IKEA is launching a game inside Roblox — and paying some players an hourly wage to work there.
It's the furnishing giant's first push into gaming.
Ten players will get about $17 per hour to serve up virtual meatballs and more.
Who said playing video games never pays?
IKEA is looking for employees to staff a virtual store inside the popular gaming platform Roblox.
The Swedish furnishings giant is launching a game called The Co-Worker — and 10 people will actually get paid to play, the company said.
They'll get IKEA's hourly wage in London of £13.15 — roughly $17 — to serve up virtual versions of the retailer's famed meatballs inside the game or redesign its showroom floors.
It's IKEA's first push into gaming. And Darren Taylor — the country, people, and culture manager for IKEA UK and Ireland — said the game is an advertisement for career opportunities at Ikea.
"Our coworkers are able to change roles, switch departments, and grow in any direction they choose," Taylor said in a statement. Apparently, that includes gaming.
The game is open to all, and applications for the paid positions are now available here. Applicants will have to make it through virtual interviews before the staff are chosen.
To be eligible for pay, players must be over age 18 and reside in the UK or Ireland. But sorry current IKEA workers: employees at physical IKEA stores can't apply to double-dip their salaries.
Joe Biden (left), Vladimir Putin (center), and Donald Trump (right).
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images; Contributor via Getty Images; Win McNamee via Getty Images
President Joe Biden claimed that foreign adversaries are rooting for Trump to win.
"Everybody, all the bad guys are rooting for Trump, man," Biden told Time Magazine.
Russia, China, and Iran are all trying to find ways to interfere with the election.
President Joe Biden claimed without specifying evidence that foreign adversaries are meddling in the 2024 election to benefit former President Donald Trump.
"I think China would have an interest—let me put it like this—would have an interest in meddling," Biden told Time Magazine in response to a question about whether Beijing is meddling in the election. "Everybody, all the bad guys are rooting for Trump, man. Not a joke. Think about it. Think about it."
It's unclear what evidence Biden might be referencing. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines testified before Congress last month that Russia, China, and Iran are all looking to interfere with the election. The rise of artificial intelligence has exacerbated those worries.
"Specifically, Russia remains the most active foreign threat to our elections," Haines testified before the Senate Intelligence committee. "The Russian government's goals in such influence operations tend to include eroding trust in U.S. democratic institutions, exacerbating sociopolitical divisions in the United States, and degrading Western support to Ukraine."
In a lengthy interview with Time, Biden repeatedly emphasized the differences between his and Trump's foreign policy. As he has had before, Biden also claimed that foreign leaders have expressed to him fears about what may happen if his predecessor returns to power.
"My democracy and their democracy is at stake," Biden told Time, a transcript of their conversation was published on Tuesday. "My democracy is at stake. And so name me a world leader other than Orban and Putin who think that Trump should be the world leader in the United States of America."
Trump has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, even as their authoritarian policies raise concern throughout the West.
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump, said Biden "should stop gaslighting the American people to distract from his own issues."
"Crooked Joe Biden has been endorsed by Vladimir Putin because he knows another Biden Administration means a weaker America," Cheung said in a statement to Business Insider.
Putin said in February that Russia would prefer that Biden win in November because his leadership is "more predictable." Putin's comments were surprising given that Biden has helped lead the response to Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has included the historic expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
"He is a more experienced, predictable person, an old-school politician," Putin said.
An advertisement for a reduced price is seen outside of a home for sale in Dallas
Thomson Reuters
Home prices could start falling as soon as the end of summer, one strategist predicts.
That's due to a sharp rise in unsold homes, with inventory climbing 16% year-per-year in April.
That's the highest increase in unsold inventory recorded since the Great Financial Crisis.
There's good news for sidelined homebuyers: buying a house may be about to get cheaper.
That's according to Brian Nick, a senior investment strategist at Macro Institute, who's calling for a drop in home prices that could take place over the next three to six months. That's because more inventory is slowly making its way to the housing market while demand is cooling off, Nick said, alleviating the supply-demand imbalance that has pushed prices to record highs over the last year.
Pending home sales dropped 7.4% year-over-year in April, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. Meanwhile, the number of unsold homes on the market rose 16% in April compared to the same time in 2023. That represents the highest yearly increase in unsold inventory since the Great Financial Crisis, Nick said.
The shift comes as mortgage rates have hovered around 7% for all of 2024, and the stubbornly high borrowing costs appear to finally be weighing on buyer demand.
"As interest rates move up, what you tend to see is inventories of unsold homes rise," Nick said in a recent interview with Bloomberg Surveillance. "On a percentage basis, we've seen that move up. That's going to put downward pressure on prices in three to six months."
Prices will begin to decline around the end of the summer, after peak home-selling season is over, Nick predicted.
Any decline would be welcomed by buyers, many of whom have been sidelined for the last year or more amid high borrowing costs and historically high home prices. The median sale price for a US home rose 6% year-over-year in April, hitting a record-high $433,558, according to Redfin data.
Elon Musk diverted a $500 million shipment of Nvidia chips meant for Tesla.
Apu Gomes/Getty
Elon Musk redirected $500 million in AI processors from Tesla to X, CNBC reported.
The move could delay Tesla's development of autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots.
The news comes before shareholders will vote on Musk's contested $55 billion proposed pay package.
Elon Musk diverted $500 million worth of AI processors meant for the carmaker, according to correspondence from Nvidia employees obtained by CNBC.
Instead, he sent them to his social media platform X, the report, which was published Tuesday, said.
"Elon prioritizing X H100 GPU cluster deployment at X versus Tesla by redirecting 12k of shipped H100 GPUs originally slated for Tesla to X instead," an Nvidia memo from December said, according to the report. "In exchange, original X orders of 12k H100 slated for Jan and June to be redirected to Tesla."
Business Insider did not review the documents. Nvidia declined to comment.
The decision to prioritize X comes after Musk said Tesla would double the number of H100s by the end of the year in Tesla's first-quarter earnings call. The chips, which cost upwards of $40,000, power AI technologies like ChatGPT and Anthropic.
The billionaire also previously said he would grow the EV giant into a "leader in AI & robotics" and posted on X that Tesla would spend around $10 billion this year in "combined training and inference AI." Delaying the GPUs could set back Tesla's supercomputer development by months, hindering progress on self-driving cars and robots.
