I Tested Smartphones from Every Country

[00:00] I have tracked down 16 of the latest

[00:02] smartphones from all around the world,

[00:04] including countries that I had no idea

[00:06] even made phones. And each device will

[00:08] represent its home country. So, all 16

[00:10] will be battling out in a proper

[00:12] knockout bracket tournament to determine

[00:14] the true winner of the smartphone World

[00:16] Cup. So, let's kick things off with our

[00:17] opening match.

[00:19] Korea, represented by Samsung's Galaxy

[00:21] S26 Ultra,

[00:24] >> [music]

[00:24] >> up against Japan, who's responsible for

[00:26] the brand new, pretty controversial Sony

[00:29] Xperia 1 Mark 8.

[00:36] And here's what's tricky. Both sides

[00:39] have the same core formation, same chip,

[00:41] same size battery, but it's just they

[00:43] play [music] different strategies. It's

[00:45] like Sony's playing defense. Their

[00:47] entire mission is to protect the things

[00:49] that everyone else has dropped. Like

[00:51] this phone still has a headphone jack, a

[00:52] micro SD card slot, and dual

[00:55] front-firing speakers, which actually

[00:57] sound amazing. While Samsung has

[00:59] relegated those things, but they've

[01:00] traded them for this all-out barrage of

[01:03] software features. There is nothing that

[01:04] you can't do on a Samsung flagship, with

[01:07] more regular updates than Sony. And then

[01:09] because there's no chunky speakers, you

[01:10] get this larger edge-to-edge screen

[01:13] that's [music] industry-leading in all

[01:15] sorts of ways, including this. And so,

[01:17] what I'd say breaks the deadlock here is

[01:20] the cameras. [music] While the Sony is

[01:22] capable, as you might have seen with

[01:24] some recent controversies on X, it's

[01:26] also less dependable than Samsung's

[01:28] camera. I think the reliability of

[01:30] Samsung's super refined image processing

[01:32] makes this a better phone for most

[01:34] people, [music] which means Sammy's

[01:35] through into the quarter-final, and

[01:37] Sony's taking a quiet coach back to the

[01:39] hotel. And that takes us to match two,

[01:41] India, home of the Lava Agni 4.

[01:53] Up against Turkey with their General

[01:55] Mobile's Phoenix 2 Pro.

[02:01] And you'll notice something immediately

[02:03] unusual [music]

[02:03] about this match-up. These look like the

[02:05] same player. Both of these phones,

[02:07] released by separate companies in

[02:09] separate countries, are the same size,

[02:11] the same color, with the same camera

[02:13] bump. They even both have their own

[02:15] versions of an AI virtual pet. Lava dog,

[02:18] tell me a joke.

[02:19] >> My name is Vayu AI, not Lava dog. I am

[02:22] happy to tell you another joke. Why do

[02:24] not scientists trust atoms? Because they

[02:26] make up everything.

[02:27] >> I've heard that joke before, but I've

[02:29] heard it with correct grammar. Also,

[02:31] does not sound like a dog. Right,

[02:33] General Mobile's cat, tell me a joke.

[02:35] >> Why did the cat sit on the computer?

[02:37] >> [music]

[02:37] >> Because it wanted to keep an eye on the

[02:39] mouse.

[02:39] >> Did it tell me a cat joke because I

[02:40] called it a cat? Did it tell me a cat

[02:42] joke

[02:44] because it is a cat? So, because neither

[02:46] of these countries has managed to build

[02:48] their own end-to-end supply chains, the

[02:50] companies in these countries are having

[02:52] to source their devices from a Chinese

[02:54] supplier. And they're then [music] just

[02:56] slightly tweaked and rebranded for their

[02:58] home crowds. And both of these just so

[03:01] happen to have had the same supplier.

[03:03] But that doesn't mean it's a draw

[03:04] because there's an astronomical

[03:07] difference in price. While the Turkish

[03:09] phone retails for the equivalent of $998

[03:12] on their website, the Indian Lava is

[03:15] 316. I would guess partly because

[03:17] India's smartphone market is super

[03:19] competitive. So, you actually can't take

[03:21] customers for a ride. But then also

[03:23] because Turkey applies an absolutely

[03:25] enormous consumer tax to smartphones.

[03:28] >> Well, that's a bit of an own goal.

