As a delivery driver, you need a phone that has a longer battery life on it. No matter if you are working with Amazon, Uber, DoorDash, or Deliveroo, you have to keep your phone running all day without plugging in the charger.
The second most important element for a delivery driver phone is “GPS Navigation“. You must make sure that your phone comes with accurate & stable GPS navigation. It would be better if the phone comes with pre-installed GPS apps like Google Maps or Waze.
Good navigation in a phone will allow you to easily plan your pick-up or drop-off spots, arrange your driving routes, and keep in contact with your clients.
The third most important thing to consider when buying the best phone for delivery drivers is the “Display Screen“. I highly recommend opting for a bigger screen if you navigate different locations through your phone.
Preferably at least a 5.5-inch display or larger, with good visibility in various lighting conditions.
Finally, comes the Connectivity, make sure your phone supports 4G LTE or 5G for real-time connectivity and faster data transfer.
Having a 5G connection can give you a slight edge in receiving more orders if you are using apps like Uber, Deliveroo, or Lyft.
So, keep in mind these factors:
Battery life
GPS Connectivity
Display Screen
Connectivity
List of the Best Phones for Delivery Drivers
Here are the top options:
1. Samsung Galaxy A12: Overall Best Phone for Delivery Drivers
Samsung is another well-known smartphone maker and, in many ways, one of Apple’s key competitors.
However, it still sells superior Android cellphones that can provide the delivery drivers tremendous technology access for better outcomes.
The Galaxy A12 we have here is fitted with a 6.5-inch display and the implications of the budget limits are obvious to detect.
The Mediatek Helio P35 is doing the math within the A12 and that too isn’t a particularly fascinating chunk of technology on its own.
You are getting an octa-core CPU and the chip is based on a 12nm fabrication process, so it should be decently powerful and cheap at the same time.
The quad camera arrangement on the back truly makes a solid argument for the Galaxy A12 in its market setting.
While the purpose of the two 2MP modules is disputed, the 48MP main camera and a 5MP ultrawide make for a fantastic combo that’s hard to find.
An 8MP selfie camera completes the picture in the imaging sector.
One more key piece – the Galaxy A12 is powered by a 5,000mAh battery and that’s a lot of battery for a 12nm entry-level processor and a 720p display, 6.5-inch as it may be.
The 5,000-mAh battery lasts 25 hours and 58 minutes in our loop video battery test, making it a strong contender as the best phone for delivery drivers.
2. Moto G Play: Best Value Android Phone for Uber/Amazon Delivery Drivers
Motorola has long had a firm grasp on the affordable smartphone market. It is an amazingly simple phone with a quick setup for busy delivery drivers.
The Moto G Play (2021) is just one entry in a long line of fun phones, but how well does it do?
The Moto G Play is the second cheapest model in Motorola’s smartphone family.
Right on, top of the Moto E, the Moto G Power and Moto G Stylus complete the G Series trio.
At the center of this operation is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 460, along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.
You can also add a microSD card if you are looking for more storage. One thing you shouldn’t worry too much about is battery life.
Motorola has packed a 5,000mAh cell into a budget-friendly body. Above that is his 6.5-inch HD+ display with a small V-shaped notch for the selfie camera.
Motorola also leaves the box pretty bare by adding just a charging block and a USB-C cable.
Everything feels light and clean, and almost all the apps it comes with come directly from Google.
In fact, without the Moto app, you might have a hard time distinguishing Motorola’s skin from Google’s Pixel skin.
As for bloatware, we saw the Moto G Play with TikTok pre-installed, but that’s about it.
Software isn’t the only thing that looks good here. Motorola has complete control over the design.
The Misty BLUe finish won’t pick up fingerprints or smudges and is instantly recognizable in sunlight.
Motorola’s all-plastic construction gives you a little assurance that the Moto G Play won’t break in the event of a fall.
A mono speaker sits on the bottom edge of the device for impressive performance.
Whether you are listening to podcasts or watching his favorite Hulu show, the speakers have no problem filling the room.
The Moto G Play is by no means powerful, but the Snapdragon 460 is very capable.
I haven’t had too many issues with lag and was able to switch between apps without issue throughout the day.
Of course, thanks to the massive 5,000mAh battery, I never had to reach for a charger during the day.
There is brighter news on the battery front. The G Play contains a 5,000mAh battery, which is much greater than the standard 4,000 or 4,500mAh found in most comparably sized Android phones.
