Compare smartphones

Which smartphone is right for you?

Start by asking yourself how much you want to spend and which operating system you’re looking for, as these two choices will narrow down the options most quickly. Then choose the feature that makes the biggest difference to you: camera, battery life, size or update frequency.

Compare by price range first

The handsets in this overview fall roughly into four categories, and each category has its own page.

• Budget phones: a selection with a fixed price limit, which also includes handsets with a numeric keypad. You get a fully functional phone but compromise on the camera, storage and update cycle.
• Low-end smartphones: fully-fledged smartphones with basic components, also referred to on our site as entry-level smartphones. Everything works, but photography and speed are the weak points here.
• Mid-range smartphones: everything you use on a daily basis runs smoothly; you’ll have to compromise on the extremes, such as zooming and low-light photography.
• High-end smartphones: generally the best cameras and screens, and the longest update commitments from the major brands, at the highest price on the whole site.

If you’re looking primarily for value rather than top-of-the-range models, the overview of budget phones is a better place to start.

Or start with a feature

If you already know what matters to you, these overviews will help you find the right device more quickly.

• New smartphones: the models that have just been released, with their full update cycle still ahead of them, but also at their most expensive.
• Camera phones: the handsets with the best cameras.
• Long battery life: for those who need to get through a long day without access to a power socket.
• Compact smartphones: handsets that can be operated with one hand.
• Rugged phones: built to withstand drops, dust and water, for outdoor work.
• Foldable phones: a larger screen in your pocket, or a small device that folds out.
• 5G phones: devices that support the high-speed mobile network.
• Refurbished phones: the same model in good condition, with a warranty from the seller.

Android or iPhone?

That’s the choice that matters most, and it’s less about the phone itself than about everything else that goes with it. In the Netherlands, according to StatCounter’s figures, roughly two-thirds of phones run on Android and nearly a third on iOS; other operating systems combined account for a negligible share. Your choice determines which smartwatch, which earphones and which laptop your device will work seamlessly with, and which apps you’ve purchased you’ll be able to keep.

Android is developed by Google and used by many manufacturers, resulting in a vast range of options across every price bracket and significant differences in how long a device continues to receive updates. Anyone looking for a budget device will therefore almost always end up with an Android device.

iOS is only available on the iPhone, so you’re buying a single range of devices with a single software policy. There’s a vast selection of apps, and Apple approves every app that enters the App Store. Since March 2024, you’ve also been able to install apps from outside the App Store in the European Union; Apple still checks these apps for security and functionality, but does not assess their content, as it does with apps in the App Store. Android, meanwhile, is moving in the opposite direction: Google is set to require that apps installed from outside the Play Store must also come from a verified developer.

Note the update deadline

This is where devices that look identical in the shop differ most from one another, and there is now a legal minimum standard. According to the EU rules that have been in force since 20 June 2025, updates must remain available free of charge for at least five years after the model is discontinued. Spare parts must be available for at least seven years.

Beyond this legal minimum, brands make their own commitments, which vary widely:

• Samsung and Google provide seven years of updates for their flagship models, starting with the Galaxy S24 series for Samsung and the Pixel 8 for Google.
• Apple specifies a minimum of five years from the date of first delivery and, in practice, usually provides support for longer.
• Fairphone promises the longest support and specifies, for each model, the year until which it will provide updates.
• Entry-level and mid-range models from other brands usually offer a shorter support period, and for some brands this varies by model.

Note the difference in when support begins: a brand’s commitment starts at launch, whilst the statutory period only begins when the model is discontinued.

Popular brands

As well as price and operating system, the brand is a factor in your choice: you’re familiar with the interface, you own other devices from the same brand, or you’re already part of its ecosystem.

• Samsung: from entry-level models to top-of-the-range foldable models, across every price range.
• Apple: a single range of iPhones with a single software policy.
• Google: the longest update promise and a strong focus on smart software.
• Xiaomi: great value for money, with its own Android skin.
• Motorola: strong in the mid-range and in flip phones.
• OnePlus: flagship models with very fast charging and a custom Android overlay.
• Sony: a small range with a unique approach to photography.

Are there any alternatives to Android and iOS?

A few, but they’re minor. Since 2024, Huawei’s HarmonyOS has also been available in a version without an Android base, which no longer runs Android apps. That version is mainly found in China. The Huawei devices sold here run the Android-compatible branch without Google services. In the Netherlands, you can also buy a Fairphone with /e/OS, an Android version without Google services, whilst systems such as GrapheneOS and LineageOS can be installed on an existing device yourself.

What a smartphone actually is

A smartphone is a mobile phone with an operating system, allowing you to install apps and use the device for much more than just making calls. That concept is older than you might think. The IBM Simon was unveiled in 1992 and went on sale in 1994 in a limited part of the United States, in small numbers. The Nokia 9000 Communicator from 1996 was sold internationally, but was an expensive business handset.

Symbian then brought the first widespread range of devices: the first Symbian phone was launched in late 2000, and the system peaked in 2006, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the smartphone market according to market figures at the time. During those same years, BlackBerry was a major player in the business market. Microsoft launched the Pocket PC in April 2000, which was renamed Windows Mobile from 2003 onwards.

When Apple announced the first iPhone in 2007, the market shifted from small screens with keypads to large touchscreens. This heralded the end of BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile, all of which disappeared from the market in the years that followed, whilst simultaneously triggering the rise of Android.

What the smartphone has replaced

Above all, the separate camera. According to figures from the Japanese trade association CIPA, over 121 million digital cameras were shipped worldwide in 2010; of the compact cameras with a fixed lens – which at the time accounted for the lion’s share of that market – only 1.7 million remained in 2023. Apple withdrew the last iPod from sale in 2022, arguing that music is now stored on phones, watches and tablets.

That list is now a long one: alongside the compact camera and the MP3 player, you hardly ever see standalone sat-navs, voice recorders, road maps, photo albums, address books and payphones anymore. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), in 2025 over 95 per cent of people aged twelve and over in the Netherlands used a mobile phone to go online. If you’re not sure where to start, begin by selecting a price range and then use the filters to choose based on camera, battery life or size.