The Best Smartphones of Q1/2021 - 35 Smartphones in Review

Smartphone Editors Choice Awards Q1 2021 A total of 35 smartphones of various makes made it to our lab during the first three months of 2021. One of the highlights was without a doubt Samsung's Galaxy S21 family but it was not by any means the only highlight as there were many other exciting devices. Find out which smartphones we would recommend in our comparison below.

Florian Schmitt, 👁 Florian Schmitt (translated by Finn D. Boerne), Published 04/15/2021 🇩🇪 🇷🇺 ...

The Best of the Best – These Smartphones Scored Highest in our Tests

Five devices managed to achieve an overall rating of “Very Good” in our reviews. Among those were all three of Samsung’s current high-end devices: the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which scored 90 % and thus the highest rating achieved in the past three months, the traditional Galaxy S21, and the slightly larger Galaxy S21+, both of which scored 89 % and are thus only slightly trailing the more than $1,200 expensive high-end flagship.

One thing we found particularly noteworthy is that despite the fact that Samsung continues to use its own in-house Exynos SoCs for devices sold in Europe their performance increased dramatically compared to last year’s models, and they are now a viable and decent alternative to their Snapdragon equivalents. Nevertheless, variants offered in other parts of the world based on the Snapdragon 888 remain slightly faster. The S21U features the best camera within that group but even its 30x hybrid zoom isn’t enough to put it at the very top of our best camera smartphones as its photos are a bit too artificial and synthetic.

The other two devices that achieved a rating of “Very Good” were the two Chinese manufacturers Oppo and OnePlus with their respective Oppo Find X3 Pro and OnePlus 9 Pro smartphones. The Find X3 Pro, the more expensive of the two, features a microscope camera that worked surprisingly well in our review and turned out to be a fascinating and exciting addition to what has become well-established smartphone camera technology. The OnePlus features two batteries that can be charged wirelessly and simultaneously in less than one hour.

Our Favorites: Editors’ Choice Awards Q1/2021

Based on the scores achieved in this time period we ask our editors for their favorites and assign editors’ choice awards. As usual we reward smartphones that stand out from the competition by their overall package, their individual performance in specific categories, or their particularly noteworthy price-performance ratio, and that our editors considered to represent particularly attractive options in their respective categories.

Vivo Y70

The Y70 is a viable alternative for everybody who intends to keep their smartphone for a long period of time but doesn’t necessarily have the money for an iPhone. Granted, its design language, features, or performance cannot keep up with Apple’s high-end smartphones but at around 300 Euros you get a decent mid-range smartphone with a guarantee of four years of updates.

Its battery life of 13:39 hours in our Wi-Fi test is decent, and while it may not be among the best recorded you need to keep in mind that the Y70 is both slimmer and lighter than most of its mid-range competitors with their ginormous batteries. Charging is quick and painless, thanks to its included 33 W charger.

Overall, the Vivo Y70 turned out to be a positive surprise, and it deserves our endorsement among other things due to its large and fast storage.

Unfortunately, the device is currently not yet available in the US.

Lenovo Legion Phone Duel

Lenovo did not make any particular efforts to sell its Legion Phone Duel in Europe. The gaming smartphone is sold exclusively through Lenovo’s website, and Lenovo’s marketing department seems to have been put on hold. Given that a successor has been announced recently it is possible that Lenovo wanted to quietly assess a dedicated gaming smartphone’s popularity first.

With that said the Legion Phone Duel had the right ingredients to impress, and only barely scraped past the “Very Good” rating. Its performance was superb, as was its fast 144 Hz display. Given a powerful enough power supply the device can be charged extremely quickly through two (!) charging ports simultaneously, and camera quality was very decent as well. All things considered Lenovo’s first gaming smartphone could have been a big hit.

Unfortunately, the Legion Phone Duel was never officially released in the US but the international version can be found on Amazon starting at $699.

