so many stereotypes that it should simply not be on a phone.

If I ask Pixel Studio for an image of ‘a Jewish man,’ I get the most stereotypical caricature of Jewish identity: an older man with a full beard and a head covering. If I ask for ‘a Palestinian man,’ it refuses to create anything, which is its own harmful erasure and stereotyping, as if any image of a Palestinian man should be considered potentially harmful.

Image 1 of 3

AI images created by Google's Pixel Studio on the Pixel 9a depicting stereotypical older Jewish men with long beards and heads covered

I asked Pixel Studio for "A Jewish man" and got these three images in a row (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 2 of 3

AI images created by Google's Pixel Studio on the Pixel 9a depicting stereotypical older Jewish men with long beards and heads covered

I asked Pixel Studio for "A Jewish man" and got these three images in a row (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 3 of 3

AI images created by Google's Pixel Studio on the Pixel 9a depicting stereotypical older Jewish men with long beards and heads covered

I asked Pixel Studio for "A Jewish man" and got these three images in a row (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Sorry, this Pixel has no business creating images of people if it resorts to stereotypes. I’m not sure when it became acceptable for a smartphone to reinforce bigotry, but it’s not something I’ll ever be comfortable with. Google should remove this capability from Pixel Studio immediately.

  • Software score: 2/5

Google Pixel 9a review: Cameras

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Surprisingly good photos that look like Pixel 9 Pro pics
  • Astonishing macro capabilities that rival my DSLR – seriously

I've been pleasantly surprised by the Pixel 9a’s camera capabilities. This phone continues the A-series tradition of producing photos that look almost identical to the shots you’d get from the Pro-series device, albeit at a much lower resolution.

The Pixel 9a has a 48MP camera, but it uses a pixel binning technique and will only produce images that are 12MP. Even the raw files it produces are 12MP or less.

That’s fine by me! I think 12MP is the perfect size for sharing, whether you send photos to friends or post them to your favorite social app. You won’t be able to zoom in later, and you might miss the fine details, but 12MP is a good compromise for a bargain phone. To be fair, the Pixel 9 has a 50MP camera and that phone also limits its photo output to 12MP.

I was expecting the Pixel 9a cameras to be much less capable, because the sensors have been reduced in size compared to the Pixel 8a, and are much smaller that the sensors you’ll find on the Pixel 9 or Pixel 9 Pro. The Pixel 9a uses a half-inch sensor for the main camera, compared to the three-quarter-inch sensor on the Pixel 9.

That doesn’t sound like much, but that’s the diagonal measurement, and the actual area of the sensor in the Pixel 9a is 57% smaller than that of the sensor the Pixel 9. That means it captures much less light, which affects every other aspect of photography.

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

There's much bigger sensors under that big Pixel 9 bump (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Thankfully, Google’s AI photography magic has never been more powerful. Photos look great, nearly identical to Pixel 9 Pro photos, until you zoom in close. Then things get muddy, but the Pixel 9a produces images with accurate colors and good lighting. The iPhone 16e might be a little bit better, but it’s also much more expensive, and it lacks some of the Pixel 9a’s great features.

I was blown away by the new macro photography capabilities on the Pixel 9a. I shoot macro photos often with my Nikon D750 and Tamron 100mm macro lens, so I broke out the full-frame camera for a comparison test. The results were truly shocking.

Without a flash, the Pixel 9a totally outperformed my Nikon. I couldn’t hold the camera still enough for the 1/4 second exposure that it required, but the Pixel 9a had no trouble grabbing a sharp shot in the same dim light. Even with a flash attached, my Nikon wasn’t much more sharp than the Pixel 9a. The Pixel even managed to expose a wider swath of the subject than my Nikon at f/16.

Image 1 of 2

Photo samples taken with the Google Pixel 9a

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

This macro shot was taken with the Pixel 9a

Image 2 of 2

A macro photo taken with the Nikon D750 of a piece of red leather

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

This macro shot was taken with a Nikon D750 DSLR with a Tamron 100mm macro lens

Usually, macro photography on smartphones is a gimmick performed with a pathetic 3MP camera, but on the Pixel 9a it’s so good, at full resolution, that it offers a whole reason to consider this phone. If you like shooting macro, you’ve probably never seen a smartphone that can get this close and take photos this sharp.

  • Camera score: 3/5

Google Pixel 9a review: Camera samples

Image 1 of 5

Photo samples taken with the Google Pixel 9a

That is very close up (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 2 of 5

Photo samples taken with the Google Pixel 9a

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 3 of 5

Photo samples taken with the Google Pixel 9a

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 4 of 5

Photo samples taken with the Google Pixel 9a

A Long Exposure photo (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Image 5 of 5

Photo samples taken with the Google Pixel 9a

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Google Pixel 9a review: Performance

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • Adequate performance but not what I’d call fast
  • The AI features always slow things down

The Pixel 9a performs as well as the Pixel 9, for better and for worse. It was able to handle all of my favorite apps and all of Google’s features with little trouble, as long as I wasn’t asking the AI for anything. Except for some hiccups during my initial setup, when the interface ground to a halt while installing numerous apps and backup data, I had no trouble using the Pixel 9a as my primary work phone.

