Pros: Lightweight for a large phone, excellent cameras, stellar performance, excellent battery life, smooth 120Hz display
Cons: Occasional shutter lag, some unwanted bloatware
Samsung's Galaxy S23 Plus is our top pick because we don't have to spend time talking about compromises like we do on most other Android phones — if you have a necessity in an Android phone, it's more than likely that the Galaxy S23 Plus has it, and it has it in high quality. The only trade-off for such a complete experience is its $1,000 starting price.
The Galaxy S23 Plus's performance goes beyond expectations for high-end Android phones in 2023 by running on a specially optimized processor that's exclusive to the Galaxy S23 series — the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Optimized for Galaxy. The gains aren't massive over the OnePlus 11 running on the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but the Galaxy S23 Plus does occasionally open apps a little faster in side-by-side testing.
The rear triple-lens camera on the Galaxy S23 Plus delivers photos anyone would be happy with, and Samsung has also improved the selfie camera year-over-year, with surprisingly good HDR, portrait mode, colors, contrast, and brightness. Battery life on the Galaxy S23 Plus is excellent and matches Apple's iPhone 14 Pro Max with a 67% battery result in our intensive battery test. That's saying something, as Apple had crushed Android phones in the battery department in recent years.
The Galaxy S23 Plus has a fairly large screen at 6.6 inches, which may be too large for some people, but its light weight at 6.91 ounces makes it comfortable in the hand. And, as expected for a premium Android phone, the Galaxy S23 Plus' display runs at a silky smooth 120Hz, which pairs beautifully with the phone's powerful processor — every swipe and animation on the screen glides effortlessly.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus review.
Pros: Stellar performance for its price, premium 90Hz OLED screen, solid battery life, offers wireless charging
Cons: Relatively expensive for a budget phone, costs more for mmWave 5G model, heavy for its size
Google's Pixel 7a is basically a premium device with high-end performance, features, and camera quality that's dressed in somewhat less-premium materials. In return for the slightly diminished aesthetic of thick display borders and a plastic back, the Pixel 7a costs $500.
It's true that the price is on the high side for a budget pick, especially compared to the $350 Pixel 6a. But unlike the Pixel 6a, the Pixel 7a comes with several premium features, like Google's current flagship processor (the Tensor 2), wireless charging, a smoother high refresh-rate display, and the option of fast mmWave 5G connectivity.
In our battery test, the 6.1-inch Pixel 7a matched and outperformed some premium phones of the same size. It tied the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro and bested the 6.1-inch Samsung Galaxy S23.
While the Pixel 7a's 64MP main camera and 13MP ultrawide camera are ostensibly a significant upgrade from the Pixel 6a's 12MP cameras, in our testing, we found little discernible difference between the excellent photos the two budget phones produce. In fact, we found little difference in camera quality between the Pixel 7a and some high-end devices, many of which cost twice as much.
Worthy of note, support for fast mmWave 5G networks on the Pixel 7a is limited to Verizon, and it's a separate model that starts at $550.
Read our full Google Pixel 7a review.
Pros: Superb price-to-performance ratio, premium design, excellent camera quality
Cons: Unimpressive battery life, lacks wireless charging, 60Hz display
If the Pixel 7a's price tag puts you off for the budget category, Google's Pixel 6a is an incredible deal for its $350 starting price.
Yes, it's more than a year old, but it punches way above its price tag. The Pixel 6a's performance easily keeps up, and its camera quality competes with phones that cost three times as much.
At this price point, you are compromising on certain features, like a high refresh rate and wireless charging, and connecting to your carrier's fast mmWave 5G network isn't an option (though you can connect to the slower sub6 5G networks).
Additionally, the Pixel 6a's official lifespan is one year less than the Pixel 7a. Google will update the Pixel 6a with security updates until July 2027, and the Pixel 7a until May 2028.
Still, the Pixel 6a offers an excellent core experience with Google's Tensor processor, and you won't find a better phone for the price.
Read our full Google Pixel 6a review.
Pros: Largest display, excellent four-camera system, improved selfie camera, smooth 120Hz display, S Pen stylus
Cons: Pricey compared to competition, may be too large for some people, some unwanted bloatware
Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra is the ultimate camera phone with its four lenses, including a 200-megapixel (MP) main camera, a 12MP ultrawide, a 10MP 3x zoom, and a 10MP 10x zoom.
Despite the very high-resolution main camera, you might not notice much of a difference in photo quality compared to other premium phones with around 50MP cameras — most high-end devices achieve a similarly good balance of color, brightness, contrast, and sharpness.
