The best iPhone alternatives mean you can move from iOS to Android with ease. And since there are plenty of awesome Android phones out there, finding one shouldn’t be an issue. No matter what type of phone user you are - whether you’re looking for a gaming phone, work phone, or just a smartphone on a budget.
TL;DR – These are the best iPhone alternatives to buy in 2024
- Samsung Galaxy S23
- Google Pixel 7 Pro
- OnePlus Nord N30 5G
- Motorola Razr+
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Asus Zenfone 9
- Motorola ThinkPhone
- Asus ROG Phone 7
If finding the best iPhone alternative is causing you a headache, we’ve researched the best phones out there. From affordable smartphones to phones with incredible photography capabilities.
1. Samsung Galaxy S23
Best All-Around iPhone Alternative
PROS
Not too large
Great performance
CONS
Charges slower than S23+ and Ultra
If you’re planning on ditching your iPhone, the Samsung Galaxy S23 is the smartphone of choice, thanks to its best all-around performance, top-of-the-line camera system, and premium build quality that rivals Apple. Armed with a speedy processor and buttery-smooth Android 13 operating system, it’s a workhorse when it comes to web browsing, watching videos, playing mobile games, and of course, making phone calls – especially with an impressive battery life of up to 11 hours per charge.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s phone has a triple rear camera system instead of Apple’s dual rear cameras. At the end of the day, you won’t even miss the iPhone with the Samsung Galaxy S23 – which comes in four colors, including cream, green, lavender, and Phantom Black.
2. Google Pixel 7 Pro
Best Camera iPhone Alternative
Google Pixel 7 Pro
Enjoy a sharp, bright display with a 120Hz variable refresh rate and an impressive triple camera system on a phone ready to take on all your everyday tasks and gaming.
PROS
Incredible camera
Stylish design
CONS
Average battery life
Paired with Google’s very own powerful processor and its top-tier triple rear camera system – including wide (50 megapixel), telephoto (48 megapixel), and ultrawide (12 megapixel) cameras – the Google Pixel 7 Pro is ideal for taking photos and videos.
All three cameras work together with the tech company’s computational power to produce photos that are natural, detailed, and sharp without sacrificing speed or clarity. Additionally, the Google Pixel 7 Pro – which comes in three colors, including obsidian, hazel, and snow – can capture 4K video at 60 fps, so videos come out just as clean and detailed as its photos.
And since it’s from Google, which develops Android itself, this smartphone is going to be first in line for security updates. This means whenever the Android 14 OS comes out, the Google Pixel 7 Pro is going to get the software update before any other phone.
3. OnePlus Nord N30 5G
Best Budget iPhone Alternative
OnePlus Nord N30 5G
For $300, you get a phone running on a mid-range Snapdragon 695 processor and 8GB of RAM ready to take on all your everyday tasks.
PROS
120Hz display
Good camera
CONS
No IP rating
Looking for a wallet-friendly alternative? The OnePlus Nord N30 5G is a speedy and powerful Android smartphone that features a sharp 6.7-inch LCD display and a triple rear camera system for crisp and clear photography, and up to 13 hours of battery life per charge – all for $300.
One of its drawbacks is it only comes in one model with 128GB of on-board storage. But it does come with an expansion slot for up to an additional 1TB of storage, but you’ll need a microSD card for that. While it doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, the OnePlus Nord N30 5G – which comes in Chromatic Gray – is a stable and dependable smartphone at a very affordable price.
4. Motorola Razr+
Best Foldable iPhone Alternative
PROS
External screen
Portable
CONS
Older processor
Although the iPhone is the best-selling smartphone in the world, there are things that it simply can’t do when you compare it to Android phones – namely fold in half. Foldable smartphones are all the rage and the Motorola Razr+ is leading the pack with its flip phone-like design.
When unfolded, the smartphone features a 6.9-inch P-OLED display with a single front-facing “selfie” camera. However, in the middle of the phone, there’s a clever hinge design that makes it possible to fold and close like a flip phone from the early 2000s. When folded, it features an additional outer 3.6-inch display for the time, date, notifications, and more, as well as a dual rear camera system for photos and videos. It’s really a marvel!
The Motorola Razr+ comes in three colors, including Viva Magenta, Infinite Black, and Glacier Blue.
5. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Best iPhone Pro Alternative
PROS
Stunning display
Excellent battery life
CONS
Expensive
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best iPhone Pro alternative because of its massive 6.8-inch display, quad rear camera system (which include two telephoto for sharpness and detail with 30x digital zoom), and storage options up to 1TB. This Android phone is for people who are serious about their mobile life, especially with a long battery life of up to 18 hours.
It even comes with a built-in S-Pen stylus for taking notes and drawing. Additionally, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra comes in four colors, including cream, green, lavender, and Phantom Black.
6. Asus Zenfone 9
Best Small iPhone Alternative
PROS
Small and portable
Bright AMOLED screen
CONS
No wireless charging
Nowadays, smartphones are getting bigger and bigger. However, manufacturers like Asus are making high quality Android models for people who want smaller phones. Enter the Asus Zenfone 9, a smartphone that doesn’t give up modern features for size.
The phone sports a brilliant 5.9-inch Super AMOLED display that’s sharp and buttery smooth. It also has an impressive battery life for its size that’s up to 13 hours per charge (the smaller the phone, the smaller the battery). Meanwhile, it features a dual camera system and can capture video with an 8K resolution at 24FPS. Not bad for such a small phone!
