The task of narrowing down the best phone to suit your needs hasn’t got any easier in 2024. These days, there are so many great options to choose from – and there are plenty more eye-catching smartphones on the horizon, too.
In this guide, we’ve compiled a list of the best phones money can buy in the UK, collating specs for each model, along with pros, cons, and links to their full reviews. The options highlighted below cover a range of prices, so whether you’re on a tight budget or have a bottomless supply of cash, you’ll find a great phone that fits your lifestyle requirements (side note: those in the former camp may be better off checking out our guide to the best cheap phones).
If you’re after a handset from a specific brand, you might also want to check out our ranking of the best iPhones, best Android phones or best Samsung phones. Oh, and one of the best power banks may come in handy, too!
While this list has the very best phones you can buy right now, it’s worth noting that the Samsung Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus and Galaxy S24 Ultra have been revealed and will go on sale January 31. Once we review these phones they could shake up the order of our top phones selection, so if you’re a Samsung fan you may want to wait before buying a new phone. For our early impressions, check out our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 review, hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review and full Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review. And if you’re already keen to buy one of the new Galaxy phones, you can reserve one now: take a look at our Samsung Galaxy S24 preorders guide.
Quick List
The iPhone 15 Pro is, for us, the best all-round phone on the market right now. You’ll pay a high price, but its phenomenal A17 Pro chipset, excellent cameras and compact titanium design are hard to beat.
Read more below
The iPhone 15 Pro Max takes everything that’s great about the smaller 15 Pro and supersizes it. You’ll get a larger 6.7-inch display, and a superior 5x periscope zoom lens, too.
Read more below
3. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the swiss army knife of smartphones. If you’re tied up in the Android ecosystem, you won’t be disappointed by this phone’s market-leading cameras and phenomenal performance.
Read more below
Boasting the best Pixel cameras to date, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is a photography powerhouse – but we’re equally impressed by its trailblazing machine learning features.
Read more below
Now much more affordable than it was at launch, the Pixel 7 delivers enough in terms of performance and camera power to warrant its title as the best budget phone in 2024.
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Thanks to its superfast A16 Bionic chipset, 48MP main camera, USB-C port and Dynamic Island cut-out, Apple’s latest standard iPhone offers surprising value for money.
Read more below
Load the next two products…
Objectively the best foldable phone in 2024, the OnePlus Open surpasses its big-name rivals by offering a superior design, display, and set of cameras.
Read more below
The best phone in 2024
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Below, you’ll find full write-ups for each of the best phones in our list, along with links to their reviews.
The best phone for most people
Buy it if
✅ You want the best 6.1-inch phone around: The iPhone 15 Pro bundles the best of Apple’s mobile technology into a palm-friendly, titanium-clad package.
✅ You want photos with less work: The iPhone 15 Pro doesn’t have the absolute best camera tech available, but Apple doesn’t make you fuss about with settings, either. The phone’s highly capable 48MP main lens will be more than enough for most people.
✅ You want an iPhone with UCB-C: Like its larger sibling, the iPhone 15 Pro is equipped with a USB-C port for faster data transfer and better compatibility than its predecessor.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You want more zoom power: The iPhone 15 Pro’s maximum 3x optical zoom is starting to seem more quaint than useful. Samsung (and Xiaomi) owns the super-zoom space.
❌ You want better charging technology: Despite offering strong battery life, the iPhone 15 Pro lacks the fast charging capabilities of similarly-priced handsets.
The iPhone 15 Pro’s palm-friendly size and more accessible price versus the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max (or even bigger Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra) ensures it ranks as the best all-round phone money can buy in 2024. Those larger phones may boast superior periscope zoom lenses, but in every other department, Apple’s latest 6.1-inch flagship is the equal of its higher-priced rivals.
On the design front, the iPhone 15 Pro is arguably the best-looking iPhone Apple has ever made. Its gorgeous titanium design can withstand unwelcome drops more effectively than its predecessor, and the addition of a USB-C port makes the iPhone 15 Pro a more versatile device, too (in terms of both charging and compatibility).
The phone’s Super XDR OLED screen is unchanged from the iPhone 14 Pro – which is by no means a bad thing – but this time around, everything you’ll see displayed on it is powered by Apple’s all-new A17 Pro chipset, which is capable of delivering console-level gaming performance and seamless multi-tasking. Suffice to say, you won’t be left wanting for power with the iPhone 15 Pro.
