By What is the BEST Android Phone? I’m asked that question ALL the time.
Here is my definitive answer.
People are searching Google like mad men, sorting through results, reading phone reviews and trying to determine what phone to buy. The problem is that technology is improving so rapidly that a phone rated “5 stars” only 1-year ago could now be at the bottom of the barrel or even worse- obsolete.
Case and point: the G1. When it launched it got GREAT reviews, but those reviews are now inaccurate in the context of today. So where can you find an up-to-date list of Android Phones ranked by how good they CURRENTLY are at this moment in time? How about our brand new, dynamically updated list of The Best Android Phones.
How is the list compiled?
Picking the “best” Android Phone is a matter of opinion, but by pooling together thousands of opinions from knowledgeable Android enthusiasts, we can accurately identify where phones generally fall in the court of public opinion. By the way… those “knowledgeable Android enthusiasts” are you: Phandroid Readers and Android Forums members.
Much like Google’s search algorithm, we can’t tell you the exact ingredients and amounts in our secret sauce recipe, but I’d like to share with you two ways that YOU can contribute to our “Best Android Phones” list.
Rate Android Phones in our Phone Guide
Our Android Phone Guide is one of the most thorough resources when researching Android Phone and it’s been around quite awhile. Now, when viewing individual phones that are currently available, you’ll see two sets of stars:
- Our rating. This is the phone’s rating based on our secret Phan Sauce. The # of stars will change over time as phones get older, new and better phones are released, and public opinion changes.
- Your rating. When logged in, you can provide your own star rating for each phone. We’ll remember your rating so feel free to return and re-rate any phone if and when your opinion changes.
How you and the entire community rates each Android Phone is one key factor in determining our Best Android Phones page. On behalf of everyone trying to determine what phone to buy, I want to thank you for contributing and helping our readers make the right decisions.
Comparing Android Phones
Often times, you’ve narrowed down the selection to a couple phones and can’t decide which Android phone to buy. Our new Compare Phones feature allows you to view their specs side-by-side to help make that determination. But we’ve taken it one step further.
After selecting two phones, you can vote on which you think is better, in this case comparing the Droid Pro vs. Droid X:
For those trying to decide between two phones, it will be tremendously helpful to see what the general public believes is the better between the two. And you guessed it… we also use this data to help determine the rank of the Best Android Phones.
Have Fun Comparing!
To spice things up and encourage participation, we’ve turned comparing phones into a little game. On the main Compare Phones Page you’ll see a button that says, “View a random matchup.” When you click it, you’ll be shown a comparison between two randomly selected Android phones. As soon as you vote, you’ll be taken to another random matchup with the results from the previous matchup seen on the left.
What’s The Best Android Phone for ME?
The purpose of this new feature is NOT to make the ultimate determination of which phone you should buy. The definitive answer to the question, “What’s the best android phone?” is actually a follow-up question: “What do you want and need in a phone?”
Our Best Phones list serves two main purposes:
- To provide an always up-to-date, running list of the Best Android Phones that – while a matter of opinion – gives people a general idea of which phones are best at a glance
- To provide a fun conversation-piece in the never-ending debate of what phone is truly best
We’re Working On It…
We realize the most relevant question is, “What Android Phone is best for me?” Just a heads up that we’re actively working on a tool to help you answer this question as well. Something that can provide specific results and feedback based on what you want and need. Stay tuned for that announcement in the near future.
I also want to take a moment to acknowledge that while our Android Phone Guide is a great resouce, by no means is it 100% up to date or 100% accurate. We’re constantly working on making it the best and most accurate resource and will continue to do so. The specs comparison are not nearly as clean and comparable as we’d like them to be, but we hope you’ll appreciate that we know there is lots of work to be done and we’re working hard on improving!
What is the Best Android Phone?
Remember… you’re the ones that determine the answer so:
Thanks for your participation and we hope you enjoy the new features!
I loved my mytouch 4g
When people ask me what phone to purchase, I ask 2 simple questions. 1-what carrier? 2-keyboard or no keyboard? From there, I advise them of what Androids are available and tell them to look for the memory allowed for apps, then make their own choice. Phones are too personal and everyone has their own opinion on what is best and what isn’t. Some people don’t even need best, they just need functional
The BEST android phone is one that has a HARDWARE KEYBOARD that doesn’t SUCK (like the G2’s), or die off quickly and become useless (like the Milestone/Droid’s).
