• 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.

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.

• Maitri Mody moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, New York, in February. 
• She decorated the apartment with "dopamine decor," filling it with things that make her happy.
• Paint, stick-and-peel wallpaper, and light fixtures made all the difference in her rental space.

As Maitri Mody settled into her new apartment, she knew she needed to put her stamp on it.

Mody, 42, is a content creator and interior decorator based in New York City.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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

Percentage who said this: 7.78%

Rank last year: 12

Last year's percentage: 8.25%

14. Lockheed Martin

Percentage who said this: 8.26%

Rank last year: 19

Last year's percentage: 5.22%

13. SpaceX

Percentage who said this: 8.34%

Rank last year: 9

Last year's percentage: 9.03%

12. Riot Games

Percentage who said this: 8.51%

Rank last year: 13

Last year's percentage: 8.22%

11. Intel

Percentage who said this: 9.23%

Rank last year: 11

Last year's percentage: 8.55%

10. Tesla

Percentage who said this: 9.30%

Rank last year: 6

Last year's percentage: 12.70%

9. Netflix

Percentage who said this: 10.14%

Rank last year: 5

Last year's percentage: 12.97%

8. Meta

Percentage who said this: 10.42%

Rank last year (which was noted as Facebook): 14

Last year's percentage: 7.28%

7. Spotify

Percentage who said this: 10.52%

Rank last year: 7

Last year's percentage: 11.23%

6. Nintendo

Percentage who said this: 11.03%

Rank last year: 8

Last year's percentage: 10.54%

5. Nvidia

Percentage who said this: 12.52%

Rank last year: 10

Last year's percentage: 8.78%

4. Amazon

Percentage who said this: 17.91%

Rank last year: 4

Last year's percentage: 21.98%

3. Apple

Percentage who said this: 25.41%

Rank last year: 2

Last year's percentage: 30.66%

2. Microsoft

Percentage who said this: 29.46%

Rank last year: 3

Last year's percentage: 30.18%

1. Google

Percentage who said this: 34.22%

Rank last year: 1

Last year's percentage: 41.41%

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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.

Our top picks for the best Android phones

Best overall: Samsung Galaxy S24 – See at Amazon

Best budget: Google Pixel 8a – See at Amazon

Best camera: Google Pixel 8 Pro – See at Amazon

Best battery life: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra – See at Amazon

Best small phone: Samsung Galaxy S24 – See at Amazon

Best foldable phone: OnePlus Open – See at Amazon

Best overall

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.

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.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S24 review and see our guide to the best Samsung Galaxy S24 cases to protect the phone.

Best budget

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. 

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.

Read our full Google Pixel 8a review and see our guide to the best Google Pixel 8a cases to protect the phone.

Best camera

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. 

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.

Read our full Google Pixel 8 Pro review and see our guide to the best Google Pixel 8 Pro cases to protect the phone. 

Best battery life

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 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.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review and see our guide to the best Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra cases to protect the phone.  

Best small phone

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 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.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S24 review and see our guide to the best Samsung Galaxy S24 cases to protect the phone.

Best foldable phone

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.

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.

Read our OnePlus Open hands-on assessment and see our guide to the best foldable phones for other top options. 

Which is the best Android phone?

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. 

How we test Android phones

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. 

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus review.

Best budget

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. 

Read our full Google Pixel 7a review.

Best camera

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. 

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review.

Best battery life

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. 

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S23 review.

Best foldable phone

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. 

Read our full Google Pixel Fold review.

