Technologies

Here Are the 5 Best VPNs in 2022

The best VPNs for private streaming, gaming and torrenting rated by our expert staff.

At CNET we rigorously test virtual private networks to determine which service is worthy of the title best VPN. We use a combination of the latest real-world research from industry experts and our own hands-on testing with these services to see how they compare against each other. To earn the crown, a VPN needs to demonstrate excellent speed, privacy and overall value in our evaluation. Currently, ExpressVPN is our Editors’ Choice for best overall VPN. Most recently, ExpressVPN passed its latest set of third-party audits, contributing to a growing record of industry-leading transparency efforts.

The best VPNs deliver unprecedented digital privacy without compromising performance. Though many people forego VPNs in favor of other types of network connections, we highly recommend using a good VPN for work, especially if you work with sensitive information.

A well-tested and reliable VPN is a cornerstone tool for protecting your digital privacy online, and getting the best value out of your online gaming and streaming. A VPN service is a mobile app or other software that — once you switch it on — encrypts the connection between your device and the internet, preventing your internet service provider from seeing what mobile apps or websites you are using. It also prevents most of those websites and apps from seeing what geographic location you’re connecting from. If configured correctly, VPNs can also stop your internet service provider from throttling your speeds.

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals

Surfshark:$2.05 a month for 26 months(Billed $53.28 upfront)
NordVPN:$3 a month for 27 months(Billed $80.73 upfront)
IPVanish:$4 a month for 12 months(Billed $48 upfront)
ProtonVPN:$4 a month for 30 months(Billed $120 upfront)
ExpressVPN:$6.67 per month for 15 months(Billed $100 upfront)

A VPN can also give you an added layer of security on public Wi-Fi networks, even though they’re far less of a security threat than they were in previous years. And with football season now in full swing, it’s a good time to note that VPNs can also be used to correct wrongly applied league blackouts and geographic restriction glitches. A VPN service also lets you bypass content blocks in some countries to access critical news and educational information, while also opening up your streaming entertainment options.

While we believe the best VPN overall is ExpressVPN, we’re also eager to find the best VPNs for different uses. That’s why we also recommend Surfshark VPN as the best cheap VPN for the budget-savvy. Each VPN in the list below has an excellent value for a specific use case, and we point out the ideal user for each one. We’re also in the process of re-evaluating ProtonVPN and will update our recommendations based on that review in the coming months. In the meantime, keep an eye out for Black Friday VPN deals, which have started on some providers, including many of our top picks.

Over the past several years, a flood of VPN providers has entered the marketplace, and that comes with both benefits and drawbacks. On one hand, the array of affordable VPN options now available means that — no matter how critical or casual your privacy needs — there’s a VPN service suited to your purpose. But it also means consumers have to wade through even more VPN advertising hype.

How we test VPNs

Our hands-on testing and review process is designed to cut through that hype. When we look at each VPN service, we’re not just examining them for their technical weaknesses, but we’re also scrutinizing their individual performance strengths. We want to know what each service does best. We test each VPN across over 20 factors, and we’re continually improving our methodology as we learn more.

We test VPNs for browsing and streaming speed in multiple countries as well as their connection stability and even the smallest potential privacy leaks. By testing across multiple devices and platforms, we’re able to assess which VPNs are best for gaming versus those best for streaming, torrenting or sharing sensitive information. Most importantly, we focus on doing the deep-dive research necessary to vet each VPN’s historical credibility and its ownership in a notoriously murky market.

The VPNs on this list earn our recommendation for more than just boosting their digital privacy strengths — they enable easy streaming to overcome geoblocked media, have torrenting-friendly servers, and are fast enough to support gaming globally. Based on those continued evaluations, you’ll see a few bullet points on each entry in our list, highlighting each VPN’s strengths and the uses we recommend it for most. And because we strive to keep on top of a fast-changing market, you’ll notice that the rank of each VPN service changes as we learn more and retest.

Best VPN services in 2022

Let’s look at each of our VPN vendors below in more depth. Keep in mind that this list is constantly being updated. We’re actively working on more VPN testing and research, so expect this guide to change throughout the year as we put each VPN through its paces.

The list below presents our favorites overall in 2022 so far. We’ll call out when specific traits make for a better choice in a more narrow evaluation.

