Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and when it comes to determining the best smartphone design, there is a lot to note. With new flagship phones from Samsung and OnePlus debuting this month, we’ve got even more devices looking to turn heads with unique looks and the right mix of materials.
And make no mistake – there is an amazing amount of variety when it comes to smartphone designs. While it’s true that the candy bar design made famous by the original iPhone a decade and a half ago is still ubiquitous, we’ve spotted quite a few devices that are trying to stand out from the crowd, with varying degrees of success.
Deciding on the best phone design is a purely personal exercise. We can run tests to find out the best phone battery life or the fastest phone in the last year. Phone design, in contract, comes down to personal taste.
So why fight it? We asked our phone team to draw on the expertise that comes from testing and reviewing the best phones and picking their favorite design from the packaging. Here’s what they came up with when tasked with choosing the best designer phone you can buy right now.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of the rare new phones you can pick from a bunch with the screen off, thanks to its trademark rectangular frame. Besides the cameras built individually on the back — now added to the cheaper Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus models as well — Samsung has done a good job of standing out among its Android peers.
The Ultra model also offers the premium build that users who spend $1,199 — or more — deserve. As we noted in our Galaxy S23 Ultra review, the new phone uses the latest in tempered glass front and back to reduce damage. It’s also IP68 rated for water/dust resistance, and features aluminum sides that still look premium and feel premium without weighing the phone down quite like Apple’s stainless-steel-clad rails on the iPhone’s pro models.
The S23 Ultra also manages to combine the best of flat and curved edge phones, by having flatter sides and a subtly curved screen. It helps make the phone easier to hold while reducing the risk of accidental touches, and makes the built-in stylus (a feature very few other phones released today) more usable. You may have your own aesthetic preferences, but it’s hard to argue with the effectiveness of the Galaxy S23’s design when it comes to the phone’s identity and practicality. – Richard Brady
iPhone 14 Pro Max
Whatever you think of Apple, it’s hard to argue that the company’s design ingenuity is among the best — especially when it comes to smartphones. The iPhone is instantly recognizable, no matter which of the best iPhones you’re talking about, and not just because of the logo on the back. This is especially true of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
One of the main things I love is that Apple has taken the “flat” concept to an extreme: flat screen, flat buttons, flat edges, and a (mostly) flat back. Flat days often mean boring, but this simple approach works well for the iPhone 14 Pro Max. So much so that I don’t even care about the prominent black bezel around the phone.
A camera bump spoils this effect a bit, but I’m willing to forgive the camera’s design. This three-lens design reminds me of old vintage camcorders—a relic of the 8mm era, but without the hassle of dealing with film reels. This design has been around for a while, sure, but honestly I hope it never goes away. – Tom Pritchard
Google Pixel 7
I have a lot of different phones laying around the office, and the Pixel 7 is the one that always brings the hint of a smile to my face when I glance at it. I understand this isn’t a popular opinion — since Google adopted the horizontal camera bar for the Pixel 6’s look, this design decision has proven to be divisive. But the heart wants what it wants, and in my case that’s a line of camera lenses arranged horizontally across the back of the phone.
At a time when phones seem to use the same cookie-cutter design — the camera array is crammed into one corner of the phone — the Pixel is forging its own path.
I’m happy with the look of the Pixel 7 for several reasons, some aesthetic and some practical. First, the Pixel looks completely different. At a time when phones seem to use the same cookie-cutter design — the camera array is crammed into one corner of the phone, which comes in a variety of grey, black, and white — the Pixel is forging its own path. After introducing the camera strap look with the Pixel 6, Google fine-tuned things for the Pixel 7, swapping out the plastic strap for a sleeker aluminum one with a matte finish.
From a practical standpoint, I appreciate how the camera strip keeps the Pixel 7 (or Pixel 7 Pro, if you prefer the larger model) nice and steady when the phone is laid on its back. Other phones with camera arrays sticking out from the back have a felt vibration when you place them at the bottom of the screen, which I find very annoying.
I’ll be the first to admit that I wish Google had kept the two-tone look for the Pixel 6, as the bar above the camera bar was a more vibrant shade than the rest of the phone. But other than that, it’s hard to think of a phone outside of the best foldable phones that has a more interesting design than the Pixel 7. Philip Michaels
OnePlus 11
I’ve always been a fan of OnePlus phone design, ahead of the OnePlus 11’s global launch earlier this week. As far as it goes, one of my all-time favorite devices is the red OnePlus 6, which hit the scene nearly five years ago.
But starting with the OnePlus 10 Pro, I’m starting to see a stronger sense of “maturity” in the phone maker’s aesthetic. This came out on top with the OnePlus 11, which takes the design of its predecessor and improves it by adding a circular camera module. I’m a huge fan of the look here, which immediately catches my eye. And unlike the Pixel 7 Pro, it does it in a good way.
As I noted in my review on the OnePlus 11, I prefer the black color way this year, since the green variant of the OnePlus 11 is so glossy and reflective. (Seriously, phone makers have stopped doing this.) The OnePlus 11 isn’t the prettiest phone I’ve ever seen, but I like it a lot more than the boring iPhone 14 Pro and polarizing Pixel 7 Pro. – Jordan Palmer
What is the best designer phone?
Agree with one editor in particular? Or did we miss out on designing a phone that you think deserves the highest level of excellence? Let’s hear about it in the comments.
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