There’s one clear perk that Android has over iOS and that’s selection in terms of the phones you need to select from. Apple has made the iPhone is the one recreation on the town for iOS, however with Google’s working system, there are dozens of selections on the market from producers like Samsung, Motorola, OnePlus and others. But that additionally means it may be troublesome to determine which system is best for you when it comes time to improve, or if you wish to swap from iPhone to Android within the new 12 months. If you’re trying for a brand new telephone and don’t know the place to start out, we’ve obtained you lined with a number of the best Android phones for each price range.
Editor’s observe (5/7/24): Google has introduced the Pixel 8a, its newest midrange smartphone. The 6.1-inch handset begins at $499 and, as anticipated, takes lots of its cues from final 12 months’s flagship Pixel 8 sequence. We’ll have a full evaluation within the coming days and can replace this information accordingly. For now, you’ll be able to take a look at our hands-on preview for extra particulars on what to anticipate. Google says it’ll proceed to promote the Pixel 7a, our present price range decide, at a decreased worth, so it could proceed to be worthwhile. Most ought to maintain off till we put the brand new Pixel by way of its paces, although.
What to look for in a brand new Android telephone
Performance
When it involves choosing our favourite Android phones, the principle issues we glance for are fairly simple: good efficiency (each compute and AI), a pleasant show, stable design, sharp cameras, lengthy battery life and a major dedication to ongoing software program assist. For efficiency, not solely will we have a look at benchmarks and different metrics, however we additionally consider phones primarily based on responsiveness. Regardless of whether or not you’re studying, textual content messaging, scrolling by way of social media or taking part in a recreation, nobody needs a gadget that feels sluggish.
Display
When it involves shows, we usually desire OLED panels that may produce wealthy, saturated colours with at the least 600 nits of brightness, although lots of our prime mid-range and high-end phones can hit 1,000 nits or extra. And extra lately, most of our favourite units additionally assist screens with quick refresh charges of 90Hz or 120Hz, which provides an additional stage of smoothness and fluidity.
Design
Now we are going to admit there’s a little bit of subjectivity when deciding which phones look the best, however there are different design elements like mud and water resistance or display sturdiness that may make an enormous distinction to long-term survival. It’s additionally essential to think about issues like assist for wi-fi charging, energy sharing (aka reverse wi-fi charging) and UWB connectivity, which may have an effect on how your telephone interacts together with your different units.
Cameras
Obviously, for photographs we’re trying for sharp, colourful pictures in each brilliant and low-light circumstances. And we would like video clips with excessive dynamic vary, wealthy audio and clean picture stabilization. Extra cameras for ultra-wide and telephoto lenses are a plus. The best cameras also needs to embrace options like devoted night time modes, assist for varied video recording resolutions, and extra picture modes like timelapse, sluggish movement and extra.
Battery and software program
Finally, by way of longevity, we’re trying for all-day battery life on units that additionally delivered nice outcomes on our native video rundown take a look at (at the least 16 hours on a cost, however extra is clearly higher). Wireless charging capabilities have turn into virtually ubiquitous over the previous few years, and most of our prime picks have this additional perk. Fast-charging is obtainable on some Android phones, too. Finally, with folks holding onto their phones longer than ever, we prefer to see corporations decide to at the least three years of software program assist, upgrades and common safety updates.
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
Processor: Google Tensor G3 | Display: 6.7-inch Super Actua, as much as 120Hz | Cameras: Rear array (50MP large, 12MP ultrawide, 48MP telephoto), 10.5MP entrance digicam | Battery: 5,050mAh
Read our full evaluation of the Google Pixel 8 Pro
Thanks to the Tensor G3 chip, up to date sensors and a bunch of latest AI-powered options, the Google Pixel 8 and eight Pro have much more to supply for each images and on a regular basis use. The new Magic Editor on Pixel phones makes it astonishingly straightforward to take away distracting objects out of your pics, whereas the Audio Magic Eraser cuts down on annoying ambient sound in movies. And for all these group photographs, Best Take ensures that everybody appears their best, even when they weren’t smiling throughout the first shot. On prime of that, Google’s Call Screen has gotten smarter whereas Assistant options, like having the ability to summarize or actual articles aloud make it straightforward to remain on prime of stories nonetheless you need. Add to {that a} extra refined design, brighter shows, higher battery life and improved efficiency, and Google’s newest flagship phones may be probably the most well-rounded Android phones available on the market.
$900 at Amazon
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
Processor: Google Tensor G2 | Display: 6.1-inch FHD+, as much as 90Hz | Cameras: Rear array (64MP large, 13MP ultrawide), 13MP entrance digicam | Battery: 4,385mAh
Read our full evaluation of the Google Pixel 7a
The $500 Pixel 7a delivers every little thing we glance for in an awesome, inexpensive Android telephone (when you’ve got much less cash to spend, take a look at our best low-cost phones information). New options embrace a sooner Tensor G2 chip, a smoother 90Hz show and for the primary time on one among Google’s A-series phones: assist for wi-fi charging. And with a refreshed design with IP67 water resistance, it appears and seems like the usual Pixel 7 however for $100 much less. You additionally get nice assist thanks to 5 years of safety updates and at the least three years of software program updates. The Pixel 7a’s solely shortcomings are fairly small and embrace an absence of a devoted zoom lens and no assist for mmWave 5G (except you buy a barely dearer $550 mannequin from Verizon).
$440 at Amazon
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Display: 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED QHD+, as much as 120Hz | Cameras: Rear array (200MP, Dual Pixel AF, Digital Zoom 100x, 50MP Macro, 12MP UW), 12MP entrance digicam | Battery: 5,000mAh
Read our full evaluation of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
For its newest super-premium telephone, Samsung gave the S24 Ultra a extra sturdy titanium body, sooner efficiency because of a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip and a for much longer battery life. The firm additionally tweaked its longest telephoto lens with a 5x optical zoom so it is extra usable in a wider vary of conditions. But the most important improve is a brand new full suite of AI instruments, which incorporates the power to proofread texts, edit photographs and transcribe recordings. And once you tack on the best show accessible on a telephone right this moment and a built-in stylus, you’ve a really compelling flagship handset. Unfortunately, beginning at $1,300, the S24 Ultra is a bit too costly to suggest to anybody with out deep pockets.
$1,300 at Amazon
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | Display: 6.2-inch HD+ entrance show (as much as 120Hz), 7.6-inch QXGA+ fundamental show (as much as 120Hz) | Cameras: Rear array (50MP large, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP telephoto), 10MP (Cover) + 4MP UDC (Main) entrance digicam | Battery: 4,400mAh
Read our full evaluation of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
Despite elevated competitors from the Pixel Fold, for individuals who wish to maximize their cell productiveness, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 remains to be the best massive foldable telephone available on the market. On the newest mannequin, not solely has Samsung added two new gestures for launching into side-by-side multitasking or switching from a full display to a windowed app, it has additionally elevated the variety of latest apps you’ll be able to see on the taskbar from two to 4. The Z Fold 5’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset additionally delivers sooner efficiency than on the Pixel Fold, and regardless that this Samsung telephone has a smaller energy cell (4,400 mAh vs 4,800 mAh), it has higher battery life, too. But the most important change for this era is Samsung’s new Flex Hinge, which permits the telephone to shut utterly flat and makes it thinner as well. Unfortunately, its digicam system is essentially unchanged from final 12 months, and with costs beginning at $1,800, the Z Fold 5 isn’t even remotely near being inexpensive.
$1,920 at Amazon