Best Android phones in Australia 2023

If there's one thing above all else that makes Android a great platform, it's choice. The best Android phones give you a wealth of options for any budget, meaning you can find a handset that perfectly suits your needs, whether you're willing to pay AU$499 or AU$2,499. All you have to do is figure out which features are most important to you. 

Of course, this article is here to point you towards the best Android phones that are currently available in Australia. So whether you want an amazing camera, a stunning screen, brilliant design or a long battery life, there are plenty of options available to you.

This year has already brought us some fantastic premium Android devices, such as Samsung's Galaxy S22, Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4, along with more recent handsets like Google's new Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro phones.

Of course, with so many options to choose from, it can be tough for Android newcomers (and even veterans) to narrow down the best Android phones in Australia to pick. So with that in mind, here our our top picks in 2022.

What are the best Android phones?

Here at Tom's Guide, we've taken the liberty of testing all of the major flagship Android phones in our quest to narrow down the best. Right now, the best Android device for most people is undoubtedly the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, thanks to its refined design, powerhouse performance, excellent and a built-in S Pen. Admittedly, the S22 Ultra's AU$1,849 price may be a little rich for some, however, the Galaxy S22 offers many of the same features for hundreds of dollars less.

The AU$1,299 Pixel 7 Pro has the best camera experience on an Android phone, hands down. It also features the new Tensor G2 chipset, taking advantage of Google's advancements in AI and machine learning to make it the smartest Android device around. While it lacks for battery life, it makes up for it in other facets. If you want to save more money and get most of the same features, you can opt for the AU$999 Pixel 7.

Of course, if you're on a budget but still want a flagship-level smartphone experience, it's hard to beat the Pixel 6a, though we think it's worth spending a little more money to get the new Pixel 7 and its brilliant Tensor G2-exclusive features.

Those are the best traditional handsets out there, but if you're ready to join the foldable revolution, Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Flip 4 are easily the two most premium phones on the market, thanks to their unmatched design and top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus chipsets.

The best Android phones you can buy today

The Galaxy S22 Ultra is the new king of traditional Android phones. It’s got almost anything you could ever want in a phone, including a built-in S Pen stylus. It sports powerful cameras, the top-tier Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, plenty of storage options, and a jaw-droppingly gorgeous display. 

The Galaxy S22 Ultra still stumbles in the battery life department, more so than its predecessor. While the phone went for 10 hours and 18 minutes in the Tom’s Guide battery life test, that result was in the 60Hz refresh rate mode. In the 120Hz adaptive mode, the Galaxy S22 Ultra only lasted for 8 hours and 50 minutes, well below some competitors like the iPhone 13 Pro Max (which also features an 120Hz adaptive refresh rate).

But if you’re firmly in the Android camp, there’s no better phone than the Galaxy S22 Ultra right now. You’ll just have to pay at least AU$1,849 for the privilege. 

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review.

The Pixel 7 Pro is a refinement over the excellent Pixel 6 Pro from last year. It sports an upgraded Tensor G2 processor, a brighter display, and 5x optical zoom. It’s a great phone with plenty of smarts and useful features.

Where it lags behind the Galaxy S22, however, is battery life. The Pixel 7 Pro performed horribly in our in-house battery life test, over three hours less than the 10-hour average we want to see from smartphones. But the cameras help make up for it, with the Pixel 7 Pro offering the best pictures on an Android phone.

And with a starting price of just AU$1,299, it’s hard to beat the Pixel 7 Pro, especially since the Galaxy S22 Ultra is a minimum of AU$550 more. That S Pen and impressive optical zoom better be worth it, otherwise, Google has the upper hand on value.

Read our full Pixel 7 Pro review.

With last year's Galaxy Z Fold 3, Samsung came very close to nailing its phone-to-mini tablet foldable design, with only the device's middling cameras betraying its premium styling and price point. Thankfully, the manufacturer has addressed this concern with 2022's Galaxy Z Fold 4, a head-to-toe refinement which brings the added bonus of a major camera upgrade, going from 12MP to 50MP for its primary sensor.

From a design standpoint, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 looks very similar to its predecessor at first glance. Look closer, and you'll find a slightly shorter design with thinner bezels on its 120Hz cover display, giving you some much-needed typing room. Its hinge also protrudes far less, making the device more symmetrical when viewed front on. 

We're also happy to report that the Z Fold 4's inner display has a slightly less noticeable crease, while its under-display selfie camera is even more inconspicuous thanks to a tighter cluster of pixels overlaid on top. 

In addition to the improvements made to battery life and performance, likely due to its class-leading Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, its software has also progressed, with a clearer focus on multitasking thanks to the inclusion of a taskbar. Now the only real hurdle for mass-adoption will surely be its enormous AU$2,499 price tag.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 review.

Although we think it’s the epitome of an iterative upgrade, the Galaxy S22 Plus is nonetheless a great Android phone. From the beautiful and bright display to the beefy performance and improved cameras, the middle child of the Galaxy S22 family is a beast.

If you liked the design of the Galaxy S21 last year, then you’ll find a lot to love with the Galaxy S22 Plus. It’s a refinement of Samsung’s new design language. But this phone didn’t wow us with its results in our battery life test. In fact, the Galaxy S22 Plus barely outperforms its predecessor.

