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The Best Android Phones

Android phones come in assorted sizes and at various prices, ranging from cheap handsets with modest screens to expensive foldable models that can turn from a tablet into a phone.

After spending hundreds of hours testing Android smartphones, we've concluded that the Google Pixel 8—which sits in the sweet spot of competitive pricing and great hardware—is the best Android phone for most people.

It offers outstanding software and camera performance, and it costs less than other high-end handsets. It will receive guaranteed software updates for longer than most Android phones, too.

Our pickThe Pixel 8 offers the best version of Android, with guaranteed security updates through fall 2030, and it has one of the best smartphone cameras we've ever tested. It also has excellent build quality and costs less than Apple's latest iPhones.

Google's Pixel smartphones have always offered the best Android software experience, but the Google Pixel 8 proves that Google is doubling down on hardware. It has a crisp 6.2-inch OLED screen and a solid wrap-around aluminum frame. The Pixel 8 also offers the best camera performance of any Android phone save for its sibling, the Pixel 8 Pro, and Google's custom Tensor G3 processor holds its own against the high-end chips in other phones. In addition, the Pixel 8 is more likely to remain secure for years longer than most Android phones thanks to its seven years of guaranteed monthly patches. And at $700, it costs hundreds less than other Android phones that won't last as long or perform as well (though we don't love Google's decision to raise the prices of its latest Pixel models across the board).

Upgrade pickThe Pixel 8 Pro takes the Pixel 8 and adds a bigger, better screen and more camera features, but it's more expensive than previous Pro models.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro has a larger OLED screen than the Pixel 8, with a higher resolution and refresh rate, as well as a 5x telephoto camera. The improvements bump this phone's price up to $1,000, so the value isn't quite as strong as with the Pixel 8. But the Pixel 8 Pro is a more capable phone with the same excellent software and seven years of update support.

Budget pickThe Pixel 8a has a beautiful, bright OLED display with a high refresh rate. It also delivers flagship-level performance, great cameras, and useful AI features, and it will continue to receive software updates for seven years.

The Google Pixel 8a is a flagship phone hidden inside a $500 plastic body. The Pixel 8a offers nearly everything that more expensive Pixel models do, including a 120 Hz OLED screen, Google's custom Tensor G3 chip, the high-quality cameras that Pixel phones are known for, facial recognition and an in-display fingerprint reader, solid battery life, and Google's AI features. The Pixel 8a also receives software and security updates for seven years—the same as the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.

Also greatThe S24 Ultra, which combines a top-tier display, a powerful processor, a stylus, and new AI features, is the best Samsung phone. But considering its high price, you should buy it only if it's on sale.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra retains nearly everything great about the previous Ultra model, offering a large and beautiful OLED screen, an included S Pen stylus, and a 200-megapixel primary camera. The S24 Ultra also has a new titanium frame for added durability, and its OLED screen is brighter with flat instead of curved edges, as on an iPhone 15 Pro. It has the latest Snapdragon chip and offers new AI features; it also promises seven years of software updates.

As for the camera, the S24 Ultra swaps the S23 Ultra's 10x "periscope" zoom for a shorter, 5x zoom with higher resolution. Though the S24 Ultra takes excellent pictures, the Pixel 8 Pro produces better images for a lot less money. Samsung's top-end Galaxy phone has always been expensive, and the price increase to $1,300 on the S24 Ultra—if you don't trade in an older Samsung device or buy it on sale—is a hard pill to swallow.

Also greatThe Galaxy S24 has a marginally larger screen and battery than last year's Galaxy S23, and it has the same powerful chip as the S24 Ultra. It's more compact than the Ultra, and it promises software updates until early 2031.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 shares the S24 Ultra's Snapdragon processor, Galaxy AI features, and seven years of committed security and software updates. But it's much smaller than the giant Ultra, and it has a slightly different camera setup.

Our other smartphone coverage

The Best Budget Android Phones

You don't have to pay a lot for a full-featured phone, and Samsung's Galaxy A15 features a beautiful OLED screen and good performance for under $200.

