Best Android Phones of 2021 (So Far)! By Reviews.org

- It's 2021 and you may be looking for a new phone right now. And if you are looking to upgrade your phone right now, I'm gonna help you with that, how? I'm gonna share with you my top picks for the best Android devices out right now so far. Let's get into it. (upbeat music) Hey, if any of these videos on the channel have helped you, if this one helps you, please hit us with that thumbs up, hit that subscribe and hit that notification bell, so you'll be notified when we upload the latest content. Before I begin, let's lay some ground rules for this roundup. First up, I'm including phones released after may of 2020 up until today, which is April 25th, 2021.

Second, this roundup includes phones for general audiences, the average user. I didn't include high end gaming phones or phones over $1000. I wanted to focus on affordable phones and those hitting right at or below the $1000 mark. So, first up for my picks at or below $300, I'm gonna suggest Google's Pixel 4a, the OnePlus Nord N10 5g with an honorable mention to Motorola's G power. The Pixel 4a is gonna get you a phone which does not have 5g but what it does have, is a great looking full HD plus OLED display at just under six inches.

It gets plenty bright and handles blacks and colors well, even outdoors. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with expandable storage but you do get 128 gigabytes for whatever you need. The battery does support 18 watt fast charging but only via wire. If camera quality is the most important thing to you, this is the one, and it will get more software updates than its competition in this price range. Three years.

If cost and future-proofing are the most important considerations for you, then I'd have to steer you to the Nord N10 5g from One Plus. This phone has a better processor than the 4a and is future-proof with 5G on board for almost $100 less. While the 4a has overall better camera quality. The pics you'll take with the N10 are fine for most of the things you're gonna do with them. This full HD plus six and a half inch LCD looks great and has a 90 Hertz refresh rate with dual speakers which are a delight, which makes for a satisfying multimedia experience.

The phone does have expandable storage, the fingerprint scanners on the back and it has a 4,300 milliamp hour battery which features 30 watt fast charging. And one more, just so you have options. Motorola makes really solid budget phones. And in this case, one with the massive battery. I have a review of the Moto One Ace 5G coming but it's outside this price range.

While I haven't had my hands on the Moto G power 2021 just yet, a meta analysis of it revealed a device for the budget minded that has a massive battery and expandable storage. Of the three mentioned in this range. It has the lowest screen resolution coming in at 720 by 1600 pixels. You'll get a side mounted, fingerprint scanner and three and a half millimeter headphone jack along with a massive 5,000 milliamp hour battery, which should go the distance and then some, made it to that HD plus display. I find the cameras on Moto phones to be good shooters in daylight, but sometimes a bit soft and low light and with the night shot.

But at $200 or less, it's a deal that I think some buyers stateside may not be able to pass up. Next up, we're pushing into mid range territory, around the $500 mark. We're gonna look at a Pixel phone again, but this time the 5G version of the 4a. You can check out the full review here or we'll put it in the description below. This phone's 6.2 inch OLED looks great at 10 80 by 2340 pixels and has quite a few upsides. Six gigabytes of Ram, 128 gigabytes of storage with Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 5G chip set, support for aptX HD and a display that supports HDR.

You'll also get a device which supports both sub-6 and millimeter wave 5G technologies. So you should be pretty well future-proof if you're someone who holds onto phones for a while. Only downsides are these smallish battery at 3,885 milliamp hours but it does come with 18 watt fast charging in the box and it's available in any color you want. As long as it's black. Now, I would have gone with Samsung's awesome A71 5g for my next pick for you, but the just released Galaxy A52 5g looks like a monster at this price.

It has a larger six and a half inch super amoled display which has a 120 Hertz refresh rate at full HD plus, 1080 by 2,400 pixels. Like the, 4a 5g, it also comes with stereo speakers and does include a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack. With the A52, you're also going to get more color options, a larger battery than the 4a 5g at 4,500 milli amp hours with faster 25 watt charging. It does have expandable storage and is IP67 dust and water resistant. And beyond the display, which Samsung is known for, you also get Samsung's cameras, which I've to be consistent across their high-end and entry-level devices.

Last but certainly not least in this range is T-Mobile or Verizon's versions of TCLs 10 5g. For a T mobile, you'll know it as the REVVL 5g and Verizon, it is the TCL 10 5g UW. It may be just a 6.53 inch, full HD plus LCD, but thanks to next vision technology, it actually looks great. The cameras do a great job of capturing images in good daylight, though they do get a bit soft and low light and in night mode. The fingerprint reader on this phone is located on the back along with a large 4,500 milliamp hour battery.