Hinweis: Die gewerbliche Nutzung der Award-Grafiken ist ggf. lizenzpflichtig. Weitere Details.

The Best Smartphones - Reviewed Q1/2021

Gesamtbewertung	Modell	Bewertung Gehäuse	Größe	Dicke	Bewertung Gewicht	Gewicht	Bewertung Display	Display Type	Auflösung	Pixeldichte	Screen-to-Body-Ratio	Bildschirm Helligkeit	DeltaE Colorchecker	Bildwiederholfrequenz	Bewertung Kamera	DeltaE Colorchecker lowlight	DeltaE Colorchecker daylight	Bewertung Anwendungsleistung	PCMark for Android Work 2.0 Score	Bewertung Gaming Leistung	3DMark for A. Sling Shot Ext. (ES 3.1) Un.	GFXBench Aztec Ruins H.T. Onscreen	PUBG Mobile HD	Bewertung Akkulaufzeit	Akkulaufzeit WiFi 150 cd/m²	Bewertung Temperatur	Oberseite Idle	Oberseite Last	Bewertung Audio	max. Audio Output (dB)	Bewertung Touchscreen Eingabe	Bewertung Konnektivität
80.7 %	Oppo Reno4 Z 5G Dimensity 800, Mali-G57 MP4	84 %	6.57"	8.1 mm	89.4 %	184 g	83.5 %	IPS	2400x1080	401 PPI	20:9	439 cd/m²	4.83	120 Hz	58.8 %	28.45	14.62	70.7 %	7511	35.6 %	3410	12	30	90.5 %	903 min	84.4 %	29.9 °C	46.9 °C	64 %	81.3 dB	93.3 %	47.5 %
77.2 %	ZTE Axon 20 T618, Mali-G52 MP2	85.6 %	6.92"	7.98 mm	88.2 %	198 g	86.9 %	OLED	2460x1080	388 PPI	20.5:9	405 cd/m²	3.5	060 Hz	52 %	47.76	6.42	38 %	82	18.8 %	1504	5.4	30	87.4 %	564 min	93.8 %	27.9 °C	34.1 °C	75.6 %	93.8 dB	90 %	48.7 %
80.1 %	Oppo A73 5G Dimensity 720, Mali-G57 MP3	80 %	6.50"	7.9 mm	90 %	177 g	87.3 %	IPS	2400x1080	405 PPI	20:9	499 cd/m²	3.5	090 Hz	54.4 %	47.48	8.13	66 %	7395	25.4 %	2653	9.2	30	94.5 %	1426 min	94.7 %	29.4 °C	30.5 °C	75.8 %	91.1 dB	86.7 %	46.3 %
77.9 %	Wiko View5 Plus Helio P35 MT6765, PowerVR GE8320	82.1 %	6.55"	9.3 mm	88 %	201 g	82.6 %	IPS	1600x720	268 PPI	20:9	522 cd/m²	6.3	060 Hz	62.4 %	47.34	5.23	55.9 %	5438	7.4 %	515	4.8		96.2 %	1646 min	94.3 %	30.1 °C	33 °C	74.2 %	92.1 dB	85.6 %	45.8 %
77.1 %	Vivo Y20s SD 460, Adreno 610	83.4 %	6.51"	8.41 mm	88.7 %	192.3 g	86.9 %	IPS	1600x720	270 PPI	20:9	468 cd/m²	2.6	060 Hz	51.4 %	47.52	4.37	53.7 %	5869	9.5 %	858	6.6		94.6 %	1445 min	95.3 %	28 °C	29.7 °C	60.4 %	91.2 dB	86.7 %	47.3 %
79.9 %	Vivo Y70 SD 665, Adreno 610	83.1 %	6.44"	7.83 mm	90.5 %	171 g	89.7 %	AMOLED	2400x1080	409 PPI	20:9	572 cd/m²	2.7	060 Hz	58.4 %	46.91	7.42	65.4 %	6297	13 %	1143	4.3		89.9 %	819 min	95.7 %	23.7 °C	30.5 °C	77.8 %	93.5 dB	90.6 %	48.5 %
78.8 %	Gigaset GS4 Helio P70, Mali-G72 MP3	85 %	6.30"	9.8 mm	87.9 %	206 g	82.6 %	IPS	2340x1080	409 PPI	19.5:9	458 cd/m²	5.4	060 Hz	54.2 %	47.23	5.15	68.9 %	7706	16.4 %	1392	5.1		90.7 %	931 min	93.7 %	29.7 °C	33.8 °C	80.2 %	93.5 dB	90 %	49.4 %
