The best Android phones in 2024

Samsung Galaxy A14 5G

The best cheap Android phone

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There are $200 phones that really feel like $200 phones, but the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G isn’t one of them. Samsung has done an incredible of keeping the A14 from feeling too cheap, and that starts with the design. Admittedly, it has a plastic body, but it has a unique texture that feels nice and offers grip, something often missing from slippery glass phones. There’s no water resistance, but there is a headphone jack, which is a nice bonus.

The 6.6-inch LCD display has a 1080p resolution, but it’s hampered by not getting bright enough. It also has some relatively chunky bezels. But even with that in mind, it’s an impressive display for a $200 phone, thanks largely to the 90Hz refresh rate. While not as smooth as the same refresh rate you’ll find in more powerful phones, this is still impressive in a phone this cheap, and a really strong point in its favor when you consider the iPhone 15 is still using a 60Hz refresh rate.

We did come across small stutters during use, and that’s likely down to the relatively modest specs. Still, the Galaxy A14 5G has excellent performance when compared to other devices at this price point, and the 64GB of storage is also good enough at this price too. You’ll want to clear out running apps to keep it running smoothly, but it also comes with 5G, meaning it should be futureproofed enough for the next few years at least. The battery is a solid two-day affair, thanks to the modest specs and 5,000mAh capacity. Recharging isn’t particularly fast at just 15W, but when it lasts this long, it doesn’t matter too much.

The camera is also surprisingly good. Ignore the two additional lenses, though, as they’re 2MP and don’t do much — instead, focus on the 50MP main lens, which takes some decent shots. Images are clear, bright, and avoid oversaturation. Nighttime shots are also good, though with some visible noise when zoomed in. They’re all generally still good enough for social media, though, which is a big test for camera phones at this price.

The Samsung Galaxy A14 5G is a stellar phone for just $200, and if you’re looking for a serious budget bargain, then you’ve found it.

OnePlus Nord N30 5G

The best cheap Android phone runner-up

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Cheap phones sometimes struggle to excel in some areas without cutbacks in others, and the OnePlus Nord N30 5G is a prime example of this. OnePlus’s latest $300 phone is great in a number of areas, but has some serious setbacks in others that may or may not impact whether you want to buy and use it.

We’ll start by addressing the elephant in the room, and it’s the camera. The Nord N30 has a triple lens rear camera setup, and while impressive on paper, the combination of a 108MP main lens, 2MP macro lens, and 2MP depth sensor don’t deliver the goods. The 108MP lens lacks optical image stabilization so a lot of stills come out blurred. Low-light shots are blurred and noisy, while even images in good lighting tend to be bland and characterless. The 2MP macro lens is acceptable, but it can’t rescue what is a poor overall showing.

Thankfully, other areas of the phone are a lot better. The design is a little boring, but it feels and handles very well. It’s well weighted, meaning one-handed use is possible despite the large size, and it has a headphone jack and microSD card as well. The 6.72-inch LCD display is excellent, and has bright colors and a 1080p resolution. Most impressive though, is the refresh rate. The Nord N30 sports a 120Hz refresh rate, putting it on the level of 2023 flagship phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Google Pixel 7 Pro.

It’s no gaming phone, but performance is still good. The Snapdragon 695 can handle most modern games, even if you may need to drop graphical quality if you want to experience the higher refresh rates the display is capable of. Battery life is similarly strong, and you can expect over a day of use most of the time. The Nord N30 also supports up to 50W of super-fast charging too, making it one of the fastest charging phones at this price point.

Yes, the camera is a letdown — but that’s only important if you’re the sort of person who likes taking pictures and videos. If you’re not much of a photographer, then there’s a lot to appeal to you here. The OnePlus Nord N30 5G has an excellent display, good performance, and a great battery life, and is a solid phone for just $300.

Nothing Phone 2

The best designed Android phone

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Aside from folding phones, all smartphones are starting to look the same in terms of design. However, Carl Pei’s Nothing has done something different with the Nothing Phone, and the latest Nothing Phone 2 continues to stand out from the crowd with the clear glass back and Glyph lighting system.

The Nothing Phone 2 is slightly bigger than its predecessor, coming in with a 6.7-inch OLED display, while the first phone had a 6.5-inch display. The 6.7-inch screen has 2412 x 1080 pixel resolution and a dynamic refresh rate up to 120Hz. Colors are bright and vivid on the display, everything looks crisp and sharp, and the speaker system is pretty decent for the price.

