The 5 Best Android Phones of 2023

May 15, 2023

Android phones vary widely in both price and user experience, from just a couple hundred dollars to well over $1,000, and from unbelievably frustrating to unbelievably impressive.

After spending hundreds of hours testing Android smartphones, we think the Google Pixel 7—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 much less than other high-end handsets. It will receive guaranteed software updates for longer than most Android phones, too.

The Pixel 7 offers the best version of Android, with guaranteed security updates through fall 2027—plus the best Android smartphone camera we’ve ever tested. It also has excellent build quality and costs half as much as Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $599.

Google's Pixel smartphones have always offered the best Android software experience, but the Google Pixel 7 proves that Google is taking the hardware seriously, as well. It has a crisp 6.3-inch OLED screen and a solid wrap-around aluminum frame. The Pixel 7 also offers the best camera performance of any Android phone save for its sibling, the Pixel 7 Pro, and Google's custom Tensor G2 processor holds its own against the high-end chips in other phones. In addition, the Pixel 7 is more likely to remain secure for years longer than most Android phones thanks to its five years of guaranteed monthly patches. And at $600, it costs hundreds less than other Android phones that won't last as long or perform as well.

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The Pixel 7 Pro takes the amazing Pixel 7 and adds a bigger, better screen and a zoom camera—and it's still cheaper than the competition.

You save $100 (13%)

The Google Pixel 7 Pro is similar to the Pixel 7 but adds a larger OLED screen with a higher resolution and refresh rate, more expansive 5G support, and a 5x telephoto camera. These improvements bump the price up to $900, so the value isn't quite as strong as with the Pixel 7. But the Pixel 7 Pro is a more capable phone with the same excellent software and five years of update support.

The Pixel 7a has a higher price tag than Google's budget phones usually do, but offers more features for the cost. The 7a has a better display, an improved camera, face unlock, and Google's custom Tensor G2 processor in a plastic body. It's not as premium as a flagship Pixel, but you get plenty for your money.

You save $50 (9%)

With activation later

Google's Pixel 7a is $50 more than last year's Pixel 6a, but offers upgraded features that make it only a slight step down from Google's flagship Pixel 7. The Pixel 7a is powered by Google's latest processor and has an improved 64-megapixel camera sensor, more RAM, wireless charging, Face Unlock, and an upgraded 1080p display with a smoother 90 Hz refresh rate. The Pixel 7a has a plastic body, an aluminum frame, a dual camera setup on the rear, and the same great version of Android 13 with five years of security updates.

A fast processor, a huge screen, class-leading camera hardware, and a stylus make the Galaxy S23 Ultra the most full-featured Android phone available. But you should buy it only if it's on sale.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $1199.99.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has the biggest, brightest screen of any smartphone you can buy, and the included S Pen can help you take notes, mark up documents, and create art in ways you can't on any other phone. It offers the best build quality of any Android phone we’ve tested, with a custom aluminum-alloy frame that wraps around the edges and matte glass that repels fingerprints. The S23 Ultra also has the best camera hardware in a phone, including a 200-megapixel primary lens and a 10x "periscope" zoom. Its primary drawback is its high price of about $1,200. For $300 less, the Google Pixel 7 Pro is better at most things. The S23 Ultra is ideal if you demand maximum versatility from your phone, but you should buy it only on sale—we recommend purchasing when it's closer to $1,000 or if you have an older Samsung phone to trade in.

The Galaxy S23 has the same powerful processor as the S23 Ultra, but its compact frame and smaller display make it easier to use.

Most good Android phones are big and heavy, but the Samsung Galaxy S23 is petite enough for those with smaller hands. The 6.1-inch OLED display looks even better than the Google Pixel 7's screen, and the build quality is every bit as good as that of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It's built to last on the software side, too, with the same five-year update commitment as on Samsung's other flagship phones. The Galaxy S23 lacks the advanced camera array of the Galaxy S22 Ultra, but it still shoots better photos than anything else that isn't a Pixel. However, the smaller size means a smaller battery—the Galaxy S23 lasts a day, but only just.

You don't have to spend a fortune to get a phone that does just about everything you need in your day-to-day.

The iPhone 14's excellent camera, screen, and battery life make it the best iPhone for most people.

The Pixel 7 offers the best version of Android, with guaranteed security updates through fall 2027—plus the best Android smartphone camera we’ve ever tested. It also has excellent build quality and costs half as much as Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $599.