Which iPhone Should I Get?

USB-C, and better screens and cameras, make the iPhone 15 easy to recommend, but iPhone 14 owners don't need to upgrade.

The Key To Modular Smartphones

Cellphone startup Fairphone is now taking pre-orders for their modular smartphone, which is expected to start shipping in December of this year. Although I'm much more familiar with Google's project Ara, this is the first modular concept to make it to market. It does lead me to a few questions though: is this actually a modular smartphone, and how widely will modular concepts be adopted?

Great in Theory, Questionable in Practice Camera module concept from Project Ara

What if I told you that your smartphone camera was user upgradeable? When the next great gigapixel sensor comes out, just pop out that module and pop in a new one. What if the same went for the processor, the screen, or the charging circuitry? Surely everyone wants the USB type-C fast charging that is available in the new Google Nexus Phones.

It sounds great, but the truth is that the majority of smartphone users don't know what they have anyway. Orienting our modular design thinking to the high-end market is a miscalculation. The people who want the highest specs also want the thinnest, sexiest phones. Those are already slimmed down to the point of insanity — iPhone screws now have imperceptibly different lengths to account for this thinning of design. These tolerances make modularity nearly impossible.

Standards iFixit shows how to replace all of the Nexus 5 "modules"

You could say that I already have a modular phone. I have a Nexus 5 and I love it so much I decided not to upgrade to the Nexus 5X that was recently released. Instead I purchased a replacement screen (I had a small chip in one corner for 11 months), battery, and back plate. From the outside this makes it a brand new phone and restored my time between recharges. All of the pieces have connectors that allow them to be easily replaced.

What we're really talking about with modular smartphones are standards that can be used from component to component across all phones. This involves settling on a physical form-factor, and making sure the software can handle each component that is developed. That increases code complexity and makes it harder to squash bugs. This is already an issue with single-manufacturer phones and is unlikely to get better when bringing in modules from different companies.

Currently, Google is working on their own modular standard which includes active data handling in the framework itself. The Fairphone design uses the frame as a substrate with conductors between each slot that don't actively participate in the way the phone operates.

There is a Customer

Thinking back to the personal computer revolution, it's easy to imagine a similar path for smartphones. We eventually had standards for motherboard mounting systems so that cases could be made to match multiple manufacturers. The same went for expansion cards which adopted ISA and later PCI. The list continues with processor sockets, memory sockets, even the power connectors for everything inside of that beige box.

That last part is of course the main problem. Who wants a beige box for their smartphone? These devices are a status symbol and a fashion statement. The established smartphone market is far too fickle for wide adoption of a modular standard that would make the phones look uniform, boxy, etc. I'm not saying this is impossible to get around, but before you can get around that issue you need to establish modularity as a proven smartphone technology. I think the early adopters of modular smartphones are going to be in the developing world.

Much of the population of the developing world doesn't have computers, and they're going to skip them in favor of a smartphone. The original PC revolution put up with beige boxes because they were cheap to get into, and could potentially be upgraded. I think the same will happen with modular smartphones. If you can drop 10% of the cost by having a 640×480 camera module instead of a 4k video sensor you're making great progress. Especially so if you can later upgrade that camera. The same can be said for the pitiful 8GB of flash that many low-end phones still offer. What these phones lack in visual appeal will be made up for by aftermarket phone cases to protect the investment.

When I was growing up I was the "computer guy" that people knew and looked to for help with their machines. Time and again I've ordered memory upgrades for aging machines (all while encouraging the owners to try out Linux and get more out of their aging horsepower). I expect the same phenomenon to develop in the communities of people adopting modular smartphones as their first Internet technology.

Why Would Manufacturers Embrace This?

This is a question I cannot answer. Why would smartphone manufacturers go willingly toward modular design? As far as I can tell there are only disincentives here. It's not surprising that Fairphone is a startup and not already in the market. Google — who is behind Project Ara — is not a hardware manufacturer. They are an advertising and content delivery company that uses third-parties like LG and Huawei to manufacture their gear.

