Other Phones to Consider
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 and Best Folding Phones guides for more.
Google Pixel 9 for $699: The Pixel 9 is a great smartphone (9/10, WIRED Recommends), but between the Pixel 9a and the Pixel 9 Pro series, it struggles to stand out. It shares many features with its pricier siblings, but you can get a very similar experience with the Pixel 9a, all while saving hundreds of dollars. If you love the design and want the new smart software features, don’t let me stop you!
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE for $650: Samsung’s Galaxy S24 FE is a better buy now that the flagship Galaxy S24 series is harder to find for sale. It’s a perfectly capable smartphone with a triple-camera array (including a 3X telephoto camera), and it delivers good performance. It has wireless charging, is IP68 water resistant, and has solid day-long battery life. It’s a shame the design’s a bit drab. Alternatively, you can try to find the flagship Galaxy S24 series on sale: the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra are still excellent devices, but make sure you don’t spend anywhere near their MSRP.
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Motorola Moto G Power 2025 for $300: The new Moto G Power (7/10, WIRED Recommends) isn’t as great as its predecessor, and that comes down to one reason: Due to a lesser chipset, there’s a slight hit in performance, and it feels a bit more sluggish to use. However, the performance is good enough that you won’t feel frustrated. Outside of this, it’s a remarkable $300 phone. The green faux leather back exudes luxury, and it’s nice and slim. The cameras are solid, and the 6.8-inch LCD screen has a 120-Hz screen refresh rate and gets plenty bright. Best of all, the company retained the wireless charging it debuted in last year’s model, making it one of the only sub-$300 phones with this convenience. Another area of improvement? It’s IP68/69-rated, so you won’t have to baby this phone near a pool; it can handle a dip just fine. Motorola has also extended software updates on the Moto G series, promising two Android OS upgrades, with the same 3 years of security updates. There’s a fair amount of bloatware, but you can remove most of these preinstalled apps.
Google Pixel 8a for $487: The Pixel 8A (8/10, WIRED Recommends) isn’t too dissimilar from the latest Pixel 9a. It looks gorgeous (especially in the flashy Aloe color), has a powerful processor—Tensor G3—and nearly all the same smart software features that make Pixels a joy to use. The 64-MP camera and a 13-MP ultrawide capture better photos than most midrange phones, and you get a compact 6.1-inch OLED screen with a 120-Hz screen refresh rate to boot. Make sure you don’t pay more than $399 for one. If it’s close to $499, just buy the newer Pixel 9a.
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Asus ROG Phone 9 for $1,000: The ROG phone series is for serious gamers. There are two USB-C ports, so you can charge the phone comfortably even while using it in landscape mode for gaming. It has perks like a headphone jack and a bevy of accessories you can attach, like a cooler and a mobile controller, to enhance the gaming experience. Unfortunately, other aspects of this phone struggle to match the high price—the software can feel clunky, and the cameras are not at all what you’d expect at this price level. I also ran into a few annoying bugs while using the Phone 9 Pro.
Minimal Phone for $399: Having trouble curbing your screen time? Instead of going cold turkey with something like the Light Phone III, try the Minimal Phone (6/10, WIRED Review). This is an e-paper Android phone with a physical keyboard. The goal is to let you access the usual Android apps, but because the screen is ill-suited to videos and most social media, you’ll naturally be able to avoid those distractions. It’s successful in this task, but the constant screen ghosting and plasticky build dampen the experience.
Google Pixel 8 for $600 and Pixel 8 Pro for $669: The Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro (7/10, WIRED Recommends) from 2023 are still available to buy, and they’re great devices with lots of life left in them. Just make sure you don’t spend more than $600. (Prices constantly fluctuate.) Anything more, and you should just buy from the new Pixel 9 series.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 for $1,900: The Fold6 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is an excellent big-screen folding smartphone. If you’re worried about durability and repairability when purchasing a fold, Samsung is your best bet, as it has been producing these devices for the longest time. The cameras snap great photos, the displays get shockingly bright, and Samsung promises lengthy software support. The Fold6’s exterior screen is slightly wider and much nicer to use than previous iterations, but otherwise, there are not a ton of new changes outside of AI advancements. You can still snag 2023’s Galaxy Z Fold5 to save some dough.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 for $1,100: The Flip6 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) has some perks over Motorola’s new Razr+, like a nicer hinge mechanism, better build quality, stronger cameras, and longer software support. But I still preferred the overall experience on Motorola’s flip, mostly due to the larger external screen. Still, the Flip6’s 3.4-inch cover screen is handy for glancing through widgets, and you can open it up to get a big-screen Android phone experience. The Galaxy Z Flip5 is a worthy option if you don’t mind buying 2023 tech at a lower price.
Mobile Accessories You Might Need
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
We have case recommendations for a few popular devices, like Samsung’s Galaxy S25, Galaxy S24, and Galaxy S23, or Google’s Pixel 9 series. It’s smart to slap a case on these glass sandwiches and even a screen protector to keep the display free of scuffs and scratches. Here are a few other noteworthy accessories, including charging adapters, which many phones don’t include anymore. Read our Best USB-C Cables guide for other recommendations.
Anker 45-Watt Charger for $28: This tiny charger will be enough for most people to charge most smartphones. It’s compact, reliable, and cheap, plus the prongs fold up. More smartphones than ever can go up to 45-watt charging speeds, so take advantage with a 45-watt charger.
Counterpart Retractable The Charger for $44: It’s not the best value, but this design-forward charger has a retractable 4-foot cable that makes it a fantastic two-in-one—no need to pack a separate charger and cable! It outputs 35 watts, which is plenty to fast-charge most phones and tablets, and the prongs fold in for travel.
Peak Design Samsung and Pixel Everyday Case for $50: If you have a Samsung or Pixel phone and you frequently mount your phone to a bike or scooter, you owe it to yourself to snag this case and Peak Design’s bike mount. The case snaps perfectly into the mount, is dead simple to release, and has yet to fall off after years of riding. Peak Design also sells several other accessories you can attach to the back of these cases, bringing Android into Apple’s MagSafe ecosystem.
Nimble Champ Portable Charger 10,000 mAh for $60: This portable battery is small enough to leave in a bag but has enough power to fully recharge your phone once or twice. There’s a USB-C and USB-A port; it delivers 18 watts of power, so it can recharge your tablet or phone, and it’s housed in 73 percent post-consumer plastic with plastic-free packaging.
Nomad ChargeKey V2 for $25: When your phone dies, it’s almost always when you forget to bring a charger or battery pack. The ChargeKey is a nifty solution—it’s like clipping a tiny USB-C charging cable to your keychain. Just plug one end into your phone and the other into any kind of power source (a friend’s phone or a charging adapter if you manage to find one), and you can top up your phone. Native Union also has a similar item that’s cuter but nearly as capable.
Choose a Wireless Charger: Our guide to the best wireless chargers includes dozens of models in varying colors, shapes, and materials, and even some designed for specific phones. Not every Android phone supports wireless charging, but it’s a luxury you’ll want to take advantage of. Take a gander at our guide for our favorites.
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