The Pixel 7 Pro takes the amazing Pixel 7 and adds a bigger, better screen and a zoom camera—and it's still cheaper than the competition.

You save $100 (13%)

The Pixel 7a has a higher price tag than Google's budget phones usually do, but offers more features for the cost. The 7a has a better display, an improved camera, face unlock, and Google's custom Tensor G2 processor in a plastic body. It's not as premium as a flagship Pixel, but you get plenty for your money.

You save $50 (9%)

With activation later

A fast processor, a huge screen, class-leading camera hardware, and a stylus make the Galaxy S23 Ultra the most full-featured Android phone available. But you should buy it only if it's on sale.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $1199.99.

The Galaxy S23 has the same powerful processor as the S23 Ultra, but its compact frame and smaller display make it easier to use.

I’ve been testing Android phones for Wirecutter since 2015. I’ve also written more than a million words about Android phones, tablets, and software on websites such as Android Police, ExtremeTech, and Tested over the past decade. I’ve lived with dozens of Android phones during that time; I’ve used and reviewed more phones in the past year than most people will own in their entire lives.

We’ve tested dozens of Android phones over the past few years, and most suffer from poor software, sluggish performance, terrible design choices, or some combination of all three. Here are the criteria we use to decide which phones are worth buying:

If you’re happy with your current phone, don't get a new one yet. On the other hand, if you use your phone constantly throughout the day, and it isn't serving you well anymore, buy a new one.

Another reason to consider an upgrade is if your current phone no longer receives software updates. All software has bugs that lead to security vulnerabilities, and if your phone isn't getting updates, it isn't getting fixes, either. Plus, without updates, the phone won't be able to take advantage of apps that require features present only in the latest OS.

If you’re happy with your current phone, don't get a new one yet.

If your phone is more than a year or two old and your biggest complaint is that the battery life sucks, consider replacing the battery before replacing the phone. Most recent phones use a sealed-in battery, but you can usually pay the manufacturer or a third-party service to replace it. Although that's a hassle, it costs a lot less.

When it's time to buy a new phone, we recommend choosing the best-rated, most recently released phone you can afford. We don't recommend saving money by settling for whatever cheap phone your carrier offers. Those inexpensive phones often have some combination of substandard specs, poor build quality, a bad interface, and an outdated, crufty version of Android that will never see updates again. Chances are, you’d feel the difference in quality and usability every day, and because those cheap phones are often already a year or two old when you buy them, yours would be three or four years old by the time you pay it off—long past the last software update it would get. You’re almost always better off paying a bit more for a newer and better phone that you’ll enjoy using for at least two years. Among the major US carriers, that usually means paying somewhere between $20 and $40 per month for two years on a finance plan.

Another popular option is to buy an unlocked phone outright. For many of the best Android phones, however, that means paying $600 or more all at once (the Pixel 6a aside). If that's too much for your budget, you can buy a great Android phone unlocked—which means it’ll work on any compatible carrier—for $200 to $300, or even less if you’re willing to sacrifice a few features. We cover those phones in a separate guide to the best budget Android phones.

The Pixel 7 offers the best version of Android, with guaranteed security updates through fall 2027—plus the best Android smartphone camera we’ve ever tested. It also has excellent build quality and costs half as much as Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $599.

Google's Pixel 7 provides everything you need in a high-end Android smartphone, for less money than the competition. It offers Google's latest custom Tensor ARM chip, an excellent OLED screen, and a camera experience second only to that of the more expensive Pixel 7 Pro. Android 13 on the Pixel 7 reaches almost iOS levels of polish, and Google has promised security updates through late 2027. You can find phones with longer battery life or more camera lenses, but they can't approach the Pixel 7's value. It costs $600 unlocked, and it supports all the 5G bands you’re likely to need.

The Pixel 7 is available unlocked with support for all the major carriers across 4G and 5G. AT&T and Verizon have their own versions, too—but you shouldn't buy directly from the carriers. They offer only a more expensive version of the phone with millimeter-wave 5G, which no one needs and you should not pay extra for.

