In this article, we will list the 15 best Android phones for 2024. If you want to skip our discussion about the smartphone industry, visit the 6 Best Android Phones for 2024.
The IOS versus Android debate is as old as the introduction of the first Android phone in the market. Iphone users praise its safety, security, and image and video quality. Android users praise the platform for its endless features and customizability. However, Android is the leader in the market in terms of total users. As per the latest figures, more than 70% of all smartphone users in the world have Android phones. Less than 29% of these users use iPhones. However, the story is a bit different in the United States, where more than 51% of users use IOS. It is also quite popular in the Oceania region, with a 55.6% market share.
iOS has only recently beaten Android in terms of US market share. Like the rest of the world, Android ruled the US market for a long time. It is currently owned by Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), which acquired Android, Inc. and its key employees in 2005. The company is reported to have paid at least $50 million for the platform.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) marketed Android platforms to mobile manufacturers and carriers with flexibility and upgradability as major benefits. However, thanks to iOS, much of the focus has changed today. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) recently announced Android 15, which focuses on privacy, security, and increased support for creators and developers. The latest version of Android will also focus on increasing application performance through optimization.
The United States is a very competitive cellphone market with exceptionally high adoption rates. The Mobile Fact Sheet by Pew Research Center sheds some light on the current state of mobile phone adoption in the country. According to the fact sheet, 97% of Americans own cell phones of some kind. For perspective, only about 35% of people owned cell phones in 2011. Cellphone ownership also has an inverse relationship with age. Out of all the people aged 65 and above, 94% owned a cellphone. However, 99% of people aged 18 to 49 owned a cell phone. In addition, 98% of people aged 50 to 64 own a cellphone.
A similar trend is also noticeable in the smartphone adoption rates. At 17%, People aged more than 65 had the highest percentage of owning phones that were not smartphones. Among the people aged 50 to 64, 11% owned a non smartphone. Only 2% of people aged 18 to 48 owned a phone that was not a smartphone.
Gender privilege, it seems, is nonexistent when it comes to owning a cell phone. Both genders have a cellphone adoption rate of 97%. However, men are slightly ahead when it comes to owning a smartphone, as 91% of men and 90% of women own them.
One of the most interesting things about cellphone adoption rates is that Asian Americans are ahead of all other groups. To be fair, all the Asian-Americans included in the survey were able to speak in English, so it might not be a true representation of all Asians in the country. Regardless, 99% of Asian Americans use a cell phone, as opposed to 97% of European Americans. In addition, only 96% of African Americans use cell phones, as opposed to 98% of Hispanic Americans. At 97%, Asian Americans also have the highest proportion of people using smartphones. In contrast, only 91% of white people use a smartphone.
Smartphone usage is also understandably higher in Urban communities. 91% of people in Urban areas use a smartphone, as opposed to 87% in rural communities.
Another interesting insight from the report is that smartphone adoption increases with the increase in earnings. Among people who earn less than $30,000 per year, only 79% use a smartphone. However, 98% of people who earn 100,000 or more per year use a smartphone. In contrast, smartphone dependency has decreased over the last few years. Smartphone-dependent Internet users are defined as ones who own a smartphone but do not have a home broadband connection. Smartphone-dependent internet users in 2023 were 15%, down from 20% in 2018.
More recently, it seems that Android phones have started giving iOS phones tough competition. In the words of the Instagram head, Adam Mosseri, Android is now better than iOS. He expressed these views on Threads in reply to MKBHD's 'best tech hot takes' thread. So, if you are looking for an Android phone, our list of the best Android phones for 2024 may be your best bet.
We curated our list of the 15 best Android phones for 2024 using an objective methodology. First, we gathered the list of the best Android phones that four (1,2,3,4) industry experts recommended. Then we noted down the features of the phones in the following most desired areas: CPU performance, GPU performance, screen resolution, screen size, screen technology, back material, and main camera sensor. Then, for each area, we rated the phones out of five. Details of our rating mechanism are mentioned below:
For CPU and GPU performance, we noted the percentile the phone's performance fell in. Here is how we rated based on the percentile: 2 points for 50 or less, 3 points for 51 to 79, 4 points for 80 to 89, and 5 points for 90 or more.
For screen resolution, we gave 5 points to folding screen phones since they come with the best resolutions allowed by the current technology. For all other phones, we gave 3 points to 720p, 4 points to 1080p, and 5 points to 1440p resolution. For back material, we gave 3 points to plastic and 5 points to glass.
For screen size, we gave 3,4, and 5 points to less than 6, 6 to 7, and more than 7 square inches of screen, respectively. For screen technology, we gave 3, 4, and 5 points to LCD, OLED, and AMOLED screens. For the camera department, we gave 3, 4, and 5 points to phones with main sensors of less than 50, 50 to 100, and more than 100 megapixels respectively.
Finally, we averaged all our ratings to arrive at the Insider Monkey Score. The higher this score, the higher the phone ranks on our list. As tie breakers, we used the following features in order: CPU performance, GPU performance, screen size, and the size of the main camera sensor.
By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that tracks the movements of corporate insiders and hedge funds. By using a similar consensus approach we identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). Whether you are a beginner investor or a professional looking for the best stocks to buy you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders.
The Samsung A15 5G is one of the best Android phones for 2024 for those who are on a budget. It features a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with up to 800 nits brightness and a 90Hz refresh rate. The phone comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ chipset and features a 5,000mAh battery.
Fairphone 5 is 14th on our list of the 15 best Android phones for 2024. The phone has a modular design that lets the users easily repair and replace individual components themselves, extending the phone's lifespan and reducing electronic waste. The phone comes equipped with a Qualcomm QCM6490 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of internal storage.
Google Pixel 7A comes with a Snapdragon Tensor G2 chipset. It features a 6.1-inch OLED display with up to 90 Hz refresh rate. One of the defining features of this phone is its Titan M2 security chip and multi-layered security measures.
Motorola Razr+ is one of the best Android phones for 2024. It is a folding phone that comes with a 6.9-inch internal display with a 144Hz refresh rate. The phone has a slim design and features Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset.
Google Pixel 8 is 11th on our list of the 15 best Android phones for 2024. Its screen is 40% brighter than the Pixel 7's display. The phone features the Google Tensor G3 chipset and comes with 128GB to 1TB storage and 12GB RAM.
The Asus Zenfone 10 comes with a 5.9-inch Super AMOLED display with up to 144Hz refresh rate. One of the defining features of the phone is its IP68 dust and water resistance. In addition, it comes with a 4,000mAh battery that supports fast charging.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is 9th on our list of the best Android phones for 2024. It is a folding phone which features a 3.4-inch cover screen for quick interactions. It also has a Zero-Gap Hinge that provides a smooth folding mechanism and improves durability. The phone features a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.
OnePlus 12R comes with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. It features a 6.78-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 4,500 nits. The phone features a Dual Cryo-Velocity VC cooling system, which is also one of its unique features.
Nothing Phone (2) is 7th on our list of the 15 best Android phones for 2024. It features a 6.7" flexible AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate. The phone has a 100% recycled aluminum mid-frame.
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Disclosure: none. 15 Best Android Phones for 2024 is originally published on Insider Monkey
