If you’re used to iPhones, but fancy a change of pace then you need to make sure you pick up the right phone. In this guide, we’ll highlight the current, best iPhone alternatives right now…
Samsung (Galaxy S & Galaxy Note Range)
If you’re looking for a straight-up alternative to Apple’s iPhone, Samsung is obviously your best bet. Next to Apple, Samsung is the most visible phone brand on the planet. It makes fantastic phones that are more than equal to Apple’s iPhone, packing in the latest imaging and processor technology.
If you want the best, but you don’t want an iPhone, then Samsung is the next obvious choice. And right now, these are the Samsung phones we recommend the most:
- Samsung Galaxy S20 (View Buying Options) – Available in a few flavors, Samsung’s Galaxy S20 is the company’s current de factor iPhone alternative. Positioned as a flagship, the Galaxy S20 packs in a brilliant camera, amazing software, killer battery life, and one of the best OLED displays in the business. If you’re after an iPhone-sized phone that is more than a match for it in almost every regard, this is 100% the phone to get.
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10 (View Buying Options) – The Galaxy Note 10, while not officially Samsung’s flagship model, is, for many, the more exciting of the two. It’s bigger, it packs in a stylus, in the form of the S-Pen, and it is one of the best performing phones on the planet right now. It has a killer camera, a gorgeous premium design, and a battery life that lasts for days at a time.
OPPO – Like OnePlus, But Even Better
Over the last few years, OPPO has been slowly building itself up as one of the best Android phone makers on the planet. The company is highly innovative, constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with phone design, and is now a major player that more and more users are turning to as an alternative to Samsung, Apple, and Huawei.
If you like stunning, beautifully designed phones that pack in bleeding-edge specs, gorgeous OLED panels, advanced camera modules, masses of RAM, and brilliant software, you should definitely be checkout out OPPO. I am a huge fan of the company’s output, especially the new OPPO Find X2 Pro which I think will go on to become the best Android phone of 2020.
OPPO phones are not cheap, but neither are Apple and Samsung’s, and this is who OPPO is competing with. For me, the OPPO Find X2 Pro is well worth the asking price. It has one of the best OLED screens in the business, a stunning camera setup, and it is monumentally powerful. And if that wasn’t enough it also has brilliant software and killer battery life. You literally could not ask for more from an Android phone in 2020.
Best OPPO Phone To Get:
Google Pixel (Pixel 4a and Pixel 5)
Google’s Pixel range of smartphones is basically an iPhone for Android fans. Like Apple’s iPhone, Pixel phones get timely updates, meaning you get the latest version of Android, as well as updates, as soon as they’re ready. On top of this, there is ZERO bloatware, and Android is shipped in stock configuration – just as Google intended it to be.
Google Pixel phones also have one of the best cameras on the market, allowing for breath-taking point and shoot image capture. Google’s AI-powered post-image-processing is world-beating right now, so if you want Android, a great camera, and masses of performance, a Pixel phone could be just what the doctor ordered. And right now, these are the best options:
- Pixel 4a – (View Buying Options) – In our review of the Pixel 4a, we called it the perfect Android phone. The reason? It’s cheap, it has a killer camera setup, the battery life is excellent, and you have things like an OLED display and a headphone jack. What more could you want from a phone? If you don’t want to spend north of £700, this is the phone to get – it is around half the price of a Galaxy S20.
- Pixel 5 – (View Buying Options) – The Pixel 5 is Google’s flagship for 2020. It packs in the most advanced camera ever used inside a Pixel phone and it supports 5G. The battery life is incredible, the display is gorgeous (and OLED), and it is beautifully sized (it lends itself well to one-handed use). I have one at the moment and I love it. The Pixel 5 is a brilliant addition to the Pixel fold.
Huawei (P30 Pro, Mate 20)
Huawei is the fastest-growing smartphone brand on the planet. In a few short years, it has closed the gap on both Apple and Samsung, achieving the impossible and establishing itself as one of the top three players in one of the most difficult and competitive market places on earth. How did it do this? Simple: it makes amazing phones.
Whether you’re talking about imaging, overall performance, looks, and design, or specs and features. It matters not because Huawei phones do it all, packing in market-leading performance, specs, and performance. Next to Samsung, Huawei is easily the best Android phone maker on the planet. The only reason it is positioned behind Google is that it doesn’t do software quite as well.
If you can get past that minor gripe, then these are the best Huawei phones right now:
- Huawei P30 Pro (View Buying Options) – The Huawei P30 Pro is, perhaps, the best camera phone on this list with respect to raw specs. It packs a quad-lens 40MP rear camera and a 32MP front-facing camera. Performance is off the charts, as you might have seen on social media. You can zoom in on objects hundreds of meters away and take crystal clear images of it. Low light performance is off the charts too, making the Huawei P30 Pro a contender for the best camera phone of 2019. It’s also a stunning performer with insane battery life. What more could you want!?