Google's new Tensor G2 processor powers the Pixel 7 (and Pixel 7 Pro). This custom chip helps the Pixel user experience feel smooth and responsive, and it adds improved support for on-device machine learning. That means features like Google Assistant and live translations are faster and more reliable, and since the phone can handle more complex AI tasks, less of your data is sent to Google's servers. This iteration of the Pixel phone also has more than enough graphical power to play advanced mobile games like Call of Duty Mobile, Fortnite, and Diablo Immortal.

Google released Android 13 earlier this year, and the Pixel 7 is the first phone to ship with the new software. Android 13 offers more Material You theme options, security enhancements, and a raft of smaller improvements from Android 12. Google's version of Android for its Pixel phones doesn't have as many gimmicks as you’ll find on a Samsung or OnePlus phone, but they all work and are easy to use, which is often not the case with nonstandard versions of Android. The Pixel lineup also has some exclusive features such as Magic Eraser and a free Google VPN.

If you want a phone that's actually good at making phone calls, the Pixel models provide features like Call Screen, which checks that unknown callers aren't scammers; Hold for Me, which waits through those interminable customer-service holds on your behalf; and Direct My Call, which turns labyrinthian phone trees into a visible on-screen menu. With the Pixel 7, Google has enhanced Direct My Call, adding the ability to display options even before they are read (using data from its Google Duplex assistant service). This kind of thoughtfulness and refinement is rare on Android phones.

Even the little things have received Google's care and attention, and the resulting software experience is smoother and just plain better in comparison with what you get on non-Google Android phones. The touch targets around buttons are more forgiving of poorly aimed taps, the menu layouts are organized intuitively, and there's functionally zero delay between your touching the screen and seeing the response.

Google promises five years of monthly security patches for the Pixel 7, which should keep it secure through at least fall 2027. Unfortunately, Google is committing to only three years of OS updates; that means the Pixel 7 will get Android 14, 15, and 16. This is the second-best Android update schedule you’ll find, as Samsung offers one more year of OS updates than Google does—but all of its updates arrive slower than Google's.

The Pixel 7 has a 6.3-inch OLED display that stretches nearly edge to edge with minimal borders. The brightness is increased in comparison with the display on last year's Pixel models, so the 2022 version is easier to read in bright sunlight—the Pixel 7 gets almost as bright as Samsung's best phones. In contrast to the LCD screens used in most inexpensive phones, the OLED panel here offers better contrast with deeper blacks, and its 90 Hz refresh rate makes on-screen motion look smoother than on 60 Hz displays. (The Google Pixel 7 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra each have a 120 Hz screen.) We also love Google's extra-dim feature, which makes the display less painfully bright in a dark room. In addition, there's an optical fingerprint scanner under the screen; it's not as fast or accurate as Samsung's ultrasonic sensor, but it's much better than the one in the Pixel 6a or in last year's Pixel 6.

The Google Pixel 7 has a 50-megapixel primary camera and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. The color accuracy, speed, crispness, and reliability of the Pixel 7 camera are unmatched right now. You can take the Pixel 7 out of your pocket, launch the camera, and snap a photo without any fuss—and the results are almost always better than what you’d get from the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra or any other Android smartphone. If you do want to tinker with your photo composition, the Pixel camera app offers options to tweak exposure and color temperature live in the viewfinder, and no other phone camera can lock focus on your subject quite as well.

Google has also employed the Pixel's AI-fueled image processing to help its True Tone technology accurately render darker skin tones, which is a problem on other phones, and the Guided Frame feature helps individuals with low vision frame their selfies with voice prompts. The only missing piece is optical zoom, which is limited to the Pixel 7 Pro. But even without a telephoto zoom lens, the Pixel 7—using digital zoom on its 50-megapixel primary camera—works surprisingly well when you want to get closer to your subject.

The Pixel 7 doesn't have the biggest battery at 4,355 mAh, but that's more than enough capacity to prevent range anxiety. This handset will last a bit longer than the Galaxy S23 Ultra—I easily went a full day with plenty left over. I also appreciate Google's build-quality improvements over last year's Pixel phones. The aluminum frame now wraps around the camera housing, with no fragile plastic or glass exposed, and the buttons are stable and tactile (the Pixel 6's buttons were a bit mushy). I’m not the biggest fan of the glossy, slippery finish on the glass back, but at least the matte-aluminum frame adds some grip.