Other VPNs we’ve tested

Not every VPN can be a favorite. These are ones we reviewed, but they’re not full-throated recommendations for one reason or another, including limited features and concerns over adequately hiding your identity.

Hotspot Shield

Servers: 1,800-plus in 80-plus locations
Country/Jurisdiction: US (Five Eyes member)
Platforms: Windows, Android, MacOS, iOS, Linux, Amazon Fire TV
Price: $8 per month or $95.88 billed annually. Month-to-month plan at $13

Hotspot Shield VPN’s TLS-based Hydra Catapult protocol, US jurisdiction, 128-bit AES encryption support and large percentage of virtual servers might strip away our trust in its ability to provide more privacy protections than its competitors — but those are all key components to its ability to achieve the blazing speeds it delivered during its most recent speed tests.

It’s the second-fastest VPN I’ve tested, effortlessly delivers smooth-streaming media and can dance between server connections without missing a beat, no matter how many interruptions you throw at it. A 26% speed loss puts it in second place, falling behind Surfshark — which lost just 16.9% of its speed the last time I tested it — and knocking ExpressVPN down to third place with a 51.8% speed loss at last measurement. Speed losses on UK connections were under 8%. Gaming, torrenting, browsing, streaming — these speed-dependent services won’t be slowed down for Hotspot Shield users.

We’re not excited about Hotspot’s privacy and security, though. Since the services uses a closed-source proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol, instead of the more transparent open-source OpenVPN protocol, we’d like to see Hotspot give the public more third-party audits — a necessary step to bring Hotspot up to speed with routinely audited VPNs like TunnelBear. As recently as April 2021, review site VPNMentor discovered a DNS leak in Hotspot Shield’s plug-in for Google Chrome. Hotspot acknowledged the issue at the time and aimed to improve the product.

We’re also not thrilled about the amount of user data Hotspot collects, and its privacy policy. With its premium product, it gathers and retains much more information about users than most other VPNs. And if you’re using the free version of its product, it shares that information — along with even more finite data, including your MAC address and specific phone identifier — with advertising companies.

While its interface is user-friendly and its speeds are thrilling, spending time with Hotspot is going to leave your wallet a little lighter than you might prefer. Its current price is higher than its nearest competitors, its speeds slightly slower and its privacy more questionable. If you’re looking for a VPN purely on the grounds of speed, we still recommend passing on Hotspot until it improves.

See all Hotspot Shield plans

TunnelBear

Average speed loss: 63%
Number of countries: 48-plus
Jurisdiction: Canada, with US parent company
Price: $3.33 per month, or $120, for a 3-year plan

TunnelBear’s gotten a lot of hype in the last couple of years. But when we looked under its hood and compared it with its VPN competitors, our excitement waned.

TunnelBear’s speeds are reasonable. We lost nearly 63% of internet speed overall when we used it, which is about average for a VPN. TunnelBear’s speeds have steadily improved over the years as measured by other review and testing sites, though, and the US scores we recorded saw a speed loss of only 54%.

On the plus side, TunnelBear is holding its own in the transparency competition among VPNs by publishing the results of its independent security audits and annual transparency reports. No IP address, DNS or other potentially user-identifying data leaks were detected during our testing, but in the past TunnelBear was observed to have been leaking WebRTC information. TunnelBear’s VPN encryption is standard AES-256 and it supports Perfect Forward Secrecy.

However, it’s also a Canadian business owned by US-based McAfee, so if you’re looking for subpoena-proof international online privacy, you’re playing with fire. It holds a paltry 23 server locations from which you can’t manually choose your VPN server or even a city. It doesn’t offer Tor-over-VPN, it offers split tunneling only on Android and it can’t even unblock Netflix.

On a per-month breakdown, the least expensive TunnelBear plan is its $120, three-year plan. You can also go month to month for $10, or pay $60 up front for a single year. Either way, TunnelBear accepts payment via credit card and bitcoin. Unlike other VPNs, it doesn’t take PayPal. Also unlike other VPNs, it doesn’t support Amazon Fire Stick or Android TV.

See at TunnelBear

CyberGhost VPN

Number of servers: Over 8,000 worldwide in 91 countries
Number of server locations: 111
Jurisdiction: Romania, with UK parent company
Number of simultaneous connections: 7
$2.03 a month or $60 for a two year plan (plus four free months). Month-to-month plan at $13.

