In the long history of Android, there have been thousands of unique phones released into the world. However, only a select few of those devices have truly wowed with their designs. Here are 10 that I particularly liked.
OnePlus 7 Pro
The OnePlus 7 Pro came out at a time when Android manufacturers were obsessed with hiding the front camera and maximizing the screen-to-body ratio. As a result, the 7 Pro doesn’t have a camera on the front at all. When you want the front camera, it slides up in a periscope mechanism from the top edge. The display seems to flow smoothly over all four rounded edges, creating a sleek, futuristic design.
Xiaomi Mi Mix
The Xiaomi Mi Mix instantly wowed with a nearly bezel-less design…on three edges. In order to make that very cool look happen, the front camera was moved to a “chin” on the bottom of the front face. Some people hated it, but I always kinda liked it when there was a bottom bezel pushing the screen up into a slightly more ergonomic position.
Essential PH-1
The Essential PH-1 is a bit of a forgotten phone, but it really shouldn’t be. This was the device that popularized the front camera “notch” that can still be found on phones today. In reality, the PH-1 is a phone that existed almost entirely on aesthetics. No one would have cared about it if it looked like every other phone at the time.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
What happens if you take one of Samsung’s best Galaxy S designs and give it a display that literally wraps over the edges? That’s the Galaxy S7 Edge. Was it practical to have two sides of the display in the prime accidental touch zone? No, but it did look very cool, and we still have Edge features in One UI today because of it.
Nexus 4
Nexus phones were not known for being attractive, but the Nexus 4 (made by LG) was a bit special. It was sleek, thin, and minimalist. The back cover even had a cool glittery pixel effect. On top of the cool design, the Nexus 4 was also one of the first Android devices with magnetic wireless charging–something that still isn’t common today.
HTC 10
When you ask Android fans about the best-looking Android phone, many of them will inevitably mention the HTC One M7. But I think the HTC 10 was actually the most attractive iteration of that era. It had the same great industrial metal design, but the smaller bezels on the front made for a more compact device. It felt great.
Sony Xperia Z5 in Gold
Honestly, there are a lot of Xperia phones that could be on this list, but the Xperia 5 in the gold finish is an exceptional beauty. The flat edges, sharp corners, and completely smooth, flat back make it look like a literal block of gold. The phone looked great in other colors, too, but the gold really stood out.
LG G4 in Leather
LG doesn’t get a lot of love–as evident by the fact that it doesn’t make phones anymore–but it had some nice designs. The LG G4 had a subtly curved display (like a banana), and you could get it with a stitched genuine leather back plate. LG was putting volume buttons on the back during this time, too, which was also cool.
Moto Razr 5G
If you’re of a certain age, you know that the coolest phone ever to exist was the Moto Razr flip phone. So, of course, the Android version with a foldable display is on this list. Sure, nostalgia is doing some work here, but it’s still a very cool-looking device by today’s standards.
HTC Legend
I wanted to include a phone from the early days of Android, and the HTC Legend showcases a lot of what was cool at that time. It has a metal body with an awesome two-tone color scheme in silver. The “trackball” on the front is capacitive, and it sits on a slightly angled chin. HTC has always made some of the best-looking smartphones, so it’s fitting to be on this list twice.
I won’t deny that there have been some ugly Android phones–in fact, I listed five of them here–but Apple isn’t the only company that can make attractive phones. Anyone can put out a featureless glass slab. It takes guts to put leather on your phone. That’s always been the beautiful thing about the Android ecosystem. For every clunker, there’s something unique and interesting.
