Best big phone 2021Lots of smartphones have large displays but these are the best big-screened phones you can buy today

Phones used to be small - the first iPhone only had a 3.5in display, which today looks comically tiny. 2020's iPhone 12 Pro Max has a whopping 6.7in display and it isn’t the only phone with a sizeable screen. In fact, Apple was relatively late to the big phone party.

You may have heard the term 'phablet', which is a portmanteau of 'phone' and 'tablet'. If you’re anything like us, you might also prefer to use a large-screened phone all the time instead of having to resort to a tablet for specific situations.

Best big phone 2021

1. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra - Best overall.

RRP: 

Screen size: 6.8in

Aspect ratio: 20:9

Display-wise the Galaxy S21 Ultra delivers what the S20 series could not; the ability to enjoy both the phone's maximum WQHD+ resolution and its adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, simultaneously.

What's more - for the first time on a Galaxy S device - the Ultra's expansive 6.8in panel also totes S-pen stylus support, filling the productivity niche of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra somewhat; provided you're willing to fork out for a standalone S Pen (or the Bluetooth-capable S Pen Pro) and a compatible case for storage.

After 2020's disappointing Galaxy S20 Ultra, the S21 Ultra delivers everything you could want from an Android flagship - admittedly at a price that only a few can afford, but with traits like a camera setup that stands unrivalled and some of the best performance out there, it's hard to knock it.

2. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra - Ideal for productivity.

RRP: 1309 €

Screen size: 6.9in

Aspect ratio: 19.3:9

While it's not quite Huawei Mate 20 X big, Samsung's Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is still one of the biggest devices on the market - certainly the biggest-screened phone we tested in 2020.

Its display also happens to be among the best there is, with its crisp WQHD+ resolution and adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (even if they can't operate in tandem); not to mention superb colours, viewing angles and overall brightness.

It's also a great surface to show off the phone's integrated S Pen stylus, which also boasts the lowest latency yet at just 9ms.

3. iPhone 12 Pro Max - Superb all-rounder

RRP: 

Screen size: 6.7in

Aspect ratio: 19.5:9

Technically, the iPhone 12 Pro Max boasts the highest resolution display ever on an iPhone (even if this unique claim to fame amounts to the same, 458 pixels per inch as its last two predecessors - which sported smaller screens).

Much like 2020's Sony Xperia 1 II, Apple chose to ensure the fundamentals of the 12 Pro Max's Super Retina XDR OLED panel were rock solid before moving onto adding in high refresh rate visuals.

On the one hand, there isn't a lot to complain about with the similarly-specced screen used by the 11 Pro Max, so the fact that the panel is even larger (and flatter) here, without a drop in pixel density, can only be a good thing for media lovers and mobile gamers.

On the other, we would have loved to have seen Apple's 120Hz ProMotion technology for the first time on an iPhone, but that clearly wasn't meant to be this generation