[03:30] >> Like, if we convert the retail price of

[03:31] an iPhone 17 Pro Max to dollars from

[03:34] both countries, in India you'll be

[03:35] parting with just under $1,600, which is

[03:37] already a lot, but Turkish customers

[03:40] would have to dish out nearly 2,900.

[03:43] This Indian Agni does start with a

[03:45] little less RAM than the Turkish phone,

[03:46] but the price gap between these two is

[03:49] unignorably [music]

[03:50] huge. So, India's through. But if match

[03:52] two is like spot the difference, then

[03:54] match three is spot the

[03:56] similarity. Cuz we've got the United

[03:59] Arab Emirates with their flagship

[04:00] company [music] Thuraya

[04:07] versus France and their Crosscall.

[04:15] >> [music]

[04:17] >> In a way, this is the battle of the

[04:18] gimmick. UAE is a satellite phone. So,

[04:21] it works like a regular device with a

[04:22] SIM card. But, then if I eject this

[04:24] mahoosive antenna, it can also, when you

[04:27] leave cellular coverage, switch to

[04:29] satellite mode to carry on calls, SMS,

[04:31] and location tracking. And it works. We

[04:33] went extremely remote and still got

[04:35] signal. And then, France's device is a

[04:38] rugged phone. It's not defined by any

[04:39] one single killer feature like UAE's,

[04:42] but I genuinely think I've never seen

[04:44] this rugged concept done better than it

[04:45] is here. When you put the two side by

[04:47] side, it is so clear just how much more

[04:49] thought the French company has put into

[04:51] its design. Same with the software,

[04:53] which feels more polished and custom as

[04:55] opposed to the Thuraya that feels

[04:57] rustled together at half time as an

[04:59] afterthought. France is better on paper,

[05:00] too. It's got a bigger battery. It's got

[05:02] double the storage. It's got a lower

[05:04] price, too. And then, just seriously

[05:06] thoughtful touches like not one, but two

[05:09] programmable action buttons, one on each

[05:11] side. That it comes with this X-Blocker

[05:13] mounting system that lets you connect

[05:15] the phone up to tripods and bikes. And

[05:18] that because USB-C ports are one of the

[05:20] biggest points of vulnerability, a cover

[05:22] for yours. And then, this entirely new

[05:25] X-Link connector that lets you transfer

[05:27] data and do a whole lot more just using

[05:29] this waterproof magnetic contact point.

[05:33] I think it's pretty clear that France

[05:34] has made the better product here. So,

[05:37] into the quarterfinals you go. But, that

[05:39] brings us to one of the clear

[05:40] heavyweights in this tournament, China,

[05:42] walking out with the Oppo Find X9 Ultra.

[05:47] The challengers, Finland with the HMD

[05:49] Skyline.

[05:54] >> [music]

[05:57] >> Now, to put some respect on the HMD

[05:58] [music] name, the Skyline's got some

[06:01] genuine consumer-friendly perks. There's

[06:03] a microSD card slot and the back cover

[06:05] pops off so you can swap out the battery

[06:07] or even the [music] screen by just

[06:09] unscrewing them. And obviously, it's far

[06:11] more affordable than this Oppo. This is

[06:13] a $400 mid-ranger versus a $1,200

[06:16] flagship. But even factoring in the

[06:18] price, the Skyline really is like

[06:21] bringing a plastic spoon to a gunfight.

[06:24] Even when compared to other phones at

[06:26] its own price, it's just lacking. The

[06:28] camera does not feel good enough for

[06:30] $400.

[06:32] >> I'm seriously like

[06:35] What is that?

[06:36] >> The battery life and the chipset are

[06:37] disappointing. And it's all crammed into

[06:39] a package that's the worst of both

[06:41] worlds. Rounded corners on the screen,

[06:44] but sharp jutting corners on the body.

[06:46] Meanwhile, this Oppo is very much at the

[06:49] bleeding edge of its price category with

[06:51] not one, but two 200-megapixel cameras,

[06:55] one of the biggest batteries that you

[06:56] can get on a phone at 7,050 mA hours,

[06:59] and the fastest chip, too. This thing

[07:01] ain't just a striker, it's the entire

[07:04] front three. Which makes it incredibly

[07:06] tough competition to come up against in

[07:08] HMD's first round. But all's fair in

[07:10] love and

[07:11] ball.

