The best phones give you what you REALLY need, not what Apple, Samsung or Google say you need. You can find powerhouse phones that can do everything, but the best phone overall will be the phone that gets everything right without making you pay for more phone than you’ll use.
Whether you pick an Apple iPhone like the iPhone 15 or an Android phone like Google’s Pixel 8 Pro, you’ll get a great phone that performs well and will be great for years to come. We know that if you’re looking for something special, you might think extra camera features are a priority. Or maybe you want the best battery life on your next iPhone or Android? We break down the best phones in every category you need.
Of course, we have a slew of new phones on the horizon. We review all the best Google Pixel phones, so check back for reviews of the new Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 phones. The new Pixel 9 Pro Fold could change our expectations about the best foldable phones.
We’ve reviewed all of the best Samsung phones, including the latest Galaxy Z foldable phones. We’re also expecting a new iPhone in the months ahead before the end of the year, but that doesn’t mean you should wait if you need one of the best iPhones today. If you’re looking for a bargain, check our list of the best budget phones, which is growing all the time.
📱Phil Berne is one of the pre-eminent voices in smartphone reviews, having been a professional reviewer since the Palm Treo 700 and BlackBerry Pearl days. He has reviewed literally hundreds of smartphones, including iPhone, Galaxy, and Pixel phones. He worked as an internal phone reviewer for Samsung Mobile, and is the Senior Editor for Reviews and Buying Guides.
The Best iPhones
The Apple iPhone 15 is a fantastic phone all around, with software that is intuitive and fun to use, and all of the advanced features you need, like tap payments and more.
Read more below
If you need a serious camera phone with the best video quality, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the only iPhone with 5X zoom. It shoots professional-strength photos and videos.
Read more below
The Best Android Phones
The Pixel 8 Pro has the best cameras, all the latest Google AI features, and seven years of updates ahead (well, now it’s six). Will the Pixel 9 Pro replace our top pick? Check back soon.
Read more below
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is like having a full camera bag in your pocket. No other phone camera is so versatile, and you’ll be amazed by this phone’s moon photos and food pics.
Read more below
OnePlus builds flagship killers, and the 12R has a great screen and a generous battery. We got better battery life from this phone than any other phone we’ve tested in the past few years.
Read more below
Want more phones?
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 gives you more of literally everything, including a foldable inner screen that is as big as a tablet, and performance that will blow away the competition. This is the best of everything Samsung makes.
Read more below
The Pixel 8a is a bargain phone with a premium processor, photos that look almost good enough to fool a pro, and a sleek design that matches the best Pixel phones.
Read more below
If you need an iPhone to last a few years, the iPhone 13 has great cameras, all of Apple’s latest iOS software, and full compatibility with a ton of cases and accessories.
Read more below
The best phone in 2024
Why you can trust TechRadar
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Below, you’ll find in-depth details about each of the best phones on our list. We’ve tested each model extensively, so you can be sure to trust our recommendations.
The best iPhone overall
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Buy it if
✅ You want an affordable iPhone: The iPhone 15 strikes a nice balance between price and cutting-edge features, so you don’t feel like you’re missing out.
✅ You want a camera upgrade: Between the new 48MP main camera and some excellent portrait photography capabilities, the iPhone 15 offers strong camera specs for the price.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You want Apple Intelligence: If you want the upcoming Apple AI features, you’ll need a Pro model or better.
❌ You want bigger zoom: The 2x optical zoom on offer here doesn’t quite compare to 3x optical zoom on the iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S23.
The bottom line
📱 If you’re not bothered by titanium sides, 120Hz scrolling or high-spec zoom photography, then the standard iPhone 15 offers pretty much everything you could want from a flagship phone, but for significantly less money. ★★★★½
Apple’s iPhone 15 marks the most significant step up for a base iPhone in several years, earning its place as the best value phone money can buy today.
Design: The iPhone 15 does what the iPhone 14 did not: it moves the base model forward with a refreshed chassis design, a brand-new (and eye-catching) rear glass panel, and a compatibility-improving USB-C port.
Display: The iPhone 15’s 6.1-inch Super XDR OLED display is bright and responsive, however, as on the iPhone 14, its refresh rate is locked to 60Hz. You do get Apple’s Dynamic Island this time around, though.
Camera: There are still just two lenses on the back of the iPhone 15, but one of them is vastly improved over the iPhone 14. The 12MP ultrawide is basically the same, but the main camera is now the same 48MP lens that you’ll find on the excellent iPhone 14 Pro (and indeed the iPhone 15 Pro).