In CNET’s previous coverage of virtual private networks, we’ve praised CyberGhost for its roster of competitive features. Our in-depth review of CyberGhostin 2019 included speed testing, security verification and an analysis of its full suite of privacy tools. Since then, the VPN company has increased its number of servers and is prepared to roll out new privacy tools, all while remaining one of the cheapest VPNs we’ve reviewed — at $2.03 per month for a two-year plan.

As we’ve bolstered our approach to VPN reviews, however, CyberGhost has raised some red flags. Its parent company’s history warrants skepticism; our previous tests have shown it to expose your VPN use to your ISP; its website and app trackers are more numerous than warranted; and its ad blocker uses an untrustworthy method of traffic manipulation no VPN should even think about. Its low price previously made it worth considering if you needed to change the appearance of your location online, but not if you wanted best-in-class security.

While CyberGhost’s connection speed and security features appear to be improving, we don’t currently recommend using the VPN service provider if you’re in a country where VPNs are illegal. We also recommend that anyone in the US review CyberGhost’s parent company before deciding whether to pay for a subscription.

On the plus side, however, CyberGhost is still faster than Norton Secure VPN and was less taxing on the processing power of our devices. It also offers split tunneling in its Windows client and has its servers neatly organized into categories: NoSpy servers, servers geared for torrenting, servers best for streaming and servers best for use with a static IP address. CyberGhost imposes no data caps, allows unlimited server switching and offers a 45-day money back guarantee on subscription plans of a year or more.

See all CyberGhost VPN plans

Norton Secure VPN

Number of countries: 30
Number of servers: 1,500 (1,200 virtual)
Number of server locations: 200 in 73 cities
Country/jurisdiction: US
$40 for the first 12 months for five devices

NortonLifeLock, long known for excellence in security products, has a relatively limited offering in its VPN product. Norton Secure VPN does not support P2P or BitTorrent, Linux, routers or set-top boxes. Its Netflix and streaming compatibility is somewhat limited. Even worse, during testing, we experienced privacy-compromising data leaks.

During CNET’s testing, Norton Secure VPN speeds were comparable to other midtier VPNs but not particularly competitive. Although its VPN is only available on four platforms — Mac, iOS, Windows and Android — Norton gets points for its 24/7 live customer service phone support and 60-day money back guarantee.

Norton Secure VPN’s pricing structure is a bit different than what you typically find in the industry. Pricing is tiered based on how many simultaneous connections you want with your account. For a single device, you’ll pay $30 for the first year and $50 for any subsequent years, or $4.99 a month for the monthly. For five simultaneous connections, the price jumps to $40 for the first year and $80 for subsequent years, or $8 a month for the monthly plan. If you want up to 10 simultaneous connections, the price is $60 for the first year and $100 for subsequent years, or $10 a month for the monthly plan.

See all Norton plans

Mullvad

Number of servers: 840
Server location: 68 locations in 38 countries
Number of simultaneous connections: 5
Jurisdiction: Sweden
Price: $5 a month

Mullvad is an independent and open source VPN provider that is focused on building trust through transparency and its commitment to protecting the privacy and security of its users. Although there are other VPNs that are considerably more well-known in the industry, Mullvad’s offering overall is just as polished and easy to use as many of the bigger players in the market.

Mullvad’s primary focus is on security. Like most other top VPN providers, Mullvad employs industry-standard AES 256-bit encryption to secure users’ connections. Mullvad’s kill switch feature and DNS leak protection are enabled by default and cannot be disabled. During our testing, the kill switch worked as expected and we detected no leaks of any kind. The company says it doesn’t keep any logs of its users’ activity, and is, for the most part, pretty transparent about how it operates and what it does to protect user privacy. Mullvad is unique in that it doesn’t require any personal information at signup. While most VPN providers ask users to provide an email address and enter a username, Mullvad generates a random 16-digit account number to activate each new user account. You don’t even need to provide any payment information since Mullvad accepts cash sent via mail.

Mullvad’s source code being entirely open source is a testament to the company’s transparency, but we’d still like to see Mullvad issue an annual transparency report to give the public a view of how many legal requests the company gets and where they’re coming from. Though Mullvad tells us a new security audit is forthcoming, the company’s 2020 security audit (conducted by German cybersecurity firm Cure53) concluded at the time that the VPN «does a great job protecting the end user from common PII leaks and privacy-related risks.»