Best Android phones compared

Specs	Galaxy S23 Plus	Pixel 7a	Galaxy S23 Ultra	Pixel 8 Pro	Galaxy S23	Pixel Fold
Starting price	$1,000	$499	$1,200	$999	$800	$1,799
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Optimized for Galaxy	Google Tensor G2	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Optimized for Galaxy	Google Tensor G3	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Optimized for Galaxy	Google Tensor G2
Release date	February 2023	May 2023	February 2023	October 2023	February 2023	June 2023
Screen size	6.6 inches	6.1 inches	6.8 inches	6.7 inches	6.1 inches	5.8-inch exterior; 7.6-inch interior
Rear cameras	50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x zoom	64MP main, 13MP ultrawide	200MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x zoom, 10MP 10x zoom	50MP main, 48MP ultrawide, 48MP 5x zoom	50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x zoom	48MP main, 10.8MP ultrawide, 10.8MP 5x zoom
Storage	256GB, 512GB	128GB	256GB, 512GB, 1TB	128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB	128GB, 256GB, 512GB	256GB, 512GB

How we test Android phones

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. 

• Around 1 in 5 US engineering students in a survey chose Lockheed Martin as an ideal employer.
• That made it the No. 1 employer on Universum's new ranking using what engineering students said.
• General Motors, Apple, and Tesla were part of the top 15.

While the labor market is looking tough for job seekers, some US engineering students are thinking about hopefully landing work at Lockheed Martin, GE Aerospace, or Nvidia one day.

These places ranked highly on a new ranking about the employers US engineering students most want to work for. Universum, an employer branding specialist, put together the ranking — and similar rankings, such as one focused on what business students said and another focused on what computer science students said — based on how many people in a survey chose them as one of their ideal employers.

The survey of students for these rankings was done from September 2023 to April 2024, and students could name up to five ideal places. The ranking was based on what students chose; students were provided with a list of employers during the survey to select places they would consider working for.

The top five in the list of what US engineering students said were exactly the same as last year's results, including Tesla at No. 5 and Lockheed Martin at No. 1. The share who said Lockheed Martin rose slightly.

Below are the top 15 in the new ranking, along with the share of engineering students who listed each employer among their top five ideal employers.

15. General Motors

Percentage who said this: 6.15%

Rank last year: 11

Last year's percentage: 7.20%

14. Nvidia

Percentage who said this: 6.20%

Rank last year: 27

Last year's percentage: 4.19%

13. Ford Motor Company

Percentage who said this: 6.26%

Rank last year: 14

Last year's percentage: 6.36%

12. Toyota

Percentage who said this: 7.01%

Rank last year: 12

Last year's percentage: 6.97%

11. GE Aerospace

Percentage who said this: 7.14%

Rank last year: N/A

Last year's percentage: N/A

10. Microsoft

Percentage who said this: 7.36%

Rank last year: 10

Last year's percentage: 7.47%

9. Google

Percentage who said this: 9.02%

Rank last year: 8

Last year's percentage: 9.63%

8. Apple

Percentage who said this: 9.63%

Rank last year: 6

Last year's percentage: 10.71%

7. Northrop Grumman

Percentage who said this: 9.69%

Rank last year: 7

Last year's percentage: 9.74%

6. Raytheon Technologies (now RTX Corporation)

Percentage who said this: 10.09%

Rank last year: 9

Last year's percentage: 8.66%

5. Tesla

Percentage who said this: 12.86%

Rank last year: 5

Last year's percentage: 14.24%

4. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Percentage who said this: 15.20%

Rank last year: 4

Last year's percentage: 15.78%

3. Boeing

Percentage who said this: 15.61%

Rank last year: 3

Last year's percentage: 16.67%

2. SpaceX

Percentage who said this: 18.66%

Rank last year: 2

Last year's percentage: 20.20%

1. Lockheed Martin

Percentage who said this: 22.66%

Rank last year: 1

Last year's percentage: 20.60%

• Current and former employees at top AI companies are speaking out about the risks of AI.
• At least 9 OpenAI insiders signed the letter calling for more protection for whistleblowers.
• Their open letter, which has 4 demands, was endorsed by the "Godfathers of AI."

A group of nine current and former OpenAI employees signed a letter calling out tech firms over major concerns about the risks of artificial intelligence.

In their letter, the tech workers called for more transparency in AI companies and better protections for whistleblowers who wish to raise concerns about the power of AI.

A total of 13 people signed the letter, and they all come from some of the top players in AI — including OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepMind. It was also endorsed by two men known as the "Godfathers of AI," Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton.

