We're often questioned as to why we review smartphones when our wheelhouse is primarily hi-fi and home cinema products. Simply put, a smartphone is the primary device for listening to music for the majority of people out there, and now that nearly every phone is equipped with an OLED screen, it's probably the highest quality display that many people own.
Taking music and movies on the go is more popular than ever before, and for those who value cinematic authenticity and an audiophile experience for their long-haul flights or daily commute. Therefore, we think scoring the latest handsets to see how well they fulfil these duties is pretty important.
We've reviewed the latest handsets from Apple, Samsung and co, although with the former's new Duo on the scene we're keen to see whether it can upset the folding status quo. We hope to have a review of that one with you as soon as possible.
Each handset on this list has been thoroughly evaluated by our expert team, testing picture and audio quality primarily, as well as crucial other features such as day-to-day performance and camera quality. You can find out more about how we test smartphones here.
Now, without further ado, here are the best smartphones for music and movies...
I’m a Staff Writer on What Hi-Fi? who has grown up with smartphones. Over the years, I’ve used everything from cheap Androids to eye-wateringly pricey iPhones, witnessed the near extinction of the 3.5mm headphone port first-hand, and spent more hours watching Netflix on trains than I’d care to count, so I know what makes a good phone. I’ve since reviewed multiple generations of flagship and affordable handsets, so while my day-to-day work testing televisions and surround-sound systems means I can identify the phones with the best picture and audio performance, I also know exactly what to look for when it comes to general usability and camera quality.
19 October 2026: Apple's iPhone 18 Pro has replaced the iPhone 17 as best overall, which now becomes our best mid-range option, the Sony Xperia 10 VIII replaces the Xperia 10 VI as our best cheap option, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a our new best foldable. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra replace the Sony Xperia 1 VI and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 in our also consider section.
The best smartphone overall
Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro was introduced to the world at the same event that saw the foldable iPhone Duo unveiled for the first time, but for most people the 18 Pro remains the best option.
On paper the screen and audio hardware are practically identical to its predecessor, but our testing revealed some pleasantly surprising improvements on both fronts. Colours skew slightly cooler on its 6.3-inch OLED, which gives films such as Apple TV’s F1: The Movie a clean, punchy look that’s sharp, detailed and contrast-rich.
It doesn’t work quite so well with older flicks like Shutter Island but this is still a superb screen. In our five-star review we said it was “like having a small, high-quality OLED TV in your pocket”.
The audio is similarly impressive. The speakers are only small, so it’s not going to perform any miracles, but the spatial effect is convincing and dialogue is clear and precise.
Of course, with a pair of headphones connected it sounds even better. Clarity, dynamics and tonal balance are all superb.
Beyond movies and music the iPhone 18 Pro is just a brilliant handset all-round. The A20 Pro chip has oodles of power, a battery that lasts longer than before, and cameras that take crisp and detailed photos, with the variable aperture helping to produce better pictures in low light.
It’s not a gigantic step up from the iPhone 17 Pro, and the price has gone up, but this is still the best phone you can buy for on-the-go music and movies.
Read our full Apple iPhone 18 Pro review
The best cheap smartphone
Sony’s Xperia phones have filled a very particular niche for some time now and the 10 VIII ensures that will continue to be the case for the time being.
Despite costing less than half the price of the latest iPhone 18 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, the Xperia 10 VIII continues to offer a feature that neither of those flagships have for some time: a 3.5mm headphone socket.
Plug in your favourite pair of wired headphones and the Xperia 10 VIII delivers a crisp, clean and balanced sound that makes it an impressive portable music player for the money. Everything sounds suitably spacious and well-organised, the mid-range is natural and textured, and while bass and dynamism could be better, you’ll need to fork out significantly more cash for the iPhone either above or below this to get it.
Unplug them and there’s decent clarity and detail from the front-facing speakers, but space and weight are both limited, as you’d expect given their size.
Fire up a film and the 6.1-inch Full HD+ OLED display puts on an impressively cinematic performance. It’s crisp, bright, and balanced, with a realistic sense of depth and solidity, plus colours that pop without looking artificial. Detail levels are solid and motion is smooth, too. Sony’s TV expertise is clearly being put to good use here.
This is a budget phone, so it’s constructed mostly of plastic that is a little too keen to pick up fingerprints, but it still looks pretty smart and the screen’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 coating should stop it picking up scratches.
If an iPhone is out of your price range, the Sony Xperia 10 VIII is your best bet.