With servers in 68 locations across 38 countries, Mullvad’s VPN server network is comparatively small. Even so, the network covers the most in-demand locations and is pretty well spread out across the globe. And what its network may lack in size, it makes up for in speed. In our latest round of speed testing, we measured just a 23% drop in average speeds (most VPNs will slow you down 50% or more), easily making it one of the fastest VPNs we’ve tested. Though Mullvad’s speeds are fantastic, it’s not the best for geographically restricted content. We were able to access Netflix without any issues, but were denied access to stream Disney-plus when connected to Mullvad’s US servers.

However, Mullvad’s straightforward approach to pricing is a breath of fresh air, especially with so many other VPN providers concocting ever-more convoluted pricing structures. Mullvad costs about $5 a month, whether you want to use it for a month, a year or a decade — and you’re never locked into a long-term subscription plan. If you’re not satisfied with the service, you can get a refund within 30 days of purchase.

See all Mullvad plans

Other VPNs our experts are reviewing

Below you’ll find some additional VPNs. We’re in the process of re-evaluating them in the coming months.

PureVPN

Number of servers: 6,500-plus
Number of countries: 78-plus
Country/jurisdiction: Hong Kong
$3.24 a month for one-year plan, $1.99 a month for a two-year plan (plus three free months)

PureVPN says it doesn’t log connection information. The company joined the «no log» movement in 2018, and underwent a third-party audit by Althius IT (albeit one commissioned and paid for by PureVPN).

We like that PureVPN offers a 31-day refund policy and supports Bitcoin payments. We also like that PureVPN has both Kodi and Chromebook apps available. In addition, PureVPN was the first VPN service we noted to fully implement GDPR compliance.

See all PureVPN plans

StrongVPN

Number of servers: 950-plus
Number of server locations: 59 locations in 30 countries
$3.66 a month (67% discount) for a one-year plan
StrongVPN in-depth review and hands-on testing (ZDNet)

StrongVPN blasts onto our list with excellent infrastructure and a decent price. StrongVPN has a strong no-logging policy, and picks up kudos for its large base of IP addresses. It has a solid collection of servers and worldwide locations. For those of you who need a dedicated IP, you can get one from the company but you’ll need to contact customer support to get help setting it up.

One of StrongVPN’s strengths is the company’s network. It owns and operates its entire network infrastructure, which means it has no externally dictated limits on bandwidth or the type of internet traffic allowed on the network.

StrongVPN’s regular monthly price of $10.99 is in the middle of the pack, but its regular yearly price of $80 is among the lowest of our contenders.

See all StrongVPN plans

Private Internet Access

Number of server locations: 84 countries
Country/jurisdiction: US
Simultaneous connections: 10
Price: $2.19 per month for the two-year plan

If you’re looking for one of the least expensive VPN providers, Private Internet Access fits the bill.

The best value offered by Private Internet Access is the two-year plan, which works out to $2.19 a month, and includes two free months. But if you don’t want to lock in for an extended period of time, you can get a six-month subscription for $45 (which comes out to $7.50 a month), or a monthly plan for $12 a month.

PIA has quite an expansive network of servers, spanning 84 countries, including servers in 18 different US cities. Though not as expansive as the fleets for ExpressVPN or CyberGhost VPN, the 84 countries gives PIA one of the largest server networks you’ll find in a VPN provider.

Operating since 2010, Private Internet Access offers 10 simultaneous connections, a kill-switch feature and a 30-day refund period.

See all Private Internet Access plans

VPN FAQ

In today’s hyper-connected world, online privacy and security are increasingly critical. From online banking to communicating remotely with colleagues, we’re transferring more data on our computers and smartphones than ever before. Much of that data is confidential information that we need to keep safe from hackers and snoops, so VPN use is on the rise as people take steps to secure their digital lives.

Additional VPN factors to consider

Don’t use free VPN services: You’ll find only paid VPN options on this list above because they’re the only ones we can recommend.

Look for a no-logs VPN, but understand the caveats: The best VPNs keep as few logs as possible and make them as anonymous as possible, so there’s little data to provide should authorities come knocking. But even «no-logs» VPNs aren’t 100% anonymous.