Performance: The iPhone 15 uses the iPhone 14 Pro’s superfast A16 Bionic chipset, which should provide more than enough power for most iPhone owners (for context, the latter was the most powerful handset of 2022).
Battery life: The iPhone 15 is rated for 20 hours of video playback, 80 hours of audio-only, and a 50% recharge in 30 minutes with the optional 20W charger. In our testing, we were able to use the phone casually for a full day.
Value for money: In recent years, Apple’s standard models have felt like minor upgrades that pale in comparison to their respective Pro-level counterparts, but the iPhone 15 bucks that trend by being a genuinely great value product.
Read our full iPhone 15 review
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Apple is finally giving you more for you money. | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | The curved edges and smooth, color-infused glass make this a most modern iPhone. | ★★★★☆ |
| Display | Losing the notch and gaining the dynamic Island is a net poisitive, as is the lovely and now brighter screen. | ★★★★☆ |
| Camera | A big main camera leap is paired with some truly impressive computational photography. | ★★★★☆ |
| Performance | It’s hard to ask for more than the A16 Bionic, unless you need the very best of the best. | ★★★★☆ |
| Battery life | Decidedly battery life. | ★★★★☆ |
The best iPhone camera
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Buy it if
✅ You want to use Apple Intelligence: The iPhone 15 Pro Max is powerful enough that it will be able to use Apple’s upcoming AI features, unlike the basic iPhone 15.
✅ You want the most powerful phone: Apple’s A17 Pro chipset is more powerful than anything else on the market, so much so that you’re able to play console-quality games on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
✅ You want a versatile camera system: In addition to its 5x optical zoom capabilities, the iPhone 15 Pro Max features the smartest portrait photography tech around.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You want the best mobile zoom camera: The addition of 5x optical zoom on the iPhone 15 Pro Max is welcome, but the 5x camera on the Galaxy S24 Ultra is arguably better.
❌ You need fast charging: The iPhone 15 Pro Max offers reassuringly-solid battery life and functionally-fine charging, but rivals from every angle offer much faster speeds.
The bottom line
📱 When it comes to iPhones, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the best of the best. But you’ll have to pay handsomely for the privilege of owning one, and Samsung’s similarly priced Galaxy S24 Ultra has slightly better cameras. ★★★★½
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is indisputably the best iPhone money can buy right now, so for Apple fans with a bottomless supply of cash, this is the top choice. The smaller iPhone 15 Pro is also an exceptional handset that’s worth considering if you prefer its more practical 6.1-inch size, but since the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max offers a 5x periscope zoom lens, the latter phone is the objectively superior device.
Design: As with its smaller sibling, the iPhone 15 Pro boasts a gorgeous titanium design that can withstand unwelcome drops more effectively than its predecessor. The addition of a USB-C port and configurable Action button makes this a more versatile device, too.
Display: The iPhone 15 Pro Max packs an excellent 6.7-inch Super XDR OLED screen (with ProMotion), which is unchanged from the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Camera: In addition to that aforementioned 5x periscope zoom lens – which marks the first of its kind on an iPhone – the iPhone 15 Pro Max boasts a 48MP quad-pixel main lens and a 12MP ultra-wide lens, making it the most capable and versatile iPhone yet for mobile photographers.
Performance: Apple’s all-new A17 Pro chipset delivers mobile gaming performance that’s comparable to some high-end PCs (yes, really). Along with the iPhone 15 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the most powerful phone on the market.
Battery life: The iPhone 15 Pro Max managed 28 hours of mixed-use in our testing, with the phone recharging to 50% in just over 30 minutes. That’s pretty good going for a phone of this size and power, but others charge faster.
Value for money: As with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is an exceptionally expensive handset that can never truly be considered good value for money. That said, you’re still getting a whole lot of phone for the price.
Read our full iPhone 15 Pro Max review
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | More expensive, but you do get more storage for your money. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Design | The combination of a titanium body and new smoother curves is an aesthetic and ergonomic win. | ★★★★☆ |
| Display | The screen in bigger (though not higher resolution) and looks better than ever. | ★★★★★ |
| Camera | This is the best collection of cameras we’ve ever used on an iPhone. | ★★★★★ |
| Performance | The A17 Pro makes console gaming a reality in an iPhone. | ★★★★★ |
| Battery life | All-day battery life but still waiting for fast charging. | ★★★★☆ |
The best iPhone for battery life
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Buy it if
✅ You want an a bigger affordable iPhone: The iPhone 15 Plus gives you just enough more to make it worth the extra cost.
