Best big phones 2024

The best big phones have a lot of overlap with the best phones overall, due to how phone makers have been gradually enlarging their phones over the past few years. But if screen size or battery size are your particular priorities when purchasing a new phone, this is the guide you need.

Alongside their more expansive displays and improved longevity on a charge, the best big phones pack more elaborate cameras, with a greater quantity of lenses and the best optics and sensors on the market. Rest assured, we've tested them all.

If you're ready to go big on your next phone, we've put together a list of some of our super-sized favorites. And should you want one of the best small phones instead, we've got you covered there, too.

The quick list

Best big phone overall

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review.

(Image credit: Future)
The ultimate big smartphone

Specifications

Display size: 6.8-inch AMOLED
CPU: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
RAM: 12GB
Storage / Expandable: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB / No
Cameras (back / front): 200MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x telephoto, 50MP 5x telephoto / 12MP
Weight: 8.2 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 16:45

Reasons to buy

+
Lots of AI smarts
+
Impressive battery life
+
Mighty chipset
+
7 years of updates
+
Cameras remain excellent

Reasons to avoid

-
Most expensive Galaxy S Ultra yet
-
5x telephoto instead of previous 10x

The Galaxy S24 Ultra deserves its status at the top of the big phones list. First off, with a 6.8-inch, 120Hz QHD OLED and impressive color and brightness levels, its display makes great use of the handset’s size.  The rest of the phone’s excellent too, offering top-quality cameras, battery life, benchmark results and software update schedule. And that’s not to mention the new Galaxy AI features, or the included S Pen.

Samsung has made the Galaxy S24 Ultra more expensive than last year,  and the 5x telephoto does feel like a downgrade compared to Samsung’s old 10x camera. This is still the ultimate phone if you want to live large.

Read our full Galaxy S24 Ultra review.

Best big iPhone

iPhone 15 Pro Max Action mode with 5x telephoto lensEditor's Choice

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)
The best big iPhone available for now

Specifications

Display size: 6.7-inch OLED
CPU: A17 Pro
RAM: 8GB
Storage / Expandable: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB / No
Cameras (back / front): 48MP wide, 12MP ultrawide, 12MP telephoto / 12MP
Weight: 7.8 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 14:02

Reasons to buy

+
Best-in-class cameras
+
Amazing battery life
+
Action button and titanium sides
+
Mighty A17 Pro chip

Reasons to avoid

-
More expensive than before
-
Action button limited to one function
-
20W charging is slow

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is one of the best big phones around, and without doubt the best big iPhone, which may be all you need to hear to convince it’s worth buying.

Thanks to a customizable Action button, a better chipset,a lighter design and an improved zoom camera, you will want for nothing with the iPhone 15 Pro Max. It’s a shame it’s so expensive though. And that the charging is a bit slow. This is forgivable to some degree though, considering how much you still get.

Read our full iPhone 15 Pro Max review.

Best big phone value

OnePlus 12 held in the hand.

(Image credit: Future)
The best big phone value

Specifications

Display size: 6.8-inch OLED
CPU: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
RAM: 12GB, 16GB
Storage / Expandable: 256GB, 512GB / No
Cameras (back / front): 50MP main, 48MP ultrawide, 64MP 3x telephoto / 32MP
Weight: 7.76 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 17:41

Reasons to buy

+
Insanely good battery life
+
Wireless charging available again
+
Improved performance
+
Cheaper than average flagship

Reasons to avoid

-
Lacks AI features
-
Cameras struggle in low light

OnePlus always offers a great value when it comes to flagship phones, which makes the OnePlus 12 the perfect option for wanting a top-quality display for less than the competition. As well as offering a 6.8-inch 2K OLED display with 120Hz, you also get one of the biggest batteries of any current smartphone, and other cutting-edge tech like a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, 80W or 100W wired charging (depending on the region), 50W wireless charging and RAM and storage to spare.

The cameras on the OnePlus 12 perform well thanks to their Hasselblad tuning, although we weren’t that impressed with what they capture in dark conditions. And OnePlus is currently steering away from AI features, which you could see as neglecting a key developing area of smartphone tech. There’s little in terms of actual complaints to make about this phone though, and it should suit a wide variety of users very well.