Motorola claims it will get three days of battery life, which is certainly accurate if you are a light user and careful with your screen brightness.
It doesn’t have a 5G antenna, but the battery can focus on keeping the lights on.
The G Play sports just one 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5-megapixel selfie camera.
3. Google Pixel 6a: Best for Lyft/Uber Delivery Riders
If you are familiar with the new aesthetic Google debuted with its Pixel 6 phones, then the Pixel 6a bears no surprises.
Google Pixel 6a is another fantastic smartphone for delivery riders; it comes with great features and design.
The rear boasts the same two-tone design with a horizontal camera bar dividing the brighter top area from the more expansive subdued color.
At 6 x 2.8 x 0.35 inches, the Pixel 6a is a touch smaller than its 6.2 x 2.9 x 0.4-inch bigger sibling, although not nearly as little as the 5.5 x 2.7 x 0.29-inch iPhone SE (2022).
I admire that Google continues to use OLED panels for its lower-cost Pixel A phones while vendors of comparably priced handsets generally move to LCD.
OLEDs offer deeper blacks and higher contrast, and that shows through when you are viewing a video or playing games on the Pixel 6a’s 6.1-inch display.
Top and bottom speakers deliver great audio as well, though you can muffle those speakers while you are holding the Pixel 6a horizontally to play a game.
The Pixel 6a preserves the two-camera arrangement that the Pixel 5a used, but there is a drop back in the number of megapixels found on the ultrawide angle lens.
The 6a uses a 12MP sensor, compared to 16MP in the Pixel 5a. The main camera still uses a 12.2MP sensor.
Nevertheless, the Tensor is a strong advance from the prior Pixel A series CPUs, and the performance metrics back that up.
We took the Pixel 6a through a one-two punch of Geekbench 5 and 3DMark tests, and it landed right alongside its more powerful siblings.
The Pixel 6a sings through daily duties like email, online browsing, and social media without any trouble.
I scarcely observed any stuttering, just occasionally when moving between labour-intensive apps like music streaming and navigation.
The Google Pixel 6a came in pretty near the pricier Pixel 6 Pro on the 3DMark Wild Life test, despite having half of the overall RAM.
It also came close to the Pixel 6 on single-core and multi-core Geekbench 5 results.
The differences aren’t substantial, but they illustrate that Google’s in-house chipset hasn’t lost a step in the transfer to its mid-range home.
The Google Pixel 6a comes in a single version with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of fixed storage.
While it would be wonderful to have a couple of memory alternatives or a microSD card for people that want additional storage space expandable storage.
I never felt that the RAM was inadequate during my testing.
Google boasts that the Pixel 6a is ready for over 24 hours on a single charge at regular usage, but I have had difficulties matching that number.
In the two weeks I have been testing, I have rarely achieved more than a day’s worth of power.
4. OnePlus Nord N200: Best Affordable Phone for Riders
The OnePlus Nord N200 comes in one configuration and in one colour. The single SKU features 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Blue Quantum is the colour, which is a changing sky blue tone.
The OnePlus Nord N200 is not a special piece of technology. It’s a rebadged variation of the OPPO A93 5G.
That means the two phones have the same basic chassis and features, though not necessarily all the same specs.
The front glass curls ever so slightly at the borders where it joins the frame. OnePlus opted for a polycarbonate midframe and back panel.
The rounded corners, rounded side edges, and smooth materials lend themselves to a phone that’s simple to handle and operate throughout the day.
The thin profile (8.3mm) and low weight (189g) help. Other significant hardware features include a headphone jack, USB-C connector, and mono speaker, all of which are squeezed onto the bottom edge of the phone.
The sound piped out of the headphone jack was solid, while the solitary speaker does a fair job.
There’s also a memory card slot that accommodates microSD cards up to 1TB. There’s no IP rating to speak of, which is typical for this sort of phone.
The display is worth getting a little thrilled about, particularly for this price range. It measures 6.49 inches across the diagonal and gives up 2,400 x 1,080 pixels for a 20:9 aspect ratio.
The IPS LCD runs at 90Hz if you choose, which makes scrolling and other on-screen movements appear smoother.
The screen looks extremely amazing. It’s not AMOLED, but it offers deep blacks, vivid whites, and a strong 495 pixels per inch.
Viewing angles are decent and it’s simple to see outdoors in the sun which is quite helpful for delivery drivers working mostly outdoors.
A punch-hole camera is situated in the top-left corner. I would call the display the highlight of the phone’s design.