It's hard to find negative things to say about the Google Pixel 7, especially considering its extremely competitive price. Most of the "missing" features are things we would not expect to see in a $600 phone anyway, but the Pixel 7 is already pushing boundaries. It would have been nice to see Google include an optical-zoom camera on this phone that serves as a sort of telephoto lens, even if it couldn't match the 5x zoom of the camera on the Pixel 7 Pro.

Google's fast-charging speeds are underwhelming. The Pixel 7 tops out at just 20 watts whether you buy the official 30 W charger (the phone doesn't come with one) or use a high-wattage third-party plug. That's still faster than the 18 W charging speed of the Pixel 6a, but it falls short of the results from phones like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which charges at 45 W. Best case, you can get a little less than half a charge in 30 minutes.

The Pixel 7 Pro takes the amazing Pixel 7 and adds a bigger, better screen and a zoom camera—and it's still cheaper than the competition.

You save $100 (13%)

The Google Pixel 7 Pro is simply a bigger, better version of the Pixel 7, but it costs 50% more. It runs Google's excellent version of Android 13, has Google's new Tensor processor, and will receive lengthy update support. The Pixel 7 Pro's higher price buys you several key enhancements, including a larger, 6.7-inch OLED screen that's both sharper and smoother than that of the Pixel 7, as well as an additional 5x optical-zoom lens on the back. And thanks to that lens, the Pixel 7 Pro offers the best camera experience on an Android phone we’ve ever tested.

Like its smaller sibling, the Pixel 7 Pro skips the latest Qualcomm chip found in many high-end Android flagship handsets in favor of Google's second-generation Tensor processor. The bigger phone is also blazingly responsive, and it takes full advantage of the 120 Hz refresh rate of its 1440p OLED screen, reacting instantly and smoothly when you interact with it. The Tensor chip processes machine-learning data locally, making some tasks, such as Google Assistant responses, much faster than on other phones.

The Google Pixel 7 Pro has three camera lenses on the back compared with the Pixel 7's two: In addition to the same 50-megapixel primary camera and 12-megapixel ultrawide camera as on the Pixel 7, it sports a 48-megapixel 5x "periscope" zoom lens to capture more distant subjects. Samsung offers a similar camera setup on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, though that phone features a more powerful 10x zoom. Nevertheless, the 5x optical zoom on the Pixel 7 Pro, paired with Google's image processing, produces great results. Even if you need to zoom past 4x, the Pixel 7 Pro retains detail in the processed image surprisingly well. You don't have as many options in the camera app as on Samsung phones—Google's software outputs only 12.5-megapixel binned photos and doesn't offer a full-resolution mode on the 50-megapixel primary lens, whereas the software on most other phones provides the option to switch to full resolution. Still, the Pixel 7 Pro takes the best photos of any Android phone we’ve tested, and you don't have to tinker with settings to get these stunning snapshots.

The only hardware drawback of the Pixel 7 Pro in comparison with the standard Pixel 7 is arguably its size. The Pixel 7 Pro is about the same size as the Galaxy S23 Ultra, so it may be ungainly even if you have large hands. It's made of the same slippery glass as the smaller Pixel model, and the metal has a smooth finish that makes it even harder to grasp, so you’ll probably want to put a case on this one. As on the smaller phone, Google made several minor but important improvements to the Pro hardware this year, including moving the power and volume buttons lower to make them easier to reach on this big phone.

Then there's the price: The Pixel 7 Pro is $300 more expensive than the Pixel 7. Part of the blame for that rests with support for millimeter-wave 5G, which is included on the Pixel 7 Pro in the US. That's a big jump in price—you still get your money's worth with this phone, but the base-model Pixel 7 is a better deal if you don't need the larger, upgraded display, the extra camera, and the additional 5G support that the Pixel 7 Pro offers.

The Pixel 7a has a higher price tag than Google's budget phones usually do, but offers more features for the cost. The 7a has a better display, an improved camera, face unlock, and Google's custom Tensor G2 processor in a plastic body. It's not as premium as a flagship Pixel, but you get plenty for your money.

You save $50 (9%)

With activation later

The Google Pixel 7a looks exactly like the Pixel 6a, save for a few new color options. However, the new model has plenty of features that make for a worthwhile upgrade, especially if you’re using an older Android phone. The $499 Pixel 7a bridges the gap between budget and high-end, and for $200 less than a flagship Pixel 7, you get plenty of premium features.

