Flagships to budget options tested and ranked

If you’re shopping for an Android phone right now, the Pixel 7 Pro is our current favourite pick. It’s not better in all respects than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, however it does come in at a more affordable price and packs a load of clever software features our reviewer actually used.

As with any Pixel phone, the 7 Pro is mostly about two things – the Google software and the camera. The cameras remain fairly similar to what we saw on the Pixel 6 Pro, but the ultrawide is a little wider and the telephoto a little more zoomed. There are software tweaks too, including a bunch of updated modes – including a clever Unblur option that does exactly what it suggests  – you’ll actually want to use.

Photos from the phone are great. They are richer and more immersive than those from the Galaxy S23 series and often better in darker situations too. The zoom might not match up to Samsung’s Ultra efforts, but if you keep to around 5x the results are great.

Powering the phone is Google’s Tensor G2 chipset. It’s not the quickest around – many phones on this list will post better benchmark scores – with the focus being AI intelligence. There are many software additions here that are made better by this chip, including voice transcription, and everything works very well.

The phone impresses elsewhere too. The screen is on par with the Oppo Find X5 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra while the battery life matches up mostly too. The charging could be faster, but that’s a minor issue.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: Google Pixel 7 Pro Review

The very best Samsung Android phone we’ve reviewed is the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. It’s the option to choose if you want a really high-end, luxury experience – and are happy to pay for the privilege.

The S23 Ultra may not be a completely different beast from last year’s excellent S22 Ultra, but small but meaningful upgrades to performance and camera allow it to stand apart from most other flagships in 2023.

Let’s start with performance. The S23 Ultra ditches the Exynos/Snapdragon split for the past few years and worked with Qualcomm on an exclusive version of its latest top-end chipset dubbed the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, allowing the S23 Ultra to remain slightly faster and more powerful than other 2023 flagships like the OnePlus 11.

The biggest upgrade of all has to be the inclusion of a new 200MP rear camera. The upgraded camera offers an all-around improvement on the already-capable 108MP camera of the S22 Ultra, particularly in low light, with this year’s model able to capture more light, more detail and more colour via 16-in-1 pixel binning tech. It also allows you to take photos of the stars in the phone’s astrophoto mode, and it benefits low-light video too.

The other cameras, including a 12MP ultrawide and two 10MP telephoto lenses at 3x and 10x, remain largely unchanged, but the latter still offers some of the best quality 10x images around. There’s also Samsung’s 100x Space Zoom that’ll let you take photos of the moon but not much else.

Cameras aside, the other big reason to get the Galaxy S23 Ultra is the impressive 6.8-inch dynamic AMOLED 2X display with its WQHD+ resolution, dynamic 120Hz refresh rate and support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision delivering a stunning viewing experience whether you’re scrolling through TikTok or watching the latest Hollywood blockbuster on Netflix. It’s plenty bright, and boasts support for the S23 Ultra’s built-in S Pen that allows you to doodle on-screen with an impressively low latency of 2.3ms.

Throw in all-day battery life with a 5,000mAh battery and you’ve got a capable premium smartphone. It’s not perfect, with relatively slow 45W charging, a large, bulky design that makes it hard to use one-handed and an extremely high-end price tag, but it’s certainly the most capable Samsung smartphone around.

Reviewer: Lewis Painter
Full review: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Review

The S23 Ultra may be the very best handset in Samsung’s locker, but it’s far from the only one in there vying for your attention; the standard Galaxy S23 is also a standout smartphone with a more compact design than many competing flagships.

Compared to the bulky S23 Ultra, the Galaxy S23 is much smaller and easier to manage. That is largely down to the use of a smaller 6.1in display, but it’s still very much top-end with a dynamic AMOLED 2x 120Hz panel that delivers crisp, bright and vibrant visuals, and it’s perfectly serviceable for watching YouTube videos and TikTok. Besides, those that demand a larger screen could always opt for the near-identical (but larger) Galaxy S23 Plus.

Elsewhere, it boasts top-end performance via the exclusive Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy exclusive to the S23 range, a versatile camera system consisting of a wide, ultrawide and 3x telephoto lens, and it fixes one of the biggest issues with its predecessor; battery life.

Despite having a smaller battery than much of the competition, the improved energy efficiency of the Galaxy S23 means it’s a comfortable all-day device, still managing to reach the end of the day with 30-40% charge on most days.

Of course, it doesn’t have the big 200MP camera upgrade of the S23 Ultra, images can look a little over-saturated and charging is pretty slow at just 25W, so it’s far from perfect, but it’s an excellent compact handset that you should seriously consider.

Reviewer: Lewis Painter
Full review: Samsung Galaxy S23 Review

The Pixel 7a is a compact Android phone with an excellent camera, Google’s fantastic software and a price tag that won’t break the bank. It’s one of our favourite Android phones on the market right now.

Despite its more affordable price tag, it matches many of the essential features of the more expensive Pixel 7 and boasts several advantages over the Pixel 6a. Among these advantages are Qi wireless charging, 8GB of memory, a faster 90Hz screen (compared to the Pixel 6a’s 60Hz), and a more robust body.