✅ You want the best battery: The iPhone 15 Plus has the best battery life, edging out the iPhone 15 Pro Max by minutes in our tests.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You want Apple Intelligence: If you want the latest Apple AI stuff coming soon, you’ll need an iPhone 15 Pro model or better.
❌ You want bigger zoom: The 2x optical zoom doesn’t compare to 3x optical zoom on the iPhone 15 Pro, but the cameras are still great.
The bottom line
📱 The iPhone 15 Plus is only a bit more expensive than the iPhone 15, but you get a much bigger screen and a bigger
battery inside. That extra battery makes this the battery life champ among iPhones, so if you need the most possible battery life from your Apple device, the iPhone 15 Plus is the best choice. ★★★★½
Apple’s iPhone 15 Plus is only slightly more expensive than the iPhone 15, but you get a much larger display and the bigger battery that extra size allows. This makes the iPhone 15 Plus not only a great bargain option versus the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but also the best choice for battery life if you need your iPhone to last the longest.
Design: The iPhone 15 Plus looks like the iPhone 15 and not the Pro models, so you won’t get the titanium frame, but you do have better color options with brighter hues. The USB-C port is also there, as well as the Dynamic Island camera, which used to be for Pro iPhone users only.
Display: The iPhone 15 Plus has a 6.7-inch display, and that 0.6-inch difference versus the iPhone 15 is actually pretty big. Apple didn’t just blow up the same resolution, either, you get more pixels to keep the same sharpness as the smaller iPhone.
Camera: There are only two cameras on the iPhone 15 Plus, a 48MP main camera and a 12MP ultra wide. You might wish for a zoom lens, but these cameras still take stellar pics. It’s an iPhone, after all.
Performance: The iPhone 15 Plus has an Apple A16 Bionic inside, which means it won’t qualify for the Apple Intelligence AI features that will be invading more powerful iPhone and iPad models in the months ahead. Maybe that’s a benefit? You won’t notice any lack of performance.
Battery life: In our battery tests in Future Labs, the iPhone 15 Plus was the best iPhone we ever tested in terms of battery life. It lasted well over 14 hours of runtime, versus a scant 11 hours of battery life on the smaller iPhone 15. The iPhone 15 Pro Max came in second place with 10 minutes less power than the iPhone 15 Plus.
Value for money: If you were already considering the iPhone 15, you should probably just spend a little more and have more battery life and a much bigger display. The next upgrade, to the Pro-level chips, is the one that hurts the wallet more.
Read our full iPhone 15 Plus review
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | The big screen and long battery life make this a worthwhile upgrade. | ★★★½☆ |
| Design | One of the nicer iPhone designs, thanks to snazzy colors and the long-awaited USB-C charging port. | ★★★★½ |
| Display | The Dynamic Island is no longer a Pro exclusive. This screen is big, bright, and colorful, but not fast enough. | ★★★★☆ |
| Software | Apple’s iOS software remains the best, though the iPhone 15 Plus won’t get the Apple Intelligence AI upgrade coming later, for better and for worse. | ★★★★½ |
| Camera | You don’t get a zoom camera but you still get amazing photos from the main lens and solid group shots from the ultrawide and selfie cameras. | ★★★★☆ |
| Performance | The iPhone 15 Plus is powerful, even without the Apple A17 Pro chipset. You’ll never lack for more power. | ★★★★★ |
| Battery life | The best battery life on any iPhone we’ve tested in Future Labs. A big reason to buy this one. | ★★★★★ |
The best Android phone overall
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Buy it if
✅ You’ve taken a lot of bad photos and videos: The Pixel 8 Pro can fix whatever photos you have in your Google Photos library, even if you took them with a different phone in the past.
✅ You’re a die-hard Android fan forever and ever: Good news, Android fan, this phone will last longer than any other Android. If you want an Android that will get updates in 2030, this is the first.
✅ You want a receptionist to answer your calls: The call screening feature really works (if you can find it), and it gives you a quick, written transcript of what your caller wants before you decide to answer.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ Your friends all have iPhones: With iOS 17, Apple is making a compelling argument for sticking with the same phone everybody around you is buying.
❌ You want the absolute best cameras: While the Pixel 8 Pro is impressive, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max is a serious upgrade, nothing beats the Galaxy S24 Ultra for camera capabilities and quality.