[07:13] Finland's road ends here. And that takes

[07:15] us to the bottom half of the bracket

[07:16] with two almost polar opposite devices.

[07:19] Germany's Volla Quintus, a

[07:21] privacy-focused phone for people who

[07:22] want to disconnect from Google.

[07:25] And everything else.

[07:28] >> [music]

[07:29] >> And against them, Sweden, whose Doro

[07:32] phones are specifically designed to get

[07:34] older people more connected. Okay, well,

[07:37] the Germans clearly have taste.

[07:39] >> the Germans always make good stuff.

[07:41] >> But this jet-black, stealthy-looking

[07:42] thing that really has the right

[07:44] aesthetic for a security-focused digital

[07:46] detox device. And there's clearly some

[07:48] thought gone into this software they've

[07:50] built. Like how the home page is

[07:51] springboard, where you just scribble in

[07:53] your thoughts, and that can go straight

[07:54] into either an internet search or a note

[07:57] to be saved on the device. So you write

[07:58] first, and then decide what you want to

[08:00] do with that writing. Volter doesn't ask

[08:02] you to make any accounts or log into

[08:04] anything. And the absolutely insane

[08:07] thing is that while this is currently

[08:08] running Android with a skin, it can also

[08:10] just dual boot into an entirely

[08:12] Google-free Ubuntu operating system,

[08:14] which makes this Doro look pretty lame

[08:17] by comparison. Obviously, it's not

[08:19] trying to be as cool. It's for your

[08:21] granddad. But granddads can still

[08:22] appreciate a bit of intentional software

[08:24] design. Everything about this just feels

[08:28] so budget. How they've given you a

[08:30] physical home button, but still left the

[08:32] digital one on two. How laggy and slow

[08:35] this software is. How they've not even

[08:37] properly programmed it to be aware of

[08:39] its own screen corner radius. So part of

[08:42] your battery percentage and

[08:43] notifications are sometimes just cut

[08:46] off. Credit where due, this alert button

[08:48] is a genuinely good idea to be able to

[08:50] get help when needed, even if granddad

[08:52] will probably spend half his time trying

[08:54] to take a photo with it. But overall,

[08:56] it's a win to Germany.

[08:58] Engine L 4 our elders. I hear this next

[09:01] country is hosting some other type of

[09:03] World Cup this year. Can't remember what

[09:04] it's for. It's Mexico, and their [music]

[09:07] Lanix Alpha 6.

[09:13] Up against the Netherlands with the

[09:14] Fairphone Gen 6.

[09:24] This is the first time I'd say I'm

[09:26] really disappointed. This Lanix has

[09:29] zero redeeming qualities. I mean, it is

[09:32] only $205, but even then, the [music]

[09:34] screen looks incredibly soft. And it

[09:37] genuinely feels like not one person

[09:39] checked this software before shipping. I

[09:41] mean, just look how much space is taken

[09:42] up by the UI in the camera. Why do the

[09:45] apps almost touch the search bar when

[09:47] you go into the app drawer? Who decided

[09:49] to leave just one icon's gap on the home

[09:51] page to finish the line? And then you

[09:53] realize that on top of that, while this

[09:55] is clearly designed to look like three

[09:57] cameras, this one's a flash, and this

[09:59] one's an IR depth sensor. So, it's one

[10:02] rear camera, and uh

[10:05] not a very good one. This is such a

[10:07] no-show from Mexico that the Netherlands

[10:09] is Fairphone, just by being at least

[10:11] decent and extremely pro-consumer with

[10:14] its almost limitless repairability, can

[10:16] stroll right through into the next

[10:18] round. Final two matches now before we

[10:20] get to the quarters. It's the home team,

[10:22] Nothing, and their Phone 4a Pro from

[10:24] [music] England.

[10:24] >> Good morning, England.

[10:28] >> Against Taiwan, makers [music] of the

[10:29] Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra.

[10:34] You got to give credit to Nothing.

