Best Android phones in the UK (October 2019)
With Android thoroughly dominating the mobile industry, there are countless great Android smartphones to pick from in the UK phones market. From sleek devices that impress with premium design, to powerhouses brimming with features, to all-around great devices, and affordable phones that punch above their weight, the best Android phones in the UK offer a staggering variety of attractive phones.
Not all smartphone models are available globally, for reasons ranging from modem and networks through to supply chains and marketing. In this roundup, we’re looking at the absolute best Android phones you can buy in the UK.
Best Android phones in UK:
Editor’s note: We will be regularly updating this list of best Android phones in UK as new devices launch and become available in the country.
1. Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus
Samsung may be known best for its Galaxy S phones, but the Note is the product line that power users flock to every year. Things changed a little in 2019, however, as Samsung released two Note phones for the first time — the Note 10 and Note 10 Plus.
While the vanilla Note 10 is a great phone in its own right despite some questionable feature omissions and downgrades, the Note 10 Plus represents Samsung’s best (and most expensive) phone you can buy in the UK right now.
Read more: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus camera review: At this price it should be better
Sporting a gorgeous, gradient-style look and a streamlined design with less buttons and more glass, the Note 10 Plus is also a specs powerhouse with an Exynos 9825 SoC, a whopping 12GB RAM, up to 512GB of UFS 3.0 storage, wireless and reverse wireless charging, and the almighty S Pen with all-new upgrades. The Note 10 Plus also has more display than ever with the bezels removed in favor of an “Infinity O” punch hole.
The lack of a headphone jack really stings as Samsung was one of the last hold outs for including the 3.5mm port, but there’s no denying that this is the best Note phone to date.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus specs:
- Display: 6.8-inch, QHD+
- SoC: Snapdragon 855
- RAM: 12GB
- Storage: 128/256GB
- Rear camera: 16, 12, 12MP, and depth sensor
- Front camera: 10MP
- Battery: 4,300mAh
- Software: Android 9.0 Pie
2. OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 7T Pro
What happens when the flagship killer makes a flagship? You get the OnePlus 7T Pro.
Like its direct predecessor the OnePlus 7 Pro, the OnePlus 7T Pro sees the Chinese brand upping its game in every department over its previous generations. The display is a Quad HD+ screen with a 3,120 x 1,440 resolution (516ppi), HDR 10+ support, and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and almost no bezels whatsoever. This “Fluid AMOLED” display, as OnePlus calls it, has a 90Hz refresh rate for a smoother, snappier feel.
Instead of a notch, the OnePlus 7T Pro features a mechanized pop-up selfie camera which will handily retract if you drop the phone. Meanwhile, on the back you’re getting a triple camera from OnePlus which features a 48MP main shooter, an 8MP telephoto lens, and an ultra-wide angle 16MP sensor. Other features include an in-display fingerprint sensor, the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus SoC, 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, and a 4,085mAh battery with Warp Charge 30T support.
What happens when the flagship killer makes a flagship?
There’s still no headphone jack or official waterproofing rating, but the OnePlus 7T Pro has all the specs and style to match the best UK phones with much higher price tags.
Not so keen on the curved display and want to save some cash? Then you should absolutely check out the OnePlus 7T which is arguably an even better phone overall considering the £599 price.
OnePlus 7T specs:
- Display: 6.55-inch, Full HD+
- SoC: Snapdragon 855 Plus
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage: 128GB
- Rear camera: 48, 8, and 16MP
- Front camera: 16MP
- Battery: 3,800mAh
- Software: Android 10
OnePlus 7T Pro specs:
- Display: 6.67-inch, QHD+
- SoC: Snapdragon 855 Plus
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage: 256GB
- Rear camera: 48, 8, and 16MP
- Front camera: 16MP
- Battery: 4,085mAh
- Software: Android 10
3. Google Pixel 4 XL
The big G stuck with a single shooter for its Pixel phones long after it become cool to go double or triple, instead relying on computational photography to once again give it the edge. With the Pixel 4 XL, Google finally added a telephoto lens for AI-assisted zoom and the results are as great as you might expect.
The Pixel 4 XL is also a huge step up in design for Google’s phones and the 3D face unlock may be the best to date. There’s also the phone’s big gimmick of having an actual radar chip inside for Motion Sense gestures, as well as that signature clean and clinical Pixel software which is guaranteed to get the latest Android 10 updates and beyond.
The RAM has also been given a boost to 6GB over the Pixel 3 series’ paltry 4GB which, combined with the Snapdragon 855, eases performance hiccups.
Is it a perfect phone, though? Absolutely not.