There are limits to the privacy VPNs currently provide to iOS users: Recent independent research has surfaced suggesting iPhones and iPads running iOS 14 or later may be vulnerable to device-only VPN leaks, regardless of which VPN is used. Apple users concerned with potential leaks can take extra precaution by installing their VPN on a home router to ensure their entire Wi-Fi network is encrypted. Some iOS users may potentially reduce the likelihood of leaks while outside of a home network by enabling their VPN’s kill switch and selecting OpenVPN protocols. You can also try closing all apps, activating your VPN, and then enabling and disabling Airplane Mode before using your device normally. Apple advises users to activate their device’s Always On VPN profile for additional protection.

VPN transparency is important, but warrant canaries are only the beginning: Many services use «warrant canaries» as a way to passively note to the public as to whether or not they’ve been subpoenaed by a government entity, as many investigations from national security agencies can’t be actively disclosed by law. But — like the no-logging issue — warrant canaries aren’t always as straightforward as they seem. You should spend more time investigating whether your prospective VPN has cooperated with authorities in the past, and how and when it’s disclosed that fact.

Think twice about using a US-based VPN: The Patriot Act is still the law of the land in the US, and that means US-based VPNs have little recourse if and when the feds show up with subpoenas or national security letters in hand demanding access to servers, VPN user accounts or other data. Yes, they may have little data to access if the service has a strong no-logs policy, but why not just choose a service that’s based outside Uncle Sam’s jurisdiction? (If this is a concern for you, you’ll want to avoid countries that the US has intelligence-sharing agreements with, too.)

Best VPNs for your use case

Technologies

The 3 iOS Features You Definitely Aren’t Using (but Are Silently Draining Your Battery)

If you find that your phone loses battery too fast, you may just need to disable these features to solve the problem.

It’s 2026, and if you’re constantly toggling on «Low Power Mode» just to survive a commute, you may as well be carrying around a brick. While it’s true that lithium-ion batteries naturally degrade over time, most people are draining their «juice» prematurely by leaving on high-performance features they don’t even need.

Your iPhone has a few key settings that drain your battery in the background. The good news is, you can turn them off. Instead of watching your battery percentage plummet at the worst possible moment, a few simple tweaks will give you hours of extra life.

Before you even think about buying a new phone, check your Battery Health menu (anything above 80% is decent) and then turn off these three settings. It’s the easiest way to make your iPhone battery last longer, starting right now.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Turn off widgets on your iPhone lock screen

All the widgets on your lock screen force your apps to automatically run in the background, constantly fetching data to update the information the widgets display, like sports scores or the weather. Because these apps are constantly running in the background due to your widgets, that means they continuously drain power.

If you want to help preserve some battery on iOS 18, the best thing to do is simply avoid widgets on your lock screen (and home screen). The easiest way to do this is to switch to another lock screen profile: Press your finger down on your existing lock screen and then swipe around to choose one that doesn’t have any widgets.

If you want to just remove the widgets from your existing lock screen, press down on your lock screen, hit Customize, choose the Lock Screen option, tap on the widget box and then hit the «—« button on each widget to remove them.

Reduce the motion of your iPhone UI

Your iPhone user interface has some fun, sleek animations. There’s the fluid motion of opening and closing apps, and the burst of color that appears when you activate Siri with Apple Intelligence, just to name a couple. These visual tricks help bring the slab of metal and glass in your hand to life. Unfortunately, they can also reduce your phone’s battery life.

If you want subtler animations across iOS, you can enable the Reduce Motion setting. To do this, go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion and toggle on Reduce Motion.

Switch off your iPhone’s keyboard vibration

Surprisingly, the keyboard on the iPhone has never had the ability to vibrate as you type, an addition called «haptic feedback» that was added to iPhones with iOS 16. Instead of just hearing click-clack sounds, haptic feedback gives each key a vibration, providing a more immersive experience as you type. According to Apple, the very same feature may also affect battery life.

According to this Apple support page about the keyboard, haptic feedback «might affect the battery life of your iPhone.» No specifics are given as to how much battery life the keyboard feature drains, but if you want to conserve battery, it’s best to keep this feature disabled.

Fortunately, it is not enabled by default. If you’ve enabled it yourself, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Keyboard Feedback and toggle off Haptic to turn off haptic feedback for your keyboard.

For more tips on iOS, read about how to access your Control Center more easily and why you might want to only charge your iPhone to 95%.

Technologies

These Are the Weirdest Phones I’ve Tested Over 14 Years

These phones tried some wild things. Not all of them succeeded.

