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Best Flagship Android Phone: You can’t go wrong with these top tier handsets

Android offers you the widest selection of options when shopping for a phone. There are countless configurations of cameras, designs, sizes and CPUs to choose from.

When it comes to flagship Android phones, they all have excellent screens, 5G, powerful processors and high-quality builds. The choice here, in part, boils down to how large you want your phone to be, and how much you’re fussed about having a powerful zoom camera. We’ll highlight more strengths in the round-up below.

Most versatile camera: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

Best mid-range camera: Google Pixel 6

High-end value pick: OnePlus 9 Pro

Flagship feel for less: Xiaomi Mi 11

Best performance: OPPO Find X3 Pro 5G

Foldable pick: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

Most versatile camera
Buy now

With a more robust camera set-up than any other Android phone on the market, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is incredibly fun to shoot images with. It also has an excellent screen, a striking design and plenty of power. It’s a real powerhouse, although does not include a charger, so budget for that too.

Pros

Brilliantly versatile camera array

Big, sharp and bright display

Supports Samsung’s S-Pen (not included)

Cons

Slower charging than many

UK version’s battery life could be a little better

Google Pixel 6

Google Pixel 6

Best mid-range camera
Buy now

Like other recent Google phones it’s the camera that is undoubtedly the Pixel 6’s stand-out feature, producing beautiful results regardless of the light conditions. There’s no zoom, mind, which is no surprise considering the price. Its design is great too, with a full aluminium and glass frame — no plastic — and a backing that you could recognise from 50m away.

Pros

Takes beautiful photos

Highly recognisable, stylish design

High-quality glass and metal build

Cons

Google Tensor CPU doesn’t offer class-leading gaming performance

No zoom camera

OnePlus 9 Pro

OnePlus 9 Pro

High-end value pick
Buy now

The OnePlus 9 Pro has a beautifully curved glass front, an ultra-high resolution 6.7-inch display panel and a good in-screen fingerprint scanner. You also get a 3.3x zoom camera, as well as a strong primary camera and an unusually good ultra-wide. While not quite the gold-tier bargain older OnePlus phones were, the OnePlus 9 Pro remains a mighty impressive buy.

Pros

Good value

Has Hasselblad optimisation in the camera software

Fast charging

Cons

Camera array is not class-leading

Xiaomi Mi 11

Xiaomi Mi 11 5G

Flagship feel for less
Buy now

The front of the Mi 11 boasts curved glass and the back is glass too — or “eco” leather if you choose that variant. And the sides are aluminium, not plastic. It also has one of the best screens at the price with the 1440p resolution easily besting the Pixel 6’s 1080p. Its secondary cameras aren’t class-leading but you get the sense that Xiaomi wanted to make all parts of this Android feel good, rather than focusing on single element.

Pros

Lovely curved glass design

Fast charging

Strong display

Cons

Secondary cameras could be better

No water resistance rating

Oppo Find X3 Pro

OPPO Find X3 Pro

Best performance
Buy now

Packing the powerful Snapdragon 888 chipset, 12GB RAM and a whopping 256GB of storage by default, the Oppo Find X3 Pro is nothing short of a powerhouse. Its unique camera bump and steep asking price prevent it from being a smash hit with everyone, but if you want a phone that can handle multitasking and gaming without breaking a sweat, then it’s a great one to go for.

Pros

Tons of storage

Powerful internals

5G-ready

Cons

Very expensive

Questionable camera design

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

Foldable pick
Buy now

Foldable technology isn’t brand new anymore, but its taken until the Galaxy Z Flip 3 for the technology to really come into its own. This perfectably portable handset can easily fit into a purse or pocket when folded, but it still comes with the same great Samsung experience that you can expect from the company’s best phones.

Best

Foldable design

Unique front-display

Compact

Cons

Foldable tech still has a way to go

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