[10:35] They're probably the most refreshing

[10:38] brand in the game right now. They're

[10:39] making something that's actually [music]

[10:40] interesting to look at and talk about in

[10:43] the big 2026. Whereas the Zenfone 12

[10:45] Ultra is [music] perhaps the most stale

[10:48] ultra phone I have ever seen. The design

[10:50] is incredibly boring. The software is

[10:52] boring. The display is boring. It's

[10:54] genuinely a less good display than the

[10:57] Nothing Phone, a device that's half its

[10:58] price. And even [music] the cameras,

[11:00] which are usually the headline of any

[11:02] ultra phone, they're just nothing to

[11:04] write home about. This phone's main

[11:05] camera is the same as this phone's main

[11:07] camera. And Asus's image processing is

[11:10] just not as advanced as their

[11:11] competitors. So, it [music] makes sense

[11:14] why this is one of the last phones that

[11:16] Asus made before getting out of the game

[11:18] earlier this year. And look, I think

[11:20] it's pretty fair to say that this

[11:21] Nothing Phone is

[11:23] gimmick-heavy. It's got this wacky

[11:25] design, this glyph matrix interface that

[11:27] lets you run any number of these glyph

[11:29] toys on it, and the essential app

[11:31] builder,

[11:31] >> [music]

[11:31] >> where you can just in a little text

[11:33] prompt and generate these little

[11:34] widgets. Not to mention a 140 times max

[11:38] digital zoom, which is a little silly

[11:40] and extra. But the best thing about this

[11:42] is that you can take all of that away,

[11:44] and this is still just a rock-solid

[11:46] piece of hardware that feels polished.

[11:50] So, the home crowd gets its moment. Easy

[11:52] win for England in my books. Which

[11:54] leaves us with the US, represented by

[11:56] the Google Pixel [music] 10 Pro XL. I

[11:58] had to keep iPhones out of this. They're

[12:00] like entering an NFL team into a soccer

[12:02] tournament. And that is beefing it out

[12:04] with Indonesia's Advan Barca, which is

[12:07] one of the top performance-focused

[12:08] devices made in the country. That

[12:10] [music]

[12:10] I'm going to guess doesn't taste as good

[12:12] as it sounds. But with a little digging,

[12:15] it turns out that unfortunately, this is

[12:17] just another example of a cookie-cutter

[12:19] sourced phone. Funnily enough, from the

[12:21] exact same supplier that India's Lava

[12:23] seems to use. I can literally see a

[12:26] phone on the Lava website that looks

[12:28] identical. It's just disappointingly

[12:30] uninspired. It literally has the same AI

[12:33] cat as Turkey, just with a different

[12:35] name. Actually, why don't we put it

[12:36] against Gemini, just in case it's

[12:38] better. Generate me a logo for a video

[12:40] I'm making called The Smartphone World

[12:43] Cup.

[12:43] >> I don't have the ability at the moment.

[12:46] >> I expected no more.

[12:47] >> Sure, here is the image.

[12:48] >> Gemini's done it. That is sick. Can you

[12:51] start a timer for 5 minutes?

[12:53] >> I'm sorry. I don't have the ability at

[12:55] the moment.

[12:56] >> I've started a timer for 5 minutes.

[12:58] >> I guess this is a good example of how

[13:00] when it comes to smartphones, buying

[13:01] from global companies is generally a

[13:04] good choice. It's these companies who

[13:06] have access to all the best components,

[13:08] and who can afford to actually create

[13:10] and integrate their own features. These

[13:12] are the ones training their own

[13:14] world-class players from scratch. These

[13:16] are the ones grabbing any available

[13:18] human off the street and sticking them

[13:20] in a football shirt. So, the US swaggers

[13:22] into the quarters as the Indonesian

[13:24] match retires.

[13:26] Maybe to a coffee shop near you.

[13:28] So, it's the quarterfinals. The losers

[13:31] are looking pretty deflated. Tough day

[13:33] for you guys. How you feeling?

[13:35] >> Well, you know, at the end of the day,

[13:36] it's a game of two halves. At the end of

[13:38] the day, you got to put in 110% at the

[13:40] end of the day.

[13:41] >> Yeah. Yeah, I'm sorry about that.

[13:46] And for the winners, the stakes are

[13:47] getting ever higher. Cuz now it's Korea

[13:50] versus India. Samsung S26 [music] Ultra

[13:52] versus Lava Agni 4. We already know that

[13:55] the Samsung is one of the best high-end

[13:57] phones on the planet. So, [music]

[13:59] really the question here is, is the Lava

[14:02] one of the best affordable phones

[14:03] [music] on the planet?

