Best Smart Phone in US for 2021: The top smartphones we’ve tested

Mobile phone tests at a glance: who is testing?

Who even tests cell phones? Here we present an overview of the most important mobile phone tests. Basically: It is better not to rely on a single test grade, but to use as many tests as possible. That just gives a better overall picture.

CHIP mobile phone leaderboard

The CHIP cell phone leaderboard is one of the veterans when it comes to cell phone tests. Here you will find over 200 smartphones and find out how they perform in the test. Attention: While the test grades in the overview (list of the best) are still being updated, the individual tests often show different grades (probably the first test grade).

Every cell phone receives a grade, which is made up of the individual grades of equipment, performance, battery, display and camera.

The price assessment is worth its own partial rating for the CHIP – this, in turn, is made up of the total number of points and the price.

With ones, CHIP is not stingy. So it’s no wonder that many manufacturers like the CHIP seal with the label “very good”. In our opinion, this is rated too loosely rather than too critically (end).

Best smartphones in the CONNECT test

Connect also takes on smartphones. A cell phone can achieve up to 500 points in the overall rating. The test also includes more in-depth technical aspects.

One thing is clear, however: Even the best devices don’t even come close to 500 points, at around 440 points (which corresponds to almost 88%) the top is over. This means that the CONNECT test results, measured against CHIP, are more critical.

ComputerBILD mobile phone test

As a specialist magazine, ComputerBILD insists on performing cell phone tests on a regular basis, often when the devices come out immediately. Equipment (camera, battery, connections, IP standard, display) and price are taken into account. In the Cobi mobile phone test, there is then a school grade as a result, although there are not too many A-class model students. The ratings are rather “worse” (measured against CHIP).

Stiftung Warentest smartphone test: irregular

In the mobile phone comparison of the Stiftung Warentest, there is always an update in which new smartphones are added. Mostly Samsung occupies the top places here, which may partly be due to the selection (it is noticeable that the test lists are updated quite shortly after the S or Note series is released, so you may be guided by the new releases from the South Koreans which then sometimes become test winners).

Because the selection is far from complete (especially shortly after the release), and the latest flagships are often missing. In addition, the update is more arbitrary than regular (twice a year) – and thus often a little out of time. We have to admit that there have been significant improvements in the last few tests. And the variety of models has increased.

It is still worth taking a look, but: The product testers are not particularly up-to-date or fresh. Perhaps more thoroughly instead. It was last tested in November 2021 – and these 18 models are new. Now at least the new iPhones are included.

DXoMark camera test

In the DXoMark camera set, the focus is on the smartphone camera. The main and front cameras are usually tested separately.

The DXoMark score is an important industry value and is made up of zoom, bokeh and autofocus. So you can assess whether the camera is delivering high-quality images.

Other test categories are the audio quality and, new since October 2021, the display.

Best smartphone camera

The smartphone with the best camera can therefore be found on the DxO hit list. Sometimes surprising who then suddenly tops this partial list of the best:

Experience of Amazon customers with smartphones

The mobile phone experiences of Amazon customers are also a good starting point for the search for the best smartphone. That is why we include the reviews in our overall rating. But only slightly, of course, because after all, these are rather subjective impressions that are only relevant as a whole.

Benchmark tests for smartphones

The hardware performance (such as processor, graphics chip) is measured using benchmark tests and given in the form of a score. Antutu, for example, is known for smartphone benchmarks.

EISA Award for the smartphone of the year

The EISA Award for the Smartphone of the Year is a prize given by an association of special interest magazines from all over Europe. In addition to the best smartphone, there are also awards for the best camera and the best foldable.

Most popular smartphone

Let us come from qualitative research to quantity. The most popular smartphone is measured on the basis of purchase numbers, so it is actually equivalent to the best-selling smartphone and of course, differs worldwide (purchasing power).

But you can already get an impression by doing this.