The best Samsung phones are all exceptional handsets, but they also vary a lot, so finding the best option for you personally can still take some work. But that's where this guide comes in, as we've ranked and detailed them all.
These handsets rank among the very best Android phones and even the best smartphones full stop, so you can be confident that anything in this list is worth your money.
But you also need to consider what you actually want from a smartphone. Do you want a foldable phone like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3? A top-tier flagship like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra? Or something more affordable like the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE?
There are lots of options, and that's before you factor in things like battery life, camera performance, design, and more. But we've extensively tested all of these phones (and many hundreds more), so we know exactly what's good and bad about each, and you'll find that articulated below, giving you a clearer idea of what to choose.
If nothing catches your eye though, you're not out of options, as we have plenty more guides as well, such as for the best camera phone, the best iPhone, or the best cheap phone.
Or if you're set on a Samsung but just not one of these then check back soon, as new Samsung handsets regularly launch, and the best of them will always be added to this list.
Best Samsung phones 2022
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is the best Samsung phone you can buy at the time of writing, combining all the best bits of the S Ultra range and the Galaxy Note range into one sumptuous package.
Really though this is more Note than S, with a Note-like shape, an S Pen stylus, and a slot to house it. This makes it a dream for productivity, allowing you to sketch, edit, and take hand-written notes with ease.
But the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra also has the excellent camera hardware you’d expect from the range, including an improved 10x optical zoom lens which we were incredibly impressed with in our review.
There’s plenty of power too, whether you end up with the Exynos 2200 chipset (in Europe), or the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (in most other places). That coupled with a massive 6.8-inch 120Hz 1440 x 3088 screen makes the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra a joy to use.
And we’ve really only scratched the surface of what this phone offers. A big battery, fast 45W charging, water resistance, and masses of RAM and storage are all here too, among many, many other flagship features.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review
The Samsung Galaxy S22 is the baby of the Galaxy S22 range, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider it. In fact, as the cheapest of Samsung’s flagship trio it’s a very tempting handset, and easily one of the best Samsung phones.
In our review we praised its performance and its stylish yet solidly built construction. It’s small by flagship phone standards too, with a 6.1-inch screen and compact overall dimensions, making this a great choice for fans of small handsets. That screen is no slouch though, with a 120Hz refresh rate and a crisp 1080 x 2340 resolution.
The cameras – while no match for those on the Galaxy S22 Ultra – are also fairly good, and include a new 50MP main sensor, along with capable ultra-wide and telephoto ones.
And as noted the phone performs well, as it packs a top-end chipset (albeit one which varies depending on your region) and 8GB of RAM. If you need the biggest or best phone around then this isn’t for you, but if you want a capable, compact flagship on a budget then the Samsung Galaxy S22 is well worth considering.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S22 review
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is Samsung’s top, premium flagship for 2021, and what a phone it is. For the first time Samsung offered S Pen support on an S-range handset here, meaning that you can optionally get the Galaxy Note range’s best feature.
But even without that, this is a stunning handset, with a brilliant quad-lens camera capable of 10x optical zoom. In fact, in our review we called it the best camera zoom on any readily available Android phone - though the S22 Ultra has since beat it.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra also looks great, with a smooth Gorilla Glass back that has a matte finish that looks better than the reflective Galaxy S20 range, while around the front there’s a curved edge-to-edge 6.8-inch screen.
And speaking of that screen, for the first time on a Samsung phone you get both a QHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate at the same time. And being a high-end Samsung screen this is one of the best around.
There’s also oodles of power of course, and while obviously very expensive, this actually has a cheaper starting price than the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra did at launch.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus is Samsung’s middle flagship for 2022, but it has a lot more in common with the standard Galaxy S22 than the Note-like Galaxy S22 Ultra. So if you want the most premium conventional Galaxy S model for 2022 then this is the one to get.
It has a big 6.6-inch 1080 x 2340 screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, loads of power from its top-end chipset and 8GB of RAM, and a capable camera, including a 50MP main sensor, a 10MP telephoto one (offering 3x optical zoom), and a 12MP ultra-wide. In our review we found that it excelled at portrait shots in particular.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus also comes in a wide range of colors, so you have some choice in how the phone looks, and it supports respectable 45W charging.
All that said, it’s an expensive handset, and might be a hard sell when sandwiched between the more affordable and compact Samsung Galaxy S22, and the truly top-tier Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus review
The Samsung Galaxy S21 is the most basic and affordable of the Galaxy S21 range, but it has a lot going for it beyond its relatively low price, making it one of the best Samsung phones.
The triple-lens camera is highly versatile, including the three core lenses that we’d expect from a premium smartphone – namely a main one, a telephoto, and an ultra-wide. They all perform well too.
There’s also high-end power, solid battery life, and an AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. At 6.2 inches it’s also a lot more compact than the rest of the S21 range, so it’s ideal if you don’t want a massive phone.
And beyond being the most affordable of the range, the Samsung Galaxy S21 is actually a step down in price from its predecessor, so it’s a bit of a bargain – though to achieve that the screen resolution has been dropped to Full HD+, and the back of the phone is ‘Glasstic’ rather than actual glass.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S21 review
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is perhaps the least interesting of the three Samsung Galaxy S21 models – lacking the sheer excess of the Galaxy S21 Ultra, while costing a chunk more than the Samsung Galaxy S21, but this is still one of the best Samsung phones.
It offers a much larger screen than its cheaper sibling, at 6.7 inches, and it packs a glass back, where the standard Galaxy S21 makes do with plastic. It also has a larger 4,800mAh battery – though with the larger display that extra battery power is necessary.
Elsewhere it’s a very similar phone, but that’s no bad thing, as it has a high-end chipset, plenty of RAM, a capable triple-lens camera, an in-screen fingerprint scanner, and a stylish design.
It’s certainly expensive, particularly considering the display is only 1080 x 2400, and the lack of a microSD card slot means you might want to shell out for a 256GB model, but these are minor complaints about what’s otherwise an excellent phone.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus review
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is a beast of a handset with a beast of a price, but it has the specs to match, with a 108MP main camera, a 12MP periscope one, and a 12MP ultra-wide one, while the screen is a massive 6.9-inch 1440 x 3088 AMOLED one with 496 pixels per inch and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz.
But the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra doesn’t stop there, as it also stands out from rivals thanks to its S Pen stylus, letting you doodle on the screen, sync voice recordings with your hand-written notes, and more.
Plus, the phone also has high-end power of course, including 12GB of RAM and either a Snapdragon 865 Plus or Exynos 990 chipset. Which you get depends on where you are in the world, but they’re both exceedingly powerful.
There’s also 5G, loads of storage, a premium design, an in-screen fingerprint scanner, and a big battery, so this is a phone that almost has it all – though the charging could be faster and it’s slightly disappointing that you can’t use both a 120Hz refresh rate and a QHD+ resolution at the same time.
The biggest stumbling block though is simply the price, but if you have the money and want everything that the Note 20 Ultra is offering, then it’s a fantastic choice.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is Samsung’s best foldable phone yet, thanks in part to its support for the S Pen stylus, which makes it a great device for sketching and handwriting on.
That’s helped by the massive 7.6-inch foldable screen, which we found big enough to even work on spreadsheets from. We found the 6.2-inch cover display a bit more cramped, but both screens have a 120Hz refresh rate, which makes them pleasant to interact with.
We were also impressed by the durability of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, and it’s not just sturdier than before, it also packs water resistance. Add to that a top-tier chipset and this is almost a perfect foldable – though its high price still holds it back, and makes the Galaxy Z Flip 3 a more tempting option for buyers on a budget.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 review
