The best smartphones, according to Hacker News commenters
46 smartphones were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and October 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 7 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
On Hacker News, the most recommended smartphone that earns the badge is the iPhone 13 mini: 105 people recommended it, 32 had mixed feelings and 44 criticized it between November 2025 and October 2026. Next is the iPhone SE (60 recommend, 22 mixed, 29 criticize), most often for “Small size and light weight”. More people recommend the Apple iPhone (438), but 789 criticize it, so it misses the 2 to 1 line.
Top picks
The three most recommended smartphones with the badge. Each figure is 10 people. RecommendsMixed feelingsCriticizes One comment
Owners refuse to upgrade
“When I asked myself if I would rather keep the new Air or go back to my 13 mini with an extra thousand dollars in…”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces iPhone 17e” The last truly small iPhone, easy to use one-handed and pocketable, so owners hold onto it; critics cite sluggishness on iOS 26, a weaker camera and short battery life.
Small size and light weight
“It has the perfect size and form factor, I know it will be supported for at minimum 5y, and the cost is perfectly reasonable.”
Comment from 14 Feb 2026 in “Apple, fix my keyboard before the timer ends or I'm leaving iPhone” People recommend the iPhone SE for its small size, light weight, and long software support at a low price. Common caveat: apps increasingly require newer iOS versions.
Desktop-class Linux pocket computer
“let's provide the user with desktop-level productivity tools, and shrink the desktop into their pocket”
Comment from 19 Sep 2026 in “Android 17 is the first since 3.x to add new APIs without releasing to the AOSP” Fans recall a pocket Linux computer with a great slide-out keyboard and desktop-level software. The most common caveat is its cheap, plastic build quality.
All 46 smartphones, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Mixed counts the people with mixed feelings, who count toward neither side. Approval share is recommenders out of recommenders and critics; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 12, in which someone recommended it. Had for is the median time people say they have had or used it, shown when 10 or more said.
| Rank | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple iPhone | 438 | 190 | 789 | 36% | 12 | 7 yrs97 people | — |
| 2 | Fairphone | 110 | 42 | 94 | 54% | 12 | 3 yrs14 people | — |
| 3 | iPhone 13 mini | 105 | 32 | 44 | 70% | 12 | — | Approved |
| 4 | Apple iPhone Pro | 90 | 45 | 138 | 39% | 12 | 4 yrs24 people | — |
| 5 | iPhone SE | 60 | 22 | 29 | 67% | 12 | 4 yrs10 people | Approved |
| 6 | Jolla Phone | 50 | 30 | 69 | 42% | 11 | 8 yrs10 people | — |
| 7 | Nokia N900 | 48 | 9 | 6 | 89% | 10 | — | Approved |
| 8 | Apple iPhone 12 mini | 39 | 7 | 22 | 64% | 8 | — | — |
| 9 | Clicks Communicator | 28 | 13 | 26 | 52% | 5 | — | — |
| 10 | iPhone Air | 23 | 17 | 46 | 33% | 7 | — | — |
| 11 | Nokia N9 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 85% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 12 | OnePlus phone | 21 | 9 | 45 | 32% | 7 | — | — |
| 13 | Google Pixel 9a | 19 | 3 | 7 | 73% | 11 | — | Approved |
| 14 | Apple iPhone 4 | 15 | 8 | 18 | 45% | 8 | — | — |
| Tied 15 | Google Pixel 8a | 14 | 0 | 1 | 93% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Tied 15 | iPhone 6 | 14 | 3 | 8 | 64% | 8 | — | — |
| Tied 15 | iPhone 17e | 14 | 5 | 22 | 39% | 3 | — | — |
| 18 | iPhone 5s | 13 | 1 | 2 | 87% | 5 | — | Approved |
| 19 | Sony Xperia | 11 | 4 | 13 | 46% | 8 | — | — |
| Tied 20 | Apple iPhone 13 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 39% | 7 | — | — |
| Tied 20 | Unihertz Titan 2 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 82% | 7 | — | — |
| Tied 20 | iPhone 16e | 9 | 1 | 7 | 56% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 20 | BlackBerry Passport | 9 | 0 | 1 | 90% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 20 | Google Pixel 4a | 9 | 5 | 12 | 43% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 20 | iPhone 4S | 9 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 20 | Nokia N95 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | Google Pixel 3a | 8 | 1 | 7 | 53% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | Apple iPhone 13 Pro | 8 | 1 | 5 | 62% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | Samsung Galaxy S5 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 67% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | Unihertz Jelly Star | 8 | 3 | 4 | 67% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | iPhone 7 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 70% | 7 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | Google Pixel a-series phone | 7 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | iPhone 14 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 78% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | OnePlus 6 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 64% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | OPPO Find X9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | Motorola Signature | 7 | 0 | 9 | 44% | 4 | — | — |
| 37 | Nothing Phone | 6 | 5 | 8 | 43% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 38 | Fairphone 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 50% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 38 | Volla Phone | 5 | 0 | 4 | 56% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 38 | Xiaomi 17 Ultra | 5 | 1 | 6 | 45% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 38 | Commodore phone | 5 | 3 | 4 | 56% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 38 | iPhone 11 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 50% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 38 | Samsung Galaxy S10 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 71% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 38 | Samsung Galaxy S20 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 63% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 38 | OnePlus 13 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 83% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 38 | Sony Xperia XA2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 83% | 2 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment between November 2025 and October 2026. Someone who praises the same smartphone in five threads counts once, in the column of their latest opinion.
A smartphone earns the badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.
Counts come from Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How it works