[14:04] >> I don't know, Joe.

[14:05] >> Well, its screen is amazing. Very

[14:07] punchy, 120 Hz refresh rate. It's pretty

[14:10] cool that they give you 256 gigs of fast

[14:12] storage minimum. And even the MediaTek

[14:15] chip that you get inside of here for

[14:16] $316

[14:18] is a hell yes. It's all looking up for

[14:20] Lava until you open the camera app. And

[14:23] honestly, this was always coming.

[14:25] Because here's [music] the thing, a good

[14:26] screen or a good battery, you can

[14:28] basically buy. Spec the phone with a

[14:30] decent component [music] and you're most

[14:32] of the way there. A good smartphone

[14:33] camera though is only achieved with

[14:36] immense amounts of software tuning.

[14:38] That's the bit that gets skipped over

[14:39] when you're buying off-the-shelf

[14:40] ready-made devices like this. So, the

[14:43] underdog hits the wall it was always

[14:44] going to hit and Korea is in the

[14:46] semi-finals. This one's tighter though.

[14:48] France's Crosscall, who have turned this

[14:50] notoriously ugly generic category of

[14:52] phones into something [music] that

[14:53] actually feels designed first versus

[14:55] China's Oppo. This astronomically spec'd

[14:58] [music] all-round titan of a device.

[15:01] >> Oh god.

[15:02] >> I actually think this French brand is

[15:04] incredible. This entire ecosystem

[15:06] they've created is so polished. They've

[15:08] got their own power banks, their own

[15:09] charging docks, their own

[15:10] walkie-talkies, and even this power

[15:12] station designed to charge 10 Crosscall

[15:14] phones at once. And it all takes

[15:16] advantage of this ultra-durable

[15:18] MagSafe-esque connector they've made

[15:20] that actually has the speed of a wired

[15:22] [music] connection. Just playing around

[15:24] with the 3D models they have on their

[15:26] site, too. It makes it very clear that

[15:28] this is a brand that just gets it. And

[15:31] so, it kills me to say that even with

[15:33] that,

[15:35] it still [music] doesn't beat the Oppo.

[15:37] France has built the perfect answer to a

[15:39] question that not many people asked.

[15:42] Really, this is for tradespeople, tree

[15:44] climbers, the person who will actually

[15:47] end up dropping their phone in a lake.

[15:48] Whereas, the Oppo is something that you

[15:50] could hand to almost anyone, and [music]

[15:52] they'd be pretty blown away. So, France

[15:54] heads home, but not without a standing

[15:57] ovation. But now, up against Germany and

[15:59] their Volaphone, it's time for the

[16:00] Netherlands to face the [music] music.

[16:02] Their Fairphone won the first round

[16:04] before it even tied its laces. Now is

[16:06] where it has to truly defend its name.

[16:08] And under pressure,

[16:11] I think the Fairphone shines. We already

[16:13] know the phone uses a ton of recycled

[16:15] components, and that the company seems

[16:16] to have bend over backwards to offset

[16:18] the emissions from making the thing.

