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Android phones have come a long way since the T-Mobile G1 (HTC Dream) from 2008. Today, they’re available in almost all shapes and sizes. After reviewing and using various Android phones for several years, I can confidently say these are my all-time favorites.
1HTC Google Nexus One
The Google Nexus One was one of the first phones I swooned over while I was in college, way back in 2010. I absolutely loved the larger 3.7-inch AMOLED screen that most other phones of that era couldn’t deliver. It featured a unique central trackball that helped with navigation, similar to what you’d find on some Blackberry models.
Another thing that makes the Nexus One an iconic handset is that it’s the first one marketed directly as a Google phone, meaning you got an Android phone the way Google intended it to be.
Aside from its software, the Nexus One also got a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, making it a pretty powerful device for its time. It only had a 512MB storage capacity, but fortunately, it came with a microSD slot and a 4GB card, giving you all the space you need for photos and videos.
2HTC One (M8)
HTC released the HTC One (M8) in 2014. At the time, HTC was one of the top smartphone brands globally. This flagship phone was the one all my colleagues wanted when I was working at a bank—it had a nice 5-inch screen, which made it bigger than the iPhone 6 (but smaller than the 6 Plus). We all loved the shape of its body, with its sleek aluminum frame and top and bottom grilles for the speakers.
Not only did the phone look good, but it was also a pleasure to use. It had a nice rear camera with a wide f/2.0 opening, and it’s one of the first few implementations of a depth sensor that allows for nice, creamy bokeh. It also allowed me to refocus images after taking them, giving me more leeway when taking creative photos with the phone.
The only downside was that the rear camera was only 4MP, but it was still more than enough for most people back then. Besides, the 1/3-inch camera sensor would help me take cleaner photos, which is whysensor size is more important than megapixelsup to a point.
This combination of sleek body style and great camera performance made it one of the most memorable devices for me. Its Snapdragon 801 chip with 2GB of RAM also made it a great device for gaming. And the expandable microSDXC slot meant you’d never run out of space for all the images you take.
3OnePlus One
Back in 2013, OnePlus was a new brand, and the OnePlus One was dubbed a “flagship killer.” But what really made this phone stand out from the crowd was its price—at just $350 for the 64GB version, it offered flagship performance at an affordable cost. By comparison, the HTC One (M8) was $649, and the Samsung Galaxy S5 was closer to $700.
Despite its low price, OnePlus was a top-notch device: a 5.5-inch display with a flagship Snapdragon 801 chip, 64GB of storage and 3GB of RAM, a 13MP f/2.0 rear camera and a 5MP front camera, and a 3,100mAh battery. However, its low price meant that it had to cut some corners. It used an IPS display (instead of AMOLED) and sported a plastic back cover with a plastic frame instead of aluminum.
OnePlus didn’t skimp on the most important part: great hardware that delivered a smooth user experience. I loved the OnePlus One because it showed the world how to make a phone that could beat Apple, Samsung, and HTC at their own game for half the price.
4Samsung Galaxy Note 5
Although there were other Samsung Galaxy Note models before the Note5, this was the first one to feature an all-glass construction. I also cannot count the times the stylus made my life so much easier, especially when I needed to move or touch small points on the screen with my chunky fingers.
It featured a 16MP camera with a wide f/1.9 opening and a large 1/2.6-inch sensor, making it a great phone for taking crisp photos. I also loved how I could just double-press the front button to launch the camera and take photos instantly.
Despite having a glass front and back, I loved the phone’s durability. It lasted two years under my care and another three years with my brother-in-law. It only needed replacing when my two-year-old niece threw it at a wall and broke the screen when she threw a tantrum, something thata soft or hard phone casecan’t protect against.
Nevertheless, the Galaxy Note 5 is one of the main reasons why I still keep a Samsung phone as one of my main devices today.
5Google Pixel
After spending several years asking other manufacturers to build smartphones for it, Google finally built its first phone in 2016. It had excellent specifications—a 5-inch AMOLED screen, a Snapdragon 821 processor, 128GB of storage, and 4GB of RAM—meaning you won’t have problems in terms of performance.
That said, the device stood out in the software department. It ran stock Android, with no skin to slow it down or bloatware that took up unnecessary space. It was also the first in line to get software updates, and it received OS updates for nearly three years since its release.
Another thing I loved about the Google Pixel was its excellent camera quality. It had a reasonably fast 12.3MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture to deliver excellent image quality. However, the Google Pixel’s image processing was far better than that of the competition, which is why some people I knowswitched to the Google Pixeldespite being a Samsung user for many years.
6Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
Samsung is the leader when it comes to folding phones. However, the first Samsung Galaxy Fold had so many first-generation quirks that I couldn’t call it my favorite.
But after five iterations, I can confidently say that the Z Fold 5 feels more like a practical phone for daily use and less like an interesting gimmick. It is truly a power user’s delight, with its operating system well-equipped for multitasking. It also finally addressed the unsightly gap you’d find in older models.
While it kept most of the hardware in the older Z Fold 4, the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and the improved hinge finally made me believe in the folding phone’s usefulness and practicality. In 2024, Samsung further improved its foldable phones, and that’s evident from how muchwe love the newer Z Fold 6.
For now, these are the all-time best Android phones I’ve seen enter the market. As phone makers come out with new models annually, I’m sure I’ll encounter more iconic devices that will eventually replace some of the phones in this list.