78 %	Xiaomi Poco M3 SD 662, Adreno 610	80.9 %	6.53"	9.6 mm	88.2 %	198 g	88.1 %	IPS	2340x1080	395 PPI	19.5:9	428 cd/m²	1.7	060 Hz	50.8 %	47.74	5.6	59.9 %	6042	13 %	1176	4.4		92.2 %	1249 min	92.9 %	30.3 °C	37.5 °C	80.8 %	85.1 dB	88.3 %	46.1 %
68.6 %	Cubot King Kong CS MT6580M, Mali-400 MP	76.7 %	5.00"	14.9 mm	87.4 %	236.5 g	79.6 %	IPS	1280x720	294 PPI	16:9	409 cd/m²	7.27	060 Hz	26 %	46.65	7.51	37.6 %		2.1 %				90.9 %	955 min	90.6 %	33.2 °C	37 °C	46 %	84.7 dB	85.6 %	29.3 %
75.2 %	Volla Phone Helio P23 MT6763V, Mali-G71 MP2	80.7 %	6.30"	8 mm	89.3 %	185 g	81.5 %	IPS	2340x1080	409 PPI	19.5:9	471 cd/m²	7.28	060 Hz	49.6 %	47.17	12.4	54.5 %	5102	6.7 %	514			91.4 %	1016 min	89.9 %	31.9 °C	39.4 °C	60 %	85.2 dB	92.2 %	36 %
74.6 %	Motorola Moto E7 Helio G25, PowerVR GE8320	75.9 %	6.50"	8.9 mm	89.7 %	180 g	83.4 %	IPS	1600x720	270 PPI	20:9	445 cd/m²	5.69	060 Hz	52.4 %	45.24	9.7	54 %	5296	5.6 %	470	4.5		90.3 %	867 min	91.2 %	27.3 °C	37.7 °C	62 %	87.2 dB	87.8 %	35.4 %
77.2 %	OnePlus Nord N100 SD 460, Adreno 610	80.7 %	6.52"	8.5 mm	89 %	188 g	87.5 %	IPS	1600x720	269 PPI	20:9	456 cd/m²	2.7	090 Hz	54.8 %	46.08	11.25	55.9 %	5718	9 %	855	6.6		91.9 %	1149 min	88.8 %	30.2 °C	41.2 °C	62 %	90.1 dB	92.2 %	43.7 %
79.7 %	Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T 5G Dimensity 800U, Mali-G57 MP3	82.6 %	6.53"	9.05 mm	88.1 %	199 g	85 %	IPS	2340x1080	395 PPI	19.5:9	540 cd/m²	4.1	060 Hz	56 %	47.2	7.96	72 %	8738	25.8 %		12	30	91.9 %	1133 min	91.2 %	33.1 °C	36.4 °C	70.8 %	88.1 dB	88.9 %	49.1 %
73.5 %	Cubot King Kong Mini 2 Helio A22 MT6761, PowerVR GE8300	78.7 %	4.00"	12.1 mm	94.6 %	123 g	81.5 %	IPS	1080x540	302 PPI	18:9	633 cd/m²	5.21	060 Hz	42.8 %	47.34	8.19	49.5 %	4658	3.1 %	260	3.9		91.8 %	1072 min	81 %	41.5 °C	45.6 °C	50 %	79.9 dB	85.6 %	37.6 %
90.4 %	Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14	91.6 %	6.80"	8.9 mm	87.6 %	227 g	93.6 %	Dynamic AMOLED 2X	3200x1440	516 PPI	20:9	913 cd/m²	2	120 Hz	80.6 %	47.06	5.7	85.3 %	14362	62.5 %	8345	26	40	90.6 %	702 min	92.4 %	26.9 °C	37.9 °C	77.6 %	88 dB	97.8 %	69.4 %
75.5 %	Motorola Moto E7 Plus SD 460, Adreno 610	78.4 %	6.50"	9 mm	88 %	200 g	84.3 %	IPS	1600x720	270 PPI	20:9	446 cd/m²	3.97	060 Hz	51.6 %	46.7	9.51	60.2 %	5669	10.6 %	853	6.5		90.9 %	946 min	89.1 %	30.4 °C	39.3 °C	66 %	78.5 dB	88.3 %	36.4 %
