It feels like Android phones have been around forever – since the launch of Google’s mobile operating system in 2008, dozens of phone makers have adopted the software to bring their phones to life.
Through 17 years and 15 numbered versions, Android has become a mainstay of the phone world and modern life itself. It’s overwhelmingly likely you know someone who uses an Android phone – that is if you aren’t one of the three billion people who uses one themselves.
Android is loved by fans for its customization and variety, with each phone maker designing a customized “wrapper” for Android with unique features and aesthetics. With Android 16 right around the corner, it seems a good time to ask you, the TechRadar readers, to share your favorite Android handset so far.
This begs the question of which Android phone is truly the best of all time – of course, our guide to the best Android phones can tell you TechRadar’s picks for the top currently available handsets, but that’s not quite the question we’re asking here.
Instead, we’re looking to find out which Android phone is the true people’s champ, taking into account its impact at the time, the legacy it left behind, and the ways it innovated to bring something new to the Android experience.
That means we’re not just looking for the best spec sheet – if that were the case the current crop of flagship Samsung, Google, OnePlus, and Xiaomi devices would probably come out on top.
Instead, we want to know which Android phone comes to mind as an example of tech greatness. Or simply the one you enjoyed using most – whether it came out this year, or all the way back at the launch of Android 1.0.
And there’s also the simple fact that there just aren’t enough of us here at TechRadar to say which Android phone is the best ever. A pinch of democracy should do the trick.
Already got a favorite Android phone in mind? Feel free to skip straight to the comments and let us know.
If you’re still undecided, no stress – there are certainly plenty of great phones to choose between. Here are a few to get you started:
Our pick for the overall best Android phone on the market right now is the OnePlus 13, an absolute powerhouse from one of the most forward-thinking phone makers around.
As mentioned, there’s no need to limit yourself to the most recent phones – in fact, some handsets from years gone by sport features you simply can’t find elsewhere. There’s the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which was the first handset to introduce a 10x telephoto lens, the LG Wing with its straight-up weird rotating display, the cult-classic HTC One M8 with its all metal design.
The list goes on; the Google Pixel 6 was the first properly all-Google phone thanks to its proprietary chipset, the Nothing Phone 1 stood against boring phone design with its LED glyphs, while the Samsung Galaxy Fold was so impactful that it spawned the folding phone market.
Apple has followed a minimalist design philosophy from the very first years of the iPhone, so Android has always been the home of weird and wonderful handsets that push technical boundaries and embrace unusual ideas. Above are a few reminders, but really we’ve only just scratched the surface.
So whether you’re rocking with a new Google Pixel 9 or an imported Xiaomi phone, whether you can’t wait for the next ASUS ROG phone or hoping for a Samsung Galaxy Note comeback, we want to hear from you. Let us know your pick for the best Android phone of all time in the comments below.