What really sets the Galaxy S23 Ultra apart from the other best Samsung phones, and from any other phone for that matter, is its fourth 10x zoom lens. It takes crisp, clear photos in full detail significantly further than any other phone, making it the most versatile camera phone you can buy in the US.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with a built-in stylus, which comes in handy for editing photos on the phone's giant 6.8-inch screen — it offers precision and functionality that simply can't be achieved with a fingertip.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review.
Pros: Remarkable battery life for Android, 80W fast charging with included charger, excellent performance, stellar rear cameras
Cons: Slow charging with third-party chargers, no wireless charging, sub-par selfie camera
The OnePlus 11 obtained the best result in our battery stress test among Android phones, ending the test with a 71% charge remaining.
To finish the test with 71% remaining after five runs of the Geekbench 5 app, two runs of the incredibly intensive 20-minute 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test, two hours of video streaming, and one hour of music streaming while connected to Bluetooth headphones is astonishing.
Other Android phones with similar screen sizes couldn't get above 70%, including the Galaxy S23 Plus (67%), Galaxy S23 Ultra (61%), and Pixel 7 Pro (57%). Still, in practical terms, the OnePlus 11's result doesn't mean you'll dramatically change your charging habits — you might only need to plug in the phone later than usual.
Speaking of charging, the OnePlus 11 also has the fastest charging speeds of any phone in the US at 80W. Those charging speeds are only possible with OnePlus' proprietary charger and cable, which comes in the box with the phone — a unique rarity these days. Just note that the OnePlus 11 can only charge up to 18W speeds with any third-party charger, even if that charger supports 100W charging speeds. It also lacks wireless charging.
Read our full OnePlus 11 review.
Pros: Lightweight, excellent cameras, stellar performance, excellent battery life, smooth 120Hz display
Cons: Occasional shutter lag, slower charging speed (25W) than expected, some unwanted bloatware
The Android phone market is flooded with large screens, and you'd think fans of smaller phones in the 6.1-inch range are underserved, but not when Samsung's Galaxy S23 is around.
One of the best Samsung phones you can buy, the Galaxy S23 is essentially a smaller version of our pick for the best overall Android phone, the 6.6-inch Galaxy S23 Plus — same premium performance, same cameras, and same design.
Its battery life isn't quite as good as the Galaxy S23 Plus (56% vs. 67%), but that's understandable and expected in smaller phones. The only baffling compromise is its 25W charging speed compared to the Galaxy S23 Plus' 45W charging speed, as well as a lower base storage option at 128GB.
Starting at $800, the Galaxy S23 is on the expensive side, which is why we also recommend the Pixel 7a or the Pixel 6a, both of which have 6.1-inch screens and which start at $500 and $350, respectively.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S23 review.
Pros: Sharp 120Hz displays, exterior display acts like a proper phone, stellar flagship performance, slim and lightweight in tablet mode
Cons: Prohibitive pricing, thick and a bit heavy in phone mode
The Google Pixel Fold, Google's first entry into the foldable phone market, stands out as the premier offering in the realm of Android foldable devices for one key reason: Its folded, exterior display offers a traditional phone experience where competing devices do not.
We find the exterior screens on Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold series awkwardly narrow to the point of providing a sub-par experience as a phone, while the Pixel Fold's 5.8-inch exterior display is wider and more functional when using apps.
The Pixel Fold's exterior and interior screens operate at a smooth 120Hz, and the phone runs on Google's proficient Tensor 2 processor, which we've found to be essentially on par in everyday use with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor that runs Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5, despite the latter processor's superior benchmark performance.
If you're looking for a new phone that can double as a tablet (and can set aside the steep $1,800 starting price for this type of device), the Pixel Fold is the lone option we wholeheartedly recommend.
Read our full Google Pixel Fold review.
We test Android phones as if they were our daily drivers for at least several days, and often much longer. That way, we can get the best anecdotal feel for their performance, battery life, cameras, and new features.
We also conduct standard tests on all the phones we review and include in our guides.
For performance, we put the phones through a gamut of benchmarking apps to check for performance discrepancies between phones, at least on paper. These benchmark tests also help us evaluate how many years a phone could maintain its performance compared to other phones. We use Geekbench 6 for general performance, and the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test to get a sense of extended heavy gaming performance.
For camera testing, we photograph a set gamut of scenes with every phone; you may have seen our barn photos over and over again. We take photos with each lens on each phone and compare them to their direct competitors. We even compare premium phone cameras to budget options to evaluate the difference.
For battery life, we run each phone through a stress test that simulates a mixture of typical daily workloads, like streaming a video and music, as well as high intensity workloads, like playing demanding games. The battery stress test includes five runs of the Geekbench 6 app, two runs of the 3DMark Wildlife Stress Test, two hours of video streaming at a set average brightness, and one hour of music streaming with Bluetooth headphones connected. At the end of the test, we note the remaining battery percentage on the phone.
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