Even as a second generation device, the design for the Nothing Phone 2 is still unlike anything you’ve seen before. It’s a glass slab, yes, but it feels very light and manageable, despite the large size. The flat edges are part of the aluminum chassis, the clear back is made of glass, and the front screen is covered with Gorilla Glass. The Glyph lighting on the back is still present, though the LED strips are broke up into more segments this time around. However, the glass back also makes the phone very slippery, so be careful.

The Glyph lighting is also improved over the first generation. As mentioned earlier, it’s broken up into sections, giving it more functionality for various purposes. You can use the lighting as a visual timer, highlight priority notifications by having a persistent light, a fill-light for the camera in low light environments, and certain patterns can be set for incoming calls, accompanied by a sound effect. There’s a lot of customization here with the lighting system, and it is one of the standout features of the Nothing Phone 2.

Camera-wise, there aren’t a lot of change from the Nothing Phone 1. You have a 50MP main camera and a 50MP ultra wide. The selfie camera is 32MP. During the daytime, the Nothing Phone 2 will take some great photos. It struggles a bit in lowlight environments, but it’s a very solid performer across the board.

The Nothing Phone 2 comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, which is a slightly older processor. However, it offers fantastic performance and efficiency, so the Nothing Phone 2 should handle anything you need it to with ease. You get Android 13 with Nothing OS 2.0 layered on top. It’s similar to Android on a Pixel, though with some added customization features — including the ability to personalize folders and give all of your app icons a monochromatic paint job.

Battery life on the Nothing Phone 2 is also very good, as it has a 4,700mAh battery inside. Even with heavy use, you should be able to get through the day just fine without having to charge up mid-day. And when you do need to charge, it supports up to 45W PPS charging, which is a little under an hour for a full charge.

Considering the price, the Nothing Phone 2 is one of the best phones you can buy starting at $599. Not only is it one of the most unique looking smartphones around, but the day-to-day experience of using the phone is also rock solid. There’s very little to seriously complain about.

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro

The best gaming Android phone

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Asus has been making big changes to the ROG Phone; Horrifically, it’s made a phone that looks normal! But on the plus side, nothing that made the ROG Phone so special has been lost in the process, and it means the new Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro is the best choice for a gaming phone in 2024.

Let’s touch on those design changes first. Basically, the ROG Phone 8 Pro looks a lot more normal than previous versions. Out are the distinctive gamer chic design and the large cooling vents, and in is a much more sleek, black design that’s not too dissimilar to the styles of other flagship phones. There’s a LED array on the back, yes, but it doesn’t show up when it’s not in use, meaning the ROG Phone 8 Pro is downright subtle compared to what came before. Is it a positive change? On the whole, yes. It’s slimmer, lighter, and thinner, meaning it’s easier to use, but it has lost some of that mad charm gaming phones used to have.

What’s that processor? Why, it’s the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 again! You know the drill; it’s fast and extremely capable, and it’s paired with some other impressive specs. You either get 16GB or 24GB of RAM, plus 512GB or 1TB of storage, providing plenty of power and room for even the biggest games. But this phone’s performance only starts at the spec sheet, as it offers a boost to 165Hz for supported games, the Asus X Mode to supercharge gaming performance, and the range’s excellent AirTriggers on either shoulder. Add the optional AeroCooler X accessory to keep it cool, and you have a phone that’s thoroughly at home blasting the most challenging games available.

The beefy 5,500mAh battery offers a long-lasting battery life too. With only small amounts of use, the battery could last three or four days thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s energy-sipping — but really take the gaming mode for a spin, and it’ll still last a solid day. It also comes with 65W fast charging to get it charged right back up again.

Even the camera has been improved. It has a 50MP main lens, a 13MP wide-angle lens, and a 32MP telephoto lens, making this one of the more technically impressive Asus camera systems. Shots are pretty decent, and given how bad previous gaming phone cameras have been, this is something of an achievement. Sure, it won’t end up on the best camera phones list, but the camera no longer a reason to avoid the phone.

All of this doesn’t come cheap though, and throwing a “for gamers” sticker on any product has always meant a hike in price. Thankfully, given the specs and performance on offer here, the initial asking price of $1,199 isn’t that bad. It’s more than the equal of other phones in this price range, and plays games better than any of them. And while it can’t match most others for camera performance, the battery life means there’s still a place for this device. If you’re an avid mobile gamer, this should be your next phone.

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