As it turns out, Musk may have overestimated Tesla's capabilities. An Nvidia email from April said his comment on the first-quarter Tesla call and his post about spending $10 billion on AI "conflicts with bookings," according to the report. The email also referenced Tesla layoffs and said job cuts could further delay an "H100 project" at Tesla's Texas Gigafactory, the report said.
Musk previously said in a post on X that he was "uncomfortable" expanding the EV company's AI and robotics capabilities without 25% of voting control. He said he would "prefer to build products outside of Tesla" until he had that control.
The diversion of chips from Tesla shows Musk is sticking to his word and highlights the ongoing tension between Musk and shareholders who question his commitment to the EV company.
This leak comes at a critical time, just ahead of Tesla's annual shareholder meeting on June 13th. The news adds pressure as Musk faces an already contentious battle for his proposed $55 billion pay package, with several investment firms advising against it. Earlier this year, a Delaware judge blocked the package, citing concerns about Musk's undue influence over the board because of his close ties to several members.
The executive pay plan, first approved in 2018, involves a 10-year grant of 12 tranches of stock options that are vested when Tesla hits specific targets. When the company hits each goal, Musk gets stock equal to 1% of outstanding shares. Tesla said it hit all 12 targets as of 2023.
The carmaker has argued the pay package is necessary to maintain Musk's focus on Tesla. In a series of advertisements and messages to shareholders, Tesla has continued to argue that the plan is critical to Tesla's success and a matter of properly compensating Musk, who doesn't receive a salary.
John Oliver, the host of Last Week Tonight, turned his satirical eye to India's elections.
Oliver called out the country's polarizing leader, Narendra Modi, for censorship and anti-Muslim violence.
"That is not a bug of Modi's leadership, it is a feature," Oliver said.
TV host John Oliver took aim at India's elections and its prime minister, Narendra Modi, on Sunday night, warning that the nation was "sliding towards authoritarianism."
"Basically, if you criticize Modi, there's a good chance that things are going to be very unpleasant for you," Oliver said on the latest episode of Last Week Tonight. "Meaningful criticism of Modi is scarce on TV in India."
In his classic "roast" style, Oliver noted Modi's increasing tendency towards censorship and anti-Muslim rhetoric.
"There's been a noticeable shift in his rhetoric this election season," said the HBO host.
"Modi and his party have seemed increasingly comfortable threatening democratic institutions by, among other things, stifling political opposition and freedom of the press," he added, pointing to cases of intimidation toward rival political parties and raids at critical news networks.
"It's worth remembering: that is not a bug of Modi's leadership, it is a feature," he said.
Oliver also joked about Modi's tendency to take credit for things, showing an ad that suggested the leader had personally halted the war in Ukraine to bring home an Indian student.
He also ridiculed Modi's economic policies, saying that despite the narrative around India's recent growth, the country has "fallen in the Global Hunger Index, and now sits behind North Korea and war-torn Sudan."
"Anyone can get rid of 'all' poverty if you just change the definition of poor people to something else like, I dunno, 'fire hydrants' or 'opposite snakes,'" joked the British comedian.
Finally, Oliver called for an end to the "uncritical, fawning praise" for Modi coming from the international community.
Over the past six weeks, close to a billion Indian citizens have been voting in the country's election, and on Tuesday, Modi declared victory, though full results from the election are not yet confirmed.
Modi will head a coalition led by his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is expected to secure around 300 seats in the 543-member parliament.
Though Modi and the BJP appear to have come out on top, the party's lead is surprisingly narrower than expected. Prior to voting, Modi said the BJP sought to win around 400 seats, per the BBC.
Modi, who has been in office since 2014, is a highly popular leader among a large segment of the Indian population. He's credited with driving forward India's economy and raising its standing on the global stage.
However, others have criticized Modi for divisive Hindu nationalist policies, persecution of Muslims, erosion of the judiciary, and suppression of protests and the free press.
"It should be possible to acknowledge the good things that Modi has managed to do for India, while also acknowledging that many Indians live in active fear of what he seems more than happy to represent," Oliver said.
Leigh Henderson says she recommends that workers have a company exit strategy whether layoffs come to fruition or not.
Savina Mayfield
Leigh Henderson worked in HR for 20 years for five Fortune 100 companies.
She said workers should speak to a trusted source when layoff rumors start to spread in the office.
Henderson also suggests saving all personal documents and developing an exit strategy.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Leigh Henderson, a 42-year-old CEO of HR Manifesto, in San Antonio. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I worked as an HR leader for nearly 20 years, supporting a handful of Fortune 100 organizations.
Then after navigating a shocking layoff myself, I started HR Manifesto, a community on TikTok. I now have a whole new career in content creation and consulting that brings me joy.
When it comes to the workplace, I know people often dread rumors of layoffs, but here's the thing: If you're hearing these rumors, there's probably some truth to them. Instead of denying the rumors, fearing them, or brushing them under the rug, it's best to both take care of yourself and set yourself up for success.
After working in HR, here are four things I'd tell my friends to do if they heard rumors of layoffs happening in their office.
1. Get information from someone who knows
When you hear rumors of layoffs floating around the office, it's important to talk to a trusted source, like a manager.
When in conversation with them, it's acceptable to ask them questions and see if there's any truth to the rumors. Understand, however, that some managers might not be forthcoming, as they do represent the company.
If that's the case, hopefully, you know your manager well enough to read between the lines and interpret their body language, which can tell you more than words. If needed, you can also ask other trusted mentors, advocates, or champions in the organization. These are not usually coworkers or your gossip-obsessed friend, but those in leadership positions who might have some insight.
You might say, "Hey, I'm hearing a lot of rumors. Should I be concerned?"
Ask questions to those you've built relationships with to get more information and protect yourself in the future.
2. Save personal documents
In case the rumors are true, I recommend emailing yourself anything important such as your updated résumé, performance reviews, and any kudos or recommendation letters you've received.
In some cases, when people get laid off they lose access to everything saved at work immediately. If you have these documents saved only at work, now's the time to transfer them to your personal device.
While this is an extreme scenario, it's crucial to retain these documents for your personal records and future prospects. You don't want to lose any information that might be valuable to you.
