In our mind, Samsung is the best phone brand you can choose in 2021. It produces excellent phones at various prices and has even improved its lackluster record of software updates.
Apple and Google are both hot on Samsung's heels – the two tech giants produce fantastic phone brands with the ubiquitous iPhone and the ever-evolving Google Pixel series.
Of course, while individual phone models are important, picking the right phone brand will help you get a long-term insight into how your phone will be supported in the years to come.
Samsung Phones
The Korean brand manages to produce brilliant phones at various prices – something few other companies can achieve. Whether you want to splurge on a wallet-busting Galaxy Note 10 or Galaxy S20 or scrimp on a Galaxy A10, there’s something for everyone.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
Arguably the best phone on the market at the moment, the S21 Ultra 5G is a true tour de force with class-leading hardware and Samsung's typical “more-is-more” approach to features.
The S21 Ultra comes with a huge 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a 1440×3200 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate for super-smooth scrolling. The S21 Ultra's screen even has curved edges to make it feel even smaller in your hand. What's more, the S21 Ultra's display is HDR10+ enabled and can manage a very impressive 1500 nits of brightness.
The S21 Ultra comes with the latest and super-powerful Snapdragon 888 processor. You can also choose between 12GB and 16GB of RAM — though the 16GB option is, in our view, overkill.
The S21 Ultra comes with four rear cameras: a 10Mp periscope lens for up to 10x optical zoom, another 10Mp telephoto lens, a 12Mp ultrawide lens, and a crazy 108Mp main lens for remarkable levels of detail. 4K videos can be recorded at up to 60fos, and you can record 240fps slow-mo videos at 1080p. Round the front, you get a 40Mp selfie camera that can record up to 4K resolution video at 60fps. You can also record up to 8K video at an admittedly sluggish 24fps.
The S21 Ultra has a huge 5,000 mAh battery and can support up to 25W fast charging. Samsung claims that you'll get up to 22 hours of video playback time or 41 hours of talk time.
Prices start from a cool $1,199.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro
The iPhone 12 Pro gets a new design compared to the 11 Pro it replaced, with squared-off sides reminiscent of the older iPhone 5.
However, perhaps the iPhone 12 Pro's biggest selling point is its new processor — the A14 Bionic. It promises, with good reason, to be the most powerful processor of any phone on sale. It's 5G-ready and is paired with 6GB of RAM, the most of any iPhone ever, for speedy performance.
It has a 6.1-inch OLED display with a 1170×2532 resolution, supporting HDR10 and Dolby Vision for excellent visuals. When it comes to cameras, the 12 Pro has a triple-megapixel camera.
Motorola Phones
You might think of Motorola as a brand relegated to the smartphone cemetery, but you’d be wrong. The brand that gave us the iconic RAZR is still knocking out some incredible mid-range phones, which are well worth looking at.
Moto G Power
The Motorola Moto G Power is one of the most impressive cheap phones on the market with a serious party trick — a genuine three-day battery life.
The G Power gets a 5,000 mAh battery, which translates into epic longevity thanks to its relatively low-powered processor and LCD.
Aside from the battery, you also get three rear-facing cameras: a 16Mp main lens, an 8Mp ultrawide, and a 2Mp macro lens. You also get a 16Mp selfie camera.
The Snapdragon 665 processor — with 4GB of RAM — isn't the speediest on the market, but it should be more than enough to get through the basic tasks.
Nokia Phones
Recently resurrected, Nokia has come back to life with a flurry of activity, launching some seriously impressive mid-range Android phones. They’re certainly not flagship killers – leave that to OnePlus – but they provide a compelling alternative to Samsung’s cheaper options.
Nokia G10
The G10 is Nokia's bread-and-butter — a cheap phone with stripped-back Android skin, handsome looks, and strong battery life.
The G10 comes with a low-resolution 720×1600 LCD and a relatively sluggish MediaTek Helio G25 processor. You do get a choice of between 3GB or 4GB RAM.
However, with those low-end specs, you get a long battery life — Nokia claims up to three days of use are possible between charges. With a 5,050 mAh battery, we can believe its claims, as well.
Oppo Phones
You might not be too familiar with the Oppo brand, but the Chinese company quickly becomes one of the biggest threats to the Apple/Samsung duopoly. It's can currently be a bit of a struggle to get your hands on an Oppo phone.
Oppo Find X3 Pro
The Find X3 Pro ticks every box you'd expect from a flagship Android phone in 2021. It has a $1,000+ price tag, many high-megapixel cameras, a 120Hz refresh rate screen, and ridiculous fast-charging capabilities.
The Find X3 Pro is built around a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 1440×3216 resolution and HDR10+ capability.
It has four rear cameras: 50Mp main and ultrawide cameras, a 13Mp telephoto lens, and a 3Mp microscope camera. You also get a 32Mp selfie snapper. It's also powered by the latest Snapdragon 888 processor and is married to a choice of 8GB, 12GB, or 16GB RAM.
The Find X3 Pro gets a 4,500 mAh battery — it's not huge compared to much of the competition. But, thankfully, it gets 65W fast charging out of the box, which can give you a full 100% charge in just under 45 minutes.
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