With Android thoroughly dominating the mobile industry, picking the best Android smartphones is almost synonymous with choosing the best smartphones, period. But while Android phones have few real opponents on other platforms, internal competition is incredibly fierce.
From sleek devices that impress with premium design, to powerhouses brimming with features, to all-around great devices, and affordable phones that punch above their weight, the Android ecosystem is populated by a staggering variety of attractive phones.
But “greatness” is subjective, and sometimes spec sheets and feature lists are not enough to make an idea of how good a phone really is. In this roundup, we’re looking at the absolute best – the Android phones you can’t go wrong with.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge
Samsung did a killer job with their 2015 flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Design-wise, many would say those two phones were close to perfect. The company forwent a plastic design and instead included glass front and back panels with an aluminum frame. They weren’t without their flaws, though. The S6 and S6 Edge didn’t offer expandable storage or removable batteries — two features Samsung has been known to include in all its smartphones for years.
Now the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have made their way to the masses, and they fix many of the problems the S6 line introduced last year. While they don’t offer removable batteries, Samsung included expandable storage on both handsets in case the 32 GB of on-board storage isn’t enough. Samsung mostly stuck to the same design this time around, though they did shrink down the camera bumps on the back and made the devices a little thicker to make room for larger batteries.
Specs
Samsung Galaxy S7
5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 577 ppi
Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
4 GB of RAM
32 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 200 GB
12 MP rear camera, 5 MP front camera
Non-removable 3000 mAh battery
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9 mm, 152 g
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 534 ppi
Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
4 GB of RAM
32 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 200 GB
12 MP rear camera, 5 MP front camera
Non-removable 3600 mAh battery
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm, 157 g
Nexus 6P
As the successor to last year’s Motorola Nexus 6, Google recently unveiled the Huawei-made Nexus 6P. This device is the higher-end of the two Nexus phones announced at Google’s event, and that’s incredibly apparent when looking at the spec sheet.
It comes with a big 5.7-inch Quad HD AMOLED display, super fast Snapdragon 810 processor, a giant 3450 mAh battery and an impressive 12MP rear-facing camera. Want to get your hands on one? The Nexus 6P is pretty cheap, considering the specs and build quality. You can purchase it from the Google Store starting at just $499!
Specs
5.7-inch AMOLED display with 1440 x 2560 resolution, 518 ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor
3 GB of RAM
32/64/128 GB of on-board storage, no microSD card expansion
12 MP rear-facing camera, 8 MP front-facing camera
Non-removable 3450 mAh battery
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3 mm, 178 g
HTC 10
HTC needed a saving grace this year, and the 10 just may be it. The Taiwanese company finally designed a phone that’s different enough from its predecessor yet still sports a familiar design language. With an all-metal chassis, front-mounted fingerprint sensor and a new-and-improved speaker setup, the HTC 10 easily made its way to our best Android phones list.
Under the hood, the 10 comes with some killer specs. A 5.2-inch Quad HD display, Snapdragon 820 processor and 4 GB of RAM are in line with most other flagships this year, and it also comes with expandable storage up to 200 GB and a 3000 mAh battery that will have no problems lasting an entire day on a single charge. HTC also improved the camera this time around, which was a big flaw in last year’s One M9 flagship.
Specs
5.2-inch Super LCD5 display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 565 ppi
2.15 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
4 GB of RAM
32/64 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 200 GB
12 MP rear camera, 5 MP front camera
Non-removable 3000 mAh battery
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
145.9 x 71.9 x 9 mm, 161 g
LG G5
While the Galaxy S7 series is a minor refresh in terms of design, the LG G5 sees a massive departure from the design language used in the G series, ditching the rear volume/power setup that first debuted with the LG G2. The G5 also adopts a unibody metallic design that has a removable cap for access to the removable battery and a port for modules that allow users to expand the phone’s capabilities by adding a camera grip and other special accessories.
Specs
5.3-inch IPS LCD display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 554 ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
4 GB of RAM
32 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 200 GB
16 and 8 MP dual rear cameras, 8 MP front camera
Removable 2800 mAh battery
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7 mm, 159 g
Cast your vote, !
There you have it – our picks from the best Android has to offer right now. Out of those listed, which do you feel is the very best?