What are the top 10 best Android phones? is updated by A perfect galaxy A perfect galaxy is a type of technology collecting all necessary data to analyze and select Cell Phones & Accessories products...
There are a huge number of Android handsets, so picking out the best Android phones can be tricky, but our guide is here to help, as we've highlighted the best of the best.
We've ranked our selection in order of preference, and included an overview and specs list for each, plus an at-a-glance look at their best and worst aspects, so you can more easily make a buying decision.
Don't just grab the number one entry, as another phone here might be better for you - consider what you need from a smartphone, and how much you want to spend. As these are the best models they also tend to be expensive, but there are sometimes exceptions.
So have a read through and you’re sure to find something that will catch your eye, but if not, it’s worth also checking out our best smartphone, best iPhone and best cheap phone guides. Make sure to check back soon too, as new Android phones are being added all the time.
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Best Android phones 2021: which is for you?
1. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
The best Android phone
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is Samsung’s top, premium flagship for 2021, and what a phone it is. For the first time Samsung has offered S Pen support on an S-range handset here, meaning that you can optionally get the Galaxy Note range’s best feature.
But even without that, this is a stunning handset, with a brilliant quad-lens camera capable of 10x optical zoom. In fact, in our review we called it the best camera zoom on any readily available Android phone.
See More : Best phone 2021: the top 15 smartphones you can buy in the US right now
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra also looks great, with a smooth Gorilla Glass back that has a matte finish that looks better than the reflective Galaxy S20 range, while around the front there’s a curved edge-to-edge 6.8-inch screen.
And speaking of that screen, for the first time on a Samsung phone you get both a QHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate at the same time. And being a high-end Samsung screen this is one of the best around.
There’s also oodles of power of course, and while obviously very expensive, this actually has a cheaper starting price than the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra did at launch.
See More : www.makeuseof.com
Read more: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review
2. OnePlus 9 Pro
The best Android phone for ultra-wide shots
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
There was a time when OnePlus phones cut a few corners to achieve a lower price than rivals, but that’s no longer the case with the OnePlus 9 Pro. While it’s still slightly cheaper than most comparable handsets, it’s a top phone in every way.
As well as having a big, sharp and all-round high-quality 120Hz screen, top-end power from its Snapdragon 888 chipset, a big battery with fast charging whether wired or wireless (at 65W and 50W respectively), and a premium metal and glass build – with water resistance, it’s also by far the best OnePlus camera phone.
See More : Best cheap phones 2021: the best cheap smartphones, ranked
This is notable as it’s an area the company has previously struggled to compete in, but the OnePlus 9 Pro is the first fruit of a new partnership with Hasselblad, and the camera brand’s expertise shows, leaving us impressed in our review.
All this high-end tech does mean the OnePlus 9 Pro is more expensive than the range used to be, and that’s the main point against it, but it’s hard to argue you’re not getting your money’s worth.
Read more: OnePlus 9 Pro review
3. Samsung Galaxy S21
The best affordable flagship
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
The Samsung Galaxy S21 is the most basic and affordable of the Galaxy S21 range, but it has a lot going for it beyond its relatively low price.
The triple-lens camera is highly versatile, including the three core lenses that we’d expect from a premium smartphone – namely a main one, a telephoto, and an ultra-wide. They all perform well too in our experience.
There’s also high-end power, solid battery life, and an AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. At 6.2 inches it’s also a lot more compact than the rest of the S21 range, so it’s ideal if you don’t want a massive phone.
And beyond being the most affordable of the range, the Samsung Galaxy S21 is actually a step down in price from its predecessor, so it’s a bit of a bargain – though to achieve that the screen resolution has been dropped to Full HD+, and the back of the phone is ‘Glasstic’ rather than actual glass.
Read more: Samsung Galaxy S21 review
4. Xiaomi Mi 11
The best Android phone for telemacro photography
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
The Xiaomi Mi 11 isn’t even the top of the Mi 11 range – that’s the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, but it’s still a top Android phone, benefiting from high-end power and a highly capable camera.
There’s a 108MP f/1.9 main lens and a 13MP f/2.4 ultra-wide, both of which perform well, but the camera highlight is actually its 5MP telemacro snapper, which we found to be far better than the macro cameras on most phones, and it functions from further away from the subject.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 also has a great 6.81-inch 1440 x 3200 AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, and a battery that charges fast both wired and wireless.
The actual battery life wasn’t amazing in our tests, and we’d have liked to see a telephoto camera included, but otherwise the Xiaomi Mi 11 is a great flagship.
