We test a ton of Android phones. We like the ones below, but you’ll be better off with one of the options above. If you haven’t yet done so, check out our Best Cheap Phones guide for more.
Google Pixel 6A for $349: Google’s continuing to sell last year’s Pixel 6A (8/10, WIRED Recommends) at a marked-down price. It’s still excellent value and a worthy purchase. It’s powered by Google’s first-gen Tensor chip, which means you’re getting some of the best performance for the money, and it supports all the same great (and helpful) software smarts as the flagship Pixel 6 series. It’s got an OLED screen, a decent camera system, and lengthy software support. There’s no wireless charging and it has a 60-Hz screen.
Lenovo ThinkPhone by Motorola for $699: This new Motorola phone is a collaboration with Lenovo’s ThinkPad department, maker of the famed business laptops with the little red nubs. It’s a pretty good phone all-around (7/10, WIRED Recommends), with features like flagship performance, two-day battery life, and an OLED 144-Hz screen, but it just doesn’t measure up to its peers.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Series for $700+: Yes, last year’s flagship Samsung phone lineup is totally fine to still buy (9/10, WIRED Recommends). It consists of the S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra. They’re quite similar to the Galaxy S23 series up above, though battery life isn’t as nice (still pretty good). They’ll keep getting software updates for a really long time too. Just try to buy them during sale events, where I expect prices to dip even lower now that there’s a successor on the market.
OnePlus 10 Pro for $450: OnePlus’ 2022 flagship phone is good but not great (7/10, WIRED Recommends), though it’s a smart buy at this price. It’s spiffy and has powerful hardware, including a 120-Hz AMOLED screen that gets bright, speedy performance, and some of the fastest wired and wireless charging you’ll find in the US. (Yes, unlike the new OnePlus 11, the predecessor has wireless charging support). It’ll get two more OS upgrades and three years of security updates. You should know that there’s no millimeter-wave 5G here, just sub-6, which is odd for a flagship.
Motorola Edge 2022 for $350: A Motorola smartphone with contactless payment support, 5G, wireless charging, plus a promise of three OS upgrades and four years of security updates? Say it ain’t so! The Motorola Edge (7/10, WIRED Review) finally matches its peers on several counts and exceeds them in some ways. It has a bright 144-Hz OLED screen, it’s lightweight, and its 5,000-mAh battery nearly lasts two days. It’s also the first Moto that comes in 100 percent recycled packaging. The downsides? The cameras are lackluster, and it’s rated at only IP52 for water resistance. Its MSRP is $600 but it’s been on sale for $350 for a while.