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The best Android phones cover every base you could think of in the phone world. Want something cheap? Foldable? All in on cameras? Something that will charge from 0 - 100 before you've finished your coffee? All these and more live within this guide.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 series is the most recent launch to make waves on this list, with the S26 Ultra and standard S26 both getting slots on this page. The Google Pixel 10a remains the based value option, while the OnePlus 15 with its two-day battery life is the top pick for users wanting efficiency out of their new phone more than anything else.
The quick list
Samsung's latest Ultra phone has managed to hit the top of this list again, with a unique Privacy Display to add to its existing strengths in photography, AI features and performance.
The Google Pixel 10a is a phone that offers the same great budget price, but with a whole wealth of power. For a phone under $500 you're getting a super bright display, versatile cameras and more.
Exceptional battery life is just the start of the OnePlus 15's appeal. Its price, smooth display, and speedy performance are all benefits that anyone can appreciate.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming a part of phones and no other one has more of it than the Pixel 10 Pro XL. You'll be delighted by the AI features it offers to help save you time.
The Nothing Phone 3a Pro rewrites the rules on what to expect from a budget phone by including a telephoto camera in a sub-$500 device. Throw in a distinctive design and all-day battery life, and you've got a phone that can match the features of more expensive models.
Don't underestimate the Pixel 10 because despite being lower on the totem pole in Google's lineup, it actually has a lot of premium features found in the pricier Pixel 10 Pro XL. Including, for the very first time on a non-Pro model, a telephoto lens.
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For users who don't want to spend ultra phone money, the Galaxy S26 offers all of Samsung's latest software, plus the same powerful chipset, in an easy to handle frame.
Samsung's latest flip phone is a winner, with a thinner design and larger screens, plus Galaxy AI features you can use right from the outer Flex Window. Cameras don't see any major changes, but it's still the best performing camera phone among foldables.
When the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is unfolded, it's the thinnest phone we've seen. And that's important as it makes this powerful device easier to tote around. Galaxy AI features add to the appeal if you can swing the price.
Best Android phone overall
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra cements Samsung's status as the top Android manufacturer by successfully bridging the gap between high-end hardware and futuristic software. Unlike its predecessors, which often focused on incremental spec bumps, this model introduces meaningful innovations like a thinner, significantly lighter chassis that makes the massive 6.9-inch device much more manageable. By weighing in at just 7.55 ounces—notably lighter than the iPhone 17 Pro Max—Samsung has created a device that feels premium and refined, providing the most comfortable "Ultra" experience to date.
The centerpiece of the hardware experience is the new Privacy Display, a feature that single-handedly makes this the best choice for professionals and security-conscious users. By utilizing a combination of dedicated narrow pixels and intelligent software, the screen can obscure sensitive information from shoulder surfers at the tap of a button or automatically for user-specified apps. While this technology does result in a slightly dimmer peak brightness and narrower viewing angles compared to the S25 Ultra, the trade-off is a level of utility and privacy that no other competitor currently offers.
Samsung is also leading the charge into the era of agentic AI, where the phone functions more like a personal assistant than a simple tool. Features like Now Brief and Now Nudge allow the S26 Ultra to anticipate a user’s needs based on the context of their messages, while upcoming Automated App Actions aim to perform complex tasks across apps via voice commands. When combined with the S Pen and the new Creative Studio AI tools—which can transform crude sketches into professional illustrations—the device offers a level of productivity and creative power that remains unmatched in the Android ecosystem.
On the photography front, the S26 Ultra continues to dominate through sheer versatility and improved low-light performance. By increasing the aperture on both the 200MP main sensor and the 50MP telephoto lens, Samsung has addressed previous criticisms regarding indoor and nighttime noise, producing significantly brighter and sharper images. The phone remains the industry leader for zoom photography, easily outclassing the iPhone and Pixel in long-range clarity. Furthermore, the new Horizon Lock feature for video is a game-changer for mobile creators, ensuring that footage remains perfectly level and stable regardless of how much the phone is tilted or shaken.
