Best premium all-rounders 2026 - buyer’s guide

The Poco F8 Ultra has a really long list of positives. The display goes really bright and supports all sorts of HDR. Battery life is indeed great, and charging is plenty fast too. The speakers were a nice surprise - we thought it was going to be all marketing, but the Bose-branded setup is actually quite impressive. The denim-like back cover could be a selling point if you're tired of all phones looking the same and the addition of eSIM support on this model will make it a viable option for travelers.

Then there's the camera system, which is completely reworked for this generation. A higher-grade main camera means great stills and video, day and night. And it's good at 2x zoom too, so the new 5x telephoto's added reach won't have you missing the 2.5x zoom camera of the F7 Ultra. The ultrawide has its limitations, but it does have a sweet spot which may align with yours. Selfies, too, are pretty great, even if we typically shudder at the sight of a 32MP fixed-focus front-facing camera.

The Poco F8 Ultra makes a few small missteps - no one is perfect. In the game of budgeting and market segmentation, a couple of camera choices ended up being less than ideal, though even in failing to provide everything, the phone still manages to do quite well with what it's got. Yes, we'd take a selfie camera with autofocus and we'd also prefer a wider ultrawide, but selfies aren't bad as is, and the ultrawide has its virtues (well, not in video).

Similarly, the display may not go below 60Hz but with battery life as long as it is, how much better could things have been with more granular refresh rate control? Now, we'll admit that the long-term CPU load graph doesn't look good, but that too can easily be rationalized around.

The Poco F8 Ultra is well worth considering and one of the best all-rounders this season.

The Motorola Signature brings a well-rounded, premium experience with very few obvious weak spots and plenty of highlights that justify its top-tier positioning.

The design and build quality are excellent, with a sleek yet sturdy chassis and Motorola's typical attention to durability. The display is another standout - sharp, vibrant and highly capable, even if its manual brightness isn't class-leading. The stereo speakers are superb as well, delivering loud and rich audio that easily ranks among the best in the segment.

Performance is undeniably flagship-grade. While the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 isn't the absolute fastest chip available right now, it is more than powerful enough for everyday use and gaming. The main drawback is sustained performance, as the phone throttles quite aggressively under prolonged load and can get noticeably warm.

Battery life is solid but not particularly exciting by modern flagship standards. Endurance is respectable, and the charging setup is versatile with fast wired and wireless options, but competitors are starting to push capacity further.

Where the Signature delivers a strong showing is in imaging. The quad 50MP camera system is versatile and capable across all focal lengths, with the main and telephoto cameras producing pleasing results in good lighting. That said, video tuning isn't perfect - daytime clips can look a bit contrasty on the main and telephoto cameras, while detail levels are only average, especially in lower light. The ultrawide camera also trails slightly behind the rest of the setup with softer output overall. Still, the system remains well-rounded and dependable for everyday shooting.

Motorola's clean Hello UI remains a major selling point. It's fast, uncluttered and packed with thoughtful extras like Smart Connect and Moto AI. The promise of up to seven major Android updates is also a huge confidence booster for long-term ownership.

While the Motorola Signature is undeniably well-rounded and easy to like, the competition in this segment is a notch above in terms of features. We wouldn't actively discourage anyone from picking one up, but we would advise you to carefully consider your options and weight the pros and cons.

The Pixel 10 is a nice upgrade over its predecessor with the new chipset, faster charging, larger battery, more versatile camera hardware with a 5x telephoto unit and brighter display. It is also one compact device with an excellent OLED, which makes it even more attractive.

Somehow, Google managed to downgrade the Pixel 9 in some regards, except maybe speaker quality and display. Maybe Google was too focused on the software and completely forgot about the hardware? We had high hopes for the 5x telephoto camera at least, but its performance is unimpressive and doesn't justify the downgrade in the main and ultrawide cameras.

Bottom line, the Pixel 10’s price is just enough for it to become a viable recommendation in this category – an allrounder you may want to explore. Just don’t expect the iconic Pixel quality across the board, it just isn’t there.

The €599 Nothing Phone (4a) Pro ends up being a somewhat curious addition to the lineup. It's not a dramatic step up over the vanilla model, yet it still commands a noticeable price premium. What it does bring to the table is a more refined overall package - better build materials, a larger and smoother display, a more capable chipset (particularly on the GPU side) and the more advanced Glyph Matrix implementation, which remains one of the most distinctive features in the segment.

In day-to-day use, the phone feels polished and dependable. Battery life is excellent, thermals are well under control, and Nothing OS continues to be one of the cleanest and most visually cohesive Android skins around. The added AI features and deeper system integrations are interesting, even if not all of them feel essential yet.

However, the Phone (4a) Pro isn't without its compromises. Performance is solid, but not class-leading for the price, and the same can be said about charging speeds. The camera system is a bit of a mixed bag - the main camera is consistently good, and the telephoto performs very well in daylight, but overall consistency isn't its strongest suit, especially at certain zoom levels and in video recording. Video capabilities in particular feel underdeveloped compared to some rivals.

All things considered, the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is a well-rounded and likable mid-ranger with a unique identity, but it doesn't quite go far enough to clearly justify its "Pro" badge for most users. It's easy to recommend on its own merits, so it’s worth exploring if you like it.

