Smartphone Awards 2024: The Best Phones of the Year in Every Category.

2024 is about to end, and it was a fantastic year for smartphones. We saw Nothing launch its first budget phone, some affordable flip phones from Infinix and Tecno, and incredible advancements in foldable devices. Chinese brands also impressed us with some crazy flagship phones. In this blog, I’ll be presenting my Smartphone Awards and picking the best phones of 2024 across a dozen different categories.

Quick Review

Best Budget Phone of 2024

As always, you might expect a Xiaomi phone to win this category, but honestly, Xiaomi’s Redmi lineup has been pretty uninspiring lately. Instead, Nothing impressed me with its budget offerings—the CMF Phone 1 and the Nothing Phone 2A.

The CMF Phone 1 was exciting due to its modular design and great value, though it had some compromises like an average camera, single speaker, and weak haptics. That’s why I’m going with the Nothing Phone 2A as the best budget phone of 2024.

The Phone 2A nailed it by including essentials like an ultra-wide-angle camera and stereo speakers. I enjoyed using this phone daily. It offered solid performance, a smooth OLED display, a massive 5,000 mAh battery that lasted all day, and decent cameras—all complemented by the signature Glyph Interface.

Best Mid-Range Phone of 2024

The award for the best mid-range phone of the year, and this is easily where I had the most trouble picking one winner.

This year, we got to see a lot of competitive phones, but out of them all, two phones stood out to me the most: the Realme GT60 and the OnePlus Nord 4.

These two phones are quite similar in many ways. They have the same powerful Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 processor, similar cameras that can take nice-looking photos and videos, and the same massive 5,500mAh battery.

But after careful consideration, I am going to have to go with the OnePlus Nord 4 for the best mid-range phone of 2024.

The first thing that caught my eye about this device is definitely the glorious all-metal design. It had been a while since I last used an all-metal phone, and the Nord 4 feels damn premium to hold.

And yeah, I want to see more metal phones next year!

Besides the build quality, it also brought 4+6 years of OS updates and by far the best haptics you can find on a mid-range phone.

Best Mid-Range Gaming Phone of 2024

let me talk about gaming phones, this year we saw a few killer ones in the midrange segment.

Here, no other phone impressed me as much as the Poco F6 did. It had a flagship-grade Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip, a capable liquid cooling solution to keep the thermals in check, and an equally fast and responsive display to match it all.

So, whether I wanted to play PUBG at 120 FPS or something more graphically intensive like Genshin Impact at 60 FPS, the Poco F6 is an absolute beast in gaming.

Now, for those who want the absolute best gaming performance, the Asus ROG 49 is the most obvious pick, thanks to its chart-topping performance from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor, built-in trigger buttons, crazy fast 185Hz display, and arguably the best passive cooling solution you could find on any smartphone.

But I also want to give a quick shoutout to the iPhone 16 Pro Max in this category, simply because most games are just better optimized on iOS. Maybe not in a way that makes a night-and-day difference, but most of my friends who are professional PUBG players continue to carry the latest iPhone, so I’m convinced.

Best Flip Phone of 2024

We actually saw quite a lot of flip phones this year, including some affordable ones from Infinix and Tecno. However, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 once again won my heart in 2024.

I really, really wish Samsung had gone with a larger cover display this time, alongside a dedicated telephoto lens. But even without those, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 gets my vote for the best flip phone of 2024.

This year, the upgrades were few, but they still added to a fabulous flip phone experience. The crease on the Flip 6 looks and feels ridiculously less noticeable, which is a huge improvement.

I’m also a big fan of Samsung’s software, especially for foldable, and their seven years of update assurance is simply amazing. Its new 50MP main camera turned out to be a surprisingly useful upgrade as well.

But my favorite thing about this phone has to be the improved battery life. I never thought a flip phone could actually last me all day, yet the Flip 6 proved me wrong.

Best Foldable Phone of 2024

When it comes to the best book-style foldable phone of 2024, the ZF 6 from Samsung was rather a boring upgrade. OnePlus also didn’t launch a new iteration of the OnePlus Open, which was my favorite foldable from last year.

So, the best foldable of 2024 has to be this guy: the Honor Magic V3. This, honestly, is the peak foldable design if you ask me. It’s as light as a normal phone and as slim as a normal phone, making it feel like a regular phone whether I have it in my hands or in my pocket.

I also love how Honor figured out a way not to compromise on any other important aspects. For instance, the Magic V3 packs a 5,150mAh battery, which is massive for a foldable phone, especially considering its slim and lightweight design.

You also get a great set of cameras, including an impressive 3.5x periscope zoom lens that can click some amazing portraits.

Best Camera Phones of 2024

I have decided to split it into two sections: the best phone for photos and the best phone for videos.