3. Develop an exit strategy
If you suspect layoffs are coming, it's time to develop a plan or an exit strategy. This might look different for different people, but it may involve warming up old contacts, updating your résumé, talking to your mentor for advice, and researching other businesses and organizations.
I highly recommend an exit strategy because whether layoffs come to fruition or not, networking and updating your résumé can help you. By doing these things, you will feel more in control no matter what happens.
4. Take care of you
When you're worried about layoffs, it's easy to fall into a negative mindset. Instead, while easier said than done, it's best to stay positive and set yourself up for success. This starts by taking care of yourself.
If you're worried about layoffs, remind yourself to focus on fact-based discussions with trusted advisors and to engage in healthy coping mechanisms, like seeking support from friends, mentors, and industry peers who have experienced similar situations.
When worrying about a layoff, I think it's easy to feel alone. You might think, no one can help me. But know that so many others have experienced it too, and understand what you're going through. Even if it's just to vent, tapping into your support system can really help.
I know that when I was laid off unexpectedly over a quick Zoom call, it felt like the worst thing in the world. Now, when I look back, I realize it's the best thing that could have happened. That layoff got me out of a job that was hurtful, toxic, and unhealthy. And it helped me launch the career I have now.
If you get laid off, just know that it's not the end of your career; it's the beginning of what's next for you.
If you're an HR professional with advise on how to navigate the workplace during difficult times, and want to share your story, email Manseen Logan at mlogan@businessinsider.com.
Deya Aliaga's business has brought in over $700,000 in revenue since it's launch.
RossHelen/Getty Images.
When Deya Aliaga's business hit a multi-six-figure revenue, her next goal was a seven-figure year.
She pressured herself to work harder but found herself burned out and making less income.
Aliaga set boundaries around her work hours. She now calls herself a 'cozy entrepreneur.'
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Deya Aliaga, 28, from Berlin, about changing her approach to entrepreneurship. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I launched my own business, "Digital Business Manager Bootcamp," in April 2020.
Prior to that, I worked as a freelance online business manager for around four years. I helped clients, including bloggers, content creators, and entrepreneurs with digital products, build their dream businesses. I felt a growing call to become an entrepreneur myself, and in January 2020, I started working on my own business idea. I packaged my knowledge into an eight-module course called the "DBM Bootcamp," which has become my business' signature program about how to be a digital business manager.
My business has brought in over $700,000 in revenue since it launched in April 2020.
Around two to three years into being a business owner, I began putting pressure on myself to bring in seven figures a year. Other entrepreneurs were sharing their hustle content, and I felt like I wasn't working hard enough to build my business. It made me stressed and ashamed.
Comparing myself to other entrepreneurs wasn't serving me or my business. I slowly transitioned into a "cozy entrepreneur," where I set boundaries with work and am kinder to myself. It's cured my burnout and made me more productive.
I was hard on myself when I was aiming to bring in seven figures
My business hit a multi-six-figure revenue in 2021. That year, I put more pressure on myself to work more hours and launch more products and services. I invested more into mentorship, professional development, and hiring more people to delegate to.
I wanted to aim for seven figures. I didn't have a timeline, but I felt it should be the next goal.
Aliaga told BI she put pressure on herself to increase revenue at her business.
Max Schallwig
I was watching more entrepreneurship content on YouTube. When the entrepreneurs shared their advice, their delivery was super rushed, and I felt their underlying message was you need to maximize your productivity constantly, or you'll lose money. It made me feel like I wasn't doing enough.
I went into "hard entrepreneurship" mode, pressuring myself to be faster and more productive. I'd aim to wake up early, by 9 a.m. latest. I'd make ambitious to-do lists and feel like I'd failed if I didn't finish everything.
I always had this little voice saying, "Why aren't you doing more? Everybody else is starting work at 5 a.m. You're not good enough."
I was constantly frustrated, burned out, and overwhelmed. I wasn't seeing a financial reward either. Revenue began to decrease.
Last year, I asked myself what it would be like if I started being nicer to myself. It was a gradual process: I slowly began making changes, and now I can't imagine returning to that hustle mentality.
I stopped shaming myself and set boundaries around work
I started using "soft entrepreneur" and "cozy entrepreneur" around a year ago. I was brainstorming ideas for YouTube videos. People associate entrepreneurship with grinding hard, so the opposite would be a soft approach. I took inspiration from "cozy gaming," a genre focused on a relaxed approach to online gaming.
One step I took toward becoming a "soft entrepreneur" was implementing a "no-shame policy."
I'd regularly call my entrepreneur friend. If she said she wasn't getting enough work done, I'd respond with encouragement and tell her it's more important she spends time with family, but I wasn't treating myself the same way.
I decided to consciously shut down that little voice of shame in my head until it became quieter and spoke less. I'm more compassionate with myself now.
I don't set an alarm or force myself to work 9-to-5
I don't even set an alarm these days. On average, I start work around 10 a.m., but sometimes, I go to a café and won't start until 10:30 a.m. or 11. I've realized I can trust myself to finish the work, so there's nothing to shame myself about. In my opinion, business success has nothing to do with hours worked but is about the impact of the work.
I maintain really strict boundaries around work. I don't work on weekends. Most days, I'll close my laptop by 5 p.m., and I intentionally don't work beyond six hours a day.
Previously, I wanted to work as many hours as I could. I thought eight hours was the standard because that's what people do in a 9-to-5, but I couldn't manage it.
Research shows that people who work 9 to 5 aren't productive for eight hours. Ideation is important in entrepreneurship, and it's hard to force ideas when sitting at your laptop.
I've spoken to entrepreneurs who say they love their work and don't want to stop doing it in the evenings or at weekends, but I've been intentional about building hobbies I'm excited about outside work.
I've started playing more games, including board and video games, making friends in my city, and reading more fiction. These activities have helped me detach my identity from my business.
The 'cozy entrepreneur' approach is making me a better person and business owner
It's too early to tell how these changes might affect revenue at my business, but I think the "soft entrepreneur" approach will be more profitable in the long run because I feel more productive and creative.
I'm more comfortable with risk and generate more ideas now. Plus, I feel less overwhelmed and trust myself more.
The hardest part has been shutting down that negative inner voice. It's always sneaking in, but I remind myself this approach is making me a better person and business owner.
