Best Android phones 2020

Best Android phones 2020

These are the best Android phones 2020 that you can buy right now.

Samsung Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus

While the S20 Plus has a slight specs edge, thanks to a larger 6.7-inch screen, a bigger 4,500mAh battery, a fourth camera lens (for depth-sensing) and optionally more storage, they’re largely very similar phones, so they’re fit to share the top spot.

Both have a highly capable camera array, with 12MP standard, 12MP ultra-wide, and 64MP telephoto sensors, and both also have top-end power, thanks to a Snapdragon 865 or Exynos 990 chipset (depending on where in the world you are) and up to 12GB of RAM.

They also both have a stunning 1440 x 3200 display with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. At the time of writing this is the best screen you’ll find on any smartphone.

The design is premium too, and they’re both packed full of features, like reverse wireless charging, 5G, an in-screen fingerprint scanner, and water resistance. They might not be the absolute best at everything, but they’re certainly the best Android phones overall.

OnePlus 8 Pro

The OnePlus 8 Pro is the latest and greatest OnePlus handset, and it comes close to challenging the best Samsung phones.

Its screen can rival them in fact – with its 120Hz refresh rate and crisp resolution, the OnePlus 8 Pro has one of the best displays you’ll find on a smartphone.

It also has a top-end Snapdragon 865 chipset, more RAM than you’ll know what to do with, and most of the other flagship bells and whistles, such as water resistance and wireless charging.

Its cameras can’t quite match those of the absolute best phones – but they come close, and the price is the highest yet for a OnePlus phone – but still lower than some top-end handsets. All in all, though, this is a stunning effort.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus

While the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus may not top our list of the best Android phones, that’s only because it’s a bit too niche to recommend to everyone, with its huge price tag and S Pen stylus.

There’s a lot to love in Samsung’s Note phablet, from its beautiful 6.8-inch screen to the powerful selfie camera and the S Pen stylus which transforms your smartphone experience.

Sure, the cameras aren’t as good as the Huawei P30 Pro, and the body leaves a bit to be desired with its huge frame and slippery design, but this is still a great smartphone if you can stomach the price.

Oppo Find X2 Pro

Oppo’s most premium smartphone to date reaches our list of the best Android phones, and with a top-end display, camera and build, it does so in style.Advertisement

The Find X2 Pro’s display is its real selling point with a high resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, big size and software to make it great for playing games, viewing movies and TV or scrolling through social media.

The phone’s high specs are matched by a super-high price though, as it’s one of the priciest devices on this list, and that’s why it isn’t ranking higher up. If you can look past the high price, however, the Oppo Find X2 Pro is definitely worth your attention, and we’d recommend it as the best Oppo phone and one of the top Android devices you can buy right now.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10

While the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is beaten in many ways by the Note 10 Plus, earlier on this list, the Note 10 Plus does have a way higher price too.

The ‘basic’ Galaxy Note 10 loses a rear camera from its bigger sibling, and has a lower res display less RAM so it’s not exactly as powerful in a few ways.

At its core though, the Galaxy Note 10 is the same device as the one sitting at our third slot on this list, with an S Pen stylus, good-looking design, and all of Samsung’s software, so if the price of the Note 10 Plus puts you off, this is a great alternative.

Xiaomi Mi Note 10

The Xiaomi Mi Note 10 isn’t a phone you’ll hear many people talking about, but it deserves to be, as this is Xiaomi’s masterpiece.

It has a superb penta-lens camera setup, headlined by a 108MP snapper, plus an impressive AMOLED screen, speedy charging, and a curvy design that makes it comfortable to hold.

Where it falls down a little is in performance, as it’s packing a mid-range Snapdragon 730G chipset, and in battery life, as despite having a massive 5,260mAh one we found this to be fairly average. But this isn’t a phone that’s going to break the bank, so these are issues that we can forgive.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

The Galaxy S20 Ultra is, indeed, ultra – billed as the ultimate Samsung phone thanks to top-of-the-line specs on paper. It’s an evolution of the max-specked Samsung Galaxy S10 5G from last year, though the Ultra’s execution isn’t the best.

It may come with the very best specs, but it’s a very expensive handset and it has a few flaws that mean it isn’t entirely worth the price bump like you may expect it to be.

That said, if you’re looking for all the top-end features available on a Samsung phone including the phenomenally powerful 100x zoom feature you may want to opt for the Ultra over the other Samsung devices on this list.

OnePlus 8

The OnePlus 8 is rather shown up by the OnePlus 8 Pro, but it’s still a great phone in its own right, thanks to its similarly high-end power (you’re getting the same Snapdragon 865 chipset) and lower price.

The OnePlus 8 also supports 5G as standard and has a 90Hz refresh rate on its 6.55-inch 1080 x 2400 screen – specs that aren’t quite a match for the OnePlus 8 Pro but are still decent.

There’s a big 4,300mAh battery here too, with support for fast charging, plus an in-screen fingerprint scanner, a triple-lens camera, and up to 12GB of RAM. Unlike its Pro sibling this isn’t quite a rival to the best Samsung and Apple handsets, but at what it costs it doesn’t need to be.

Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus

The Samsung Galaxy S10, and in particular the plus-sized S10 Plus, was for a long time the top Android phone you could buy, and while the S20 range has now superseded them, they’re still great phones.

The Galaxy S10 Plus is a big phone that’s designed for big hands – and it takes the very best of what’s on the smartphone market and puts it together in a compelling package that we’ve loved testing.

The Super AMOLED display has been measured as the very best around (at least, at the time), with super colors, plus there’s a fingerprint scanner embedded in the display.

Battery life is an improvement over the S9 Plus, thanks to the larger battery inside, and you also get Samsung’s new Wireless PowerShare, allowing you to wirelessly charge other devices on the rear of the handset.

The trio of cameras on the rear of the Galaxy S10 Plus are also great, offering loads of features, shooting modes and overall clarity. The standard S10 is a similar phone – a slight step down in a few ways, but also cheaper.

Sony Xperia 1 II

Sony phones reach our best lists from time to time, and the company’s latest, the Sony Xperia 1 II (‘one mark two’) has just scraped into our ranking.

The Sony Xperia 1 II has a long body thanks to its 21:9 screen, which is also 4K so content viewed on it will look great. It’s also got three powerful rear cameras, and a long-lasting battery life that’ll please people who don’t want to constantly charge their phone.

These top-end specs are matched by a staggering price, which will put off most people just looking for a standard Android phone, as its cost trumps most iPhones and many other phones on this list.

But if you’re interested in the Sony Xperia 1 II’s unique features, like its display or its film-making tools, you might be able to look beyond the cost.