OnePlus gave the Nord N200 a Snapdragon 480 CPU, which is a chip specifically built to bring 5G to lower-cost phones.
The Nord sports just 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, which is the same arrangement we saw on its predecessor, the Nord N100.
The 64GB of storage is a tad inadequate but is happily offset by the opportunity to install a microSD card of up to 1TB.
Even at this pricing point, though, it would be realistic to anticipate at least 6GB of RAM to keep things operating smoothly.
The Snapdragon 480 5G gives decent everyday performance for the Nord N200, running smoothly across the board.
I didn’t detect any sluggishness or other symptoms of poor performance in daily use.
The Nord N200’s battery life is just killer. With a 5,000mAh lithium-ion cell crammed in the chassis, along with the power-sipping Snapdragon 480 SoC, the Nord N200 delivers up battery life galore.
The phone effortlessly blazed through two days of use, with screen-on time measuring close to eight hours. It truly did a wonderful job during a week of testing.
The Nord N200 includes a triple-camera system with a 13MP primary camera, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth lens.
5. Poco F4 5G: Price to Performance Phone for Delivery Riders
The Poco F4 GT was announced and released ahead of the Poco F4 debut. Moreover, we found it to be an intriguing smartphone giving the most current Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU on a budget.
Well, the Poco F4 is an improved version of the F3, and happily, it has only one disadvantage – a weaker macro camera.
The changes are not that thrilling, not for the Poco F3 owners at least, but worthy, anyway.
Therefore, Poco F4 features Dolby Vision support, a better 64MP OIS primary camera, and faster 67W charging than the Poco F3.
The Poco F4 has the same 6.67-inch E4 AMOLED panel as the Poco F3 with increased 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 360Hz touch response.
It supports HDR10+, but now it also has Dolby Vision certification.
The Snapdragon 870 5G chipset stays the same, as well as the RAM and storage options – 6GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB.
There are three cameras on the back, exactly like on the F3, but the primary one now uses a higher-res 64MP sensor with an optically stabilized lens and 4K60fps video capture capabilities.
The 8MP ultrawide camera remains intact; however, the macro shooter has been lowered from the fancy 5MP AF telemacro to a basic 2MP cam with a fixed focus at 4cm.
The Poco F4 keeps the same 4,500mAh battery as the Poco F3 but provides faster 67W wired charging.
There are similar stereo speakers, NFC, an IR blaster, Wi-Fi 6 and a fingerprint scanner.
Factors to Remember When Choosing a Phone for Delivery Drivers
There are things that delivery drivers should consider before buying a smartphone.
1. Compatibility
Some delivery applications are only compatible with particular phones. For shipping, please ensure that your smartphone meets all the specified requirements.
I don’t want to spend money on a new smartphone, but I know it won’t work for me.
You may need to travel across borders as a delivery driver, so you need to make sure your carrier offers compatibility with unlocked phones.
2. Display size
No one likes looking at a small screen, especially when they need to quickly check pass or shipping details.
A large enough screen eliminates the need to squint. It also makes it easier to add invoices, switch between apps, and see notifications.
3. Lighting and pixel density
Mobile phone screen size is not the only factor affecting readability.
If your phone has a high resolution and is bright enough to be seen on a sunny day, it’s easier to save time.
4. Battery life
Drivers rely on their smartphones for everything from GPS route mapping to music playback.
I don’t want my phone’s battery to run out before my task is complete.
Long battery life eliminates the need to constantly connect the device to a charger or inductive charging station. It’s nice to be able to charge quickly.
5. Longevity
They nearly dropped their phones. Therefore, you should choose a rugged mobile phone that is waterproof.
No one wants to buy a new phone because my first phone fell out of the van and fell apart.
6. Value
As a delivery driver, having a good smartphone is important.
There is no need to get the latest iPhone or invest tens of thousands of dollars on the best Android smartphones.
One option is to buy two phones. One phone runs the delivery or Uber app and he can now use the other for personal work.
The below video offers further insight into the discussion, specifically targeting the best phones for Uber drivers.
Conclusion
The smartphone is an essential element for delivery drivers and hence, you should consider the above points before buying a new gadget for your workers.
Here, we analyzed the top 5 smartphones that are typically employed by delivery employees while making multi-stop deliveries.
All 5 smartphones we evaluated come with fantastic features, built-in apps and designs. It’s up to you to pick any depending on your taste and work demands.