❌ You are a journalist or reporter: The camera editing tools on the Google Pixel 8 Pro may create questions about credibility from the shots it makes, and the summary tool is factually inaccurate.
The bottom line
📱 The Google Pixel 8 Pro is the best Pixel that Google has ever made, and it represents Google’s vision for the future of mobile technology, though that vision does seem a bit clouded and unfocused at times. It has a fantastic display that’s bigger and brighter than its competitors at this price, and the photography features, bolstered by Google’s machine learning, are unmatched. ★★★★
The Pixel 8 Pro is Google’s most ambitious Pixel yet, with some serious camera upgrades that will satisfy even pro photogs, and a Tensor G3 chipset custom built to run Google’s machine learning features. Google is so confident in this phone’s performance that it is promising an unprecedented seven years of major updates, longer than any other phone maker supports its phones, currently.
Design: The Pixel 8 Pro is more rounded on the corners, and more flat on the display. Now that we’ve seen the Google Pixel 9 Pro, we know that the camera bar is leaving, and this is the last chance for Google’s iconic design. This is the nicest Pixel phone Google has made so far, which is good because it has largely made the same phone three times now.
Display: The Pixel 8 Pro display is a standout feature this year, and Google has even endowed it with its own branding: Super Actua. The Pixel 8 Pro can reach 2,400 nits at peak brightness, and still pumps out 1,600 nits when you aren’t in direct sunlight. You won’t find a better smartphone display anywhere, not even on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Camera: Compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, some photos looked better when shot with the Pixel 8 Pro, but others, especially night pics and low-light images, looked better taken with the iPhone. That’s surprising, but there are still some reasons for Google to brag. Only the Pixel 8 Pro has Magic Editor, which combines generative AI with Google’s Magic Eraser to fix and change images with a little too much ease.
Performance: In terms of raw performance, pushing games and graphics to new heights, the Pixel 8 Pro does just fine, but it won’t win any competitions. It handled all of my favorite games and ran high-resolution videos smoothly, but everything looked better on phones like the iPhone 15 Pro or Android phones like the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Battery life: The Pixel 8 Pro had no trouble lasting through a full day of use. That should come as no surprise, since it has a larger battery than either the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus or the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max. Google really packed in the biggest cell it could fit, and you’ll need to buy a gaming phone to find bigger.
Value for money: Google can be liberal with discounts, especially around the sales season. More than with any other brand, I recommend waiting for a deal when you’re considering a Pixel phone, because as good as the phone is now, it feels like an even better buy for a few hundred dollars or pounds less.
Read our full Google Pixel 8 Pro review
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | More expensive than last year, but still competitive compared to other Android phones, especially with longer software support. | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | The same old look, now refined with a matte finish and nicer colors. It’s the nicest Pixel yet, but the Pixel look is getting stale. | ★★★★☆ |
| Display | The standout feature on the Pixel 8 Pro, this bright and sharp display is just as good as the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and maybe better. | ★★★★★ |
| Camera | Great all-around camera features, with some unique AI editing tools that are more like Photoshop creation than photography. Still, undeniably good pics. | ★★★★☆ |
| Performance | Good enough performance for now, but it’s unclear if this phone will live up to Google’s seven-year promise, or if Android will cut corners to fit into the Pixel 8 Pro in the future. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Battery life | Excellent battery life thanks to a very large cell inside and solid power management keeping that bright display under control. | ★★★★☆ |
The best Android camera phone
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Buy it if
✅ You want more than just a smartphone: The Galaxy S24 Ultra gives you more than any other smartphone. It can act as a laptop replacement, a drawing tablet, and an entire camera bag.
✅ You want to feel the future: The Galaxy AI features can sometimes feel magical, especially if you use the language translation and some of the better summary features. There are definitely more AI features to come, so this phone could get better with time.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You don’t need all of that phone: If you don’t need everything and more, you can spend less and still get a great phone. It just won’t be Ultra.
❌ You prefer elegance and simplicity: The Samsung software is really showing its age, especially against newer and simpler phones like the elegant iPhone 15 Pro running iOS 17, which is sociable and fun, not confusing.
The bottom line
📱 The Galaxy S24 Ultra takes smartphone features to the extreme. You won’t find a more capable, adaptable, and clever device for any price, but that price is mighty steep. If you don’t need everything, you can keep reading, but if you want the best phone, the best cameras, and the best overall, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the phone to beat. ★★★★½
Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra takes smartphone features to the extreme, then keeps going. It’s a top-performing phone, the best phone you can buy overall in so many ways. It has better battery life and performance than the iPhone, more versatile cameras than any other Android, and it packs features we don’t see in smartphones these days, like the Samsung DeX desktop environment.
