A look at our best phones list proves that it's been a great year for phones, and an even better year if you're a fan of Apple's handsets. The iPhone 16 Pro Max heads into the final weeks of the year, as the best phone we've tested during the past 12 months.
1. iPhone 16 Pro Max: Best overall
2. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Best Samsung phone
3. Pixel 9 Pro: Smartest phone
4. Pixel 8a: Best under $500
5. iPhone 16: Best iPhone value
6. Galaxy S24 FE: Affordable AI
7. OnePlus 12: Best value flagship
8. Pixel 9: Google's cheapest flagship
9. OnePlus 12R: Best Android value
10. OnePlus Open: Best foldable
11. Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro: Battery champ
Apple's entire iPhone 16 lineup has something to people looking for phones that last all day on a charge, take outstanding pictures and give you access to a staggering amount of mobile apps. But the iPhone 16 Pro Max stand out in particular by offering the biggest screen ever on an iPhone while also lasting longer on a charge than any iPhone we've ever tested. The arrival of Apple Intelligence features bringing AI capabilities to Apple's devices adds to the phone's appeal.
Android users have some excelent options too, highlighted by the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. It may have come up short against the iPhone 16 Pro Max in our photo comparisons, but the S24 Ultra benefits from a powerful chipset and new Galaxy AI features. Speaking of smart devices, don't overlook either the Pixel 9 Pro or Pixel 8a, with the latter Google phone delivering a lot of value for a sub-$500 price.
I've worked with the rest of the phones team to come up with these best phone picks using the results of Tom's Guide testing as well as head-to-head comparisons between the dozens of phones that have come into our lab this year. I've been reviewing phones since the first iPhone arrived in 2007, and when you take into account the background of the other Tom's Guide phone team members, we've got more than four decades of experience evaluating phones from every possible angle.
The very best phones offer great cameras, enough performance to easily multitask or play intensive games and the kind of battery life to last the whole day. We test each one of those things for every smartphone we review — and we also look at software, display quality and phone design. Read on to find the phone that matches your wish list, as well as some advice for finding great deals on these top models during the holiday shopping season.
I'm the managing editor for mobile at Tom's Guide, where I've been working since 2015. In total, I've covered technology for more than 20 years, and I was there when Steve Jobs showed off the original iPhone back in 2007. I've been looking at and testing phones since that day, and if you visit my Northern California home, you can marvel at the stacks of phones I keep handy for head-to-head testing.
Black Friday phone deals
Black Friday deals are here, giving you the opportunity to pick up the best phones at a significant discount. But what kind of savings can you expect, and how can you tell if a phone deal delivers real value?
The Tom's Guide team is keeping track of the best Black Friday phone deals, highlighting only the offers that we think are worthwhile. We're constantly updating that guide, too, so that should be the first place that you check for the latest deals. (If you're interested specifically in the iPhone, you can also look at our guide to the best Black Friday Apple deals to narrow down your search.)
You're most likely to find deals on phones like the Galaxy S24 and OnePlus 12. These models came out earlier in the year, and they're expected to be replaced by newer models once 2025 rolls around. That means retailers are going to drop prices to help clear out inventory. You should be able to find discounts of around $100 to $200 — sometimes more on pricier models — if you don't mind that a newer version of the phone you're buying will be available in a matter of weeks.
The iPhone 16 has come out more recently, making deals harder to come by, but they're still out there — you just have to go to phone carriers. You'll find some significant discounts — in some cases, the carrier will give you a new device for free — but that will require you to commit to anywhere from 24 to 36 months of service from that carrier, since that free phone comes via credits to your monthly bill. Often, you'll need to trade in your current phone to get the best deal.
The Pixel 9 series has come out recently, too, but with Black Friday now upon us, we're starting to see deals at both carriers and retailers alike.
The best phone overall
The iPhone 16 Pro Max holds down the top spot among the best phones based on the impressive results it produced when my colleagues and I got the chance to test its display, processing power and — especially — its cameras. The new phone offers a bigger screen (without increasing its overall size too much from the iPhone 15 Pro), an upgraded ultrawide camera and a faster processor. Even better, the first Apple Intelligence features are now available, with more to come in subsequent iOS updates for the next few months.
You won't have to ditch your iPhone 15 Pro Max if you upgraded a year ago, and anyone worried about missing out on the first round of Apple Intelligence features should relax. While a good first step, Apple Intelligence is more of a nice-to-have than a must-have at this point. That said, there are plenty of compelling reasons to upgrade to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, particularly if you've got an iPhone that's at least a couple years old.
Price and value: While this model commands the same $1,199 cost as its predecessor, a larger 6.9-inch screen and bigger battery means you're getting more for your money. That particularly true in light of the $100 price hike Samsung gave to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which means Apple's top device remains the less expensive option. "Less expensive" is relative, though, as the $.1199 starting price is a lot for some people to pay.
