The Best Android Phones

If you want top-of-the-line performance from your smartphone—maybe you play a lot of demanding mobile games—then I suggest sticking with the smartphone stalwart, Samsung. The Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ (7/10, WIRED Recommends) are the base models that largely differ in screen size and battery life (there are some minor differences, like faster charging and 5G mmWave support on the S26+). The Galaxy S26 Ultra (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the crown jewel, and this year its sparkling feature is the new Privacy Display.

This is a hardware-level change—exclusive to the Ultra—that lets you hide the content on your screen from the people around you, just like a traditional third-party privacy screen protector. It's fairly effective with no major hit to brightness or image clarity, and there's a Max Privacy mode that makes it even tougher for neighbors to sneak a glance. You can set it to turn on automatically for incoming notifications or specific apps, which is more helpful than you'd expect.

Performance is excellent, especially with demanding games; these Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5-equipped phones satisfy, even more so than the Pixel 10 series. The Ultra's higher price means you also get extras like the integrated S Pen stylus, better thermals, wider apertures on a few of the cameras for brighter images, and an additional 5X optical zoom camera (yep, it has a quad-camera system!). It also recharges the fastest with a compatible 60-watt charger, hitting 75 percent in 30 minutes. Disappointingly, unlike the Pixel 10 series, you still need a magnetic case to take advantage of faster Qi2 wireless charging speeds and magnetic accessories.

If you want a smaller phone but many of the same great flagship capabilities, the 6.3-inch S26 is the option for you. (Horizon Lock is a great new feature across all three phones that enables excellent stabilization when capturing videos.) The Ultra is for anyone who wants the best of the best from Samsung. However, the S26+ has long sat in an awkward spot—yes, you get a nice big screen, but the price is a little too close to the Ultra. You may as well spring for the crème de la crème and get the extra benefits.

If you need more help choosing, check out our Best Samsung Galaxy Phones guide.

If you're tired of your phone's crappy battery life, the OnePlus 15 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) and OnePlus 15R are the battery kings of flagship smartphones right now. They have some of the biggest battery capacities we've seen on a phone in the US—7,300 and 7,400 mAh, respectively—thanks to silicon-carbon battery technology, allowing them to easily last two full days on a single charge with average use. What makes this even better is that you can recharge it incredibly fast with the included proprietary USB-C charger and 80-watt adapter. My OnePlus 15 unit went from 15 to 50 percent in just 15 minutes, and hit 80 percent in 30 minutes.

The phones have fresh designs compared to previous OnePlus phones. It's worth noting that only the Sand Storm and Ultra Violet colors on the OnePlus 15 come with faster RAM. Of these, only the Sand Storm has a micro-arc oxidation finish that apparently makes the phone a little more durable. Word of warning: The Sand Storm model I tested feels slippery, so I recommend using a grippy case.

Good thing that performance matches the price—the OnePlus 15 is one of the first smartphones equipped with Qualcomm's top-end Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, whereas the OnePlus 15R employs the slightly lesser but still powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 5. The former crushed benchmark scores. I was able to max out the graphics on the very demanding Genshin Impact mobile game, and the OnePlus 15 had no trouble running it at a smooth 60 frames per second. This is a game that still gives some flagship phones trouble! The OnePlus didn't get annoyingly hot, either. I had no performance issues at all on the OnePlus 15R, and you can totally still play a game like Genshin Impact, but you'll have to knock down some of the graphics settings to keep it running smoothly. I want to point out that while OnePlus advertises a 165-Hz refresh rate for these phones, you're only really going to get that in select games. Most of the time, the phone will hover around 120 Hz, depending on what's happening on the screen.

If you put a lot of stock in your smartphone's camera, these are not the devices to buy. While the triple-camera system on the OnePlus 15 can capture pretty good photos, it doesn't quite match the top dogs. The OnePlus 15R is a step lower, though it can still take some nice photos; the lack of a telephoto camera, considering its $700 price, brings it down another peg. These flaws may not be a big deal for you, so if battery life is top-of-mind, you'll probably enjoy the OnePlus 15 and 15R a lot.

Where they really fall short is the lack of upgrades to the wireless charging system (the OnePlus 15R doesn't have wireless charging at all). The OnePlus 15 is still stuck on Qi charging speeds instead of Qi2. Also, the company's software update policy isn't as good as what's offered by Samsung and Google.

If you can wait, I suggest holding out for the upcoming Moto G Stylus 2026. It'll be slightly higher priced, but performance will be even smoother, the cameras will be better, and you'll get an integrated stylus (if you care). But if you need a pretty cheap, reliable smartphone right now, I think the Moto G Power 2026 is the best on the market.

Motorola removed a feature from this phone's predecessor—there's no wireless charging anymore. Instead, the 32-MP selfie camera has been upgraded, and there's a larger battery capacity. It makes sense then that battery life is the highlight; with average use, I squeezed two full days out of this phone. While the processor is the same MediaTek Dimensity 6300 with 8 GB of RAM as the 2025 model, performance feels more optimized and smoother. You'll still see some slowness here and there, but it's far more manageable.

