The 4 Best Android Phones That Came Out In 2025

• OLED display
• Great camera for the price range
• Light, sleek, and doesn't have a camera bump
• All-day battery life

• Running 2+ year old hardware
• Limited Gemini compatibility compared to more advanced Pixels

If you're looking for a quick easy answer, it's the Pixel 9a. Released last spring, between the Pixel 9 and 10 generations, the 9a is Google's "entry-level" phone—but it's still got excellent battery life that will last you most days from the moment you get up until bedtime. All the while you'll be looking at an OLED screen and taking stunning pictures with its 48 megapixel camera.

Even compared to the most popular alternatives from Nothing and OnePlus, the Pixel 9a undercuts them on price. But there's nothing budget about it. Just a slightly scaled back Pixel 9, a 2024 phone. I called it the best smartphone you can get for $500 in my review and I stand by that.

• 30+ hour battery
• Made from premium materials
• Fully integrated Gemini features
• High capacity storage options

• We are over the camera bump
• Not much improved from the 9 Pro

f you're in the market for an Android phone with pro performance, a top-of-the-line camera you have two options. The Samsung Galaxy S25+, a phone I've used and like (especially on the camera and health tracking front) or the Pixel 10 Pro. For its premium look and feel, amazing all-day performance, and impressive Gemini voice-activated AI features we give the edge to the Pixel.

While most of what we love about this phone was true of its predecessor the Pixel 9 Pro (which we put in our 2024 gadget awards), we still think it's a market leader. It's got lightning-fast response times, unimpeachable call quality, and Gemini consistently gives us the best digital voice assistance we've ever received. And if you need a better camera than this, it's time to buy a travel camera.

• Super high-res screen
• Friendly OS with consistently smooth performance and great haptics
• Clear call and microphone quality
• Dual-SIM tray

• Cameras don't quite measure up to the competition
• Speakers are weaker as well

The original pitch of Android as an alternative to iOS has been diminished over time—largely in part to companies like Google and Samsung dominating the mobile space in the past 10 years. If you long for that old-school open-source spirit, backed by some impressive hardware, the OnePlus 13 should be your next phone. Oh, and it's also the best "big" Android phone on the market for hundreds of dollars less than the comparable Galaxy S25 Ultra.

According to pretty much every tech reviewer I've talked to, this is the full realization of what OnePlus has been always aiming for design-wise. This is a super fast phone with next-level haptic feedback and a 1440p screen. Its Oxygen OS is snappy and probably the cleanest version of Android yet on mobile. It's more customizable for sure, really leaning into that open-source spirit. It also has a dual-SIM tray, which is notable because it takes physical SIM cards (many newer phones don't) and because it lets you have two interchangeable SIMs installed at one time. For switching between your local and international plans, for example.

It's all really smart design, clearly the result of years of iteration. There are places where OnePlus still can't quite compete. The cameras have the specs, but the zoom lens and editing options don't measure up to the Pixel Pro 10 or S25 Ultra at the end of the day. And the speakers are just kind of weak, lacking the oomph you can get out of other phone speakers these days.

• Still a powerful, high-end Galaxy phone
• Not too bulky in either form
• Honestly, it's just fun

• Very expensive
• Limited appeal

Listen. The competition is light, and none of them run cheap, but if you find the idea of the foldable phone absolutely irresistible, this is the best you can get. These are the new "phablet" if you will and the Z Fold 7 is Samsung's most impressive stab at it yet. The extra-large folding phone transforms from regular smartphone to tablet mode for entertainment—you can get the most out of mobile games, movies, and even books this way. It's the kind of phone for the person who only wants a single device in their life. Because that's a whole lot of screen.

All that fun form factor and it's still the operating system and performance you know and love from Galaxy phones. Most importantly it's still slim, weighs about as much as other phones in its class, and fits in your pocket fine. It's got some flaws—the size limits its camera quality a bit, especially on the selfie and telephoto lenses—but the biggest barrier to entry is the cost. If you're not absolutely sold on the form factor, it's not worth spending $2,000 to fuck around and find out.

There's a lot that goes into buying a new phone. These are our top considerations not just this time, but every time.

• Value: You can pay a lot of money for a phone these days. But if you're using it like most of us do, you really don't need to. Finding a phone that fits in your price range that you will find value. For the day to day things we all need our phones for like texts, emails, and music a $500 phone is literally just as good as a $2,000 phone.
• Performance: How fast apps load, as well as screen refresh rate and minute to minute smoothness, is important. Once you get used to the performance of a Pro model phone, it can be hard to go back.
• Battery: How long your phone battery lasts is important. These days, we are looking for something that can last you from dawn to dusk. But it's more than just all day battery life. Modern smartphones should have great quick charging options, allowing you to get multiple hours out of a quick 15 minute charge in a pinch.
• Cameras: We take for granted that our phones are like tiny cameras in our pockets. But this is one of the main functions of a smartphone, and often one of the biggest reasons we tell people to upgrade or choose a more expensive option. You want to think about what will be taking good pictures not just now, but three years down the road too.
• Is it time to upgrade? So after all that, ask yourself if the timing is right. If you're still happy with your two-year old Galaxy phone, the newer models are largely the same just with more bells and whistles.

Here at Esquire, we've been testing and reviewing the latest and greatest products for decades. We test and research every product and piece of gear we recommend before passing the knowledge on to you. Personally, I'm always testing the latest phones from Samsung and Google.