Read our full Sony Xperia 10 VIII review
The best mid-range smartphone
Apple is yet to release its standard iPhone 18, so if you can’t stretch to the Pro version at the top of this list, last year’s iPhone 17 still offers a lot of what makes the more expensive model great but with a significantly more palatable price tag.
With a 6.3-inch OLED screen that supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG, the iPhone 17 is equipped to deliver a picture that’s sharp and bright, with a strikingly three-dimensional effect. It’s still natural and balanced, though, with rich colours and great contrast, so you can still pick out details from the dark.
It’s a similar story with the audio. Using headphones the iPhone 17 sounds bold and punchy, with plenty of scale and dynamism. Bass is powerful and music sounds detailed, spacious and well-organised, while vocals are crisp and natural. You wouldn’t want to use the speakers to listen to music, but they’re good enough for the odd YouTube video or podcast.
This is a phone that’s now over a year old, so its A19 chip isn’t the latest but it’ll still have more than enough power to fly through day-to-day tasks, while the two 48MP cameras on the back produce sharp and colourful shots in all kinds of lighting conditions. Battery life is excellent, too.
The result is what our five-star review calls “one of the most compelling iPhones that Apple has ever made”, although we do now recommend it with one caveat: if you are thinking of buying one, be aware that an iPhone 18 is expected to launch sometime in early 2027.
Read our full Apple iPhone 17 review
The best foldable smartphone
One of the most compelling arguments for owning a folding phone is what it does for your on-the-go entertainment, but none really nailed the experience until Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 turned up.
Unlike the first wave of foldables, which kept the classic ‘candybar’ form factor, the Z Fold 8 offers a more movie-friendly shape when unfolded. The 7.6-inch internal screen is just brilliant for streaming movies and TV shows. With the natural colour profile active it delivers a sharp, colourful and solid image, although it can sometimes be a touch too vivid.
Motion is handled very well, and while a touch more dark detail would be nice, those extra inches really contribute to an enjoyably cinematic experience.
Using the built-in speakers, the device’s sheer size means you get a better sense of separation than most smartphones, which results in a surprising sense of scale and punch. With Dolby Atmos content the positioning of sounds is really quite impressive.
When listening to music through headphones, detail and clarity levels are impressive, timing is solid, and dynamics are good too – it’s just not quite as accomplished as the iPhones on this list.
Using the square-ish outer screen for day-to-day navigation is a joy. Scrolling is smooth, apps load quickly, and the battery life is great – it’ll last well over a day without any bother. It also feels surprisingly solid considering it’s so thin.
The arrival of Apple’s iPhone Duo may mean the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8’s days in this spot are numbered, and the high price tag is hard to ignore, but for now this is easily our favourite foldable.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 review
Also consider
The best alternative smartphones we've tested:
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Samsung’s equivalent to the iPhone 18 Pro is similarly expensive and offers some of the most cutting-edge smartphone tech out there. And while Samsung has improved its AV performance over its predecessor, it falls slightly behind its main rival when it comes to musicality. As an Android-powered alternative, though, there’s still plenty to like here.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: Samsung’s taller, thinner foldable is an option if you’re going to use the larger inside screen more for work than pleasure, but that’s exactly what makes it less appealing to us. Like the passport-style Z Fold 8 above its audio performance is also behind that of its iOS rivals, which means it’s only our second-favourite foldable we’ve tested so far.
How to choose the best smartphone for you
Picking the right smartphone that suits your needs best is harder than it sounds, and may in fact be a trickier task than picking the best TV or headphones. You use your smartphone every day, and for many of us it houses all the integral things we need to keep our day running smoothly. This is where the essentials come into play: good battery life, a design that's comfortable to hold, and a screen that's not too big and not too small.
Many of us also acquire our smartphones through a contract, most commonly these run for 24 months, so you need to plan ahead. Will the phone you choose have a powerful enough processor and enough RAM to last for two years? Which software platform do you want: Apple's iOS that's exclusive to iPhones, or Google's Android platform that's used by the likes of Samsung and Sony? And does the phone have enough features to keep you going for that time, such as a versatile camera or micro SD card support to expand the memory.
However, if you're after the highest quality AV performance (as we are), then that's where things become more black and white. You'll want an OLED screen for inky blacks and vibrant colours, with a 18:9 or 21:9 aspect ratio and minimal bezels, ideal for watching content uninterrupted and as the the filmmaker intended. As standard, many phones come with either a 1080p or 1440p, or in some cases a 4K display on the highest-end models. As smartphone displays are much smaller than TVs and even tablets, they are often very pixel dense, meaning that the highest resolution isn't always paramount, so don't be put off if your handset doesn't feature the highest-spec screen.
