Every phone on PhoneRanked gets a score out of 10. We build it from checked specs and benchmark results, and we use the same rules for every phone. Scores are compared with phones on sale today, so they slowly drop as newer, better phones arrive.
On this page: the seven categories, what the numbers mean, how scores change, scores in our rankings, questions.
Seven category scores are weighted and averaged. The average here is 8.1, and on our overall scale it shows as 8.9.
The short version
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We check the specs
Every spec comes from the maker’s official site or from two trusted tech sites. If we can’t confirm something, we leave it blank instead of guessing.
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We score each spec
Screen brightness, battery size, charging speed, chip speed and so on each get a score from 0 to 10, based on what phones on sale today offer.
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We group them into seven categories
Display, Performance, Camera, Battery, Design, Software support and Value for money. Some specs matter more than others inside each category.
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We keep scores current
When new phones raise the bar, older phones slowly lose points. A score always tells you how good a phone is right now.
The seven categories
The overall score is a weighted average of the seven categories. Camera and performance count the most, because they are what most people notice every day. A missing feature counts against a phone: no wireless charging means a lower battery score. Only when a maker hasn’t published enough details to score a whole category fairly do the other categories share its weight.
- Camera 21%
- Main sensor size matters most, since bigger sensors catch more light. We also count telephoto zoom, video recording, stabilization, the ultrawide camera, the main camera’s aperture and resolution, and selfie video. A phone without a telephoto or ultrawide camera gets the lowest score for that part.
- Performance 20%
- How fast the chip is: Geekbench 6 single-core and multi-core for the processor, which counts the most, and 3DMark Steel Nomad Light for graphics, which matters most in games. RAM and storage speed count too. For every chip we use the typical result of retail phones, so one lucky test doesn’t change the score. If 3DMark hasn’t tested a chip yet, Performance is scored on the other results until it does. A brand-new chip without reliable Geekbench results gets a temporary estimate from a similar chip, and the score is marked as preliminary.
- Display 17%
- Sharpness, panel type (OLED or LCD), refresh rate, adaptive (LTPO) refresh, peak brightness, HDR support and the strength of the cover glass.
- Battery 17%
- Battery capacity counts the most, then wired and wireless charging speed and reverse charging. A phone without wireless charging scores lower than one with it. iPhones usually last longer than their battery size suggests, so we account for that.
- Design 9%
- Water and dust resistance, frame and back materials, thickness and weight, stereo speakers, the fingerprint reader or face unlock, NFC and Wi-Fi. Foldables aren’t compared with regular phones on thickness and weight.
- Software support 8%
- How many years of OS upgrades and security updates the maker promises. We average the two; if a maker promises only one of them, we use that. Apple, for example, promises at least five years of security updates. If we find no official promise, we score the phone as if it gets two years of updates and mark the score “est.”, because makers with long support usually say so. The estimate is replaced as soon as the maker publishes a promise.
- Value for money 8%
- What you get for the price: we compare a phone’s specs with what phones at the same US launch price usually offer. A phone without a US launch price gets a fixed score: 6.0 if it’s sold in the US or Europe, or 5.0 if it’s sold only in China, where buying one means importing it without a local warranty.
What the numbers mean
Scores run from 1 to 10, and the color matches what you see on phone pages. We never give a 10, because there is always room for a better phone.
How the overall score is shown
No phone is the best at everything, so a plain average of seven categories almost never gets close to 10. Even the best phones would stop around 8.5, and the gap between a great phone and a good one would look tiny. That’s why we show the overall score on a stretched scale: above 5, every point of the average counts 1.25 times. An average of 8 shows as 8.8, and an average of 7 shows as 7.5. Below 5, nothing changes.
The stretch never changes the order of phones: a phone with a higher average always has a higher overall score. Category scores aren’t stretched, so the overall score is often higher than most of a phone’s category scores.
In October 2026, the top flagships score about 9.1 to 9.4, and good mid-range phones mostly score between 6.5 and 8.
Why scores change over time
We compare every phone with the phones you can buy today, not with phones from its launch year. A great phone from three years ago is still a good phone, but it is no longer top of the class, and its score shows that.
- 8.9October 2026
- 8.7October 2027
- 8.4October 2028
An illustration for the same example phone, if nothing about it changes. The drop is small and gradual.
