Best phones in India 2017: the 10 top smartphones we've tested

Alternatively, if you prefer Google's OS, then our best Android phone roundup should be right up your alley.

2016 was a stellar year for smartphones, and 2017 is shaping up to be even better. The launches of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL late last year mean that the humble smartphone is destined to become faster, more powerful and even more versatile than ever before.

Here at TechRadar, we check out every phone under the sun, putting the ones that matter through our vigorous testing process to create our in-depth mobile phone reviews.

However, with so many to choose from, we've spent hours whittling them down to a top ten, taking into account power, specs, design and value for money. And we'll always point you in the direction of the latest handsets – after all, nobody wants to be carting around a phone that doesn't get any updates in a year's time, right?

So whether it's one of the many slick Android handsets, the latest iPhone or one from a range of other cool manufacturers, we've extensively tested them all so you don't have to!

Here are our rankings for the best smartphones around, currently available in India.

iPhone SE

10. Sony Xperia XZ Premium

The first phone with Snapdragon 835 in India

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium comes packed with tons of features, a crisp 4K display panel and the latest processor to serve you with theist performance. Not just this, it also offers you an excellent camera and great battery life despite of the power-greedy display.

No doubt, the price is high, which lands it into a dense competition in the Indian market. But if you are going for the most powerful phone, it is the only one offering the Snapdragon 835 in India right now. It fares pretty well against the most popular Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Apart from the chunky bezels on the top and bottom, the design gives you no chance to complain. It comes with a reflective mirror finish, which is hard to get on any other smartphone.

Read the full review: Sony Xperia XZ Premium

9: OnePlus 3T

Best value for money phone of 2016

The OnePlus 3T is a superb Android smartphone in almost all aspects. It looks brilliant, has stellar performance, much improved battery life and a fantastic font camera.

Oxygen OS is also a great Android skin which manages to retain the soul of stock Android. New software tweaks that improve app loading times make the experience even better.

Where the OnePlus 3T disappoints however is the rear camera. It is not a bad unit by any means, but has been usurped by competition in the 4 months between the OnePlus 3 and 3T.

For those who already have a OnePlus 3, upgrading to the OnePlus 3T makes no sense. However, for those looking for a new Android smartphone, the OnePlus 3T makes for a compelling buy.

The problem is that OnePlus started as a company out to make flagship killers and now with the OnePlus 3T 128GB available for Rs 34,999, the pricing has started reaching traditional flagship territory.

Read the full review: OnePlus 3T

LG G5

8. Google Pixel XL

A perfectly palm-friendly phone

Google's new phablet sports a new name (it's ditched Nexus for Pixel), a top notch QHD display and a whole heap of power under the hood.

That makes it great for VR - keep an eye out for the Google Daydream View headset coming soon - while also making it a strong all round performer.

On screen and Google's latest Android software is a joy to use, with smooth, slick performance and a clutter free design.

Fire up the camera app and the 12MP rear shooter is one of the best around, while a fingerprint scanner keep yours phone secure.

Minor weak points are battery life, design and the lack of waterproofing - but they don't stop the Pixel XL from being an excellent flagship phablet.

Read the full review: Google Pixel XL

Nexus 6P

7. Motorola Moto Z

The thinnest of the lot

The most unique thing about this smartphone is its modular capability that makes it desirable. You can buy some amazing mods like Insta share mini projector, JBL speaker and more to get the best out of it.

What we liked on the phone is its thinness, its incredibly slim and still packs a great camera on the back. Although the battery is not the best you get in this range, the phone still packs some nifty Moto features to get you the best usability experience on this phone. Not to forget the stock Android experience and future-ready for OS updates.

Moreover, it runs on Snapdragon 820 with 4GB of RAM, which sounds outdated but still a good configuration for a stutter free experience.