Read more: Xiaomi Mi 11 review
5. Oppo Find X3 Pro
The best Android phone for macro photography
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
If not for its very high price the Oppo Find X3 Pro might rank even higher on this list, but as it stands this remains an excellent phone, even if it’s arguably not excellent value.
It has the basics that you’d expect from a top-end handset, including a big, high resolution, 120Hz screen, a top-end chipset, lots of RAM, a large battery that charges fast (at 65W wired or 30W wireless), water resistance, and a premium build, complete with a slightly more eye-catching camera block design than most.
Speaking of the camera, that’s a quad-lens one, with a 50MP f/1.8 main, 50MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, 13MP f/2.4 telephoto (with 2x optical zoom), and 3MP f/3.0 macro.
That macro snapper might sound a bit throwaway, but in fact it’s what Oppo calls a ‘microlens’, designed for taking incredibly close-up photos that are more like a microscope image than a typical macro one.
It’s a neat feature that you won’t find on other phones at the time of writing, and we enjoyed using it, so this is one of the main reasons to consider paying the high price this phone costs.
Read more: Oppo Find X3 Pro review
6. Google Pixel 6 Pro
The best phone for pure Android
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
The Google Pixel 6 Pro is the most high-end phone Google has ever made, packing a 6.7-inch QHD+ display which we found to be crisp and impressively bright. It also has a highly capable triple-lens camera, with a 50MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide and a 48MP telephoto (sporting 4x optical zoom).
Then there’s its Google Tensor chipset, which is custom silicon designed specifically for the Pixel 6 range, and capable of delivering very smooth performance – though in benchmarks it ranks below the top Android chipsets like the Snapdragon 888.
Other highlights include Android 12 software out of the box, and a unique – if divisive – design. The Pixel 6 Pro’s battery life could be better, but as a showcase for Android it’s an impressive handset.
Read more: Google Pixel 6 Pro review
7. Realme GT
The best relatively cheap Android phone
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Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Realme's first-ever phone in our ranking of the best Android phones is the Realme GT, a low-cost powerhouse with some incredibly impressive specs given the low price.
The phone boasts the powerful Snapdragon 888 chipset, 65W wired charging, and a Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
The best part of the phone is its design, a fact you're probably already aware of since you scrolled down past the picture. With a vibrant faux-leather rear, broken up by a racing-stripe black streak, the phone is quite the eye-catcher.
While the phone doesn't have all the top specs other models on this list do, and we found photos sometimes came out oversharpened or overexposed, its low price offsets that. If you don't want to pay the price of a super-powerful Android phone, this is a great alternative.
Read more: Realme GT review
8. Samsung Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus
The best older Android flagships
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
The Samsung Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20 Plus are – along with the Galaxy S20 Ultra – Samsung’s main 2020 flagship phones, so it’s no wonder they make this list.
While the S20 Plus has a slight specs edge, thanks to a larger 6.7-inch screen, a bigger 4,500mAh battery, a fourth camera lens (for depth-sensing) and optionally more storage, they’re largely very similar phones, so they’re fit to share the same spot.
Both have a highly capable camera array, with 12MP standard, 12MP ultra-wide, and 64MP telephoto sensors, and both also have high-end power, thanks to a Snapdragon 865 or Exynos 990 chipset (depending on where in the world you are) and up to 12GB of RAM.
They also both have a stunning 1440 x 3200 display with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. Indeed, the screens and cameras particularly impressed us in our reviews. The design is premium too, and they’re both packed full of features, like reverse wireless charging, 5G, an in-screen fingerprint scanner, and water resistance. They might not quite be the very best anymore, but they’re not far off.
Read more: Samsung Galaxy S20 review and Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus review
9. OnePlus 9
The best Android phone for a flagship feel at a lower cost
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
The OnePlus 9 is a lesser phone than the OnePlus 9 Pro in a number of ways, but it’s also quite a bit cheaper, and arguably keeps the soul of its pricier sibling intact, so it remains one of the best Android phones.
For one thing it retains the Hasselblad branding (and the camera expertise that goes with that), as well as having the same camera hardware as the OnePlus 9 Pro – minus that phone’s telephoto snapper.
The OnePlus 9 also has just as much power as the 9 Pro (or for that matter as pretty much any other early 2021 flagship), and while its screen is a step down it’s still great – it’s a 6.55-inch FHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
The battery charges quickly (at 65W), plus there’s an in-screen fingerprint scanner, and a glass back – which even the Galaxy S21 doesn’t have. The OnePlus 9 does settle for a plastic frame, which we were slightly disappointed by, but that’s arguably less noticeable than a plastic rear, and you’re unlikely to feel short-changed by the phone.
Read more: OnePlus 9 review