The first 5G phones have now arrived and in many cases they’re hugely impressive, not just supporting the newest, fastest mobile technology, but also packed full of other high-end tech and features.
However, at the time of writing there aren’t many to choose from, so while the following selection are the best, they also cover the vast majority of what’s available.
More will be released over time and we’ll be sure to update this list once there are compelling new options, but for now, ranked from worst to best, here are the six best 5G phones available to buy today.
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G is one of the cheapest 5G handsets you can get at the time of writing, and that’s one of the main reasons to choose it, since a 5G phone can be a major investment.
While it’s cheaper than most it’s still not cheap, but it does a good job of justifying its price tag, as this in most ways is a real flagship.
It has for example an all-screen front with virtually no bezel, achieved thanks to using a slide-out selfie camera. And that camera is dual-lens, packing both a 24MP main lens and a 2MP depth sensor.
You also get a dual-lens camera on the back of the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G. Specifically there are two 12MP lenses – one standard and one telephoto.
The Super AMOLED screen, as well as taking up the whole front, is massive at 6.39 inches and sharp (though not class-leading) at 1080 x 2340.
There’s also lots of power, thanks to a top-end Snapdragon 855 chipset and 6GB of RAM, a premium ceramic build, a 3,800mAh battery, and a fingerprint scanner – though this is on the back, rather than in the screen.
The position of the fingerprint scanner, along with the screen resolution, are two of the main things that hold this phone back from ranking higher. It also lacks a few features, such as water resistance, but again, it’s cheaper than most rivals, so that’s not a huge problem.
The Oppo Reno 5G has some similar selling points to the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G, including an all-screen front with a slide-out camera and a cheaper price tag than some rivals (though it’s not quite as cheap as Xiaomi’s option).
The Reno 5G has a mammoth 6.6-inch 1080 x 2340 AMOLED screen, a top-end Snapdragon 855 chipset, 8GB of RAM, an in-screen fingerprint scanner, and a big 4,065mAh battery.
The camera is a real highlight though, as there’s a triple-lens one on the back, made up of a 48MP main lens, a 13MP telephoto one (capable of 10x lossless zoom), and an 8MP wide-angle one. Though unlike the Mi Mix 3 5G there’s only one camera on the front, specifically a 16MP one.
Front camera aside it’s a slightly better phone than the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G, though still beaten by the options below.
The LG V50 ThinQ comes from a bigger name than the options above, which might be reassuring, but the flipside to that is that it costs more.
Still, it also betters them in some ways, most notably its 6.4-inch 1440 x 3120 P-OLED screen, which is substantially higher resolution and supports HDR10.
The LG V50 ThinQ is also IP68 certified water-resistant, so it can survive an accidental splash or dunk, which given what it costs is certainly desirable.
Like most other early 5G phone it has a top-end Snapdragon 855 chipset, and there’s a respectable 6GB of RAM too. The LG V50 ThinQ also has a triple-lens rear camera, with a 12MP main lens, a 12MP telephoto one, and a 16MP wide-angle one.
There’s a dual-lens camera on the front, with both an 8MP standard lens and a 5MP wide one, there’s a decent 4,000mAh battery, and impressive stereo speakers.
You can also optionally get the LG Dual Screen, which is an attachable 6.2-inch second screen, turning the LG V50 ThinQ into something approaching a foldable phone.
Not everything is a win – the fingerprint scanner is on the back rather than in the screen, and LG has opted for a notch and a bottom bezel, rather than achieving an all-screen design, but on the whole, this is a very impressive 5G phone.
The OnePlus 7 Pro 5G is simply a 5G version of the OnePlus 7 Pro, but that’s no bad thing, as the 7 Pro is a hugely impressive handset.
For a start it has one of the best screens around, namely a 6.67-inch 1440 x 3120 Fluid AMOLED one, so it’s big and sharp. It also supports HDR10+. But its real secret weapon is a 90Hz refresh rate, which makes interactions feel smoother and slicker than on almost any other phone (most of which have 60Hz refresh rates).
It also has an all-screen design with a pop-up 16MP selfie camera, while around the back there’s a triple-lens snapper, with a 48MP main lens, an 8MP telephoto lens, and a 16MP wide-angle one.
The OnePlus 7 Pro 5G also has plenty of power, thanks to a Snapdragon 855 chipset and 8GB of RAM, plus there’s a 4,000mAh battery, 256GB of storage, an in-screen fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers, and a premium metal and glass build – though notably no official water resistance rating. Still, that’s a small omission in an otherwise superb 5G phone.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is almost the best 5G phone you can buy right now. It’s also the best model in the Samsung Galaxy S10 range.
It has a 6.7-inch 1440 x 3040 curved Dynamic AMOLED screen with HDR10+ support, plus a quad-lens rear camera (with a 12MP variable aperture main lens, a 12MP telephoto one, a 16MP wide-angle one, and a Time of Flight depth sensor).
It even has a dual-lens camera on the front, with both a 10MP main lens and a depth sensor, so for both screen and cameras it’s one of the very best phones around.
It’s also one of the most powerful, thanks to a high-end Exynos 9820 chipset and 8GB of RAM. Plus it has an enormous 4,500mAh battery, up to 512GB of storage, a premium metal and glass build, water resistance, an in-screen fingerprint scanner, and more.
There’s very little that this phone doesn’t feature or excel at. Of course, as a result it’s expensive even by 5G phone standards, but it’s worth the money.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G edges out the Galaxy S10 5G for the top spot, as it has many of the same specs and features, along with a few upgrades.
For one thing, it’s even more powerful, with an octa-core Exynos 9825 chipset and 12GB of RAM. That chipset is so new that at the time of writing no other phones use it.
It also has an enormous 6.8-inch 1440 x 3040 curved screen that looks just as stunning as the Galaxy S10 5G’s, except here you can get more out of it thanks to the inclusion of an S Pen stylus.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G also has a quad-lens rear camera, with a 12MP variable aperture lens, a 12MP telephoto one, a 16MP ultra-wide one, and a DepthVision lens.
Plus there’s water resistance, a 4,300mAh battery, and a typically premium design. It’s only slightly better than the S10 5G, but if you want the very best 5G handset around, this is it.
So there you have it, the six best 5G phones available now. Given the high cost of 5G phones there’s not an option for everyone, but if you’re on a slightly limited budget then the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G or Oppo Reno 5G would be a good choice.
If you’ve got a bit more to spend and want a truly stunning screen then consider the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, while if money is no object then the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G or Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is the one to go for – though the LG V50 ThinQ is no slouch either, especially if you want a second screen.
Whichever one of these phones you choose though you’ll end up with a high-end, future-proofed handset that will help you make the most of 5G. Just make sure there’s 5G coverage in your area first.
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