Best business smartphones: The top handsets from Apple, Samsung, Google and more

The best business smartphones won't have everything you need to get you through the workday, but they can be a reliable backup option should tasks need finishing on the go. That requires snappy processing power, long battery life, and enough display space to read your emails and even fix spreadsheets.

Over the last twelve months we have tried and tested some of the best around, from the latest iPhone to the best Samsung has to offer. In this article, we will provide you with a detailed review of each device, what to look for when purchasing a new smartphone for work, and also an insight into our testing methodology.

The Best Business Smartphones 2026

There are many reasons for consumers to look at the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, from its massive screen size to its unparalleled triple camera system, but for businesses, the main draw should always be security.

And Samsung has always stood out among the crowd when it comes to secure handsets thanks to its ever-expanding Knox platform. But for the S26 Ultra, the main draw from a security perspective is the innovative Privacy Display.

The Privacy Display is a new pixel-level feature that blocks out the screen from the side and above. This is arguably the most important feature on a phone in some time; a type of anti-shoulder-surfing technology that obscures your screen. It works automatically on notifications, but needs to be activated for individual apps. Once on, sideways viewers will only see a dark display.

It is quite brilliant. No one can see your phone from the side or above, and all passwords have the feature on automatically. During our review, we kept it on for about a week, traveling on trains, buses, and in a car, with complete privacy. The only downside is it limits your view when you're shooting video or taking photos. But otherwise, it is a must-have for remote workers with business phones.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S26 review here

Budget handsets often come with massive cuts to quality, such as low-quality screens or poor battery life. But the iPhone 17e has managed to take all the best bits of the iPhone 17 and condense them down into an affordable package that still offers quality... if you ignore the cameras.

It starts with the inclusion of the A19 chip, which featured on the iPhone 16; Apple has long led the field in terms of CPU power, and smartly used up excess chips for its latest budget handset. So you get a surprisingly powerful device for under $600 (£600).

This also correlates to battery life, as the chip helps to optimize use. In our looped video test, the 17e lasted 19hrs, 30mins, which is frankly amazing for a budget device. And, in our experience of using the device 5 months on, that battery still has over a day of power in it.

You also get a super display, some AI features, and a so-so camera setup. And, for Apple aficionados, the design harks back to the iPhone 14, with those straight, flat edges. It is a super budget device that came out in a year when Apple really showed what it can do with constraints.

For more, read our full Apple iPhone 17e review here

Honor has had quite a year; from the attention-grabbing RoboPhone to its many budget handsets, the company has hit its stride in 2026. And the Honor Magic V6 is arguably the best foldable around.

The V6 is the successor to the V5 and a further indication that Honor is a growing giant in the smartphone space. This is thanks to its quality designs and the fact that it seems to get the absolutes right when it comes to features.

The V6 offers long battery life (over 20hrs), an easy-to-set-up and use interface (with no glitching from screen to screen), and a camera system that's as good as its flagship devices.

Foldables are a competitive market with Honor's previous parent company Huawei and Samsung well defined leaders. But with the V6, Honor has produced a super smart model that more than holds its own. There is no obvious crease mark down the screen; it looks premium, and it works oh-so well.

For more, read our Honor Magic V6 review here

The Honor Magic8 Pro is a simply outstanding flagship smartphone that offers plenty of value in its price category. And it's arguably its selection of cameras that makes it outstanding, both front and back. The front-facing camera comprises two lenses, including a 50MP lens and a 3D depth-sensing lens. On the rear is a 50MP Ultra Night Main Camera, 50MP Ultra Wide Camera and a stonking 200MP Ultra Night Telephoto Camera.

This collection of lenses is as good as you may find in a flagship device – and features a host of software-powered enhancements that add to the sense that you're working with professional-lite hardware. One of the Magic8 Pro's main selling points is its ability to shoot at night, and it really does excel in this department – flooding your frame with light thanks to the combination of the 200MP lens as well as some AI support courtesy of AiMAGE.

What's more, the stabilization engine – which Honor dubbed an industry first -- can help you focus and zoom in on individual subjects and make them standout. There's also the Magic Color mode, which is a fun photo-level feature that lets you add AI-generated filters and color palettes to whatever you're shooting. You can even upload one of your previous photos and use it to generate an original filter.

For more, read our full Honor Magic8 Pro review here

What to look for in a business smartphone

When shopping for a smartphone, it’s easy to be lured into thinking that you should simply go with whichever device boasts the highest specs - but this isn’t always the case, and in some instances, more technically advanced devices can actually offer a less satisfying experience.