Despite its excellence, the S26 Ultra is not without its flaws, most notably a big camera bump that causes the phone to wobble significantly when placed flat. Additionally, power users may be disappointed by the lack of built-in Qi2 magnets for accessories and the decision to skip the next-generation silicon-carbon batteries found in some rivals. However, with a stellar battery life of over 16 hours and a software ecosystem that is now smarter than ever, these negatives are minor hurdles. For anyone willing to pay the $1,299 premium, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is undeniably the most capable, innovative, and powerful Android phone you can buy today.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review
Best value Android phone
The Google Pixel 10a is a disappointing upgrade when compared to the Pixel 9a, with almost identical hardware and few noticeable changes. However, considering how much we liked the Pixel 9a, it means there's still plenty to appreciate where the newer model is concerned.
You get the same 6.3-inch, super bright display, an affordable $499 price tag and a slight redesign that pushes the camera bump all the way inside the phone. That's right, this phone is completely flat on both the front and back, with nothing resembling a camera bump to be seen.
Google's also added satellite SOS connectivity, which debuted on Pixel 10, and makes the Pixel 10a one of the cheapest (if not the cheapest) devices to have that emergency feature. Which just goes to show that you don't need an expensive flagship to be able to call for help in the wilderness.
The downsides are that the Tensor G4 chipset has made a comeback, and causes the phone to miss out on a lot of the AI features that make the regular Pixel 10 so appealing. There are plenty of AI features tobe found, but you're missing a lot of the bigger stars like Magic Cue. Likewise, the cameras, flat as they may be, haven't changed compared to last year.
While the Pixel 9a's photography skills were excellent, we would have liked to see some kind of hardware upgrade. Still, it means you get to take advantage of the wider aperture for sharper images and better low-light performance.
We still haven't had a lot of time with the Pixel 10a, and that means a lot of our testing is still to come. That's when we'll find out key details about the phone's battery life, how performance compares to Pixel 9a and whether the camera quality has changed with the new software.
Read our Google Pixel 10a hands-on review
Best fast-charging Android phone
OnePlus' flagship phone for 2026 has dazzled us by doing something no other phone has managed yet — lasting over a day on our battery life test. And the phone just gets better from there.
We've never been disappointed by a OnePlus phone, but the OnePlus 15 has changed a lot for the better, even from its last generation. Its display now supports up to a 165Hz refresh rate for smooth gaming and scrolling, and its new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset makes sure the 15 has the power to match. We like the phone's new, squarer look and its AI feature package too.
Our only complaints would be that the selfie camera isn't the best we've tested, even if the OnePlus 15's other cameras are on par with the market's best thanks to OnePlus' new DetailMax processing. If the display was brighter also, then this would be a near-perfect phone. But given the excellent qualities it already has, plus the very reasonable asking price, it's hard to justify overlooking the OnePlus 15 if you're after a top Android phone.
Read our full OnePlus 15 review.
Best Android AI phone
As impressive as the new Galaxy AI features on the Galaxy S25 series are, Google continues to offer a dizzying amount of AI features on its flagship phones. And because Google's efforts are a bit more refined, that makes the Pixel 10 Pro XL the AI phone to beat. In fact, Google's AI took the overall prize in our AI phone face-off, dominating most of our head-to-head tests with other phones.
Adding to the efforts from previous generations, Google has now included a new localized assistant "Magic Cue" that's designed to help surface relevant information when you need it — like delivery details, 2FA codes, calendar appointments and so on. While it takes some time to get going, this could prove to be a very beneficial tool to have on your phone.
On top of that we also have the new 100x Super Pro Res Zoom and "Ask Photos" which lets you tell Google photos what edits you want made. Not to mention smaller features like Pixel Journal and Camera Coach, which can add some extra usefulness to your device.
