Not long ago, our best phone guide contained models of all shapes and sizes, from the tablet-like Samsung Galaxy note to the colorful iPhone 5C.
These days, flat metal sides, gently rounded corners and muted industrial color pathways, however, today’s order, with practical and underrated style are apparently prioritized rather than “Look at my new phone!” personality.
But is this homogeneity a bad thing? Despite their general, today’s best (and best-selling) phones are objectively superior devices to their more characterful predecessor, and the best collapsible phones (thinks the Galaxy Z-FLIP 6) are ready and waiting for them whose benefit fun over compliance.
To find out how you, our readers, feel about modern smartphone design, we published an article back in February and encouraged you to make your opinion.
We ran a poll in Techradar WhatsApp channel with this article, and a huge 1,483 of you answered the question ‘How are you doing with the flagship smartphone -design in 2025?’. Here are the results:
As you can see, an overwhelming majority of respondents – 915 (62%) – answered with the answer ‘Modern Smartphone – Design is boring – I miss the variety!’. Another 235 (16%) chose the third option – ‘Modern Smartphone – Design is boring, but I understand the need for conformity’ – meaning 78% of respondents feel negative over the state of smartphone design in 2025.
Only 204 respondents (14%) believe that smartphone design is better than ever, while an even lower 129 (8%) believes there is still enough variation in the smartphone market. It is sufficient to say that it does not give happy reading to manufacturers such as Apple, Samsung and Google.
For almost any major brand, the sales of the smartphone have been steadily declining since 2021 (via ICIS), and it is clear that innovative AI features have not yet proven the industrial-saving development that it clearly hoped they would be.
That said, it’s hard to point your finger to boring smartphone design as the sole – or even primary – reason for this downward trend.
Consumer purchase patterns have changed; It is no longer possible or even advisable to replace your smartphone every two years when most consumers now choose to do so after four or five.
Even the best cheap phones will now remain supported with software updates for up to seven years, and their chipset and batteries are advanced enough to see that period easy. Of course, modern smartphones are boring, but they are extremely practical and fit for purpose – does it really matter that they all look the same?
It is a question that will undoubtedly play in the mind of business leaders throughout the industry. For example, Apple has come under fire to stick to the same “boring” iPhone formula for too long, but will it risk messing with its golden goose for the variety? The latest iPhone 17 rumors suggest that it will, although it is hard to believe that a slightly more adventurous camera modered design will trigger a tidal wave of iPhone upgrades.
As our poll shows, consumers are fighting for something new – but an element of nostalgia is undoubtedly on play here.
What do you think smartphone manufacturers need to do to spice up the stagnant smartphone market? Tell us that in the comments.
