My top 5 phones of 2024 – Ivan

Hey, Ivan here – I’m one of the editors here at GSMArena, but mostly, I’m the guy behind the camera. This means that in choosing my fave phones of the year, I usually put more weight on their camera performance. But I also care about the feel in the hand and the way they look – I do take all their photos for the reviews after all.

I usually end the year with a Galaxy S Ultra in my pocket but 2024 saw the first time this isn’t true. What a streak it was! From the Galaxy S20 Ultra that started it all, all the way to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which I bought, used for half of the year, and sold. So let’s start there.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

I’ve always advocated for the Galaxy S Ultra as one of the best cameraphones of the year. Samsung hasn’t made it easy. vivo, Xiaomi, and Oppo’s Pros and Ultras are adding better and better hardware. But Samsung is happy to compete only with Apple and Google. It’s a reasonable strategy in markets where Chinese flagship cameraphones aren’t on sale, but here at GSMArena HQ, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is dreadfully outgunned on imaging hardware.

Still, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is an excellent phone. It has a bigger display than most, and it’s the only real choice if you want a stylus. It’s crafted to the highest level, and it’s reliable to a fault. It’s Samsung’s best phone and its most capable cameraphone. Indeed, it takes wonderful images and has a solid 3x and 5x zoom combination that I loved.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Honor Magic V3

Samsung’s dropping off isn’t a Galaxy S Ultra exclusive affair. The Galaxy Z Fold6 is just as outclassed by its Chinese rivals. The Honor Magic V3 truly deserves its middle name. The phone is unbelievably light, yet it’s made to last. It has excellent screens in both quality and size (and aspect).

The Magic V3 is not only the foldable I’d take as my main phone for photography, I’d gladly choose it regardless of its form factor. I love a 70mm to 85mm zoom camera on my phone – but I’ll give the Magic V3’s 90mm f/3.0 a pass. The phone also breaks the preconceived notion that a folding phone needs to have a small battery with slow charging. High marks all around!

Honor Magic V3

Google Pixel 9 Pro

Because I’ve used a huge phone for the past few years, whenever I grasp a compact flagship, something inside begins to yearn. I almost bought a Google Pixel 9 Pro out of the gate, but Google had supply issues and the bigger Pro XL was the one available at launch. What could have been?

The Pixel 9 Pro has a good set of skills, a good-size battery, and good cameras. And there’s always been something special about a Pixel phone. Ultimately, though, the 48MP 113mm f/2.8 zoom camera wasn’t enticing enough for me due to its length and lack of close focusing.

Google Pixel 9 Pro

vivo X200 Pro mini

At a similar size to the Pixel, vivo’s X200 Pro mini is an even better phone. It has a whopping 5,700mAh battery with ludicrous charging speed. I’d wager that the triple 50MP camera system with Zeiss brains will be solid.

Sadly, vivo will only release the X200 and X200 Pro to Western markets and is keeping the X200 Pro mini China-locked. It’s a real shame – this mini makes its rivals look foolish.

vivo X100 Ultra

This is the phone I’ve had in my pocket from the moment our review was finished! Because I’m usually the first one to set up a phone in the office, I got exclusive dibs with the vivo X100 Ultra. I was immediately drawn to its 85mm zoom camera and shot a few test samples for our ‘in for review’ article. I was blown away by the quality of the zoom photos. I still am today. The zoom camera on the vivo X100 Ultra belongs on a dedicated camera.

The entire camera system is impeccable. It’s probably the snappiest shooter I’ve tested. The Zeiss color tuning is lovely too. This phone is the reason I haven’t taken my two big cameras with me on trips this year.

And the rest of the X100 Ultra is excellent. To me, Origin OS is miles prettier than Funtouch and feels smoother as well. I’ve sacrificed a bit due to the China-focused software, but everything I care about works after some dedicated tinkering – my Galaxy Watch6 Classic (this took a lot of tinkering), Google Wallet, etc.

So there you have it. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra – gone, vivo X100 Ultra – the disruptor.

I’ve been a fan of Samsung since the early days (I’ve owned the Galaxy S, two Galaxy S3s, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S7, Galaxy Note10+, all the way to the Galaxy S24 Ultra) and I think the company needs to push a bit on innovation because at the moment, it’s being outclassed by its Chinese rivals.

Let’s see what 2025 brings! Thanks for reading and have a good one!

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