The Pixel 7a is available from the Google Store unlocked, and it should work out of the box on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. The Pixel 7a has the same support for 5G frequencies as the Pixel 7, and it also omits support for millimeter-wave 5G unless purchased from Verizon.

Most phone makers customize the Android OS to some extent, almost always to the detriment of the phone's performance, whether they’re adding features and extra apps or merely adjusting the style and branding. Google's phones have their fair share of software modifications, but they avoid cluttering the experience or slowing the device down. The Android 13 operating system on the Pixel 7a is almost identical to the experience on the Pixel 7, with features such as the on-device Google Assistant, which speeds things up by doing more voice processing on the phone rather than waiting for Google's servers to do it. You can also have Google Assistant screen your calls for spam or wait on hold for you.

In addition to having software that's great to use, the Pixel 7a should remain secure and up to date longer than most other Android phones. It has the same robust update policy as the more expensive Pixel models: three years of OS updates and five years of security patches. That means the phone is still guaranteed to get Android 14, 15, and 16 and security fixes through summer 2028. These updates will also arrive on the Pixel 7a soon after release, whereas other phones often make you wait months, if they receive a new software version at all. Samsung phones get one additional year of security updates (four total), but those updates take longer to arrive.

The Pixel 7a resembles the Pixel 7, though lacks the wrap-around metal frame for the camera bar, and the back is recycled plastic instead of Gorilla Glass. The newest Pixel has a 6.1-inch 1080p OLED display that is plenty bright, though not as bright as the flagship Pixels. It has a high brightness mode software feature that replicates higher peak brightness for outdoor viewing, which is useful. The display has also been improved with a faster 90Hz refresh rate, an upgrade from the Pixel 6a's 60 Hz panel. This means the screen will scroll more smoothly without a noticeable hit to battery life.

Like the Pixel 7, the Pixel 7a is powered by Google's latest Tensor G2 processor, so it can easily handle various tasks that rely on machine learning and speech recognition, such as the camera's Face Unblur and Motion Mode features and a system-wide closed captioning feature called Live Caption. With an upgrade in RAM from 6 GB to 8 GB, the Pixel 7a can now efficiently handle more background apps and tasks without any lags or delays.

The Pixel 7a's new 64-megapixel main camera lens produces slightly larger photos than the ones from the Pixel 7 Pro's 50 MP sensor, which means you see more detail. Comparing images captured from the Pixel 7 Pro and the 7a, there were almost no differences. Results from its AI-assisted digital zoom are almost as good as what you can get from phones with dedicated telephoto lenses, and in night-mode photography the Pixel 7a bests anything other than the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro.

The Pixel 7a has a slightly larger battery than the Pixel 7, and in living with the 7a as our main daily driver, the new phone easily lasted a full 24 hours with moderate usage. However, when playing demanding games like Call of Duty Mobile or relying on Google Maps continuously during a 50-minute road trip, the battery drained quickly, sometimes barely making it to the end of the day. The Pixel 7a only supports 18 W wired charging, which is slower than other Android devices that support faster-wired charging of up to 45 W.

The Pixel 7a has a fingerprint reader located under the display, and although it's not the fastest scanner on a smartphone, it is faster than the Pixel 6a. Google has also added support for Face Unlock, like the other Pixel 7 phones. It's a useful and just as fast secondary option for unlocking the phone, provided there is sufficient lighting available.

A fast processor, a huge screen, class-leading camera hardware, and a stylus make the Galaxy S23 Ultra the most full-featured Android phone available. But you should buy it only if it's on sale.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $1199.99.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best phone in Samsung's lineup, and it's your best bet if you’re looking for a premium, no-compromises Android experience. It has an OLED display that looks flawless in all lighting conditions, it feels better made than any other Android phone, it provides four camera lenses that together give you more shooting options than even the Google Pixel 7 Pro does, and it comes with an integrated S Pen stylus, just as the old Galaxy Note phones did. Samsung promises to keep this phone updated through 2028, too. However, Google's Pixel 7 and 7 Pro take better photos most of the time. Plus, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is far too large for comfortable one-handed use, and it costs about $1,200. You shouldn't pay full price for the Galaxy S23 Ultra, but it frequently goes on sale, and Samsung offers generous trade-in deals for older phones.

