Here are the nominees for MobileSyrup’s Canadian Smartphone Awards

Every year in MobileSyrupI usually review the best phones of the year, reviewing all the flagships and explaining why each of these phones are great in their own way. However, this year we are trying something new. Instead of simply listing the best phones from each manufacturer, we do the following: MobileSyrup Smartphone Awards – rewarding the winners for the best battery, photos, gaming capabilities, as well as for the most innovative, best foldable, best value for money and simply the best phone of the year. We also highlight the most used phone in Toronto and Canada as a whole.

Conducted testing MobileSyrup's Dean Daly and former creative director, Brad Bennettand to find out the most commonly used phones in Toronto and Canada, we used surveys through our sister sites ZDN, blogTO And Daily Hive. This is your last chance to vote for the phones you use in our Toronto And Canada surveys.

To qualify for one of the awards (except Toronto and Canada selection), the device must be readily available in Canada, such as through a carrier or Best Buy purchase, and it must be released in Canada in 2025, which means Galaxy Trifoldnot included in this list, it is not currently available in Canada.

Best battery

Smartphone batteries are essential. People don't want their phones to die in the middle of the day, and with the technology available in the world, devices should easily last up to two days. Luckily, even in Canada's limited smartphone market, we have some good options.

Here are the nominees:

• iPhone 17 pro max
• OnePlus 13
• OnePlus 15
• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
• Red Magic 11 Pro

Best camera

If you're a big fan of social media or it's part of your job, you'll need a good camera. However, smartphone cameras provide different experiences, and even if your phone has 200 megapixels, that doesn't necessarily mean it will take the best photos. Also, whether a picture looks good or not depends on the person. Some people like oversaturated photos, while others prefer undersaturated ones. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but we will still choose the winner based on the best shooting experience.

Here are the nominees:

• iPhone 17 Pro / iPhone 17 Pro Max
• Pixel 10 Pro / Pixel 10 Pro XL
• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
• Pixel 10 Pro Foldable

Best Gaming Experience

While some people think that mobile games are not worth it, others are really hooked on them. Also, if you have a good gaming experience, it probably means your device has a good screen and fast speed. And if the phone can handle something like Death in Stranding 2 or Genshin Impact at high settings, your phone will likely handle any other tasks you throw at it.

Here are the nominees:

• iPhone 17 Pro / iPhone 17 Pro Max
• OnePlus 15
• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy Z Foldable 7
• Red Magic 11 Pro

Best foldable

In Canada, we are introduced to several foldable devices. There are rumors that Apple will launch a foldable smartphone in 2026, and I wouldn't be surprised if TCL or OnePlus throw one our way. Foldable devices are definitely not for everyone, as I've seen quite a few people break their devices lately, but if you're someone like me who can protect your phone from cracks and enjoy the convenience of a tablet that folds up in your pocket, or miss the experience of a rollable phone, look no further than our nominees:

Here are the nominees:

• Motorola Razr Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy Z Foldable 7
• Samsung Galaxy Z flip 7
• Google Pixel 10 Pro Foldable

Most Innovative

This category may be confusing for some, but we'll take a look at some of the best-designed futuristic phones. Phones that make people look harder when they pass by. The devices are almost futuristic and will most likely show what the future holds for the phone market.

Here are the nominees:

• iPhone Air
• Nothing Phone 3
• Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
• Samsung Galaxy Z Foldable 7

Best price above and below $1000

Phones are damn expensive these days, especially when you look at devices like the iPhone 17 Pro or S25 Ultra, phones that can cost upwards of $2,000 in Canada, depending on your storage. So, here are some devices that you might want to get the most out of.

Here are the nominees:

• OnePlus 15
• Pixel 10
• Motorola Razr

We will separately select the winner with the best value under $1,000.

• iPhone 16e
• Pixel 9a
• Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
• Moto Edge
• Nothing Phone 3a Pro

MobileSyrup Phone of the Year

And of course, we want to highlight our best smartphones of the year, based on the phones we've come across and that we keep coming back to after finishing our reviews.

Here are the nominees:

• iPhone Air
• Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
• Galaxy Z-fold 7
• Nothing Phone 3
• OnePlus 15
• iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max
• Pixel 10 Pro / Pixel 10 Pro XL