Design: The differences between the Galaxy S24 Ultra and last year’s phone are subtle but significant. The S24 Ultra is a big slab of phone, now more flat than before, and that makes it easier to see in bright light and easier to use, especially with the S Pen. Unfortunately, it’s still a gigantic device, and titanium didn’t help Samsung shed weight.
Display: You won’t find a better all-around display on a smartphone than the bright OLED screen on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. You can find a bit brighter, a bit faster, but the anti-glare finish helps in bright light, and Samsung’s display is colorful and sharp for every task.
Camera: Samsung has done more work behind the scenes on its Galaxy S24 Ultra cameras than on the spec sheet, and the results pay off with better images in every setting. Portrait and landscape photos are much better, but even zoom shots have been improved, though we do miss that extra 10X zoom.
Performance: If you need the fastest phone, this is the one to buy. In our benchmark tests and real world gaming and photo editing, the Galaxy S24 Ultra was the fastest phone we’ve ever used, even beating the iPhone 15 Pro, which is a first for Android phones since Apple starting baking its own chipsets.
Battery life: You can easily use the Galaxy S24 Ultra for two days of normal use, and it lasted through a full day of intense usage with no trouble. The battery hasn’t gotten any bigger, Samsung is just better at managing power on this phone than ever before.
Value for money: The Galaxy S24 Ultra is more expensive than last year, and you don’t get a lot more for the money, but what you get is a big deal. Samsung promises seven years of software updates, including major Android OS updates, and that makes this phone a better value than any Samsung Galaxy Ultra to come before.
Read our full Galaxy S24 Ultra review
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Even more than last year, with fewer deals to find, but you get the best when you pay for it. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Design | It looks like last year, but the screen is flat which makes it less reflective, but also sharper. Just as heavy, even with titanium. | ★★★★☆ |
| Display | You won’t find a better display on a smartphone worth buying, and the anti-glare finish really helps outdoors. | ★★★★★ |
| Camera | Better camera performance all around, even if the spec sheet looks a bit suspicious. Still the best, most versatile camera system. | ★★★★★ |
| Performance | Performance that can top an iPhone 15 Pro, for the first time in recent memory putting Android ahead of Apple. | ★★★★★ |
| Battery life | Better power management this year means the Galaxy S24 Ultra has some of the best battery life we’ve ever seen on a smartphone. | ★★★★★ |
The best Android phone for battery life
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Buy it if
✅ You watch and play: With great performance, a dazzling display, and long battery life, this is a phone that’s great for gamers and folks who binge-watch shows.
✅ You miss curvy phones: Samsung phones and iPhones have gotten a bit flat, but the OnePlus 12R has a curved display and an elegantly curved design.
✅ You want long battery life: Let’s cut to the chase, this phone lasts a long time, and that’s one of the best reasons to buy it. That huge battery lasts and lasts.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You need the best camera: The main camera is great, but those other cameras have tiny little sensors that don’t produce images that you’ll want to share.
❌ You need to get wet: The OnePlus 12R is sadly not IP67 rated for water resistance, unlike many other phones in this price range. If you need durability, look somewhere else.
The bottom line
📱 The OnePlus 12R brings the OnePlus bargain phone formula to more markets, and folks looking for the best battery life on a phone that performs as well as many premium flagships should stop looking. It doesn’t have the best camera options, and it’s not the most durable, but it delivers performance with style. ★★★★
The OnePlus 12R is the bargain phone version of a great phone that was already a good bargain. For an even lower price, the OnePlus 12R gives you a bigger battery than the OnePlus 12, but you lose out on many of the best camera features. It’s still a great choice.
Design: We like the stylish looks and even the round camera bump on the recent OnePlus models, and the OnePlus 12R looks snazzy and comes in a nice blue color, in addition to grey and violet. Unfortunately, OnePlus hasn’t gotten the message that water resistance is very important, so this phone can only handle a light rain, not a serious dunk.
Display: The OnePlus 12R has a remarkable display that is big, bright, and colorful. It’s incredibly bright, in fact, with a standard 1,600 nits of brightness normally, but under very specific conditions portions of the display can peak up to 4,500 nits, which is beyond dangerous for eyeballs. Still, you get the point, it’s very bright.