[16:20] Plus, the phone's insane repairability

[16:22] is kind of a double benefit, because it

[16:24] also opens the gates for custom

[16:26] accessories like the finger loop and

[16:28] [music] the card holder. And compared to

[16:30] earlier generations of the Fairphone,

[16:32] with this one, when you use it, it's

[16:34] pretty clear that you're not getting

[16:36] completely shafted on specs for going

[16:38] with the eco choice anymore. This is

[16:40] actually a very decent 120 hertz OLED

[16:42] display. And what I think makes this

[16:44] [music] just outright surpass Germany is

[16:47] the Fairphone also has a minimalist UI

[16:50] option. [music] You activate it with

[16:51] this really cool little slider on the

[16:53] side. And ironically, I would say this

[16:56] mode actually feels more polished than

[16:58] the phone whose entire personality is

[17:00] based on this concept. I do really like

[17:02] the idea of this German stealth machine,

[17:04] of being completely off the grid,

[17:06] especially cuz I've got Surfshark VPN,

[17:08] our sponsor, running on it, which

[17:09] [music] means even if I do decide to

[17:11] springboard onto the internet, my

[17:13] identity stays masked. The issue is,

[17:15] while this was definitely more polished

[17:17] than the Grandpa phone. It does have

[17:19] some rougher edges. Like the camera app

[17:21] looks like it was built by a vibe coder

[17:23] in one prompt. And [music] I think it's

[17:24] pretty ironic for a phone claiming to

[17:26] have removed Google that they couldn't

[17:29] even manage to remove this butterfly

[17:31] wallpaper every time you swipe to go

[17:33] home. So, the Fairphone's going to take

[17:34] the W cuz I could also just get

[17:37] Surfshark on this, too. And it'll build

[17:38] me an entirely anonymous online

[17:40] identity, name, email, phone number, and

[17:43] more. And if you go to surfshark.com

[17:45] /boss and use the code boss, you'll get

[17:46] a massive four additional months on top

[17:49] of a 2-year subscription [music] to

[17:51] cover your whole family and maybe your

[17:53] country, too. In the match of England's

[17:55] Nothing Phone 4a Pro against the US's

[17:57] Google Pixel, though, you might think,

[18:00] "Well, obviously, the Google Pixel's

[18:01] going to take this. Pixel gets the

[18:03] latest software updates day one. It's

[18:05] got zero bloatware. It's got so many

[18:07] cutting-edge Gemini features, like how

[18:09] it just knows what music is playing

[18:11] around you [music] and will show you

[18:13] without you needing to go into an app to

[18:15] listen for it." Or how with Add Me, you

[18:16] take the group photo, swap places with

[18:18] the photographer for a second one, and

[18:20] your phone fuses them so that nobody

[18:22] gets left on the bench. But here's what

[18:24] I would say. [music] I think the Nothing

[18:25] Phone 4a Pro punches above its weight.

[18:28] It's got a good enough display, battery,

[18:30] design that [music] I would actually

[18:32] recommend it as one of the go-to

[18:34] mid-rangers right now, even if the

[18:35] normal non-Pro 4a is its even better

[18:38] value cousin.

[18:40] Pixel though

[18:41] doesn't punch above its weight. In fact,

[18:43] anytime I want to recommend this to

[18:44] someone, unlike the Nothing Phone 4a, I

[18:47] always have to caveat the Pixel a

[18:49] little. I have to tell people, "Yes, the

[18:51] software experience is world-class, but

[18:54] it's dramatically less powerful and less

[18:56] suited for gaming than its peers, and

[18:58] its battery doesn't last as long." So,

[19:00] when you're factoring in value, I think

[19:02] Nothing knocks out the US, booking

[19:04] England's place in the semis. I'm not

[19:06] biased.

[19:08] I swear.

[19:09] But it's time for those semis. I've been

[19:12] dreading this one. Korea versus China.

[19:15] Galaxy S26 Ultra versus Oppo Find X9

[19:18] Ultra. Two heavyweights that you'd

[19:20] expect to go all the way. Because in

[19:22] Korea's corner, you've got Samsung's

[19:24] amazing One UI software, which I would

[19:27] actually rank higher than Oppo's Color

[19:28] OS. Not to mention how valuable it is to

[19:30] have a phone mainstream enough that

[19:33] accessories are actually made for it.

[19:35] And one with a robust ecosystem of

[19:37] watches and earbuds surrounding it. And

[19:40] of course, the S Pen. [music] No other

[19:42] company supplies a stylus of this

[19:44] quality that just works in the most

[19:46] mindless way possible. It's just how

[19:49] does that weigh up against Oppo, who I'd

[19:51] say has fewer of Samsung's comforts, but

[19:54] then two absolutely staggering

[19:56] standouts. A battery that lasts like 4

[19:59] hours longer, and a camera that's just

[20:01] zero contest better. It's good enough

[20:03] that we're shooting this shot with the

[20:05] phone. And you know, if used right, it

[20:08] could very easily replace our mirrorless

[20:11] camera here. How does one decide this?

[20:14] Okay.

[20:15] >> [music]

[20:16] >> I'm going to say the Oppo takes it. It

[20:17] feels like the more ambitious phone.

[20:18] Samsung started to feel very iterative

[20:21] over the last few years. Almost like

[20:22] they're coasting on reputation instead

[20:24] of pushing for the win. So,

[20:26] China's through to the final. But

[20:28] there's a very different kind of war

[20:30] being fought in our other semi-final.

