Fabulous Phablets: Best Large-Screen Smartphones
The top-performing big phones from Apple, Samsung, OnePlus, and Google
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Bigger is better, right? That seems to be the thinking of many smartphone makers—and consumers—these days.
More people are using their phones to catch up on must-see TV, join video calls, show off photos, play video games, and multitask by running music, social media, and map apps all at once.
That requires screen space, and smartphone companies are making displays bigger while minimizing the overall size of their phones by shrinking bezels. What was once considered big just isn’t anymore, considering the 6.8-inch display of Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra or the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s 6.7-inch screen. (All phones are measured diagonally.) Foldable phones that can replace your tablet and phone in one device are also on the rise.
For this article, we’re focusing on phones with supersized screens of at least 6.5 inches.
As with all the smartphones in our ratings, Consumer Reports bought the phablets below at retail and ran them through an extensive range of tests to evaluate the displays, camera quality, battery life, and more. CR is a nonprofit member organization.
For more information, see our smartphone buying guide and ratings.
Overall Score: 86
Typical price: $1,100
There’s a lot to like about Apple’s top-tier iPhone, which offers handy features such as an always-on display and what the company dubs the Dynamic Island, an interactive pill-shaped cutout at the top of the screen that can show system alerts and notifications. The crisp 6.7-inch display looks great indoors and out. In CR’s lab tests, the 14 Pro Max lasts an impressive 50 hours on a single charge, and the phone’s overall performance is tough to beat.
The 14 Pro Max’s cameras are also top-notch, providing still-image and video quality that outperform other phones in our tests. A new 2x optical zoom offers more versatility when shooting from afar.
Overall Score: 83
Typical price: $900
For $200 less than the 14 Pro Max, you can grab the similarly supersized 14 Plus. It lacks the always-on display, Dynamic Island, and an optical zoom camera, but it’s still a top performer.
The battery clocked 47.5 hours on one charge in our tests.
Another nicety: The 14 Plus, despite its size, is even lighter than the smaller 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro.
Overall Score: 85
Typical price: $1,200
The 6.8-inch OLED display on this phone is Samsung’s best yet for streaming video or viewing photos. The model also boasts a speedy processor for accomplishing just about any task without delay.
The S23 Ultra delivers 45 hours’ worth of power in our testing, placing it near the top of all the phones we’ve tested for battery life.
In addition to the built-in S Pen stylus compatibility, the S23 packs a massive 200-megapixel main camera that can capture fine details even in low light.
Overall Score: 83
Typical price: $1,000
With its 6.6-inch display, the S23+ packs in most of the bells and whistles of the slightly larger S23 Ultra for a slightly lower price.
The OLED display is top-rated by CR’s testers, as is the model’s performance. The phone’s cameras, which include wide, ultrawide, and 3x zoom options, earn strong ratings for still photos, video quality, and selfies. And the battery lasts a respectable 40.5 hours in CR testing.
Overall Score: 79
Typical price: $1,700
Yes, it’s pricey. But this unique device unfolds from a regular-sized 6.2-inch phone into a 7.6-inch mini-tablet. CR testers praise both the outer and inner OLED displays and the phone’s cameras.
The Z Flip4’s battery life is 33 hours, which is about average for phones these days.
Overall Score: 78
Typical price: $500
The OnePlus 10 Pro 5G is competitive on many levels with the best offerings from Apple and Samsung.
The 6.7-inch OLED display earns our top rating from our testers and has a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling and animations.
The phone also boasts a triple-rear-camera system (48-megapixel main, plus zoom and ultrawide) and a 32-megapixel front camera that rate very well for still-image, selfie-image, and video quality.
While the 30.5-hour battery life lags behind that of other models on this list, the phone’s (wired) 65-watt fast-charging process can provide more than a full day’s power in 15 minutes, according to the company.
Overall Score: 77
Typical price: $1,000
Like the Galaxy Z Fold4, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip4 does a magic trick: It transforms from an easily pocketable, palm-sized square into a 6.7-inch phone.
CR testers give the phone top marks for performance and ease of use. They also rate the rear still image, selfie image, and video quality among the best.
Battery life is just 25.5 hours, but that should be enough juice to get you a full day’s worth of work and play.
Overall Score: 77
Typical price: $900
Google’s flagship phone, the Pixel 7 Pro, has a bright and crisp 6.7-inch OLED display with a fast 120Hz refresh rate.
The phone gets high marks for still-image quality from the cameras front and back, as well as videos from the main rear camera. The Pixel 7 Pro has 5x optical zoom and uses Google’s home-brewed Tensor G2 chipset for a few fancy photo tricks, such as magically removing random people and objects from your photos.
This model lasts 32 hours on one charge under our testing protocol.
