The best Android phones in 2025, reviewed by a tech expert

The Pixel 10 pro is the smartest Android phone you can buy. While it looks almost identical to its predecessor, Google has focused all its energy on internal upgrades, packing in the new Tensor G5 chip and a suite of AI features that finally start to deliver on the promise of a virtual assistant in your pocket.

The highly customisable Android 16 operating system is a joy to use, feeling fluid and responsive. New features like Magic Cue, which seamlessly pulls information from across your Google apps to generate helpful suggested replies, are genuinely clever when they work – though it can be of limited use if all of your friends live on WhatsApp.

As you’d expect from a Pixel, the camera system is best-in-class, delivering rich and detailed photos in almost any lighting condition. But the headline feature is the frankly wild 100x Pro Res Zoom. “The Pixel 10 invents fresh detail at 100x zoom, using AI to essentially paint in definition that the camera lens can’t physically resolve,” I wrote in my full Pixel 10 review. “You’d feel uncomfortable sharing your zoomed-in shots as fact, but for capturing a clear shot of a distant landmark or some wildlife, it’s impressive and a lot of fun to play with.”

The addition of Pixelsnap –basically MagSafe for Android – is a welcome improvement and while the look and feel of the phone is overly familiar, the Pixel design remains one of the slickest of any phone on the market. An iterative update, the Pixel 10 Pro might be a tough sell for anyone already holding a Pixel 9, but it’s the top choice for anyone looking for the smartest, purest Android experience.

• Pixel 10 Pro with 100GB data: £36.99 per month, £9 up front, Carphonewarehouse.com

Read the full Google Pixel 10 review

Google’s mid-range Pixel phone consistently punches above its weight, and this year’s Pixel 9a is no exception. A budget version of the flagship Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro, the 9a brings the core features of the more expensive devices down to a more palatable price point.

For £499, you get the same top-shelf Pixel software experience, from the clean and easy-to-navigate interface to seamless integration with Pixel accessories and Google’s smart home tech. It’s got less RAM than the more expensive Pixels, but it runs on the same Tensor G4 chip, giving it comparable performance. The camera hardware has been dialled way back, but Google’s excellent image processing results in quality photography for your money. You’ve got all of those flashy Gemini AI features in there, like the ability to chat back and forth about any topic with a realistic-sounding assistant, or edit photos to turn your dog into a wizard. You know, important, practical stuff.

Naturally, there are compromises compared to its pricier siblings. The build materials are less premium in places, though I’d challenge the average person on the street to tell the 9a’s plastic apart from 9 Pro’s glass. The display is much brighter than last year’s Pixel 8a, but it retains those chunky bezels around the edge – they’ll only bother you if you’ve switched from a premium edge-to-edge display, and even then, they soon become easy to ignore.

While the lack of a camera bump might split opinion, the thicker body means there’s room for the largest battery of any Pixel phone. You’ll get an impressive two days of use out of it if you’re careful, and reliably a full day with heavy use. Not many phones come close to these specs and cost less than £500 – the Pixel 9a is a mid-range marvel that even rivals the more expensive Pixel phones on which it is based.

• Google Pixel 9a with 100GB data: £23 per month, £0 up front, Fonehouse.co.uk

Read the full Google Pixel 9a review

Another year, another iterative but undeniably excellent flagship from Samsung. The entry-level Galaxy S25 – and the larger, but otherwise identical S25 Plus (£8479, Samsung.com) – build on the foundations laid by its predecessor, offering one of the most polished and premium-feeling Android experiences available today. In my Galaxy S25 review, I called them “boringly brilliant”, which I promise is a compliment.

Although the same as the S24, the camera system remains a standout feature, delivering consistently stunning photos in almost any lighting condition, aided by further refinements to Samsung’s AI processing for sharper details and more natural colours.

Performance is top-tier thanks to the upgrade to a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and 12GB of RAM, ensuring smooth multitasking and effortless gaming. The dynamic AMOLED display is, once again, a visual treat – it’s incredibly bright, vibrant, and smooth. While the design hasn't changed much, the build quality feels as premium as ever. Samsung has also smothered the phone in Galaxy AI features of varying degrees of utility, adding on-device capabilities for photo editing, translation and organisation.

It’s a baby step from the Galaxy S24, but the Galaxy S25 represents the peak of Samsung's conventional smartphone design, offering best-in-class components and features. If you want a reliable, powerful Android phone with a phenomenal camera and screen, the S25 remains one of the most compelling choices in 2025, even if it does feel like a spot-the-difference puzzle next to last year’s phone.

