Black Friday, the actual day, is finally here. At this point we assume you already know what kind of phone you’re looking for, so we’ll jump straight to it. We tried to group related phones where possible. And before you ask, Apple is sitting this one out, so it’s an Android bonanza.
This means that the best camera phones you can get are going to be the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra or the top Pixel. Both cost around the same, both will last you around 7 years (with software support and parts for repair available), both have large screens and batteries. If you haven’t already, check out our Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. Pixel 9 Pro XL article for a head-to-head comparison.
If those are too big, the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Google Pixel 9 Pro are reasonably small – have a look at the 3D size comparison to see how they stack up against each other. The Samsungs have more processing power (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs. Tensor G4), but the Pixels have more RAM – double in the case of the S24 vs. 9 Pro.
There’s also the Google Pixel 9 – it’s the same size as the 9 Pro, has a similar screen (lower resolution and it isn’t an LTPO panel), the main and ultra wide cameras are actually the same, but there isn’t a telephoto lens. It’s the same G4 chipset too, though with only 12GB of RAM (that’s as much as the S24 Ultra has).
The Samsung Galaxy S24+ is a large phone – not as much as the Ultra, but still. Its cameras are the same as on the small S24, so not as capable as the Ultra. Still, you get a sharper, larger screen and bigger battery (with faster 45W charging to boot) compared to the small S24.
Alternatively, you can get the same size display (lower resolution, FHD+ vs. QHD+) at a lower price with the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE. Our comparison article has more details on what you’re giving up.
The Samsung Galaxy A35 is slated for 4 OS updates and is a good overall performer with a 6.6” 120Hz FHD+ OLED display, a 50+8MP camera and 5,000mAh battery. The Exynos 1380 is decent, but not great.
“Decent but not great” is more than can be said of the Tensor G3 inside the Google Pixel 8a. This phone is smaller with a 6.1” display and will get 7 OS updates. The camera is 64+13MP and the battery has 4,492mAh capacity.
If you’re looking to get into foldables or upgrade from an old model, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 is a solid $500 off. It’s got the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 performance and the mature multitasking features of One UI. The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is thinner (10.5mm closed vs. 12.1 for the Samsung) but heavier (257g vs. 239g).
This is with a larger 8.0” inner display compared to 7.6”. Only the Galaxy foldables have dust resistance (IP48), other foldables are only water resistant (IPX8). The Z Fold6 has a 50+10+12MP camera, while the Pixel has a 48+10.8+10.5MP camera with a longer telephoto lens (112mm vs. 66mm).
The other kind of foldable, the flip kind, is represented by the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 and Motorola razr 2024. The Samsung has a much faster chipset (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs. Dimensity 7300X). Both have comparable cover displays (3.4” vs. 3.6”) and inner displays (6.7” vs. 6.9”), similar batteries (4,000mAh vs. 4,200mAh) and cameras (50+12MP vs. 50+13MP).
If you like the Moto but want more performance, the Motorola razr+ 2023 is quite similar to the razr 2024 except for the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset.
The Red Magic 9S Pro is gaming phone with a unique feature – an active cooling fan, so that its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset maintains top performance even during long gaming sessions. The phone has a 6.8” display with an under display camera so it’s a perfect rectangle. There’s a large 6,500mAh battery with 80W fast charging (100% in 35 minutes).
Finally, the HMD Barbie is a simple feature phone that can keep the little ones off social media and it’s as pink as it gets.
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