Read the full review: Motorola Moto Z

iPhone 7

6. Apple iPhone 7

Better, sleeker and faster than the iPhone 6S

On paper, the iPhone 7 doesn't seem like much of an upgrade from last year's terrific iPhone 6S, but seeing as that phone was fantastic, that's not such a big deal.

Much has been said of Apple's decision to drop the traditional headphone jack from the iPhone 7, and while we can't really agree with this "courageous" decision, the flagship handset does pack its fair share of improvements, too.

It's got slightly longer battery life, a better camera, fast innards and protection against water – if you're going to buy a new iPhone, this is the one to get. However, many of the changes are slight, and the iPhone 6S, for the lower price, suddenly becomes a very attractive option.

Full review: Apple iPhone 7

HTC 10

5. Google Pixel

The perfect phone for Android aficionados

The Google Pixel is an excellent flagship phone that's only let down by mediocre battery life and the still-developing Assistant. If you can stomach the price point, the Pixel is a breath of fresh Google air in a world of Android over-complication.

The 12MP camera on the back is one of the best on the market, while the clean, fresh Android Nougat interface is a joy to use.

There's heaps of power under the hood making it perfect for gaming and multi-tasking, while the bright, colourful screen provides an excellent viewing experience for your movies and TV shows.

It may not be the most attractive handset on the market, and it's far from ugly. What you can be sure of is a lot of bang for your buck.

Read the full review: Google Pixel

4. LG G6

The mainstream phone that's pretty much all screen

With the LG G6, the modular design of the LG G5 is gone in favour of a more traditional phone, one that takes multiple elements from the top handsets around, blended together to assemble a terrific all-rounder of a handset.

The G6 is a much more conservative design than its predecessor, taking the form of a sealed unit that drops the removable battery of the previous LG flagships, replacing it with a larger-capacity power pack and waterproof shell, which we think is a pretty good trade-off.

While it lacks somewhat in innovation, it makes up for with its impressive 18:9 display. This, along with reduced bezels, gives the user more screen real estate to play with, and also introduces some clever little changes to the user interface to exploit the extra pixels, especially when it comes to multi-tasking and photo taking capabilities.

While its IPS LCD display lacks the colourful pop of a Super AMOLED screen, the addition of the Dolby Vision / HDR 10 provides support for all manner of beautiful and natural-looking HDR content.

The LG G6 camera is upgraded in a way, but also remains very similar to last year's in others. The same normal and wide-angle camera lenses are back, but they're now both 13MP.

The LG G6 is a phone that takes things back to basics, and does so well. The sleek metal and glass fusion is attractive, and to anyone using the iPhone 7 Plus, the ratio of screen to body will be staggering.

Read the full review: LG G6

iPhone 7 Plus

3. Apple iPhone 7 Plus

Apple's latest phablet is another stunner, though not much of an evolution

The iPhone 7 Plus is an excellent phablet, but it would have been nice to see some upgrades to screen resolution. That said, just like the iPhone 7, the iPhone 7 Plus comes with its share of improvements over last year's model.

That's mostly achieved through two things: the battery life and innovative camera. The former is always going to be better thanks to the larger size, but by bringing a dual camera to the mix Apple's made a conscious effort to make the 7 Plus seem like a distinctly different choice.

On top of that, Apple has increased the colour gamut significantly and - as far as we could tell – the contrast ratio as well, meaning the richness of colours and depth on screen was improved. The screen is apparently also 25% brighter than it was on the iPhone 6S.

Overall, it's safe to say that the iPhone 7 Plus is Apple's best phone to date, but it's hard not to wonder if a little more could have been done to make this super attractive to the 6 Plus upgraders.

Read the full review: Apple iPhone 7 Plus

Samsung Galaxy S7

2. Samsung Galaxy S8

Samsung doubles down with two fantastic handsets this year

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the best phone in the world for a few reasons, but none more so than the display: it makes every other handset on the market look positively antiquated.

The camera is still excellent, the screen quality the best that can be found right now and it's smashed through all our benchmarking tests.