- Huawei Mate 20 Pro (View Buying Options) – The Mate 20 Pro is a solid option for anyone that wants a larger phone that packs in killer performance and premium styling. Its display is gorgeous, its camera is superb, it performs brilliantly, surpassing nearly everything else on the market, and it is a joy to use daily. I used this phone for months and it was easily one of the best phones I’ve ever tested – for pretty much everything! A classic in the making, basically.
OnePlus (OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro & OnePlus Nord)
Not so long ago, OnePlus didn’t exist. And then the Chinese phone maker exploded onto the scene with a KILLER proposition: high-spec Android phones that retailed for about 40% less than Apple’s iPhone. Since then, OnePlus has grown and grown, adding in new handsets each year – and each new model is always vastly superior to the one it followed.
If you like bleeding-edge technology, excellent performance, killer cameras, and brilliant performance, as well as amazing value for money, you should 100% be looking at OnePlus phones. And right now, according to our reviewers, the OnePlus 8 is one of the best Android phones money can buy.
Best OnePlus Phone To Get:
- OnePlus 8 & OnePlus 8 Pro (View Buying Options) – The OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8 Pro are OnePlus’ 2020 flagship releases, but unlike the company’s past phones, neither of these phones are what you’d called “affordable”. Instead, they’re pitched as direct competitors to Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s high-end Galaxy S20 phones. Are they worth the money? I’d argue they are – OnePlus is great with Android updates and its camera tech is second to none. If you can stomach the price, the OnePlus 8 is a killer phone.
- OnePlus 7T Range (View Buying Options) – Following the OnePlus 7 was never going to be easy, but the OnePlus 7T range, which includes the 7T Pro model, pulled it off in spectacular fashion, refining the styling, improving performance, and updating the already super-impressive camera. Both devices are impressive, though the 7T Pro has a bigger display and a larger battery. Both are brilliant options, packing in market-leading specs and features for a lot less than Apple’s iPhone 11.
RealMe – For The Budget Conscious
RealMe is owned by the same company that controls OnePlus and OPPO. Called BBK, the company is essentially the General Motors of the phone market and is now one of the biggest players in the space, thanks to the popularity of its core brands – OnePlus, OPPO, and RealMe.
With RealMe you have a number of options when it comes to high-end, low(ish) cost Android phones. The company doesn’t mess around when it comes to spec and hardware and is something of a pioneer when it comes to charging; its SuperDart fast charging will fully charge a phone in less than 30 minutes.
The company’s latest flagship, the RealMe X50 Pro, packs in the kind of spec you’d normally associate with a £1000+ phone. But here you’ll only pay around £560. And for that money, you’re getting 12GB of RAM, a stunning OLED display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 CPU, and a crushingly good triple-lens camera that is utterly brilliant.
Best RealMe Phone To Get:
- RealMe X50 Pro (View Buying Options)
Xiaomi (Mi 9, Mi 9T Pro)
Like OnePlus, Xiaomi makes affordable, high-spec Android phones. But the difference with Xiaomi’s phones is that they’re even cheaper. The company only makes a 5% profit margin on all of its phones. It is committed to growth and it does not hold back on specs or features. Instead, it believes that delivering high-end phones at bargain basement prices will help it to grow to such an extent that it will start causing issues for the likes of Apple and Samsung. It’s working too; Xiaomi is one of the fastest-growing brands on the planet!
As always, you have plenty of options when it comes to Xiaomi phones, but right now, again, according to our extensive tests, these Xiaomi phones are the best you can currently buy right now:
- Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro (View Buying Options) – The Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro is a gorgeous handset that packs in a ton of bleeding-edge hardware and specs. It looks and feels like a thousand dollar phone, but because this is Xiaomi you’ll only pay $419 for the handset. That makes it 60% cheaper than the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Inside you get the latest Snapdragon CPU, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage, as well as a stunning triple-lens camera. If you’re after a bargain in 2019 that kicks a lot of ass, the Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro comes highly recommended…
- Xiaomi Mi 9 (View Buying Options) – The Xiaomi Mi 9 comes from the same place as the Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro, only here the handset is slightly smaller (and cheaper too). You can pick one up for less than $400, yet it packs in much the same spec as the Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro – Snapdragon 855 CPU, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a triple-lens camera, and stunning battery life. If you’re after the absolute best value for money, the Xiaomi Mi 9 is 100% the one to go for. Nothing else comes even remotely close right now.
Richard Goodwin
Richard Goodwin has been working as a tech journalist for over 10 years. He is the editor and owner of KnowYourMobile.