10 Best Smartphones of 2017, According to Consumer Reports

It’s not easy determining which model from the current generation of smartphones is best. Most of the devices run the same operating system, have identical processors and include many of the same features. But Consumer Reports for years has rated the smartphones in an effort to help customers decide which really are best. The organization evaluates devices on multiple factors regarding their design and features before scoring them based on their overall performance in testing. Consumer Reports also provides quick insight to why its testers believe that a particular smartphone is best of the current crop. This slide show will identify the 10 best available smartphones based on Consumer Reports tests performed in 2017.

Samsung’s Galaxy S8, which hit the market earlier this year, ranked the top smartphone in the Consumer Reports study, with a score of 81 out of a possible 100. The smartphone earned high marks in all of the metrics, but earned an “excellent” rating for its battery life, texting, web browser and music features.

The Samsung Galaxy S8+ earned the same score of 81 as its smaller sister model. Like the Galaxy S8, the Galaxy S8+ was found to be especially good with texting, web browsing and music playback. Consumer Reports noted that it also has outstanding battery life.

Samsung’s Galaxy S7, which was released in 2016, ranked higher than some of this year’s best smartphones with a score of 80. Consumer Reports was impressed by the device’s “excellent” capabilities and found its design to be ergonomic. Across the nearly dozen metrics Consumer Reports uses to judge smartphones, the Galaxy S7 earned either a “very good” or “excellent” rating.

Although its score matched that of the Galaxy S7, Apple’s iPhone 8 Plus ranked fourth in the Consumer Reports study. Apple’s latest handset earned high marks for its web browsing, ergonomic design and navigation features, among others, but its battery life and calling capabilities were ranked only “good.”.

Next up, with a matching score of 80, is Apple’s iPhone 8. The smartphone, which has a slightly smaller display than the iPhone 8 Plus, was also dinged for its just “good” battery life. However, unlike the iPhone 8 Plus, the iPhone 8 was given an “excellent” rating for its rear-facing camera.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8, the latest smartphone from the Korean electronics giant, didn’t earn anything less than a score of “very good” in all the metrics Consumer Reports examines. However, it could muster an “excellent” score in only three areas: texting, web browsing and music playback. It scored an 80, matching Apple’s newest iPhones.

The LG G6 also earned a score of 80 from Consumer Reports. LG’s latest smartphone was given just a “good” score for its front-facing camera’s image quality, but it nabbed four “excellent” ratings for texting, ergonomic design, web browsing and music playback.

Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge took the eighth spot in the Consumer Reports study with a score of 79. The handset, which launched in 2016, earned five “excellent” ratings, including one for handset capabilities and another for battery life. However some of the newer smartphones on the market topped the Galaxy S7 Edge because of its age.

Surprisingly, the Galaxy S6 from 2015 still holds the ninth spot in the Consumer Reports listing. The smartphone earned an “excellent” rating for text messaging and ergonomic design, among other features, but earned only a “good” rating for the front-facing camera.

At the bottom of the top 10 list of recommended smartphones is the iPhone 7 Plus. The smartphone, which Apple launched in 2016, scored a 78. While it earned high marks for its design and browsing capabilities, like the iPhone 8 Plus the iPhone 7 Plus had only “good” battery life, according to Consumer Reports.