For modular design to work you need to allow anyone to build modules. This is why I see my current Nexus 5 as having little to differentiate it from how Fairphone works. Google produces components for the Nexus 5, Fairphone produces modules for their handset. Fairphone paid for research and development of the standard and you can bet they're not going to give it away for free. If they do allow other manufacturers to make modules there will surely be a licensing fee and this has the potential to drive up the cost and erode the ability for this phone to capture the developing world's hard-earned cash.

There are some ways around this. Sony and Microsoft have long sold their gaming consoles at losses, only to make up for it with licensing fees for game publishers. Amazon sells their new Kindle Fire Tablet for $50 but you have to pay an additional $13 if you don't want to see advertising on the home screen. What if one of the hardware modules is the Google Play store, another the Apple Store, and yet a third the Amazon Store? Would these retailers pay a premium to have exclusive access to each phone?

It's wonderful to see what is going on with these concepts. But for now I see them as phones that are much easier to repair, and may have the capacity to be upgraded. They're not modular, but with continued decreases in the size and cost of electronic components it's conceivable that there will be a modular-phone movement — as long as a clear design standard that works like a champ finds wide adoption among manufacturers.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024: Samsung's Next Foldable Phones Have Built-In Google AI

After Samsung first announcing onboard AI in January, the company expanded what it's calling the Galaxy AI ecosystem on July 10 at the Galaxy Unpacked event in Paris. The company announced its next two foldable phones, plus new earbuds and wearables. All of the products shown off at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked are available for preorder now and will come out on July 24 internationally.

Samsung offers seven generations of OS updates and seven years of security updates, similar to Apple's security and OS lifetimes.

Samsung introduces new Galaxy Z Fold and Flip phones The Galaxy Z Fold6 (left) and Galaxy Z Flip6 (right). Image: Samsung

Samsung's two newest phones are the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6, both of which use Google's Gemini AI for translation, creative features and cosmetic changes.

Galaxy Z Fold6

The 7.6-inch Galaxy Z Fold6 is "our slimmest and lightest foldable," said Annika Bizon, director of brand and channel marketing at Samsung Electronics UK and Ireland, at Galaxy Unpacked.

Mobility must-reads

The large, two column display of the Galaxy Z Fold6 opens side to side, with thinner edges and increased durability compared to the previous generation. Galaxy AI appears here in the form of Google's Circle to Search, which lets you circle items to shop or to identify natural features like constellations. Google Circle to Search on Samsung phones will be able to translate menus and signs with full screen translation and solve math problems while showing its work. Galaxy AI is multimodal, which means you can speak, write or gesture to focus the AI's attention.

"On Galaxy phones, you can just say 'hey Google' to pop Gemini onto your screen for quick help," said Jenny Blackburn, vice president of Gemini user experience at Google, at the Galaxy Unpacked presentation.

"The large, immersive screen is perfect for multitasking, so you can watch a video in full screen, and soon you'll be able to move the Gemini overlay to a side panel so it can help you with what you're doing," said Blackburn.

Especially interesting for business is the ability to record, transcribe and export audio with AI in Samsung Notes, which could save a lot of time during meetings or interviews.

For creative work and marketing, Galaxy AI enables Sketch to Image, a way to prompt Gemini to generate images based on a drawing you've made. You can sketch on photos, too, and then make photorealistic changes to them with AI. Galaxy AI will suggest how to reimagine images.

Inside Galaxy Z Fold6 is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform. Galaxy Z Fold6 holds between 256 GB and 1 TB of internal storage, depending on the model.

Galaxy Z Flip6

Samsung's new vertical foldable, the Galaxy Z Flip6, also comes with a suite of AI tools

Samsung highlighted photo editing tools that can automatically zoom, depending on the number of people in view, or generate extra frames to create slow motion videos.

The large vapor chamber, used for the first time on a phone in the Flip line, improves battery life through more efficient cooling. Addressing concerns about the strength of the hinge, Chosen says the Galaxy Z Flip6 has improved durability.

