With 2025 here, new smartphone launches are just waiting to pop up. However, for those looking to save some cash, some great value-for-money smartphones from last year continue to offer good performance, and are sure to for the rest of 2025. In today’s blog, we go over some of these phones, and what makes them great contenders to buy even months after their original release.
All of these phones were among the best in their segment in 2024, and most of them can now likely be purchased at a discounted price – making them even more of a steal deal than they were last year.
Apple iPhone 16
Apple’s iPhones are generally known to be future-proof, but the iPhone 16 series is one of the most future-proof iPhones you will come across. That’s because in 2024, nearly all features from the Pro iPhones came to the base iPhone 16 too. This included the Action Button, the new Camera Control switch, as well as Apple Intelligence support.
ALSO READ: What is Apple Intelligence, Apple’s very own take on AI?
This makes the iPhone 16 one of the most capable smartphones right now, something it will likely be not just throughout 2025, but also for the next few years after this. As is the case with most iPhones, the iPhone 16 will also be supported with software updates for several years after this point. If you want a better camera setup with most of the perks mentioned above, you can also consider the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Most ‘Ultra’ phones Samsung are very future-proof devices, and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is no different. The phone is one of the best Android offerings of 2024, armed with the biggest and best specifications across its screen, battery, cameras and, of course, raw performance.
About from the top-notch specs and the handy stylus of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the phone also gets access to Galaxy AI, a suite full of handy AI-powered features including real-time translation, powerful image-editing tools and more. On top of all of this, OneUI 7 is one of the best skins right now, which also allows you to customise every element of the UI, so you never really get bored with the same phone. There’s also seven years of software updates. Haven’t we said enough already?

OnePlus 12
The OnePlus 13 has released in India now, and it brings in some big upgrades over its predecessor. However, thanks to a price drop and some neat offers, the OnePlus 12 remains a very good deal for anyone looking to buy a premium flagship device. It offers the performance of the very capable Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, along with the customisation and feature-set of OxygenOS.
If that isn’t enough, the phone is also equipped with a Hasselblad-powered, versatile camera setup that’s great for stills, portraits, night shots and more. It also helps that the OnePlus 12 comes with a monstrous battery capacity, and remains one of the fastest charging phones in India right now.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
Samsung has been making foldables longer than most of its other smartphone rivals, and while there are a few competitors in the segment today, Samsung has been the only brand that has finally managed to make its foldables resistant to both water and dust – the latter being a key achievement. With an IP48 rating, both the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 and the Z Flip6 can be considered the most durable foldables to date.
But that’s not all the reason why we’ll call these phones future-proof. The Z Fold6 (and Z Flip6) is also armed with the performance of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, clubbed with generous RAM, storage options and most of the perks we mentioned for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, including Samsung’s OneUI 7 Android skin and years of software updates.

OnePlus Nord 4
Unlike the flagship options mentioned above, the OnePlus Nord 4 is a mid-range device, and was one of the most value-for-money phones of 2024. Without a successor launched in 2025 just yet, the device is the best in the Nord series of OnePlus phones right now, and continues to offer the best in design, performance, cameras and battery life that you can get in this price segment.

CMF Phone (1)
Lastly, we’d still recommend the CMF Phone (1) in 2025 for anyone looking for an ultra-affordable all-round device, that offers good cameras, clean software, and even a neat trick up its sleeve by supporting modular back panel accessories. All this makes the CMF Phone (1) a well-rounded budget phone, that still manages to pull some eyes thanks to its unique design.

Those were some of the best smartphones of 2024, that you can still buy in 2025 without any real compromises. However, if you’re someone who would rather dig in deeper in your wallet and buy a newer phone later this year, stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma for the latest launches, in-depth reviews and more.

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Chetan Nayak
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