The top Samsung smartphones for 2024

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a formidable contender in the 2024 smartphone arena. With its overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset powering best-in-class performance, an improved display on last year’s S23, chassis refinements, and an upgraded camera system, the S24 Ultra is a versatile flagship catering to diverse user needs, from gaming to photography and productivity.

Notable among its strengths is the integration of Galaxy AI, a suite of tools enhancing productivity and imaging capabilities. Features like Chat Assist, Transcript Assist, and Circle to Search with Google underscore Samsung’s focus on user experience and innovation. While the long-term pricing implications of these features remain uncertain, the same is true for all Galaxy AI devices.

Design-wise, the S24 Ultra refines its predecessor’s aesthetics with a titanium frame and matte finish, elevating durability and tactile appeal. The flat display, with Corning’s Gorilla Armor glass, promises improved visibility and scratch resistance. It’s also IP68 rated, which means you don’t have to worry too much about dust or waterproofing even without a case.

Despite minor drawbacks such as speaker placement and potential pricing uncertainties surrounding AI features, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a compelling option for users seeking a premium Android experience. Its blend of top-tier performance, innovative features, and refined design reaffirms Samsung’s position as a leader in the smartphone market, setting a high standard for flagship devices. For more on this one, read our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 is the best phone for most people. It has many of the benefits of its bigger brother (the Ultra), but cuts back on certain aspects to reduce the cost, resulting in a fantastic flagship that won’t see you spending upwards of $1,000.

The best news is that it shares the same chipset as the Ultra, at least in the US, meaning its performance is mightily impressive at this price. You should have no problem running demanding games like Honkai Star Rail or Diablo Immortal at the highest possible quality on the S24, which is something we can’t say about some flagships from other Android brands.

The sacrifices come in obvious places: the screen isn’t as high resolution and the battery is a little smaller. Battery life shouldn’t be a huge worry, however, as Samsung’s software is very good at managing battery, and 45W charging speeds mean it takes just over an hour to get from 0-100%. For more details, check out our Samsung Galaxy S24 review.

The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is a great mid-range option for anyone after a Samsung phone. Even if you’re on a tighter budget, it’s worth shopping around for deals on this handset – it has many flagship features without the high price.

With a 120Hz display, lovely build quality, and a shared design language with the big boys in the bunch, it definitely feels like a premium product. The battery is big and efficient, the main camera is pretty ace for the price, and all around, for day-to-day tasks, this is more than enough.

Still, there are of course drawbacks to buying a phone at a third of the cost of a flagship. The chip inside is nowhere near the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 if you really want to push your phone – the A54 is enough for standard stuff, but don’t expect to max out the graphical settings or do some in-depth photo editing.

That’s the main drawback, mind you. The camera is good enough – nowhere near the low-light or zoom performance of the S24 Ultra, however – while the trusted Samsung software support is a boon against some of the smaller-scale competition. It’s a great deal. For more information, read our Samsung Galaxy A54 5G review.

We’ve already included a budget option on this list, but if you want the absolute cheapest Samsung phone, the A14 5G delivers on that brief. Despite its low cost, it still offers a 6.6-inch Full HD+ LCD screen that looks beautifully vibrant.

The biggest setback for this model is that it uses One UI Core, rather than the standard One UI that other Samsung phones have in place. This sacrifices a few playback enhancements, Smart Suggestion, and a few other features, but all the essentials are still there.

Its 50MP sensor is physically much smaller — at 1/2.54 inches — than the premium S24 series, but during testing our reviewer was able to capture some high-quality shots in a range of lighting conditions. If you want the full lowdown, see our Samsung A14 5G review.

The Samsung Galaxy A34’s large 6.6-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen is perfect if you like playing mobile games or streaming shows on the go. It’s a well-designed model, with IP67 dust and water resistance certification that’s impressive for a model of its price.

Its cameras leave something to do desired, however. It’s absolutely fine for selfies and off-the-cuff snaps of locations and objects, but it falls flat when it comes to ultrawide snaps. Things end up getting weirdly distorted by the fish-eye perspective, and it’s disappointing for anyone who likes to take photos like that. Still, with a large screen, stylish design, and a fairly decent price, this phone is an excellent choice. Read our Samsung Galaxy A34 review.

The best foldable Samsung phone is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. What you get for the high price is a fast and powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, enough RAM and storage space for most people, plus a gorgeous tablet-style screen hidden away in an easy, foldable package.

The foldable screen means you can still carry the phone in your pocket, but if you need to do things like gaming, editing, or movie watching, you don’t need another device for the bigger screen experience.

There are drawbacks, of course. The price is high. And foldable screens don’t offer the same durability as standard ones so that investment isn’t as long-term as a flagship. Oh, and then there are little niggles, like the weird aspect ratio of the big screen, the width of the handset when folded, the mediocre battery life, and the slightly annoying visible crease in the screen.

These drawbacks are pretty inevitable right now in the foldable market, so you need to make sure you need a foldable before diving in. If you are set on getting in on the hinge action, this is definitely a great choice – if not the best. For more information, see our in-depth Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review.

The best clamshell Samsung phone is the latest – the Galaxy Z Flip 5. The form factor is fantastic, and even though others like Oppo and Motorola have tried, no one can seem to get a flip phone feeling quite as nice as Samsung.

It helps that the folding display is fantastic in its own right, with a 120Hz refresh rate ideal for a bit of mobile gaming and the AMOLED screen making content pop whether you’re streaming YouTube, Netflix, or anything else for that matter. The cameras are great, too, even if the low megapixel count of the 12MP wide and 12MP ultrawide might have you thinking otherwise on paper. We were pleasantly surprised with them while testing it out for our review.

Caveats, however, can be just as big as above. The crease from the screen can annoy some, the battery life isn’t anything to write home about, and the durability on foldable screens is still sub-par. The weirder thing is that a clamshell doesn’t have the big-screen benefit of a book-type foldable.

Still, this isn’t about whether foldables are worth it yet or not – this is simply the best Samsung clamshell, hands down. While the competition is heating up with every year that passes, there’s still that tried-and-true Samsung trustworthiness here, and a clear reason why the Korean brand leads the growing flip phone market. If you still want to know more, see our Samsung Z Flip 5 review.