[20:32] Between the Netherlands' Fairphone Gen

[20:34] 6, which I'll be honest, I didn't expect

[20:36] to make it this far. And then in

[20:37] England's Nothing Phone. It's the

[20:39] match-up that we didn't know we needed.

[20:41] Because these are both industry

[20:43] outsiders. Two underdogs who completely

[20:45] agree on the idea of standing out, but

[20:47] just completely disagree on how. While

[20:50] Nothing's game plan is very much about

[20:52] making phones fun again, Fairphone leans

[20:54] into sustainability. And even though

[20:56] they've already made any of this phone's

[20:58] 12 major components replaceable with

[21:00] just one screwdriver bit, they still

[21:02] haven't stopped driving to achieve their

[21:04] goal. How how give you 5 years of

[21:06] warranty compared to one on the Nothing

[21:08] phone, at least 7 years of Android OS

[21:11] upgrades compared to Nothing phone's

[21:13] three, plus the option right there on

[21:15] the main webpage to buy refurbished,

[21:18] which is easily the most eco-friendly

[21:20] choice.

[21:21] Here's where I'm at though.

[21:23] I respect the Fairphone's mission a lot,

[21:25] but

[21:26] they're not a charity, they're a

[21:28] business, and while clearly still this

[21:30] is the more sustainable option,

[21:33] we should be very honest when we say

[21:34] that the production of neither of these

[21:36] phones is good for the planet. That's

[21:39] just not possible yet. And what's also

[21:40] very clear when you look at these two

[21:41] phones that the Nothing phone feels a

[21:44] lot closer to a flagship, whether it's

[21:46] the metal body, the pretty much category

[21:48] leading display, the cameras [music]

[21:50] which are not amazing but still miles

[21:52] better than the Fairphone's, or the

[21:53] chipset which is about 40% faster

[21:55] overall. Plus the speakers on the

[21:57] Fairphone and the haptics are pretty

[21:59] harsh and

[22:01] >> [music]

[22:01] >> jarring. I guess you're only doing the

[22:03] planet a solid if you actually keep this

[22:05] phone for many years to come, and

[22:08] I just think that a lot of people would

[22:09] struggle to do [music] that given that

[22:11] it already feels, while better than

[22:13] previous Fairphones, still somewhat

[22:15] dated. Me personally, I would rather buy

[22:17] something like this, use it for 3 to 4

[22:19] years, and really enjoy that time, and

[22:21] then hand it down to a cousin who's not

[22:23] as fussy as I am.

[22:25] Which makes the Nothing phone our second

[22:27] finalist. So, after all the trials and

[22:30] tribulations, just two countries remain.

[22:33] How on earth do we make this decision?

[22:36] The uber flagship phone from our giant

[22:37] [music] Chinese conglomerate versus the

[22:39] surprising mid-ranger from our plucky

[22:41] London startup. And what makes this

[22:43] final so brutal is these are not just

[22:46] both fantastic phones, but they're also

[22:48] both companies that are improving the

[22:51] entire smartphone industry in their own

[22:53] ways. I feel like Oppo are quietly

[22:55] becoming the most viable alternative to

[22:57] a Samsung or a Google Pixel. They're

[22:59] making themselves more available around

[23:01] the world and just trying harder to cram

[23:04] as much bleeding edge tech in as

[23:05] possible. It's phones like this that are

[23:07] holding other flagships accountable.

[23:09] [music]

[23:09] And for nothing, they don't have the

[23:11] scale to undertake R&D on the level that

[23:13] Oppo does. But just through having this

[23:15] clear, unique vision, they still found

[23:17] ways to bring value. This company's

[23:19] championed the idea of being able to

[23:21] disconnect from your tech. They've

[23:22] created a whole lot of competitive

[23:24] pressure that's forced others to keep

[23:26] their prices down. And if nothing

[23:28] [music]

[23:28] else, they've just created a fun, edgy

[23:31] alternative for people who want

[23:33] something a bit different.

[23:34] So, here's what I think clinches this.

[23:36] Nothing's superpower is taking great

[23:38] tech and making it affordable and

[23:40] stylish. But Oppo is pushing the entire

[23:43] frontier forward. They're one of the few

[23:45] who are actually taking the big swings,

[23:47] and [music] by doing so, shaping the

[23:50] future of smartphone tech, which I think

[23:53] gives Oppo the edge, and makes China our

[23:57] champions of 2026.