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How to pick
The thing that decides when an Android phone needs replacing is not how fast it feels, it is how long the maker keeps sending security updates, and this varies enormously between brands in a way it does not on iPhone. Google's Pixels and Samsung's better phones now promise around seven years. Plenty of cheap Android phones stop after two, which means a perfectly good handset becomes unsafe to bank on long before it feels slow. Check that number before you check anything else, because it is the difference between a phone lasting two years and seven. After that, storage matters, though unlike an iPhone many Android phones take a memory card, so it is less final a decision. Buying last year's flagship beats this year's mid range for cameras and support alike.
What I recommend
The two normal flagships
This choice is genuinely close and comes down to what you value. Samsung for the brighter screen and better zoom, Pixel for the cleanest software and the most natural photos without fiddling. Both now promise around seven years of updates, which is the number that decides when a phone actually needs replacing.
Samsung Galaxy S26
The brighter of the two by a clear margin, which matters if you are often outdoors, and the more versatile zoom camera. Starts at 256GB. Samsung's software has more features than Google's, which some people love and others find cluttered.
- Very bright screen, excellent outdoors
- Better zoom range than the Pixel
- Starts at 256GB storage
- Around seven years of updates
- Samsung's software adds a lot you may not want
- Duplicate Samsung and Google apps for everything
- Photos are more processed, less natural
- Costs more than the base Pixel
Google Pixel 10
The cleanest version of Android there is, with no duplicate apps and no clutter, and photos that look natural straight out of the camera without editing. Google's own phone, so it gets updates first and for longest.
- Cleanest Android, nothing preinstalled you do not want
- Photos look natural with no fiddling
- Gets updates first, and for around seven years
- Cheaper than the Samsung
- Base model starts at 128GB, which is tight
- Dimmer screen than the Samsung
- Less zoom range
- Google hardware has had more teething problems historically
Google Pixel 10 Pro
Better cameras, a sharper and brighter screen, and more storage as standard. Same clean software as the standard Pixel. Worth it if photography matters and you would rather stay away from Samsung's software.
- Among the best cameras on any phone
- Brighter, sharper screen than the standard Pixel
- More storage as standard
- Same clean software
- Considerably more expensive
- Larger and heavier
- Most people will not use the extra camera range
Folding phones
Genuinely different rather than just bigger, and the category Samsung has spent the longest getting right. Two shapes: one folds out into a small tablet, the other folds down into something pocketable. Both cost more than a normal flagship and both have a visible crease down the middle of the inner screen, which people either stop noticing within a week or never stop noticing.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
This is my daily phone, so everything below is from carrying one rather than from reviews. Closed it is a phone, opened it is a small tablet. Genuinely useful for reading, spreadsheets, maps and anything where a phone screen feels cramped, and it means carrying one device rather than two. The latest generation is much thinner and lighter than the early ones, which was the main complaint about the older ones.
- A tablet sized screen in your pocket
- Genuinely good for documents, reading and maps
- Replaces carrying a phone and a tablet
- Much thinner than earlier generations
- Multitasking with two apps side by side actually works
- Expensive, among the priciest phones sold
- Visible crease down the middle of the inner screen
- Heavier than a normal phone
- The folding mechanism is one more thing to fail
- Cases and screen protectors are limited and costly
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7
Folds down to about half the size, so it disappears into a pocket or a small bag in a way no normal phone does. The cover screen handles quick things without opening it. Same normal sized screen as any flagship when open.
- Genuinely pocketable, unlike any normal phone
- Cover screen handles quick tasks unopened
- Folds shut to prop itself up for photos and calls
- Costs less than the Fold
- Battery is smaller than a normal flagship, because of the shape
- Crease is visible on the inner screen
- Cameras are a step behind the S26
- Hinge is a moving part, and moving parts wear
- Repairs are expensive out of warranty
Related reading
New phone and everything to move across?
Photos, contacts, messages and the apps you actually use. I can move the lot across so nothing is left behind.