Best Buy Android Cell Phones
If your buying budget can't stretch past 100, or you're simply hoping to dip your toes into the world of smartphones but don't want to spend much, then the Nokia C21 Plus is a fine choice. Costing just double figures, the Nokia C21 Plus is excellent value and while it doesn't come with the usual lineup of high-end flagship features, what's on offer here is still quite exceptional for the price.
best buy android cell phones
If you're hoping to take a step off the well-trodden path, and you've got plenty of cash burning a hole in your pocket, then the Oppo Find X5 Pro should be your next flagship smartphone. It's not cheap, that much is clear, but if you've got the funds you will be rewarded with one of the best-looking smartphones on the market, with the usual array of high-spec features.
The best cheap phones won't give you premium features like the 200MP main camera on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. But you will find enough high-end capabilities to make you feel like you're getting plenty for your money by opting for a less expensive handset.
Those on a budget will find that the best cheap phones offer capable cameras, big-enough displays for watching video and playing games and plenty of battery life to get you through most of the day. And 5G connectivity has become standard for cheap phones, so you're not sacrificing connectivity for a lower price.
Expect a shakeup among the best cheap phones, with new models slated to appear in the coming months. Galaxy A54 specs have already leaked, giving us a hint as to what Samsung's planning for its next midrange phone. The Pixel 7a from Google should follow later this spring.
We're anticipating a spring release for new Galaxy A series phones, with the rumored Galaxy A54 replacing the Samsung's Galaxy A53. Still, the likely arrival of its successor doesn't mean this $449 handset does just about everything well. It has a nice 6.5-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. (Our Pixel 6a vs. Galaxy A53 face-off goes into greater detail on the differences between these best cheap phone contenders for Android fans.)
The latest iPhone SE features the same design as before, so that means a small 4.7-inch display and big bezels, but some may prefer the old-school Touch ID button for quickly unlocking the device. Despite some trade-offs, the iPhone SE 2022 is a great choice for people who like small phones. With rumors circulating that an iPhone SE 4 likely won't ship until 2024, it may be your best option for a cheap iPhone for the foreseeable future.
All on its own, the Motorola Edge 2022 would be a fine choice for a midrange phone that delivers some premium features without costing you more than $500. Yet, at $498, it's brushing up against the ceiling for what the best cheap phones should cost. (Many retailers list the 256GB version of the phone, which costs $599.) Even more worrisome, it can't really top the Pixel 6a or Galaxy A53, making it hard to pick over those phones.
Generally, one area in which phone makers cut back for budget models is materials. They'll use plastic for the phone's case instead of metal and glass. Cheaper phones may also turn to LCD panels instead of OLED screens, though that's becoming less frequent among some of the best cheap phones running Android.
We evaluate budget-priced phones the same way we do flagships. We perform real-world testing and synthetic benchmarks over several days to evaluate it's performance and value. This includes our own battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over cellular at 150 nits of screen brightness. The devices that make our best phone battery life list tend to last over 11 hours.
The best Android phones span a wide breadth of price brackets, offering you something to suit your needs. With Android, you can find a handset whatever your requirements, from under $500 up to $1,200. You get to pick what features matter the most to you. Don't need a high refresh rate display or telephoto lens? Save some cash.
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.
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.
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.
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. Progress into the $700-and-up range, and the best phones offer flagship-caliber performance along with cutting-edge computational photography and special features.
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.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra scratches two specific itches: It has a built-in S Pen stylus (like the now-defunct Galaxy Note) and a 10x optical zoom camera, with 100x digital zoom. Although other stylus-compatible phones are available, none has flagship specs, let alone a camera that can match the Samsung's zoom power. Rounding out the package is a terrific screen and class-leading cellular reception.
The Samsung Galaxy S23+ currently strikes the best balance of power, connectivity, and price among Android phones. With an excellent camera, a bright screen, a fast processor, and stellar 5G reception, it's the mainstream leader.
If you want a larger phone, the best-possible mobile camera, and demand the pure Android experience offered by Google Pixel phones, this is the one to buy. While the base Pixel 7 provides a better value, the Pixel 7 Pro takes everything to the nth degree.
Folks whose taste outpaces their budget. Google's Pixel phones aren't the best-selling Android models (Samsung models are more popular), but many people still prefer these phones because of the speed and elegance of their software.
Samsung leads the way in the foldable phone space and its excellent Galaxy Z Fold 4 offers the best experience yet. It has fantastic specs, the biggest screen, and the latest 5G connectivity, all of which propel it to the top of the market.
Many people want a basic smartphone for under $200. Although some more powerful phones are discounted below this price, the Moto G Pure lists at $159.99. You can get it for even less through a carrier or buy an unlocked unit to use with your favorite low-cost cell phone plan. It has a bright screen, good battery life, and decent connectivity. It's reliable enough to make calls and get you online.
Speaking of bands, if you want the best network speeds, look for a phone with C-band (band n77). On T-Mobile and Verizon, C-band offers several times the speed of 4G. The number of phones with C-band support is growing quickly, but you should confirm that the particular phone you're considering supports it. We detail whether a phone supports C-band in each of our reviews to make the process easier.
This list has phones that cost anywhere from below $200 to nearly $2,000. On the low end, Motorola models tend to be excellent values for the money. Of note: carrier-branded phones (which don't mention the name of their manufacturer) often aren't very good, and you should avoid them.
With all that in mind, choosing Android as your mobile operating system is only half the battle; you still need to pick the right phone. If you're still on the fence, check out our list of the best phones, regardless of OS.
Google's latest flagship phone, the Pixel 7 Pro, isn't a huge overhaul from the already excellent Pixel 6 Pro Google launched last year. But it's taken that winning formula and made some key tweaks to almost every element, resulting in a superb phone that's bliss to use. The refreshed camera can take stunning images too, earning its spot among the best flagship phones around. It typically sells for $899, but Google currently has it on sale for $150 off.
Foldable phones haven't really hit the mainstream, remaining instead only in the reach of those willing to spend top dollar on the latest in mobile innovation. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the best folding phone around, offering top-notch performance, a great camera setup and a variety of tweaks to its folding technology that make this Android smartphone more desirable than its predecessor.
The company operates the Lively phone service, an MVNO, or mobile virtual network operator, where it rents cellular service from other operators, and primarily caters to seniors with old-fashioned phones and medical alert devices.[16]
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and up to 16GB of RAM mark this as a serious performance phone, though cooling problems do leave that power slightly throttled. The 8+ Gen 1 is also partly to thank for the excellent battery life however, which puts other compact smartphones to shame. 041b061a72