The very best Android telephones to purchase in 2024

The Android ecosystem is all about alternative. Whereas iPhone homeowners have a smaller pool of latest units to select from when it’s time to improve, there’s a a lot wider vary of selections on Android. You need unimaginable digicam zoom? A built-in stylus? A cellphone that runs an entire desktop surroundings once you plug it right into a monitor? You could find it on Android. Heck, yow will discover all of that in a single gadget.

On the flip facet, all that alternative could make for some exhausting selections. Right here’s the place I’d like to assist; I’ve examined an entire boatload of current Android telephones, and I believe there are some actual winners within the present batch. It’s all a matter of what you’re in search of, what you’re snug spending, and what your definition of a “fairly sized cellphone” is. (I’ve my very own, personally.)

As you sift by means of the choices, you’ll nearly definitely come throughout tech’s favourite buzzphrase of the 12 months: AI. Typically talking, AI has but to actually impress me on a cellphone. The Pixel 9 sequence has some doubtlessly helpful options, like a brand new Screenshots app that makes use of AI to tag related data in metadata, and Galaxy units can translate a cellphone name for you in actual time. These items are nothing to sneeze at! However none of it feels just like the platform shift that the large tech corporations maintain promising. Greatest to not put an excessive amount of inventory in any firm’s AI claims simply but.

In case you stay within the US, I’ve some unhealthy information in regards to the Android market, although. For classy causes having to do with “capitalism” and “geopolitics,” we don’t get almost as lots of the choices as you’ll discover in Asia and Europe — manufacturers like Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor, and Oppo simply aren’t out there right here. I’ve restricted this information to the units I’ve personally examined in depth; thus, it’s a pretty US-centric set of suggestions. 

With that in thoughts, it’s additionally price acknowledging that most individuals within the US get their telephones “totally free” from their wi-fi service. In case you can handle it, shopping for a cellphone unlocked will provide you with essentially the most flexibility and freedom if you find yourself wanting to vary carriers within the close to future. Telephone producers additionally provide financing and trade-in offers to make fee extra manageable. However in the event you’re pleased together with your service and the free cellphone on provide is the one you really need, by all means, take the free cellphone. Simply be sure to perceive the phrases, particularly if it is advisable to change plans to money in on the deal. 

Nevertheless you go about it, you’ve got some incredible choices to your subsequent Android cellphone.

Display screen: 6.3-inch 1080p 120Hz OLED / Processor: Tensor G4 / Cameras: 50-megapixel f/1.7 fundamental with OIS, 48-megapixel ultrawide, 10.5-megapixel selfie / Battery: 4,700mAh / Charging: 27W wired, 15W wi-fi (with Pixel Stand 2) / Climate resistance: IP68

Google’s {hardware} is best than ever, and the entire Pixel 9 lineup feels simply as polished as something you’d get from Samsung or Apple. However at $799, the fundamental Pixel 9 is in a very interesting place, and in the event you don’t want a telephoto digicam or the most important display, then that is the Android cellphone to get.

The Pixel 9 comes with some important quality-of-life enhancements like a sooner fingerprint scanner for unlocking the cellphone. The digicam is as dependable as ever, and in the event you’re into AI photograph enhancing tips, boy does this cellphone have ‘em. There’s a brand new Screenshots app that acts as a spot to retailer the entire info that might in any other case be misplaced at sea in your digicam roll, and it makes use of AI to parse info out and make it searchable. Kinda useful.

Even with out AI, this is a wonderful cellphone. It’s additionally designed to go the gap, with seven years of promised OS updates, which very doubtless means you’ll outgrow the cellphone earlier than Google stops supporting it. Its potential for long-term worth and the standard of the {hardware} make it a straightforward advice for anybody who simply desires a pleasant Android cellphone that works.

Learn my Google Pixel 9 assessment.

Display screen: 6.8-inch 1440p 120Hz OLED / Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 / Cameras: 200-megapixel fundamental with OIS, 50-megapixel 5x telephoto with OIS, 10-megapixel 3x telephoto with OIS, 12-megapixel ultrawide, 12-megapixel selfie / Battery: 5,000mAh / Charging: 45W wired, 15W wi-fi / Climate resistance: IP68

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely says all of it within the title: Extremely. It has every little thing you could possibly ask for in a cellphone — effectively, not less than one which doesn’t fold in half. There’s a stylus, two telephoto cameras, a large battery, and among the finest ding dang screens on any cellphone, wherever.

So why am I slightly underwhelmed? For starters, Samsung swapped final 12 months’s 10x telephoto digicam for a higher-resolution 5x digicam that makes use of in-sensor crop to zoom to 10x. It is a smart transfer, and pictures at 10x look positive, if not as crisp as they did on the final mannequin. It’s additionally pricier this time round, and it was already an costly cellphone. It’s fairly darn heavy, too, and Samsung’s swap to titanium for the body hasn’t made it any lighter.

Private emotions in regards to the zoom lens apart, the S24 Extremely continues to be principally peerless. Its much-touted AI options are positive, but when there’s one factor that makes it definitely worth the improve, it’s the display. Its anti-glare coating and boosted most brightness make it so snug to make use of exterior it’s nearly magic. That’s hardly a elaborate new tech characteristic, however the Galaxy S24 Extremely is hardly any outdated cellphone.

Learn my Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely assessment.