Initially, I was worried that working fewer hours would lead to less output and judgment from others that I was lazy. Ultimately, I found that I got the same if not more, done, and it doesn't matter what others think. It's not their life.
I see myself sticking with "soft entrepreneurship" for the foreseeable future. The rules I set for myself might change with my circumstances, but the core principles, like being compassionate with myself and refusing to chase "more" for the sake of it, will remain the same.
In February, she moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood with her pug, Ari.
As a maximalist and fan of bright decor, Mody wanted to fill her apartment with color, even though she was only renting.
Take a look at how Mody transformed her space using renter-friendly "dopamine decor," as she described her style to Business Insider.
Maitri Mody used "dopamine decor" to decorate her apartment.
The apartment is full of color.
Maitri Mody
Recently, personalization has become a bigger priority than ever to many millennial homeowners and renters, with resale value and security deposits being overshadowed by the need to make a space their own.
For some, that means ditching the "sad beige" aesthetic in favor of colorful, one-of-a-kind spaces. Mody took things a step further by embracing "dopamine decor," a trend revolving around filling your home with things that make you feel happy when you're in it, much like "dopamine dressing."
"It gives you an instant serotonin boost when you walk into a space because it's all the things that make you happy," Mody told Business Insider of the style.
Mody's happy home is full of "colorful, joyful, and maximalist" decor, as well as some influence from Danish pastels.
It can be difficult for some people to add that kind of color to a rental property, but Mody made it work.
Her one-bedroom apartment was a blank canvas when she moved in.
The apartment came with neutral colors.
Maitri Mody
Like many modern apartments, Mody's space was full of neutral tones when she moved in, including the white walls and countertops.
Because she preferred bright colors, Mody decided to paint areas of the apartment, even though she knew she would have to make the walls white again when she moved someday.
"Usually painting, it's easy to get permission from a landlord," Mody said. "I've got it in my last three apartments, and it was always that, 'Oh, if you paint, as long as you paint it back to the original color, we are OK with you painting.'"
"I think it's one of the easiest and most economical ways to add color to your space," Mody added.
"The first thing I did when I moved in was paint the ceiling in my living room pink," Mody said.
The ceiling is pink.
Maitri Mody
Mody told BI she got input from her followers on whether she should paint her ceiling.
"It just adds a nice pop of color as opposed to plain white walls, and it doesn't even need to be paint and wallpaper," Mody said of bringing color to the walls or ceiling of a space, adding that artwork can also make a huge impact.
Mody made the pink on her ceiling pop even more by replacing the light fixtures that came with the apartment. In the living room, that meant more pink.
"I love spring, so I wanted something with flowers," she said of her vision for the living room's lights. Mody ended up finding pink, floral light fixtures. The flowers matched the ceiling, while the gold hardware offered contrast.
The space also features a multicolored rug, a pink couch, and colorful tables Mody painted herself.
Mody swapped the lights in her kitchen, too.
The kitchen came with modern lights.
Maitri Mody
Mody is a big advocate of using light to personalize a space.
"If you don't want to swap out the fixtures or just cover it in some way, lamps like floor lamps, table lamps, all of those little touches make such a difference," Mody said.
Mody also said she swaps out her lightbulbs to create the aesthetic she wants in her home.
"I always remove the original bulbs and like the ambient ones," she said. "It's so easy to find on Amazon."
She ended up making DIY disco-ball lights to brighten the space.
She used reflective mirrors to create a disco look.
Maitri Mody
In addition to the disco-ball lights, Mody applied small mirror tiles to rounded ceiling lamps so they sparkle when the sun hits them.
"I get so much direct sun that the mirrors reflect on the ceiling, especially during sunset and during golden hour," she said. "It creates a really nice vibe in the apartment when the sun hits directly."
Mody brought color to the kitchen by painting a column in the corner pink and creating a checked pattern on another using green contact paper.
"I just placed the squares next to each other," she said. "It was very quick and didn't really take that much time."
"I love how it looks, and it's super renter-friendly," Mody added.
Mody also incorporated color in her kitchen with her appliances.
The kitchen needed some color.
Maitri Mody
Although design elements like paint and light fixtures help to create the maximalist and bright feel Mody likes, she also uses colorful appliances to brighten her space.
She found pieces she uses daily that boost her happiness.
The appliances themselves are bright.
Maitri Mody
For instance, Mody has a red retro coffee maker, a pink toaster, and colorful canisters, to which she added googly eyes as a source of dopamine decor.
"It's just funny when you look at it," she said of the eyes.
She also has a vintage lamp shaped like a toucan that serves the same purpose, making it a priority to find things that make her smile.
Peel-and-stick wallpaper transformed the apartment, too.
The wallpaper covers the door.
Maitri Mody
Mody brightened the apartment's entryway by covering her front door and the wall surrounding it with a curved, stick-and-peel wallpaper pattern in purple and white from Rebel Walls.
Mody told BI that stick-and-peel wallpaper is one of her favorite ways to bring color to a rental apartment, whether she uses it on a wall, a door, or inside a cabinet.
"I've also removed wallpapers, and they always come off easily," she said. "They don't really damage the paint unless the wall is already damaged."
"I've always gotten my deposits back with no deduction,'" Mody added.
Mody also wanted to use a fun wallpaper in her bedroom.
The bedroom needed color.
Maitri Mody
Mody said she wanted to take inspiration from the floor-to-ceiling windows throughout her apartment for her bedroom decor.
"Because my space is so open, and you can see the whole outside from pretty much everywhere in my apartment, I wanted to bring that whole indoor-outdoor vibe and take it a notch further," she said.
A sky-patterned wallpaper became a focal point of the room.
Wallpaper transformed the space.
Maitri Mody
Mody complemented the sky wallpaper from Rebel Wall with a curved, white bedframe that resembled a cloud and a nightstand covered in a cloud pattern that she painted herself.
"I've worked with a lot of different wallpaper prints, but this has to be one of my favorites," Mody said.
She also swapped the ceiling light for a rounded, white fixture, adding to the sky effect.
She even made color a priority in the bathroom.
The bathroom has several different colors.
Maitri Mody
Mody didn't just get a colorful shower curtain and bath mat. Instead, she painted the walls a soft blue and filled the space with fun pieces like candles, a side table, and even a cherry-shaped toilet cleaner.