Read our full OnePlus 12 review.

Best big phone for cameras

Google Pixel 8 Pro held in hand.

(Image credit: Future)
A great camera value

Specifications

Display: 6.7-inch OLED (1,344 x 2,992; 1-120Hz)
CPU: Tensor G3
RAM: 12GB
Storage / Expandable: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB / No
Rear cameras: 50MP (f/1.7) main, 48MP (f/2.0) ultrawide, 48MP (f/2,8) with 5x optical zoom
Front camera: 10.5MP (f/2.2)
Weight: 7.5 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 10:03

Reasons to buy

+
Improved Pro camera features
+
Brighter Super Actua Display
+
Seven years of updates

Reasons to avoid

-
Weaker than average battery life
-
Lacks performance power compared to other phones

It's not just the Pixel 8 Pro's display that's large - it's also got a big brain thanks to Google's latest AI trickery. Photo editing, productivity and call screening have all gotten smarter in the latest pro Pixel, and will continue to develop thanks to a very generous seven years of promised updates.

Google's also put effort into improving the Pixel 8 Pro's cameras, offering more granular "Pro" controls for users who know what they're doing with their cameras. The new Super Actua display is very bright too, helping you read the display in strong sunlight and enjoy its vivid colors.

The two key issues with the Pixel 8 Pro are that its battery life, while much better than last year's Pixel 7 Pro, is still a little too short compared to rival phones. And similarly its Tensor G3 chip can't keep up when it comes to CPU and GPU performance, making this an underwhelming phone for gaming or other processor-intensive apps. But if you prioritize brains over brawn, the Pixel 8 Pro is still likely the right big phone for you.

Read our full Pixel 8 Pro review.

Best big foldable phone

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 multiwindow 2 apps at once

(Image credit: Future)
The best big phone with a foldable screen

Specifications

Display: Interior: 7.6 inch OLED (2176 x 1812; 120Hz); Exterior: 6.2 inches (2316 x 904; 120Hz)
CPU: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
RAM: 12GB
Storage / Expandable: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB / No
Cameras (Back/Front) : 50MP wide (f/1.8), 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 10MP telephoto (f/2.4) / 10MP selfie (f/2.2), 4MP under-display (f/1.8)
Weight: 8.9 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 10:55 (60Hz)

Reasons to buy

+
Lighter design and tighter hinge
+
Multitasking improvements
+
Battery life improved

Reasons to avoid

-
S Pen still not included
-
Still very expensive

You can't get a phone much bigger than a full-size folding phone, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is our current favorite.

Opening up to 7.8 inches, but weighing less than last year and offering a lighter design, the practical concerns of using a phone of this size have been reduced. It's still expensive and fragile, but being able to open up to four apps at once and interact with them via touch (or optional stylus) is the kind of multitasking no other phone can match.

While its cameras and battery life are improved, they still can't match the best regular smartphones for performance here. Some people searching for big phones will want greater balance, but if size is all that matters, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 delivers.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review.

Best big iPhone value

Apple iPhone 15 Plus review.

(Image credit: Future)
The best big phone for iPhone fans with smaller budgets

Specifications

Display size: 6.7 inch OLED (2778 x 1284)
CPU: A16 Bionic
RAM: 6GB
Storage / Expandable: 128GB,256GB,512GB/No
Rear camera: 48MP main (f/1.6), 12MP ultra wide (f/2.4)
Front camera: 12MP (f/1.9)
Weight: 7.1 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 14:14

Reasons to buy

+
Amazing battery life
+
Improved photography with 2x zoom mode
+
Excellent performance

Reasons to avoid

-
Display is 60Hz only
-
No telephoto camera
-
20W max charging is slow

The iPhone 15 Plus is here to let you get an iPhone that's the same size as the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but for $300 less.

Unfortunately for this larger basic iPhone, it doesn't have a 120Hz display refresh rate, a telephoto camera, or particularly fast charging. These are all things that its Android-using rivals all have, meaning it's a hard sell in some ways.

