Best Android phones 2023

You're never hurting for choice when it comes to finding the best Android phones. From mighty flagships to surprisingly feature-rich budget devices, there's a top Android handset out there for every budget and personal taste.

It's true that our current No. 1 pick is one of the most expensive Android handsets you can buy. But recent additions to our best Android phones picks include a couple of midrange models that both cost less than $500 while offering the kind of capabilities you usually find limited to premium devices. Variety truly is the spice of life for Android users.

The key to finding the best Android phone for your needs is to identify what you want in a handset. If that winds up being a wide array of premium features from fast refreshing displays to top performing cameras, be prepared to pay up for a flagship. Are capabilities like a telephoto lens or lots of built-in storage less important to you? Then you can turn to a midrange or budget Android phone instead.

Our list of the best Android phones includes devices at different prices, so that we can help you find the right handset no matter what your budget. Read on to find out which Android phones fared the best in our testing.

And since it's coming up to everyone's favorite summer discount event, make sure you keep checking our best Amazon Prime Day deals in case any of these top phones make an appearance.

The Quick List

Best Android phone overall

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The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best Android phone money can buy. This flagship wows with its 200MP camera, which can not only product poster-size prints but lets you crop in and reframe your shots while still delivering very good detail. There's a better 12MP camera up front for selfies, plus improved Nightography for better low-light images all around.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra is also super fast, thanks to the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy processor. This chip beats the iPhone on graphics performance and delivers silky-smooth gameplay. Our favorite part? The more than 13 hours of battery life we saw in our web surfing test, which makes this one of the longest-lasting phones around. Having 256GB of storage to start is another plus. 

Other highlights for the Galaxy S23 Ultra include smarter One UI 5.1 features, including Bixby Text call for screening calls for you. And the display is now flatter for easier S Pen use, though we still don't think the panel needs to be curved. Sure, faster charging would be nice, but the Samsung S23 Ultra is the best Android phone yet and easily one of the best phones overall. 

See our full Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review. 

Best value

Among Android phones, the OnePlus 11 gives the Galaxy S23 Ultra some much needed competition, and certainly beats everything else out there at the moment. With a starting price of just $699, the OnePlus 11 is the flagship value of 2023 so far. With its incredible battery life, performance that gives the iPhone 14 Pro Max a run for its money, and the best OnePlus cameras to date, this phone is awesome.

Of course, it’s not without its drawbacks. For one, the telephoto lens has seen a downgrade from 3.3x optical zoom to 2x. The OnePlus 11 also lacks wireless charging, an odd omission given OnePlus’ recent history. The phone likely has these compromises to keep the price down. Even with them, however, the OnePlus 11 is well worth your consideration.

Read our full OnePlus 11 review.

Best camera phone for the money

The Google Pixel 7a is a great device to get if you're on a limited budget. For just $499, you can get a phone that still packs in some premium features like a 90Hz display, wireless charging support and the same Tensor G2 processor found in the Pixel 7 flagships. In many ways, it's impossible to tell the budget Pixel 7a from the more premium Pixel 7.

We're particularly impressed with the changes to the Pixel 7a's camera setup, which now features a 64MP main shooter and a 13MP ultrawide lens. These cameras take excellent photos for the price, and they can hold their own against any of the top camera phones out there. We also like that the battery life on the Pixel 7a is much improved over its predecessor, albeit with the fast-refreshing display feature disabled.

Read our full Google Pixel 7a review.

Best budget Android phone

You don't have to pay flagship prices to get a top Android phone. For $449, the Galaxy A54 offers a long-lasting battery, a bright display and cameras that are the best you can find on a budget phone. (Check out our Galaxy A54 vs. Pixel 6a camera face-off to see how this phone's cameras compare to its cheif rival.) That 50MP main camera is the same one you get on the Galaxy S23, so you'll get flagship-quality photos, particularly when the lights are low.

The Exynos 1380 inside the Galaxy A54 isn't exactly a powerhouse, but it can handle most mobile apps with aplomb. You'll also appreciate the colorful 6.4-inch panel on the Galaxy A54 and its ability to ramp up its refresh rate to 120Hz when on-screen activity would benefit from smoother scrolling. That's an awful lot of impressive features for a phone that won't put too big of a dent in your wallet.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy A54 review.

Best Pixel flagship

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 Ultra, however, is battery life. The Pixel 7 Pro performed poorly 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 make up for it, with the Pixel 7 Pro offering some of the best pictures on an Android phone at $300 less than the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Read our full Pixel 7 Pro review.

Best Galaxy for most people

The Galaxy S23 Ultra may have the most premium features, but the Samsung Galaxy S23 is much more affordable at $799. And the best things about the S23 family are very much a part of this entry-level model, with the Galaxy S23 running on the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset that powers the more expensive models. That not only means a performance boost over previous Galaxy S phones, it also helps the S23 turn in a time on our battery test that tops the average smartphone.