Camera performance: iPhones live and die by their cameras, and the telephoto lens on the iPhone 16 Pro Max offers some notable improvements to both its main camera and its ultrawide lens. These complement the 5x telephoto lens that returns from the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Because the iPhone 16 Pro features the same camera setup for $200 less, we rank that phone as the best camera phone overall, but you won't be disappointed with what the iPhone 16 Pro Max cameras produce. We've even put it through a 200 photo face-off against the Galaxy S24 Ultra to crown an undisputed champion, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max came out on top on the strength of its superior dynamic range and low-light shooting capabilities.
Battery and charging: The battery on the iPhone 16 Pro Max lasts more than 17.5 hours on our battery test, where we have a phone surf the web until its battery gives out. The average phone barely makes it past 10 hours, but the iPhone 16 Pro Max was just getting warmed up at that point. No other iPhone has ever lasted that long, with the iPhone 16 Plus coming the closest with an average result of around 16.5 hours. If only the phone could charge quickly, but at least MagSafe charging is improved to 25W speed.
Overall performance: Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip dishes up heated competition, but the A18 Pro chipset powering the iPhone 16 Pro Max turns out to be a very fast chip, topping the Snapdragon silicon in speed testing and tasks like video encoding. (Samsung's Galaxy S24 phones did turn in better scores with higher frame rates in graphics testing.). We noticed the extra oomph when using the iPhone 16 Pro Max to perform everyday tasks and switch between apps. When we used the iPhone 16 Pro Max to transcode a video, the task took half as long as it did on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Verdict: The iPhone 16 Pro Max wins top marks for design, photography and performance. Charging speed and digital zoom features could be further refined, and it's very expensive relative to some of the other phones on this list, but you definitely get a lot of power and polish for your money.
Read the full review: iPhone 16 Pro Max
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | This is the most expensive iPhone Apple sells. You can save $200 with the iPhone 16 Pro, if you don't mind the smaller screen and less battery life. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Cameras | The iPhone 16 Pro Max is one of the best camera phones we've tested, though both the Pix9 Galaxy S24 Ultra beat it on zoomed shots. | ★★★★☆ |
| Power | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered phones may have caught up to Apple's silicon, but the A18 Pro continues to be a top performer, particularly when it comes to overall speed and daily tasks. | ★★★★★ |
| Battery life | You won't need to charge your phone up during the day. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the second longest-lasting iPhone we've ever tested, finishing ahead of the iPhone 16 Plus. | ★★★★★ |
More on the iPhone 16 Pro Max
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Best Samsung phone
The Galaxy S24 Ultra offers the peak Android experience, with the kind of improvements you'd demand for such a premium phone — a better processor, a brighter display and camera fine-tuning. But this year's model stands out with the arrival of Galaxy AI features, which tap into artificial intelligence to handle tasks like translation, transcription and summaries. This may be Samsung's first attempt at putting AI front and center, but tools like Circle to Search and notes auto-formatting already felt very polished when I put them to the test. And more importantly, Samsung integrated its AI improvements into things you're already using your phone for, like photo editing, searching and writing messages. You don't have to learn new skills to get the most out of Galaxy AI.
Price and Value: Though its price went up up by $100 over the previous generation, you still get what you pay for with the Galaxy S24 Ultra. especially if you can find a lower price through the best Galaxy S24 Ultra deals. Seven years of software and security updates help justify the cost, though it's worth noting that Apple's premium phone remains $100 cheaper. Samsung is also a little slower with updates than I'd like to see, as the One UI 7 interface incorporating Android 15 isn't yet even though Android 15 has been available since September.
Camera performance: Swapping out a 10MP telephoto lens with a 10x zoom for a 50MP shooter with a 5x zoom felt like a step back to me, even though the new telephoto sensor offers higher resolution. (At least you can still enjoy 10x zooms by cropping down those 50MP shots. And the 100x Space Zoom feature is as impressive as before.) Even though I'm not a fan of the change, the Galaxy S24 Ultra remains a top camera phone, with a better handle on color than previous Samsung flagships. My colleague John Velasco compared 200 photos shot by the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S23 Ultra to gauge the camera improvements, and though they were slight year over year, you can see better color and more consistent quality in the S24 Ultra shots. Only the iPhone's superior low-light performance keeps the S24 Ultra out of the top spot for camera phones in my opinion.
Battery and charging: The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 powering the Galaxy S24 Ultra is very efficient, helping the S24 Ultra last for 16 hours and 45 minutes on our battery test, That's only 50 minutes behind the iPhone 16 Pro Max's impressive average. Wired charging speeds remain at 45W, which is good but slower than the OnePlus 12 and its 80W charging speeds.
Overall performance: In addition to its power management features, that Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 silicon inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra delivers stellar performance — enough to beat last year's iPhone 15 Pro models in some tests, particularly when it comes to graphics. And now that the iPhone 16 Pro models are out with A18 Pro silicon, Samsung's phone still tops them in graphics testing, though the iPhone proved to be the faster speed demon overall.
Unlike other S24 models, which use different chipsets depending on their region, every Galaxy S24 Ultra uses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, so you're guaranteed the best Android performance no matter where you live in the world.