For example, while a super-powerful processor may seem attractive, most flagship phones have far more CPU power than the average user needs, so unless you’re planning on using your phone to handle extremely demanding tasks like professional videography, you may find that a mid-range processor offers better value for money. It may also result in better battery life thanks to less power-hungry components, which applies equally to screen technology.

The higher a display’s resolution and refresh rate, the more charge will be needed to power it, which can quickly sap your battery. While most devices with a high refresh rate also include dynamic optimisations to mitigate this, it’s nonetheless worth bearing in mind. Generally, you should aim for a resolution of between 1080p and 1440p, and a refresh rate of at least 60Hz, which will ensure the best blend between battery life and user experience.

Regardless of how long the battery lasts, however, you should make sure to look for devices that include fast-charging support, as this will inevitably come in handy at some point. Wireless charging is also a nice feature to have, but unless you own a wireless charging pad, or your work has them dotted around the office, it's unlikely to be a feature you use very often.

You should, however, make sure that your chosen phone supports Wi-Fi 6 and 5G; these technologies may still be comparatively nascent, but skip this functionality and you may need to upgrade sooner than planned as it becomes more widespread.

Those seeking the most secure phone possible should check our best secure smartphones list.

FAQs

Are iPhones or Android phones better for business use?

There’s a certain amount of animosity that can sometimes be observed when it comes to Android vs iPhone; Android fans contend that Apple devices are needlessly expensive, prone to failure and restrictive to use, while iPhone devotees insist that Android devices are cheaply-made, poor quality hardware brimming with malware.

All of these arguments have grains of truth behind them, but on balance, it’s iOS that comes up trumps for business. As the dominant platform, it tends to be prioritised by software developers, and although high-end manufacturers like Samsung and Google can offer experiences that compete with Apple’s smartphones, the wider Android ecosystem does contain more than its fair share of duds.

However, the simple fact is that in most cases, Android and iOS are equally capable for business users. The software required for business smartphones - enterprise collaboration apps, document management systems, device management tools, and so on - are all available across both platforms, and as long as organisations don’t try and cut too many corners on the price of the unit itself, device quality is unlikely to be an issue.

How often should I update my employees’ company smartphones?

Smartphone technology moves at a seemingly breakneck pace, and every year manufacturers are touting more and more impressive specs and features. This leaves businesses with a dilemma: do they invest more money in upgrading employees’ devices every year or so, or do they sweat them for a longer period and risk missing out on the latest capabilities?

The key thing to bear in mind is that many of the features these newer smartphones boast are geared towards personal use, as opposed to business. While an improved camera is nice for taking holiday snaps, it doesn’t make much difference for most workers’ day-to-day use. With this in mind, it’s better to invest in buying higher-end devices and sweating them for a longer period of three to five years, which will offer better long-term value.

Should I get a 5G business smartphone contract?

5G has been around for a number of years now, but its introduction somehow doesn’t seem as revolutionary as previous generations of mobile broadband. Many contracts will now include 5G connectivity as standard, but it’s still worth paying a bit extra to secure a business smartphone contract that supports the latest standard - assuming your corporate devices do as well.

When employees are on the road - or working flexibly from a third location - the added speed and stability that 5G can offer is an excellent way to ensure consistent productivity, and sharing a 5G connection via hotpot can even be used as a backup broadband connection for PCs and laptops in the event of a connection failure.

How we test

We measure the effectiveness of a smartphone in a number of ways; to test the quality of the display, we’ll use a colour calibrator and the open source DisplayCal app to measure how much of the sRGB colour gamut it covers, as well as the Delta-E rating. This tells us how much of the colour spectrum it’s able to represent, and how accurate those colours are. We’ll also test the maximum brightness and contrast ratio.

Performance testing is carried out using the Geekbench 5 benchmark app, which gives separate results for single-core and multi-core operations. For phones that don’t support this app, we’ll use a different benchmarking app, then run that same app on a phone which does support Geekbench, and then use that as a basis for comparison.

To test the battery of a smartphone, we’ll charge it to 100%, use the calibrator to set the brightness to 170cd/m2 (or as near as possible) and then play a looped video in flight mode until the battery runs out. This gives us a figure that can be compared across models, but to assess real-world longevity, we track how long the battery lasts on average during our testing period.