How Google's AI is integrated into Samsung's sixth generation phones

Galaxy AI will be on 200 million Galaxy devices this year, said T. M. Roh, president of Samsung's mobile division. Galaxy AI can support 16 languages on-device even without an internet connection.

The goal is "safe and inclusive AI so that no one is left out," said Roh, with "a hybrid approach that combines on-device security and privacy with cloud based creative power." Like Apple Intelligence, Google AI on Samsung devices will connect to the cloud for certain needs and resources.

For security, the AI-powered Live Translate and Interpreter features are handled on the device.

SEE: Google's energy-hungry AI efforts have put a damper on the tech giant's sustainability claims.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra and Galaxy Watch 7 are on the go The Galaxy Watch Ultra's durability, battery life and water resistance are designed for outdoor buffs and athletes. Image: Samsung

The debut of the Galaxy Watch Ultra brings a high-end wearable for 'adventure,' with water resistance and a durable frame for outdoor buffs and athletes. It boasts up to 100 hours of battery life in power saving mode, a titanium frame, water resistance and performance three times faster than the previous watch's CPU. The main draws of the Ultra are the battery life, a precision GPS system and in-depth health monitoring that connects to the Samsung Health app.

Samsung Watch Ultra is

Galaxy Watch 7 is the more mainstream watch, with some Samsung Health app features included and a range of models starting at $299. The health widgets include sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring and FDA-authorized sleep apnea detection.

Galaxy Ring revealed Galaxy Ring's design is dramatic and stylish. Image: Samsung

Speaking of health, the Galaxy Ring seems designed to provide as much guidance about a healthy lifestyle as one could want. The Ring syncs to the Samsung Health app and is designed to be worn day and night to track sleep and energy.

Galaxy AI offers insights based on health tracking, too. Sleep tracking produces an "energy score" calculated from your sleep, heart rate and heart rate variability. Using that score, your devices can suggest when you're fully rested or when you should "take it easy" or "relax," depending on your condition.

The Ring battery lasts up to 7 days on a single charge. The Galaxy Ring costs $399.99 and does not require a subscription.

Galaxy Buds3 and Galaxy Buds3 Pro bring a familiar shape and 'smart' noise cancellation You'll have two options with Samsung's newest headphones. Image: Samsung

Samsung's next high-end earbuds are the Galaxy Buds3 Pro, which were announced today alongside the next-generation Galaxy Buds3. The bladed lights on the Galaxy Buds3 Pro add a futuristic flair, while the elongated shape recalls Apple's rival AirPods.

"Dynamically adjust the sound curve and active noise cancellation" for an '"intelligent' sound experience," said Malika Chraibi, project manager for wearables at Samsung Electronics France. For example, the Galaxy Buds3 Pro could provide effective, smart noise cancellation for crowded offices, especially if that 'intelligence' works as well as advertised. Chraibi said the buds can filter out loud road construction but will let the sound of an ambulance siren through, for example.

The basic Buds3 have some of the same noise cancellation features as the Pro version, but without the cap at the top, some of the 'smart' features won't kick in.

The Galaxy Buds 3 cost $179, while the Galaxy Buds3 Pro sells for $249.

On the eve of the Paris Olympics, Samsung leans into health and exercise features

The Parisian styling on the Galaxy Unpacked summer event lent itself to a tie-in with the Summer Games, and Samsung emphasized how its devices can keep track of health and wellness. If you're into that, the interplay between the wearables and the phones could provide an easy way to check in on your health and energy at work conferences, on long work days or when traveling to meet with clients.

SEE: Paris Olympics 2024: Cyber Attackers are Targeting Companies Associated With Games, Report Finds

With AI, health data from your Samsung devices can be combined into 'data graphs' that make recommendations and alert you to possible problems.If you have a low energy score on your data graph, your phone can suggest skipping "your 7 AM spin class," said Bizon.

Samsung's efforts here are strikingly similar to those of their major competitor in this area, the Apple Watch and Apple health data ecosystem.

TechRepublic is covering Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024 remotely.

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