2025 has been another top-quality year for smartphones. Even if most of the kind words get lobbed at the same brands, there have been some awesome devices launched by companies from across the globe. And as a result, I have found that my no. 1 phone of 2025 is not from the oft-praised Samsung or Apple.
It is the Oppo Find N5, a foldable phone that launched early this year, albeit in select markets excluding the U.S. It is perhaps weird to still be talking about a foldable launched in February when so many other good foldables launched this year, especially when many of those other devices are easy to buy. But to me, the Find N5 's quality still stands up.
Why the Find N5?
Oppo has a strong track record, but even compared to its predecessors the Find N5 is such a slick thing. Whether you buy it in the beautiful matte black or the elaborately-layered white colorways, it's stunning to look at. Meanwhile, the Find N5's thin body, well-sized camera block and metal reinforcement around the USB-C port tell you this is as well-engineered as it is attractive.
It's the practical things that Oppo gets right too. The Find N5 is furnished with a generous default memory spec, a large battery with rapid wired and wireless charging, and two spacious, well-proportioned displays that are comfortable to use whether the phone is open or closed.
On the software side, Oppo's Boundless View multitasking is the smartest multi-app interface available on any foldable phone, making it easy to switch quickly across a flexible workspace of up to three apps. Then there's O+ Connect, which lets you pair the Find N5 with a Mac or PC to swap files, use apps on your computer display or remotely access your devices via the Find N5. I still don't think any foldable phone's reached the point of being a standalone work device, but the closest you can get right now is with the Oppo Find N5.
There's one phone that gave me pause when trying to give the Find N5 its flowers — the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. It's our current top-ranked book-style foldable, so why does it not get this coveted honor?
The thing is I do really like the Z Fold 7 as well, and if anything was more impressed by it on launch. Oppo's Find N3 from last year was similarly as good as the Find N5, whereas the leap between Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 7 was huge. And you can't underemphasize the importance of the Z Fold being available in the U.S. and elsewhere where the Find N5 is not. How good a phone is doesn't matter if you can't actually buy it.
However, I still think that the Find N5's better-rounded cameras and continued support for styluses (on both displays, not just the inner one like old Z Folds) make it a more successful foldable overall. There's also the matter of the Oppo's 80W wired/50W wireless charging and its 5,500 mAh battery, which is miles ahead of the Galaxy Z Fold 7's 25W/15W options and its 4,400 mAh capacity.
Back in February, once I finished my review, I kept using the Find N5 for as long as I could before I needed to switch it out for a new sample for review. But I still miss it. The only thing stopping me from moving back in has been the non-stop march of new handsets throughout this year.
Like a best friend from summer camp or a first love from long ago, I'll never forget the Oppo Find N5. But as the phone business continues to produce new models, all I can hope is that any Find N6 or later model can capture some of the same feeling.
Runner-up: Nothing Phone 3
As is my custom, I also have another phone from this year I want to highlight for its quality and novelty. This time, it's the Nothing Phone 3.
Nothing's first flagship-grade handset has taken the company's hardware and aesthetic capabilities to new heights. Unfortunately it's not quite on par with the flagship phone establishment, but it has more than enough unique charms to attract users all the same.
While the new design is divisive — even for existing Nothing fans — I love the look of the Phone 3. The Glyph Matrix is great fun as well, full of little widgets to play with as well as practical functions like flagging notifications, acting as a camera viewfinder or displaying recording waveforms.
Accusations of smartphones all converging to a single point, much like evolution does with gradually turning every organism into crabs, are generally well-founded. But I'm glad we have companies like Nothing who can break out of the gradually shrinking box of smartphone design possibilities and offer curious users something different.
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