Apple's announcement of its new iPhones is usually followed by outcries of "Android phones already have this and at lower prices too," triggering a war between iPhone and Android fanboys. And this year has been no different. Apple has just taken the wraps off its iPhone 14 series and the Android brigade is claiming that it already has phones that can match the best Cupertino can serve up. Well, to be honest, while there is every chance that the new iPhones will sell like hot cakes, there is no denying that they face formidable competition from some excellent Android devices.
So if you are looking for alternatives to the new iPhones, or just want to check out what the competition has to offer, here's a look at six Android phones leading the charge on Apple's latest and greatest.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: The ultra heavyweight Pro challenger
Price: Rs 1,09,999 onwards
Samsung and Apple have been in an epic flagship rivalry for more than a decade now, so it is no surprise that whenever either of the brands launches a new smartphone, the other always has one or more rivals standing in its way of success.
The story is no different in the case of the iPhone 14 series either. Samsung’s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which came with a tech twist last year by borrowing the S Pen from the Galaxy Note series, goes right up against the iPhone 14 Pro and gives it plenty to think about. Apart from the stylus which is an obvious and useful addition that no other flagship (including the iPhone) in the smartphone market possesses, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is a flagship in every sense of the word.
The phone is a bit on the hefty side but comes with a very distinct design, with cameras placed like water droplets on the back, instead of being placed together in a camera unit.
The phone features a 6.8-inch quad-HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display which, in best Samsung tradition, delivers punchy colours and dynamic contrast, and also comes with a 120Hz refresh rate.
It is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and is paired with 8GB and 12GB RAM variants, with storage that starts from 128GB and goes all the way up to 1TB. It goes without saying that the Galaxy S22 Ultra can handle pretty much all you would want it to, from frivolous social media scrolling or power demanding video editing. An excellent pair of stereo speakers churn out very good sound to make multimedia really immersive.
The phone also comes with a formidable quad camera array on the back, featuring a 108-megapixel main sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS), a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor, and two 10-megapixel telephoto sensors, one with a periscope telephoto, and both with OIS.
At the front, there is a single 40-megapixel camera for selfies and video calls. The cameras were very good performers, but have gone up another notch with a few software updates. You not only get great images but also perhaps the best zoom on any flagship out there, with 10X optical zoom and a staggering 100x space zoom for those who want to snap the Moon.
A big 5,000mAh battery gets you through a day of hefty use, and there is support for wireless charging too, although there is no charger in the box. That stylus adds a whole new dimension to phone productivity, letting you scribble and sketch on the device.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra runs on Android 12 out-of-the-box and is topped with Samsung’s OneUI. Given Samsung is one of the few brands that have a good OS update track record, you can be assured that the S22 Ultra will have its Android game on point for quite a while yet.
It is the ultimate Android Pro phone and it stands right in the path of the iPhone 14 Pro.
OnePlus 10 Pro: the Never Settler is a contender
Price: Rs 66,999 onwards
In the beginning, OnePlus was the flagship killer brand but then it switched paths and decided to create its own premium flagships along with an extended portfolio of smartphones. With flagship powers, comes flagship responsibility. And any premium flagship phone from Android has only one main responsibility — to beat the iPhone.
The OnePlus 10 Pro attempts to do just that and does a pretty good job of it too. It comes with a premium design, complete with a distinct ceramic camera unit. And of course, it boasts flagship specs and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset paired with 8GB or 12GB RAM, with storage that goes up to 512GB. Those numbers make the OnePlus 10 Pro a proper pro at handling everyday and heavy-duty tasks without skipping a beat.
On the camera front, the OnePlus 10 Pro also comes in partnership with the legendary Hasselblad brand, which gives its cameras a very realistic Hassleblad-ish touch, and also adds elements from the brand to its interface. The cameras on its back feature a Sony IMX 789 48-megapixel main sensor with OIS, a 50-megapixel ultrawide sensor, and an 8-megapixel telephoto sensor with 3X optical zoom and OIS, while a 32-megapixel Sony IMX 615 camera handles selfies. This being a OnePlus, the cameras keep improving with every update. They were not quite there when the OnePlus 10 Pro was launched but are now a formidable proposition and can challenge the iPhone 14 on paper.
