Apple iPhone X

It's hard to believe it's been ten years since the original iPhone. To mark the occasion, Apple's pulling out all the stops with the Apple iPhone X (Ten, not "Ex"). Immediately apparent is its nearly bezel-free design with 5.8-inch TrueTone OLED Super Retina display and stainless-steel side bands. Less so is the host of new tech inside, from infrared, neural network-powered 3D facial recognition, or Face ID, to an A11 Bionic processor with a neural engine and dual camera system, with optical image stabilization for both lenses. The glass back allows for Qi-compatible wireless charging, and with an optional charging mat, you can charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods with a single outlet. It comes in space gray and silver, in 64GB and 256GB, and arrives in November.

Punkt MP 01 Phone

No apps. No camera. No nonsense. Designed by Jasper Morrison for Switzerland-based Punkt, the MP 01 Phone is meant to put the spotlight back where it belongs: on calls and messages. The 2-inch LCD display — protected by Gorilla Glass — is ideal for dealing with SMS messages, and the built-in noise cancellation ensures that your conversations sound great. It does have Bluetooth, since hands-free setups are handy, but without the need for a bevy of other radios, battery life is fantastic (it only needs charging every few weeks, instead of every few hours), and the soft-touch finish and angled back plate make it a pleasure to hold. Not to mention, we could all use the occasional social-media detox. In Punkt's own words, this is offline as the new luxury.

Height: 4.58" / Width: 2" / Thickness: 0.6" / Weight: 3.1oz

Requires a low-cost 2G GSM plan.

Light Phone

We're all guilty of mindlessly staring at our smartphones instead of taking the time to view the real world in front of us. The Light Phone, now off of pre-order and available for immediate shipment, acts as a temporary replacement to your existing phone, giving you a break from social media feeds and news notifications, while still keeping a sleek device in your pocket for those old-fashioned "phone calls".

The Light Phone arrives with its own SIM as an unlocked 2G GSM phone that's ready to be used right of out the box (which in this case is actually a special hardbound book). So along with your new number, you'll mostly want to use call forwarding from your fancy smartphone. You get three free months of service, and then it's only $5 a month afterwards (U.S. only).

Roughly the shape of a credit card and only a bit thicker, you'll forget you have a phone with you until you really need one. A beautiful and extremely user-friendly web-based interface let's you add up to 10 contacts for quick dialing. In our own usage, the battery lasts a few days on a single charge. Available in white or black, the Light Phone's minimal design is an instant classic, and surely makes Jonny Ive envious.

Essential PH-1 Smartphone

As the driving force behind the initial development of Android, Andy Rubin knows a thing or two about the smartphone market. The Essential PH-1 Smartphone is his next stab at conquering it. Unsurprisingly, it runs Android, and has all the features you'd expect from a flagship phone, including a dual camera system with a monochrome sensor for better low-light performance, a speedy Snapdragon processor, a fingerprint sensor, tons of storage, a drop-proof titanium and ceramic build, and a nearly bezel-free design with a screen that wraps around the front camera. Yet perhaps the most interesting part is a pair of magnetic pins on the back that let it attach to all sorts of accessories, from charging docks to a 360-degree camera.