The biggest issue is battery life, which is underwhelming on the Pixel 4 XL and even worse on the regular Pixel 4 — so much so that we can’t really recommend the smaller version. The default 64GB storage is also really tiny, especially when you factor in that the Pixel 3 XL starts at £829. Want 128GB? That’s another £100 on top.
Issues aside, though, if you want a phone that takes wonderful photos every time, there’s nothing that can match the Google Pixel 4 XL.
Google Pixel 4 XL specs:
- Display: 6.3-inch, QHD+
- SoC: Snapdragon 855
- RAM: 6GB
- Storage: 64/128GB
- Rear camera: 12.2MP and 16MP
- Front camera: 8MP
- Battery: 3,700mAh
- Software: Android 10
4. Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus, S10e, and S10 5G
The most successful smartphone maker in the business today was expected to deliver great things for its marquee series’ tenth anniversary. Safe to say, the Samsung Galaxy S10 series didn’t disappoint.
The Galaxy S10 quartet is arguably Samsung’s best iteration on the Galaxy S family to date. It’s also the largest, with the slightly more affordable Galaxy S10e offering all the best bits of the Galaxy brand at a slightly cheaper price and the S10 5G offering the highest specs with 5G support to boot.
Related: Samsung Galaxy S10 series specs: Memory overload
Best-in-class displays, stunning design, top-end hardware, and impressive camera performance have been hallmarks of Samsung’s design for some time now. The S10 range delivers on all these fronts (mostly) and more, though the Galaxy S10 Plus is arguably the pick of the bunch thanks to its smorgasbord of features like Wireless PowerShare, an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, the larger display and battery, and depth sensor for the front-facing camera. It’s also one of the only flagship phones from any OEM to still have a headphone jack.
All three phones are powered by the Exynos 9820 SoC (Snapdragon 855 in other regions) paired with between 6GB to 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of on-board storage. They also all run Android Pie out of the box with Samsung’s One UI skin on top.
The Galaxy S10 series is worth the premium price tag.
The Galaxy S10 5G adds extra display real estate, 5G support, and a Time-of-Flight sensor to the package, but all that premium goodness comes with a hefty cost — £1,099 to be exact. Taking a minor step down, the Galaxy S10 Plus is really the “best” of the range and muscles out the regular Galaxy S10 which (while still a good phone in its own right) sits too awkwardly between the Plus and the S10e to make this list of the best UK phones.
The base model Galaxy S10 Plus is £899, while the max configuration with 1TB storage and 12GB RAM is priced at a whopping £1,399. The Galaxy S10e, meanwhile, is the most affordable of the lot at just £669.
Samsung Galaxy S10e specs:
- Display: 5.8-inch, Full HD+
- SoC: Exynos 9820
- RAM: 6/8GB
- Storage: 128/256GB
- Rear cameras: 12 and 16MP
- Front camera: 10MP
- Battery:3,100mAh
- Software: Android 9.0 Pie
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus specs:
- Display: 6.4-inch, QHD+
- SoC: Exynos 9820
- RAM: 8/12GB
- Storage: 128/512GB and 1TB
- Rear cameras: 12, 12, and 16MP
- Front cameras: 10 and 8MP
- Battery: 4,100mAh
- Software: Android 9.0 Pie
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G specs:
- Display: 6.7-inch, QHD+
- Chipset: Exynos 9820
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage: 256/512GB
- Rear cameras: 12, 12, and 16MP, and ToF
- Front camera: 10MP and ToF
- Battery: 4,500mAh
- Software: Android 9.0 Pie
5. Xiaomi Mi 9T
Want all the power of a £1,000 flagship phone for less than half the price? Look no further than the Xiaomi Mi 9T a.k.a. the Redmi K20 Pro rebranded for Europe.
Priced at a ridiculously low £399, the Mi 9T Pro offers a frankly bonkers price-performance ratio. It’s powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC that featured in almost all the biggest flagship phones of 2019 and is backed by 6GB of RAM.
It’s not just the silicon that belies the phone’s price tag either. The 6.39-inch bezel-less AMOLED display, in-display fingerprint sensor, pop-up selfie shooter, and impressive triple camera suite blow the rest of the mid-tier market out of the water.
Of course, there are sacrifices to be made to get those features at this price point, most notably in the software department. Xiaomi’s MIUI skin is a little hit-and-miss to say the least, but it’s improving all the time.
There’s just no better all-round phone out there for this price.