When it comes to cameras, the phone is fitted a 48MP quad-pixel main lens and a 12MP ultra-wide lens, along with a 12MP telephoto lens that’s capable of 3x optical zoom. As alluded to above, the iPhone 15 Pro Max (and indeed the Galaxy S23 Ultra) boasts a better telephoto zoom lens, but the iPhone 15 Pro nonetheless ranks among the best camera phones on the market. The everyday will find more than enough photographic power here.
Read our full iPhone 15 Pro review
The best iPhone
Buy it if
✅ You want the biggest and best iPhone: Objectively-speaking, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the best (read: most technologically advanced) iPhone ever made.
✅ You want the most powerful phone: Apple’s A17 Pro chipset is more powerful than anything else you’ll find on the market right now.
✅ 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 iPhone 15 Pro Max’s telephoto lens is impressive – but Samsung’s 10x optical zoom on the Galaxy S23 is 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.
If you’re looking for the best iPhone money can buy in 2024, then the iPhone 15 Pro Max is objectively the best choice. The 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro may offer better value for money, but you’ll get slightly superior camera tech from Apple’s latest 6.7-inch behemoth, which makes it the on-paper iPhone champion.
In addition to that periscope zoom lens – which marks the first of its kind on an iPhone – the iPhone 15 Pro Max boasts a supremely capable 48MP quad-pixel main lens and a 12MP ultra-wide lens, so mobile photographers won’t be left wanting for versatility.
On the design front, the iPhone 15 Pro Max packs an excellent 6.7-inch Super XDR OLED screen (with ProMotion), a beautiful titanium chassis and a USB-C port (another first for an iPhone), while Apple’s all-new A17 Pro chipset delivers mobile gaming performance that’s comparable to some high-end PCs.
All told, then, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the most technologically advanced iPhone Apple has ever made – but you’ll have to pay handsomely for the privilege of owning one (at least $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,199), and Samsung’s similarly priced Galaxy S23 Ultra actually has slightly better cameras.
Read our full iPhone 15 Pro Max review
The best Samsung phone
Buy it if
✅ You want the world’s most versatile phone: The Galaxy S23 Ultra is a feature-packed powerhouse; it boasts wireless charging, water resistance, and even a stylus.
✅ You want a pocket computer: The Ultra can stand-in for your PC in a desktop environment, or just run multiple apps in side-by-side windows.
✅ You need to photograph the moon: At the time of writing, the S23 Ultra offers the longest optical zoom lens of any phone. It can enhance astrophotography, too.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You prefer palm-sized phones: The S23 Ultra is a great-looking phone, but it’s also very, very big. With a case, it’s a behemoth, and will stretch even the largest pockets.
❌ You hate One UI: Samsung’s One UI gets better every time we use it, but it’s still not as clean as the version of Android you’ll find on Google’s Pixel phones.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra was Samsung’s most feature-packed handset of 2023. Even in 2024, it’s big, powerful, and quite frankly more phone than most buyers will need. But for those who want it all, this delivers. Before buying, though, bear in mind that we’re expecting to see the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra released on January 17.
As ever with Samsung’s Ultra series, the price is excessive, but in almost every other way the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a superb phone, from its screen to its cameras, performance, battery and beyond.
For starters, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has an enormous display with a QHD+ resolution, a 120Hz variable refresh rate, and a high maximum brightness. It’s among the biggest and best screens you’ll find on a phone.
On the battery front, we found that the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra would last well over a day with moderate mixed use, which makes its life comfortably above average. It also charges fairly fast at 45W, though some other phones on this list charge even faster.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’s camera setup is incredibly versatile, as there’s a wide, ultrawide, and two telephoto cameras, giving you optical zoom at 3x and 10x. Add to that a new 200MP sensor for the primary camera, and this is easily one of the best phones for photography.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review
The best Pixel phone
Buy it if
✅ You regularly take bad photos and videos: Pixel’s latest flagship can retrospectively edit 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: The Pixel 8 Pro will last longer than any other Android phone; it’ll keep receiving updates until 2030.