75.4 %	Gigaset GS3 Helio A25, PowerVR GE8320	77.3 %	6.10"	9.5 mm	90.4 %	172 g	80.5 %	IPS	1560x720	282 PPI	19.5:9	568 cd/m²	8.6	060 Hz	47.8 %	47.39	5.9	50.3 %	4600	6 %	424	4.3		93.3 %	1266 min	94.8 %	30.6 °C	31.9 °C	71.2 %	86.5 dB	85.6 %	46.4 %
76.8 %	F150 Bison 2021 Helio G25, PowerVR GE8320	81.9 %	5.86"	18 mm	86.1 %	318 g	81.8 %	IPS	1520x720	287 PPI	19:9	393 cd/m²	4.7	060 Hz	50.2 %	47.58	5.13	55 %	5269	7 %	493	4.8		98.5 %	1953 min	93.8 %	33 °C	35.6 °C	73.2 %	89.9 dB	87.2 %	48.8 %
89.5 %	Samsung Galaxy S21 Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14	89.4 %	6.20"	7.9 mm	90.7 %	169 g	92.5 %	Dynamic AMOLED 2X	2400x1080	424 PPI	20:9	793 cd/m²	2.2	120 Hz	76.6 %	45.88	6.98	83.9 %	13486	58 %	6717	45	30	87.7 %	544 min	93.4 %	28.1 °C	35.3 °C	81.2 %	87 dB	97.8 %	68.7 %
87.3 %	Lenovo Legion Phone Duel SD 865+ (Plus), Adreno 650	85.7 %	6.65"	9.9 mm	87.4 %	239 g	90.9 %	AMOLED	2340x1080	388 PPI	19.5:9	550 cd/m²	1.24	144 Hz	74.8 %	44.15	10.6	88.8 %	12355	68.6 %	8780	33		90.1 %	851 min	85.1 %	35 °C	45.7 °C	70 %	82.2 dB	95.6 %	55.2 %
87.3 %	Xiaomi Mi 11 SD 888 5G, Adreno 660	88.1 %	6.81"	8.06 mm	88.3 %	196 g	93.1 %	LED DotDisplay	3200x1440	515 PPI	20:9	845 cd/m²	1.2	120 Hz	69.8 %	46.41	11.14	83 %	12876	63.4 %	9343	25	60	87 %	527 min	91.3 %	31.2 °C	37.6 °C	81.8 %	86.8 dB	93.9 %	55.9 %
75.2 %	Samsung Galaxy A12 Helio P35 MT6765, PowerVR GE8320	81 %	6.50"	8.9 mm	87.9 %	205 g	83.5 %	PLS-LCD	1600x720	270 PPI	20:9	427 cd/m²	4.04	060 Hz	59 %	44.04	13.6	42.1 %	4983	6.1 %	478	4.7		91.5 %	1288 min	88.4 %	31.9 °C	39.7 °C	66 %	80.9 dB	87.2 %	40.3 %
77.2 %	Realme 7i Helio G85, Mali-G52 MP2	79.3 %	6.50"	9.8 mm	87.9 %	208 g	81.6 %	IPS	1600x720	270 PPI	20:9	569 cd/m²	5.47	060 Hz	54 %	39.44	11.06	70.4 %	8655	16.8 %	1411	12		93.6 %	1307 min	87.6 %	33.7 °C	42.6 °C	54 %	79.5 dB	91.1 %	42.6 %
81.3 %	Motorola Moto G 5G SD 750G 5G, Adreno 619	82.2 %	6.70"	9.9 mm	87.8 %	212 g	87.7 %	LTPS LCD	2400x1080	393 PPI	20:9	565 cd/m²	1.74	060 Hz	64.8 %	44.17	10.6	75.7 %	8076	30.8 %	2956	11		91.7 %	1056 min	87.1 %	33 °C	42.1 °C	70.2 %	82.5 dB	88.9 %	50.4 %
89.6 %	Samsung Galaxy S21+ Exynos 2100 5G, Mali-G78 MP14	90.4 %	6.70"	7.8 mm	88 %	200 g	92.8 %	Dynamic AMOLED 2X	2400x1080	393 PPI	20:9	814 cd/m²	2	120 Hz	76.6 %	45.93	6.77	83.8 %	12255	63 %	8001	44	30	89.9 %	651 min	91.5 %	29.9 °C	38.2 °C	76.4 %	87.8 dB	97.8 %	68.7 %
