This was the primary 12 months that an organization was capable of persuade me to change my major telephone from an iPhone to Android. Google’s Pixel 9 Professional was palms down one of the best Android telephone this 12 months. With its seamless Gemini integration, lovely design, and wonderful options, it really was the telephone that beat all telephones this 12 months.
We are able to’t low cost the OnePlus 12 as a result of not solely was it an ideal telephone, however it additionally helped Android Central decide that OnePlus actually has been probably the most improved Android model of the 12 months.
I feel what shocked me probably the most was that there weren’t that many nice foldable releases from Google or Samsung, and a lot of the higher foldable telephones this 12 months got here from manufacturers outdoors of the U.S. Honor’s Magic V3 clearly made one of the best foldable this 12 months. In fact, the telephone that constantly impresses me is the Razr Plus 2024, which was this 12 months’s finest flip telephone winner.
Here is what a few of my colleagues should say concerning the winners. Congratulations!
Finest Android telephone: Google Pixel 9 Professional
Nick Sutrich: In a sea of telephones that really feel related, Google has accomplished a monumental job of constructing a telephone that feels totally different — even when it seems to be a bit an excessive amount of like an iPhone on the surface for a few of us. The Google Pixel 9 Professional is Android Central’s favourite telephone of the 12 months due to its capacity to pack one of the best of the Pixel 9 Professional XL in a smaller physique, together with the killer triple rear cameras that used to solely come on the most important and costliest Pixel telephones.
Not solely that, however Google’s capacity to make use of Gemini on the core of the Pixel expertise to distinguish it from the pack is one thing to have fun. Nice new apps like Pixel Screenshots are recreation changers for what Google does finest — search — whereas enhancements to the general interface and consumer expertise with helpful AI options made this the favourite of most Android Central employees.
It won’t have obtained the very best rating of all of the premium telephones we reviewed this 12 months, however there’s one thing particular concerning the Pixel 9 Professional that saved us coming again and wanting extra regardless of the faults we discovered with it.
Runner-up: OnePlus 12
Our runner-up is the OnePlus 12. I’ll admit it: I haven’t cared a few OnePlus telephone in years, and based mostly on the numbers, most of you haven’t both. However the OnePlus 12 modified all that, and it not solely bought individuals speaking concerning the model once more, however it additionally bought them to begin shopping for OnePlus telephones once more.
Every part about this telephone reveals one of the best of OnePlus. From feature-rich software program that’s blazing quick and smoother than every other telephone to stupidly quick charging that will get you a top-up in minutes and even one of the crucial eye-friendly OLEDs within the enterprise, it’s practically inconceivable to not love the OnePlus 12. That makes it our runner-up for finest telephone of the 12 months.
Finest worth telephone: Google Pixel 8a
Harish Jonnalagadda: It ought to come as no shock that the Pixel 8a is one of the best mid-range telephone of 2024. It continues to have one of the best cameras on this class, and Google did an ideal job with the design this time — if something, I want it to the Pixel 9 Professional on this regard. Whereas the digital camera modules aren’t the newest, Google excels at eking out the absolute best photographs and movies; there are different telephones that come near the Pixel 8a, however none can meet its consistency.
Google additionally made optimistic strides with the OLED panel, and it now goes as much as 120Hz and will get considerably brighter even beneath harsh daylight. These are all optimistic enhancements, however it’s the software program that makes the Pixel 8a really stand out — it’s the solely mid-range telephone with a clear interface and long-term replace assure. With Google promising seven years of Android OS updates, it should keep related till 2031, which is not the case with every other inexpensive Android telephone.
Runner-up: OnePlus 12R
Coming in second is the OnePlus 12R. OnePlus determined to promote the telephone globally beginning this 12 months, and that in the end turned out to be the correct name; the telephone has one of the best {hardware} bundle on this phase, and though I nonetheless give the sting to the Pixel 8a due to its software program, the 12R is a lot better at gaming, has an even bigger battery, and unmatched quick charging tech.
Finest digital camera telephone: Vivo X100 sequence
Nick Sutrich: Android Central employees voted on the finest telephone digital camera of the 12 months, however the outcomes weren’t even shut. The Vivo X100 sequence took house 14 of our 20 whole votes, and it’s no shock, given how successfully the telephone can substitute a DSLR-style digital camera in most conditions. Vivo’s software program is extraordinarily user-friendly but presents highly effective choices for people who want it to do greater than they may count on from a telephone.
My favourite a part of the Vivo expertise is the convincing portrait-style photographs the telephone creates from practically any zoom stage and with any topic. Taking photographs of your meals is all of a sudden reworked right into a magazine-quality expertise, and every part from group photographs to panorama photographs is solely gorgeous due to the telephone’s correct colours, crisp particulars, and talent to seize movement with out that telltale smartphone blur.