I’ve been a CNET journalist for over 14 years, testing everything from electric cars and bikes to cameras and, er, magic wands. But it’s phones that have always been my main focus and I’ve seen a lot of them come and go in my time here. Sure, we’ve had the mainstays like Apple and Samsung, but I’ve also seen the rise of brands like Xiaomi and OnePlus, while once-dominant names like BlackBerry, HTC and LG have vanished from the mobile space.

I’ve seen phones arrive with such fanfare that they changed the face of the mobile industry, while others simply trickled into existence and disappeared just as uneventfully. But it’s the weird ones that stick in my memory. Those devices that tried to be different, that dared to offer features we didn’t even know we wanted or simply the ones that aimed to be quirky for the sake of quirky. Like someone who thinks an interesting hat is the same as having a personality.

Here then are some of the weirdest phones I’ve come across in my mobile journey at CNET. Better yet, I still have them in a big box, so I was able to dig them out and take new photos — though not all of them still work. Let’s start with a doozy.

BlackBerry Passport

At the height of its power RIM’s BlackBerry was one of the most dominant names in mobile. It was unthinkable then that anything could unseat the goliath, let alone that it would fade into total nonexistence. The once juicy, ripe BlackBerry withered and died on the bush, but not without a few interesting death rattles on its way.

My pick from the company’s end days is the Passport from 2014, notable not just for its physical keyboard but its almost completely square design. The rationale behind this, according to its maker, was that business types just really love squares. A Word document, an Excel spreadsheet, an email — all square (ish) and all able to be viewed natively on the Passport’s 4.5 inch display with its 1:1 aspect ratio. Let’s not forget that all Instagram posts at that time were also square so it had that going for it too. YouTube, not so much.

In theory it’s a sound idea. In practice the square design made it awkward to use, as the physical keyboard was too wide and narrow. Its BlackBerry 10 software, especially the app availability, lagged behind what you’d get from Android at the time. BlackBerry quickly ditched the new shape. After trying to claw back some credibility with its Android phones — including the stupidly named Priv, a phone I quite liked — and by bringing on singer Alicia Keys as Global Creative Director (because BlackBerry phones had keys, get it?) the company stopped making its own phones in 2016.

YotaPhone 2

You’d be forgiven for having never heard of this phone or its parent company, Yota. Based in Russia, Yota made two phones: the creatively named YotaPhone in 2012 and the similarly inspired YotaPhone 2 in 2014, pictured above. Both were unique in the mobile world for their use of a second display on the rear. From the front, these phones looked and operated like any other generic Android phone. Flip them over though and you’d get a 4.3-inch E Ink display.

The idea was that you’d use your Android phone as normal for things like web browsing, gaming or watching videos, but you’d switch to the rear display if you wanted to read ebooks or simply have it propped up to show incoming notifications. E Ink displays use almost no power, so it made a lot of sense to preserve battery life by viewing «slow» content on the back.

The reality though is that beyond ebooks — which aren’t great to read on such a tiny screen anyway — there’s very little anyone might want to use an E Ink display for when out and about. It was difficult to operate, too, thanks to a slow processor and clunky software. After just two generations of YotaPhones, the company went into liquidation.

HTC ChaCha

Remember when Facebook was the cool place to be instead of just the place your parents and their friends go to publicly air their most troubling of opinions? When I was at university, instead of trading phone numbers when you met someone, the default thing was to add each other on Facebook and then begin poking each other. Facebook was so ubiquitous at the time that it was simply the way every single person I knew communicated.

Keen to capitalise on Zuckerberg’s social media success, HTC brought out the ChaCha in 2011. The phone came with an utterly ludicrous name and a dedicated Facebook button on the bottom edge. Tapping this would immediately bring up your Facebook page, allowing you to post the lyrics to Rebecca Black’s Friday, ask what Fifty Shades of Grey is about or do whatever else it was we were all up to in 2011.

Facebook might still be around in one form or another, but HTC abandoned its phone-making business back in 2018. Unsurprisingly, phones with dedicated hardware buttons tied to social media haven’t caught on.

