Android telephones are available assorted sizes and at varied costs, starting from low cost handsets with modest screens to costly foldable fashions that may flip from a pill right into a cellphone.
After spending a whole bunch of hours testing Android smartphones, we’ve concluded that the Google Pixel 8—which sits within the candy spot of aggressive pricing and nice {hardware}—is one of the best Android cellphone for most individuals.
It provides excellent software program and digicam efficiency, and it prices lower than different high-end handsets. It should obtain assured software program updates for longer than most Android telephones, too.
Our choose
The Pixel 8 provides one of the best model of Android, with assured safety updates by means of fall 2030, and it has among the best smartphone cameras we’ve ever examined. It additionally has glorious construct high quality and prices lower than Apple’s newest iPhones.
Google’s Pixel smartphones have all the time provided one of the best Android software program expertise, however the Google Pixel 8 proves that Google is doubling down on {hardware}. It has a crisp 6.2-inch OLED display and a strong wrap-around aluminum body. The Pixel 8 additionally provides one of the best digicam efficiency of any Android cellphone save for its sibling, the Pixel 8 Professional, and Google’s customized Tensor G3 processor holds its personal towards the high-end chips in different telephones. As well as, the Pixel 8 is extra more likely to stay safe for years longer than most Android telephones because of its seven years of assured month-to-month patches. And at $700, it prices a whole bunch lower than different Android telephones that received’t final as lengthy or carry out as effectively (although we don’t love Google’s resolution to lift the costs of its newest Pixel fashions throughout the board).
Improve choose
The Pixel 8 Professional takes the Pixel 8 and provides a much bigger, higher display and extra digicam options, however it’s dearer than earlier Professional fashions.
The Google Pixel 8 Professional has a bigger OLED display than the Pixel 8, with a better decision and refresh price, in addition to a 5x telephoto digicam. The enhancements bump this cellphone’s worth as much as $1,000, so the worth isn’t fairly as robust as with the Pixel 8. However the Pixel 8 Professional is a extra succesful cellphone with the identical glorious software program and 7 years of replace assist.
Price range choose
The Pixel 7a has a better price ticket than Google’s funds telephones often do, however it provides extra options for the associated fee. The 7a provides a greater show, an improved digicam, Face Unlock, and Google’s customized Tensor G2 processor in a plastic physique. It’s not as premium as a flagship Pixel mannequin, however you get lots in your cash.
Although Google’s Pixel 7a is a whole bunch of {dollars} cheaper than the Pixel 8, you don’t sacrifice many options in selecting this mannequin. The Pixel 7a runs on Google’s Tensor G2 processor and has an improved 64-megapixel digicam sensor, wi-fi charging, Face Unlock, and an upgraded 1080p show with a easy 90 Hz refresh price. The Pixel 7a has a plastic physique, an aluminum body, and a dual-camera setup on the rear, and it’ll obtain lots of the similar Android 14 options that the higher-end Pixel fashions will. The one draw back: The Pixel 7a will obtain software program updates for under 5 years, quite than the seven years of updates that Google has promised for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional.
Additionally nice
A quick processor, an enormous display, class-leading digicam {hardware}, and a stylus make the Galaxy S23 Extremely probably the most full-featured Android cellphone out there. However you should purchase it provided that it’s on sale.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely has the largest, brightest display of any smartphone you should buy, and the included S Pen may help you are taking notes, mark up paperwork, and create artwork in methods you may’t do on every other cellphone. It provides one of the best construct high quality of any Android cellphone we’ve examined, with a customized aluminum-alloy body that wraps across the edges and matte glass that repels fingerprints. The Galaxy S23 Extremely additionally has one of the best digicam {hardware} in a cellphone, together with a 200-megapixel main lens and a 10x “periscope” zoom. Its main downside is its excessive worth; for $200 much less, the Google Pixel 8 Professional is best at most issues. The Galaxy S23 Extremely is good in the event you demand most versatility out of your cellphone, however you should purchase it solely on sale—we suggest buying when it’s nearer to $1,000, or when you have an older Samsung cellphone to commerce in.
Additionally nice
The Galaxy S23 has the identical highly effective processor because the Galaxy S23 Extremely, however its compact body and smaller show make it simpler to make use of.
Most good Android telephones are large and heavy, however the Samsung Galaxy S23 is petite sufficient for these with smaller palms. The 6.1-inch OLED show appears to be like even higher than the Google Pixel 8’s display, and its construct high quality is each bit pretty much as good as that of the Galaxy S23 Extremely. It’s constructed to final on the software program facet, too, with the identical five-year replace dedication as on Samsung’s different flagship telephones. The Galaxy S23 lacks the superior digicam array of the Galaxy S23 Extremely, however it nonetheless shoots higher photographs than the rest that isn’t a Pixel. Nevertheless, the smaller dimension means a smaller battery—the Galaxy S23 lasts a day, however solely simply.