Samsung's One UI version of Android may not be as clean and intuitive as Google's, but the latest One UI 5.1 avoids the cluttered features and redundant apps of older versions. Samsung also offers five years of security patches and four years of OS updates—that's one year longer on the OS side than even Google Pixel phones. That's quite a turnaround from just a few years ago when Samsung was among the slowest to update phones. However, Samsung is still slower to release updates than Google. Samsung sometimes misses a month of security patches, and OS updates take months longer to arrive than they do on Pixel phones—Android 13, for example, came to last year's Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra about three months after it appeared on Pixel models.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra has enough power to smooth over most of the rough edges that drag the software down on less-advanced phones. You’ll find many more preloaded features here than on Google's Pixel phones, including the DeX desktop mode, stackable widgets, deep lock-screen customization, and enhanced Link to Windows functionality. If you want what the Galaxy S23 line offers, great—you don't have to install as many third-party apps. But if you don't, it can be annoying and time-consuming to disable all the Samsung extras.

Samsung's Galaxy S23 line has an exclusive version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, featuring a faster CPU and GPU than other Gen 2 devices. The difference is modest, but the Galaxy S23 Ultra is technically the fastest Android phone available—it can even rival the latest iPhone with its custom A15 chip. The S23 Ultra runs high-end mobile games like Fortnite and Genshin Impact better than the Pixel 7. All phones heat up during extended use, resulting in performance slowdowns; the Galaxy S23 Ultra copes with this better than most (including the smaller S23 variants), losing just a little speed during long gaming sessions.

Though the Galaxy S23 Ultra's screen curves very slightly on the left and right edges, the effect is less extreme compared with the S22 Ultra. This design makes the newer model easier to hold, but the phone is still massive next to the entry-level Galaxy S23 or the Google Pixel 7, and it's even heavier than the similarly sized Pixel 7 Pro.

Samsung is at the forefront of OLED technology, and it always puts the best screen possible on its flagship phones. Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy S23 Ultra's OLED screen looks better than any other smartphone we’ve tested, and that's what we’d expect for the asking price. It's an enormous 6.8-inch OLED with a 1440×3088 resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate. The refresh is also variable, dropping as low as 1 Hz on static screens to save power. The display keeps text and images sharp and detailed even if you scrutinize it. It offers rich, even colors whether you’re in bed at night or outside in direct sunlight—the range is even greater than on the Google Pixel 7 Pro. Even with that gigantic display, the Galaxy S23 Ultra's battery lasts more than a day with a mix of messaging, gaming, and video, but you might struggle to get a full two days.

Samsung no longer makes Galaxy Note phones, but the Galaxy S23 Ultra offers basically the same functionality. The included S Pen stylus slots into the phone body, connecting over Bluetooth for features like gestures (not very useful) and camera shutter controls (very useful). With the S23 Ultra's 120 Hz screen, the S Pen feels especially smooth—on a par with the Apple Pencil. It's great for taking notes, marking up documents, and drawing.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra offers the most-advanced camera hardware of any Android phone—even better than what you can get from the Pixel phones or last year's S22 Ultra. It has a 200-megapixel primary sensor, a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens, and two 10-megapixel telephoto zoom lenses (3x and 10x). The folded "periscope" 10x sensor is especially impressive for a phone camera, allowing you to take photos that aren't possible on a Pixel. That said, the S23 Ultra takes longer exposures than the Pixel, making action shots harder to capture, and the 200-megapixel camera isn't a game changer. If you’re just pulling out your phone to take a quick snapshot, the Pixel 7 will take a better photo than the S23 Ultra almost every time. But if you’re shooting 4K or 8K video, taking burst shots, changing zoom levels, or using portrait mode, the S23 Ultra is more capable.

The Galaxy S23 has the same powerful processor as the S23 Ultra, but its compact frame and smaller display make it easier to use.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 offers most of the software features and the same powerful processor as in the S23 Ultra in a much more manageable size. Other top-tier Android phones have enormous screens nearing 7 inches and hefty batteries to power them, which can be tough for people with smaller hands or those who prefer a device that they can use with one hand. The 6.1-inch Galaxy S23 fits easily in one hand and won't stick out of the pockets in your skinny jeans.