If that's not enough to convince you, the phone receives big upgrades to its display and charing. In fact, it sets a record for the brightest screen we've tested at an astonishing peak brightness output of 2,55 nits with its 6.8-inch Super Actua display. As for charging we now have 45W wired charging and speedy 25W Qi2.2 wireless charging speeds — and yes, the Qi2 does include the MagSafe-style magnets.
You're going to pay a bit more for the Pixel 10 Pro XL since Google has scrapped the cheaper 128GB storage option in favor of a 256GB starting point. But while you'll have to pay an extra $100 compared to last year, you do get double the storage space.
Read our full Google Pixel 10 Pro XL review.
Best budget Android phone
Look for a phone that costs less than $500, and you usually won't have to search to hard to find the compromises a device maker made to keep the costs down. That's not the case with the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, though, as the latest midrange model from the phone-making startup packs in a staggering amount of premium features, not the least of which is a periscope-style telephoto lens.
Dedicated telephoto cameras are practically unheard of for camera phones in this price range, let alone a lens that can deliver a 3x optical zoom. Even better the images my colleague John Velasco captured when testing the Nothing Phone 3a Pro look sharp and detailed, as the new phone improves its all around camera performance over last year's model. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro especially stood out when John took low-light photos.
The other usual selling points for Nothing phones are on display here — the distinctive look of the phone with its light-up glyphs that serve to alert you to incoming messages are back, and the Nothing Phone 3a lasts a very long time on a charge. Specifically, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro lasted 14.5 hours on our battery test, beating the average smartphone's result by more than 4 hours.
The switch to a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset didn't produce much in the way of performance improvements, which is probably the biggest disappointment with the Nothing Phone 3a Pro. A new Essential Space feature for storing screenshots and voice memos while using AI to summarize them and turn them into to-dos also feels like a work in progress. But those are just blips in an otherwise stellar package that delivers far more than a $459 phone should. And if you want to save even more, you can turn to the $379 Nothing Phone 3a, which scales back on the telephoto lens though it still continues to offer one. (Note that those prices are from phones sold directly via Nothing. At present, Nothing Phone 3a Pro prices are marked up at Amazon.)
Ultimately, the Pixel 9a offers the more complete package with the way its cameras perform and the polished AI experience Google delivers. But if you want a telephoto lens on a phone that doesn't cost big bucks, the Nothing Phone 3a Pro is the way to go. And that design is pretty eye-catching, too.
Read our full Nothing Phone 3a Pro review
Best affordable Pixel flagship
The Google Pixel 10 easily offers some of the best upgrades of the entire Pixel 10 line-up. Not just improving upon last year's model, but adding features we thought we'd only ever see on a Pro-tier model.
The big change is the fact that the phone now comes with a 10.8MP telephoto lens, complete with 5x optical zoom. While this isn't the best resolution, and has caused the ultrawide camera to drop to 13MP, it's still a fantastic extra that most entry-level flagships prefer to ignore.
On top of that the phone comes with a range of new AI features. There's the new Pixel Journal, and improvements to features like Best Take and Add me for optimal group photos. But we also get to enjoy features like Ask Photos, for speedier AI photo edits and the Magic Cue assistant that aims to get you important improtmation when you need it most.
The new 3nm Tensor G5 chipset also offers a small performance boost, though don't expect this to be able to pull off Apple or Samsung levels of computing. Still, it seems to have had an impact on the battery life considering the phone lasted 13 hours and 13 minutes, compared to the 12 hours and 30 minutes on the Pixel 9. Which is a nice little improvement.
And since it's a flagship Pixel model, it get the same outstanding 7 years of major Android and security updates to bring even more features to the experience.
Best Samsung flagship for most people
Samsung makes it clear that if you want the ultimate experience from one of its phones, you'll need to go for an Ultra. But the Galaxy S26 is more than enough phone for the majority of users, while being cheaper and more practical.
At 6.3 inches, the Galaxy S26 is small for a modern flagship. But within this compact body, you get excellent features like a beautiful display, new AI abilities like Now Nudge and Automated App Actions, powerful new chips (either the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the U.S. or Exynos 2600 elsewhere) and the impressively stable Horizontal Lock mode for video recording.
