The best Android phones

2 months ago 6

Collage of Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy 25 Ultra phones.

The Android ecosystem is each astir choice. While iPhone owners person a smaller excavation of caller devices to prime from erstwhile it’s clip to upgrade, there’s a wider scope of choices connected Android. Some Android phones adjacent fold successful half! Imagine.

On the flip side, each that prime tin marque for immoderate hard decisions. Here’s wherever I’d similar to help; I’ve tested a full boatload of caller Android phones, and I deliberation determination are immoderate existent winners successful the existent batch. It’s each a substance of what you’re looking for, what you’re comfy spending, and what your explanation of a “reasonably sized phone” is. (I person my own, personally.)

As you sift done the options, you’ll astir surely travel crossed tech’s favourite buzzphrase of the moment: AI. Generally speaking, AI has yet to truly impressment maine connected a phone. The Pixel 9 bid has immoderate perchance utile features, similar a Screenshots app that uses AI to tag applicable info successful metadata, and Galaxy devices tin construe a telephone telephone for you successful existent time. These things are thing to sneeze at! But nary of it feels similar the level displacement that the large tech companies support promising. Best not to enactment excessively overmuch banal successful immoderate company’s AI claims conscionable yet.

How we trial phones

There’s nary shortcut to decently investigating a phone; I enactment my idiosyncratic SIM paper (physical oregon otherwise) successful each telephone I reappraisal and unrecorded with it for a minimum of 1 afloat week. I acceptable up each telephone from scratch, load it up with my apps, and spell astir surviving my beingness — accent investigating the battery, utilizing GPS navigation connected my motorcycle portion streaming radio, taking rapid-fire representation mode photos of my kid — everything I tin propulsion astatine it. Starting implicit with a caller telephone each week either sounds similar a imagination oregon your idiosyncratic hell, depending connected however Into Phones you are. For me, switching has become so regular that it’s mostly painless.

Longevity

A large Android telephone volition spell the distance. I look for signs that the hardware and bundle volition support up for galore years to come, including a beardown IP standing for particulate and h2o absorption (IP68 is preferred), durable solid panels connected the beforehand and back, and a sturdy aluminum framework alternatively than plastic. Samsung and Google flagships present connection 7 years of OS and information updates, which arsenic awesome. As a bare minimum 3 years of Android OS mentation upgrades is preferred, on with a full of 4 oregon 5 years of information updates.

A large screen

The champion Android phones person plentifulness of solution to screen their ample show area, which means 1440p, ideally. A accelerated refresh complaint of astatine slightest 120Hz is preferred — animations and scrolling look ace creaseless astatine that complaint — and adjacent amended if it’s adaptable down to 1Hz to prevention connected artillery life.

Quality cameras

Any telephone tin instrumentality a decent photograph successful bully lighting, but the champion telephone cameras tin grip debased airy and high-contrast scenes well, too. I look for optical (most common) oregon sensor-shift (rare) representation stabilization, which helps compensate for manus shingle and alteration slower shutter speeds successful debased airy to stitchery much light. A telephoto lens is large to person too, though high-res sensors are starting to connection amended lossless harvest modes that mimic abbreviated zoom lenses well.

Wireless charging

Most phones connected this database connection wireless charging, though not each do. Lack of wireless charging isn’t a implicit deal-breaker, but it’s becoming an indispensable diagnostic for a batch of radical since it’s convenient for charging galore antithetic kinds of devices.

If you unrecorded successful the US, I person immoderate atrocious quality astir the Android market, though. For analyzable reasons having to bash with “capitalism” and “geopolitics,” we don’t get astir arsenic galore of the options arsenic you’ll find successful Asia and Europe — brands similar Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor, and Oppo conscionable aren’t disposable here. I’ve constricted this usher to the devices I’ve personally tested successful depth; thus, it is simply a reasonably US-centric acceptable of recommendations.

With that successful mind, it’s besides worthy acknowledging that astir radical successful the US get their phones “for free” from their wireless carrier. If you tin negociate it, buying a telephone unlocked volition springiness you the astir flexibility and state if you extremity up wanting to alteration carriers successful the adjacent future. Phone manufacturers besides connection financing and trade-in deals to marque outgo much manageable. But if you’re blessed with your bearer and the escaped telephone connected connection is the 1 you truly want, by each means, instrumentality the escaped phone. Just marque definite you recognize the terms, particularly if you request to alteration plans to currency successful connected the deal.

However you spell astir it, you person immoderate fantastic options for your adjacent Android phone.