The speakers get plenty loud, but they are not dual stereo like the previous two. Though you do get a three and a half millimeter headphone jack. The phone shipped with Android 10, and according to TCL, will get at least one guaranteed update. So Android 11 should come your way at some point. Verizon's version is a bit better spec than T-Mobile's as it features 18 watt fast charging and its display is HDR 10 certified.

And that takes us to phones just under the thousand dollar mark if you have the shackles to spend. I'm actually going to begin by offering up two phones from the same manufacturer but at two different price points. The OnePlus 9, at around $650 and the OnePlus 9 Pro for $200 more. So let's begin with the 9. For $650 US, you're going to get a gorgeous 6.55 inch amoled display which supports HDR 10 with 1100 nits of brightness and a 120 Hertz refresh rate. It shipped with Android 11 and should get two years of updates.

Inside the 9 is a top of the line Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, 5G chip set, eight gigabytes of Ram with 120 gigabytes of storage on the base model. You get one of my favorite in display fingerprint sensors and one of the industry's fastest charging 4,500 milliamp hour batteries, which charges at 65 watts and can charge up from empty and around 30 minutes. You even get wireless charging at 15 watts. You'll also get great stereo speakers and in my testing, one of the best ultra wide cameras currently available on a smartphone. With the 9 Pro, you're going to get a larger 6.7 inch display that is brighter and with better energy conservation. It is LTPO and is higher resolution.

The Pro takes the battery game to the next level, improving on the charging with 50 watt wireless charging if you buy their 50 watt wireless charger. The phones aren't perfect though. They're really aggressive with killing apps in the background to the point that it can sometimes be problematic, but for the money they are both top-notch devices with a great user experience, even better, once they are an out those aggressive app kills. And this last phone won't kill your bank account but will give you great use for some time to come. Samsung released a beautiful phone this year in their new S21 series.

I love how they integrated the camera bump into the frame of the device. It isn't gone, but it feels like it flows better and is more aesthetically pleasing. Which is all void when you put a case on the phone. So all your camera bump complaints are, unless you like to live dangerously and go bare when it comes to device protection. Samsung's S21 Plus is the middle ground in the lineup of Samsung as 21 devices.

And it is worth the money with a couple of complaints here and there for them to bring it in at what they consider pandemic pricing. The 6.7 inch dynamic amoled display supports HDR 10 plus with 1300 nits of brightness and a 120 Hertz refresh rate. This year's device loses that QHD plus love instead, going with full HD plus, but it's still a delightful display. The S21 Plus also comes with Qualcomm's 888 5G chip set and premium cameras with the quality you've come to expect from their high end handsets. The user experience in One UI 3.1 is a joy. With some great features in the camera app which allows you to record video in some unique ways.

One of the things which makes this device a great buy is the ecosystem from DeX, which gives you powerful desktop like use on device or connected to an external monitor to the Galaxy Buds Pro, which supports spatial audio and my current top pick for premium earbuds to the Galaxy Watch 3, which is no slouch in the wearables department. There is a lot on offer when you add the Galaxy S21 Plus to your life. Now, if you aren't in dire need of a phone upgrade right now, there are some honorable mentions you should be considering which aren't on the market yet. Sony just announced their Xperia 1, Mark three. Which has some very intriguing camera technology built in.

And one of the only 4k 120 Hertz screens on the market and the only smartphone with spatial audio supported from the built in speakers. I can't wait to get my hands on a review unit of that. Then there's TCL. They announced their 20 series phones and their first effort with the 10 series was so solid. I think these will definitely be solid contenders for your consumer dollars.

With LG leaving the market, I think TCL is going to step in and fill the void left by them. They're also promoting some interesting things with their fold and roll displays. We'll see where they go with it. And though I've mentioned pixel devices in this roundup. If you can hold out a little longer, you should have new Pixel devices to look forward to in a possible 5a and Pixel 6.

So, those are my top US picks for 2021 so far. Agree, disagree, leave a comment below. Let me know what you think. What would your top pick in each category be? Let's fight it out in the comments below. You know people love to argue on the internet because we're all immediate experts in the comment section.

It's beautiful, isn't it? Hey, I'm just Tshaka Armstrong for reviews. org. If there are any questions I did not answer. Go ahead and leave those in the comments below. I'll get to them, love chatting with you all.

You're a great bunch. As always, we don't take it lightly that you've taken the time to watch here with us. I'll catch you on the next video.

Source : Reviews.org