77.4 %	Motorola Moto G9 Power SD 662, Adreno 610	82.4 %	6.80"	9.7 mm	87.7 %	221 g	85 %	IPS	1640x720	263 PPI	20.5:9	373 cd/m²	2.41	060 Hz	55.6 %	45.55	8.98	57.9 %	6425	10.9 %		9	25	92.1 %	1165 min	87.1 %	32 °C	43.5 °C	64 %	80.2 dB	93.3 %	45 %
77 %	Nokia 5.4 SD 662, Adreno 610	79.3 %	6.39"	8.7 mm	89.7 %	180 g	82.1 %	IPS LCD	1560x720	269 PPI	19.5:9	494 cd/m²	6.1	060 Hz	58.8 %	46.35	5.87	60.1 %	6139	12.9 %	1124	9.6		89.9 %	815 min	92.7 %	32.9 °C	33.5 °C	71.6 %	90.5 dB	86.1 %	42.9 %
81.6 %	Blackview BL6000 Pro Dimensity 800, Mali-G57 MP4	85 %	6.36"	12.8 mm	86.8 %	273 g	82.6 %	IPS	2300x1080	400 PPI	19:9	518 cd/m²	4.78	060 Hz	59.2 %	45.07	8.86	77.7 %	8315	42.3 %	3557	13		90.1 %	846 min	89.4 %	31.8 °C	39.5 °C	70 %	81 dB	92.2 %	52.2 %
68.8 %	Blackview A80 MT6737, Mali-T720	70.4 %	6.21"	8 mm	89.7 %	180 g	76.5 %	IPS	1560x720	277 PPI	19:9	324 cd/m²	6.61	060 Hz	34 %	46.81	13.11	41 %	2612	1.1 %	91			89.2 %	723 min	87.8 %	34.4 °C	39.4 °C	48 %	78.2 dB	83.3 %	35.2 %
82.5 %	Oppo Find X3 Lite SD 765G, Adreno 620	85.3 %	6.43"	7.9 mm	90.4 %	172 g	88.5 %	OLED	2400x1080	410 PPI	20:9	572 cd/m²	3.2	090 Hz	59.8 %	46.94	8.55	76.4 %	9800	36.5 %	3535	15		90 %	834 min	91.9 %	31.4 °C	35.9 °C	73.4 %	90.1 dB	91.4 %	48.1 %
79.3 %	Samsung Galaxy A32 5G Dimensity 720, Mali-G57 MP3	79.3 %	6.50"	9.1 mm	87.9 %	205 g	81.4 %	TFT-LCD	1600x720	270 PPI	20:9	512 cd/m²	4.9	060 Hz	58.4 %	45.6	4.84	61.8 %	6145	25.7 %	2659	17	30	92.6 %	1235 min	93.1 %	32.9 °C	33.7 °C	75.6 %	93.2 dB	89.4 %	50.5 %
72.5 %	Samsung Galaxy A02s SD 450, Adreno 506	77.9 %	6.50"	9.1 mm	88.3 %	196 g	83.1 %	PLS	1600x720	270 PPI	19:9	460 cd/m²	5.52	060 Hz	36 %	46.37	7.98	45.4 %	4611	5.5 %	489	3.6		92.4 %	1201 min	92.1 %	29.5 °C	35.7 °C	48 %	80 dB	91.1 %	34.5 %
74.5 %	Blackview A80 Plus Helio P22 MT6762, PowerVR GE8320	78.7 %	6.49"	8.8 mm	89.7 %	180 g	80.3 %	IPS	1560x720	265 PPI	19:9	467 cd/m²	6.32	060 Hz	48 %	47.13	14.25	61.2 %	4753	5.1 %	426	4.3		90.8 %	943 min	88.9 %	30.8 °C	40.2 °C	46 %	78.7 dB	91.1 %	43.5 %
88.9 %	Oppo Find X3 Pro SD 888 5G, Adreno 660	90.7 %	6.70"	8.26 mm	88.6 %	193 g	92.9 %	AMOLED	3216x1440	526 PPI	20.1:9	776 cd/m²	0.8	120 Hz	78.8 %	43.9	5.65	85 %	11262	65.3 %	9540	25		89.4 %	757 min	88.1 %	30.7 °C	41.2 °C	77.8 %	89.6 dB	95.6 %	55.2 %
88.6 %	OnePlus 9 Pro SD 888 5G, Adreno 660	90.3 %	6.70"	8.7 mm	88.3 %	197 g	93.6 %	AMOLED	3216x1440	526 PPI	19:9	746 cd/m²	0.95	120 Hz	76.6 %	23	10.2	82.5 %	10740	62.3 %	8347	42	60	91 %	1002 min	88.2 %	29 °C	42 °C	76 %	81.1 dB	96.7 %	53.3 %