Like the Google Pixel 7, the Galaxy S23 has a screen resolution of 1080p (lower than that of the Pixel 7 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra), but the display is almost as sharp as those phones because it's so much more compact. It also matches the best-in-class brightness rating of the Galaxy S23 Ultra, leaving the Pixel in second place. The 6.1-inch diagonal measurement would have made this a huge phone in years past, but it's one of the smallest high-end devices today. The front is almost all screen—the bezels are symmetrical and narrow all the way around, making the Galaxy S23 easier to hold in one hand than our other picks.

The Galaxy S23 runs Android 13 with Samsung's One UI 5.1 interface. It looks the same as the software on the S23 Ultra and has most of the same features, but it omits support for the S Pen. Samsung guarantees the same update support for this phone as it does on the S23 Ultra: four years of OS updates (through Android 17 in 2027), plus another year of security patches beyond that.

Like the Pixel 7, the Galaxy S23 has a 50-megapixel primary camera, which is a far cry from the S23 Ultra's 200-megapixel camera. The Galaxy S23 also has a 3x zoom lens (10 megapixels) and an ultrawide lens (12 megapixels). This makes for a more capable camera setup overall than on the Pixel 7, but it still falls short of the four-camera array on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. And though Samsung's default camera app has more features and modes than Google's camera app, making it great for people who like to experiment with mobile photography, the Pixel phones take better snapshots almost every time.

Because this phone is so much smaller and lighter than the competition, it doesn't have as much room inside for the battery: It has a 3,900 mAh cell, in contrast to the 5,000 mAh battery in the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the 4,355 mAh battery in the Google Pixel 7. That means the Galaxy S23 lasts a little bit longer than the S22, but it's still a single-day phone. When you head to bed, the S23 needs to be on the charger, or it’ll be dead before you finish breakfast the next morning. It charges at a maximum of 25 W, which is faster than the Pixel 7's 20W peak but slower than the 45 W you get with the S23 Ultra.

Motorola has introduced two new folding smartphones: the new 2023 Razr and the Razr Plus. The new Razr has a vegan leather body, a second, smaller 1.5-inch external display that opens up to a larger 6.8-inch 144Hz 1080p display, a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 processor, 128 GB of storage, and a 64-megapixel main camera. The new Razr also offers a larger battery than the Razr Plus. The $999 Razr Plus has more bells and whistles, including a Gorilla Glass Victus body, a 3.6-inch 1080p 144Hz external display that opens up to a larger 6.9-inch 1080p 165Hz display, a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage, running Android 13, house a fingerprint reader on its Power button, stereo speakers, a 12-megapixel main camera, a 13-megapixel ultrawide, and a 32-megapixel selfie camera. Motorla quotes an all-day and night battery life with 30W fast charging and 5W wireless charging, and The Razr Plus has an IP52-rated body that can handle limited dust and water spray.

Google announced its first foldable phone, the $1,800 Pixel Fold, at its May Google I/O event. When closed, the Pixel Fold has a 5.8-inch 2092×1080 resolution OLED display that opens to reveal a giant 7.6-inch 2208×1840 screen. The Pixel Fold is shorter and wider than Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4.

We recently had the chance to use the Pixel Fold, and the hinge felt as solid as the one on Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4. The phone is powered by Google's Tensor G2 chip along with 12 GB of RAM, and Google claims up to 24 hours of battery life with support for both 30 W fast charging and wireless charging. The Pixel Fold's 48-megapixel main camera, 10.8-megapixel ultrawide camera, 10.8-megapixel telephoto with 5x optical zoom are a slight step down from the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, at least on paper, but the Pixel Fold has all of the Pixel 7's advanced camera software features, including Night Sight, Magic Eraser, and more, so we expect that it will take similarly great photos. The Pixel Fold also includes a 9.5-megapixel selfie camera, and an 8-megapixel inner camera. The Fold has a fingerprint sensor built into the power button as well as facial recognition.

This all suggests that the Pixel Fold will be Google's most advanced, most powerful phone yet. But unlike the other Pixel phones, which are priced very competitively—often lower than Samsung's flagship phones—the Pixel Fold (like other foldable phones) may simply be too expensive for most people. Stay tuned for our full review.

We cover less expensive models in our guide to the best budget Android phones.

In general, we don't recommend choosing an Android phone that is more than a year old or has already been replaced by newer models. An older phone might be cheaper, but the lower price usually isn't enough to justify the shorter window of remaining software support. Most Android phones receive about two years’ worth of reliable software support; after that, you’re lucky to have even one or two security updates per year. However, Samsung and Google are pushing updates to three or four years, depending on the phone.

