I say this yearly, however 2024 has been significantly busy, with a cavalcade of telephone launches occurring all year long. I used simply over 60 telephones this 12 months (62 to be actual), operating the gamut from the entry-level CMF Cellphone 1 to Honor’s excellent Magic V3 foldable.
What I noticed this 12 months is that there are not any unhealthy telephones anymore — simply unhealthy pricing. Fortunately, Prime Day rectifies that situation to a level, with loads of terrific offers on the perfect telephones of the 12 months. The OnePlus 12 instantly stands out on this regard, with the telephone delivering a placing design, highly effective {hardware}, a lot better cameras, and among the finest 120Hz AMOLED panels accessible right now. The telephone is right down to $599 on Amazon, making it a good discount.
Though it did not launch this 12 months, the Pixel 8 Professional continues to be an important general selection when you want flagship cameras and AI-focused options, and it has a good deal too, with the bottom mannequin right down to $719. The mid-range Pixel 8a, in the meantime, is an at all-time low proper now, coming in at simply $379 — making it among the finest telephone offers of the 12 months. However I might suggest getting the Pixel 8 as a substitute; it has a greater design, nice cameras, and you will get it for simply $402 — simply $23 greater than the 8a.
In the event you’re prepared to modify to a foldable, the OnePlus Open is promoting for $1,139, and that could be a good worth contemplating what you are getting. And when you’re a Samsung consumer and do not wish to swap to a different producer, the recently-launched Galaxy Z Fold 6 is accessible for $1,399 — an enormous $500 low cost.
I do know that three of the choices above did not launch this 12 months, however with telephones designed to last more, you simply do not get generational upgrades on a yearly foundation, and all the telephones listed above ought to final a number of years with none points.
If I needed to decide only one telephone as my absolute favourite, it will be the Vivo X100 Extremely; it has the perfect cameras of any system right now, the design is beautiful, and it has among the finest {hardware} packages and battery tech. Nonetheless, the telephone is proscribed to China, would not include the Play Retailer pre-installed, and even when you purchased it by way of a reseller, you miss out on after-sale service, and that is not well worth the problem.
The OnePlus 12 is a dependable various to contemplate. The system is obtainable in over 30 international locations, and it combines an important {hardware} package deal with a placing design, vivid AMOLED panel, highly effective {hardware}, long-lasting battery, and 100W charging tech. However the greatest replace is across the cameras; the telephone goes toe-to-toe with the likes of the Galaxy S24 on this regard, and that is no small feat.
Mid-range telephones are higher than ever, and whereas I might usually recommend the Pixel 8a, the Pixel 8 is just too good of a deal to move up. The telephone has a glass again with an aluminum mid-frame, and it has higher shatter resistance than the 8a. The {hardware} is identical, however the Pixel 8 is ready to ship barely higher efficiency in common use. The cameras are higher as nicely, and the system measures as much as the Pixel 8 Professional — regardless that it misses out on a superb zoom lens. The truth that it is promoting at $402 makes this a incredible deal.
The Pixel 8 Professional has its share of flaws, however I actually used the telephone for a superb chunk of 2024, and it proved to be a dependable workhorse. The {hardware} is not the perfect round — it would not deal with demanding video games — however it would not have points in each day use, and the OLED panel is a lot better than I initially thought. It is the cameras that give the Pixel 8 Professional a definite edge, with the telephone taking really excellent images and movies. Sure, the Pixel 9 Professional XL is even higher, however with the Pixel 8 Professional right down to $719, you might be getting a a lot better worth — and the identical variety of software program updates.
The Open launched simply over a 12 months in the past, however it’s nonetheless a incredible foldable. The sizing is good; you get a large cowl display screen and an internal panel that is nice to learn and stream content material, and the hinge has one of many smoothest articulations of any foldable I used. The crease is barely noticeable, the cameras have gotten a lot better because of software program updates, and also you get dependable battery life with quick charging tech. Now that it’s right down to $1,139, this is without doubt one of the most reasonably priced foldables round.
Lastly, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is notable as a result of it made its debut simply two months in the past, and Samsung is one way or the other discounting it by $500. That brings the foldable to $1,399, and whereas that is nonetheless rather a lot, it’s a higher deal than what we have seen in earlier years. Samsung did not make too many modifications to the system, as a substitute specializing in sprucing the Z Fold 5. That in itself is a giant deal, and when you want Samsung’s telephones and wish to swap to a foldable, now could be the time to take action.