When a score is updated
- When we add or correct specs. The score is recalculated right away.
- When new benchmark results come in for a phone’s chip, from Geekbench 6 or 3DMark. A preliminary score then becomes a final one.
- Once a month, we check the market. If the fastest chips, brightest screens, biggest batteries or fastest charging have moved ahead, we raise the bar. Every phone is then re-scored against the new bar within a few days, so a ranking never mixes old and new scores.
- Little by little, all the time. The bar also rises slowly with time, so older phones lose points gradually instead of in one jump.
Phones that are only rumored or announced don’t get a score until they go on sale.
What a score can’t tell you
Our scores are based on specs and published test results, not on our own hands-on testing. Two phones with the same camera sensor can take different photos, and software can make a phone feel faster or slower than its chip suggests. Things like the app ecosystem or carrier support aren’t part of the score either.
When a trusted test shows a clear difference, such as a camera ranking or a battery life test, we may adjust a category by up to 1.5 points and note the source. We don’t make adjustments without a source.
No brand pays for a score, and no brand gets extra points. Store links on our pages never change a phone’s rating.
Scores in our rankings
Our rankings sort phones by these scores. General lists use the overall score, and focused lists, like camera or battery life, use the matching category score. Most of them include only phones officially sold in the US or Europe that were announced in the last two years. The list of the best phones in the US includes only phones sold in the US, and the list of the best Chinese phones covers every market, with China-only phones clearly marked.
Where our data comes from
- Specs: official websites and press releases from phone makers, checked against trusted tech publications.
- Benchmarks: Geekbench 6 for the processor and 3DMark Steel Nomad Light for graphics. For each chip we use the median of several Geekbench 6 results from retail phones, and the median 3DMark score of the phones with that chip in the official ranking of UL, the maker of 3DMark. We never use leaks, prototypes or makers’ own claims.
- Update promises: official statements from phone makers.
- Prices: the official US launch price of the cheapest version. Phones that aren’t sold in the US have no US price, and we never convert prices from other currencies.
Found a mistake? Let us know and we’ll check it and update the page.
Method updates
October 2026. Missing features now count as missing, so a phone without wireless charging no longer scores the same on battery as one with it. Phones without an official update promise now get an estimated Software support score instead of skipping the category. The overall score is now shown on the stretched scale described above. Together, these changes moved most scores up and made the gaps between phones easier to see. The order of phones changed only where the new rules apply.
October 16, 2026. Graphics performance is now measured with 3DMark Steel Nomad Light instead of AnTuTu. We had reliable AnTuTu results for only about a third of phones, and new chips are mostly tested in a newer AnTuTu version whose numbers can’t be compared with the old ones. 3DMark results cover nearly nine in ten phones, so phones are now judged on the same tests. For most phones nothing changed; the rest moved by up to 0.3 points in Performance and about 0.1 overall.
Questions about our scores
Why did a phone’s score go down?
Usually because newer phones raised the bar. Scores compare every phone with today’s market, so they drift down slowly as the market improves. A score can also change when we correct a spec.
Why is the overall score higher than most category scores?
The overall score is shown on a stretched scale: above 5, every point of the weighted average counts 1.25 times. Category scores are shown as they are. The stretch makes the difference between a great phone and a good one easier to see, and it never changes the order of phones.
Why does no phone get a 10?
A 10 would mean nothing could be better. Phones keep improving every year, so the highest score we give is 9.9.
Can a cheaper phone score higher than an expensive one?
In Value for money, yes, and it often does. In the other categories, a more expensive phone usually wins, but not always. The overall score reflects both.
What does “est.” mean on a phone page?
It marks a score we had to estimate. Next to Performance, it means the phone’s chip doesn’t have reliable benchmark results yet, so we use a similar chip until the results are in. Next to Value for money, it means the phone has no US launch price, so it gets a fixed value score. Next to Software support, it means the maker hasn’t published an update promise, so we score it as two years of updates.
Do you test phones yourselves?
No. We use checked specs and published benchmark results, and we apply the same rules to every phone. That keeps scores fair and comparable across every phone on the site.
Why don’t rumored phones have a score?
Their specs can still change before launch. We add a score once the phone goes on sale and its specs are confirmed.
How often are scores updated?
Right away when we change a phone’s specs. Once a month we also check the market, and every phone is re-scored within a few days after that check.