Best 2021 Android Smartphones To Buy Instead Of iPhone Air

The iPhone Air is all about style in an ultra-thin design. But if you seek that jaw-dropping design to be paired with more flexibility, expanded features and often a better value, Android has some impressive replies. Here are five expert-selected phones that’ll match the Air’s vibe with standout tech, smarter prices, or both.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: slim design with speed and sound

The Galaxy S25 Edge features everything the company hopes will turn heads without skimping on basic functionality. It’s almost as thin and lightweight as the iPhone Air, but manages to cram in a marginally bigger display, stereo speakers and faster USB throughput for speedier uploads and some desktop-style modes.

Camera flexibility is a solid win — you’ve got a main shooter backed by an actual ultrawide, not just digital zoom. For such slimness, the Edge also boasts a larger battery than most others in its class and charges up more rapidly than many of its trimmer rivals. Samsung’s newest version of One UI makes several references to the AI it supposedly uses on-device, such as transcriptions and summaries of text and image color matching that aren’t just hype.

Pricing seals it. With the list price in the stratosphere, you’ll find that the S25 Edge is commonly discounted by hundreds of dollars at major retailers and carriers—real-world pricing that undercuts iPhone Air even further (and gives you money left over for accessory or insurance purchases).

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7: pocketable style with utility

If you value pocketability and presence, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is the chic option. Unfolded, it’s not that much thicker than the Air; folded, it goes where slab phones just won’t in tight pockets and small handbags.

The cover screen serves up essentials — messages, calls, maps, payments — without unlocking the phone. Open it up and you have a bigger canvas for everything else. Its 50MP main camera and 12MP ultrawide are ready for sharp photo-taking, and the clamshell design is a built-in selfie tripod for stable nighttime and hands-free video shots. The larger battery and quicker USB interface address two of customers’ biggest complaints about ultra-thin phones.

Crucially, Samsung supports the Flip 7 with a software commitment that extends for years — an area where third-party analysts such as Counterpoint Research have credited Android vendors generally for making dramatically faster progress. Street prices frequently fall below launch, so the Flip 7 is a style-forward buy without a pricey premium.

Motorola Razr 2025 Brilliant Collection: crystal flair

Want literal sparkle? The Razr 2025 Brilliant Collection puts Swarovski crystals over a soft-touch back in Pantone’s Ice Melt finish. It’s a bit of a head-turner that takes us past “thin phone” aesthetics all the way to matching Moto Buds Loop earbuds with crystal accents in the box.

Beneath the glam, it’s a functional flip phone with a decent camera array and an ample cover display for utility tasks. The standard Razr is priced aggressively (while this edition of it costs about as much as the iPhone Air) but comes with a unique design and those fits-in-your-pocket earbuds. But if you want exclusivity and a bespoke limited-run type vibe, this is the Android that says it from across the room.

The Razr Plus is worth a look for value seekers, as well — it sacrifices crystals to bring stronger hardware at an even lower typical price. That’s the point of that flexibility: There’s no reason Motorola can’t offer you the fashionable option or the spec-y one, and not lock you into a single identity.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: a tablet-class powerhouse phone

For “wow,” few devices deliver like the Galaxy Z Fold 7. When it’s unfolded, it’s startlingly thin; when it is folded, the Z Fold acts like any other phone with a typical cover screen. Open it and you have a big tablet-like display for split-screen productivity, creative work or immersive reading.

This is flagship territory, indeed: high-end cameras, a fast chipset that’s designed for multitasking, and a refined hinge. Photographers will love its high-resolution sensors, and power users are served by desktop-style features that can replace a tablet or even a laptop for a lot of jobs. Yes, it’s a bit costly — but as a statement piece that also does the work of several devices, it has no peer.

OnePlus 13: big battery, fast charging, flagship value

The OnePlus 13 is a cure for spec-sheet compromise. It’s not razor-thin, but at 8.5mm thick and weighing in at around 210g it is still comfortable to handle while housing hardware which the iPhone Air cannot match: a 6.82-inch LTPO display, three rear cameras ranging up to 50MP (with a dedicated telephoto and ultrawide), and a high-resolution selfie camera.

Battery life is the more unheralded headline — a 6,000mAh cell that can run for two light-use days and 100W wired charging to power up in minutes (and a 50W wireless charger if you have it).

That pairing in the real world, however, changes how often — and how obsessively — you think about power.

OnePlus consistently undercuts its competitors on price and participates in generous trade-in promos too that can drop the effective cost to way below four figures. And with the 13, you get a clean, fast OxygenOS skin and much-improved update policies; it’s basically the sensible option that still looks and feels premium.

Choosing Your Air Alternative: match features, price, style

Choose the Galaxy S25 Edge for slim with no compromises; Z Flip 7 if you’re after something pocketable; Razr Brilliant Collection for fearless fashion; Z Fold 7 for maximum impact and pen-to-paper productivity; and OnePlus 13 to be your all-over hero on power. Market watchers such as IDC have found that customer satisfaction is a key factor, and it directly correlates with battery life, camera flexibility and long-term software support — values at which these Android options are mostly solid choices when compared to “thin-first” designs.

In a nutshell, if you like the iPhone Air’s appearance but are after more capability or value, these five Android phones are the cooler spend.