• Samsung Galaxy S25 with 30GB data: £26.92 per month, £0 up front, Mozillion.com

Read the full Galaxy S25 review

The OnePlus 13 launched globally in January and offers true flagship quality at a great price. The newest phone in the series hits all of the right notes. The OnePlus 13 boasts a luscious and bright QuadHD+ display with super-high pixel density and superb clarity across all lighting conditions, becoming comfortably dim in the dark while remaining vivid and readable in direct sunlight.

The camera hardware is mostly unchanged since the OnePlus 12, but a suite of new image-processing tricks results in improved photography, especially with moving subjects in challenging lighting conditions.

OxygenOS is one of the few Android-based operating systems to actually improve on the underlying software. As well as looking great, it feels slick and responsive. Apps open and switch rapidly, and the OnePlus 13 even copies Apple’s homework with its own dynamic-island-style widget surrounding the hole-punch camera on the phone’s display.

Battery life is where the OnePlus 13 really stands apart from the competition, though. The 6,000mAh battery uses a new type of tech to achieve two-day battery life, even with heavy use. It’s the biggest leap forward in battery technology I’ve seen in years, and you can expect other phones to follow suit this year.

Design-wise, the OnePlus 13 looks great from the front, with neat, thin bezels surrounding the display. That round, plate-style camera bump won’t be to everyone’s taste, but the finish is detail-oriented and the materials are premium and comfortable in the hand.

• OnePlus 13 with 100GB: £47 per month, £29 up front, Fonehouse.co.uk

Read the full OnePlus 13 review

The Galaxy S25 Ultra remains the absolute pinnacle of Samsung's smartphone lineup, designed for those who want the best of everything and aren't afraid of a phone that dominates both pocket and wallet. Is it too much phone for most people? Almost definitely, but that’s sort of the point.

The camera hardware is the best you’ll find on this side of the top-end iPhone. This year’s Ultra receives the usual gamut of flavour-of-the-day AI features – letting you turn your selfies into anime characters or replace the sky with a wall of Haribo – but underpinning the daftness is an incredibly versatile camera system, particularly when it comes to zoom and low light conditions.

The integrated S Pen stylus continues to be a major differentiator for those who’ll find regular use for it, offering a natural way to take notes, doodle and precisely select things on the phone’s enormous 6.9in display. Performance is monstrous thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and its enlarged cooling chamber, easily handling demanding apps and full 3D games that would send cheaper phones into meltdown. You can even plug the Ultra into a monitor and pair it with a mouse and keyboard to access a Windows-style desktop mode.

Like the rest of the Galaxy range in 2025, it’s a tiny upgrade over last year’s models. It's hard to recommend the S25 to anyone already rocking a two- or even three-year-old Ultra. It’s probably overkill for most people. However, for power users, mobile photographers, and stylus fans willing to spend more to get more, the Galaxy S25 Ultra delivers.

• Galaxy S25 Ultra with 10GB data: £41.99 per month, £159 up front, Idmobile.co.uk

Read the full Galaxy S25 Ultra review

Still the most compelling foldable on the market, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 continues to refine the flip phone formula for the modern era. While it’s not enough of an upgrade to convince Flip 5 owners to switch, the Flip 6 stands out in a sea of similar-looking slab phones, offering a blend of style, portability and smart tech.

The hinge feels smoother and more robust than ever, folding down neatly into a pocketable square. Unfolded, the 6.7in OLED main display is vibrant and fluid at 120Hz, though we’re still a few generations away from getting rid of that subtle crease. The biggest hardware leap this year is the camera, borrowing the sensors from the Galaxy S24 and S25, resulting in better photos and videos compared to previous Flips. Battery life sees a modest bump but still lags behind a traditional slab phone – you’ll get enough juice for a full day, but it’s hardly a world-beater.

The 3.4in cover screen is handy for quick notifications and replies, and while app support is limited, more and more developers are supporting the small outer display. Samsung’s suite of Galaxy AI features, from photo editing to live translation, adds another layer of functionality. The Flip 6 is also plainly a beautiful object with plenty of customisation options. This understated feat of engineering should be the go-to choice for those seeking a premium, fashion-first Android phone.

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 with unlimited data: £36 per month, £19 up front, Fonehouse.co.uk

Read the full Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 review

Samsung has been quietly dominating the middle of the market for years with its affordable A-series phones. While the Samsung Galaxy A56 faces some fresh competition from Google’s new Pixel 9a in the sub-£500 category, I think it remains the best cheap Samsung phone you can get. It’s an easy-to-recommend mid-ranger for anyone wanting a premium Samsung experience without emptying their savings account.

