The best Android phones of 2024
The Expert verdict is in. These Android phones are fully reviewed, fully tested and highly recommended
Our smartphone experts have tested a vast number of the most popular smartphones, and in this article we’ve selected the best Android phones at a wide range of prices. You’ll find quick buying advice, key information and links to our in-depth reviews where you can peruse all of our testing and benchmark results.
Right now, in 2024, the best Android phone is the brilliant Google Pixel 8 (~£709). This sturdy, stylish 6.2in handset serves up flagship performance and features for significantly less than its rivals – it’s by far the best all-round Android phone money can buy.
If that doesn’t quite fit the bill, you can explore all of our recommendations below where you’ll find quick summaries of our top-rated phones and links to our buying advice further down the page.
Google Pixel 8 | £709
Rating: 5 stars, Best Buy
“A stunning showcase for Android 14, the Pixel 8 delivers top-tier performance, battery life and cameras. What’s more, it costs far less than its flagship rivals.” | Read our review
The best affordable Android phone
Motorola Moto G54 5G | £179
Rating: 5 stars, Best Buy
“Motorola has redefined expectations for a sub-£200 smartphone. The G54’s 1080P display is superb; the cameras improve on its predecessor, and performance punches well above its weight.” | Read our review
The best cheap Android phone
Motorola Moto G13 | £99
Rating: 5 stars, Best Buy
“Motorola’s cheapest G-series smartphone is incredible value. It keeps pace with the pricier G23 in both performance and battery life tests; there’s a 90Hz 720p display, and the cameras aren’t too shabby, either.” | Read our review
The best flagship Android phone
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra | £1,249
Rating: 5 stars, Best Buy
“If you want the best of the best, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the flagship to beat. Performance and battery life eclipse all its rivals, and the camera is stunning. Seven years of both security and OS updates seals the deal.” | Read our review
How we test Android phones
- Performance: We compare relative performance with the Geekbench (CPU) and GFXBench (GPU) applications
- Display quality: We use an X-Rite colorimeter to measure brightness, contrast and colour accuracy
- Battery life: We test with repeatable in-house benchmarks
- Camera quality: We test all of the phones’ available lenses in a variety of settings
- User experience: We use the phone as our day-to-day handset, and evaluate whether the manufacturer has made useful (or unhelpful) tweaks to the standard Android UI
Google Pixel 8 | £709
Screen: 6.3in, 2,400 x 1,080 | Processor: 3GHz Google Tensor G3 | Cameras: 50MP, 12MP (wide) | Storage: 128GB, 256GB | Android 14
It’s perhaps unsurprising that the best Android smartphone is the one made by Google. A great showcase for the platform, the Pixel 8 matches other companies’ flagships for quality while cutting the price.
Not only is the Pixel 8’s stripped-back Android 14 experience as refined and effortlessly simple as ever, but what really sets the Pixel 8 apart this year are its dual cameras, which are simply in a class of their own. No matter what you’re taking pictures of, and no matter the lighting conditions, the Pixel 8’s images and video are absolutely top-notch, and easily the best you can buy right now.
Performance and battery life are also a serious step above, courtesy of improvements to Google’s second-gen Tensor G3 chipset. At this price, no other Android phone offers more for your money.
Read our in-depth Google Pixel 8 review
Motorola Moto G54 5G | £179
Screen: 6.5in, 2,400 x 1,080 | Processor: Octa-core 2.2GHz MediaTek Dimensity 7020 | Cameras: 50MP, 2MP (macro) | Storage: 256GB | Android 13
The Motorola Moto G54 5G is the best value Android phone on the market. It undercuts its predecessor on price while delivering improvements to the display, performance and camera suite.
It’s great to see that the display has been bumped back up to 1080p, and the contrast and colour accuracy have been given a welcome boost, too, making it one of the best budget phone displays around.
Performance is also very impressive, with the G54 5G scoring alongside phones that cost a fair bit more. As a result, battery life takes a small hit compared to the previous generation, but what you get here is still very competitive for the price.
On the negatives, Motorola has only committed to one OS update, but even considering this, the Motorola Moto G54 5G is still the best budget Android phone around.
Read our in-depth Motorola Moto G54 5G review
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra | £1,249
Screen: 6.8in, 3,120 x 1,440 | Processor: Octa-core 3.39GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy | Cameras: 200MP, 50MP (5x zoom), 10MP (3x zoom), 12MP (ultrawide) | Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Android 14
If you want the best of the best, Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra is the flagship to beat. Performance is outstanding in every area, with class-leading performance from the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset, and the best battery life of any smartphone we’ve tested thus far.
The cameras are superb, capturing plenty of detail in the hybrid zoom shots and rich colour from the main camera. There’s also a wealth of fun new features with Galaxy AI, bringing things like frame interpolation and generative fill to the camera software.