Lucky for Apple, there's still plenty to like about the iPhone 15 Plus. Its main, 2x ultrawide and selfie photos are all very strong, its A16 Bionic chipset still outperforms anything excluding the iPhone 15 Pro, and it's surprisingly light for its size. Plus, with all the standard iPhone software and UI polish, including a new Dynamic Island on the display, it's still a joy to use.

Read our full iPhone 15 Plus review.

Best big phone refresh rate

best big phones Motorola Edge Plus 2022

The 6.7-inch display on the Motorola Edge Plus can refresh at 144Hz. (Image credit: Tom's Guide)
Best big phone with a 144Hz refresh rate

Specifications

Display: 6.7-inch AMOLED (2400 x 1080)
CPU: Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
RAM: 8GB, 12GB
Storage / Expandable: 128GB, 256GB / No
Cameras (back/front): 50MP main, 50MP ultrawide, 2MP depth / 60MP
Weight: 6.9 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 6:57 (144Hz), 8:24 (60Hz)

Reasons to buy

+
144Hz refresh rate
+
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset delivers top performance

Reasons to avoid

-
No telephoto lens
-
Subpar battery life

Fast-refreshing displays are becoming a more common feature among flagship phones, though most of the phones on this list top out at a 120Hz rate. The Motorola Edge Plus (2022) does that one better with a 6.7-inch panel that refreshes at 144Hz when your on-screen activity demands it. That makes for smoother scrolling and more immersive graphics.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset powering Motorola’s flagship can keep up with any Android phone released in 2022, and the 50MP main camera can produce some great shots in the right conditions. We wish the 4,800 mAh battery in the Motorola Edge Plus was better equipped to last long on a charge, and Motorola’s software upgrade policy lags behind Samsung’s. But if you can find this flagship at the right price, the Motorola Edge Plus has some appeal to gamers who like big displays.

Read our full Motorola Edge Plus (2022) review.

How to choose the best big phone for you

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.

  • Android or iPhone? Android phones give you more choice in terms of price, size and innovative designs — many of them happen to be larger, too. However, iPhones offer speedier software updates, better games and apps and better security and privacy. See our iPhone vs Android face-off.
  • Unlocked or carrier? Most shoppers in the U.S. buy new phones through their wireless carrier. But an unlocked phone gives you the freedom to buy the device without any sort of contract and then bring it to the provider you want to use.
  • Screen size: For fans of big phones, 6 inches and up is a good place to start. The biggest phones are 6.5 to just under 7 inches. If you want something you can easily use with one hand, go with one of the best small phones with a screen under 6 inches.
  • Cameras: Don't pay attention to the megapixel count. Instead, look at camera face-offs between phones to see the photo quality and look for special features like Night Mode to get better quality in low light. Also see our best camera phone roundup.
  • Battery life: Generally, phones with larger batteries (measured in mAh) offer the longest battery life, but that's not always the case. That's why we run our own custom battery tests, where phones repeatedly load webpages over a T-Mobile data connection while set to 150 nits of display brightness until they run out of juice.

How we test smartphones

In order for a smartphone to make our best phone list, it needs to excel on several tests that we run on every handset. We perform some of these tests in our labs and some in the real world.

When it comes to performance, we rely on such synthetic benchmarks as Geekbench 5 and 3DMark to measure graphics performance. These tests allow us to compare performance across iPhones and Android devices. We also run a real-world video transcoding test on each phone using the Adobe Premiere Rush app and time the result. (We unfortunately have to skip this test on some phones due to app compatibility issues, but we attempt this benchmark with each device we get in to review.)

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Performance benchmarks
Row 0 - Cell 0 Geekbench 5 (single-core / multicore)3DMark Wild Life Unlimited (FPS)
Galaxy S23 Ultra1578 / 508188
iPhone 14 Pro Max1882 / 533374
OnePlus 111166 / 492684
Pixel 7 Pro1060 / 3046N/A
Galaxy Z Fold 5TBC81
iPhone 14 Plus1735 / 447369
Motorola Edge Plus (2022)1196 / 364461