✅ You want help answering calls: The phone’s call screening feature is genuinely great; 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: If you’re keen to be part of the crowd, Apple’s iOS 17 update makes a strong argument for sticking with the same phone everybody around you is buying.
❌ You want the absolute best cameras: Despite the Pixel 8 Pro’s undeniable photographic prowess, nothing beats the Galaxy S23 Ultra for camera capabilities and quality.
❌ You are a journalist or reporter: The summary tool on the Pixel 8 Pro is factually inaccurate, and its camera editing tools may create awkward questions around credibility.
Suffice to say, Google’s Pixel 8 Pro is the best Pixel phone yet. It packs some serious camera upgrades that will satisfy both pro and amateur photographers, while its AI-focused Tensor G3 chipset delivers (surprise!) an AI-focused user experience that you won’t get from any other phone (except, perhaps, the newly announced Galaxy S24 and its siblings).
In fact, Google is so confident in this phone’s performance that it’s promising an unprecedented seven years of major updates; again, prior to the release of the Galaxy S24 range, that was longer than any other phone maker was willing to support its phones. In that regard, the Pixel 8 Pro is a trailblazer.
In terms of its design, the Pixel 8 Pro is more rounded on the corners than its predecessor, and its display is flatter, too. This makes it much easier to hold, while also giving you a better view of your content.
The Pixel 8 Pro’s display, though, is its standout feature. Google has even endowed the phone’s screen with its own branding: Super Actua. What does that mean, exactly? Well, 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. In almost every way, the Pixel 8 Pro display beats that of the iPhone 15 Pro Max (sorry, Apple fans!).
On the photography front, some photos taken on the Pixel 8 Pro look better than those taken on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but night pics and low-light images, in particular, aren’t as good on the Pixel. That said, 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 (that is, until the Galaxy S24 range arrived).
Read our full Google Pixel 8 Pro review
The best budget phone
Buy it if
✅ You want an eye-catching budget phone: The camera bar is understandably divisive, but Google has created something that’s undeniably different to anything else on the market.
✅ You’re a keen mobile photographer: The Pixel 7 comes with several creative photo capture modes and editing features that allow for some amazing results (especially for the price).
✅ You like Google’s assistive features: Whether you rely on accessibility, or just like the idea of being able to dictate to your phone, the Pixel 7 has the feature set and hardware to make your life easier in lots of little ways.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You need a lot of storage: The Pixel 7 is only available with 256GB of storage. While Google would no doubt love you to commit to a Google One cloud storage subscription, if you want to store a lot of apps, games, and media locally, that 256GB figure will only go so far.
❌ You want a compact phone: Google has slimmed down the bezels, but the Pixel 7 still feels like a sizeable phone (remember, it’s a similar size to XL Pixel phones of old). If you want a pocketable rocket, the Pixel 7a may be a better option.
The Pixel 7a ranked as our best budget phone pick for almost a year, but these days, you can pick up the older (but better) Pixel 7 for as little as £449 on a good day. The even cheaper Pixel 6a is still on sale, but for better durability, wireless charging, and much better photography, we think Pixel 7 is worth the money.
The Pixel 7 shares more than a passing resemblance with the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 8, but that’s by no means a bad thing. The phone’s camera bar is metal and tinted (depending on the color you buy; we recommend Lemongrass), and it has a great look for a budget device. Plus, the Pixel 7 is rated IP68 for water resistance, which is a huge improvement over the previous model.
On the camera front, you’re getting the same 50MP main camera here as you do on the Pixel 7 Pro, and the 12MP ultra-wide is similar, too. The latter’s 10.8MP punch-hole selfie snapper, 4K video recording capabilities and support for 10-bit HDR video also make the jump down to the cheaper Pixel 7. While the hardware is interesting, the Pixel camera experience is really more about the processing and software, which is here supported by Google’s competent Tensor G2 chip.
The Pixel 7’s display boasts Full HD+ resolution, a 20:9 aspect ratio, and a peak brightness of 1400 nits (that’s 25% brighter than the Pixel 6’s peak brightness), which delivers better visibility in bright surroundings. We had no trouble getting the phone to last all day, and ended most days at around 15% battery.