I love my LG GW620. More typing, and less raging at keyboard “prediction” BS.
EVO is number one with only 400 MBs of internal storage for apps and a screen that kills the battery almost instantly? I think this is just a big bate board for people to promote their own phone.
Galaxy S…best hardware available…if only samsung would keep up with other companies in releasing 2.2.
@Jonathan: we’ve got ways to protect/guard against that, for example, weighting votes from respected android forums members more heavily. we’ll implement these as time goes on to ensure the rankings stay relevant and accurate. if nothing more, this will be a continually fun discussion piece. But I think it can be a lot more, and a great starting place/tool for phone shoppers.
Love my incredible. Lots of options available for custom roms which should be considered as a feature. It’s hardware is still top notch with the current phones. My only beef with it is there was no bluetooth 2.x on stock which annoyed me. It’s not listed as a verizon phone in your list for some reason.
g2
I would not trade my Dinc for any current phone out there. Alas, it would appear that the day that I would may be coming soon.
@Khalood “ie off quickly and become useless (like the Milestone/Droid’s).” umm. there are more droid/milestone’s in use than every other android phone combined.
Droid X no keyboard is the best. Don’t care that it doesn’t have a face talk.
How is a phone that cannot even be upgraded by the user more than 3 stars?
The Incredible is… Incredible. I like it a lot. The Nexus S looks nice and once I accomplish one of my goals of building an app for Android, I might get an unlocked version of the phone.
@Steve – feel free to voice your opinion, provide your ratings/comparisons, and contribute to what will inevitably become an even more accurate list!
@Rob … sigh. I understand your attempts to monetize your community here, but I had hoped these efforts would have at least appeared to be less greed motivated than they do.
I don’t know what kind of reseller or affiliate deal you got with some of those companies, but it would have been nice if you could have made sure that there were no overt misrepresentation about WHO is actually selling a phone from the front page.
I.E. Your g2 link says $xxx.xx from Phandroid. If you drill down it’s from some other company. Also your ratings are off. G2 is rated 5/5 on the rank page and 4.x/5 on the details.
I appreciate the effort, don’t get me wrong. I can see this being an invaluable resource to point people to when they want info on a phone. I just expect higher quality and less shadiness. Hopefully you do too and this is just an oversight.
Judging from that list i think it’s safe to say one of 2 things…
1. You guys really don’t know a damn think about the phones you report on
2. Someone must be padding your wallet for you to make those choices.
booyah baby….Evo 4G, king android smartphone. I know i’ll get bashed for that…but you can’t argue with the numbers..sorry.
I’d like to see a wider range in the ratings, or some way to “zoom in” and see the minute differences. The EVO, Droid X, and several other phones all have five-star ratings. But which of them is the “best” among the five-star ratings?
I’m looking for a five-star phone, and I’m open to switching carriers in order to get it (holding out for a replacement to the EVO on Sprint 4G, since Verizon seems like they won’t have LTE devices until summer).
G2 for now.
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You cant judge the G2 on paper since the stock specs don’t seem to compete with the big boys. But I tell you what, devs have already broken its limit after limit. I remember being OCed to 1.3ghz, i thought that was it. The following week, 1.4xghz broke to public. 2 weeks later, 1.9ghz was achieved.
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They said it was impossible to root,.. the temp root came, they said, that’s it.. then full root came and I thought there’s no more better than full root….. guess what, G2 is now fully super unlock like a dev phone.
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It really is an underestimated phone… it can actually beat almost all TOTL smartphone there is today.
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Btw, dev support of G2 is overwhelming. That what makes it great. There are now good number of good ROMs out there.
@Josh: I’m guessing you didn’t read the article… for example, try the chunk under the heading “How is the list compiled?”
Galaxy S: disqualified for failure to release updates!!!
I love my Nexus One. Say what you want. First to have updates and the reason that I have not left for any of the other phones on the list. Plus it has a huge developer following that I really love.