Audio is equally important, and the audio landscape on mobile phones has changed greatly in the last few years. Many now feature a stereo speaker setup that combines a loudspeaker and earpiece to create an often impressively loud and spacious sound. However what modern smartphones giveth, they must also taketh away as is the case with the 3.5mm headphone jack, which is an endangered beast on modern devices.
With all of these key factors in mind, many see it a daunting task to pick a new phone, dreading the day their contract is up. But fear not, all of the picks above are fully approved by us, which should be enough to help you make your decision.
Smartphone FAQ
What’s the difference between iOS and Android?
Every phone has an operating system (a bit like Windows on a PC) that makes everything work and allows you to navigate to and use its features. There are two main operating systems to choose from: iOS and Android.
iOS is exclusive to Apple phones, whereas Android, which was created by Google, is open-source, meaning any handset manufacturer can install it. Some even add their own skins on top and – for better or worse – preload exclusive apps.
Android tends to be more customisable than iOS, and in general Android phones are cheaper than iPhones, but the differences between the two are probably more negligible than ever these days and it usually just comes down to personal preference.
Which is better: iOS or Android?
The answer to that question is almost entirely subjective, and, unless this is your first smartphone, depends largely on which platform you’re used to. Both come with whole ecosystems of apps, cloud storage and other compatible devices, so sometimes it can feel like you’re locked into whichever one you chose initially.
At least with Android the wide-ranging list of manufacturers means you have plenty of choice when it comes to handsets, with nothing to stop you switching from Samsung to Sony or OnePlus to Google almost seamlessly.
Many Android users cite the freedom to customise as a big selling point, but there’s also something to be said for the more limited approach that Apple takes. Its tighter control over apps and services allows for a more consistent performance from and across iOS devices; with an iPhone you always know what you’re going to get.
Is resolution the most important screen spec?
Resolution is a good place to start, but having as many pixels as possible is arguably less important when you’re dealing with a display that’ll fit in your pocket, so you don’t need to worry about making sure your phone screen is 4K. Instead, look for the pixel density (or PPI, which stands for pixels per inch).
You’re going to be using your phone in all kinds of lighting conditions, so it’s also worth paying attention to the maximum brightness, which is measured in nits. The brighter the screen will go, the better it’ll be able to compete with direct sunlight, so you should be able to see it more clearly on nice days.
Refresh rate is another factor to consider. The higher the number the smoother it should feel in operation, although many phones now have screens with variable refresh rates, which change depending on what you’re asking the phone to do. That means it’ll be high when scrolling or watching video, but can be very low in order to enable an always-on mode.
All of the phones on our list have OLED screens, which tend to offer the best contrast, but cheaper phones will often use LCD instead.
How we test the best smartphones
While it’s true that smartphones aren’t our core focus at What Hi-Fi? (the clue’s in the name), the fact that they’ve become many people’s most-used item of technology, and for some the primary way they consume music and video, we think that it’s important to find out which ones are the best at doing just that.
Every product we test at What Hi-Fi? is subject to the same thorough process, which involves spending some time in our state-of-the-art testing facilities in London, Reading and Bath with our expert reviewers, but perhaps more than any other product type we also spend time with smartphones out in the real world. We use them in our day-to-day lives – while we commute, around the office, out and about at the weekends – testing every feature exhaustively.
Of course, we pay particular attention to the audio and video performance, so while it’s important to try out the camera and see how long the battery lasts, our smartphone reviews are skewed towards listening to music and watching videos. If that’s also important to you, you should read them carefully before taking the plunge on a phone that you might have to keep for the next two years or more.
Every smartphone we test is compared to its rivals, whether that’s the latest iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, or a handset from one of the newer upstarts, and all verdicts are the result of a collaboration that involves the whole editorial team, so you’re never getting the opinion of just one reviewer.
For more on how we test and review products, you can read our in-depth guide.
- 21st October 2025: Apple iPhone 17 becomes the best overall, iPhone 16e takes the best mid-range spot, and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra moves to the best premium position. The Sony Xperia 1 VI has been relocated to the also consider list.
- 21st May 2025: Apple iPhone 16e joins the also consider list.
- 20th March 2025: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra usurps S24 Ultra in best Samsung category.
- 11th September 2024: Sony Xperia 1 VI replaces the Sony Xperia 1 V, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 becomes an also consider option.
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