Trusted Reviews Awards: The Galaxy S21 Ultra is 2021’s Best Smartphone

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has won the Trusted Reviews Awards 2021’s Best Smartphone category, cementing its place as the top phone to arrive this year.
The phone won the award having thoroughly impressed the team of experts at Trusted Reviews when it launched earlier this year. Deputy and Mobile Editor, Max Parker, awarded it 4.5/5 when he reviewed it, praising its top notch variable refresh rate screen, attractive design and versatile camera.
“It’s big, powerful and very capable. If you’re after the very best Samsung Galaxy S21 model and money is no object, the Ultra is the one for you. It’s a big upgrade over the S20 Ultra, fixing the focus issues and improving battery life. It is very pricey though, especially when the regular S21 has become more affordable,” wrote Parker in his Galaxy S21 Ultra review.
The vote was a close one though with several other great phones making this year’s best smartphone shortlist including the iPhone 12, Asus Zenfone 8, Xperia 1 III, Oppo X3 Pro, OnePlus 9 Pro, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro.
The Trusted Reviews Awards are a yearly event where we highlight the best gadgets to pass through our labs over the last 12 months. The Editor’s Choice Awards are a portion decided by the team of product experts at Trusted Reviews. Each decision is based on our experience reviewing the device, which includes real world use.
Make sure to check back with Trusted Reviews throughout the week as we’ll be revealing a new category of winners each every day using the below schedule!
- 11 October 2021: Mobile, tablets, wearables and cameras Editor’s Choice winners revealed.
- 12 October 2021: TV and audio Editor’s Choice winners revealed.
- 13 October 2021: Homes Editor’s Choice winners revealed.
- 14 October 2021: Computing and gaming Editor’s Choice winners revealed.
- 15 October 2021: We reveal this year’s Readers Choice Award winners.