Intro:
It feels like I've only just recovered from my Christmas hangover, and already it's somehow bloody June–we're halfway through 2024. Seriously, this year's disappearing faster than the last few scraps of hair desperately clinging onto my scalp, and 2024 has been a busy bugger too.
I've had a proper go at roughly 30 new phones already, to the point where my SIM card is starting to feel like Boris Johnson's Johnson—it's stuffed inside of something different every day. So without any further pointless ion, brace yourself for the inevitable obligatory best phones of 2024 so far round-up, commencing with the Spy Award for best smartphone that won't absolutely skin you.
Now this is always a difficult one to judge because there are so many great budget-friendly blowers. Xiaomi alone has spiffed out a bloody ton of them in 2024, including the fresh new Paco F6 and F6 Pro and the excellent Redmi Note 13 Pro and Pro Plus, which launched globally not long after Christmas, single-handedly ensuring that I never get a So den de off in my life, thanks a lot, chaps.
Then we've had the Galaxy A55, a cracking way Samsung phone that won't cost you a couple of kidneys unlike the S24, but still a more affordable way of enjoying that lush pixel experience. But my pick of the most not ridiculously expensive smartphone so far in 2024 is, oh the suspense, the Nothing Phone 2A.
It's a proper brick like the Nothing Phone 2 and boasts another gorgeous AMOLED screen, a bigger 5,000 mAh battery, and a dependable dual-lens camera. Despite the cheaper price, you still get that migraine-bothering glyph lighting around the back, albeit a slightly stripped-back version, and Nothing OS is a stylish reskin of Android, which is less distracting to limit your screen-on time.
Features:
Overall, it's a proper cracker and buying one Possibly make you a better human being. As usual, I'd like to point out there isn't actually any proper physical award; I haven't gone out and bought a bunch of trophies or anything as valuable as beer money. That said, it's not completely crap—I have slapped together a certificate of sorts, because I'm far too lazy to actually post it to Nothing HQ or whatever. So here, maybe just do a screenshot and print it out.
Cheers. And next up, the award for best good but bloody difficult to actually find smartphone, and no messing around—this one goes to the Viva V30 Pro. It may look a bit like your Nan's bathroom tiles, but that hardware is proper premium, from the almighty 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED display to the beefy MediaTek Dimension 8200 brains that can blaze through Genie and other demanding games. You've got a big old 5,000 mAh capacity battery again, good enough for all-day play, and when the Viva V30 Pro does run dry, you've got nippy 80W flash charge action to juice it right up.
Now, despite being rather bloody good, the Viva V30 Pro is an absolute bastard to actually track down. It's like trying to do a Where's Wally in the dark after a dozen drams of booze.
Last time I looked, it was available via Amazon India and there were a couple of units knocking about on eBay, and that's basically it. The regular Viva V30 is also rather bloody good, if not quite as capable in the performance and camera departments, but it is just as irritatingly difficult to get your hands on.
Here's your certificate, chaps—quick bit of print screen action. And next up, the best camera phone so far in 2024. I've tested a lot of handsets this year that can blurt out a quality pic with seemingly little effort, from the Honor Magic 6 Pro and the OnePlus 12 to the considerably more affordable Pixel 8A. But my champion thus far, and a smartphone that'll be really bloody hard to beat in 2024, is the Huawei P40 Ultra.
The P40 may suffer from the usual lack of Google Wars, but it makes up for it with some crunch thrust in the capable camera tech. Owners of kids, mental dogs, and other hyperactive creatures will adore the insanely fast shutter speed and impressive image processing smarts, which makes for some excellent action shots.
Meanwhile, those night snaps are just as impressive as always, and even video footage shot in the evenings looks pretty bloody good.
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is a very close second, however, with its powerful tech and pro video tools, while the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Honor Magic 6 Pro, and the OnePlus 12 certainly should not be overlooked.
The Viva X100S as well, although that technically got launched just before Christmas, but I didn't get around to reviewing it until 2024, because the whole of December was already blocked out basically for drinking, sleeping, and occasionally throwing empty bottles out of the window at any Christmas carolers.
Next up, the best compact phone of 2024, and this is a category that grows more and more problematic with every passing year, because frankly, these days compact smartphones are rarer than a unicorn's jockstrap. So far in 2024, I've reviewed precisely two smartphones that could possibly be described as compact, and even then, they're over six bloody inches and just not as massive as every other phone that's come out.
The first one is the Xiaomi 14, a 6.36-inch beast that boasts top-tier Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 performance and ridiculously good battery life to rival most other flagships despite its smaller stature. It charges up crazy quick, the camera tech is excellent as usual, and besides some hypo shin digger and a smudgy design, there's practically no flaws to speak of. Alternatively, there's Samsung's regular Galaxy S24, a palm-pleasant 6.2-inch with a similar water-resistant glass design.
However, that matte finish means it gets less grimy and grim than the Xiaomi blower, and if you slip it inside your pants, you're at minimal risk of a good pancreas prod, even if you indulge in some spontaneous squat thrusts.
Samsung's chucked on loads of AI-type shenanigans as usual, same as Google's Pixel phones, although here in Blight, the Galaxy S24 is powered by Samsung's own Enos chipset rather than that Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and it certainly feels the strain when you're gaming on the likes of Genie Impact, making the Galaxy S24 a rather toasty wee chap, while the battery life is merely alright.
Conclusion:
The rest of the phone is solid enough—a gorgeous, punchy AMOLED display, a respectable stereo speaker setup, and a camera that is more than dependable enough for everyday family snaps. However, my metaphorical award for best compact smartphone of 2024 so far has to go to that Xiaomi 14. It's not quite as dinky, but it is the better all-round phone, and here's hoping Asus finally pulls its bloody finger out and launches the proper Zen Phone 11 at some point, so we've got something else to talk about at the end of the year.
Next up is the award for the best gaming phone of 2024 so far, and a bit of an easy one, this, 'cause we've only had one proper good gaming phone launched so far in 2024—the ASUS Rod Phone 8, although it does also come in Pro premium-type model editions, if you've got loads of bloody spare cash knocking about. They're all decorated with the usual obligatory RGB shenanigans, while the most expensive model boasts a programmable anime vision display on the ass end.
The Rod Phone 8 is a bit more compact than usual, although the trade-off is a selfie cam orifice and a shift of those speakers. As usual, you've got the best possible performance right now with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 stuffed inside, as well as some hardcore coolant tech. But the Rog elevates itself with an excellent set of gaming features, including air triggers and some clever pants tools to improve your Genin session. If you're on a slightly stricter budget than that, well, maybe check out the Infinix GT20 Pro instead. You've once again got a needlessly extravagant light-up design that anyone with a hangover in your general vicinity will fing despise, but buried inside that shiny frame is the supremely nippy Dimensity 8200 Ultra and a proper good coolant setup, while the 144 Hz AMOLED screen is a proper eye-pleaser.