"I decided to leave OpenAI because I lost hope that they would act responsibly, particularly as they pursue artificial general intelligence," former OpenAI employee Daniel Kokotajlo said in a statement.

"They and others have bought into the 'move fast and break things' approach and that is the opposite of what is needed for technology this powerful and this poorly understood," he added.

The AI employees outlined a list of four demands that they said would help mitigate the existing issues of inequality and misinformation in the AI space.

Here's a look at the four principles the 13 employees said they want OpenAI and other AI companies to adopt, according to the letter.

1. That the company will not enter into or enforce any agreement that prohibits "disparagement" or criticism of the company for risk-related concerns, nor retaliate for risk-related criticism by hindering any vested economic benefit;
2. That the company will facilitate a verifiably anonymous process for current and former employees to raise risk-related concerns to the company's board, to regulators, and to an appropriate independent organization with relevant expertise;
3. That the company will support a culture of open criticism and allow its current and former employees to raise risk-related concerns about its technologies to the public, to the company's board, to regulators, or to an appropriate independent organization with relevant expertise, so long as trade secrets and other intellectual property interests are appropriately protected;
4. That the company will not retaliate against current and former employees who publicly share risk-related confidential information after other processes have failed. We accept that any effort to report risk-related concerns should avoid releasing confidential information unnecessarily. Therefore, once an adequate process for anonymously raising concerns to the company's board, to regulators, and to an appropriate independent organization with relevant expertise exists, we accept that concerns should be raised through such a process initially. However, as long as such a process does not exist, current and former employees should retain their freedom to report their concerns to the public.

Business Insider has reached out to OpenAI, Antrhopic, and Google Deepmind for comment on the letter.

OpenAI spokesperson Lindsey Held told The New York Times that the company is "proud of our track record providing the most capable and safest A.I. systems and believe in our scientific approach to addressing risk."

"We agree that rigorous debate is crucial given the significance of this technology, and we'll continue to engage with governments, civil society and other communities around the world," the statement continued.

• My grandmother always wrote thank-you letters to everyone in her life, and it inspired me. 
• As a college professor, I told my students to write a thank-you note to someone in their lives.
• The letters showed me that these students can be thoughtful and gracious.

My grandmother loved to send handwritten thank-you notes to everyone in her life.

She died in December. At her funeral, my mom asked everyone in attendance to raise a hand if they had ever received a note from my grandmother. Every single person lifted their arm high in the air.

Her letters always touched me and helped me feel special, so I passed her idea on to my students. I'm a professor, and I've taught many journalism and introductory media writing courses at several universities.

Earlier this semester, I asked my undergraduate students to draft a brief thank-you note to someone who did something nice for them. The results surprised me.

The letters my students wrote moved me

When I came up with the assignment for my students, I was looking for a way to get them to just write — and to write conversationally. I gave them the option of using pen and paper or their computers. Either way, I knew an open-ended free rewrite might overwhelm them, so I provided the thank-you note prompt.

One student thanked a family friend for their care package after her appendectomy: "The sleeping mask and blanket have granted me the coziest sleep in my recovery."

Another student thanked her friend for helping her carry her bags from the car to the dorm in the snow. "Without your help, I would have had to make multiple trips in the cold weather with several heavy bags all on my own," she wrote.

But I think my favorite thank you note was about a mirror. The student thanked his brother for buying him a full-size mirror for Christmas. Previously, he had to go into their parents' bedroom to use theirs.

"Now I don't even need to step a foot out of my room. I appreciate the thoughtful gift."

The letters showed me a new side to my students

The writing drill definitely renewed my faith in young people. I realized they can be thoughtful and gracious.

People like to rag on students, and sometimes they deserve it. But most of the time these kids are just hanging on by a thread. They're juggling school, jobs, internships, and their families.

I hoped my thank-you note exercise would reassure us that they could express themselves clearly. It turns out they can if given the right assignment and a little nudge.