Mody said that maximalism often comes down to "paying attention to a lot of small details and making it all work together."
One of Mody's favorite ways to incorporate those dopamine-inducing details is with functional and colorful pieces, like the curved, green shelves she put up in her bathroom.
"The more color I can add in some way, the better it is, but it's also super easy to do," she said.
Mody also said that she incorporates color with light-switch plates in her home.
"I didn't realize how easy it was to do it," she said. "And now, on Etsy and so many places, you can get these fun light-switch plates. You can also get them custom-made."
Mody used plants and lights to brighten her patio.
The patio has a comfortable feel too.
Maitri Mody
Rather than thinking of her balcony as an outdoor space, Mody conceptualized it as a second living room, filling it with cozy pieces like rounded chairs and twinkling lights that would make her want to spend time outside.
She also gave her balcony a more boho look than the rest of her apartment, telling BI that embracing different styles can be key to dopamine decor.
"All your rooms don't have to belong to one specific style," she said. "My balcony is very boho. It doesn't go with any of the stuff in the rest of my apartment, but I love that."
"You can love different design styles and incorporate all of them in your apartment," she added.
Mody hopes other renters know they can embrace dopamine decor.
Renting doesn't mean you can't decorate your home.
Maitri Mody
Mody knows many people are hesitant to personalize rental spaces too much, but she thinks that's a mistake, especially for people who live in big cities that might be renting for years.
"You can always take your things with you and use them in the next apartment," she added. "Some things you can't, like paint and wallpaper, but it's still a good investment to personalize your space."
"Why not enjoy your space while you're renting and personalize it instead of wasting years?" she said. "Just because you're renting doesn't mean you're not living your life there."
Google ranked No. 1 on Universum's new ranking focused on the results of US computer science students.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images
Google held its No. 1 spot in Universum's US ranking based on a survey of computer science students.
The spots in the ranking are based on what students said were their ideal employers.
Google also ranked No. 2 in the new ranking based on business students and No. 9 for the list focused on engineering students.
A Handshake report about the class of 2024 said that these new grads are "applying to a wider range of industries and job roles, shifting some of their applications away from competitive spaces like tech and toward industries like government and manufacturing."
But it looks like US computer science students are still thinking about some well-known tech companies, such as Microsoft, as employers they would love to work for — at least based on new results from another survey.
Universum, an employer branding specialist, surveyed US university students about the employers they want to work for. Students in this survey weren't just seniors gearing up for their post-graduation careers but other grade levels. The ranking was based on what respondents noted as their ideal places; respondents could note up to five employers.
Google ranked No. 1 on the list based on what US computer science students said. Plus, it ranked No. 2 on the list based on what US business students said and No. 9 on the list based on the responses of US engineering students. Around a third of US computer science students picked Google as one of their ideal employers, which is less than last year's share.
Below are the top 15 in the new ranking, along with the share of computer science students who listed each employer among their top five ideal employers.
15. IBM
Ramon Costa/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Percentage who said this: 7.78%
Rank last year: 12
Last year's percentage: 8.25%
14. Lockheed Martin
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
Percentage who said this: 8.26%
Rank last year: 19
Last year's percentage: 5.22%
13. SpaceX
People watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Percentage who said this: 8.34%
Rank last year: 9
Last year's percentage: 9.03%
12. Riot Games
CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images
Percentage who said this: 8.51%
Rank last year: 13
Last year's percentage: 8.22%
11. Intel
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Percentage who said this: 9.23%
Rank last year: 11
Last year's percentage: 8.55%
10. Tesla
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Percentage who said this: 9.30%
Rank last year: 6
Last year's percentage: 12.70%
9. Netflix
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Percentage who said this: 10.14%
Rank last year: 5
Last year's percentage: 12.97%
8. Meta
JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Percentage who said this: 10.42%
Rank last year (which was noted as Facebook): 14
Last year's percentage: 7.28%
7. Spotify
Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images
Percentage who said this: 10.52%
Rank last year: 7
Last year's percentage: 11.23%
6. Nintendo
ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images
Percentage who said this: 11.03%
Rank last year: 8
Last year's percentage: 10.54%
5. Nvidia
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Percentage who said this: 12.52%
Rank last year: 10
Last year's percentage: 8.78%
4. Amazon
Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images
Percentage who said this: 17.91%
Rank last year: 4
Last year's percentage: 21.98%
3. Apple
Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images
Percentage who said this: 25.41%
Rank last year: 2
Last year's percentage: 30.66%
2. Microsoft
Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Percentage who said this: 29.46%
Rank last year: 3
Last year's percentage: 30.18%
1. Google
Google ranked No. 1 on Universum's new ranking focused on the results of US computer science students.
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The best Android phone has the features you want for a worthwhile price.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
Choosing the best Android phone depends on the features you prioritize and your target price range. There are many Android phone brands, each with distinct approaches to hardware and software, and price tags vary widely.
We've tested more than a dozen current phones to land on a definitive list of the top Android phones you can buy now. For transparency, we don't aim to point out which Android phones have the most features or the highest benchmark scores; you can look at a publicly available specs sheet for that. Rather, based on our testing, we favor those with the best balance of high-quality features, performance, and value.
Our top pick among the best Android phones is the Samsung Galaxy S24, a stellar overall phone that would suit the vast majority of Android users. If you're looking for something with a more modest price tag, the Google Pixel 8a comes enthusiastically recommended.
With its three cameras, unmatched performance, interesting AI features, and sleek minimalist design, the Samsung Galaxy S24 outclasses the Android competition in its price range. There is simply no finer Android phone you can buy in the current 2024 season. And if you prefer larger displays, the Galaxy S24 Plus is basically a larger version of the Galaxy S24 with a couple of extra benefits, like more RAM and faster charging.
Specifically, the Galaxy S24's versatile triple-camera system and sheer performance set it apart from its main competitor, the Google Pixel 8. The Galaxy S24 runs on the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor as the $1,300 Galaxy S24 Ultra, and it's among the few phones in the $800 range with three cameras. The Galaxy S24's MSRP is $100 more than the Pixel 8's, but it's worth the added cost if you're looking for a premium Android phone and are willing to pay for one to begin with.
