Best Android phones REVEALED – the top iPhone alternatives to buy
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NEED a mobile upgrade, but don't want an iPhone? We've rounded up the very best Android phones you can buy in November 2018.
Below you'll find top phones from brands like Google, Samsung and OnePlus that have all been tested by The Sun's tech team.
Samsung Galaxy S9 – £529
The Samsung Galaxy S9 came out back in March, and remains one of the best smartphones you can buy today.
It's got a slim and attractive design with a large 5.8-inch Infinity Display that curves gentle around the edges.
It's powered by Qualcomm's nippy Snapdragon 845 processor, packs in 4GB of RAM, and boasts a respectable 64GB of storage as standard.
The Sun says: The Galaxy Note 9 is arguably better for gadget geeks, but the undeniably impressive Galaxy S9 can now be bought very cheaply – making it a prime option for Android fans.
- Samsung Galaxy S9 at Amazon UK for £529 –
- Samsung Galaxy S9 at EE (30GB data) for £33 a month (£0 upfront) –
Huawei Mate 20 Pro – £899
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is a powerful handset with the very speedy Kirin 980 processor at its core.
It has a unique ability: it can reverse-charge other smartphones wirelessly (including an iPhone XS).
It's also got a high-performance triple-lens camera on the back, an in-screen fingerprint scanner, and a large 4,200mAh battery.
The 6.39-inch screen is also impressive, with a very dense 3,120 x 1,440-pixel display resolution.
The Sun says: We were very impressed with the quality of the camera and computing heft offered by the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. It's expensive, but you certainly get what you pay for.
- Huawei Mate 20 Pro at Carphone Warehouse for £899 –
- Huawei Mate 20 Pro at O2 (15GB data) for £34 a month (£180 upfront) –
OnePlus 6T – £499
The OnePlus 6T is the latest handset from plucky Chinese start-up OnePlus.
It's got a large 6.41-inch FHD+ display, the high-end Snapdragon 845 processor on board, and a sizeable 3,700mAh battery.
The rear camera has a dual-lens set-up, pairing 16-megapixel and 20-megapixel sensors.
It's also fairly unique in that it has an in-screen fingerprint scanner, which only a few handsets in the world have.
The Sun says: As always, it's impossible to argue with the exceptional value for money you get from a OnePlus phone. The very slick and feature-packed OnePlus 6T is no different.
- OnePlus 6T at Carphone Warehouse for £499 –
- OnePlus 6T at O2 (4GB data) for £29 a month (£60 upfront) –
Sony Xperia XZ3 – £699
Sony's latest handset is the Xperia XZ3, a powerful model with high-end features.
Its highlight is the 6-inch OLED screen, which reproduces colours very accurately and looks vivid and sharp.
It's got a Snapdragon 845 chip on board, and comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage as standard.
The Sun says: This phone has one of the best screens we've ever seen on a smartphone. For Android phones, we'd say it's the closest display to an iPhone XS in terms of quality.
- Sony Xperia XZ3 at Carphone Warehouse for £699 –
- Sony Xperia XZ3 at Vodafone (4GB data) for £23 a month (£315 upfront) –
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 – £849
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is basically a souped-up, more expensive version of the Galaxy S9.
It's got a huge 6.4-inch AMOLED screen with a dense 2,960 x 1440-pixel display resolution.
At its heart is a Snapdragon 845 chip, with the base model of the phone toting a generous 128GB of storage and 6GB of memory.
There's also a built-in S-Pen stylus that can be ejected and used to make notes or draw on the phone.
The Sun says: It's huge, it's powerful, and it's arguably Samsung's best smartphone to date. Plus, using the stylus makes us feel really important.
- Samsung Galaxy Note 9 at Carphone Warehouse for £849 –
- Samsung Galaxy Note 9 at O2 (10GB data) for £32 a month (£350 upfront) –
Google Pixel 3 XL – £869
The Google Pixel 3 XL is the larger of Google's new 2018 smartphone pair.
It came out in October and runs on the latest version of Android 9.0 Pie.
It has a big 6.3-inch screen with a 2,960 x 1,440-pixel display resolution, working out at 523 pixels per inch.
The 12.2-megapixel camera on the back is also very impressive, and can shoot 4K footage at 30 frames per second.
The Sun says: The big advantage of a Google Pixel phone is you get all of the latest Android software updates (and new features) first.
- Google Pixel 3 XL at Carphone Warehouse for £869 –
- Google Pixel 3 XL at O2 (15GB data) for £34 a month (£280 upfront) –
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Motorola One – £279.99
The Motorola One is a budget smartphone with a very pretty design – one that iPhone users will be familiar with.
You get a beefy 5.8-inch HD+ display, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and a 3,00mAh battery.
There's also a dual-lens camera on the back that pairs 13-megapixel and 2-megapixel sensors.
The Sun says: We were impressed by the phone's attractive design and consistent performance, in spite of its very low cost.
- Motorola One at John Lewis for £279.99 –
All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed. Always do your own research before making any purchase.
What's your favourite smartphone of 2018? Let us know in the comments!
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