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro specs:
- Display: 6.39-inch, Full HD+
- SoC: Snapdragon 855
- RAM: 6GB
- Storage: 128GB
- Rear cameras: 48, 8, and 13MP
- Front camera: 20MP
- Battery: 4,000mAh
- Software: Android 9.0 Pie
6. Huawei P30 Pro
The main attraction with Huawei’s P-series is the camera, and the P30 Pro sports a killer quad-lens setup, once again co-engineered with Leica. The vertical module features a 40 megapixel sensor (OIS, f/1.6) main sensor based on an RYB (red, yellow, blue) model to absorb more light, 20 megapixel sensor (OIS, f/2.2) wide-angle lens, and an 8 megapixel periscope lens (OIS, f/3.4) that delivers up to 5x optical zoom and up to 10x hybrid zoom. The fourth lens is a tiny Time-of-Flight (TOF) sensor sat underneath the flash.
Read more: Huawei P30 Pro camera review
The results from all these camera bells and whistles — not to mention Huawei’s AI advancements — are astounding. The low light shots and zoom images are stunning and represent a huge step forward for smartphone photography.
The rest of the phone is just as spectacular too. Be it the all-glass, gradient aesthetic (especially in the Aurora color), the OLED display, reverse wireless charging, the optical in-display fingerprint sensor, or great battery life, the P30 Pro goes far beyond being just a bag of camera tricks.
The Huawei P30 Pro has technically been superseded by the Mate 30 Pro, though you can’t buy that in the UK just yet because of the Huawei Android ban debacle. You probably wouldn’t want to either as that phone doesn’t have Google services. It should be noted that the P30 Pro launched before the legal battle kicked off, so future software updates should be unaffected.
Huawei P30 Pro specs:
- Display: 6.47-inch, QHD+
- SoC: Kirin 980
- RAM: 6/8GB
- Storage: 128/256/512GB
- Cameras: 40, 20, 8MP, and ToF
- Front camera: 32MP
- Battery:4,200mAh
- Software: Android 9.0 Pie
7. Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL
The long-rumored Pixel “Lite” finally became a reality with the Google Pixel 3a — a phone that packs in almost everything there is to love about the Pixel 3 series for a fraction of the price.
The main carryover from its premium sibling is the camera, which is almost identical to the acclaimed Pixel 3 camera. The Pixel Visual Core is missing, but Google reworked its imaging algorithms to work with the lower power Snapdragon 670 SoC and the results are remarkable. Night Sight, Super Res Zoom, Portrait mode, and all the other celebrated Pixel 3 camera features are also included.
You’re also getting the full, bloat-free Pixel software experience with timely updates and a guaranteed three years of OS upgrades and security patches. On the hardware side, there’s Active Edge for quick access to Google Assistant, a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, and even a 3.5mm headphone jack.
There have been understandable downgrades to the display, processor, speakers, and overall build (plastic not glass), but for just £399 the Pixel 3a is one of the best mid-range phones ever made.
If you want all the Pixel 3a has to offer and a larger screen to boot there’s also the Pixel 3a XL with its 6-inch display and near identical specs for a little extra at £469.
Google Pixel 3a specs:
- Display: 5.6-inch, Full HD+
- SoC: Snapdragon 670
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 64GB
- Rear cameras: 12.2MP
- Front camera: 8MP
- Battery:3,000mAh
- Software: Android 9.0 Pie
Google Pixel 3a XL specs:
- Display: 6-inch, Full HD+
- SoC: Snapdragon 670
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 64GB
- Rear cameras: 12.2MP
- Front camera: 8MP
- Battery:3,700mAh
- Software: Android 9.0 Pie
8. Samsung Galaxy Fold 5G
We’re putting the Samsung Galaxy Fold 5G on this list because despite all its issues and impracticalities there’s nothing else quite like it.
Where else can you get a phone that’s not just a phablet, but an actual 7.3-inch tablet and a regular 4.6-inch phone (albeit with a weird small display) in one.
Throw in six (!) total cameras, two (!) batteries, 12GB RAM, 5G support, and a huge 512GB storage and you’ve got yourself a beast of a phone with a design quirk that is guaranteed to turn heads.
Read more: 5G UK: Plans, phones, coverage, and everything else you need to know!
However, before you splash an eye-watering £1,900 on the first foldable phone to hit the UK market, you should know what you’re getting yourself into.
This is a first attempt at an ambitious concept and we’ve already seen that the Fold’s larger display is very prone to damage, even after a lengthy delay and a minor redesign in an attempt to solve durability issues.
With all that said, if you want a slice of the future today, the Galaxy Fold 5G is the phone for you.
Samsung Galaxy Fold specs:
- Display: 7.3-inch, QHD+ and 4.6-inch HD
- SoC: Snapdragon 855
- RAM: 12GB
- Storage: 512GB
- Rear camera: 12, 12, and 16MP
- Front camera: 10, 8, and 10MP
- Battery: 4,235mAh
- Software: Android 9.0 Pie
That’s it for our look at the best Android phones in UK. We’ll add more top phones available in UK stores as they hit the market.
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