Apple finally gave the vanilla iPhone, the iPhone 17 in this case, the two upgrades that matter most day-to-day: a premium 120 Hz LTPO display (with thin bezels) and usable base storage. A meaningfully better selfie camera, an upgraded 48 MP ultrawide (with AF for macro) and finally some progress in terms of charging speed make this the best rounded vanilla model Apple has ever made. It is also by far the easiest iPhone to recommend in the 2025 lineup.

It's not like it's flawless, but none of the downsides are actually deal-breakers. The A19's lack of a vapor chamber means noticeable heat and throttling under sustained load, but how often are you even going to push it that hard. The stereo speakers are quieter than last year's, the USB port still operates at 2.0 speeds, and Apple has effectively capped the brightness to 1,000 nits in what we assume is an attempt to extend battery life. iOS 26 brings Liquid Glass, but lacks polish.

Thus the overall package is very compelling: a phone with traditional Apple aesthetics, Pro-grade screen and performance, a capable camera and usable storage capacity was never this cheap. We'd be amazed if it's not by far the most popular option in Apple's 2025 lineup. Read full review

The Realme GT 8 Pro isn't exactly a new GT 7 Pro - it's looking like a slightly different kind of a proposition. This time around, Realme paid some special attention to the camera system - in addition to improving on the lineup's usual strong points. So yes, we have a super bright display that's even brighter than before, an extra large battery that's larger than last year, and, well, by definition, a better chipset.

But on top of that, we also get a high-end telephoto camera that's equally adept at closeups and distant subjects, and an ultrawide camera that doesn't look like it's coming from the previous decade (not that its lack of autofocus doesn't drag it down, but still). Realme chose a collaboration with Ricoh to spice things up and maybe that will draw in a customer or two, but we're not really seeing it as any sort of a real selling point.

Perhaps the most serious misstep of the GT 8 Pro is in its video stabilization, but it's not too bad? You could probably find a way to rationalize around that.

We're not sure how we feel about the whole camera bump accessorizing concept. It's unique, that's for sure. And the sampler set we received didn't strike us as particularly tacky or weird looking - maybe it's almost intriguing to be able to change things up a bit on what's by now become an extension of your hand.

Overall, the Realme GT 8 Pro feels like a proper flagship all-rounder ticking most of the right boxes. And if its feature set appeals to you, you will not regret buying this one.

The Honor Magic7 Pro does a lot of things right - to the high standard you'd expect from a top-shelf model - and it also manages to stand out in a couple of ways worth mentioning. At least two of them can be found in the pill-shaped cutout in the display - the selfie camera and the 3D face scanning bits that you can't get on all that many Androids. The unusually loud speakers are also possibly a selling point.

The Magic7 Pro impresses with a large 6.8-inch LTPO OLED screen of high resolution, high dynamic refresh rate, 10-bit color depth, and support for HDR and Dolby Vision streaming. It is also powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip for top-notch performance. All these goodies coupled with the awesome speakers make for one excellent multimedia device.

Honor's approach to zoomed in photos starts off promisingly with a sizable sensor, but is a bit of letdown in practice because of the added digital magnification. The smaller battery capacity for Europe-bound units is also a questionable development and one that is preventing the Magic7 Pro from achieving its full potential.

In the end, the Honor Magic7 Pro brings few updates over the Magic6 Pro and there is no point of upgrading. But if you are looking for a proper flagship experience with all-round feature set, the Magic7 Pro must be an instant addition to your shortlist. And if you liked if, you may want to consider its RSR Porsche Design edition, which has an unique design, a larger battery capacity and an improved telephoto optics for better image quality.

The market, and this price segment in particular, is far from crowded with compact smartphones. Quite the opposite, really. That scarcity plays directly into the Reno15 Pro (mini)’s favor, allowing it to stand out easily.

First off, the phone comes with a familiar-looking but well-executed design, centered around a solid build and well-chosen color options. The display impresses as well - it is sharp and bright, with smooth motion and vivid colors, and it supports HDR10+ across all streaming apps we tried.

Despite its compact footprint, the Reno15 Pro (mini) houses a surprisingly large battery, delivering excellent endurance on a single charge. Add to that the decently fast wired charging and the impressive stereo speakers, and the overall package becomes well-rounded.

Then there is the camera setup, which proved to be one of the phone’s highlights. All four cameras, including the selfie unit, deliver consistently excellent photos throughout the day. Video quality follows the same trend, helped along by near-flawless stabilization that works reliably across the board.

Finally, the Reno15 Pro (mini) comes with a genuinely fast chipset, though sustained performance is clearly not its strong suit. Peak performance drops off quickly under prolonged CPU or GPU loads, which is quite typical for the compact devices we've reviewed. The good news is that such extreme scenarios are unlikely to be common in day-to-day use.

And that just about sums it up. The Reno15 Pro (mini) gets almost everything right - a relatively compact size, an excellent display, impressive battery life, standout camera quality, and competent speakers. If it were not for the underwhelming sustained performance, it would have been perfect, but even as it is, it deserves an outstanding recommendation.