When my grandmother sat down at her big, beautiful desk to write her thank-you notes, she wasn't distracted. She had a singular goal: to let her friends and family know she was grateful for their gifts. Anyone who knew her will tell you she expected the same in return. When my students sat down with a similar goal, they were able to tap into that gratefulness.

I'm not sure if my students will remember this exercise next semester or the semester after that, but I hope they will slow down and take the time to craft a kind-hearted note the next time they need to thank a friend, boss, or family member. I hope they will show each other kindness — the same kindness they showed in my class.

• A company developing Russia's answer to Elon Musk's Starlink said it completed its first tests.
• Bureau 1440, a Russian-owned project, said the trials were successful, with more to come.
• It uses the same approach as SpaceX's Starlink and other companies vying for the market.

A company developing Russia's answer to Elon Musk's Starlink said it has completed its first series of tests, using a laser inter-satellite link of its own design.

Bureau 1440, a project office for research on using low-earth orbit satellite systems for high-speed data transmission, shared the update in a Telegram post on Monday.

It said that more than 200 gigabytes of data was transferred at 10 gigabits per second, between spacecraft located more than 30 kilometers apart.

The tests were the company's first successful experience of domestic laser inter-satellite communication in space, it said, and confirmed the performance and potential of its technology.

It added that it was preparing dozens of new tests at a distance of hundreds of kilometers between satellites.

SpaceX's Starlink satellites operate in low-Earth orbit and also use inter-satellite laser links to pass data between one another.

This allows it to offer broad internet coverage around the world.

Russia has been banned from using Starlink, though reports suggest that Russian forces are getting the company's terminals through a complex black market and bringing them to the Ukrainian battlefield at scale.

The Russia-based company, formerly known as MegaFon 1440, announced its plan to invest the equivalent of $76 million in the development of a satellite data transmission system in 2020.

The company launched its first three satellites into orbit in 2023, according to the Russian business portal TAdviser.

In a Telegram post last month, the company said its goal was to create a broadband data service that would provide high-speed communications with low latency anywhere in the world — exactly like Space X's Starlink.

Its website touts the project as a revolution similar to Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite successfully launched into orbit in 1957.

Bureau 1440 didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The company is one of several developing global high-speed internet access through satellite constellations in low Earth orbit.

In addition to Starlink, Amazon's Project Kuiper, Eutelsat's OneWeb, and Telesat's Lightspeed are also vying for the market.

• Universum shared a new set of rankings about what US students said would be their ideal employers.
• JPMorgan Chase ranked No. 1 among business students.
• Fidelity Investments moved from No. 22 to No. 15, and BlackRock moved from No. 23 to No. 14.

The dream employers of US business students vary a lot based on new results from employer branding specialist Universum.

Universum surveyed over 40,000 US students from September 2023 to April 2024 and put together rankings based on what students in different fields of study, such as business, chose as their ideal employers. The lists are based on the up to five ideal employers a student could note.

While many students will be heading back to school next year as they continue their education, those who have graduated may now be applying for full-time work. They might find it hard to land not only what they consider their ideal company or organization but to find work in general, given how the labor market is looking for new entrants to the workforce.

JPMorgan Chase ranked No. 1 on the list based on what US business students said. This employer ranked at the top because the share who said this was around 14%. Only the top four had shares over 10% in this new ranking. Fidelity Investments surged from No. 22 in the 2023 ranking to No. 15, with a share of 5.06% in the new results.

Below are the top 15, along with the share of business students who listed each company among their top five ideal employers.