You also get nice amenities, like an IP68/69 water-resistance rating, NFC for contactless payments, a microSD card slot to expand storage, and even a headphone jack. The camera system is passable, and you'll only get two Android OS upgrades and 3 years of security updates. That's a shame, but it's better than what Motorola has offered in the past.

Have you been wishing for a small phone? Well, it doesn't get smaller than this. The Razr Ultra (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the flagship folding flip phone from Motorola, and it gets a lot right, starting from the gorgeous designs you can choose from. It comes in a wood back, Alcantara, a leather-inspired finish, or a satin-esque look. It's fashionable!

The 4-inch OLED screen on the outside is more useful than ever, as you can add multiple widget panels for glanceable information, and if you open it up, the internal screen is bigger at 7 inches. You get the perks of a big phone but in a super compact design that'll fit any pocket or purse. The Razr Ultra's camera system is also pretty strong, though it's not as great as the cameras on the similarly priced competition. Motorola also doesn't have a great security update policy either. Despite these issues, this compact handset is super unique, fun, and a joy to use.

If you're also considering Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip7, let me just say that, having used both, I prefer the Razr Ultra. (Motorola is expected to unveil a successor in the next month or two.) Read more about it in our Best Motorola Phones guide.

After a few years of a stale design, Samsung made the right changes with its book-like folding phone, propelling the Galaxy Z Fold7 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) to the top in its category. The Fold7 is shockingly thin, just 8.9 mm when folded and 4.2 mm when unfolded. For comparison, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is 8.25 mm, and the Z Fold7 is actually lighter than the single-screen iPhone. It's truly a marvel of engineering.

What you get is a svelte experience that is no longer annoyingly cumbersome to hold and use. The front 6.5-inch screen feels very much like a normal smartphone and is primarily where you'll spend your time. But then you have the beautiful 8-inch screen for split-screening apps, watching videos, playing games, or just viewing any app in a larger size. The main camera finally matches the quality of Samsung's flagship candy-bar phone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but battery life remains unimpressive. You'll most likely need to top up before the end of the day.

If you're interested in the Galaxy Z Fold7, it's worth noting that Motorola will be launching its own take on a book-like folding phone this summer with the Razr Fold. Also, consider the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold. I haven't had a chance to review it yet, and while it's technically on sale in the US, stock has been extremely limited. If you can stomach the $2,899 price, it offers an even greater tablet/smartphone hybrid experience.

Look above, and you'll notice a lot of the same. That's where Nothing's Phone (3) (7/10, WIRED Recommends) stands out. This smartphone doesn't look like any other handset, with a fun grid and tri-column aesthetic, plus an unusual camera layout. Also unique is the Glyph Matrix, a circular display on the back that's an evolution of Nothing's Glyph LEDs. Instead of just lighting up when notifications come in, there are Glyph Toys you can cycle through, like Spin the Bottle, Magic 8 Ball, and Rock, Paper, Scissors. I also like the Essential Notifications feature, which limits what notifications come through when the phone is flipped down—the Glyph Matrix can show a custom image so you immediately know when a message from a loved one arrives.

This is Nothing's flagship phone, and it certainly feels high-end. However, it may not be the best value when you compare it to similarly priced devices like the Pixel 10 Pro or Galaxy S25. If you're chasing specs for money, look elsewhere. But the Phone (3) offers a well-rounded smartphone experience, from great performance to a reliable triple-camera system, and it's gorgeous, quirky, and fun. We need more of that in the world.

Nothing recently showed off the Phone (4a) and Phone (4a) Pro, its latest midrange smartphones, but only the latter is available in the US. I'm testing it now. It shares some features with the Phone (3) despite costing hundreds less, and it may be the better buy.

Want to hold onto your phone for several years before upgrading? The Fairphone (Gen. 6) (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the most repairable smartphone, scoring a perfect 10 on iFixit’s scale. There are 12 easy-to-replace parts, from the battery to the camera, and it comes with the necessary screwdriver. Fairphone promises seven Android OS upgrades and 8 years of software updates, and that's without mentioning the 5-year warranty. Oh, and the company doesn’t just think about repairability; it ensures all the necessary components are fairly and ethically sourced. I can wax poetic about Fairphone, but you get the idea.

Good news: The phone's pretty good, too. Performance is flawless, battery life reliably lasted a full day with average to heavy use, and while the cameras may not match the competition, I managed to capture some pleasing shots. You get 256 GB of internal storage, and Fairphone includes a microSD slot, so you can expand that up to 2 terabytes. I did run into some software bugs, but an update fixed most of my issues, and there's a healthy community forum where you can see upcoming bug fixes.

Unfortunately, the Fairphone (Gen. 6) is not officially sold in the US (the company announced first steps in expanding to the US, so this could change in 2026 or 2027). If you import it, you should be able to use it on T-Mobile and its operators just fine (I had no problems on Google Fi), but you're out of luck on AT&T and Verizon. The same is true if you buy the de-Googled version from Murena that runs the /e/OS operating system instead of Android.