We’ve tested hundreds of Android phones and separated the wheat from the chaff.
Choosing the best Android phone can seem overwhelming with so many choices, but ultimately it comes down to a few simple questions:
How far can you stretch your budget?
How important are cameras to you?
Will you play games or run demanding mobile apps?
What’s your preference when it comes to size and form factor? Smaller? Larger? Folding?
Once you know what’s important to you, the list narrows down considerably. If you’re not too familiar with smartphone tech, check out our detailed buyer’s guide for more info. If you’re feeling comfortable and confident, check out our top picks below We’ve tested and reviewed hundreds of devices and picked out the best Android phones you can buy in 2023, starting with a device we think everyone will love.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus is the best Android phone for most people
For most people, we think the best Android phone you can buy is the Galaxy S23 Plus. In fact, it replaces last year’s Galaxy S22 Plus (which is still a great buy in 2023) at the top of our list. It’s not as flashy as the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but it gets nearly all the way there for significantly less money.
Design-wise, it’s very similar to its predecessor — and that’s a good thing. We found the flat, 6.6-inch AMOLED with perfectly symmetrical bezels to look even more elegant than the S23 Ultra in person. By comparison, we found it much more comfortable to hold than the S23 Ultra, and despite the large screen, it’s just below the two-hand threshold for most people. It’s smooth, but repels oils and isn’t as slippery as glossy finishes on phones like the Pixel 7.
As expected from a Samsung flagship, the performance is absolutely stellar. There’s no Exynos model this time around, with Samsung teaming up with Qualcomm to create a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 “for Galaxy” chipset variant for each of the three phones that slightly overclocks the CPU and GPU. In our benchmarking tests, they did indeed perform slightly better than other Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones. Check out our full Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy deep dive for more, but suffice it to say that this is one of the fastest and most capable phones you can buy. It’s a considerable upgrade from last year’s Galaxy flagships, although we would have liked to have seen an SKU with 12GB of RAM, which is exclusive to the S23 Ultra this time around.
Battery life was also stellar in our testing, thanks in part to the slightly larger 4,700mAh cell. We found that it could easily handle a full day of heavy use, streaming video for hours and hours. With a few precautions, it even neared the two-day mark on some occasions. Charging tops off at 45W, which isn’t the fastest but should be enough for most people. We found that it charged from 0 to 100% in exactly an hour. , but unless you buy Samsung’s wireless chargers, most will top off at 10W via Qi charging. Learn more about the best Galaxy S23 chargers in our guide.
If you want a premium smartphone that can do it all, the Galaxy S23 Plus is the one to get.
Although the Galaxy S23 Plus doesn’t quite match the Galaxy S23 Ultra in camera performance, it’s certainly a capable shooter. It has the same sensors as the previous model, and they still produce spectacular photos. Samsung’s processing really enhances photos in this case, and we found that all three lenses were useful, making this one of the best all-around camera phones you can buy. If you want to take things further, Samsung’s Expert Raw mode allows you to process photos manually. t get the 200MP main shooter that the Galaxy S23 Ultra got this year, so low-light performance was significantly worse in our testing.
In terms of software, Samsung’s One UI is one of the most fully-featured Android skins you can get. It has everything and the kitchen sink — almost to its detriment. We found far too many preinstalled apps during our testing, and although most can be uninstalled, many cannot. Despite this slight feature creep, there’s a lot you can do to make your smartphone look and work exactly as you want it to. It also has exceptional synergy with Samsung’s wearables like the Galaxy Watch 5, with some features being exclusive to Samsung phones.
Another big selling point is Samsung’s unbeatable software support, which now offers a full five years of security updates and four years of Android version updates. No Android brand can match that, not even Google itself. If you’re looking for a premium smartphone that can do it all without pushing past $1,000 MSRP, the Galaxy S23 Plus is the one to get.What makes it stand outVersatile cameras: All three of the S23 Plus’ cameras are high performers, capable of snapping great pictures in a huge variety of situations.
Premium design: Samsung is the king of the Android world, and the S23 Plus pulls out (almost) all the stops.
Flawless performance: Expect no stutters or slowdown — no matter what you throw at this phone.
Gorgeous display: The flat screen is perfectly visible in extreme brightness and extreme darkness, handily beating the competition.
Software support: Samsung’s unparalleled commitment to updates ensures four years of software updates and five years of security updates.
The best of the rest
While we think the Galaxy S23 Plus is the best Android phone for most people, there are plenty of other great options out there. If you’re looking for something a bit more niche, here are our picks for the best of the rest:
Google Pixel 7: For a great Android phone on a tighter budget, the Pixel 7 is an incredible value. Instead of specs, it focuses on what makes smartphones great: cameras and fantastic software features.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: The true successor to the Note 20 Ultra, the S23 Ultra is the most feature-packed and premium smartphone you can buy outside of foldable.
ASUS ROG Phone 7: For mobile gamers, the ROG Phone 7 offers everything you could possibly need and then some, including hardware triggers and a robust ecosystem of accessories.
Google Pixel 7 Pro: The Pixel 7 Pro is larger and has better cameras than the Pixel 7, while still remaining more affordable than the vast majority of flagship Android phones out there.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: As far as foldables go, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is the easiest to recommend. Its pocketable size and attractive design make it a great pick for most people, and after a few iterations of polish, there are now very few tradeoffs for the Flip’s clamshell-style foldable form factor.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5: If you have money to burn, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the most premium device you can buy. It folds out into a tablet and supports an S Pen, making it a unique experience in the Android phone world.
ASUS Zenfone 10: If you want a small Android flagship, the Zenfone 10 is the best by far. It’s ready for one-handed use and doesn’t make any compromises in terms of battery life or performance.
Google Pixel 7a: Not everyone can afford to spend more than $800 on a phone, which is where this budget option comes in. It’s slightly cheaper than the Pixel 7, but it still offers nearly the same experience.