Samsung's Galaxy S24 has the fewest compromises for the best value.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
Indeed, we feel you wouldn't regret paying a little more for the Galaxy S24's performance today, and a few years from now. It imparts more confidence than other Android phones that it'll stay snappy and smooth for a considerable time.
The Galaxy S24 takes great photos, but it should be said its camera quality is the weakest in the premium phone market. Even though Samsung successfully addressed the near-neon oversaturated colors, the lighting in Galaxy S24 photos can be inconsistent. It results in occasionally bland, depthless photos or overexposure in brighter details, and it happens more often than we'd like.
Still, the Galaxy S24's cameras are good enough, and the 3x zoom lens offers versatility that most other Android phones in this price range don't match. If you often use your current phone's zoom lens or wish you had one to take better photos of far-away subjects, the Galaxy S24 is an excellent choice in the $800 range.
Google's Pixel 8a is a pragmatic budget-conscious champion; it's all most people really need. For $500 at MSRP, it offers the same Google Tensor G3 processor as Google's flagship Pixel 8 phones for high-end performance, it has a 120Hz display for a smooth experience, and its cameras can easily rival those on phones that cost twice as much.
Its more affordable price is a reflection of its plastic back, thicker borders around the display, and a slow but acceptable 18W charging speed. In everyday use, none of these less-than-premium traits negatively affect the experience of using the Pixel 8a.
The Pixel 8a is the top Android phone you can buy in the $500-and-below range.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
In our intensive battery test, the 6.1-inch Pixel 8a's 61% result exceeded that of premium phones with similar screen sizes, like the 6.2-inch Galaxy S24 (59%) and even some with bigger screens, like the 6.7-inch Galaxy S24 Plus (60%).
To be sure, a $500 price is high in terms of a "budget" option. Yet, the Pixel 8a offers such good value for a near-premium experience that we think it's well worth the splurge. It's a splurge that makes up for its price, too — primarily, the Pixel 8a's performance will stay sprightly for years longer than less expensive phones with less powerful processors.
The Android phone with the best camera system is Google's Pixel 8 Pro because, quite simply, it takes the best photos out of all the Android phones we've tested so far. We also get the most confidence that photos will look good after every snap than with other Android phones.
The Pixel 8 Pro's cameras capture memories in beautifully natural colors while maintaining the best balance of brightness and contrast. As the best Google Pixel phone for video and photography, it produces results less prone to overexposure than competitors and offers gorgeous depth thanks to superior dynamic range.
The Pixel 8 Pro might not have four cameras like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but its photo quality is consistently better.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
We also found that the Pixel 8 Pro isn't as dependent on optimal lighting conditions as Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra to capture sharp photos of moving subjects, like kids and pets. Indeed, images taken in less ideal lighting conditions with the Galaxy S24 Ultra can appear somewhat blurry and grainy.
The Pixel 8 Pro's three cameras — a 50MP main camera, a 48MP 5x zoom camera, and a 48MP ultrawide camera — offer plenty of versatility.
The Pixel 8 Pro uses a highly effective digital zoom between its main and 5x lenses. It combines the main and ultrawide cameras to produce a photo nearly as sharp as a dedicated optical lens at 3x zoom.
Still, Google's solution for digital zoom isn't quite as high-quality as a dedicated zoom lens, like the Galaxy S24 Ultra's 3x zoom lens. The Galaxy S24 Ultra takes slightly better photos at 10x zoom, too. That said, we stand by our pick for the Pixel 8 Pro, as overall photo quality is still better and more balanced on the Pixel 8 Pro.
The Pixel 8 Pro also takes first-rate videos with equally excellent color, brightness, and contrast as its photos.
Phones with bigger displays almost always have the best battery life, and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra with a 6.8-inch display and 5,000mAh battery obtained the best result in our battery stress test among flat Android phones, ending the test with a whopping 66% remaining.
That's a phenomenal result. The traditional Android phone with the next best score is the Google Pixel 8 Pro with 62%. Indeed, most phones with large displays score between 60% and 62%.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra holds the highest score in our battery test for a traditional phone (non-foldable).
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
The battery stress test simulates a blend of lighter and heavier workloads. It includes five runs of the intensive Geekbench 6 app, two runs of the intensive 20-minute 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test, two hours of video streaming, and one hour of music streaming while connected to a Bluetooth speaker.
While you're unlikely to change your charging habits too much, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has the most potential of any Android phone we've tested to last a couple of days of light use. Its battery life also gives you more confidence that it'll last through your typical day.
Not only is the Samsung Galaxy S24 the best Android phone overall, it's among the most compact and lightest Android phones available in the US. It has a 6.2-inch display, but the black borders of the display are so narrow that it keeps the phone incredibly compact. It's also incredibly lightweight at only 5.9 ounces.
The Galaxy S24 is slightly more compact and lighter than the Pixel 8.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
The Galaxy S24 surprised us with its battery life. It ended our battery test with 59%, which is a good score for a small or large phone. The Galaxy S24 Plus, for example, scored 60% in the same test.
When it comes to foldable phones, we prefer the book-style design over clamshell flip-style designs. Book-style foldables are significantly more expensive, but they offer vastly greater functionality with their tablet displays, and you don't have to worry as much about battery life or performance as you do with clamshell foldables.
The first foldable phone we'd recommend to anyone who asks is the OnePlus Open, thanks to its premium, solid design and build quality, large-than-average cover and tablet displays, and excellent performance. The OnePlus Open's cameras are stellar, too, even if they're a little dependent on ideal lighting conditions, and battery life proved solid in our tests.
The OnePlus Open is the most impressive foldable phone we've tested thanks to its build quality that feels a step above, and its larger cover and tablet displays.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
We've tested and considered other book-style phones, including the Google Pixel Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. However, the OnePlus Open's build quality and large 7.6-inch tablet display sets it apart from the others with 7.6-inch tablet displays. To be sure, the other foldables we mentioned have great build quality, but the OnePlus Open is simply a step above.
We also love the OnePlus Open's large 6.3-inch cover display, as it's wider than the Galaxy Z Fold 5's awkwardly narrow cover display and larger than the Google Pixel Fold with its stout 5.8-inch cover display. The Open offers a comfortable experience familiar to a regular phone's display, which is important, as you don't want to feel like you constantly need to unfold the phone for basic tasks, like replying to a message or quickly searching the web.
