Recommended Android Phones

Introduction

Most people are using the Samsung Galaxy line of phones for IRL streaming that I personally know, and my experience is pretty limited to that specific line of phones. For that reason, these are the phones I recommend and have had personal experience with. Will X or Y or Z phone work? Maybe, but the following are my recommendations.

Best Quality / Expensive:

I'm currently using the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (Currently $674.99) and also carry a Samsung Galaxy S24 (Currently $339.94) as my backup phone. I'm aware newer phones are available. Chicken Andy, for example, uses a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (Currently $801.93). I can't vouch for that though from personal experience, so my notes are for the S24 Ultra:

Pros:

• Very good camera quality.

• Totally compatible with IRL Pro and Prism Live Studio.

• Lasts about 4 hours while live starting at 100% with no battery pack.

Cons:

• Overheating Issues: Prone to overheating while live, which limits charging to 5w, which results in the phone dying faster than it charges. Charging does greatly extend battery life though.

• Software that locks charging speed to 5w while overheating (dies faster than charging while streaming).

Without a battery pack plugged in, you can expect about 4 hours of streaming starting with a 100% charge. On battery, while overheating, this can be extended much longer, but it depends on several factors. Use of a phone cooler (see Recommended Accessories) can help the phone stay cool enough to charge effectively, and this works much better with no phone case.

Best Value / Experience:

I always recommend the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G (Currently $140.99) to beginners as the best value and best experience for IRL streaming. Check out the pros and cons to understand why that is:

Pros:

• No overheating issues! I used this phone in the middle of summer in Florida regularly and never had any issues. On a battery pack, this phone can stream indefinitely in pretty extreme conditions.

• Fully compatible with IRL Pro and Prism Live Studio.

• Very affordable.

Cons:

• Older camera that isn't as high quality and crispy as newer options.

Notable Mentions (Older Phones):

I used to actively recommend both the Samsung Galaxy S10e (Currently $149.99) as well as the Samsung Galaxy S8 (Currently $113.99), both phones which I did use and both phones that were very reliable. I no longer recommend these, but if you have one lying around already, or if you find a really amazing deal on one and it's what you have, they did work very well at the time.

Samsung Galaxy A Series + Other New Cheap Phones:

Don't do it. If you're saying to yourself, "I could get this brand new A series phone for the same price as this recommended 5 year old used phone and it will be better," you're wrong! Please do not buy the Samsung Galaxy A16 from Walmart over something from this page. These are not good phones for streaming.