Best Android Phones - Spring 2021

most of the big android phones of early 2021 have now launched and so as summer approaches it's time to update our top picks take a sec to subscribe to android central so you don't miss all of our future reviews and we'll jump right in [Music] recent price cuts now mean that the regular galaxy s21 is the best overall android phone for most people it delivers the full samsung flagship experience in a phone that's more pocketable and affordable than the s21 ultra for the money you still got a fantastic 120 hertz display top tier processor and nice to have extras like wireless charging and a very competent triple camera array though without the super telephoto camera of samsung's more expensive handset samsung also has finally figured out how to do decent in-screen fingerprint this year and in terms of the software in general you'll find that one ui 3 gives you a good looking and performant android interface with solid google integration and an expansive feature set what's just as important though is software support with samsung now promising three years of platform updates and four years of security updates with its new galaxy flagships that's more than you'll get even with a google pixel and a sign that a high-end samsung is good for the long haul if you want the very best screen the biggest battery and a frankly ludicrous camera setup then look no further than the s21's big brother the galaxy s21 ultra building on the foundations of that vanilla s21 the ultra upgrades the main camera sensor to a gigantic 108 megapixel unit and adds a twin telephoto setup capable of three times and 10 times zoom for far-flung photography on a phone there's simply no better option than the top-end samsung flagship plus the gigantic size of the s21 ultra means it can offer an enormous bright and stunning 6.8 inch curved display along with one of the biggest batteries you'll find in android flagship what's more with doubts about whether we'll get a new galaxy note this year the s21 ultra brings you closer to that concept than any rival with external s pen stylus support simply put if you don't mind spending a lot of cash and absolutely want the best of the best with no compromises that's exactly what you'll get with the galaxy s21 ultra if you're shopping in europe the oneplus 9 pro is priced very competitively versus samsung's phones and just offers a fantastic all-round premium experience whichever country you happen to be in oneplus display comes very close to matching the s21 ultras though that great display comes packaged in a smaller and lighter handset oneplus also has the edge when it comes to charging speeds with 65 watt wide and 50 watt wireless charging which is pretty much unmatched in a mainstream phone the other big deal with the new oneplus handsets is hasselblad and the improvements made to its camera system in addition to more natural color tunings thanks to the partnership with the swedish camera veteran it's using a custom 48 megapixel sony imx 789 sensor for its main camera and a capable 50 megapixel sensor for the ultra wide this is not only oneplus best camera ever but one of the best setups in any android phone and with oneplus oxygen os you've got a highly customizable ui that's a little bit closer to vanilla android than some of the other phones on this list while we are expecting a pixel 5a in just a few months the pixel 4a remains the budget champion giving you just enough phone to do pretty much everything you'd want to do don't be fooled by the bland exterior and run-of-the-mill specs the pixel 4a is a phenomenal little phone with the best camera you'll find in a device at this price point being a pixel you also get all of google's smart ai based services built in including tight integration with google assistant and pixel exclusives like live transcribe which works with any audio playing on the device its small size also means it's easily pocketable even with a battery that's large enough to last you for a full day's use whatever you're doing plus google's upgrade promise means you're good for android security and platform updates through until 2023 google's flagship pixel 5 takes the fundamentals of the 4a and cranks it up a few more notches the display is now slightly larger with smaller bezels and boasts a smoother 90 hertz refresh rate the chassis is built out of metal with a unique bio-resin skin and google has even added wireless charging and ip68 protection for dust and water spills and in addition to the faster snapdragon 765 processor more ram and internal storage the pixel finally gets an ultra wide camera alongside a collection of new stabilized video shooting modes in essence the pixel 5 gives you almost everything you'd want out of a premium android phone for significantly less than most of the competition that's because like the 4a what makes the pixel 5 special is its software its services and its ai so if you want a premium phone at basically mid-range prices and you're big on the google ecosystem the pixel 5 is definitely worth a look new foldable phones are emerging all the time but if you want the very best overall experience in a phone with more than one screen then our recommendation is still the samsung galaxy z full 2. it's built on the same solid foundations as the galaxy s20 and note 20 with a reliable triple camera setup and a 120 hertz internal display the photo essentially gives you a phone and a tablet in one the outer display is a 6.23 inch amoled panel that's good for just about anything you'd normally do on a phone and when you need more space to work or play all you need to do is open it up to reveal a 7.6 inch amoled canvas but even at the full two's high price there are some compromises it's more fragile than a traditional phone with no water resistance to speak of so you won't be more careful with this than you would a regular glass and metal device there are still some app compatibility issues too when transitioning between the two displays nevertheless if you want a taste of the future and have the cash to spend the galaxy z fold 2 is where it's at in terms of foldables that's it for now be sure to subscribe c dot m's future reviews comparisons leaks and more thanks for watching and i'll see you next time you

Channel: Android Central

Views: 63,893

Keywords: android central, best android phone, best android smartphone, android, smartphone, phone, tech, technology, 2020

Id: dX0oeu0cNII

Length: 6min 15sec (375 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 07 2021