Phones are back in fashion in 2025

A year or two ago, when a phone showed up at my door for review, I could pretty much count on it being black, grey, or maybe (as a bonus) white. But in 2025, this will not be the case. The phones I’ve reviewed this year feature everything from real wood back panels to navy blue finishes, with colorful cross-body straps and matching magnetic attachments. For an industry that was content to produce a lot of black, rectangular gadgets, 2025 was a welcome return to bold colors and on-trend accessories from phone manufacturers.

Phones weren’t always boring, utilitarian objects. Remember the original Light pink Motorola Razr? creative. or more recently, Lumia neon yellow phones from Nokia — You can’t miss them. Even the always conservative iPhone debuted in vibrant orange, yellow, and blue options 2018 XR; My husband refused to give it up unless absolutely necessary because he didn’t want to give up his yellow phone. But somewhere along the way in the past five years, phone makers decided that these devices had to be more serious, and the fun options fell by the wayside.

If there’s one company that deserves credit for bringing back elegance, it’s Motorola. the Razr ultra foldable The MountainTrail is easily the best phone I’ve used this year, but maybe I’m biased Moto X emoticons Raise the wooden back. The bronze-coloured side bars, the satisfying sound when the foldable phone closes – it’s all So Nice – good. But it’s not just foldable devices, Motorola has been way ahead of the curve with vibrant colors and unique finishes over the past year or so. I wish Moto’s software looked authentic – it has been lately Stuffed to the nostrils with ads and bloatware — but the company has certainly installed good-looking hardware.

Even traditionally conservative product lines got some cooler options this year. 2025 gave us Cosmic orange iPhone 17 ProFor the truly bold among us. The standard iPhone 17 also comes in some eye-catching colors, which haven’t been available in recent years — and thankfully, there’s no repeat of the iPhone 15’s lackluster color options. Even Google showed off His foldable phone In something other than black or white for the first time: gray moonstone and light greenish-yellow jade.

But the matter was not limited to the phones themselves. This year, manufacturers seem to remember that phone accessories can be fashionable, too. Apple launched this year’s iPhones with New accessory for crossbody strapAvailable in a range of colors to coordinate with its cases. Later in the year, we got… Cross body sockiPhone Pocket, was created in collaboration with fashion designer Issey Miyake. Starting at $229 for the long version, it’s a luxury that won’t appeal to most people, but it makes a strong statement.

Google has also released a set of magnetic accessories called Pixel Snap To go along with the Pixel 10 series, which includes a ring of MagSafe-esque magnets on the back panel. I used the Pixel 10 Pro Fold almost exclusively with the easy-to-use circular handle, which, in addition to relieving some of the fatigue of holding the phone for a long time, doubles as a nice-looking object adorning the back of the phone. For someone like me who hates use cases, it’s a welcome way to add interest and a hint of style.

Not everyone wants a flashy color or statement accessory for their phone, and that’s okay. But I think it’s also good to care about the look of your phone and want something less utilitarian and more stylish than the black rectangle. After all, we look at our phones a million times a day! It only makes sense that we like what we see. Whatever happened this year to encourage manufacturers to develop their phones, I hope this continues in 2026.