Sadly, Samsung has upped its asking price for the Galaxy S26. Even if it's offering higher default storage to sweeten the deal, it doesn't look like such a good deal compared to the Google Pixel 10 series or OnePlus 15. And we wish that Samsung would have updated other parts of the S26's hardware, such as its battery capacity or especially its aging camera loadout. It would have helped justify the price increase, if nothing else.
But it's kind of unfair to expect the world from a phone of this price and size. This segment is about giving users what they need, even if what you get is not class-leading. And the Samsung Galaxy S26 is definitely more than enough phone to satisfy the average user's most important tech needs.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S26 review
Best foldable Android phone
Samsung has responded to the stepped-up competition among foldable phone makers — particularly Motorola and its Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) — and responded with the best Galaxy Z Flip model ever. The changes introduced with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 push this phone back to the top of the head when it comes to foldable devices for Android lovers.
While the latest Flip benefits from larger screens inside and out, the design element that really captured John Velasco's imagination when he reviewed the phone was its thinner profile and more durable design. He also notes that the 6.9-inch main display still has a crease where the phone folds in two, but that it's less visible than ever, making for a better user experience.
Samsung's Galaxy AI helps out in that regard, too, with more features tweaked to perform better on a folding phone. You can access the Now Brief feature directly from the 4.1-cover screen, and John likes how he can share the Galaxy Z Flip 7's camera with Gemini Live so that the onboard AI can see exactly what he's seeing — a capability that puts the Flip well ahead of other flip phones.
The cameras didn't get any hardware changes from before, just an upgraded ProVisual Engine that did take better low-light photos in our testing. If you have a recent Flip, you may want to pass on this upgrade as the cameras on your model still perform pretty well.
Similarly, we found the Exynos 2500 chipset powering the Z Flip 7 can't match the Snapdragon 8 Elite's performance on benchmark tests. But at least the silicon's power efficiency and a larger battery than before helped the Galaxy Z Flip 7 extend its result on our battery test past 12 hours, a big improvement from before.
You can save money by turning to the cheaper Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, but it lacks some of the more polished features of this model. The lighter, more compact design combined with more sophisticated features makes this the best flip phone out there.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 review.
Best Android phone design
We were certainly impressed by the 5.8mm thin Galaxy S25 Edge when it debuted earlier this spring. But the Galaxy Z Fold 7 takes things to an even greater extreme, opening up to reveal a 4.2mm profile. Even when its closed, that 8.9m thickness isn't that far off from what you'd expect from a more conventional phone.
This matters because up until now, opting for a book-style foldable meant the trade-off for a larger screen device was one that was bulky to tote around. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 removes that penalty, making for a more appealing mobile device — at least if you're not put off by the $1,999 starting price.
There's more than just a slender design to justify that lofty price, though. Samsung added a 200MP main camera and got rid of the under-display selfie cam for one that takes better shots. The end result is a more capable camera phone that produced some very detailed images in our testing. More impressive, Galaxy AI features take greater advantage of the phone's foldable design, as you can shift around AI summary boxes to anywhere on your display and you can compare generative AI edits side by side.
The high price of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 means this isn't a phone for everyone — that's why we think the Z Flip 7 is the better foldable phone for more Android users. But power users who want a big display that's not an even bigger hassle to carry around will like what they see from the newly evolved Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review.
What to look for in the best Android phone
The first place to start when shopping for the best Android phone for you is your budget, and there are a few tiers. The cheapest Android phones cost under $200 and offer mostly the basics for using apps, taking pictures and staying connected. We chart the best cheap phones under $300, though honestly, you'll make a lot of compromises to get a phone priced that low.
As you move up to under $450, you'll find more compelling handsets, touting better processors, higher-grade materials and more camera lenses. Our main guide to the best cheap phones for less than $500 goes into greater depth on these devices.
