Best Android phone 2019: Which is the top Android phone to buy today?
The world of Android phones is very different to the world of Apple phones. Apple aims to give you the same experience across its devices whereas Android embraces variety, with phones from different manufacturers having a very different personality - and different features.
That means personal brand preference plays a big part, aside from the core Android experience. Pricing is hugely competitive, presenting you with a lot of choices.
Here's our run down of the very best Android phones you can buy and the reasons why they deserve your attention.
Samsung Galaxy S10+
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The Samsung Galaxy S series has long been the flagship series to beat in the Android world. And with Samsung still commanding a sizeable chunk of the market, and Huawei's reported US sanctions, it's the one that's easiest to recommend buying in 2019.
With the big-name comes a big experience. The awesome display on the front dominates the available space, with the hole-punch cameras being only a minor distraction from an otherwise glorious display.
Inside, you get all the power you could wish for, and performance to match. It's fast, fluid, goes all day and has one of the most versatile cameras available on any smartphone.
OnePlus 7 Pro
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In previous years, OnePlus phones had been renowned for offering a powerful, fast, premium experience with a cost that was a fraction of that demanded by the big names on the market. There was always a sense that a little bit was being held back though. With the 7 Pro, that's no longer the case.
This is a proper, ultra-premium flagship phone, with a price which - while still cheaper than the big names - is much higher than anything OnePlus has charged before.
With that said, it's got one of the best displays we've ever seen on a phone, a fun, versatile triple camera system on the back and a version of Android that's lightweight and very customisable. It's a bit big, and a bit heavy, but if you're happy to live with that, you'll get a stunning phone.
Xiaomi Mi 9
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Xiaomi's approach to the European market has been explosive. With the Mi 9 it delivers an experience considerably better than its predecessor, with great power coming from its Snapdragon 855 chipset and the eye-catching OLED panel on the front.
Where Xiaomi still lacks slightly is in the software department. MIUI - its custom interface - introduces too many duplicates and other interactions that are redundant, but it's a phone that costs considerably less than the likes of Samsung, and so you'd be silly not to buy one.
OnePlus 7
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It's not as big, or quite as exciting as its big brother, the OnePlus 7 Pro, but the OnePlus 7 is still a very easy phone to recommend. Just like the Xiaomi Mi 9, it offers top-tier performance in a piece of hardware that looks and feels like a high end device.
One thing it has over Xiaomi's phone is the lighter software experience. OnePlus' Oxygen OS is very much like using a stock Android interface on the surface, but has a load of customisation options that make it a bit more personal. What's more, the phone costs a lot less than the competition and has an improved camera for 2019.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
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If you like big phones, then the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has to be on the radar. With the Galaxy S9+ pretty close in experience, the Note 9 faces a bit more of a challenge and its appeal really comes down to the S Pen. It offers options you don't get on other phones, giving you ways to control and interact with the Note which are unique.
The other big jump in the Note 9 is battery life. While it doesn't match the Mate 20 Pro, it's better than a lot of devices on this list. However, it's one of the few that hasn't updated to Android Pie (at the time of writing), with Samsung being pretty slow to roll-out updates to its devices.
Google Pixel 3 XL
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The Google Pixel 3 XL is pure Android Pie, as Google wants you to experience it. This is the best camera phone on the market, able to do things with its single lens that others struggle to do with three - while also offering staggering low light performance.
It's not the smoothest runner though. The phone has been plagued by software bugs, the notch design isn't as efficient as others and this phone is expensive - especially given the battery life which doesn't match many others on this list. If photography is your highest priority, the Pixel 3 XL is the phone you want, but if it isn't, there's lots of appeal elsewhere. Unless you want pure pure Android, in which case this is where you'll find it.
Samsung Galaxy S10e
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Samsung's smaller Galaxy handset has a lot to offer if you don't want a huge phone in your pocket, and if you don't want a huge hole in your wallet. It offers very much the same hardware experience as the larger S10 and S10+, but loses one of the cameras on the rear, so unlike the bigger phone, you don't have optical zoom.
What you do have is Samsung's great software experience, loaded with connectivity and clever features, making for a compelling experience. What's more, it's almost approaching OnePlus and Xiaomi levels of value for money, and with a big name like Samsung, that's worth something.
In short, if you want a small but powerful device, built by one of the most reliable brands on the market, the S10e is your phone.
Sony Xperia XZ3
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Sony Mobile finds form with the Xperia XZ3, throwing off the shackles of its older design to present something that's a lot more appealing. There's great use a space, a fantastic display and a good camera experience.
There is some software tweaking going on from Sony, but running the latest version of Android, there isn't a lot to complain about. Sony's struggle is that it ends up costing a little more than some of its rivals like OnePlus. Still, if you want something that will tie-in with your PlayStation 4, the Xperia has the ecosystem advantage.
Google Pixel 3a
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It might be sporting a mid-range processor under the hood, but being able to get an almost full Pixel experience at a fraction of the cost of the full Pixel 3 is fantastic. This phone is all about lowering the price barrier, enabling you to get to that camera without needing hefty wad of cash.
It runs the same clean, enhanced version of Android as the Pixel 3 family, and there's some AI smarts being used to ensure that the software and animations all runs as smoothly as you'd expect from a more powerful phone.
Google Pixel 3
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The Google Pixel 3 is the smaller pure Google handset. It avoids some of the criticism that the larger handset faces with the notch, while offering the same great camera experience. There's plenty of power and a great design, but that display is small and it takes a drop in resolution at the same time.
For a smaller phone it offers plenty, but we're not sure the experience shines quite so well at this price point and this size. Still, if it's a small phone you want, then it's hard to beat the experience of the Pixel 3.
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