News Smartphones in 2025 are fun again — if you look beyond the carriers

OnePlus phones are great value. I just put a new battery in my 4-or-so year old OnePlus 8 pro, slapped on a new screen protector, and now it feels like a new phone! Still runs great, enough storage, awesome cameras.
 
I walked away from Samsung last year and honestly I haven't really missed them. I've been using more, what I like to call, boutique style brands. Started with a Red Magic 9 and not a One Plus 13. I've been extremely happy.