Verdict: The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra gives the iPhone 16 lineup all it can handle, lasting longer than most other Android phones, but comes up short against the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Still, for Android users, this is the best phone you can get, especially with seven years of software support and the new smart AI features that Samsung keeps adding.
Read the full review: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Samsung raised the price on the Galaxy S24 Ultra by $100 over the S23 Ultra. This is the most expensive phone that doesn't fold. | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Cameras | The hardware that makes up the S24 Ultra's camera array impresses, but Samsung augments that with some great AI-powered features that help you edit and fine-tune your photos. | ★★★★☆ |
| Power | Forget about a performance gap with the iPhone. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 holds its own against any phone, particularly in terms of graphic pefromance. | ★★★★★ |
| Battery life | This is Samsung's longest-lasting phone, beating the latest many iPhone models on our battery test. | ★★★★★ |
More on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Smartest phone
AI is all the rage this year, with both Apple and Samsung adding AI-powered features to their phones. Google's an old hand at this, though, having switched to the AI-focused Tensor chipset with the Pixel 6. Now, we're up to Tensor G4 on the Google Pixel 9 Pro, and having used Apple Intelligence, Galaxy AI and Google's AI tools, I think Google has the most capable AI of them all.
Google says customers wanted a more compact version of the Pro to go with the big-screen model. (If you prefer more screen real estate, consider the Pixel 9 Pro XL, which has the exact same features as the regular Pro, but a 6.7-inch display and bigger battery, instead. It's also harder to use with one hand in my experience.)
Price and Value: The Pixel 9 Pro costs the same $999 that Google charged for the Pixel 8 Pro. But that older phone had a larger screen, which makes me feel like I'm being asked to pay more for less phone. Then again, with the improvements to battery life and display brightness — not to mention the latest AI features — you can't really claim that Google is shortchanging you on anything other than size.
Camera performance: Actual camera improvements are modest — a new ultrawide sensor adds a Macro mode that performed very well when I tried it out, though I think the iPhone 16's macro photos are a little sharper. (They're different phones, but the iPhone 16 Pro Max vs. Pixel 9 Pro XL photo face-off John Velasco did illustrates the superiority of Apple's macro images.) As for the Pixel 9 Pro's front camera, it gets an upgraded sensor, too, though I think Google needs to dial back the camera's tendency to make faces look too smooth. Really, though, the Pixel 9 Pro's camera performance lives on the strength of its photo processing, and that remains strong, the cameras producing well-composed shots that showed off fine details when I tested them.
Battery and charging: Battery life hasn't been a strong suit for recent Google phones, but the Pixel 9 Pro breaks that losing streak. With a 4,700 mAh battery and a more efficient Tensor G4 chipset, the Pixel 9 Pro lasted an average of 13 hours and 30 minutes in our web surfing test — behind the comparably sized iPhone 16 and Galaxy S24 models, sure, but well, ahead of that 10-hour average for other smartphones. Other Pixels struggled to reach even that threshold so I like what I've seen from the Pixel 9 Pro's ability to get through the day on a charge.
Overall performance: The Tensor G4 that powers the Pixel 9 Pro can't keep pace with other top Android phones in benchmark testing, and it trails the iPhone 16, too. But that's not the focus of Tensor. Instead, it powers a number of helpful AI features, including Pixel Screenshots for easy searches of content within screenshots, Add Me for inserting people into group shots and Call Notes for transcriptions and summaries of phone calls. Potentially, the best addition is Gemini Live, a smarter version of the Google Assistant. Pixel 9 Pro owners get a year of Gemini Advanced for supporting for complex features.
Some of the AI tools need some more polish, though they're still further along than Apple Intelligence features at the moment. Right now Pixel Screenshots has been the most useful addition for me since I take a lot of screenshots to remember important details. Using Pixel Screenshots, I'm able to search for those images by their content, and the Pixel 9 Pro is smart enough to show relevant results. If you're more into producing images from nothing, the Pixel Studio generative AI tool lets you create things with nothing more than text prompts.
Verdict: If you're willing to bet that the Pixel 9 Pro's AI features will improve over time, the camera performance, longer battery life and bright display should be enough to give you a great device right now.
Read the full review: Google Pixel 9 Pro
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | On the bright side, the Pixel 9 Pro costs the same $999 as the Pixel 8 Pro. But you're paying the same for a smaller screen. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Cameras | You'll find few hardware changes outside an improved ultrawide sensor and higher-resolution selfie cam, but the Pixel 9 Pro still takes great shots. And the AI features are second to none. | ★★★★☆ |
| Power | The Tensor G4 enables a bunch of new AI-powered features that make the Pixel 9 Pro standout. But it badly lags behind Samsung and Apple phones in terms of speed. | ★★★☆☆ |
| Battery life | We've finally got a series of Pixels that outlasts the average smartphone, with the Pixel 9 Pro beating the average result on our test by 3 hours. | ★★★★☆ |
More on the Google Pixel 9 Pro