The Galaxy S23 offers a telephoto lens — not something you always find on a phone at this price. And all the cameras on the Galaxy S23 impress, as they benefit from Samsung's effort to improve low-light photography. (We did find the front camera to be a little disappointing in our testing.) You'll have to live with less storage in the base model — the S23 starts with 128GB versus 256GB in the other models — but otherwise the Galaxy S23 delivers the best of Samsung's flagship lineup in a more affordable package.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S23 review.

Best foldable

If you want a phone and tablet in one device and you love to multitask, there’s no better option than the Google Pixel Fold. This foldable phone gives you a 5.8-inch display up front with a wide aspect ratio that makes it easy to run apps and type, and the inner 7.6-inch display is great for watching movies and running two apps side by side. Google’s software makes it easy, thanks to an intuitive dock you can customize.

The Pixel Fold also happens to be an amazing camera phone, thanks to its 48MP main sensor that takes detailed photos and a powerful 5x telephoto zoom lens that surpasses the Galaxy Z Fold 4. The Pixel Fold is also better than Samsung in low light.

Other highlights include plenty of apps that are optimized for the big screen, including Gmail, TikTok and Spotify, and a multiple usage modes to make the most of the foldable design. I really like tabletop mode for taking time-lapse videos and making video calls while running another app. The $1,799 price is very steep, but the Pixel Fold is a surefire winner. 

Read our full Google Pixel Fold review.

Best flagship alternative

Recent Motorola flagship phones haven't been able to compete with devices from the likes of Samsung, Google and OnePlus, so imagine our pleasant surprise when the 2023 edition of the Motorola Edge Plus turned out to be a pretty impressive alternative to other premium Android devices. Motorola gets a whole lot of things right here, starting with the price — the Edge Plus costs $200 less than the Galaxy S23 Plus while comparing very favorably to Samsung's big-screen phone.

A Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset means the Motorola Edge Plus can match any Android phone for performance, and the phone's 5,100 mAh battery helped it turn in the second-best result on our battery test in the last 18 months. The Motorola Edge Plus even lasts a long time on a charge when you've got the 6.7-inch display's 165Hz refresh rate activated, which makes the Motorola Edge Plus a good option for mobile gamers.

If the cameras performed just a little more consistently, we'd rate the Motorola Edge Plus even higher. But as it stands, this phone offers a tempting blend of premium features at a more affordable price, making it a good choice if you're looking beyond the usual suspects for your next handset.

Read our full Motorola Edge Plus (2023) review.

Best flip-phone foldable

After a couple previous attempts didn't quite pan out, Motorola is back with a flip phone-style foldable that finally takes its place among the best foldable phones. What makes the Motorola Razr+ stand out isn't necessarily the interior 6.9-inch screen — though we like its 165Hz refresh rate and bright appearance — but the 3.6-inch cover display. That's a whole lot larger than the 1.9-inch strip on the similarly designed Galaxy Z Flip 4, and it means you can run a lot of apps on the outer screen without ever having to open up the Razr+.

When you do open the phone, you get a screen that sits flush, thanks to a solid hinge mechanism. When it's time to head out, you can easily fold up the Razr+ and fit the 3.48 x 2.9 x 0.59-inch handset in your pocket. While its Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip isn't the newest silicon available, it still delivers solid performance, and the $999 price puts this foldable in reach for more shoppers.

Read our full Motorola Razr+ review.

Best small Android phone

Asus is one of the only Android phone makers still producing phones under 6 inches in size, and the Zenfone 10 is the latest and greatest. While a fair bit smaller than equivalently priced phones, it's got a fantastic battery life and equivalent power thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. We really like what Asus did with the software too, which takes Android and gives you faster access to important settings and apps.

The problems you'll need to face if you buy a Zenfone 10 are that it's only going to get two years of Android updates, giving it a potentially shorter life than other flagship Android phones. We also wish it had a telephoto camera, but considering what you already get, and how well-priced it all is, we still think the Zenfone 10 is excellent as-is.

Read our full Asus Zenfone 10 review.

How to choose the best Android phone for you

The first place to start when shopping for the best Android phone for you is your budget. And there are essentially 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. The Galaxy A54 has pushed aside the Pixel 6a to top our best cheap phones rankings, but that could change once the Pixel 7a arrives. Rumors point to a launch at Google I/O 2023 in May.

Jump into the $700-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 and big price tags. The Motorola Razr+ joins the Galaxy Z Flip 4 on the cheap end of foldable phones with a $999 starting price. We're expecting the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 to arrive later this year, as competition for the best foldable phones heats up.

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 and later.

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.)

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.

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.