Your guide to the latest and best Android phones of 2017. Check out our latest reviews and buyer’s guide on the top Android phones for this year.
We’ve reviewed all the major flagship phones available at the moment but plenty more are on their way this year so the right handset for you might be just around the corner. Also see: Best Phone Deals
Devices coming soon include the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, HTC U 11, Nokia 8 and 9, and OnePlus 5 – all of which can challenge for the top spots in our chart.
Android has the largest market share in the smartphone world, but whereas Apple’s share is divided between just a few iPhones with obvious differences between them there are hundreds of Android phones available to buy.
And the choice gets even more confusing when you consider that each Android phone manufacturer has multiple Android phone product lines, each with its own features and benefits. Also see: Best smartphones 2017 UK.
In our best Android phones chart we focus primarily on flagship devices, with the exception of where a phone lower down the range stands out for its excellent value (the Moto G5 for example) , feature set or performance. The phones in this group are those most likely to be bought on a contract, however, and their initial cost will be largely irrelevant.
If you are buying them SIM-free you should check out our best SIM-only deals, but if budget is a primary consideration for you, also see our round-up of the best budget phones .
When we talk about flagship smartphones, we really just mean the top model in a company’s phone line-up. You’ d usually expect to pay between £500- and £600 for it SIM-free, or around £40- to £50 a month on a contract.
But cheaper phones can have flagship specs – and especially when you consider some of the surprisingly affordable Chinese phones we review.
In 2017 a flagship Android phone specification will look something like this:
• Android 7.0 Marshmallow (Android Nougat will increasingly be available on new Android phones soon)
• Slim, lightweight metal/glass design
• 5-6in Quad-HD IPS display with Gorilla Glass 4
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 820/821/835 processor or comparable octa-core chip
• 4GB+ of RAM
• 32GB of storage, plus microSD support
• Fingerprint scanner
• 12Mp and higher primary camera with dual-tone flash, optical image stabilisation, laser autofocus and large apertures, plus support for 4K video recording
• 5Mp and higher selfie camera
• 4G LTE Cat.9
• Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 4.2
• NFC, GPS, GLONASS, OTG
• Circa-3000mAh battery with fast charging
