In pictures: The search for the glossiest smartphone

1/21

Hardware aside, a smartphone's aesthetics is one of the main reasons that gets the love from its users. Today, we hunkered down to find out once and for all which of these smartphones of different gloss levels is the best grime and fingerprint magnet.

(Editor's note: #justforfun.)

2/21

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, which smartphone is the glossiest of them all? Without further ado, we shall introduce the contenders, followed by their gloss performance.

3/21

First up is none other than the iPhone 7 Plus in Jet Black. This device has gotten heads turning and tech journalists abuzz with its piano black gloss surface, and it pays homage to the plastic-but-also-glossy iPhone 3GS. Today, we finally see how it holds up in our totally-legitimate gloss performance test.

To read our iPhone 7 Plus review, go here.

4/21

Our first test explores the reflectiveness of the phone's surface. For fairness, we will only look at the phone's rear, and measure its glossiness based on how well the phone captures our test subject's reflection. It's evident that the iPhone 7 Plus starts off the contest with a strong lead, as our subject greets us from the abyss of the Jet Black surface.

5/21

Our second test looks into the amount of grime and stain that can be appended to the smartphone's rear. For fairness, we run only our fingers across the back of the phone. The more visible our HWZ logo is, the better. The iPhone 7 Plus does not disappoint in this test, with our proud logo sprawled across as clearly as grease can ever be.

6/21

Next up is the iPhone 7 Plus rival, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Will an impressive form factor and streamlined UI be able to out-gloss its main competitor? It looks promising here, but we want results.

To read our Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review, go here.

7/21

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge puts up a commendable reflection where our test subject is able to bask in. However, this puts the iPhone 7 Plus and other contenders up for a tough fight. The gold model of the S7 Edge will not go down easy.

8/21

The shiny gold rear of the Galaxy S7 Edge runs into a pickle as it works its fingerprint magnetism, but it falls short of one full alphabet. Does that mean the S7 Edge is out of the contest? Not so fast, let's see how the others hold up first.

9/21

The Sony Xperia XZ in Forest Blue enters the ring! It's not the glossiest smartphone on the table, but it certainly stands a chance with its polished metal rear. Let's see how it does.

To read our Sony Xperia XZ review, go here.

10/21

The Xperia XZ may have a metallic back, but that doesn't mean it can double as a terrible mirror! Fortunately, it's not a terrible phone. This leaves the other contenders a fighting chance - smeared stains and all.

11/21

Despite its murky performance in the reflective test, the Sony Xperia XZ pulls itself together with an astounding (and icky) performance in the grime test. The Xperia has the honor of bearing our HWZ logo, stamped on using questionable juices.

(In short, the XZ's rear, being made of ALKALEIDO metal, doesn't show as much fingerprints or grime as phones with a glass back.)

12/21

Another hopeful smartphone is the Xiaomi Mi 5, which has exceptional value in a beautiful package. However, can its beautiful package stand the rigorous tests we've prepared?

To read our Xiaomi Mi 5 review, go here.

 

13/21

Drats, our test subject cannot check itself out within a beautiful phone! Even the built-in beautification software can only watch on the sidelines as our brutal experiment unveils its true gloss prowess. Surely it can do better with stains?

(Sidenote: We like white color phones, for the simple reason that white hides fine scratches well.)

14/21

It was foolish of the Xiaomi Mi 5 to even try. Next!

15/21

The Moto Z has come to play a part in this petty affair. Perhaps it won't be so cocky after we've stripped it of its protective Style Shell and other Moto Mods attachments it hides behind. Time to face the mirror of glossy truth!

To read about the modular Moto Z and the Moto Mods attachment, go here.

16/21

The naked Moto Z puts up a decent fight as our test subject carefully observes its smudged reflection in the phone. But we aren't here to dawdle - onward to the stains!

17/21

With this, the Moto Z puts up an impressive fight against likely winners - the iPhone 7 Plus and Galaxy S7 Edge. But the fight isn't over until we've analyzed our final contender.

18/21

Not wanting to go out without a bang, Xiaomi brought the big guns out - the Mi MIX has entered the ring! Besides its revolutionary bezel-less form factor, the Mi MIX offers a shinier, smudge-stained challenge to its pricier competitors.

And nope, that isn't glass, it's high-quality ceramic. Super-scratch-resistance FTW! 

To read our Xiaomi Mi MIX hands-on, go here.

19/21

With the intensity of a thousand suns, the Mi MIX unravels to all who dare to glance. But all this is meaningless if it cannot beat the current contenders at the unforgiving test of grime and slime.

20/21

But even with our juices running low, the Mi MIX mocks its competition by proudly showing off its violated surface.

Say, maybe that's why Xiaomi includes a nice leather case in the box.

(Editor's note: Don't you find it ironic that the iPhone 7 Jet Black that scratches so easily doesn't come with a case, but the ceramic Mi MIX does?)

21/21

And the winner of the glossiest smartphone is...

The Xiaomi Mi MIX! While super glossy, we've to say it's also super easy to clean out the fingerprints and grime on the MIX's rear. Thanks to its scratch-resistant ceramic case, you can use just about any type of cloth, as long as it doesn't contain diamond bits.

Let us know if you have other contenders for the glossiest smartphone. Nothing is absolute, and everything can be questioned.