The champion Android telephone overall

Screen: 6.3-inch 1080p 120Hz OLED / Processor: Tensor G4 / Cameras: 50-megapixel f/1.7 main with OIS, 48-megapixel ultrawide, 10.5-megapixel selfie / Battery: 4,700mAh / Charging: 27W wired, 15W wireless (with Pixel Stand 2) / Weather resistance: IP68

Google’s hardware is amended than ever, and the full Pixel 9 lineup feels conscionable arsenic polished arsenic thing you’d get from Samsung oregon Apple. But astatine $799 (and often little than that), the basal Pixel 9 is successful a peculiarly appealing position, and if you don’t request a telephoto camera oregon the biggest screen, past this is the Android telephone to get.

The Pixel 9 comes with immoderate important quality-of-life improvements similar a faster fingerprint scanner for unlocking the phone. The camera is arsenic reliable arsenic ever, and if you’re into AI photograph editing tricks, boy does this telephone person ‘em. There’s a caller Screenshots app that acts arsenic a spot to store each of the accusation that would different beryllium mislaid astatine oversea successful your camera roll, and it uses AI to parse accusation retired and marque it searchable. Kinda handy.

Google Pixel 9 connected a pinkish and greenish background.

Even without AI, this is an fantabulous phone. It’s besides designed to spell the distance, with 7 years of promised OS updates, which precise apt means you’ll outgrow the telephone earlier Google stops supporting it. Its imaginable for semipermanent worth and the prime of the hardware marque it an casual proposal for anyone who conscionable wants a bully Android telephone that works.

Read my Google Pixel 9 review.

The champion maximalist phone

Screen: 6.9-inch 1440p 120Hz OLED / Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite / Cameras: 200-megapixel main with OIS, 50-megapixel 5x telephoto with OIS, 10-megapixel 3x telephoto with OIS, 50-megapixel ultrawide, 12-megapixel selfie / Battery: 5,000mAh / Charging: 45W wired, 15W wireless (Qi2 Ready) / Weather resistance: IP68

There’s inactive nary telephone rather similar the Ultra. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is Samsung’s latest reply to the question, “What if your telephone had each of the features?” It’s equipped with 2 telephoto cameras, a built-in stylus, and a big, agleam screen. Good luck uncovering that operation successful different phone. Related: this is 1 of the astir costly slab-style phones you tin buy.

The newest variation of the Ultra comes with rounded corners and level edges, making it much comfy successful your hand. But if you’re looking for important year-over-year improvements to the Ultra look extracurricular of that, well, you won’t find much. Samsung’s absorption has been connected bundle features, which is to accidental AI features. But AI connected Galaxy phones remains a mixed container — it’s surely not the paradigm displacement Samsung wants america to deliberation the S25 bid represents.

All of that puts the Ultra successful a spot of somewhat little favoritism than erstwhile versions. The biggest updates are bundle features disposable to the remainder of the S25 series. The Ultra looks and feels much similar different Galaxy phones this clip around, too. More than ever, it’s hard to recognize what Samsung means erstwhile it calls this telephone “Ultra.” Still, it’s your champion prime for a feature-packed Android telephone — adjacent if it’s not rather arsenic ultra arsenic it erstwhile was.

Read my Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review.

The champion Android telephone that isn’t huge

Screen: 6.2-inch 2340 x 1080 120hz OLED / Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Cameras: 50-megapixel main with OIS, 12-megapixel ultrawide, 10-megapixel 3x telephoto with OIS, 12-megapixel selfie Battery: 4000mAh / Charging: 25W wired, 15W wireless (Qi2 Ready) / Weather-resistance rating: IP68

Most radical similar a large phone, and I get that. I do. If you privation a large Android phone, you person plentifulness of options successful beforehand of you. But immoderate of america similar a smaller telephone — thing that (kind of) fits successful your pocket, oregon feels much comfy successful your hand. For us, determination is but 1 enactment connected Android: the Samsung Galaxy S25.

That’s the regular S25, not the Plus, which is simply a good large phone. But the modular S25 is fundamentally the past of its kind: a full-featured telephone with a 6.2-inch screen. It’s not small, but it’s not huge, and we’ll person to instrumentality what we tin get. And it’s a darn bully telephone that keeps up with the bigger devices successful each the important ways: the artillery goes each day, it comes with plentifulness of RAM, and it adjacent has a existent telephoto lens — not thing you get connected a basic, 6.1-inch telephone on, say, iOS.

The Galaxy S25 isn’t conscionable a good, small-ish telephone by default. It’s reliable, durable, and comes with the committedness of 7 years of OS updates. It’s not my prime for the wide champion Android telephone due to the fact that Samsung bundle tin beryllium a spot much, but if you’re comfy successful the Samsung ecosystem and you conscionable privation a telephone that fits successful your dang pocket, past this is the 1 to spell with.