The best Android phone we recommend to most people is the Samsung Galaxy S24. For its $800 starting price, the Galaxy S24 offers an ideal balance of performance, camera quality, camera options, and features.
We put every phone through the same tests and extended personal use.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
We test Android phones as if they were our daily drivers for at least several days, often much longer. That way, we can get the best anecdotal feel for their performance, battery life, cameras, and new features. Our extensive experience covering, reviewing, and comparing phone models from various companies at different price points means we know what to expect, and any failings become apparent quickly.
We also conduct standard tests on all the phones we review and include in our guides.
For performance, we put the phones through a gamut of benchmarking apps to check for performance discrepancies between phones, at least on paper. These benchmark tests also help us evaluate how many years a phone could maintain its performance compared to other phones. We've used Geekbench 6 for general performance and the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test to get a sense of extended heavy gaming performance.
For camera testing, we photograph a set gamut of scenes with every phone; you may have seen our barn photos repeatedly. We take photos and videos with each lens on each phone and compare them to their direct competitors. We even compare premium phone cameras to budget options to evaluate the difference.
For battery life, we run each phone through a stress test that simulates a mixture of typical daily workloads, like streaming a video and music, and high-intensity workloads, like playing demanding games. The battery stress test includes five runs of the Geekbench 6 app, two runs of the 3DMark Wildlife Stress Test, two hours of video streaming at a set average brightness, and one hour of music streaming with a Bluetooth speaker connected. At the end of the test, we note the remaining battery percentage on the phone.
Other Android phones we tested
Aside from the Android phones listed or mentioned above, we've tested all the latest flagship phones from Samsung and Google for our guides to the best Samsung phones and best Google Pixel phones, along with most of the current mid-range and budget phones from both companies.
From Motorola, we've tested the latest Motorola Razr foldable phones. We've also tested the 2024 Moto G and Moto G Power as contenders for the best budget option. Out of the two, we'd only consider the Moto G Power, thanks to its superior performance. It's less expensive than the Pixel 8a, and it would be a solid pick if you can't justify $500.
We've also tested the latest OnePlus 12 phones. We were convinced they'd feature in this guide, but we faced issues when using the Geekbench 6 benchmarking app, which we use to test battery life.
For some reason, both the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R obtained inconsistent and significantly lower scores in Geekbench 6 than we'd expect from their processors, which put our battery test results for the phones in doubt. The odd benchmark results also questioned whether we were experiencing the intended performance and full potential of both OnePlus devices.
We've been communicating with OnePlus to figure out the issue and retesting the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R with every new Android update and Geekbench 6 app update. In the dozens of tests we've run with Geekbench 6 on both OnePlus 12 phones, very few instances produced the expected results.
FAQs
Who owns Android?
In simple terms, Google owns the Android operating system.
Google bought the company that developed the software, Android Inc., in 2005. Other companies like Samsung and OnePlus can run Android on their phones because Google makes it freely available as an open-source operating system for anyone to use. Even you, the reader, could build your own phone that legally runs the Android operating system.
The Android operating system looks and works differently on phones from different companies because phone makers modify it by adding their own software layers on top of Android for users to interact with.
For example, while Samsung phones run the core Android operating system, which gives them access to the Google Play Store apps, they also run Samsung's user interface (UI) layer, One UI, which adds a distinctive look and feel to the company's phones.
Which Android phone gets the most updates?
The best support window for Android phones is the seven years of Android operating system and security updates offered by the Samsung Galaxy S24 series and the Google Pixel 8 phones, including the Pixel 8a.
The OnePlus Open has the shortest support window among our top picks, with a still-respectable four years of software updates and five years of security updates from its October 2023 release.
Best overall
Samsung's Galaxy S23 Plus is our top pick because we don't have to spend time talking about compromises like we do on most other Android phones — if you have a necessity in an Android phone, it's more than likely that the Galaxy S23 Plus has it, and it has it in high quality. The only trade-off for such a complete experience is its $1,000 starting price.
The Galaxy S23 Plus' performance goes beyond expectations for high-end Android phones in 2023 by running on a specially optimized processor that's exclusive to the Galaxy S23 series — the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Optimized for Galaxy. The gains aren't massive over other Android phones running the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, like the OnePlus 11, but the Galaxy S23 Plus does occasionally open apps a little faster in side-by-side testing.
The rear triple-lens camera on the Galaxy S23 Plus delivers photos anyone would be happy with, and Samsung has also improved the selfie camera year-over-year, with surprisingly good HDR, portrait mode, colors, contrast, and brightness. Battery life on the Galaxy S23 Plus is excellent; among comparably sized Android phones, its 59% result in our intensive battery test was bested only by the Google Pixel 8 Pro, which scored 62%, and the OnePlus 11, which scored 61%.
The Galaxy S23 Plus has a fairly large screen at 6.6 inches, which may be too large for some people, but its light weight at 6.91 ounces makes it incredibly comfortable in the hand. And, as expected for a high-end Android phone, the Galaxy S23 Plus' display runs at a silky smooth 120Hz, which pairs beautifully with the phone's powerful processor — every swipe and animation on the screen glides effortlessly.
The Google Pixel 7a is essentially a premium device with high-end performance, features, and camera quality that's dressed in somewhat less-premium materials. In return for the slightly diminished aesthetic of thick display borders and a plastic back, the Pixel 7a costs $499.
The Pixel 7a's MSRP is on the high side for a budget pick, especially compared to the $349 Pixel 6a. But unlike the Pixel 6a, the Pixel 7a comes with several premium features, like a recent flagship processor (Google's Tensor G2), wireless charging, a smoother high refresh-rate display, and the option of fast mmWave 5G connectivity — all of which combine to justify the price gap between the Pixel 7a and the Pixel 6a and make the newer model the top pick in our best budget Android phone guide.
In our intensive battery test, the 6.1-inch Pixel 7a's 60% result is astonishingly good for a phone of this size — it matches and outperforms some premium phones with bigger screens, like the 6.6-inch Galaxy S23 Plus (59%) and 6.8-inch Galaxy S23 Ultra (54%).
While the Pixel 7a's 64MP main camera and 13MP ultrawide camera are ostensibly a significant upgrade from the Pixel 6a's 12MP cameras, in our testing, we found little discernible difference between the excellent photos the two budget phones produce. There's also little difference in camera quality between the Pixel 7a and some high-end devices, many of which cost twice as much.
Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra is the ultimate camera phone with its four lenses, including a 200-megapixel (MP) main camera, a 12MP ultrawide, a 10MP 3x zoom, and a 10MP 10x zoom.
Despite the very high-resolution main camera, you might not notice much of a difference in photo quality compared to other premium phones with around 50MP cameras — most high-end devices achieve a similarly good balance of color, brightness, contrast, and sharpness.
What sets the Galaxy S23 Ultra apart from the other best Samsung phones, and from any other phone for that matter, is its fourth 10x optical zoom lens. It takes crisp, clear photos and videos in full detail significantly further than any other phone, making it the most versatile camera phone you can buy in the US.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with a built-in stylus, the S Pen, which comes in handy for editing photos on the phone's giant 6.8-inch screen — it offers precision and functionality that simply can't be achieved with a fingertip.
Phones with bigger displays almost always have the best battery life, and the Google Pixel 8 Pro with a 6.7-inch display obtained the best result in our battery stress test among Android phones, ending the test with 62% remaining.
The battery stress test is designed to simulate a blend of lighter and heavier workloads. It includes five runs of the Geekbench 6 app, two runs of the intensive 20-minute 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test, two hours of video streaming, and one hour of music streaming while connected to a Bluetooth speaker.
The Pixel 8 Pro's 62% is a great result, but it's not far ahead of other Android phones with similar screen sizes. The Galaxy S23 Plus (6.6 inches) ended the test with 59% remaining, and the OnePlus 11 (6.7 inches) with 61%. Surprisingly, the Galaxy S23 Ultra with a 6.8-inch display did remarkably poorly with 54% remaining at the end of our test.
At the end of the day, the Pixel 8 Pro's result doesn't mean it'll last significantly longer than the Galaxy S23 Plus or the OnePlus 11 — you'll still need to charge the Pixel 8 Pro whenever you usually charge your phones. That's to say, if you're not a Google Pixel fan, you can pick either the Galaxy S23 Plus or OnePlus 11 and be just as happy with battery life. Choice is one of the best things about the Android ecosystem.
Best small phone
The Android phone market is flooded with large screens, and you'd think fans of smaller phones are underserved, but not when the 6.1-inch Samsung Galaxy S23 is around.
One of the best Samsung phones you can buy, the Galaxy S23 is essentially a smaller version of our pick for the best overall Android phone, the 6.6-inch Galaxy S23 Plus — it offers the same high-end performance, the same cameras, and the same design.
Its battery life isn't quite as good as the Galaxy S23 Plus (47% vs. 59%), but that's understandable and expected in smaller phones. The only baffling compromise is its 25W charging speed compared to the Galaxy S23 Plus' 45W charging speed, and it also has a lower base storage option at 128GB.
At its starting price of $800, the Galaxy S23 is still on the expensive side, so we alternately recommend the Google Pixel 7a, which also has a 6.1-inch screen and currently starts at $499.
The Google Pixel Fold, Google's first entry into the foldable phone market, immediately stood out on its release as the premier offering in the realm of Android foldable devices for one key reason: Its folded, exterior display offered a closer approximation to a traditional phone experience than any previous foldable phone.
We find the exterior screens on Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold series awkwardly narrow to the point of providing a sub-par experience as a phone, while the Pixel Fold's 5.8-inch exterior display is wider and more functional when using apps. (The latest entry in the foldable realm, the OnePlus Open, has an exterior display that improves on both the Z Fold phones and the Pixel Fold by striking a middle ground between the narrowness of the former and the width of the latter, but we're still in the process of testing it fully.)
The Pixel Fold's exterior and interior screens operate at a smooth 120Hz, and the phone runs on Google's proficient Tensor G2 processor, which we've found to be essentially on par in everyday use with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor that runs Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5, despite the latter processor's superior benchmark performance.
If you're looking for a new phone that can double as a tablet, the Pixel Fold is more than worth your while if its $1,799 starting price tag is within your budget.
Every phone is put through the same tests, including several days of personal use.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
We test Android phones as if they were our daily drivers for at least several days, and often much longer. That way, we can get the best anecdotal feel for their performance, battery life, cameras, and new features.
We also conduct standard tests on all the phones we review and include in our guides.
For performance, we put the phones through a gamut of benchmarking apps to check for performance discrepancies between phones, at least on paper. These benchmark tests also help us evaluate how many years a phone could maintain its performance compared to other phones. We've used Geekbench 6 for general performance, and the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test to get a sense of extended heavy gaming performance.
For camera testing, we photograph a set gamut of scenes with every phone; you may have seen our barn photos over and over again. We take photos with each lens on each phone and compare them to their direct competitors. We even compare premium phone cameras to budget options to evaluate the difference.
For battery life, we run each phone through a stress test that simulates a mixture of typical daily workloads, like streaming a video and music, as well as high-intensity workloads, like playing demanding games. The battery stress test includes five runs of the Geekbench 6 app, two runs of the 3DMark Wildlife Stress Test, two hours of video streaming at a set average brightness, and one hour of music streaming with Bluetooth headphones connected. At the end of the test, we note the remaining battery percentage on the phone.
Best Android phone FAQs
Who owns Android?
In simple terms, Google owns the Android operating system. Other companies like Samsung and OnePlus can run Android on their phones because Google makes it freely available as an open-source operating system for anyone to use on their phones. Even you, the reader, could build your own phone that legally runs the Android operating system.
The Android operating system looks and works differently on phones from different companies because phone makers modify the operating system by adding their own layers of software on top of Android for users to interact with.
For example, while Samsung phones run the core Android operating system that gives them access to the Google Play Store apps, they also run Samsung's user interface (UI) layer called One UI, which adds a distinctive look and feel to the company's phones.
Which Android phone gets the most updates?
The best support window for Android phones currently is the seven years of Android operating system and security updates offered by the new Google Pixel 8 phones.
Samsung's current flagship phones offer a shorter support window; the company has said that its Galaxy S23 series phones will get four years of Android software updates and five years of security updates following their February 2023 release.
Relative to the Pixel 8 phones, Google offers a smaller support window for two of the earlier phones we've included here, the Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold, both of which will get three years of Android updates and five years of security updates from their respective release dates.