I’m having difficulty with the random phone comparison pages accepting my choices. Have to click in just the right spot for a new matchup to appear…
Love my DINC, this is coming from an OG Moto Droid user. I think it’s much more user friendly than the Moto Droid. Battery life sucks but other than that, I don’t see any other phone on the market that would make me want to get rid of my Incredibile for.
@Liferules – you’ve got to wait about 5 seconds for the new matchup to load. We’re working on some type of animation that alerts you to this because otherwise it’s like unpleasantly waiting for an elevator and looking at the level while everyone inside is silent. hehe.
HTC Incredible is far better than most shitty Moto products. Even though my phone is 8 months old, it is still the best phone Verizon has to offer.
G2 FTW! these ratings/rankings are bias. ONLY, real life test can judge it.
@jeetu
thats isz the best comment i have seen on any website all month
First off I have a Galaxy S Showcase and I love it..
But Best Android currently I would give to the Nexus One for the simple fact it receives updates in a timely manner. The Galaxy Nexus will soon have my vote for BEST android, that is if it gets updates in the same fashion the Nexus One has. Makes me want my next Android to be a TRUE Google phone….
HTC HD2, easily the most versatile and best looking “Android” device. :p
Droid Incredible is awesome but needs front facing camera and bigger screen.
Droid X has an awesome screen but it is terribly buggy and forced too many of my friends away from Android.
Evo seems like the best of both worlds, just wish it was Verizon.
G2!
Seems very slow and doesn’t accept my rating (yes, I’m logged in)… I see lots of room for improvement, maybe this should be labeled as beta.. ;)
Original Droid. Once you root it and over clock it, there’s still nothing like it. Plus its one of the few phones to run vanilla android. I believe that sense and blurr ruin your experience of any android phone.
I love my Droid 1, but I would give the nod to the HTC EVO and the Droid X. But, I wouldn’t buy any new android phone until the Tegra 2, dual core, front facing camera, LTE phones come out in Q1 2011 though. I am not usually one to tell someone to wait for the next big thing, but they are going to be a huge leap instead of the incremental upgrades of the last year.
I would suggest to Phandroid that they should test this page out on the world’s most popular browser before having it go live. The star graphics are all centered instead of left justified in IE. FAIL!
@teckel… I’d argue that using IE is the fail ;)
G2!! It really is the best phone out right now.
The Droid Incredible is just a smaller EVO made for Verizon. Just to bring that to you guys’ attention.
@Matthew Lenz: I own a Milestone, and the keyboard just plain sucks after some decent usage. The adhesive between the keys and the clicking mechanism became loose and also hardened up for some reason, making typing on it just as annoying as the onscreen one.
Will there be a section for each phone’s openness to being rooted? I am still enjoying my rooted Moto Droid from a year ago and although I see tech moving forward, I am convinced that whatever I get next will need to allow for rooting!
Dinc has wireless b/g/n not just b/g. You guys would help yourselves by standardizing entries for easy comparison. For example, 802.11b/802.11g/802.11n and 802.11b/g/n are the same thing but both abbreviations are used on different phones. Just a thought.
@Dave thanks for the input. We’re looking closely at how to best approach standardization of specs. We started without it, things got messy, and we’re trying to take a strategic approach on getting that fixed up. Needless to say it’s not the easiest of tasks!
You need to hire someone to just go through each of the phones in your database and update info. It looks like after the initial stuff is put in there, its completely forgotten, i.e. actual launch dates are wrong, OS versions from updates, ‘speculated’ dates are still in there even after it has come and gone.
I’d also recommend a Retired page for phones that are no longer available through the network carriers. Some are good phones still (my Eris) but you have to look elsewhere to get them.
You need a “root-able” attribute as well, and have someone update it regularly.
@Rob: Any chance of getting the Incredibles page updated with the Froyo changes that happened several months ago? Wireless N, flash 10.1, etc.
Also, could there be some sort of standardization for feature listings? Ex: compare HTC Droid Incredible and Motorola Droid 2 and you will run into a lot of comparing “Apples” to “selppA”…sure, they’re the same…but it makes comparing difficult. Things like the Audio are listed completely differently, the size is listed in Inches then in parenthesis mm for the Inc, while the D2 has only mm. Just some clean up, really.
