Modern life dictates that the longer you have a smartphone, the weaker the battery gets. That’s where power banks come in. One of Anker’s leading 5K models for iPhone has dropped to its lowest price ever. The power bank’s price has dropped from $26 to just $18.
This is a well-known product. In fact, a variant of this model has made it onto our list of the best power banks. It’s portable and doesn’t even draw much power to the iPhone when connected. It offers 12W fast charging and provides up to 20 hours of additional smartphone usage. That’s a lot of doomscrolling or joyscrolling.
While advertised for the iPhone, the power bank is also great for the iPad and even some retro iPods. This leads us to the main disadvantage of this device.
It uses the Lightning connector, so it won’t work with newer iPhones or iPads with USB-C ports. However, all iPhones until the iPhone 14 had a Lightning connector. Statistically, you’re probably reading this on one of those iPhones right now. If that’s true, this is a great power bank for the money.
“Which iPhone should I buy?” is a question you’ve heard many times over the past few years. Most of the time, the answer is simple: buy the best iPhone you can afford.
If you’re happy with your current iPhone, in the meantime, don’t feel like you need to make any changes. But if you’re ready to upgrade, let us help. We’ve reviewed nearly every iPhone ever released, so we’ve picked all nine models in Apple’s current smartphone lineup and highlighted the models that might satisfy most people below.
Before we go any further, note that we’ve based our guide on the MSRP of new, unlocked iPhones on Apple.com.
If you can find a deep discount from another trusted retailer or a great deal on a refurbished model, that can always change the value equation. With that disclaimer in mind, here’s the best iPhone you can buy in early 2025.
The iPhone 16 Pro is the iPhone we’d recommend most people buy. Yes, it may have a higher starting price of $999, but a smartphone is a long-term investment. If the question is “which iPhone will keep you happy for the next three to five years,” we think the iPhone 16 Pro’s benefits over the standard iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are still meaningful enough that it’s worth the extra $100-200 — even if the difference isn’t as big as it has been in years past.
For one thing, the iPhone 16 Pro’s blasted titanium frame base feels much better than the iPhone 16’s aluminum frame. It’s a little heavier than the standard 16 and last year’s iPhone 15 Pro, but it’s far from a chore, and its slightly curved edges feel nice to hold. It runs on a slightly faster A18 Pro chip, which won’t make a huge difference for everyday tasks, but it’s still more future-proof, especially if you have any interest in gaming or content creation. And while every iPhone 16 has a USB-C charging port, the Pro models support faster data transfer speeds (provided you have the right cable).
The most prominent upgrade is the display. While the OLED panels on the iPhone 16 Pro and standard iPhone 16 are equally sharp and bright, the former is more spacious at 6.3 inches (instead of 6.1 inches), while the phone itself is just 0.08 inches taller and 0.02 inches thicker. That’s mainly due to the Pro’s thinner bezels, which give you more room for streaming video and reading web pages in a device that isn’t too cumbersome to hold.
Plus, the Pro’s screen has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, which can make scrolling web pages, gaming, and streaming video a whole lot smoother. Some people will tell you the average person doesn’t need that, and it’s true that not everything runs at 120Hz. But using a smartphone is about more than just interacting with a tiny screen, and once you see the faster refresh rate in action, it’s hard to give up.
It’s a frustrating situation: You can get a budget Android phone with a 120Hz display for around $300, yet Apple continues to use “ProMotion” to sell people on devices that already cost hundreds more. Still, our job is to tell you what’s best — and the Pro’s display is simply more current. It’s always on, unlike the screen on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, so you can see your notifications at a glance without physically touching the device.