Sirin Labs Finney U1

«Bro!» I hear you shout, all-too loudly. «BRO! You’ve got to check out what my Bitcoin is doing!» You’d then show me your phone and I’d watch while your crypto account plummeted, rebounded and plummeted again over the course of 12 seconds. The phone you’d be showing me, of course, would be the Sirin Labs Finney, a 2019 phone specifically targeted at crypto bros who wanted a device that would perfectly match their high-living, high-fiving crypto-trading lifestyle.

At its core, the Finney is just another Android phone, but a hidden second screen pops up from the back of the phone, with the sole purpose of giving you secure access to your crypto wallet. The phone had a whole host of security features to ensure that only you could access your Bitcoin or Etherium, and it allowed you to send and receive cryptocurrency without having to use a third-party online platform. Apparently that was a good thing.

If you were entrenched in the crypto world, this phone might have been the dream. But the wallet wasn’t easy to use and the phone was expensive, thanks to the cost of that second screen. Sirin Labs stopped making phones soon after and the mobile industry learned an important lesson about not developing hyper-niche devices that aren’t even that well-suited for the handful of customers that might be interested.

Planet Computers Gemini PDA

Half phone, half laptop, all productivity. The Gemini PDA by UK-based mobile startup Planet Computers was a clamshell device in 2018 with a large (at the time) 5.99-inch display and a full qwerty keyboard. It was basically a slightly more modern interpretation of a PDA, like 1998’s Psion 3MX, in that it was effectively a tiny laptop that would fold up and fit in your pocket. The full keyboard allowed you to type away comfortably on long emails or documents while the regular Android software on the top half meant it also functioned like any other phone — apps, games, phone calls, whatever.

It had 4G connectivity for fast data speeds and a later model even got an update to 5G. But, like the BlackBerry Passport, its focus on business-folk and productivity above all else meant it was a niche product that failed to garner enough appeal to succeed. It didn’t help that it was utterly enormous and fitting it in a jeans pocket was basically impossible, so it didn’t impress either as a laptop or as a phone.

LG G5

LG remains a huge name in the tech industry today thanks to its TVs and appliances, but it also tried to be a big player in the phone world, too. I liked LG’s phones — they were quirky and often tried weird things which kept my days as a reviewer interesting, perhaps none more so than the LG G5 in 2016.

LG called the G5 «modular,» meaning that the bottom chin of the phone snapped off allowing you to attach different modules such as a camera grip or an audio interface. Like many items on this list I can say that it’s a nice idea in theory, but in practice the phone fell short. Swapping out modules meant removing the battery, which of course meant restarting your phone every time you wanted to use the camera grip.

It was an inelegant solution to a problem that never needed to exist. But its bigger issue was that the camera grip and audio interface were the only two modules LG actually made for the phone. It’s as though the company had this fun notion in creating a phone that can transform according to your needs but then forgot to assign anyone to come up with any ideas on what to do with it. As a result, the end product was uninspiring, over-engineered and expensive.

Samsung Galaxy Note

Samsung’s Galaxy Note series helped transform the mobile industry. It literally stretched the boundaries of phones, encouraging larger and larger screens — even creating the unpleasant and mercifully short-lived term «phablet.» But the first-generation model in 2011 was controversial, mostly due to what was then considered its enormous size.

At 5.3 inches, it was significantly bigger than almost any other phone out there, including Samsung’s own Galaxy S2 — which, at a measly 4.3 inches, paled into insignificance against the mighty Note. It was mocked for being so huge, with memes appearing online poking fun at people holding it up when making calls. And while times have changed and we now have Samsung’s 6.9-inch Galaxy S25 Ultra, the original Note’s boxy aspect ratio meant it was actually wider than the S25 Ultra. So even by today’s standards it’s big.

It was also among the first phones to come with its own stylus shoved into its bottom. It’s a feature that few mobile companies have mimicked, but Samsung kept it as a differentiator on its later Note models before incorporating it into its flagship S line starting with the S22 Ultra.

Nokia Lumia 1020

Nokia’s Lumia 1020 was my absolute favorite phone for quite some time after its launch in 2013. And it’s because of its weirdness.

Nokia had an amazing history of bonkers mobiles — 2004’s 7280 «lipstick phone,» for example — and while the Lumia range was much more sedate, the 1020 had a few things that made it stand out. First, it ran Windows Phone, Microsoft’s brief and unsuccessful attempt to launch a rival to Android and iOS. A rival that I happened to quite like.