Cheers…and it should be interesting for the next few days/weeks until we get a large number of comparisons to even things out:)
this may be more for the “whats best for me” objective, but what sort of filters will be in-place? Things like carrier/radio bands for Verizon only, must have SD slot, camera MP, etc.
The stars and possibly ranks are wrong between the overview page and the individual pages.
Example:
Huawei Ascend #50: 3 stars on overview, 3 stars on page, 0 reviews
Droid Eris #51: 3 stars on overview 3.5 stars on page, 8 reviews
I know that the review number listed are major sources only. How about giving the number of user reviews to give a frame of reference. I’d really like to see a Newegg rank system (see the percentage break downs, pros, cons, know why someone ranked it 1 star) or even a BestBuy with different categories to rank. Helps put things in prospective.
I can safely say my droidx is the best phone out there. Like said above its all about whether or not you want a keyboard. However I have friends with evos and galaxy s, and as nice as the display is on the s it lacks the support and screen size I have come accustomed to. Evo just feels massive in your hand, my dx with the case is still fairly slim.
As for waiting for tegra 2…I think you are getting a little ahead of yourself thinking q1 2011. Knowing we can overclock to near 2ghz I have a funny feeling they will stretch another 8 months out of the current processors. I say summer of 2011 we will see a big leap as that’s when the iphone will try one more time to keep up with android
@DrizzyGadget
Droid Incredible is actually the HTC Desire in new clothes for the US, except it also has 8GB internal storage, 8MP camera, a great network, and the AMOLED is just awesome. EVO is based off the same hardware tech, but form factor is based off the HD2.
@DrizzyGadget
but don’t worry, your mini-EVO is coming too, in the form of the HTC Knight/Speedy/EVO SHIFT 4G (whichever name they use)
There is an EVO 4G vs Mytouch 4G video out there. I agree with the Mytouch 4G being at the top right now.
Everybody knows that the best android phone out know is the Droid Pro! :)
EVO is hands down the best Android phone currently available. I’ve seen and messed around with the Galaxy S phones and Droid phones. They’re great phones but they don’t have everything. They don’t even have 4g (which is amazing!) The EVO has everything. It’s not just going to be phone of the year, it will be electronic DEVICE of the year. Sprint being the best network at the lowest price is icing on the cake.
@Rob oh you bet I read it. I stick by my original comment because of this…
“Much like Google’s search algorithm, we can’t tell you the exact ingredients and amounts in our secret sauce recipe…”
Yay mytouch has finally decided to get up there :)
oops,
“Yay, mytouch users have finally decided to get it higher up there”
:)
@Josh – keeping the exact algo a secret prevents people from gaming the system. If Google provided a mathematical equation for search rankings, I’m pretty sure spammers would have a field day. No different in this case… it’s actually protecting accuracy/integrity of the data.
I may be stupid, but how does the Milestone beat the Droid? #12 vs #14.. only *I* would care about this..
I think the X is the best overall phone out now too, out-the-box.
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I said overall, I feel the phone features are better than any thats out.
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I would give the Galaxy S line the nod for best as far as multimedia features.
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The recent phones that just came out…I dont know too much about them…
Spec wise, I would put the X and Galaxy S line neck in neck as best….along with what I said above.
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Srry EVO and Inc owners…
Again, dont know too much about the recent phones that just came out.
Well most of the these phones are pretty good phones. But for the lack of high quality games that push these phone to the limit, Is the reason for this list. Which will change ( developing wise)with 2.3 coming. Allowing more quality games to be develop. On that note how in the hell is the galaxy line up rate so low? I know i know, because its nonthing out there to show off my vibrant power. It’s only getting half of the phone worth. Google know this, why in the hell do you think they went with samsung for their next phone. The same specs as my vibrant but with better hardware. I running 2.2 on my vibrant and loving it. So this list can REALLY kiss my ASS! You will see the true gpu power of the galaxy s lineup in one second.hahahaha
my evo hands down…then mytouch 4g
Nexus one owns all :)
Hello guys, imho, the best smartphone @Android, is the Milestone. Great experience!
nothing comes close to the EVO4G.you can hate all you want,the EVO rules.
ADD THE CARRIER NEXT TO EACH PHONE AND YOU WILL HAVE A HOME RUN!
Currently the Droid2 is ranked higher than the Incredible or the DroidX?!? I find this result rather dubious.