The champion telephone if you hatred waiting for your telephone to charge

Screen: 6.82-inch 1440p 120Hz LTPO OLED / Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite / Cameras: 50-megapixel f/1.6 main with OIS, 50-megapixel 3x telephoto with OIS, 50-megapixel f/2.0 ultrawide, 32-megapixel selfie / Battery: 6,000mAh / Charging: 80W wired, 50W wireless / Weather-resistance rating: IP68 and IP69

There are plentifulness of bully reasons to see the OnePlus 13. It has a big, beauteous screen, and costs a 100 bucks little than the Galaxy S25 Plus. Its particulate and h2o absorption is truthful beardown you could practically usage the telephone successful a hurricane without consequences. And its camera strategy is overmuch improved twelvemonth implicit year, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to low-light portraiture. But there’s 1 standout crushed to see the 13: impatience.

The OnePlus 13 offers capable artillery stamina to get done 2 days of mean usage connected a azygous charge — and that’s with plentifulness of power-draining features enabled, including the always-on display. If you’re thriftier with your charge, it could adjacent spell beyond that. Forgot to complaint overnight? No large deal; you tin astir apt conscionable complaint it up connected nighttime two. Charging is besides comparatively fast, and successful the US, the telephone comes with an 80W wired charger successful the box. So adjacent if you bash request a midday top-off, you’ll beryllium capable to get hours of complaint successful a substance of minutes. No different flagship telephone offers that benignant of charging (or not charging) flexibility.

Read my OnePlus 13 review.

The champion foldable phone

Screen: 8.0-inch 2076p 120Hz OLED interior screen, 6.3-inch 1080p 120Hz OLED screen surface / Processor: Tensor G4 / Cameras: 48-megapixel f/1.7 main with OIS, 10.8-megapixel 5x telephoto with OIS, 10.5-megapixel ultrawide, 10-megapixel selfie (cover screen), 10-megapixel interior selfie camera / Battery: 4,650mAh / Charging: 21W wired, 7.5W wireless / Weather resistance: IPX8

Does anyone genuinely request a folding phone? Probably not. But utilizing 1 is awfully nice, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the nicest book-style foldable I’ve utilized to date. It’s pricey, it’s inactive bulkier than a slab-style phone, and its cameras aren’t rather arsenic bully arsenic the different Pixel 9 Pro phones. But it’s a joyousness to use, some arsenic a regular telephone with the screen surface and erstwhile you unfold the large interior screen.

The 9 Pro Fold is Google’s 2nd folding phone, pursuing up the passport-shaped Pixel Fold with a format that feels overmuch much familiar. The outer surface measures 6.3 inches connected the diagonal, but much importantly, the ratio is the aforesaid arsenic Google’s slab phones. By comparison, Samsung’s Z Fold 6 uses a taller, narrower format that feels cramped. Having utilized them both, I overmuch similar the 9 Pro Fold’s approach.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold successful porcelain.

That said, the 9 Pro Fold isn’t without compromises. The camera strategy isn’t rather arsenic bully arsenic what you get successful the different 9 Pro phones. The outer surface isn’t arsenic crisp oregon agleam arsenic the Pixel 9 Pro’s, either. And it’s not arsenic durable arsenic its slab-style counterparts — there’s nary particulate resistance, and you can’t get it repaired conscionable anywhere. For $1,800, that’s an atrocious batch to swallow. For the adventurous aboriginal adopter, though, the 9 Pro Fold volition beryllium precise rewarding.

Read my Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold review.

Other Android phones worthy considering

There are galore much large Android devices that weren’t covered here, and a fewer are worthy calling retired that didn’t rather marque the chopped for a recommendation.

First off, there’s the Galaxy Z Flip 6, Samsung’s fantabulous clamshell-style foldable. It’s not arsenic overmuch amusive to usage arsenic the 2024 Motorola Razr Plus — which facilitates utilizing apps connected the screen surface much easy — but Motorola’s way grounds for bundle updates isn’t great, truthful the Z Flip 6 is simply a safer stake for a flip phone. Read our review.
The OnePlus Open is besides different bully book-style foldable option. It’s bladed and light, and the bundle includes immoderate thoughtful approaches to multitasking — a important portion of the folding telephone experience. But it won’t beryllium supported with bundle updates for arsenic agelong arsenic the Pixel 9 Pro Fold oregon the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Read our review.
Last but not least, there’s the Google Pixel 8A. If you truly privation to maximize the instrumentality connected your investment, it’s hard to bushed Google’s latest midrange phone. It’s owed for replacement successful the adjacent future, but if you tin snag a woody connected the 8A it’s inactive a large buy. Read our review.

Update, April 8th: Adjusted pricing and added applicable related links portion removing outdated ones.

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