Best Android Phone 2023: iPhone Alternatives Reviewed

You’ll have to put up with slow charging (and buy your own charger to boot), and accept the fact that this is a big phone with a divisive design – you may well love it, but there are plenty out there who don’t. The regular Pixel 7 is a little smaller (and cheaper), but lacks that telephoto camera and has a slightly more basic display.

If you want an Android smartphone with top specs in 2023 that’s designed to stay fast and will have software support till 2028, the OnePlus 11 is a great choice. It’s also one of the cheapest high-end phones to offer this.

The absence of wireless charging shouldn’t be a dealbreaker for most people. After all, this phone has an excellent screen, top cameras, good battery life and truly fast charging, and some of the best performance in any Android phone thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. The lack of full waterproofing is more annoying to us.

OnePlus can’t just stand still, it also must evolve – luckily for us, the OnePlus 11 is a fine evolution and one of the best phones you can buy for a price that undercuts many competing products.

Samsung’s first few attempts at foldables were fun, but sometimes felt like novelties. With the Galaxy Z Flip 4, the Korean tech giant has unequivocally got it right.

Core specs are top-tier throughout, with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 in tow, and the 12Mp main camera is as capable as almost any around – though you may miss having a telephoto lens.

Even battery life is now impressive, comfortably lasting a full day’s use when its predecessors simply couldn’t. You’ll just have to be willing to take a chance that the folding screen will last as long as Samsung says.

If you want something bigger, the Z Fold 4 is pretty great too, but the higher price, dodgy under-display camera, and software quirks make it less of a home-run than its smaller sibling.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra doesn’t feel like an S22 at all – in fact this is more like a covert revival of Samsung’s once-loved Note brand, with a distinct design from its S22 siblings and a built-in slot to store the included S-Pen stylus.

The camera is one of the best in any phone, with a 108Mp main shooter backed up by an ultrawide and two telephoto lenses at different zoom levels – with the zoom performance particularly improved on previous models.

The expansive 6.8in LTPO AMOLED display delivers both high WQHD+ resolution and adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz, and with S-pen stylus support it comfortably fills the productivity niche of the former Note phones.

Remember that the S23 Ultra has been announced – we haven’t reviewed it yet, but will update this article when we have.

You may not have heard of Vivo before, but you should definitely be paying attention.

The company is a giant of the Chinese smartphone market, and is slowly expanding its international reach – which is a good thing, because it’s been an open secret for the last few years that Vivo probably makes the best cameras in any phone around.

The X80 Pro is no exception, with four phenomenal rear cameras. The 50Mp main lens is phenomenal, but it’s the 48Mp ultrawide that really blows away all the competition, and the two zoom lenses add extra options. The tech is really at its best in low light, with hands-down the best night mode available anywhere.

It’s a great phone elsewhere too, with a top-class display, fast charging, and excellent battery life. The main frustration is that the company’s Android skin is a little awkward, but if you care about the camera and can afford to spend this much, it’s hard to do better.

Remember that the X90 Pro has been announced – we haven’t reviewed it yet, but will update this article when we have.

If you can’t afford the Pixel 7 Pro or 7, then Google has another option for you: the decidedly affordable Pixel 6a.

This mid-range phone packs a similar flagship Tensor chip to its bigger brothers, along with a familiar design. But it’s a much smaller phone, and made from plastic rather than glass.

There are downside, of course. The camera specs aren’t quite the same, though it still impresses. You’ll also get slower charging and only a 60Hz refresh rate on the display. If you can live with those downsides though, this is an excellent option for the price.

Some phones are great for what they do, others are great for how little they cost doing it.

Like the OnePlus 11, the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra stands out because it offers the best of an Android flagship while costing a lot less than most of the competition. The 144Hz OLED display is pretty much unheard of outside gaming phones, the 125W charging is among the fastest around, and the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip is blisteringly fast. Oh, and the battery lasts for two full days, easy.

All that, and it costs just £749/€899, making it an absolute bargain. You’ll have to live with IP54 rather than IP68 water-resistance, and a camera that’s good but not quite great, but those feel like small concessions to make for a phone as good as this.

The Zenfone 9 is a full-force flagship in a small size, and with remarkably few compromises for it.

The 5.9in display makes this one of the smallest phones on the market, especially on the Android side, and comfortably the smallest with specs this strong.

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.

The gimbal-stabilised main camera impresses, especially at night, though with a few visual glitches and issues in bright environments it’s clear Asus has some software tuning to do. Some may also miss the variety offered by rivals, especially the lack of a telephoto lens here.

Given the phone is so good, it’s frustrating that Asus is only promising two years of support, so this will only suit those who know they’re on a regular upgrade schedule. The overall experience is excellent though, with smart software and welcome touches like the IP68 rating and headphone jack.

OnePlus’s first T-branded Nord phone is a worthy follow-up, powered by MediaTek’s 5G-capable Dimensity 1300 chipset.

The Nord 2T also totes a 90Hz AMOLED display, a great primary 50Mp main camera, and nippy 80W fast charging.

Software-wise, the company’s OxygenOS user experience is also a major highlight – bringing responsive interactivity and a clean interface to the table that lends itself to the phone’s powerful, premium feel. The only downside is that the company only promises two Android version updates, and a third year of security fixes.

There are loads of options when it comes to Android gaming phones, but Asus ROG Phone 6 is the best for most people.

It excels at the fundamentals, delivering stellar performance, a stunning display, and great battery life. With decent cameras, two USB-C ports, and even a headphone jack, there’s a lot to like here.

However, it’s not perfect, with a lack of wireless charging and poor software update commitment the most prominent problems. You’ll also need to connect a fan for long gaming sessions.

But none of these are dealbreakers for most people, and the ROG Phone 6 provides such a well-rounded experience elsewhere. If you’re serious about gaming on your phone but just want the best core experience, this is the phone to buy.