Jump into the $700-and-up range, and the best phones offer flagship-caliber performance along with cutting-edge computational photography and special features. You'll start to see features like telephoto lenses appear at this level of phone.
The most premium Android phones offer the best hardware - and some of them even fold. But you'll be paying at least a grand, if not closer to two grand, for the privilege of accessing the best of Android.
How we test the best Android phones
The same method we use to test the best phones applies to the dozen or so Android phones we evaluate each year. 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.)
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Geekbench (single-core / multicore) | 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited (FPS) |
Galaxy S26 Ultra | 3,785 / 11,563 | 179 |
Pixel 10a | 1,694 / 4,501 | 58 |
OnePlus 15 | 3618 / 11116 | 173.8 |
Pixel 10 Pro XL | 2322 / 6286 | 81.03 |
Nothing Phone 3a Pro | 1166 / 3275 | 25.1 |
Pixel 10 | 2345 / 6581 | 80.58 |
Galaxy S26 | 3,531 / 10,778 | 171 |
Galaxy Z Flip 7 | 2286 / 8079 | 114.6 |
Galaxy Z Fold 7 | 3052 / 9735 | 123.8 |
To measure the quality of a phone's display, we perform lab tests to determine the brightness of the panel (in nits), as well as how colorful each screen is (DCI-P3 color gamut). In these cases, higher numbers are better. We also measure color accuracy of each panel with a Delta-E rating, where lower numbers are better and score of 0 is perfect.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Peak brightness (nits) | sRGB (%) | DCI-P3 (%) | Delta-E |
Galaxy S26 Ultra | 1,806 | 151 (Vivid) 128 (Natural) | 106 (Vivid), 90 (Natural) | 0.29 (Vivid), 0.22 (Natural) |
Pixel 10a | 1,896 | 134 (Adaptive), 127 (Natural) | 95 (Adaptive), 85 (Natural) | 0.26 (Adaptive), 0.21 (Natural) |
OnePlus 15 | 1,222 | 111.8 (Standard), 110.8 (Natural) | 79.2 (Standard), 78.4 (Natural) | 0.29 (Standard), 0.20 (Natural) |
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL | 2,555 | 125.7 (Adaptive), 103.7 (Natural) | 89 (Adaptive), 73.4 (Natural) | 0.29 (Adaptive), 0.21 (Natural) |
Nothing Phone 3a Pro | 1,259 | 111.1 (Standard), 153.7 (Alive) | 78.7 (Standard), 108.9 (Alive) | 0.2 (Standard), 0.27 (Alive) |
Pixel 10 | 2,333 | 125.5 (Adaptive), 106.6 (Natural) | 89 (Adaptive), 76.9 (Natural) | 0.29 (Adaptive), 0.30 (Natural) |
Galaxy S26 | 1,950 | 147 (Vivid), 128 (Natural) | 104 (Vivid), 90 (Natural) | 0.24 (Vivid), 0.23 (Natural) |
Galaxy Z Flip 7 | 1,989 | 151.7 (Vivid), 126.7 (Natural) | 107.4 (Vivid), 89.8 (Natural) | 0.23 (Vivid), 0.23 (Natural) |
Galaxy Z Fold 7 | 2,060 outer, 2,245 inner | 148.6 (Vivid), 135.5 (Natural) | 105.2 (Vivid), 96 (Natural) | 0.28 (Vivid), 0.22 (Natural) |
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 11 hours or more is good, and anything above 15 hours makes our list of the best phone battery life.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Battery life (Hrs:Mins) |
Galaxy S26 Ultra | 16:10 |
Pixel 10a | 15:16 |
OnePlus 15 | 25:13 |
Pixel 10 Pro XL | 14:20 |
Nothing Phone 3a Pro | 14:33 |
Pixel 10 | 13:13 |
Galaxy S26 | 11:28 |
Galaxy Z Flip 7 | 12:24 |
Galaxy Z Fold 7 | 10:44 |
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 and 200 photo head-to-head shootouts.
For more information, check out our how we test page for Tom's Guide.
