The Best Phones You Can't Buy in the US

WIRED

27-03-2025

These phones are worth considering if you have yet to see something you like.
Photograph: Simon Hill
Oppo Find N5 for £1,106: It's a real shame that the Find N5 won't even land in the UK or Europe because the world's slimmest book-style foldable (3.6 mm open) is a lovely phone. The 6.62-inch cover display and 8.12-inch inner display are excellent, and the Find N5 has top specs all the way (Snapdragon 8 Elite, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB storage, 5,600 mAh battery, 80W wired and 50W wireless charging). The triple-lens camera (50-MP main, 50-MP telephoto, 8-MP ultrawide) is the most obvious compromise, a necessity for this form factor. The slightly buggy software and bloatware are the only other detractors, but the potential pain of importing will be enough to put most folks off.
Xiaomi Poco F7 Ultra for £649 and F7 Pro for £499: While Poco has traditionally been a budget brand, the aptly named F7 Ultra takes it into new territory. This phone boasts a few flagship-level features, such as the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset with the VisionBoost D7 for graphics, a powerful triple-lens camera, and a lovely, high-resolution 6.67-inch display with a 120-Hz refresh rate. It also scores an IP68 rating and offers up to 50-watt wireless charging. The catch is a price hike over previous Poco F series releases, but at the early bird price, the F7 Ultra is a compelling bargain. The F7 Pro is more in line with what we expect from the brand, with an older processor, limited camera, and no wireless charging. Both run Xiaomi's HyperOS 2 and have too much bloatware, but Xiaomi now promises four Android version upgrades and six years of security patches.
Realme 14 Pro+ for 530 Euros: The color-changing finish may be gimmicky, but it's fun, and this phone looks and feels far more expensive than it is. There are more highs than lows on the spec sheet. You get a triple-lens camera, an IP68/69 rating, a 6,000 mAh battery, and a 6.83-inch OLED display with a 120-Hz refresh rate, but the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset is limited, there's no wireless charging support, and no charger in the box. It is still quite a bargain and should be landing in the UK soon.
Xiaomi 15 for £899: Folks seeking a more compact phone than the Xiaomi 15 Ultra could do a lot worse than its smaller sibling. The Xiaomi 15 feels lovely, with a 6.36-inch screen, a decent triple-lens camera, and top-notch internals. But it's a conservative design, kind of pricey, and it has the same software and bloatware issues as the Ultra.
Honor Magic 7 RSR for £1,550: Designed with Porsche, this souped-up version of the 7 Pro above has a fancier design with a hexagonal camera module, a slightly improved telephoto lens, 24 GB of RAM (likely largely pointless), 1 TB of storage, and a bigger battery (5,850 mAh). It's lovely but doesn't do enough to justify the additional outlay.
Oppo Find X8 Pro for £1,099: The last two Oppo flagships didn't officially make it to the UK and Europe, so the X8 Pro marks a welcome return. This is a polished phone with a quad-lens camera (all 50 MP), but it feels like a downgrade from the Find X7 Ultra I used last year because of the smaller sensor. It is fast, with excellent battery life, speedy wired and wireless charging, IP68/69 protection, and no obvious omissions. But it's pricey, flagships should not have bloatware, and I'd prefer to wait for the X8 Ultra.
Honor 200 Pro for £499: I don't love the design of the Honor 200 Pro (7/10, WIRED Review), but it has a versatile triple-lens camera with a capable portrait mode. There are also some useful AI features, and the battery life is good, with fast wired and wireless charging. It cost £200 more at launch, but at this new lower price, it is a far more attractive option.
Xiaomi Mix Flip for £749: Xiaomi's first flip phone is surprisingly good, with two relatively bright and roomy screens, solid stamina, fast charging, and snappy performance. It's a shame Xiaomi didn't craft more flip screen-specific features. It doesn't help that the Mix Flip was too expensive at launch (£1,099), but at this reduced price, it's a decent shout for folks craving a folding flip phone.
Nubia Z70 Ultra for £749: Much like last year's Z60 Ultra (6/10, WIRED Review), the Z70 Ultra is a value-packed brick with an excellent 6.8-inch display, Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, versatile triple-lens camera, and 6,150 mAh battery. Unfortunately, the camera is inconsistent and poor at recording video, and the software is shoddy (with only three Android version updates promised).
Oppo Reno 12 Pro for £395: There are a couple of reasons to consider the Reno 12 Pro: the camera and the battery life. A main camera and a telephoto lens, both rated at 50 megapixels, are rare at this price (there's also an 8MP ultrawide and a 50MP selfie camera). But I don't like the plastic design, there's bloatware galore, and the performance is just OK.
Xiaomi 14T Pro for £470: As the mid-year follow-up to Xiaomi's flagship 14, the 14T Pro (7/10, WIRED Review) is a bit of a bargain and has dropped in price since I reviewed it. The basics are nailed, with a big screen, good performance, plenty of stamina, and a solid camera. But there is bloatware, Xiaomi's software, and the lack of wireless charging to contend with.
OnePlus Nord 4 for £369: With a metal unibody, the Nord 4 stands out and also boasts an excellent screen, enough processing power for most folks, impressive battery life, and fast charging. The main camera is fine, and there's a nifty AquaTouch feature that lets you use the phone with wet hands. But there's no wireless charging, the ultrawide camera is disappointing, and there's some bloatware.
Avoid These Phones
These aren't bad phones necessarily, but we think you'd be better served by something above.
Xiaomi Mix Fold 4 for £1,085: Only officially released in China, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 4 is a stylish folding phone with a 6.56-inch outer screen that folds open to reveal a 7.98-inch inner screen. It also offers solid performance and battery life, but despite having a large quad-lens camera module, the camera is underwhelming. The crease is also pronounced, and using a Chinese model is a bit of a pain as various things are not translated, and there's work in getting the apps you want.
Realme GT7 Pro for £774: This potential flagship killer has a 6.78-inch OLED screen, a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, and an enormous 6,500 mAh battery. You also get a triple-lens camera, but the 50-megapixel main and telephoto lenses are let down by the 8-megapixel ultrawide. It also lacks wireless charging, and you'll have to import it to the UK as it only seems to be on sale in Germany.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro+ for £369: An attractive, durable design (IP68), a 200-megapixel Samsung camera sensor, and decent battery life with super fast charging (120W) must be balanced against middling performance, poor ultrawide (8 MP) and macro (2 MP) lenses, and a ton of bloatware. Ultimately, there's little improvement over last year's Redmi Note 13 Pro+ (6/10, WIRED Review), and it's not just that there are better phones for the same money; there are better Xiaomi phones.
Xiaomi Poco F6 for £268 or F6 Pro for £339: A real bargain when first released, the Poco F6 series (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is still tempting with a big screen, decent performance, and a pretty capable camera, but there's bloatware, shoddy software, and limited long-term support. The F6 is a better value than the Pro.
Motorola Edge 50 Pro for £399: It may be falling in price, but the Motorola Edge 50 Pro (7/10, WIRED Review) only has a couple of Android upgrades to go. While the design is compact and there's a lovely display, I found it lacked processing power, with sometimes sluggish camera performance, and there are better options above.
Nubia Flip 5G for £419: We had some fun with the Nubia Flip 5G (6/10, WIRED Review), and it was the cheapest flip foldable available for a while. The circular cover screen is cute, but it can't do much. The performance was average a year ago, and the annoying software and update policy are major strikes against it.