The OnePlus 10 Pro also comes with a brilliant curved 6.7-inch Fluid AMOLED display with quad-HD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate.
It features a pair of great stereo speakers, making it superb for viewing videos and shows, and a 5,000 mAh battery ensures it keeps going for quite a while. It charges incredibly fast (hey, this is a OnePlus flagship) thanks to an 80W SuperVOOC charger in the box (yes, this is one of the few phones in the list to come with a charger in the box). The phone also supports 50W wireless charging.
It runs on Android 12 out-of-the-box with the clean and uncomplicated Oxygen OS 12 on top, giving the phone a very stock Android-like appeal. OnePlus has also been very good on its update game this year so you can expect the OnePlus 10 Pro to get even better in the coming days. All that at a price that starts below the base iPhone 14 makes the OnePlus 10 Pro a real pain for the new range of iPhones. Just as it was for the older ones.
Vivo X80 Pro: The photographic challenger
Price: Rs 79,999
Along with a very distinct-looking camera unit, the Vivo X80 Pro brings a lot of camera power to the premium smartphone table along with the regular flagship features. The phone comes with a quad camera set up on the back, consisting of a 50-megapixel main sensor with OIS, a 48-megapixel ultrawide sensor, and like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultram, two telephoto lenses: a 12-megapixel telephoto and an 8-megapixel periscope telephoto sensor, both with OIS.
Along with these impressive numbers, the Vivo X80 Pro comes with support for Zeiss optics and also has Vivo's special Gimbal Stabilisation on board, making it one of the best cameras out there for low light photography as well as shooting videos. Round that off with a 32-megapixel selfie camera, and the Vivo X80 Pro emerges with one of the best camera setups you can get on a smartphone.
The flagship Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and plenty of RAM and storage allow the phone to handle pretty much all that you would want to throw at it.
It also comes with a brilliant 6.78-inch quad-HD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, which when combined with stereo speakers makes the Vivo X80 Pro a multimedia delight. The phone is backed by a 4,700mAh battery which comes with 80W fast charging support (and 50W wireless charging support) and an 80W charger in the box as well, making sure the phone does not take too long to get topped up when discharged.
It comes with Android 12 out-of-the-box and is topped with Vivo’s FunTouchOS. Some might find the skin a little overbearing but for those who like a feature-rich UI, it might just be the flagship phone of their dreams. Especially if photography is a massive deal for them. And it costs as much as an iPhone 14.
Xiaomi 12 Pro: The rock-steady all-rounder
Price: Rs 62,999 onwards
Xiaomi has been known for its competitive price-specs equations and it brings the same to the high-end segment as well. The Xiaomi 12 Pro comes with a very impressive lineup of flagship specs at Rs 62,999, making it easily the most affordable of the iPhone 14 challenges in this list.
The design might be the most plain of this group but beneath that lurk flagship-level hardware and performance. The phone comes with a 6.73-inch quad-HD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate which delivers great colours and deep contrasts. It is also the first flagship to come with four speakers, making it one of the best smartphones we have heard and a treat for anyone who loves their audio out loud.
It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and comes with up to 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage, making it capable of taking on heavy-duty and casual tasks without breaking a sweat.
On the camera front, it sports three 50-megapixel cameras on the back (the first phone to do so) — one main with OIS, one ultrawide, and another telephoto. A 32-megapixel sensor sits on the front. We were a little let down by optical zoom being only 2X but the cameras deliver superb results otherwise.