As usual for an A-series phone, you get surprising quality for a £499 device. The Galaxy A56 features a vibrant, punchy AMOLED display worthy of a flagship. The default storage option of 256GB is double that of the rival Google phone. The battery life is strong, and you can use most of the software Samsung has been slowly adding to its S-series phones, like automatic video montages, circle to search, live translate, the ability to remove or change elements of your photos, and the ‘dynamic island’ style Now Bar, which pops up with personalised recommendations and info throughout your day.

So, where has Samsung made savings? The Galaxy A56 is an upgrade over the A55 but runs on a weaker processor than the S-series, so while performance is fine for everyday tasks, more intensive workloads like gaming will suffer compared to more expensive phones. The display gets chunky bezels rather than running edge-to-edge, though they’re at least satisfyingly uniform, and the cameras are inevitably less impressive. However, I think the sacrifices have paid off. The Galaxy A56 feels like a flagship but leaves your bank balance unscathed.

• Samsung Galaxy A56 with 100GB data: £23 per month, £0 up front, Fonehouse.co.uk

Asus is known for producing some of the best small phones on the market, but the Zenfone 11 ultra breaks from tradition with a much bigger 6.78in display, putting it in the same category as plus-sized flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S25, Xiaomi 14 and Pixel 8 pro. That might be sad news for small-handed users, but great for anyone looking for a more expansive AMOLED screen, hugely improved battery life and better overall performance.

The Zenfone 11 ultra boasts the premium features you’d expect at this price point: a dynamic 1Hz to 144Hz refresh rate, an under-display fingerprint sensor, wireless charging, the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and a trio of cameras, including a 3x optical zoom telephoto lens and a 13MP ultrawide lens.

Performance is snappy, the display is vibrant, and the clean, squared-off design is accented by neatly etched, angled lines. It’s a great-looking phone, with similarities inside and out to the Asus ROG phone, giving the Zenfone 11 Ultra unbeatable credentials for handheld gaming on the go.

Google’s second-generation folding phone is a massive step up from the previous Pixel fold, with a lighter, thinner, all-new design. The wider dimensions of the phone mean it looks and performs like a regular 6.3in phone when closed, and behaves more like two phones side by side when opened to reveal its giant 8in inner display. That’s in contrast to the narrow form factor of the Samsung Galaxy Z fold, where the outer display feels squished and cramped.

The Pixel 9 pro fold is also much thinner than last year’s phone, about as thin as a Pixel 9 pro with a case, so, while it’s naturally bulkier than a non-folding phone, it’s not so hefty that it can’t fit comfortably into a pocket. The inclusion of the Tensor G4 chip means you get all of the fun Gemini features that headline the rest of the Pixel 9 series, such as Pixel Studio and Pixel Screenshots, plus a few fun tricks, such as the Made You Look feature, which shows animated characters on the outer display to make your kids look towards the camera.

You miss out on the top-of-the-line cameras found in the non-folding Pixel 9 phones, but it feels like a worthwhile compromise to get an expansive inner folding screen on a device this thin. The first folding phone we’d use as our regular daily device, the Pixel 9 pro fold is one of the best foldables you can buy today.

• Google Pixel 9 pro fold with unlimited data: £58 per month, £225 up front, Mobiles.co.uk

The numbered Xiaomi phones sit at the top end of the outsider brand’s product range, boasting more premium features and better performance than the budget-focused Redmi and Poco phones.

The Xiaomi 14 is the latest in the flagship Android series, and it’s a solid performer with a bright and vibrant 6.36in screen, running on the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, backed up with 12GB of RAM as standard.

The camera is the star of the show here. Xiaomi’s camera array is made up of three 50MP lenses, enabling fast shutter speeds, 3.2x optical zoom, 14mm ultrawide photography and a pro mode for shooting in RAW format. Pictures look great in all lighting conditions, though you’ll miss out on some of the fancier post-processing capabilities found in Apple, Samsung and Google phones.

However, as with all Xiaomi devices, the HyperOS operating system drags down the experience. Xiaomi ships its phones with a full set of its own basic apps – which are way more fiddly, less integrated and less polished than competitors’ versions – as well as unwelcome third-party bloatware. With some customisation, you can easily tweak the default apps to suit your own preferences, but the out-of-the-box experience is cludgy compared with the streamlined elegance of iOS or Pixel phones. Still, this is an excellent, great-looking and compact Android phone running on seriously impressive hardware - it just needs a little extra setup to have it running at its best.