I really like my G2. The keyboard isn’t as great as the G1’s, but its really fast on TMo’s HSPA+
I love that the G1, the first android phone, is #31 on a list of 102 phones.
The best phone is the one that best meets the needs of the person using it. Trying to define an overall best is a fool’s errand. You kind pick the most popular (many ways to define that), the best selling, the most powerful (at the time), or the top in any number of categories. Just even a subjective “best” is impossible.
Nothing beat the number 1 selling android phone! The original motorola DROID!!! But they killed droid by releasing all these droids
I think that it is funny how the different Galaxy S models, which are basically the same phone, but for different carriers are each listed separately…and there is a Galaxy S listed as well???
Anyhow, the Galaxy S is a great phone I have had nothing but fun with this device. Very user friendly love the big screen…way to go Samsung!
Guys I have been with android since day one I have use almost all the phones in the market, it really make me mad that people think that any of the motorola crap is a good product uptades take forever the OS is the worse, now the evo is an ok phone but so far the best phones are the nexus one and the G2 pe
I vote for HTC Legend!
Good, sexy looking, pocketable, awesome user experience through Sense-UI, Hardware is top notch of high quality materials and feels solid and the list goes on..
Droid Eris is my phone and I have to say it’s the shiznit. I know its old, its small, but its just what I want/need. The form factor is great, fits in my pocket, no worn out keyboard flopping around. I have to say that rooting my device is what made the device have its real lasting appeal. Verizon is my carrier and has been forever,but they cut support/updates at 2.1. Whereas the guys at XDA, PunkKaos, Jcase, Tazz, Conap and others have made my phone relevant and oh by the way, I was actually running Gingerbread this morning thanks to PunkKaos. GINGERBREAD on a friggin ERIS!!! I think if I were to buy a new phone right now, I would look to XDA and see which ones are “rootable” and have a lot of potential. Also, being on Verizon I am not doing a thing until the LTE phones hit, why bother?
morning is there any mobilphone with two simcard (like samsung d980) thks
HTC My Touch 4G is terrific! Great display and very simple to use, even for a smartphone novice like me.
@ ROM Spaceknight:
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That is the truth…for example….look at post #75, 1asterisk…lol
Evo 4G and Droid X are best phones out right now. Evo has slightly more features, and a kickstand, and video calling. Just barely edging out the Droid X. But if I had VZW I would most definitely have the Droid X. Both Great phones. 4.3″ display, Cant beat that.
Hi,
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I paid $110.00 to get out of my AT&T contract in order to get the EVO 4G and it was well worth it. The iPhone 4 is a wonderful smartphone, but the EVO is the most incredible device I’ve ever owned. 7 Home screens, widgets and folders make the HTC Sense UI a step ahead of Apple’s interface on iOS, and the software keyboard on the EVO is just as easy or easier (considering the larger display) to use as Apple’s. The EVO is fast, very, very fast, and smooth. The GPS is wonderful — it’s better than my TomTom (which is gone now) and music with the DoubleTwist app is better than iTunes. I found all the apps I wanted in the Android Market. Call quality is excellent, and I haven’t dropped a call yet (couldn’t say the same about my iPhone). The Hotspot feature is really what made this an iPhone killer for me (for some reason, Apple seems to discourage tethering). The only criticism would be battery life and the size of the handset. I don’t care about the size and for $30.00 I can get a 3500mh battery. I see the Samsung Epic 4G and Droid X as the only serious competition for this phone. The iPhone 4 is a great smartphone, the retina display is incredible, and it’s really easy to use, but it just doesn’t have the feature set to match the EVO.
of all the people i talk to at work and my own experiance i LOVE my HTC Incredible…never crashes nor freezes up…only complaint is battery life…but i always have gps location,wi-fi,and blutooth on…but imo most smartphones have crappy battery life …
HTC Evo 4G
CM7 Nightly
ADWLauncher Ex
SetCPU
K-9Mail
I think this is best you can have now.
wads with optimus 2x being rated one star
wads with optimus 2x being rated one star
wads with optimus 2x being rated one star
wads with optimus 2x being rated one star
wads with optimus 2x being rated one star
my GALAXY S, is ok….. but i got to try di ipad