Unlocking the Future: The Ultimate Guide to the Best Android Phones of 2024

The smartphone market is a hotbed of innovation and progress. It’s a scene filled with choice, its timeline peppered with the newest and the best. Everything a consumer could possibly want. Being a citizen of the tech scene means that sifting through the most enticing new offerings while choosing the right Android phone can be as much an adventure as it is an overwhelming experience. Our guide to the best Android phones around lays bear the cavernous world of users, opines on the elite, and directs you to the right phone for you, whether you’re a tech fan, a photographer, or looking for the best bang for your buck. It’s the best time in history to be looking for an Android phone in 2021.

Unveiling the Crown Jewel: SAMSUNG GALAXY S24 ULTRA

The hunt for the ‘best Android phone’ is often one of much promise and expectation. This is a device capable of impressive things. The front-runner is the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. This phone possesses a singular blend of features, including having the longest battery life of any Android smartphone, with a display that starts counter-clockwise, and a robust quad-camera system that works and shoots. The catch? It’s pricey, and it doesn’t come equipped with Qi2 magnetic charging.

Budget Meets Brilliance: GOOGLE PIXEL 8A

Getting a phone that combines affordability and excellence is a rarity, so the Google Pixel 8a, which starts at ₹33,000, is a welcome change. It is up there in terms of affordability, display, and is guaranteed by Google for seven years of updates. Although the Pixel 8a lacks a telephoto lens and has only 60 Hz refresh rate, it remains one of top mid-range phones.

A New Fold on the Horizon: ONEPLUS OPEN

The second entrant in the foldable phone race is here. The OnePlus Open is a dual-use phone that folds into a tablet, brings impressive multitasking ability and comes in a choice of two colours (Black Hole and Midnight Sea). It doesn’t boast wireless charging or official resistance ratings, but it’s a glimpse of how smartphones might look in the future.

Breaking Boundaries: NOTHING PHONE 2

The Nothing Phone 2 is the odd one out in a sea of sameness. The Glyph Interface is an interesting addition to smartphone tech, its minimalist camera bar and digital well-being features could be a useful nudge in the right direction. Despite the compromises it makes and its not-for-everyone appeal, it does enough differently for enough reasons to make the list.

Pro-Grade Excellence: GOOGLE PIXEL 8 PRO

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is a remarkable product, an object worthy of an engineering-led company built on a reputation for excellence. Throw in a raft of AI features, a camera system that rivals professional equipment, and a pledge of unparalleled support through software improvements and the Pixel 8 Pro is more than a phone – it’s as much a showcase of Google’s engineering as a testament to its creative prowess.

The Value Champion: ONEPLUS 12

And in this neverending pull between price and performance, the OnePlus 12 is the victor, with an outstandingly good display, fast charging and a pretty impressive camera setup at a cost saving over the flagship alternatives that many of its rivals would envy. OK, it has a few issues, but in terms of getting the best value flagship experience, the OnePlus 12 is a game changer.

Gaming Glory: ASUS ROG PHONE 8 PRO

When it comes to laptops, I prefer ones with more powerful specs, multiple ports and all the bells and whistles of a trimmable trixbox. Maybe that’s why I actually really like the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro. Sure, it’s basically the same phone as the regular ROG Phone 8. And yeah, your average user probably wouldn’t notice the difference between this and the new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, iPad Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max. But if there’s a dedicated audience of gamers and power users, it offers the world’s fastest high-refresh-rate mobile display, a giant battery, a dedicated auxiliary processor for gaming apps, dedicated gaming buttons, and even dedicated cooling with a unique vacuum-filled membrane. It sets the new bar on gaming phones, despite being a niche device that others will imitate.

Retro Redefined: MOTOROLA RAZR

Photo by GSMArenaThe Motorola Razr offers just that – the nostalgic shape of the old school flipphone, reimagined as a small, foldable device that is neither impossibly fragile nor a throwback phone. It brings together the compact size and feel of a phone that fits in the palm or a large pocket, without asking a user to accept shoddy build quality or a compromised experience. The Razr, with its puny battery and camera, is far from an ideal phone – but this is exactly what SS feels they have been missing all these years.

Exploring the Essence of an Android Phone

At its core, it’s more than a phone, it’s a connection. It’s a world of creation, customisation, and convenience all rolled into one. It’s ingenuity. It’s the future powered by technology and design, inside and out. An Android phone starts with a blank canvas. It’s a moment. It’s more. It’s an app. An endless stream of innovation. For the life you lead, made fun-sized. If shares images, it’s more than just a moment, it’s a story. A collection of memories, perfectly captured. From the first run to the full marathon, an Android phone is your partner. As it evolves, so does its purpose. This short sentence suggests a narrative, like a human interest story or even a plot. Take the potential character arc of a runner with an Android phone who, over time and with the right reasons, becomes a marathon champion. If and when their story is told using this footage, you’ll be right there with them.

At the end of the day, the Android phone in 2024 is an expansive concept – a limitless, adaptable thing. It’s a luxury device driven by tech and beauty; it’s a utilitarian tool that supports whatever job you might need to do. It’s a device that merged with a headset and became a universal hands-free solution. It’s a piece of software running on a screen on a stick you plug into your smart wall. It’s a friend, a lover, a companion, a storage unit. It’s whatever you want it to be, and it can always be better. By John Brownlee, Editor in Chief at New Atlas, on 7 February 2023.