The Asus Zenfone 9 comes in three colors, including Midnight Black, Moonlight White, and Starry Blue.
7. Motorola ThinkPhone
Best for Business iPhone Alternative
PROS
Water resistant
Solid performance
CONS
Average cameras
Let’s get down to business! The Motorola ThinkPhone is perfect for business use. In fact, Motorola, which is owned by Lenovo, specifically designed the smartphone to be the ideal companion for the Lenovo ThinkPad family of laptops – which are popular with enterprise users. The phone itself features a 6.6-inch P-OLED display, up to 16 hours of battery life per charge, and a triple rear camera system.
However, where the phone really shines is with its “Ready For” app that lets you stream video for meetings on-the-fly, unified notifications, copy-and-paste, drag-and-drop files — all across Motorola ThinkPhone and Lenovo ThinkPad. It also has a wide range of management and security apps that work with Lenovo laptops.
8. Asus ROG Phone 8
Best iPhone Alternative for Gaming
Asus ROG Phone 8
Impressive gaming phone running on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and 12GB of RAM offering air triggers, advanced cooling, and a stunning display.
PROS
Excellent gaming performance
Incredible battery life
CONS
Limited IP rating
The Asus Rog Phone 8 is hands-down designed for gamers. Not only do the specs support this, the phone also comes with built-in AirTrigger controls, enabling gestures like Dual Action, Lift, and Press. The Asus Rog Phone 8 features AI-enhanced software for gamers, too, alongside its 165Hz refresh rate and 2,500-nit screen.
While you do get all the perks of other iPhone alternatives, like a decent camera system, solid battery life, and a 3rd-gen Snapdragon 8 processor, not many smartphones come packaged quite like the Asus Rog Phone 8 does. Boasting a customizable RGB ROG logo, enhanced thermal efficiency, and 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, there’s no wonder this is the phone for gamers.
What to look for in an iPhone alternative in 2024
While the iPhone is the most popular smartphone brand, more than half of the phones on the planet are Android devices. People seem to like Android’s open platform instead of Apple’s rigid ‘walled garden’. Android gives its users the opportunity to customize their experience with various themes, wallpapers, launchers, and apps.
Heck, there are more apps available to download through the Google Play Store than with the Apple App Store. In fact, you’re not even limited to the Google Play Store for apps. You can use the Amazon Appstore, Samsung Galaxy Store, Aptoide, and others for different types of app utilities and experiences.
With more and more people flocking to Android, it may seem tough to pick a great iPhone alternative.
Android 13
Android 13 is the latest release of Android. Any major smartphone made in 2024 should be running Android 13 out-of-the-box or with an over-the-air update ready as soon as you set up your new phone.
Meanwhile, the upcoming Android 14 OS is set for release later in 2024. However, most iPhone alternatives – such as Samsung, Motorola, OnePlus, and others – won’t get this new system update until sometime later this year. This is because they have to make Android 14 stable and secure for their own phones.
But since Google makes and develops the Android operating system, Google Pixel devices will be first in line to receive Android 14 before any other smartphone. Google prioritizes their own hardware, while other phone manufacturers are considered third-party companies. So when Android 14 drops later in the year, Google Pixel phones should receive the software update as soon as possible.
Phone Size and Design
One of the best things about iPhone alternatives is they come in various shapes and sizes. Apple is pretty set with making phones that are about 6 inches in size. However, you can find Android phones that are bigger at 7 inches or smaller at 4 inches. It’s really up to you on which size fits your hands better, or how much screen real estate you want.
In fact, there are a number of smartphones that are foldable like the Motorola Razr+. You can choose to have a small design in your pocket or purse, but then fold them out to be bigger when they’re in use. Now that’s something you can’t do with an iPhone.
Storage Capacity
For the most part, Android smartphones start out with 128GB of on-board storage, which is the same as the iPhone 15. However, there are many Android phones that are built-in with a microSD card expansion slot for even more storage up to an additional 1TB.
A general rule of thumb when it comes to Android is you can get more for less. This means you can get more storage options, memory, power, screen sizes, features, megapixels, and cameras than your average iPhone for less money.
Price
Speaking of money, Android smartphones are often less expensive than iPhones, with prices starting as low as $50 for bottom-of-the-barrel picks like the BLU C5L. There’s no shortage of cheap Android phones out there. However, you can get a good quality wallet-friendly smartphone like the OnePlus Nord N30 5G starting at $300. Compare this to Apple’s budget phone, the iPhone SE, which starts at $429.
On the high end, you can get a totally maxed out Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 with 1TB of on-board storage for a whopping $2,160.
Additionally, if you consider that you can get more features with an Android phone than an iPhone, then you’re actually getting more bang-for-the-buck. For example: The Samsung Galaxy S23 goes for about the same price as the iPhone 14, but you get a three camera system and 8GB of memory with Samsung, compared to a two camera system and 6GB of memory with Apple.
Overall, if you’re looking for an iPhone alternative, there are plenty of great Android smartphones out there for different types of people and use cases. For most people, however, the Samsung Galaxy S23 or Google Pixel 7 Pro are the best picks. Samsung has the premium design for speed and style, while Google has the better camera for sharper and more natural photos. In fact, the Google smartphone will most likely get the upcoming Android 14 software update sooner than Samsung, so that’s something to consider too.
