Looking for the best android phone? We are at AndroidJunglee have listed the best android phones. 2016 has been the best year for Android enthusiasts, we have seen some innovative smartphones like Xiaomi Mi Mix and Moto Z with Moto Mods. Even Google has started making their own smartphones called “Pixel”. The Pixel phones fall under premium smartphone lineup which is completely different from Nexus devices. With the launch of Pixel smartphones, Google has ended the legacy of Nexus phones. OnePlus is such brand which I love the most, the latest OnePlus 3 is no exception. Samsung Galaxy series has been the best so far with Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. Sadly, the Note7 failed miserably due to hundreds of explosions across the globe. Wasting no time, have a look at the best android phones
Best Android Smartphones
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Google Pixel and Pixel XL
As mentioned earlier, Google has announced its own Pixel phones this year. The Pixel is the smaller variant whereas the Pixel XL is the larger variant. Both look similar in design except the screen size and few changes in specs. At first look, we were disappointed with the overall design but in the real world, it feels much premium and has its own flavor. The Pixel phones come with some exclusive features which you won’t find in general android smartphones. The smartphones feature a built-in Google Assistant support which works only with voice commands, just like Google Now. Say “Ok Google” and it starts instantly, it is more conversational compared to Siri.
The Pixel sports a 5-inch 1080P AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 Protection. The display is brilliant thanks to AMOLED panel on top. On the other hand, the Pixel XL comes with a larger 5.5-inch 2k AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass on top. If not the best but one of the best displays we have seen so far. The Pixel phones are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Quad-Core processor with Adreno 530 GPU. The 821 is the powerful smartphone chipset which has exceptional performance. The chipset gets the support from a 4GB of RAM which makes it even more powerful. They run on the latest Android Nougat 7.1 out of the box with pure Android experience.
It comes in two variants, 32 GB and 128 GB respectively but unfortunately there is no SD card support. Let’s talk about the camera, the pixel phones feature a 12.3-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash and an 8-megapixel selfie camera. It’s the best camera smartphone out there on par with iPhone 7 Plus. Even the popular YouTuber MKBHD has rated Pixel as the best camera smartphone and the best smartphone of 2016. The Pixel houses a 2770 mAh battery and Pixel XL boasts a 3450 mAh battery. They support fast charging as well, the battery life is amazing on Pixel XL due to the software optimization. If you are looking for the best android phone then Pixel phones are the best in the market.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge
Samsung is the leading global android smartphone brand. Continuing the legacy of the Galaxy lineup, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are one of the best android phones right now. The design is inspired by the Galaxy S6 series but the S7 series takes to the another level. The S7 series is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor with Adreno 530 GPU whereas the Indian variant has Exynos 8890 octa-core processor with Mali T880 MP12 GPU. In terms of performance and gaming, an s7 series is a powerful machine. You will hardly notice any lag what so ever on this smartphones. It has 4 Gigabytes of RAM, 32 GB/64 GB internal storage, and expandable up to 256 GB.
The Galaxy S7 sports a 5.1-Inch Super AMOLED always-on display with 2k resolution. On the top, it is protected by a corning gorilla glass 4. Whereas the S7 Edge comes with a larger 5.5-inch Super AMOLED Edge display which has the same features as S7. The display is gorgeous and one of the best displays on any smartphone. They run on the Android Marshmallow 6.0 with Touchwiz UI and upgradable to Nougat. Samsung has managed to improve the Touchwiz, the software optimization is top notch and it just flows.
The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge share the same camera sensors, on the back we have a 12-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization, phase detection autofocus, and LED flash support. You can find a 5-megapixel selfie camera with dual video call and Auto HDR support The S7 series had the best camera until the Google Pixel and iPhone 7 Plus entered the market. The camera performance is exceptional and takes brilliant shots in most conditions. There is a super fast fingerprint sensor on the home button. The S7 packs a 3000 mAh battery with Quick Charge 2.0 whereas the S7 Edge houses a larger 3600 mAh battery. The battery performance is pretty good on both the smartphones. If you are a Samsung Fanboy then S7 or S7 Edge should be in your pocket.
LG V20
LG V20 is the most under-rated smartphone of the year but it is one of the best android phones out there. We didn’t like the G5 that much but the V20 is one heck of a smartphone. LG V20 is the first android phone to feature an Android Nougat 7.0 straight out of the box. The software experience is a pure class with rich features and smooth user interface. Personally didn’t like the design especially the camera bump on the back. The build quality is premium which is expected from a brand like LG.
