We’re probably the reviewer who’s done the most phone reviews across all of YouTube this new phones season, and we’ve purchased every single unit ourselves as soon as they are available. So if you ask us: Do we have a list of your most recommended phones right now? Well, this article is our answer.
And Christmas is just around the corner—have you thought about buying a new phone as a gift for your family, or even for yourself? With Black Friday happening now, most shopping platforms are running promotions, and of course, GeekWills is no exception. We picked out 14 phones that are worth recommending. If you purchase any of these phones before Christmas, you can use a discount code for either 100 or 50 dollars off. For those of you who are interested in Chinese-version phones, you can click this link to buy them.
Xiaomi 17 Pro Max
Without a doubt, the first phone I recommend is the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max. Don’t be fooled by how much I complained in the review—actually, I like it quite a lot. I’m personally not interested in the rear display, but I’ve seen many people who really like this screen, for taking selfies with the rear camera. Many women in China also bought it because they can customize the wallpaper on that display. This phone has all the Pro Max features and is more unique—of course, also cheaper than Apple’s version. The only part that’s technically not very strong is the ultra-wide camera, but besides that, I can hardly find anything wrong with it. As the best-selling Android flagship in China, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max should also be very appealing to users in other regions. So, yes, I recommend fans with a higher budget give this most unique Xiaomi phone a try.
REDMI K90 Pro Max
For fans who don’t have such a big budget but still want a Pro Max-level experience, you can check out this one: the REDMI K90 Pro Max. It offers a similar user experience to the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max. For example, it uses the same display panel with the latest RGB S-Stripe arrangement. The focal lengths of the three cameras, the battery size, the charging speed, and the charging protocols are almost identical. Like me, if you’re not interested in the rear display, REDMI replaced it with a subwoofer on the K90 Pro Max. With its 2.1-channel audio, this phone has the best speakers I’ve ever heard on a smartphone, period. Plus, with its reasonable price, this is my favorite Pro Max phone of the year.
OPPO Find X8 Ultra
So which one is my favorite Ultra phone? The answer is the OPPO Find X8 Ultra. The reason is simple: I like phones without obvious weaknesses, and with an amazingly powerful camera system. This is the phone I cannot find flaws in. The newly released Find X9 Pro is also a very well-balanced phone—so why didn’t I pick that one? Simply because the X8 Ultra is on another level. It has a one-inch sensor for the main camera, and the two telephoto cameras are arranged with very practical focal lengths. The camera system alone already puts it far above the competition. Until other brands release their next-generation Ultra models, the Find X8 Ultra is the best ultra-tier phone without question.
iQOO 15
Among these phones, the iQOO 15 is the most ordinary one, and also the most balanced one. Although it is a sub-brand of Vivo, it follows a completely different path from the X300 series. The iQOO 15 uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5, and its vapor chamber is the largest I’ve ever seen, so its gaming performance is the best among all these phones. And with the major upgrade to the telephoto camera this gen, its camera performance doesn’t lag much behind vivo’s flagship phones. For people who love the vivo X300 but dislike the MediaTek platform, the iQOO 15 is made exactly for them.
REDMI K90 & MOTO X70 Air
After introducing so many expensive phones, is there a cheaper option? Yes. I think the REDMI K90 is a great mid-range phone. It has Bose-tuned dual speakers, a screen with a new pixel arrangement, 100W charging, and a 7100mAh battery. Although it uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, considering the relatively small improvement of the 8 Elite Gen5, this is a reasonable choice.
Think the K90 is too ordinary? No problem. The MOTO X70 Air, at the same price, gives you a completely different experience. As a phone with “Air” in its name, it truly achieves lightness and thinness. It weighs under 160g, less than 6mm thick, yet still has a 4800mAh battery. The only drawback is that the Snapdragon 7 Gen4 processor is slightly weaker in performance. Even so, it is currently the cheapest “Air” model on the market, and I’m sure some people will like it.
Other
There are many other excellent phones with big Black Friday discounts. For example, the vivo X300 series with highly-praised camera system, the OPPO Find X9 series with the fewest weaknesses, the realme GT8 series co-branded with the well-known camera company Ricoh, and the HONOR Magic 8 Pro with its extremely eye-friendly display. Although the OnePlus 15 has some downgrades this year, the discounted Chinese version is still worth buying. Because there’s an old saying: there are no bad phones, only bad prices. These phones all have their own characters and large fanbases. If you want to buy a new phone before 2025 ends, I believe now is the best time. By the way, if the phone you want isn’t on this list, GeekWills also has a $30 off coupon for orders over $500. You can use this coupon on any phone that costs more than $500.
Summary
Due to the rising demand for AI, the cost of RAM and ROM continues to increase. Next year’s phones will definitely become more expensive because of this. This year’s phones have much larger batteries, and the new Snapdragon chips perform well. Each brand’s phones also have their own unique characters. If you want to buy a phone that can last you several years, I think now is the best time to buy one. Whether you want to buy it or not, you can still check GEEKWILLS. Maybe the price is lower than you expect, so you can decide whether to buy one.
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