15. Fidelity Investments

Percentage who said this: 5.06%

Rank last year: 22

Last year's percentage: 3.97%

14. BlackRock

Percentage who said this: 5.30%

Rank last year: 23

Last year's percentage: 3.87%

13. Bank of America

Percentage who said this: 6.45%

Rank last year: 15

Last year's percentage: 5.56%

12. Morgan Stanley

Percentage who said this: 6.77%

Rank last year: 12

Last year's percentage: 6.75%

11. Deloitte

Percentage who said this: 6.93%

Rank last year: 11

Last year's percentage: 6.85%

10. Amazon

Percentage who said this: 7.18%

Rank last year: 9

Last year's percentage: 8.41%

9. The Walt Disney Company

Percentage who said this: 7.66%

Rank last year: 8

Last year's percentage: 9.69%

8. Microsoft

Percentage who said this: 7.66%

Rank last year: 10

Last year's percentage: 8.28%

7. Spotify

Percentage who said this: 7.67%

Rank last year: 5

Last year's percentage: 10.30%

6. Netflix

Percentage who said this: 7.74%

Rank last year: 7

Last year's percentage: 9.80%

5. Nike

Percentage who said this: 8.80%

Rank last year: 6

Last year's percentage: 10.20%

4. Goldman Sachs

Percentage who said this: 10.51%

Rank last year: 4

Last year's percentage: 11.14%

3. Apple

Percentage who said this: 11.50%

Rank last year: 3

Last year's percentage: 13.83%

2. Google

Percentage who said this: 12.18%

Rank last year: 1

Last year's percentage: 14.89%

1. JPMorgan Chase

Percentage who said this: 13.81%

Rank last year: 2

Last year's percentage: 13.95%

• Ukraine appears to have struck a prized air-defense system on Russian soil using a US-supplied HIMARS.
• The attack came amid a flurry of reports suggesting a major Ukrainian attack over the weekend.
• It also came hours after Biden approved the limited use of US-supplied weapons on targets in Russia.

Ukraine appears to have used US-supplied weapons on Russian soil in a wave of reported attacks — signaling that a new phase of the war may well be underway.

Russian media outlets said on Monday that Ukraine fired M42 missiles from M270 and HIMARS rocket launchers — all of which are US-made — over the border into Russia, the Kyiv Post reported.

The paper added that Russian officials said that cross-border attacks took place, but gave no details as to what weapons were used.

If confirmed, the strikes would represent the first known instance in this war of US-supplied weapons being used on Russian territory — a red line that President Joe Biden only pulled back on late last week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged on Sunday that his forces had fired HIMARS from the northern Kharkiv region, the Kyiv Post reported.

On Monday, Ukrainian government minister Iryna Vereshchuk shared an image of burning military equipment on Facebook, saying that a prized Russian S-300 air defense system had been struck, CNN reported.

She noted that it took place in the "first days after permission to use Western weapons on enemy territory," without giving further details, per CNN.

The image appeared to have been taken from the pro-Russian Telegram account Dosye Shpiona, which said that a HIMARS had been used.

BI was unable to find Vereshchuk's post on either her Facebook or Telegram accounts, suggesting it has since been deleted.

But the Institute for the Study of War, citing prominent pro-Russian military bloggers, also concluded that an S300 or S400 system had been struck in Russia's Belgorod region, some 60 miles from the border, on either June 1 or June 2, saying it was "likely" hit by a HIMARS.

The target was well within HIMARS range but exceeded the range of the systems Ukraine usually uses to strike over the border, the think tank said.

The Kyiv Post cited a flurry of other Russian media reports — both unofficial and state-sanctioned — detailing dozens of strikes aimed at artillery systems, troop concentrations, and a bridge as part of the attack.

The reports came shortly after Biden said that Ukraine could fire HIMARS against targets on Russian soil, in limited circumstances.

The change in policy came after several of Ukraine's Western allies — including the UK and France — gave similar go-aheads.

The Biden administration's decision came after months of appeals from Ukrainian officials.

One Ukrainian soldier complained of having to watch helplessly as Russia built up its forces over the border ahead of a renewed offensive in the Kharkiv region, held back by the US restrictions on the use of its weapons.

Depriving Russia of these "sanctuary zones" could be of "huge" assistance to Ukraine, Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House's Russia and Eurasia Programme, told Business Insider's Thibault Spirlet last week.

But the decision was long past due, he said.

And faced with other problems — including recruitment and ammunition shortages — the US decision is "clearly not a silver bullet to win the war," Alexander Libman, a professor of Russian and East European politics at the Free University of Berlin, told BI.