Best Phone For Photos

The best camera phone for photos I have to give it to the recently launched Vivo X200 Pro. Last year’s Vivo X100 Pro was already one of my favorite camera phones, and Vivo has managed to take things a step further this time.

Here we get a new 200-megapixel 3.7x Periscope lens which takes the best portraits I’ve ever seen from a smartphone, and since it has a higher 200-megapixel lens (unlike the 12-megapixel or 48-megapixel we get on Samsung or iPhones), you can also take 135mm aka 5X portraits without losing details.

If you go with the default 3.7x or 85mm option, you also don’t have to go too far away to shoot nice portraits. The Z-Color processing is also top-notch—just look at the bokeh as well as the subject detection, it’s superb. Plus, with this Periscope lens, you can click some sick macro photos and videos.

It’s awesome. Of course, this is all pointless if the actual photo is not that impressive, but no—the Vivo X200 Pro’s main, ultra-wide, and selfie camera also takes fabulous photos in every situation.

Best Phone For Videos.

the iPhone 16 Pro Max runs away with the award so damn easily. Apple’s Pro iPhones have always been my go-to phone for videos, as far as I can remember, and the 16 Pro Max is another easy winner this year too. I can shoot steady videos with excellent details, dynamic range, exposure control, and everything from all of its four cameras.

It can also record great cinematic videos, and there’s a 4K 120 FPS recording option now that works flawlessly. If I want to edit and post, plus its updated microphones and that audio mix feature was an absolutely brilliant addition too.

Most Improved Phone of 2024

The most improved phone award, I think, should clearly go to the new iQOO 13. This guy brings sensible, meaningful upgrades practically everywhere you look, and the best part is that the price has almost remained the same as well—a perfect win-win situation here.

The iQOO 13 finally has a proper IP68 and IP69 rating, which you would expect from a flagship phone. Its display is sharper and brighter than before, and it now boasts a gigantic 6,000mAh battery. It also gets Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, as expected. On top of that, we get a longer 4+5 years of updates to look forward to.

Now, I just wish it did not downgrade from a 3x periscope camera to a 50MP 2x telephoto lens. But overall, the iQOO 13 deserves this award without any second thoughts.

Okay, so if the iQOO 13 had the best year-on-year improvement, which phone had the worst year-on-year improvement then?

Flop Phone of 2024

the iPhone 16 Plus and we have a special award for it. I also didn’t have to think too hard about this, to be honest. That’s because, except for the promising new A18 chip, the iPhone 16 Plus had no memorable upgrades whatsoever.

It’s got the same 60Hz display, and on a very big screen, which means it feels so slow to use. And what’s especially sad about it is that it’s not even the battery champ in the iPhone 16 series—something Apple’s Plus iPhones have always been good at.

So, yeah, the Flop of the Year award definitely goes to the iPhone 16 Plus.

Best Compact Phone of 2024

I love how smartphone brands launched quite a few solid compact phones in 2024. It sucks that Asus did not launch their new Zenfone this year, but there were still quite a few incredible mini phones like the Xiaomi 14, the Galaxy S24, and even the Pixel 9 Pro, Google’s first flagship phone in a compact body.

But if I have to choose one, it has to be the new Xiaomi 15, which I started using just a couple of days ago. The Xiaomi 14 was a lovely mini phone, but this new guy is the better compact phone in almost every single way.

It has an almost 20% bigger battery with excellent endurance while maintaining the same thin and light design, which is just fantastic. Xiaomi says it has updated the heat dissipation system this time, and in my gaming tests, I found it to run really cool.

Then there are other subtle improvements like an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor instead of an optical one, Xiaomi’s own display protection glass, and it also doesn’t have that lens fogging issue like the Xiaomi 14 either.

Best Overall Phone of 2024 Award.

This year, I have to admit, that Chinese flagship phones showed significant improvements. We got to see the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, which featured a new floating 3.2x lens capable of capturing some stunning macro shots and a variable aperture that allowed for continuous adjustment throughout the whole range from f/1.6 to f/4.0. We also have the Vivo X200 Pro, Oppo’s brand-new X8 Pro with two periscope lenses, and the Honor Magic 6 Pro, which was also an interesting contender.

However, if I have to choose the best of the best, it has to be the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

The thing about the S24 Ultra is that although it isn’t necessarily the best at any one thing in particular, it excels at everything. The S24 Ultra kept impressing me with just how balanced and well-rounded it is. It boasts a bold and durable design, a top-notch display further enhanced by Samsung’s new anti-glare coating, and an amazing battery life.

I don’t even think I need to highlight how good and reliable its performance is—not only because of One UI and the seven years of update promises but also due to its incredible AI features, offering the most refined AI experience.

The S24 Ultra is also equipped with mighty capable cameras for both photos and videos. Even though it’s nearly a year old at this point, the S24 Ultra holds its ground perfectly against other flagship phones.