MKBHD Mobile Awards - Best Mobile Phones of 2025

MKBHD’s 2025 Mobile Awards

Each year Marques Brownlee, one of tech’s most respected reviewers with over 20 million subscribers, publishes his Smartphone Awards video where he highlights the standout smartphones of the year across multiple categories. The 2025 awards reflect a competitive and diverse smartphone landscape, with both familiar favorites and surprising winners.

At the top of the list, the Apple iPhone 17 was crowned Phone of the Year — praised for becoming a more complete and well-rounded flagship thanks to upgrades like a 120 Hz display, improved storage, and an enhanced selfie camera. It also won Most Improved compared with its predecessor.

List of Awards with Winners Phones 

Best Big Phone

This phone earned recognition for making the most of its large display, offering a great experience for media consumption, gaming, and productivity without compromising performance.

• Oppo Find x9 pro
• Xiaomi 17 Pro Max (winner)

Best Small Phone

Awarded to a compact phone that delivered flagship-level performance while remaining easy to use with one hand—something increasingly rare in today’s smartphone market.

• OnePlus 13s
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7

Best Camera Phone

Given to the smartphone with the most reliable and impressive camera system, focusing on real-world results rather than just specs. This phone excelled in photo consistency, video quality, and color accuracy across different lighting conditions.

• Apple iPhone 17 Pro
• Vivo x300 Pro
• Oppo Find x9 pro (Winner)

Best Value Smartphone

This category celebrated a phone that offered exceptional performance and features at an affordable price, proving that a great smartphone experience doesn’t always require a flagship budget.

• Nothing CMF 2 Pro (Winner)
• Moto G Play 
• Google Pixel 9a
• Apple iPhone 17 (base version)

Best Battery

Won by a device that delivered outstanding endurance, easily lasting a full day or more under heavy usage. Efficient power management and fast charging also played a key role.

• One Plus 13
• OnePlus 15 (Winner) - Silicon Carbon Battery
• Doogee S200 Ultra

The Design Award

This award went to the phone with the most striking and thoughtful design, combining aesthetics, materials, and ergonomics to stand out in a crowded market.

• iPhone Air (Winner)
• Xiaomi 17 Pro Max
• Galaxy S25 Edge 

Best Foldable Phone

Honored the foldable phone that felt the most refined and practical, with improved durability, smoother software optimization, and better everyday usability.

• Samsung Z Fold 7 (Winner)
• Pixel 10 Pro Fold

Most Improved 

This award recognized a phone that made the biggest leap over its previous generation, fixing past shortcomings and adding meaningful upgrades that significantly improved the overall user experience.

• Apple iPhone 17 (Base version) (Winner)
• OnePlus 15 
• Samsung Z fold 7

Bust of the Year

Given to a phone that failed to meet expectations, either due to poor value, missed features, or decisions that didn’t make sense for its price or target audience.

• Apple iPhone 16E (Winner)
• Nothing Phone 13

Phone of the Year

Awarded to the most well-rounded smartphone of 2025, this device stood out for delivering an excellent balance of performance, camera quality, software experience, battery life, and long-term reliability. It may not be perfect in every area, but it does everything consistently well.

• iPhone 17 
• Xiaomi 17 Pro Max

The awards also include candid recognitions like Bust of the Year, which this year went to Apple’s iPhone 16e for failing to win fans despite a high price tag.

Link to complete list of MKBHD 2025 recommended phones https://bmobile.in/mobiles/MKBHD2025/