Camera: The big 50MP main camera is nice, but the other two cameras, an 8MP ultra wide and a laughable 2MP ‘macro’ camera, are forgettable. That’s fine, stick with the main lens and you’ll take good shots, but don’t expect to win any competitions.
Performance: OnePlus didn’t skimp on the processor, and the OnePlus 12R gets the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the best Snapdragon we saw for most of 2023. Performance was great, whether playing games or … ok, we mostly played a lot of games. It’s a really nice screen for games.
Battery life: With a big 5,500 mAh battery inside, the OnePlus 12R delivers the best battery life of any premium smartphone we’ve tested. It edged out the Galaxy S24 Plus by an hour in our rundown tests, and beat the iPhone 15 Pro Max by more than four hours of active time. If you need longevity, this is a great choice.
Value for money: With a low price of $499.99 / £649 at launch, the OnePlus 12R could have easily been our pick for the best bargain phone, but instead our best battery life pick is also a great bargain. It delivers top-notch performance, the only real sacrifice is durability.
Read our full OnePlus 12R review
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value | So long as you’re happy with the OnePlus 12R’s weaknesses, there’s a lot of great smartphone for your money here. | 4 / 5 |
| Design | Beautiful fit and finish hides lackluster ingress protection against dust and water. | 3.5 / 5 |
| Display | A superb display, that’s stunning, bright, power efficient and smart. As long as you’re happy with the size and resolution, there’s little wrong here. | 5 / 5 |
| Software | OxygenOS 14 on the 12R is full of features without feeling overwhelming. The phone’s long-term update roadmap is behind the curve, though. | 4 / 5 |
| Camera | A superb main 50MP snapper should cover you for most things, but the secondary cameras don’t justify their presence on the 12R, especially that macro snapper. | 3.5 / 5 |
| Performance | Last year’s flagship silicon still packs plenty of punch, supported by OnePlus’ efforts with the Trinity Engine. Thermals could be better, despite the company’s claims, though. | 4 / 5 |
| Battery | A big battery that results in the brand’s best longevity to date in our tests. No wireless charging is the only misstep here. | 4.5 / 5 |
The best Samsung phone
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Buy it if
✅ You want a tablet in your pocket: The Galaxy Z Fold 6 lets you carry both a 6.3-inch smartphone and a mini tablet, without feeling like you’re overloaded.
✅ Foldable have you curious: If you’ve been waiting to buy a foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 gives you everything you might want, and it’s Samsung’s best yet.
✅ You want to try cool AI features: Samsung’s Galaxy AI can be very fun, especially cool new features like sketch to image, which works great on the big Z Fold 6 display.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You have rent to pay: The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is unbelievably expensive, more than buying a premium phone and pro tablet together.
❌ You need the best cameras: The only way the Galaxy Z Fold 6 isn’t the best phone ever is in the cameras. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is still tops for image quality.
The bottom line
📱 The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is versatile and powerful, and its the most premium and refined foldable phone Samsung has created so far. Galaxy AI offers fun new features and impressive power, though its still more of a gimmick than a necessity. If you can handle the high price tag, you won’t find a better all-around mobile computer than the Galaxy Z Fold 6. ★★★★½
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is Samsung’s latest tablet foldable phone, and it offers every feature Samsung is known for, including a water resistant design, plenty of productivity features, and amazing displays inside and out. It’s the most expensive phone you’ll find by far, but you get more than twice the device with the Z Fold 6.
Design: The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is stronger and more durable than before, though it still isn’t dust resistant. The crease is hardly visible and the premium finish looks fantastic, especially in the brighter colors.
Display: Amazing displays inside and out, with a huge inner screen and a big, bright cover display that’s almost as large as whatever phone you’re currently carrying. You can even use an S Pen, though you’ll need the special version for Fold that doesn’t scratch the foldable display.
Camera: Cameras on par with a great budget phone, not the best flagship phones you can buy. That’s disappointing, but you’ll still take good photos, especially selfies. Editing your images is more fun than ever with useful AI tools, including a sketch to image that turns your doodles into photo additions.
Performance: Incredibly performance from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset that is made extra fast for Samsung’s best phones. Even the iPhone 15 Pro Max can’t beat this phone in every benchmark, as Android finally pulls up neck-and-neck with the best iPhone in terms of raw power.
Battery life: Battery life wasn’t bad, but it was a bit disappointing considering the size of this phone. You’ll get better battery from a flat phone, but the Galaxy Z Fold 6 still lasted all day in our testing.