Obige Tabelle zeigt alle im betrachteten Zeitraum getesteten Smartphones mit ihren Gesamt- und Teilbewertungen in unserem ausführlichen Test sowie eine Auswahl wichtiger Kenngrößen und Benchmarks. Alle Ergebnisse und Details finden Sie in den verlinkten Testberichten.
Die Tabelle ist in jeder Spalte sortierbar, dazu einfach auf den jeweiligen Spaltentitel klicken, zum Beispiel "Gewicht".

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Editor of the original article: Florian Schmitt - Managing Editor Mobile - 1135 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2009

I initially wrote about gaming laptops when I joined Notebookcheck in 2009. I was then involved with the setup of the comparison portal Notebookinfo and worked with social media concepts for large companies like BMW and Adidas, while also returning to work for Notebookcheck in 2012. Nowadays, I focus on smartphones, tablets, and future technologies. Since 2018 I have been Managing Editor for mobile device reviews, working alongside my colleague Daniel Schmidt.

contact me via: @FloSchmi26, LinkedIn, Xing

Translator: Finn D Boerne - Translator - 450 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2017

Born in the United States and raised in Germany I became acquainted with both languages from an early age and turned this into my profession later in life. Computers have always played an important role in my life, and my love for all things digital is a huge part of my daily routine. Virtual Reality has captured my imagination and interest in particular, and I cannot wait to see what the (near) future will bring.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > The Best Smartphones of Q1/2021 - 35 Smartphones in Review

Florian Schmitt, 2021-04-15 (Update: 2021-04-16)