While it costs a lot to own, there are a lot of premium reasons for the premium price, and with the screen Samsung has managed to find some impressive innovation at a time when there's very little to be found in smartphones.

Read the full review: Samsung Galaxy S8

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

1. Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

The best smartphone in the world - it's a work of art

The Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus fits a monstrous 6.2-inch curved display into an acceptably large body that doesn’t feel too different from its predecessor, the Galaxy S7 Edge.

That’s not all that’s impressive. It features the best phone display, chipset and camera of any phone to date, plus it’s still water- and dust-resistant and it features 64GB of internal storage plus a microSD card slot for expandable storage.

The battery life is very good, it can power the next generation of mobile VR games and it has software that rivals stock Android.

Aside from Bixby and some slightly clunky biometrics, the Galaxy S8 Plus is the perfect phone for anyone looking to maximism smartphone screen real estate.

Read the full review: Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

We're all about reviewing and rating all the phones here at techradar. There's nothing we like more than brewing a pot of tea and deciding where each new phone should sit in the list.

However, sometimes they don't make it into the top 10 - sad, we know, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a quick look to see if they fit your needs. After all, there are very few bad phones these days...

Galaxy S6

Samsung Galaxy S7

A true return to form from the Korean manufacturer

The Galaxy S7 may have just been dethroned by the Galaxy S8, but don't count this old boy out of the race yet.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is a stellar phone. It's a handset that packs great battery smarts, excellent camera abilities and loads of raw power into an increasingly affordable package.

Even though Samsung has replaced the Galaxy S7 with the new Galaxy S8, it's still worth taking a look at the 2016 flagship Samsung phone for your next big purchase. The price has begun to drop quite impressively, and the Galaxy S8 lacks a killer feature that makes it a must-have over the Galaxy S7.

Read the full review: Samsung Galaxy S7 review

Samsung Galaxy Note 5

Though we'd love to include the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on this list, a series of unfortunate burning issues has caused Samsung to officially recall the device for the time being. On that note (hehe), we're going to hold off on including it here until it's back on store shelves and the recall has finished.

With that said, people after a phablet may want to consider last year's model, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, as it has one of the best-looking screens next to the S7 Edge.

It ditches the plastic casing and back everyone disliked about Samsung phones, but it did make a few key sacrifices along the way. The battery is no longer swappable, and the microSD card slot is missing.

While some long-time fans are vocal about these two missing features, the Galaxy Note 5 still has one of the best splitscreen modes and best cameras. It matches the quality of the Samsung Galaxy S6.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is a large phone that's either a game changer or deal breaker for longtime fans of the Android phablet, now that it has a premium look and feel.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 review

HTC One M9

Huawei Mate 8 review

OnePlus 3

OnePlus finally has a genuine flagship killer

Addressing a number of issues fans had with the OnePlus 2, it seems the third time's the charm for the Chinese startup, as the OnePlus 3 manages to provide a premium smartphone experience without breaking the budget.

Its impressive Snapdragon 820 processor and huge 6GB of RAM ensure that the OnePlus 3 is future-proofed for the next few years, at least.

There are a few shortcomings, but some compromises are essential in a $550 smartphone with this level of spec, and on the whole the ones made here don't really limit the OnePlus 3 in any meaningful way.

OnePlus 3 review

Samsung Galaxy S5 review

iPhone 6

Apple iPhone 6S

Same frame but with a brilliant new touchscreen

Apple's iPhone 6S pitch has been 'the only thing that's changed is everything', highlighting that it knows this is phone looks an awful lot like 2014's model.

It makes sense that Apple would try its hardest to show that, despite the handset looking identical to the iPhone 6, there have been loads of changes under the hood that make this an attractive phone in its own right.

If you're desperate to get a new iPhone, but don't need or want the forever change (headphone jack-less) iPhone 7, I'd recommend the iPhone 6S wholeheartedly, especially if you're jumping from a 5S. It's got a great interface that's only going to get better, and the overall package is still excellent.