Google has stopped selling the Google Pixel 5a, but you might still see it for sale at some retailers. We don't think you should buy this phone anymore, though. Many of the units in stock are refurbished, and those that aren't are priced too high (around $400), just a little lower than the much better Pixel 6a. The Pixel 5a will also run out of update support in two years, much sooner than the new Pixel models based on Google's Tensor processor.

The OnePlus 11 is one of the fastest phones you can get, thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. Though it doesn't have the higher performance of the custom Samsung version, the OnePlus phone has better cooling, which means higher sustained performance. The 5,000 mAh battery easily lasts a day, and the 80 W fast charging makes it easy to top up before you head out the door. It also has a huge 6.7-inch 1440p OLED screen that's almost as good as Samsung's. But the OnePlus version of Android 13 is clunky. It borrows quite a bit from the ColorOS software used on this phone in China, which means fewer features and a more confusing interface than we enjoyed on past OnePlus phones. For about $800, the OnePlus 11 is more expensive than the Google Pixel 7, which has much better software and photo quality. However, we do hope more phones follow OnePlus's lead and support faster charging speeds.

Samsung's Galaxy S22 phones are still available from Samsung and other retailers. The prices might look attractive, but many of these phones are refurbished or international models with no US warranty, and they lack 5G support. If you can find a new US model for a good price, you aren't losing out on much by choosing a Galaxy S22 over an S23. However, pricing in early 2023 is within about $100 to $200 of the latest models, which is close enough that you should get the Galaxy S23 for its longer update support and myriad of small improvements.

The Samsung Galaxy S23+ is in the middle of Samsung's latest flagship phone lineup. Its $1,000 price is about $200 more than the Galaxy S23 and $200 less than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It has more in common with the S23 with its triple-camera setup, 1080p screen, and no S Pen. However, the 6.6-inch OLED screen is a good size if you want a large Samsung phone without the heft of the Ultra. That niche is small, though, and most people would be happier with the pocketable S23 or the more powerful S23 Ultra.

The 2022 Motorola Edge+ represents Motorola's latest attempt to return to the flagship-phone category, and we like this model's 6.8-inch OLED display with its ultra-fast 144 Hz refresh rate. The Edge+ is also a fast phone thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. However, in its cameras and Motorola's software-support commitment, this phone falls short of options from both Google and Samsung. In addition, Motorola is asking $1,000 for this phone, even more than Google charges for the Pixel 7 Pro.

Samsung has stopped selling the original S21 family, but the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE offers similar hardware for slightly less. It has a large, 6.4-inch OLED screen, as well as a Snapdragon 888 processor, the same kind that was in every flagship phone last year. However, the $700 asking price makes it only $100 less than the Galaxy S23, which runs faster, offers better build quality, and will receive updates more frequently. The Pixel 7, meanwhile, costs $100 less and provides a better software experience and superior camera performance.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4, with its 7.6-inch folding OLED panel, is undoubtedly the most capable Android phone in the world. You can run multiple apps side by side and multitask more efficiently on this model than you can on any regular phone. However, its $1,800 price tag is far too steep for most people. It's also huge and heavy, weighing 25% more than the Pixel 7. If you want the absolute most powerful phone you can get, and price is no object, this is it.

Samsung's other 2022 foldable, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, is $1,000, and it's compact, stylish, and just as fast as the Galaxy S23. You can even customize the body color with Samsung's online tools. However, the camera setup isn't as capable as on the Galaxy S23 or the Google Pixel 7, and foldables pose long-term reliability concerns.

This article was edited by Arthur Gies and Caitlin McGarry.

Allison Johnson, Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro review: better and better, The Verge, October 21, 2022

Ron Amadeo, Pixel 7 Pro review: Still the best Android phone you can buy, Ars Technica, October 21, 2022

GSMArena Team, Google Pixel 7 review, GSMArena, October 27, 2022

Ryne Hager, Google Pixel 6a review: Regression is the better part of value, Android Police, July 21, 2022

Ryan Whitwam, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review: A mostly portable powerhouse, Android Police, February 25, 2022

Derrek Lee, Samsung Galaxy S22 review: The little smartphone that could, Android Central, April 20, 2022

Sascha Segan, Fastest Mobile Networks 2021, PCMag, August 24, 2021

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