Read our full Google Pixel 7 review
The best value phone
Buy it if
✅ You want a great iPhone at a great price: The iPhone 15 strikes a nice balance between price and cutting-edge features, which is a rare thing for Apple’s standard iPhones.
✅ You want a camera upgrade: Between the excellent portrait photography capabilities and new 48MP main camera, the iPhone 15 offers Pro-style camera specs for an accessible price.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You like big phones: The iPhone 15’s 6.1-inch screen might feel cramped if you currently own an iPhone Pro Max, Plus or Galaxy Ultra phone.
❌ You want bigger zoom: The 2x optical zoom on offer here is perfectly fine, but it doesn’t compare to 3x optical zoom on Apple’s recent Pro models (or the Samsung Galaxy S23).
For the first time in a long time, Apple’s newest base iPhone feels like a great-value product. In fact, the iPhone 15 marks the most significant step up for a base iPhone in several years (perhaps ever), so it’s absolutely worth considering against the more expensive Pro models.
The bottom line is this: the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max boast titanium sides, 120Hz scrolling and high-spec zoom photography, but if you’re not overly concerned by any of those features, then the standard iPhone 15 offers pretty much everything you could want from a flagship phone, but for significantly less money.
The iPhone 15’s 6.1-inch Super XDR OLED display is a sight to behold, its A16 Bionic chipset is plenty fast enough for the average mobile user, and its USB-C port brings a versatility to the iPhone that we haven’t seen before. Despite the absence of a Pro moniker, you’re still getting a supremely capable 48MP main camera, as well as Apple’s fancy digital screen cut-out, the Dynamic Island, all delivered in a sleek and eye-catching design package.
Apple’s standard models have, in recent years, felt like minor upgrades that pale in comparison to their respective Pro-level counterparts. The iPhone 15 bucks that trend; it’s a genuinely great value product.
Read our iPhone 15 review
The best alternative flagship phone
Buy it if
✅ You want a feature-packed Android flagship that stands out from the crowd: The Magic 5 Pro boasts enough bells and whistles to be considered a long-term alternative to comparable flagships from more established mobile brands.
✅ You want the best mobile display (at the time of writing): The Magic 5 Pro’s cameras are excellent, but its eye-friendly display is what really sets the phone apart from the competition.
✅ You’re a keen mobile photographer: The Magic 5 Pro’s main sensor is 35% larger than that of the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra, which means it can reckon with the challenges of light more effectively than both devices. The phone’s use of computational photography also delivers zoom clarity that’s comparable to its premium rivals.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You want a conventional-looking phone: The Magic 5 Pro arguably prioritizes individuality over practicality – as such, its unconventional design won’t be for everyone.
❌ You’re a content creator: Given that 4K video capture is limited to 15 minutes, creators won’t be able to use the Magic 5 Pro to shoot lengthy videos.
When we say the Honor Magic 5 Pro is the ‘best alternative flagship phone’, we mean it’s among the most impressive new flagships produced by a brand that isn’t Apple, Samsung or Google. In other words: this is a phone for those who want to stand out from the crowd.
The Magic 5 Pro’s display is big and bright, its cameras are some of the most impressive we’ve ever tested and its large battery ensures you get at least 12 hours of heavy use before needing to reach for a charger. The phone’s unconventional design will surely divide opinion, but we didn’t use the word ‘alternative’ lightly.
On the display front, the Magic 5 Pro uses an absolutely gorgeous 6.81-inch LTPO OLED screen that offers a crisp 1312 x 2848 resolution and a fast refresh rate of up to 120Hz. Honor has implemented eye-friendly dimming technology on this phone, too, which supposedly reduces eye strain and improves the quality of your sleep.
The phone packs a giant 5100mAh battery that yields over 12 hours of battery life with heavy usage. If you’re more of a casual user, you’ll get closer to a day-and-a-half of juice from the Magic 5 Pro before needing to reach for a charger. Charge times are seriously quick, however we did notice some overheating when leaving the phone plugged in for too long.
Housed in the phone’s aforementioned rear bulge is a supremely capable 50MP wide lens, a 50MP ultrawide lens, and a 50MP periscope telephoto lens with 3.5x optical zoom. These are cameras to rival the best from Apple and Samsung.
