Best Android phones: Shopping for the best Android phone is a little more complicated than choosing the best specs or features. It would help if you considered how the device will work with you and your lifestyle.

Which Android Phone is Best in 2024?

In many ways, the Pixel 7 Pro is the phone that the Pixel 6 Pro should have been. Google fixed all the pesky bugs plaguing the Pixel 6 series, replaced the in-display, fingerprint sensor with something that works, and added new camera features that make even better use of the new 50MP sensors in the phone. Sometimes, phones have a special attribute we test separately, such as camera tech or durability. No matter what you look for in a device, the best phones in every category can be found below. Luckily, all smartphones on this list have struck the delicate balance between useful features, excellent specs, and good old-fashioned bang for the buck.

Google Pixel 7

The Pixel 7 is all about refinement over the Pixel 6. It’s not a radically different experience from the Pixel 6 and doesn’t make sense to upgrade if you’re already on a Pixel 6, but folks coming from older Pixels (or other phones) will find themselves incredibly happy with the experience.

As is the case with any Pixel phone, the camera shines through right away as the best feature. It’s amazing what Google has been able to build over the years and you can expect world-class imaging in any light. The Google Tensor G2 processor inside gives Google the ability to pull off some impressive AI processing on photos and videos, ensuring that faces aren’t blurry when there’s movement and scenes are bright and clear almost no matter what’s going on.

Samsung Galaxy S23

Like a few other flagships on this list, the Samsung Galaxy S23 isn’t a dramatic departure from its predecessor — the S22 — but it’s a refinement of everything that made the latter phone great. The smartphone was unveiled alongside the Galaxy S23 Plus and S23 Ultra in February 2024 with a lot of the upgraded features that we expected (and hoped for).

The Galaxy S23 boasts a compact 6.1-inch AMOLED 120Hz display and the lightweight yet premium device feel that we’ve come to expect from the S series. Under the hood is where things get particularly interesting though, as Samsung has incorporated the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset into all three S23 devices.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

If you want the best Android phone that Samsung has to offer right now, look no further than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. This premium device boasts all of the efficiency and power found in the S22 Ultra with some substantial improvements in a few key areas — namely, the camera software and chipset. The Ultra features the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Devices chipset, an exclusive version of the Qualcomm processor found in many recent smartphones. This internal hardware gives your phone enough power to handle graphics-intensive gaming without annihilating your battery life or dropping in performance.

Samsung Galaxy A54 Best Android phones

Samsung’s Galaxy A series is the company’s best-selling for a reason. Phones like the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G deliver all the things you need in a new smartphone without adding in niceties that jack up the price. The A54 takes everything that made its predecessor such an outstanding mid-range phone and throws in a few impressive extras, the likes of which you’d only expect to find in a modern flagship.

For around $449.99, you’ll get a smartphone with a vibrant 6.4-inch AMOLED display, the efficient processing power of the Exynos 1380 chipset, and of course, lightning-fast 5G compatibility. Samsung also packed the Galaxy A54 with a large 5,000mAh battery and a lot of the same AI-powered camera features included with the S23 series. Like most of Samsung’s recent releases, you’ll also receive four OS upgrades and five years of security updates.

Google Pixel 7a Best Android phones

If you’re looking for a bang for the buck, look no further than the Pixel 7a. Google has packed most of what makes the Pixel 7 series great into a smartphone that costs even less. Typically retailing for around $499, the Google Pixel 7a boasts the power of the ultra-efficient Tensor G2 processor (the same as the Pixel 7 Pro), the best haptics that you can expect to find in this price range, and some outstanding camera tech. Pound for pound, the Google Pixel 7a’s cameras performed just as well as the base model Pixel 7 in our initial tests, even though the former device costs $100 less. You also get the latest version of Android and Google has guaranteed software updates for the next five years. It even comes with wireless charging (limited to 5W), a first for Google’s A series.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 Best Android phones

After years of refinements and improvements, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 feels like the perfect foldable for most people. Like the previous year, the Flip 4 features subtle improvements over its predecessor, but those improvements add up to something more than the sum of its parts. First off, there’s nothing quite like snapping your phone closed when you’re done with it. It sounds silly, but there’s a certain psychological component to folding it up and putting it away. The phone itself is more durable than ever, too, featuring an Armor Aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus+ on both halves of the back.

OnePlus Nord N30 5G Best Android phones

The OnePlus Nord series has gotten better and better with each iteration, and the OnePlus Nord N30 5G feels like the proper return to an almost flagship-killer status. While it’s not trying to be a “flagship killer” like other OnePlus phones have claimed, the regularly discounted $299 price combined with the excellent specs make this feel much more like a budget flagship than a mid-tier phone.

Not only that but these specs at this price are unheard of. AMOLED on a $300 phone is uncommon enough, but a powerful Snapdragon 695 processor and a 5,000mAh battery with ultra-fast 50W SUPERVOOC charging as well? The result is a truly cohesive and impressive experience, giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “bang for the buck”. Now that’s not to say there aren’t a few snags in the phone. The main issue is that, now that the Google Pixel 6a has received a permanent price drop to $299, the N30’s main competition has just become a lot more competitive.