The Best Android Phones

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

On nan flip side, each that premier tin make for immoderate difficult decisions. Here’s wherever I’d for illustration to help; I’ve tested a afloat boatload of caller Android phones, and I deliberation location are immoderate existent winners successful nan existent batch. It’s each a matter of what you’re looking for, what you’re comfortable spending, and what your meaning of a “reasonably sized phone” is. (I personification my own, personally.)

As you sift done nan options, you’ll almost surely recreation crossed tech’s favourite buzzphrase of nan moment: AI. Generally speaking, AI has yet to really impressment maine connected a phone. The Pixel 9 bid has immoderate perchance useful features, for illustration 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 point to sneeze at! But nary of it feels for illustration nan level displacement that nan ample tech companies support promising. Best not to put excessively overmuch banal successful immoderate company’s AI claims conscionable yet.

If you unrecorded successful nan US, I personification immoderate bad news astir nan Android market, though. For analyzable reasons having to do pinch “capitalism” and “geopolitics,” we don’t get astir arsenic galore of nan options arsenic you’ll find successful Asia and Europe — brands for illustration Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor, and Oppo conscionable aren’t disposable here. I’ve constricted this line to nan devices I’ve personally tested successful depth; thus, it is simply a reasonably US-centric group of recommendations.

With that successful mind, it’s too worthy acknowledging that astir group successful nan US get their phones “for free” from their wireless carrier. If you tin negociate it, buying a telephone unlocked will springiness you nan astir elasticity and authorities if you extremity up wanting to alteration carriers successful nan adjacent future. Phone manufacturers too relationship financing and trade-in deals to make costs overmuch manageable. But if you’re happy pinch your bearer and nan free telephone connected relationship is nan 1 you really want, by each means, return nan free phone. Just make judge you understand nan terms, peculiarly if you petition to alteration plans to complaint successful connected nan deal.

However you spell astir it, you personification immoderate awesome options for your adjacent Android phone.

Screen: 6.3-inch 1080p 120Hz OLED / Processor: Tensor G4 / Cameras: 50-megapixel f/1.7 main pinch 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 nan afloat Pixel 9 lineup feels conscionable arsenic polished arsenic point you’d get from Samsung aliases Apple. But astatine $799, nan basal Pixel 9 is successful a peculiarly appealing position, and if you don’t petition a telephoto camera aliases nan biggest screen, past this is nan Android telephone to get.

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

Even without AI, this is an fantabulous phone. It’s too designed to spell nan distance, pinch 7 years of promised OS updates, which very apt intends you’ll outgrow nan telephone earlier Google stops supporting it. Its imaginable for semipermanent worthy and nan worth of nan hardware make it an easy connection for anyone who conscionable wants a bully Android telephone that works.

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

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

The newest type of nan Ultra comes pinch rounded corners and level edges, making it overmuch comfortable successful your hand. But if you’re looking for important year-over-year improvements to nan Ultra look extracurricular of that, well, you won’t find much. Samsung’s attraction has been connected package features, which is to opportunity AI features. But AI connected Galaxy phones remains a mixed instrumentality — it’s surely not nan paradigm displacement Samsung wants america to deliberation nan S25 bid represents.

All of that puts nan Ultra successful a spot of somewhat small favoritism than erstwhile versions. The biggest updates are package features disposable to nan remainder of nan S25 series. The Ultra looks and feels overmuch for illustration different Galaxy phones this clip around, too. More than ever, it’s difficult to understand what Samsung intends erstwhile it calls this telephone “Ultra.” Still, it’s your champion premier for a feature-packed Android telephone — moreover if it’s not alternatively arsenic ultra arsenic it erstwhile was.

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

Most group for illustration a ample phone, and I get that. I do. If you want a ample Android phone, you personification plentifulness of options successful beforehand of you. But immoderate of america for illustration a smaller telephone — point that (kind of) fits successful your pocket, aliases feels overmuch comfortable successful your hand. For us, location is but 1 action connected Android: nan Samsung Galaxy S25.

That’s nan regular S25, not nan Plus, which is simply a bully ample phone. But nan modular S25 is fundamentally nan past of its kind: a full-featured telephone pinch a 6.2-inch screen. It’s not small, but it’s not huge, and we’ll personification to return what we tin get. And it’s a darn bully telephone that keeps up pinch nan bigger devices successful each nan important ways: nan artillery goes each day, it comes pinch plentifulness of RAM, and it moreover has a existent telephoto lens — not point 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 pinch nan committedness of 7 years of OS updates. It’s not my premier for nan wide champion Android telephone because Samsung package tin beryllium a spot much, but if you’re comfortable successful nan Samsung ecosystem and you conscionable want a telephone that fits successful your dang pocket, past this is nan 1 to spell with.

Screen: 6.82-inch 1440p 120Hz LTPO OLED / Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite / Cameras: 50-megapixel f/1.6 main pinch OIS, 50-megapixel 3x telephoto pinch 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 spot nan OnePlus 13. It has a big, beautiful screen, and costs a 100 bucks small than nan Galaxy S25 Plus. Its particulate and h2o guidance is truthful beardown you could practically usage nan telephone successful a hurricane without consequences. And its camera strategy is overmuch improved twelvemonth complete year, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to low-light portraiture. But there’s 1 standout logic to spot nan 13: impatience.

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

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

Does anyone genuinely petition a folding phone? Probably not. But utilizing 1 is awfully nice, and nan Pixel 9 Pro Fold is nan nicest book-style foldable I’ve utilized to date. It’s pricey, it’s still bulkier than a slab-style phone, and its cameras aren’t alternatively arsenic bully arsenic nan different Pixel 9 Pro phones. But it’s a joyousness to use, immoderate arsenic a regular telephone pinch nan surface aboveground and erstwhile you unfold nan ample psyche screen.

The 9 Pro Fold is Google’s 2nd folding phone, pursuing up nan passport-shaped Pixel Fold pinch a format that feels overmuch overmuch familiar. The outer aboveground measures 6.3 inches connected nan diagonal, but overmuch importantly, nan ratio is nan 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 for illustration nan 9 Pro Fold’s approach.

That said, nan 9 Pro Fold isn’t without compromises. The camera strategy isn’t alternatively arsenic bully arsenic what you get successful nan different 9 Pro phones. The outer aboveground isn’t arsenic crisp aliases agleam arsenic nan 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 nan adventurous early adopter, though, nan 9 Pro Fold will beryllium very rewarding.

There are galore overmuch awesome Android devices that weren’t covered here, and a less are worthy calling retired that didn’t alternatively make nan trim for a recommendation.

Update, February 27th: Added nan Samsung Galaxy S25 and removed nan Nothing Phone 2.