Display screen: 6.82-inch 1440p 120Hz LTPO OLED / Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Cameras: 50-megapixel f/1.6 fundamental with OIS, 64-megapixel 3x telephoto with OIS, 48-megapixel f/2.2 ultrawide / Battery: 5400mAh / Charging: 80W wired, 50W wi-fi / Climate-resistance score: IP65

After a couple of years and slightly soul-searching, OnePlus is again to its roots. The OnePlus 12 is a wonderful gadget with high-end efficiency with a aggressive value: $799 for the bottom mannequin with a hefty 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

For that value, you get a crisp 1440p 6.8-inch show, a top-tier Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, and a succesful digicam. It helps wi-fi charging, one thing that earlier OnePlus flagships have skipped. Battery efficiency is incredible, too — energy customers can get by means of a full day, and light-weight customers can stretch it to 2.

What stands out in regards to the OnePlus 12, although, may simply be what’s not right here: a bunch of AI options. Actually? That’s sort of refreshing. A number of the AI options Google and Samsung are busy delivery proper now are good, however none of them really feel important. If you wish to sit out this AI hype cycle however you continue to need an amazing cellphone, the OnePlus 12 may be the one.

Learn my OnePlus 12 assessment.

Display screen: 8.0-inch 2076p 120Hz OLED interior display, 6.3-inch 1080p 120Hz OLED cowl display / Processor: Tensor G4 / Cameras: 48-megapixel f/1.7 fundamental with OIS, 10.8-megapixel 5x telephoto with OIS, 10.5-megapixel ultrawide, 10-megapixel selfie (cowl display), 10-megapixel interior selfie digicam / Battery: 4,650mAh / Charging: 21W wired, 7.5W wi-fi / Climate resistance: IPX8

Does anybody actually want a folding cellphone? In all probability not. However utilizing one is terribly good, and the Pixel 9 Professional Fold is the nicest book-style foldable I’ve used up to now. It’s dear, it’s nonetheless bulkier than a slab-style cellphone, and its cameras aren’t fairly as good as the opposite Pixel 9 Professional telephones. However it’s a pleasure to make use of, each as a daily cellphone with the duvet display and once you unfold the large interior display.

The 9 Professional Fold is Google’s second folding cellphone, following up the passport-shaped Pixel Fold with a format that feels way more acquainted. The outer display measures 6.3 inches on the diagonal, however extra importantly, the ratio is similar as Google’s slab telephones. By comparability, Samsung’s Z Fold 6 makes use of a taller, narrower format that feels cramped. Having used them each, I a lot favor the 9 Professional Fold’s method.

That mentioned, the 9 Professional Fold isn’t with out compromises. The digicam system isn’t fairly nearly as good as what you get within the different 9 Professional telephones. The outer display isn’t as sharp or vibrant because the Pixel 9 Professional’s, both. And it’s not as sturdy as its slab-style counterparts — there’s no mud resistance, and you’ll’t get it repaired simply wherever. For $1,800, that’s an terrible lot to swallow. For the adventurous early adopter, although, the 9 Professional Fold will probably be very rewarding.

Learn my Google Pixel 9 Professional Fold assessment.

Display screen: 6.7-inch 1080p 120Hz OLED / Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 / Cameras: 50-megapixel F/1.9 fundamental with OIS, 50-megapixel ultrawide, 32-megapixel selfie / Battery: 4,700mAh / Charging: 45W wired, 15W wi-fi / Climate resistance: IP54

The Nothing Telephone 2 doesn’t provide the perfect worth proposition in its upper-midrange class. But when it’s type you’re after and one thing slightly flashy (effectively, loads flashy), then the Telephone 2 is a straightforward choose.

It gives 6.7-inch display, nice day by day efficiency and battery life, and a succesful digicam system. However that’s the standard stuff — what’s uncommon in regards to the Telephone 2 is its set of LED gentle strips on the again panel. They illuminate in mixtures referred to as “glyphs,” and you’ll set them to provide you with a warning to sure notifications. It’s neat however in the end isn’t as useful because the system’s customizable always-on show.

On the draw back, the Telephone 2 is barely splash-resistant relatively than totally immune to water submersion like just about all different telephones over $500. It’s additionally not totally supported on Verizon’s community, which takes it out of competition for lots of the US inhabitants.

If neither of the above is a deal-breaker, and the Telephone 2’s styling appeals to you, then it’s a superb alternative. One factor’s for positive — it undoubtedly stands out from the group.

Learn my Nothing Telephone 2 assessment.

There are various extra nice Android units that weren’t lined right here, and some are price calling out that didn’t fairly make the lower for a advice.

• First off, there’s the Galaxy Z Flip 6, Samsung’s glorious clamshell-style foldable. It’s not as a lot enjoyable to make use of because the 2024 Motorola Razr Plus — which facilitates utilizing apps on the duvet display extra simply — however Motorola’s monitor file for software program updates isn’t nice, so the Z Flip 6 is a safer wager for a flip cellphone. Learn our assessment.
• The OnePlus Open can be one other good book-style foldable choice. It’s skinny and light-weight, and the software program contains some considerate approaches to multitasking — an important a part of the folding cellphone expertise. However it received’t be supported with software program updates for so long as the Pixel 9 Professional Fold or the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Learn our assessment.
• Final however not least, there’s the Google Pixel 8A. In case you actually need to maximize the return in your funding, it’s exhausting to beat Google’s newest midrange cellphone. It covers all of the fundamentals for $499 whereas providing seven years of software program assist. Learn our assessment.

Replace, September thirteenth: Changed the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus with the Google Pixel 9 and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 with the Pixel 9 Professional.