It’s still slow, objectively and subjectively. The menus and interface do not feel as snappy on the Pixel 9a as OneUI does on the Galaxy S25, for instance. It isn’t as smooth and responsive as iOS on any recent iPhone. Some apps take a bit longer to open, and when switching between apps it takes longer for the screen to populate.

I was still able to run all of my necessary apps, take video calls while browsing the web, and play my favorite games, including Call of Duty Mobile – I had to turn the settings down for better performance, but I had fun playing.

The Pixel 9a sends much of its AI computing to the cloud, and this slows down whatever process you're engaged in. Pixel Studio, for instance, generated images much faster on the Pixel 9, and it was even faster on the Pixel 9 Pro. Apparently RAM does make a big difference with these AI features.

  • Performance score: 3/5

Google Pixel 9 Pro review: Battery

Google Pixel 9a in Peony pink

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • The larger battery doesn’t translate to longer life
  • Charging speeds are also slower, but there’s wireless

One of the big advantages Google highlights with the Pixel 9a is the larger battery – a 5,100mAh cell that's bigger than the batteries in the similarly-sized Pixel 9 or Pixel 9 Pro. I didn’t see any benefit, though.

The phone lasted through a full day of use most of the time, except on days when I did a lot of work with the AI tools and cameras. Even then, battery life was acceptable, if not exceptional.

I’m not sure why this phone isn’t lasting much longer than the Pixel 9, even though its battery is 8.5% larger. Our Future Labs testing concurs. In our battery rundown test the Pixel 9a lasted at most 13 hours and eight minutes, while the Pixel 9 lasted 13 hours and 18 minutes in the same test.

That’s not terrible, but you can find longer-lasting phones in this price range. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro lasted more than an hour longer in Future Labs. The OnePlus 13R is only a bit more expensive, and it’s our battery-life champion, with hours more battery life than the competition.

The Pixel 9a does include wireless charging, which isn’t common on a bargain phone. Nothing Phone and OnePlus omit wireless charging on their budget models, though they do have much faster wired charging than Google offers.

The Pixel 9a can only charge up to 23W, which isn’t very fast. The battery wasn’t even halfway charged after 30 minutes, and it took more than an hour to get to 100% from 1%.

  • Battery score: 3/5

Should you buy the Google Pixel 9 Pro?

Buy it if...

You want a great bargain camera for close-ups
While it lacks zoom, Google’s bargain Pixel has some of the best macro photography capabilities I’ve seen.

You want a solid phone to keep for a very long time
The Pixel 9a is durable, and it'll get seven years of Android and security updates. That makes it a keeper if you want a bargain phone that will last.

You want the best AI phone features
There’s a lot of AI on this phone, but the best features work with the actual Phone app to help screen calls and record important conversations.

Don't buy it if...

You want a pretty phone that you can show off
Get a case for this ugly phone, or put a bag over its head. I don’t know why Google uglified its Pixel like this, but it hurts.

You don’t want to support bigoted AI image generators
AI image generator tools that produce only stereotypes reinforce bigotry. This software isn’t acceptable on my smartphone and it needs to go.

Google Pixel 9a review: Also consider

Samsung Galaxy A56
You can’t buy the Galaxy A56 everywhere yet, but we got to review Samsung’s top bargain model, and it won us over with a high-quality build and great performance.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy A56 review

Nothing Phone 3a Pro
Like the anti-Pixel 9a, this phone is all about the cool design and showing off. The Nothing Phone doesn’t want to hide in a case, it wants to dance and party!
Read our full Nothing Phone 3a Pro review

How I tested the Google Pixel 9a

I used the Google Pixel 9a for almost two weeks. I tested the phone on AT&T’s network in the greater New York area, throughout the city and suburbs. I used the Pixel 9a as my primary work phone with all of my work accounts and apps, as well as a personal phone for photos and gaming.

I tested the Pixel 9a with a Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Buds Pro 2. I connected the phone to my car and tested Android Auto. I connected an Xbox wireless controller for gaming.

I tested the Pixel 9a camera against the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro, as well as the iPhone 16 and Galaxy S25. For macro photo comparisons, I compared against my Nikon D750 camera with a Tamron 100mm macro lens.

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 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, and we determine how long it takes for the battery to run down.

Read more about how we test

Why you can trust TechRadar

☑️ 100s of smartphones reviewed
☑️ 15 years of product testing
☑️ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total
☑️ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech

First reviewed April 2025

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