One more year is done and dusted, and a new year of phones is on the way. What was the best for 2024?
One year has passed and with it one more year of phones. Pickr has covered more than a few with our reviews, all built to change the way you choose with detailed analysis based around repeatable methodologies, but there still can only be a few judged as “the best phones”.
And that’s where we are: the end of 2024 and ready with our choices for the best phones of 2024.
What will deliver the win? Find out as we judge the best phones of the year.
Best Android phone: Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
Folks who love Android have one main phone to consider if they want the best of the best their platform has to offer: the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
A beautifully big screen, a deliciously solid set of cameras, a lovely design, and a bit of AI you may or may not use complete the picture for the Pixel 9 Pro XL, easily one of Google’s best phones ever.
There are a lot of reasons to consider the 9 Pro XL, and the excellent design and feature set is most of it. While you won’t get a stylus to use on the large display, you will get one of the most thought-out experiences you can find on any phone, Android or otherwise.
Best iPhone: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Offering a combination of the best camera system for any iPhone and the best battery life thanks to the larger screen and bigger design, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is this year’s best iPhone, hands down.
Easily one of the best phones we’ve reviewed and armed with about as much processing power you could ever really need, the only issues you might find with the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the size and the price. Larger than last year’s models and still on the pricey side, the 16 Pro Max is definitely the winner of the best iPhone for 2024, no question.
Best foldable phone: Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
Thinner than the Samsung equivalent and packing in a slightly bigger screen, a slightly better camera array, and a foldable screen where the crease isn’t as noticeable, the Pixel Fold is this year’s best foldable in Australia.
The runner up in this category doesn’t go to Samsung, either. You might think either the Galaxy Z Fold 6 or even Z Flip 6 would be the obvious contender here, but the Moto Razr 50 Ultra is our next best choice afterwards.
Best value phone: Google Pixel 8a
Keeping prices down is important, and with the cost of living as high as it is in central years, we wouldn’t be shocked if you wanted to keep prices under a grand when it came to buying a phone.
Manufacturers are doing a lot better in this regard these days, and even in the era of high-end phones, it can still be possible to get a good deal.
This year’s great deal is the Google Pixel 8a, what is essentially a Pixel 8 for a slightly less expensive price in the year the Pixel 9 range came out. While it costs a little more than last year’s model, the Pixel 8a is a stellar package that makes us question why the Pixel 8 could even be found when this thing was released. At the year’s end, its street price was even better, managing a $699 price tag over its $849 RRP.
An aside: this was a tough competition, and we almost gave the nod to Samsung’s excellent Galaxy S24 FE, easily one of the better value propositions phone buyers could find. The only reason this phone lost to the “best value” category was the price, which is normally over $1000 and at the end of 2024, just under it.
Best small phone: Motorola Razr 50 Ultra
Compact phones have largely disappeared in recent years, but they do exist in a different style: foldables.
We’re not talking about the large unfold-a-phone-into-a-tablet concept many see them as, but more the fold-a-big-phone-into-a-smaller-one that loves our pockets.
Compact foldables take the idea of a classic flip phone, and blend it with modern design and screens. They’re foldable screens with the components built into each side of what ostensibly looks like a compact mirror, and they are delightful.
And this year’s Moto Razr 50 Ultra is the most delightful of all the compact foldable phones, so much that it’s a lovely small phone with upgraded cameras, a big cover screen, and a design that makes it stand out. The Razr 50 Ultra is such a lovely phone, it’s easy to see why Motorola is putting up such a solid fight against Samsung’s Z Flip in this space.
Best big screen phone: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
The idea of a big screen isn’t as impressive as it once was. Every phone maker has a huge phone these days, and some have even bigger. Ever seen a gaming phone? Yep. They’re big.
Our point is more that when you have a big screened phone, our criteria for what makes it the “best big phone” is about what it does differently with that big screen. And for that, we’re turning to Samsung’s S24 Ultra, which is still the only big phone that comes with a stylus, complete with a spot to rest and store said stylus.
Technically, the foldable Galaxy Z Fold 6 also has support for the S-Pen, making for a large and handy big screened phone. But you can’t store the S-Pen under the screen, which makes all the difference for us.
As it is, the big 6.8 inch screen on the Galaxy S24 Ultra is slick, easy on the eyes, offers a sharp resolution, and comes with the control afforded by the S-Pen stylus. It’s just about the biggest and best phone display you can find before landing on the foldable options, and it wins this category.
Best battery: Motorola G84 5G
Budget phones tend to come with their fair share of failings, particularly those that fall under the $500 price point, but you’d be hard-pressed finding them with Motorola’s G84 5G, particularly when looking at the battery.
Sure, the camera needs work and there’s no wireless charging, but the phone is surprisingly thin, offers a little water resistance, and the battery lasts for a stunning two days. That’s something even more expensive phones struggle with, and means you have the power to keep going.
The Moto G84 5G is another of Motorola’s excellent mid-range offerings and worthy of a Best Pick nod this year for sure.
Best camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro
The best cameras this year went to Google’s Pixel 9 Pro and XL and the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, but we have a choice for the best cameras in general, and it’s Apple’s smaller-size Pro-model iPhone.
Why have we gone this route? It’s quite easy.
Our best iPhone is the big model with the best-in-class camera and a bigger battery, but it’s impressive that Apple has managed to fit that same best-in-class camera into a smaller phone size. If you don’t want a big phone but do want a fantastic camera, the iPhone 16 Pro is it.