Read our full Honor Magic 5 Pro review
The best foldable phone
Buy it if
✅ You’re ready to try a foldable phone: The OnePlus Open is the only tablet foldable that doesn’t feel totally unwieldy. In fact, it feels like a normal phone when closed, unlike the Galaxy and Pixel Folds.
✅ You want an imposing display: This phone’s display is brighter than almost any other screen on any other phone you can buy right now. And the crease? Nearly invisible.
✅ You want quality photography: The OnePlus Open boasts the best cameras of any foldable phone. You don’t buy a foldable for the cameras, but you’ll be more than satisfied with the photography specs on offer here.
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You’re not looking to spend big: Let’s be real: this is one of the most expensive Android phones on the market. At the very least, look for deals before shelling out on the Open’s £1,599 RRP.
❌ You want a sleek and slim phone: Despite feeling like a regular phone, the OnePlus Open is much thicker than most modern-day handsets.
The OnePlus Open is indisputably one of, if not the best foldable phone money can buy right now. Sure, the Google Pixel Fold utilizes the power of Android more effectively, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 offers plenty more special features, but in almost every other department, the OnePlus Open trumps the competition.
To put it simply, this is the first tablet foldable phone that simply feels right. When closed, the Galaxy is too narrow and the Pixel too squat, but the Open hits the design sweet spot, and it’s the most important improvement OnePlus could have made to the foldable form factor. If you’re paying twice as much for a phone (and you will be, at £1,599), you shouldn’t feel like it’s the wrong size half the time.
Versus the competition, the OnePlus Open is a better size when closed, and it’s easier to open, too. But OnePlus didn’t stop at the folding hinge. It also added something that no other foldable phone maker has dared: really good cameras.
On every other foldable phone, the size limitations of the fold-in-half design have resulted in cameras that range from inferior to downright awful. Not so with the OnePlus Open, which comes close to being as good as the best flat camera phones.
Read our full OnePlus Open review
FAQs
What is the best phone in 2024?
Objectively speaking, the best phone right now is either the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra or Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, but both excel at different things. The former boasts the best mobile cameras on the market, while the latter is the world’s most powerful phone. If you’re not looking to pay their stratospheric asking prices, though, the iPhone 15 Pro is our current pick as the best phone for most people, while the OnePlus Open is the best foldable phone.
How to choose the best phone for you
Depending on the way you use your smartphone, there are likely to be one or more aspects of a device that are important to you.
If you want a hardy smartphone, you should check whether it has an IP rating – this will dictate how protected it is against dust and moisture. Also consider its material – ceramic is very fragile, as is glass, but plastic and metal can be more protective.
If you stream a lot, you might want a good-looking display. Bigger, up to 6.8 inches, might be useful for you, as will a resolution over 1080p. Refresh rates of 90Hz or 120Hz also ensure that motion looks smoother.
Battery life can be a pain for people, though capacity doesn’t always dictate how long a mobile lasts. A phone needs to last at least a day to be useful for most people, though some go up to two days.
Charging speed is also important, and anything of 65W or up is good, though some phones now offer over 120W. The best phones power up in under an hour, and some even take less than 30 minutes.
Camera quality is hard to convey through a specs list, so you’ll have to rely on our analysis and testing to see how good they are – but it’s always useful to find a camera phone with multiple lenses and modes.
How we test
Every phone on this list was subjected to a full TechRadar review, and therefore our entire testing process. The core part of this process involves using the phone as our own for one week or more. We slot our SIM card in, use the device for social media, entertainment, photography and other normal tasks.
This is so we can emulate how you’ll use the device if you buy it. It helps us understand all the quirks of a phone that you don’t notice if you just leave the device in a lab and test it. Of course, we do some lab tests, too, for some direct comparison.
So, we’ll game and we’ll do benchmark tests to work out how powerful a phone is; we’ll time a phone when it’s charging but also just work out how powering fits into our morning routine; we’ll test how long a phone takes to run down, but also just handle it day-to-day for a long period of time.
Our main areas of focus in our review are the phone’s design, display, cameras, performance, software and battery life, though of course its price is also important for our final judgement.
Not found the best phone yet?
You’re at the end of our best smartphone guide, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help you further. If you still can’t decide which model is right for you, we’ve got a tool that can compare all the phones together to help you determine which one suits you best, based on the cost.
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