It was also made of polycarbonate, with a smoothly rounded unibody design that strongly contrasted the angular metal, plastic and glass designs of almost all other phones launching at that time. Its look was unlike anything else on sale, and I loved it.

But the main thing I loved was its camera. With a 41-megapixel sensor, Carl Zeiss lens, raw image capture and optical image stabilization, the Lumia 1020 packed the best camera specs of any phone I’d ever seen. It made the phone a true standout product, especially for photographers like me who wanted an amazing camera with them at all times, but didn’t want to have to carry both a phone and a compact digital camera.

While incredible image quality from a phone is a given in almost all camera phones in 2026, the Lumia 1020 was an early pioneer in what could be achieved from a phone camera.

LG G4

LG, twice in one list? Oh yes, my friend, because the G5 seen above was not the first time LG went weird. Launched in 2015, the LG G4 had two main features that raised a few eyebrows. Most notably was LG’s decision to wrap the phone in real leather. Yes, real actual leather. Like what you’d get when you peel a cow. It even had stitching down the back, making it look like a handbag or a boot.

While it’s not a phone for vegans, I actually liked the look, especially as real leather — even the really thin stuff LG used on the G4 — naturally wears over time, gaining scuffs and scratches that give each phone a unique patina. It’s why I love my old leather Danner boots, and it’s why a vintage, worn-in leather jacket will almost always look better than a brand new one. Still, with leather being an expensive — and arguably controversial — material to use on a phone, it’s no surprise LG didn’t return to this idea.

But it’s not the only weird thing about the phone — the G4 was among a small number of phones released around that time that experimented with curved displays. It’s gently bent into a banana shape, the theory being that it makes watching videos more immersive, as is the case with curved screens in movie theaters. The problem is that movie screens are immense, so that curve makes sense. On a 5.5 inch phone like the G4, that curve is barely noticeable and only really served to push the price up.

Motorola Moto X and Moto Maker

I’ve just pointed out how weird the LG G4 was for using leather and now I’m pointing out another phone that, as you can see in the image above, is also wrapped in leather. But the weird thing here isn’t that the Motorola Moto X came in leather — it’s that I personally got to choose that it came in leather.

With the Moto X in 2013, Motorola launched a service called Moto Maker that allowed you to customize your phone in a wild variety of ways. From different-colored backs and multicolored accents around the camera and speakers through to using materials including leather and even various types of wood, there were loads of options to make your Moto X look unique. Each phone would then be made to order and you could even have it personalised with lazer etching and provide your Google account for it to be prelinked on arrival.

If custom-making phones with a vast number of potential options en mass sounds like an absolute logistical nightmare then you’re on the same page as Motorola eventually found itself. Moto Maker only existed for a few years before the company retired its customization service.

Samsung Galaxy Fold

I’m ending on a wildcard addition with the original Galaxy Fold. It’s a wildcard because Samsung’s Fold and Flip range are now up to number seven and we’ve got foldable devices from almost all major Android manufacturers. Though still not Apple.

While the original Fold might have kicked off the foldable revolution, there’s no question it was a weird phone. I was among the first to test it in the world when it launched in 2019 and while I was certainly impressed by the bendy display, its hinge felt weird and «snappy» to use. The outer display was, let’s face it, terrible.

On paper its 4.6-inch size is reasonable, but it’s so tall and narrow that it was borderline unusable for anything more than checking incoming notifications. Trying to type on it meant whittling down your thumbs to pointy nubs so I spent most of my time interacting with the phone’s much bigger internal screen. Cut to today when the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s outer screen measures a healthier 6.7 inches and as a result can function like any regular smartphone, with the bigger inside screen only required when you want more immersive content.

Looking back at the original Fold and its bizarre proportions, it’s honestly a surprise that Samsung persisted with the format. But I’m glad it did.

Technologies

How Verum Ecosystem Is Rethinking Communication

David Rotman — Founder of the Verum Ecosystem

For David Rotman, communication is not a feature — it is a dependency that should never rely on a single point of failure.

As the founder of the Verum Ecosystem, Rotman developed a communication platform designed to function when internet access becomes unreliable or unavailable.

Verum Messenger addresses real-world challenges such as network outages, censorship, and infrastructure failures. Its 2025 update introduced a unified offline-capable messaging system, moving beyond Bluetooth-based or temporary peer-to-peer solutions.

Verum’s mission is simple: to ensure communication continuity under any conditions.