Making everything run smoothly is Android 12 with Xiaomi's MIUI 13 interface on top. The Xiaomi 12 Pro also comes with a 4,600mAh battery which can last you a day comfortably. It also comes with a 120W charger in the box (easily the fastest in this group), which lets you recharge the phone from scratch in a little over 20 minutes. It even charges wirelessly at a very impressive 50W. All said and done, the Xiaomi 12 Pro is one of the phones that do everything quite well. It is steady, consistent, and powerful. And it comes at a very competitive price too.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4: For those looking for premium compactness
Price: Rs 89,999
The iPhone 14 lineup this year has a new model, the iPhone 14 Plus. It is bigger than the regular-sized iPhone 14 which means Apple is also moving down the ‘bigger is better’ path, with the iPhone mini seemingly being discontinued. This means those looking for compact yet powerful phones have very limited options. One of these options is the foldable phone from Samsung, the Galaxy Z Flip 4, perhaps the most stylish phone in this list.
The phone is not only powerful but is so compact when folded that it would be the size of most people’s palms and pockets. And when unfolded, it turns back into a full-fledged smartphone. Apart from that unique foldable form factor, it also has a secondary and very useful 1.9-inch AMOLED display when it is folded, making it very distinct indeed.
Its regular display is a 6.7-inch foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X one with a 120Hz refresh rate, although its resolution is full-HD+. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor. Paired with ample RAM and storage, the Flip 4 can easily take on any smartphone task thrown in its way.
It features dual 12-megapixel cameras, one wide with OIS and another ultrawide, while a 10-megapixel selfie snapper sits on the front. The phone comes with dual speakers that deliver very good sound. It runs on Android 12 out-of-the-box and is topped with OneUI from Samsung, especially tweaked to work on both displays.
It comes with a 3,700mAh battery which can last you all day if you do not push the phone too much and with support for 25 W fast charging (but no charger in the box) as well as 15W wireless charging, which can get you back on your foldable track quickly enough, if not at warp speed (pun intended).
That seemingly dainty frame is pretty tough too — it comes with IPX8 water resistance and has an armor aluminum frame with drop and scratch resistance.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: The phone that's also a tablet
Price: Rs 1,54,999 onwards
Been to a party where there is this one person who is always way too overdressed for the occasion? Well, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is exactly like that in the party — way too extra. The phone becomes a tablet when unfolded, which is its biggest USP.
Yes, it is expensive but then the kind of display real estate you get with this phone more than makes up for its price tag. When folded, the Fold4 has a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rateon the outside, although it is not a full-HD+ one (2,316x904 pixels). When you unfold it, it opens up into a huge 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate with an impressive 2,176x1,812 pixels resolution.
This makes the phone very bulky (it is 15.8 mm thick, which is almost as much as two iPhone 14s placed on top of each other) and at 263 grams, it is not light either.
But within that bulky frame lies the functionality of a tablet and a smartphone. You can switch from a smaller screen to a large one by opening the device. The stereo speakers on board make this a multimedia monster when unfolded.
It is powerfully specced too. It runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor with 12GB RAM and up to 1TB of storage. It comes with a triple camera set up with a 50-megapixel main sensor with OIS, a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor, and a 10-megapixel telephoto with 3X optical zoom. Because the phone folds up, there is a 4-megapixel sensor under the display as well for those video calls you wish to make while in tablet mode.
The Galaxy Z Fold4 comes with support for the S Pen as well (although you will have to purchase it separately), which means you can open the phone up and scribble on it as well. It runs on Android 12 which is topped with Samsung’s One UI, which has been improved considerably, letting you flow seamlessly from the external phone to the internal tablet.
Making sure everything keeps running well for the best part of the day is the task of a 4,400mAh battery which comes with support for 25W charging (but no charger in the box) and 15W wireless charging. It might strike some folks as a bit much in terms of price and bulk - it is priced higher than even the iPhone 14 Pro Max, but then it brings a lot to the table.
In fact, it is the only phone in this list that brings a tablet to the table. And it is a toughie too - it comes with IPX8 water resistance and an armoured aluminium frame.