Runner-up: Google Pixel 9 Professional
The runner-up isn’t any shock as a result of Google Pixel telephones sometimes win one of the best digital camera in any given 12 months. The Google Pixel 9 Professional is one of the best digital camera you should purchase within the U.S., undoubtedly. Google’s picture high quality is all the time top-notch, and it is without doubt one of the most dependable digital camera telephones you should use. Whenever you take a photograph with a Pixel, there’s nearly by no means a time it’s not picture.
Google ramped issues up a notch this 12 months with superior new options like Add Me, which assist get the photographer within the group shot by cleverly utilizing AI to sew two footage collectively. Because of some glorious UI design and options which can be constantly enjoyable to make use of, the Pixel 9 Professional is the digital camera telephone to get in the event you can’t get a Vivo X100.
Finest foldable telephone: Honor Magic V3
Andrew Myrick: Effectively, would not you recognize it? Neither Samsung nor Google will take house the “finest foldable telephone” crown in 2024. As a substitute, it is the Honor Magic V3 that continues to show heads and impress regardless of not even being obtainable in North America.
The Magic V3 packs a punch in all the correct methods, beginning with a design that’s each extremely smooth and light-weight. As famous in our assessment, “The Galaxy S24 Extremely is 2g heavier than the Magic V3,” which is simply insane when you think about the V3 gives a 6.43-inch cowl show and a 7.92-inch internal display.
Honor made only a few sacrifices with the Magic V3, with the most important situation being the “common battery life.” Apart from that, now we have flagship specs throughout the board, with the V3 being powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Honor did not skimp on the cameras both, with the array comprised of a 50MP essential, 50MP periscope telephoto, and a 40MP ultrawide.
Runner-up: Google Pixel 9 Professional Fold
Coming in second place was the Pixel 9 Professional Fold, which Google took in a totally surprising course. As a substitute of trying to refine the passport model from the unique Pixel Fold, the 9 Professional Fold is extra according to the OnePlus Open and the aforementioned Honor Magic V3.
The Pixel 9 Professional Fold’s cowl display is similar measurement because the Pixel 9 whereas unfolding to disclose a gorgeous 8-inch AMOLED show. It is powered by Google’s newest Tensor G4, paired with 16GB of RAM and as much as 512GB of storage. Even the battery life is incredible, simply lasting for greater than a day with common use. We simply actually want it had the identical cameras because the Pixel 9 Professional and 9 Professional XL.
Finest flip telephone: Motorola Razr Plus 2024
Derrek Lee: Motorola has had one thing of a resurgence lately. Whereas Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip lineup has been fairly same-y for the previous couple of generations, Motorola got here out of left discipline with a revamped Razr in 2023, then gave it a fairly substantial improve in 2024.
The Motorola Razr Plus 2024 is technically not probably the most highly effective flip telephone in the marketplace — that distinction goes to the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and its extra highly effective chipset — nonetheless, Motorola makes up for it in different methods, with the general expertise culminating in a telephone that I haven’t wished to place down since I bought my palms on it. The design feels so refined with a powerful hinge, IPX8 water resistance, and vegan leather-based on the again of each mannequin.
I even have nearly no complaints concerning the specs; the Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 and 12GB of RAM really feel loads speedy, the 4,000mAh battery doesn’t make me really feel nervous, and the brand new 50MP major digital camera takes photographs that I can truly use. Plus, the 4-inch cowl display is a blast to make use of, with entry to almost all your apps.
Runner-up: Xiaomi Combine Flip
Whereas the Razr Plus 2024 gained practically unanimously, the runner-up was the Xiaomi Combine Flip, which encompasses a extra highly effective Snapdragon chipset and an equally giant (though larger by 0.01 inches) cowl display. As Xiaomi’s first flip telephone, the Combine Flip is kind of spectacular, with a shocking design, an ideal set of Leica-powered cameras, and an incredibly giant battery for a flip telephone. The one drawback is that the telephone isn’t obtainable in North America or Australia.
Most improved Android model: OnePlus
Harish Jonnalagadda: OnePlus had a standout 2024, and the producer did not put a foot improper within the final 12 months. The OnePlus Open remains to be among the best foldables round, the OnePlus Pad 2 is a terrific mid-range pill, and the OnePlus 12R is a viable different to the Pixel 8a.
But it surely’s the OnePlus 12 that is significantly notable. Whereas OnePlus rolled out flagships for the higher a part of a decade, its earlier efforts could not fairly measure as much as what Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Google needed to supply. That modified with the OnePlus 12, with the gadget delivering a lot better cameras, a brighter AMOLED with eye-friendly tech, and class-leading battery life.
OnePlus managed to deal with a number of of its shortcomings this 12 months, and the truth that it now has gadgets to tackle one of the best flagships, in addition to mid-range telephones, makes it really deserving of the moniker of probably the most improved model of 2024.