Value for money: Nope, keep walking, this phone is for people who want the best, the most, and the coolest, price tag be darned. You get the most amazing mobile device when you buy the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and you’ll pay for the privilege.
Read our full Galaxy Z Fold 6 review
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value | More expensive than ever but there’s no denying it’s a two-for-one mobile device that’s stuffed with power, fun, utility, and AI | 3.5 / 5 |
| Design | The best foldabe design Samsung has ever produced. Sharp and pro-looking at every level | 4.5 / 5 |
| Display | A wider cover display and noticeably improved Main screen prove a formidable combo | 4.5 / 5 |
| Camera | Still good camera array but Samsung could’ve done more for its flagship foldable | 4 / 5 |
| Performance | The best Qualcomm has to offer with a ittle bit more that shows in benchmarks and day-to-day performance | 4.5 / 5 |
| Software | A good blend of Android 14, foldable-friendly utility and Samsung’s OneUI | 4.5 / 5 |
The best budget phone
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Buy it if
✅ You want to save money on a Pixel 8: The Pixel 8a is so close to the Pixel 8 in performance and quality that it hardly makes sense to spend more.
✅ You want to try AI on the cheap: Google Pixel phones have the best AI features so far, and the Pixel 8a is the most affordable Pixel to get all of the best features first.
✅ You want a cheap phone that lasts: With a promise to update this phone with new Android for the next seven years, this is the cheapest way to keep a phone longer than ever before.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You need serious performance: You can find better performance for less, like the OnePlus 12R, but you won’t get all the Google goodies with it.
❌ You need versatile cameras: Don’t be fooled by the 64MP sensor, the Pixel 8a can only produce 16MP images. They look good, but there aren’t a lot of options.
❌ You really need a seven year phone: In seven years this phone will get Android updates, but if you need a phone that will actually perform well for that long, buy the fastest thing possible.
The bottom line
📱The Pixel 8a continues Google’s grand A-series tradition of offering the latest Google features, along with the latest Google processor inside, on an affordable phone (that will probably get a great discount sooner or later). This year is better than ever, thanks to Google’s promise to support the Pixel 8a for seven years. ★★★★
The Pixel 8a is a confident entry into Google’s budget-friendly A-series family, bringing the same Tensor G3 processor and, shockingly, the same promise of seven years of Android OS updates that you’ll find on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.
Design: The Pixel 8a is recognizably a Pixel phone, but it’s the biggest departure from the norm that we’ve seen in a long time. The colors are not subdued, unless you’re boring and you get black or porcelain. The edges are much more rounded and curved, making it a stylish phone, not a boring slab.
Display: There’s a bright display on the Pixel 8a, and it performs about as well as the Pixel 8, which had bragging rights for its impressively vibrant ‘Actua’ display. For the price, you can find a bigger screen, but the smaller size is part of the appeal.
Camera: Photos taken with the Pixel 8a look very similar to the photos we took with the Pixel 8 Pro … until you zoom in close. Google has done a great job with color and light balance on this phone, and even though it lacks the detail and zoom power of more expensive phones, especially more expensive Pixel phones, the Pixel 8a will produce photos that are crowd-pleasing and easy to share.
Performance: The Tensor G3 chip doesn’t have the raw power of a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 or any recent Apple Bionic chipset, but it’s good enough to drive Google’s Gemini Nano LLM on the device, and it can handle Google’s interface with ease. With a promise to support the phone for seven years, we hope this processor holds up. Time will tell.
Battery life: The Pixel 8a has better battery life than its predecessor phones, but that isn’t saying much. It still could use a battery boost, plus faster charging. If you need a lot of battery, look elsewhere. It’s the Pixel 8a’s weak point.
Value for money: This phone is a great value at launch, but Pixel A-series phones have a history of amazing discounts. In the past, we saw the Pixel 7a drop from $499 to $349 in the US on Amazon. We’ll be following the deals closely on this one.