Starting at AU$1,249, the Galaxy S22 Plus faces stiff competition, but if you want the big screen Galaxy experience and don’t want to spring for the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Plus is the next best option.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus review.

While the Pixel 7 Pro is certainly affordable relative to other Android flagships, it’s possible to experience Tensor G2-powered features for even less. The Pixel 7 starts at just AU$999 — AU$250 less than the Galaxy S22 — but offers many of the same capabilities as Google’s pricier handset.

The call management, dictation and transcription features powered by the second-generation Tensor chip are available on the Pixel 7, as are the computational photography features that make Google’s devices such standouts among phones cameras. You won’t get a telephoto lens like on the Pixel 7 Pro, but with features like Super Res Zoom eliminating the noise from digital zoom shots, you won’t really mind.

We wish the Pixel 7 delivered better battery life, and the same 120Hz refresh as its Pro big brother, but everything else about the phone — from its polished design to its AI-driven functionality — improves upon the Pixels that came before it.

Read our full Google Pixel 7 review.

We came away from our Galaxy Z Flip 4 review mostly impressed. Not only is the new foldable’s design ever so slightly sleeker, the battery life has vastly improved over the Galaxy Z Flip 3 last year. In our custom battery life test, the Flip 4 went for considerably longer than its predecessor.

The folding 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display is beautiful, even though the display crease remains very noticeable. The Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 allows the Galaxy Z Flip 4 to chew through any task, even intensive gaming. And its increased power efficiency is likely helping the handset’s better battery life.

The cameras are a mixed bag. On the one hand, the new night mode is fantastic; but on the other, the daytime photos are less than exciting with Samsung’s characteristic oversaturated look. If the Galaxy Z Flip 4 put out the same photos as the Galaxy S22, we’d be a lot happier. 

Even so, the AU$1,499 Galaxy Z Flip 4 is certainly worth your while if you want to jump into the world of foldables. You’ll make some camera-related compromises over similarly-priced phones, but the novelty and compact nature of the device might be worth it to you.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 review.

Although our full review is yet to come, we've spent enough time with Motorola's new Edge 30 Fusion to be confident in its inclusion on our list of the best Android phones in Australia. 

Sporting premium looks and a classy design, the upper mid-range Edge 30 Fusion delivers an ambitious triple-camera array led by a 50MP main sensor. That's backed up by 13MP ultra-wide snapper, and a 2MP depth sensor for impressive bokeh shots. On the front of the device, the Edge 30 Fusion offers an excellent 32MP selfie camera.

Boasting impressive performance thanks to its Snapdragon 888 Plus chipset — the same one that powered Samsung's premium S21 Ultra — the Edge 30 Fusion feels fast and snappy to navigate. This feeling is bolstered by a stunning 144Hz P-OLED display that puts the Pixel 7's 90Hz screen on notice. At AU$899, the Edge 30 Fusion is easy to recommend.

Find out more about the Motorola Edge 30 Fusion.

Android phone fans looking for a bargain have more choices than ever. At this price point, our pick is the Pixel 6a over the Samsung Galaxy A53. While the latter is not without its strengths, the Pixel 6a’s cameras win the day — as you’d expect from a Google phone.

Thanks in large part to Google’s strengths in computational photography, the Pixel 6a produces outstanding pictures, especially for a phone that's just AU$749. And the 6a is powered by the same Tensor chip found in the Pixel 6, so those AI-powered software features (like on-device translation and smart photo editing) are part of this budget Google phone as well.

We wish the battery life were better, and Google could learn a thing from Samsung’s generous software update policy, but if you don’t have big bucks to spend on a great phone, the Pixel 6a is where you should put your money.

Read our full Google Pixel 6a review.

How to choose the best Android phone for you

When looking to purchase a new Android phone, the first thing you'll undoubtedly look at is price. As you move up to around the AU$749 mark, you'll start to find more compelling handsets, touting better processors, higher-grade materials and more camera lenses. Progress into the AU$999-and-up range, and the best phones offer flagship-caliber performance along with cutting-edge computational photography and special features.

The most premium Android phones offer foldable designs, though there's talk a new round of devices from Samsung could make foldables more mainstream — that is, make the prices more affordable.

iPhone users looking to switch to Android have lots of choices, as we've outlined above. It's also easier to move platforms, as the Switch to Android app for iOS now supports all Android 12 phones.

How we test the best Android phones

Every smartphone Tom’s Guide evaluates is tested for several days in real-world use cases and benchmarked with a gamut of performance-measuring apps. In terms of performance, we used Geekbench 5 to measure overall speed and 3DMark Wild Life to measure graphics performance.

We also use our own video editing test in the Adobe Premiere Rush app to see how long it takes to transcode a clip, which we run on both Android phones and iPhone to compare performance. (This test is not always available for all phones we test due to app compatibility issues.)

One of the most important tests we run is the Tom's Guide battery test. We run a web surfing test over 5G (or 4G if the phone doesn't have 5G support) at 150 nits of screen brightness until the battery gives out. In general, a phone that lasts 10 hours or more is good, and anything above 11 hours makes our list of the best phone battery life.

Last but not least, we take the best phones out in the field to take photos outdoors, indoors and at night in low light to see how they perform versus their closest competitors. We take shots of landscapes, food, portraits and more, and also allow you to be the judge with side-by-side comparisons in our reviews. 

For more information, check out our how we test page for Tom's Guide.