It’s been a quite year for LG as V20 didn’t get that attention compared to Google Pixel and Galaxy S7 series. Let’s talk about the hardware, the V20 is powered by a Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor which backed by an Adreno 530 GPU. The gaming performance is brilliant thanks to the powerful Adreno 530 GPU. To add more performance, the android phone packs a 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB/64 GB Gigs of inbuilt storage. LG V20 offers dual screens, one with larger 5.7-inch IPS 2K display with Gorilla Glass 4 and a small 2.1-inch display on top. The secondary display helps to access the shortcuts like toggles, WiFi, Data, Bluetooth etc. The primary display is crisp and it is made for multimedia content.
The smartphone from LG gets a dual rear camera, a 16-megapixel and 8-megapixel with OIS, Laser autofocus, and LED flash. If not the best, the V20 has one of the best cameras around. Even the 5-megapixel selfie camera takes great shots with a Wide-angle lens. LG V20 houses a removable 3200 mAh battery with Quick-Charge 3.0. The battery performance is good thanks to Android Nougat battery optimization.
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OnePlus 3T
OnePlus, a well-known Chinese brand which comes with new flagship each year. But in 2016, they had to launch two flagships because of the stiff competition. The OnePlus 3T is the upgraded version of OnePlus 3 which was launched in Q4 of the year. India is the only country where OnePlus 3 is being sold but has the shortage of OnePlus 3T.
OnePlus 3T carries the same 5.5-inch 1080 Optic AMOLED display with corning gorilla glass 4 protection. Earlier, OnePlus 3 faced a criticism on being not the colorful display. But OnePlus 3T is much brighter and colorful which ends up eating more juice. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Quad-Core processor with Adreno 530 GPU. It’s the most powerful processor on any smartphone with a brilliant performance. Personally, it’s my daily driver as of now and doesn’t want to move to any other device as of now. The 3T has 6 GB of RAM for high-end multitasking and offers in two variants, one with 64GB ROM and 128 GB storage. There is no expandable storage which is expected from OnePlus.
The mobile runs on Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 with Oxygen OS 3.2.8 ( upgradable to Nougat 7.1 ).The Android Smartphone sports a 16-megapixel rear camera with Optical Image Stabilization ( missing on OnePlus 3 ), phase detection autofocus, and LED flash. It has the same 16-megapixel selfie camera which is impressive. Overall the camera is good but not the best, considering the price tag, OnePlus 3T one of the best android phones. The best feature of OnePlus 3T is Dash Charging, the fastest smartphone to charge fully within 50 mins. It houses a larger 3400 mAh battery which is a much-improved upgrade over OnePlus 3. It’s the best android smartphone you can get with pure android experience.
Moto Z
Motorola has launched two exciting smartphones Moto Z and Moto Z play in 2016. At a first glance, the one thing you will notice is the design. By far the best looking android phone with amazing build quality. Moto is adopting semi-modular concept with Moto Mods but they are very expensive. If you can afford these, you can access different features of Moto Mods. Let’s talk about at some mods, the color swap backs to add more safety, battery backs to boost the battery life, JBL speaker back for extremely loud sound, and a Projector back for turning the phone into a projector.
Moto Z runs on Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 which is upgradable to Nougat 7.1. The pure android experience is super smooth with no hiccups. The Moto phone boasts a Snapdragon 820 Quad-core processor on top of Adreno 530 GPU. The performance is exceptional which is expected from a brand like Moto which is owned by Lenovo. It gets a 4 GB RAM, 32 GB/64 GB ROM, and expandable up to 256 GB. The Android smartphone flaunts a 5.5-inch AMOLED Quad-HD display with Gorilla Glass 4 on top. It has front-mounted Fingerprint sensor which works 8/10 times.
Motorola is not known for its camera and the Moto Z continues the legacy for not being the best cameras around. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash and OIS, the camera performance is just decent but it gets over exposure in daylight. On the front, the device features a 5-megapixel selfie camera with LED flash support. The smartphone houses a 2600 mAh battery with fast charging support. It has the best battery life along with the pixel smartphones. If you are looking for an android smartphone with great build quality and amazing design then Moto Z should be on your bucket list
Conclusion: So these are the best android phones available right now. This is an unbiased list based on the end-user experience rather than the specs on paper. Let me know if any of your best android smartphones is missing in this list by commenting down below.
