Top best smartphones of 2024 - overview

Each of them has a good camera, each of them has a long enough battery life and won't die (at least on paper) if you drop it in the sink.

Describing new products on the smartphone market became difficult about five years ago. Almost to the point of identity, they try to copy each other, succumbing to trends like no other niche.

Still, we have gathered here the best smartphones for 2024 and sorted out their chips to answer one simple question: "what phone to buy this year". And also - we have indicated the cost, actual on the day of the article's release, so that you can choose a device for yourself according to the principle of "price-quality".

Contents

• Apple IPhone 15 Pro
• OnePlus 11
• Samsung Galaxy s23 Ultra
• Huawei P60 Pro
• Honor 90
• Honor X9A
• Google Pixel 7a
• Realme 11 Pro
• Xiaomi Redmi 13 Note
• Xiaomi Poco x5 5g
• Tecno Spark Go 2024

Apple IPhone 15 Pro

Price: from ~$999

Specifications:

• Display: 6.1″, OLED, 2556 × 1179, 120 Hz
• RAM: 8GB
• Permanent memory: 128, 256, 512 and 1024 GB
• Main camera: 48 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP
• Front camera: 12MP
• Battery: 3274 mAh

Of course, this is the manufacturer that no such list can do without. Phones from Apple for many years remain both flagship, but at the same time the most controversial models. Someone believes that everything in them is perfect, others - that the development of iPhones has long slowed down against the background of competitors.

Be that as it may, the fifteenth IPhone in pro-version managed to surprise users. It is incredibly strong thanks to the titanium on the body, has the most powerful of the entire Apple line of zoom cameras, and the processor performance makes it possible to run the latest generation of video games on the smartphone and use it as a system unit.

OnePlus 11

Price: from ~$509

Specifications:

• Display: 6.7″, AMOLED E4, 120Hz (LTPO 3.0)
• RAM: 16GB
• Permanent memory: 256 and 512 GB
• Main camera: 50MP + 48MP + 32MP
• Front camera: 16 MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh

Going to Chinese manufacturers after Apple is always a welcome change in price. It is reduced by about half, but the number of appealing features in the phone is not.

OnePlus is the device that conquered social networks due to its incredible camera stabilization. You bet, because here is a block of four cameras from Sony. In general, the model is considered to be one of the most productive of the rather prolific Chinese company: inside there is a liquid cooling system, powerful chips and memory storage system according to the latest standards.

Samsung Galaxy s23 Ultra

Price: from ~$892

Specifications:

• Display: 6.8″, AMOLED, 120 Hz
• RAM: 12GB
• Permanent memory: 256GB - 1TB
• Main camera: 200.0MP + 10.0MP + 12.0MP
• Front Camera: 10 MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh

Traditionally, the latest Samsung is compared to the IPhone. We won't do that. After all, competing in the premium segment, they are nothing alike. Well, except for the price. At the same time, the Korean brand permanently holds the brand of the flagship of the entire huge niche of Android-based smartphones.

S23 Ultra came out, let's say, in the style of the lineup. Big (really big), and thanks to the bright screen and off the scale set of characteristics of the cameras, this phone can be considered the embodiment of all the recognizable elements that Asian manufacturers are famous for.

Of the more interesting features note the mode in which the phone can be used instead of a working laptop: you just need to connect it to an external monitor. The stylus was also left: either as a tribute to tradition or for signing documents online.

Huawei P60 Pro

Price: from ~$1,190

Specifications:

• Display: 6.67″, OLED, 120 Hz
• RAM: 8GB or 12GB
• Permanent memory: 256GB or 512GB
• Main camera: 48MP + 48MP + 13MP
• Front camera: 13 MP
• Battery: 4815 mAh

Unlike many Chinese colleagues, Huawei is aiming at the segment of more expensive than $500. And it should be said that the pro-version of the P60 is really in its place there. This is quite a stylish model with interesting solutions on the body like pearlescent shimmers or bright purple coloring.

This phone has already been dubbed a cameraphone because of the excellent pictures that are obtained on the P60. Interestingly, with really good image quality, the number of megapixels here is not off the charts. However, this once again proves that the result depends not on the numbers, but on the compatibility of smartphone components.

Honor 90

Price: from ~$500

Specifications:

• Display: 6.7″, AMOLED E4, 120 Hz
• RAM: 12GB
• Permanent memory: 256 and 512 GB
• Main camera: 200MP + 12MP
• Front camera: 50MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh

The "iPhone killer", which got its nickname for one reason only - it is different from its Android counterparts. Honor 90 is first of all a very beautiful phone with an interesting set of colors, futuristic camera unit and rounded corners.

Other than that, it's just a good smartphone for its money. It doesn't reach the performance of the models described above, but as if it doesn't strive to do so (Honor has other lines for this race). But the smartphone takes excellent photos and shoots video quite well, and also charges quickly.