Android 14 is the OS of choice, and Samsung has confirmed that you can expect seven years of both security and OS updates, bringing the phone all the way up to 2031. There’s no doubt that it’s expensive, but for the best that an Android flagship can offer, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is unbeatable.
Read our in-depth Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review
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Motorola Moto G13 | £100
Screen: 6.5in, 1,600 x 720 | Processor: Octa-core 2GHz MediaTek Helio G85 | Cameras: 50MP, 2MP (macro), 2MP (depth) | Storage: 128GB | Android 13
The cheapest of Motorola’s G-series budget smartphones offers outstanding value for anyone looking to pick up a solid handset for as little as possible. The Moto G13 managed to keep pace with its pricier sibling, the Moto G23, in both performance and battery life tests, and the display, while only 720p, offers a slick 90Hz refresh rate – far from guaranteed at this price.
That’s something of a theme with the G13, as you also get an effective fingerprint reader embedded in the power button, a 3.5mm headphone jack and dual-SIM capacity, alongside a microSD slot that supports cards up to 512GB. That’s a whole lot of functionality for this price, and when you wrap it up in an attractively low-key design and tack a serviceable camera suite on top, the Motorola Moto G13 is an outstanding bargain at this price.
Read our in-depth Motorola Moto G13 review
Samsung’s best-value phone yet
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G | £349
Screen: 6.4in, 2,340 x 1,080 | Processor: 2.4GHz Samsung Exynos 1380 | Cameras: 50MP, 12MP (wide), 5MP (macro) | Storage: 128GB, 256GB | Android 13
Despite what Samsung’s slick adverts would have you believe, your smartphone buying options aren’t limited to £1,000+ flagships. Yes, some expensive Samsung phones make this list, but if you’re after something with a softer impact on your wallet, then the Galaxy A54 5G is just the ticket.
The Galaxy A54 5G is a 6.4in handset with swish looks and features that are more befitting of handsets that cost twice the price. It’s powered by a reasonably powerful Exynos 1380 processor, and it also has a 50MP camera with a 12MP ultrawide and a 5MP macro sensor. Big, powerful, and good-looking, Samsung’s Galaxy A54 5G is a no-brainer for the budget-conscious buyer.
Read our in-depth Samsung Galaxy A54 5G review
A stunning flagship from Oppo
Oppo Find X5 Pro | £550
Screen: 6.7in, 3,216 x 1,440 | Processor: 3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 | Cameras: 50MP, 50MP (wide), 13MP (zoom) | Storage: 128GB | Android 12
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 Oppo Find X5 Pro’s mirrored design is truly stunning, and its large 6.7in 1,440p screen is one of the most colour-accurate displays we’ve ever tested. The triple-camera offering is also top-notch, and the fact that it lasted over 24 hours in our battery test is a huge bonus as well. Oppo’s Find X5 Pro is a sublime choice if you’re craving the latest and greatest tech, but don’t fancy a Samsung or an iPhone.
Read our in-depth Oppo Find X5 Pro review
A unique, well-priced handset
Nothing Phone (1) | £349
Screen: 6.55in, 2,400 x 1,080 | Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G Plus | Cameras: 50MP and 50MP (wide) | Storage: 256GB | Android 12
The Nothing Phone (1) is something of a design statement. If you’re looking for a phone that turns heads, then this is undoubtedly what you should be buying. Featuring a unique see-through rear and a series of LED lights, there’s nothing else on the market that looks as swish as this. And the lights have a purpose, too – they flash when you receive calls, texts and alarms. Handy.
But it’s not all about the looks, and thankfully the Nothing Phone (1) is a competent mid-priced handset in all other regards. Performance is solid, courtesy of a Snapdragon 778G Plus chipset, battery life is great – lasting over 20 hours in our test – and it comes with a near-stock Android interface, too. A phone for tech geeks, or for those that simply want to show off, the Nothing Phone (1) is a solid pick.
Read our in-depth Nothing Phone (1) review
Best folding phone
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 | £1,049
Screen: 6.7in, 2,640 x 1,080 (cover: 3.4in, 748 x 720) | Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | Cameras: 12MP and 12MP (wide) | Storage: 256GB, 512GB | Android 13
The Galaxy Z Flip is back and it’s yet again the best folding phone you can buy. With IPX8-rated waterproofing, upgraded performance and a gigantic new cover display, the Z Flip 5 is well worth buying, especially if you’re growing bored of conventional handsets. The 120Hz display is quite special, with top-notch colour accuracy in our tests, and the overall design has been improved, too.
For the price of a bog-standard flagship smartphone, the Z Flip 5 is as unique as it gets, and you don’t have to pay extra for the privilege.
Read our in-depth Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review