To measure the quality of a phone's display, we perform lab tests to determine the brightness of the panel (in nits), as well as how colorful each screen is (DCI-P3 color gamut). In these cases, higher numbers are better. We also measure color accuracy of each panel with a Delta-E rating, where lower numbers are better and score of 0 is perfect.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Display benchmarks
Row 0 - Cell 0 sRGB (%)DCI-P3 (%)Delta-E
Galaxy S23 Ultra193 (Vivid) / 111 (Natural)137 (Vivid) / 79 (Natural)0.37 (Vivid) / 0.3 (Natural)
iPhone 14 Pro Max11783.20.26
OnePlus 11171 (Vivid) / 117 (Natural)121 (Vivid) / 83 (Natural)0.31 (Vivid) / 0.24 (Natural)
Pixel 7 ProN/A90.10.34 (Inner) / 0.33 (Outer)
Galaxy Z Fold 5 (inner/outer display)TBC140.6/1280.09/0.1
iPhone 14 Plus120.685.40.25
Motorola Edge Plus (2022)192 (Saturated) / 104 (Natural)136 (Vivid) / 74 (Natural)0.33 (Vivid) / 0.28 (Natural)

One of the most important tests we run is the Tom's Guide battery test. We run a web surfing test over 5G (or 4G if the phone doesn't have 5G support) at 150 nits of screen brightness until the battery gives out. In general, a phone that lasts 10 hours or more is good, and anything above 11 hours makes our list of the best phone battery life.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Battery life benchmark
Row 0 - Cell 0 Battery life (Hrs:Mins)
Galaxy S23 Ultra12:22 (Adaptive) / 13:09 (60Hz)
iPhone 14 Pro Max14:42
OnePlus 1113:10 (Adaptive) / 12:48 (60Hz)
Pixel 7 Pro6:31
Galaxy Z Fold 410:55 (inner, 60Hz)
iPhone 14 Plus11:57
Motorola Edge Plus (2022)6:57 (144Hz) / 8:24 (60Hz)

Last but not least, we take the best phones out in the field to take photos outdoors, indoors and at night in low light to see how they perform versus their closest competitors. We take shots of landscapes, food, portraits and more, and also allow you to be the judge with side-by-side comparisons in our reviews. 

Which is the best big phone?

To summarize, we think the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best large smartphone you can get today. But if you're an iOS fan, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is a close second. 

Which of the best big phones is largest?

Of the regular phones on this list, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is largest, at 6.8 inches. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 along with the Pixel Fold are larger when unfolded however, at 7.6 inches.

Jordan Palmer
Phones Editor

Jordan is the Phones Editor for Tom's Guide, covering all things phone-related. He's written about phones for over six years and plans to continue for a long while to come. He loves nothing more than relaxing in his home with a book, game, or his latest personal writing project. Jordan likes finding new things to dive into, from books and games to new mechanical keyboard switches and fun keycap sets. Outside of work, you can find him poring over open-source software and his studies.

With contributions from
  • SynopsisSnake
    admin said:
    Here are the best big phones with screens 6 inches or larger. They boast long battery life and offer immersive displays for watching media.

    Best big phones of 2020: Top phablets 6 inches or larger : Read more

    I apologize if I do sound crude, but I find your list to be remarkably weak. Not for its content, or composing relativity however, the article seems to be directed at certain manufacturer while left out the majorities with their products already in the market. It is probably safe to say that these aforementioned models seems most likely to be "The Poster Boy's List"?

    Unless, you do think that I spout such groundless nonsense, then please reply with sounding respond as to why "Xiaomi - Mi Max 3" or "Huawei - Mate 20X" did not even appear anywhere on this article.

    Good day to you, gentlemen-!
    Reply
  • Petr Berka
    Squeezing Mate20X in my hands, thinking: PATHETIC in 2021.

    SSnake: I think the phone is not listed because maybe it is obsolete?

    Will we get 7 incher in 2021 with better screen ratio than modern "5000:9“ with high end camera setup and decent battery life? Or should I rather buy dedicated camera again?
    Reply
  • Shaun_88
    I have to ask man,

    having a mate20x, i personally would like to try something that is a little shorter and but a little wider.
    atleast from afar, the single surface duo 2 screen jumps out to me.

    But are short and wide phones completely dead? because i have not found anything when the urge to greedily upgrade to fancier cameras (which i barely use) comes forth.
    Reply