By the way, Honor is going the way of Apple with its ecosystem of headsets, headphones and smart watches. Which means they will work better with this smartphone than third-party brands.

Honor X9A

Price: from ~$417

Specifications:

• Display: 6.67″, AMOLED, 120 Hz
• RAM: 6+5GB
• Permanent memory: 128 GB
• Main camera: 64MP + 5MP
• Front camera: 16 MP
• Battery: 5100 mAh

If you liked the device described above, but the price tag seemed a bit high - meet another newcomer from the Chinese brand. It is the younger brother of the previous reviewer - x9a.

From the similarities here, first of all, the futuristic design. This is a matte, pearlescent phone, which will definitely not go unnoticed. Otherwise, it is worth dividing the features of the ninetieth HONOR by two, just as the price is divided by two.

Google Pixel 7a

Price: from ~$260

Specifications:

• Display: 6.1″, OLED, 90 Hz
• RAM: 8GB
• Permanent memory: 128 GB
• Main camera: 64MP + 13MP
• Front camera: 13MP
• Battery: 4385 mAh

By and large, we have a stable phone in the segment. Medium-sized, with quite thick screen frames, not the strongest camera, and visually quite standard.

It is interesting that the famous phones on "pure Android" in the world are in use. What this purity gives in practice, most users do not understand. But it is "pure" Android, even if it does not have so many opportunities for customization, but can offer maximum friendliness for users-beginners. It's also believed that it won't start to slow down.

Coupled with the arguments from the previous paragraph, it becomes clear: this is the phone to give to people from the older generation. Built-in anti-spam filters against fraudulent calls are just to help, so that "nothing is written off".

Realme 11 Pro

Price: from ~$240

Specifications:

• Display: 6.7″, AMOLED, 120 Hz
• RAM: 8GB
• Permanent memory: 128 GB
• Main camera: 100MP
• Front camera: 16MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh

Another primarily beautiful phone with a camera right in the middle of the back panel, pleasant body colors and eco-leather instead of plastic. With all this, it's also quite functional. Of course, the user experience is more modest than the numbers in the documentation, but these numbers are not weak: a bunch of megapixels in the camera, a decent amount of memory. And all this for a price tag of almost $240.

What is the catch? And there really is none. The fact is that it is Chinese manufacturers now tend to surprise. Because there are many of them, and the casual user still does not particularly distinguish between them.

Xiaomi Redmi 13 Note

Price: from ~$179

Specifications:

• Display: 6.67″, AMOLED, 120 Hz
• RAM: 6, 8 or 12 GB
• Permanent memory: 128 or 256 GB
• Main camera: 108MP
• Front camera: 2.07MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh

The Redmi Note seems like everyone has had one, at least in at least one generation. This is a classic Android phone with all its pluses, such as third-party installation of applications and impressive documentation scores. At the same time, there are also stable disadvantages: the camera at times produces a pixelated picture, and applications sometimes hang.

In fact, from its predecessor, Xiaomi Redmi 12 Note, the thirteenth model practically does not differ. A little pulled up except for the camera unit. Otherwise, the smartphones are similar to the extent of mixing: the same processor, almost identical design, the same set of functions. But the price of the novelty is not too high, so fans of the brand can safely choose from the last two devices of the series.

Xiaomi Poco x5 5g

Price: from ~$240

Specifications:

• Display: 6.67″, AMOLED, 120 Hz
• RAM: 8GB
• Permanent memory: 128 and 256 GB, there is a microSD slot
• Main camera: 48MP + 8MP + 2MP
• Front camera: 13 MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh

Xiaomi feels confident in the niche of smartphones with a price tag of up to $300, year after year presenting new products that compete primarily with the previous models of the brand. This phone was released in three colors of the case: green, blue and black.

Of the most interesting - the presence of 5g, although the function does not work in many countries. In addition, users note the lightness and compactness of the model, which means that Poco x5 can be a great choice for those who are limited in budget and at the same time not chasing after huge displays.

Tecno Spark Go 2024

Price: from ~$135

Specifications:

• Display: 6.6″, IPS LCD, 90 Hz
• RAM: 4GB
• Permanent memory: 64 or 128 GB
• Main camera: 13 MP
• Front camera: 8 MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh

Spark Go 2024 is an ultra-budget for those who are not ready to give for a phone the amount of more than $100, but still want to have in their hands a productive smartphone, not a device for calls. If you look at it in the context of the whole list, the functionality looks modest. But within its segment it is a real challenge to the market.

Everything that should work works in the phone. But not much more. Does it take pictures? Yes. Is the screen bright? Yes. Doesn't hang if you flip through videos or read the news? No. You can choose such a device for a schoolchild, an elderly person or use it as a work phone.