The Pixel 7a also has an impressive camera with a new 64MP sensor that produces excellent images in various lighting conditions and accurately captures skin tones. At this price, there isn’t a better phone included on this list

While the 6.1-inch 90Hz OLED screen on the Pixel 7a is comparable to the slightly larger Pixel 7’s 6.3-inch display, the Pixel 7 Pro has the best screen among the Pixel phones.

The Pixel 7a is powered by the same Tensor G2 chip found in the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel Fold. This offers adequate performance for the price point and handles many of the phone’s AI features such as call screening and voice recording.

However, the Pixel 7a’s battery life is mediocre, and charging can be slow. Though the phone can typically last a day, users may need to recharge quickly on busy days with heavy screen usage – something our reviewer had to do on a few occasions. It can also take over 100 minutes for a full charge and you’ll need to provide your own charger.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: Google Pixel 7a Review

After years of Samsung dominating the clamshell foldable market with its Galaxy Z Flip range, Motorola has knocked Samsung off its perch with the Razr 40 Ultra.

The Razr 40 Ultra takes the clamshell experience to new heights with its large 3.6-inch pOLED exterior display, featuring a super-smooth 144Hz refresh rate.

This generous display size allows not only the use of widgets like the Oppo Find N2 Flip, but also full Android apps. You can control smart home technology, respond to messages, and even get directions from Google Maps without having to unfold the phone. This not only reduces the need to open the device frequently but also makes it comfortable to use in its folded form.

However, you won’t always rely on the external display, especially with the presence of a tall, narrow 6.9-inch pOLED display inside. This screen is incredibly smooth at 165Hz and incorporates LTPO technology, intelligently adapting the refresh rate based on your activities.

While the main 12MP camera may not sound overly impressive on paper, its combination of optical image stabilization (OIS), phase-detection autofocus (PDAF), and a wide f/1.5 aperture allows it to excel in both well-lit and low-light environments. Although it doesn’t quite match the quality of top-end flagship cameras, it’s impressive for a slimline foldable device.

Powering the phone is the year-old Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, which may deter some users. Nevertheless, everyday performance is solid, though it tends to overheat during graphics-intensive gaming sessions.

With a 3,800mAh battery, the Razr 40 Ultra offers an improvement over the Razr (2022)’s 3,500mAh cell. It’s capable of lasting the entire day, although it might not make it through the second day. The good news is that it charges in less than an hour thanks to the inclusion of 30W fast charging technology.

Reviewer: Lewis Painter
Full review: Motorola Razr 40 Ultra Review

If you want an excellent, and very affordable, Android phone then the Redmi Note 11 is a strong pick and one of the best cheap phones around. Considering the much lower price, it’d be unfair to compare this to the far pricier phones on this list; however it still stands out in certain areas.

We particularly liked the display, which uses the same OLED tech as all the other phones above. It measures 6.43-inches, has a smooth 90Hz refresh rate and great colour reproduction that makes this display just entrancing when you’re watching films or playing games.

We were impressed with the battery life and the speakers too, though were less enamoured with the camera when it came to taking pictures in difficult conditions, and the mediocre performance was a tad disappointing too.

The phone also misses 5G and the faster download speeds that come with the modern network tech. This isn’t a dealbreaker for us, as we don’t think 5G is a vital feature yet, but it is something available at this price. The Moto G50, for example, costs around the same price and has 5G. But then that phone sacrifices screen quality. If you want a phone with an OLED display and 5G, we’d suggest the OnePlus Nord CE 2.

Reviewer: Andrew Williams
Full review: Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Review

The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is not the most rounded Android phone on this list, but it excels at its main point of interest: gaming. 

There are oodles of gaming-centric features here, from the AirTriggers that allow for gamepad-esque controls to the Armoury Crate software that enables you to fiddle with the performance settings and display frame rate, temperature and GPU workload figures while you play your favourite mobiles games. 

Thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, this is one of the most powerful Android phones you can buy. The superb cooling system also allows the phone to maintain a high performance over long stretches of heavy workloads, with our benchmark tests showing it to have the slight advantage over the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra on that front. 

The colossal 6000mAh battery is also an important inclusion, with our reviewer noting that it allowed the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate to last well over a day from normal use. And if you fancied playing Call of Duty Mobile nonstop, our tests indicate the phone could last over seven hours on a single charge, which is remarkable. 

The only major stumbling block for this phone is that it’s incredibly expensive, requiring a sum beyond the £1000/$1000 mark. As a result, it may be worth sacrificing a couple of features and opting for the cheaper Asus ROG Phone 7 instead. But if you fancy the most complete gaming phone currently available, then the Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is a no brainer. 

Reviewer: Ryan Jones
Full review: Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate review

If you’ve been looking for a handset that’s slightly smaller than the others on this list – one that you could even use with just one hand for instance – then you can’t do much better than the excellent Asus Zenfone 9.

This device offers some similar qualities to the other Android smartphones above, including packing a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset to give you all the muscle you need, and a strong dual camera system as well, but it also comes in a smaller (albeit fairly thick) package.

If you find that your hands aren’t quite big enough to wield some of the cumbersome phablets that have been mentioned above, then the 5.9-inch screen on this device could suit you right down to the ground.

Reviewer: Andrew Williams

Full review: Asus Zenfone 9 review