Read our full Google Pixel 8a review
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value | The same price as last year (in the US at least), and a good value for Google’s long-term software updates and Android support. | ★★★★★ |
| Design | Unimpeachably a Pixel, but with great color and a nice finish, it feels both premium and youthful at once. I especially appreciate IP68 water resistance. | ★★★★★ |
| Display | Great, bright display, just like the screen we loved on the Pixel 8. It could be bigger, sharper, faster, but it’s very bright, and that’s good enough. | ★★★★★ |
| Software | Google’s AI features are getting more useful and more prevalent, and with seven years of Android updates, this is a phone to watch for a long time. It could get even better. | ★★★★☆ |
| Camera | Photos look very similar to Pixel 8 Pro shots, until you zoom in close. Still great for a phone at this price. The AI editing features are the real standout. | ★★★★☆ |
| Performance | Google’s Tensor G3 has us questioning whether this phone will last seven years, but for now it’s capable of running all of Google’s best features… with help from the cloud, of course. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Battery | The battery is smaller than the Pixel 8, and battery life suffers. Charging is also a bit slower, whether wired or wireless. If you need more screen time, we have other suggestions. | ★★★☆☆ |
The best phone for Teens
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Buy it if
✅ You need an iPhone for the best price: If you must use an iPhone, the iPhone 13 is the cheapest modern iPhone that you can buy from Apple.
✅ You want great battery life: The iPhone 13 has very impressive battery life, it was a major improvement over previous iPhones when we first reviewed it.
✅ You want a powerful, affordable phone: The iPhone 13 is a few years old, but that A15 Bionic chipset was plenty powerful when it launched, and it still holds up.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You want a small phone: If size is your biggest concern, you can still get an even smaller iPhone SE from Apple, with the same A15 Bionic processor inside.
❌ You don’t care about iOS: For the same price, you can find a premium Android with much newer specs, it just won’t offer the blue message bubbles iPhone fans crave.
The bottom line
📱 The iPhone 13 isn’t the cheapest iPhone that Apple sells, but it’s so much more modern than the iPhone SE that its an easy pick for the best budget iPhone. You get Apple’s latest iOS software and cameras, except for Apple Intelligence, which is only coming to the most expensive, new iPhone models. ★★★★½
If you need a phone for a teenager, or a bargain phone that doesn’t skimp on performance or features, go for the Apple iPhone 13. Your teenager will still be able to chat with all of their friends and use any of the latest Apple gear, like the Apple Watch and Apple AirPods. You’ll also have a very easy time finding cases cheap for an older phone like the iPhone 13.
In our review, we found that the phone’s battery life was great, and the iPhone 13 made it through every day without needing a recharge before bed.
We love the iPhone 13’s classic design, which still includes a small notch (versus the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 15), and the sheer power this phone offers, a result of its Apple A15 Bionic processor inside. Apple originally claimed that the iPhone 13 had a 50% faster CPU than the competition, and this phone has held up nicely since it launched.
Read our full iPhone 13 review
FAQs
What is the best phone in 2024?
The best phone for iPhone fans is the iPhone 15, which does everything you’d expect from an iPhone without giving you more than you need. If you want better cameras, check out the iPhone 15 Pro Max for the best iPhone camera options. The best Android phone is the Google Pixel 8 Pro, which does everything great that Google offers on Android. If you want better cameras, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is like having a professional camera bag in your pocket.
How do I choose the best phone?
The first thing you need to decide when buying a new smartphone is how much you want to spend. The smartphone market varies dramatically, from very high-end handsets that cost well over four-figures, to much cheaper phones that can be found for only a few hundred. We have options on our list at both ends of the price spectrum.
Once you’ve decided how much you want to spend, you should decide whether you want to try one of the best Android phones or go for one of the best iPhones. Often, the platform decision has more to do with your work, your friends and family and what they use to share photos and messages, and what sort of computer or devices you already own.
If you’re looking for something outside the norm, we have plenty of unique options, as well. There are phones with a built-in pen for writing, and phones that fold in half to be more compact. There are large phones, small phones, and Max-sized phones. We have phones with space-level zoom, and phones that specialize in touching portraits.
No matter what phone you choose, you can be sure that we’ve thoroughly tested and vetted every phone on this list, and we know you’ll be satisfied with any of these devices in your pocket.
How we test
We’ve only included phones on this list that have been thoroughly tested in Future Labs and in the real world by our expert review editors. We test every feature on a phone, then we dive deeper to discover all of the hidden goodies.
We test phones rigorously for battery life and charging times, processor speed and performance, and especially for camera and video recording capabilities. We make sure that phones deliver on the promises and claims they make. If Samsung says a phone charges in 30 minutes, we time it to make sure.
We’ve seen every phone you can buy, so we know how each model stacks up against one another. We use both iPhone and Android phones all the time, so we know what we’re saying about the phones you buy, no matter what you pay. We make sure the phones deliver what we’d expect for the price.
Once we’re done, we never stop. We update our reviews as the phones are updated. Our reviews are always fresh, so check again before you buy to make sure you’re getting the latest review on the best phones you’ll find.
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