From invisible selfie cams to vapor chamber cooling, these are the best handsets your money can’t buy.
Cast your mind back, if you will, to around a decade ago. Lady Gaga was dominating the charts, an unpronounceable volcano in Iceland ruined thousands of travel plans, and anyone that whipped out a 5-inch phablet at a pub was ridiculed for carrying a brick in their pocket. Oh, how times have changed. Ten years on (and a global pandemic aside) giant, slim slabs of pocketable glass have become the norm. Quadruple cameras, insanely fast charging, powerful processors and more are all commonplace in the spread of any smartphone peddler’s stall. Still, there are a few things that remain elusive. China and other Far East markets, for example, still has a few exclusive handsets that the rest of us in the US, UK and Australia can only covet from afar (or ship across the world at added expense, before traversing the desk of an inquisitive customs officer). We’ve taken a look at a variety of those handsets, and here are five of the best smartphones you can’t actually buy right now. Simply put, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra looks to be one of the best phones ever made, and quite possibly the most powerful, fully-featured handset in the world right now. Forged to celebrate the company’s tenth anniversary, the Mi 10 Ultra is a spec fiend’s ultimate dream, with a 6.67-inch 120Hz display, an incredibly well-reviewed quad-camera setup, Qualcomm’s beastly Snapdragon 865 processor, a beefy graphene-enhanced 4,500mAh battery (with offensively-quick 120W fast charging and an even more insane 50W wireless fast charging feature). That’s all without mentioning the sexy transparent back which tantalizes circuit aficionados with a cheeky peek at the components within. Having enjoyed its China-only launch, the rest of the world is understandably rather upset, and there’s already a petition signed by over a thousand thirsty gadgeteers looking for a Mi 10 Ultra of their very own.
