Best Samsung phone 2024: The ultimate Galaxy smartphone, as tested by us
We put Samsung’s recent smartphone output to the test to find the perfect phone for you
Picking out the best Samsung smartphone is no simple task. The South Korean tech giant has been the biggest handset manufacturer in the world over the past decade or so, largely because it turns out so many of the best smartphones in the business.
Unlike its chief rival Apple, Samsung has flooded the market with a series of Galaxy phone models that span a healthy price range, from the dirt-cheap Galaxy A15 to the extra-large Galaxy S24 Ultra. Here at Expert Reviews, we’ve put more than 70 of Samsung’s phones to the test over the years and they’ve rarely let us down.
Which Samsung phone you choose will depend on a range of factors. Budget is likely the primary component when making this decision, but you’ll also want to weigh up other important factors such as screen size, display quality, battery life and camera characteristics. We run through the top Samsung phone picks below, preceded by a brief explanation of how we test each phone that comes through our doors.
Best Samsung phone: At a glance
| Best Samsung flagship | Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (~£1,249) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best-value Samsung phone | Samsung Galaxy A55 5G (~£439) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best folding Samsung phone | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 (~£1,799) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best cheap Samsung phone | Samsung Galaxy A35 5G (~£338) | Check price at Amazon |
How we test Samsung phones
As with all smartphones, we start testing Samsung handsets by downloading the Geekbench and GFXBench apps from the Google Play Store. Testing the CPU and GPU, respectively, these apps produce a set of scores that we use to compare the phone to other Samsung models and similarly priced competitors. For the display, we use a colorimeter and DisplayCal software to measure how accurately colours are reproduced, as well as results for the contrast ratio and maximum brightness.
That same DisplayCal software is then used to set the brightness to 170cd/m2, in order to maintain consistency across devices for our battery test. We then engage flight mode and run our standard looping video, noting the timestamp at which the phone died. Finally, we look to the cameras, taking a wide range of shots with all the lenses, including interiors, landscapes, low-light and portraits. We’ll also shoot some rapid panning video to judge the efficacy of the stabilisation.
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The best Samsung smartphones to buy in 2024
1. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Best Samsung flagship
Price when reviewed: From £1,249 l Check price at Amazon
- Great for… superb cameras and outstanding battery life
- Not so great for… extremely big and expensive
With the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Samsung kicked off the new year with a bang. Not a huge amount has changed externally from last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra – aside from a new Titanium body – but the biggest new addition is the move to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, which not only seriously improved performance, but we found that battery life is significantly longer as well.
If you’re in the market for a new flagship smartphone, we simply can’t think of anything better. Samsung’s latest all-singing and all-dancing smartphone has seen a major upgrade in the photography department, with a handful of new AI camera tricks. What impressed us the most, in fact, was the S24 Ultra’s zoom capabilities. With a pair of 3x and 5x telephoto lenses (as well as a primary 200MP sensor), the S24 Ultra’s pictures looked absolutely sublime in our tests, capturing every detail with tonally perfect colours, no matter the lighting conditions.
The sublime 6.8in 120Hz screen also returns (perfect for doodling with the bundled S Pen). Sure, there are far cheaper handsets you can get your hands on in 2024, but if you’re after the very best that Android (not just Samsung) has to offer, then we think this is definitely it.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3; Screen: 6.8in, 3,120 x 1,440; Camera: 200MP, 50MP (5x zoom), 10MP (3x zoom), 12MP (ultrawide); Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB; Operating system: Android 14
Also consider: Samsung Galaxy S24
Want to spend less on the latest Samsung flagship? The good news is that the regular Galaxy S24 is still a terrific option in our opinion, provided you don’t mind a few cutbacks. For a huge £450 less than the Ultra, the Galaxy S24 is a smashing alternative for the cost-conscious buyer. It doesn’t get the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset as its bigger sibling but performance is still speedy and its 50MP main camera impressed in our testing as well. It also has the added benefit of being a lot smaller than the Ultra (6.2in vs 6.8in), so if large-screened handsets aren’t really your thing, the entry-level S24 should be your next phone purchase.
2. Samsung Galaxy A55 5G: Best-value Samsung phone
Price when reviewed: £439 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… impressive performance and solid battery life
- Not so great for… stagnant cameras and chunky design
If the flagships are outside your price range, you can find much better value for money in Samsung’s mid-range offering, and our pick of them is the Galaxy A55 5G. The new Exynos 1480 chipset performed well in our testing, keeping up with the best performers in this price range, and we were quite pleased with the battery life, too – though it didn’t quite match the A54 5G for stamina.
The cameras may not have changed much since the previous generation, but our test images still came out well, with the night camera in particular impressing us. The design is a little on the chunky side for this price, and the phone is notably heavy, but these issues aren’t enough to take away from all the positives. Throw in a big, bright display and a promised four years of software support, and the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G is terrific value.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy A55 5G review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Samsung Exynos 1480; Screen: 6.6in, 2,340 x 1,080; Camera: 50MP, 12MP (wide), 5MP (macro); Storage: 128GB, 256GB; Operating system: Android 14
3. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Best folding Samsung phone
Price when reviewed: £1,799 | Check price at Samsung
- Great for… brighter displays and refined design
- Not so great for… no bundled stylus and another big price bump
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is an exercise in refinement, as opposed to revolution. The design is very similar to the previous generation but is more robust, with the IP48 rating adding a modicum of dust resistance to the existing waterproofing, as well as being both slimmer and lighter. Folded, the phone now measures 12.1mm thick, and unfolded it’s just 5.6mm. The weight has dropped from 253g to 239g, making it only a couple of grams heavier than the non-folding Galaxy S24 Ultra.
The expected generational tweaks are all here, including a speedier Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, brighter displays and slightly better battery life. The cameras are essentially the same as last year, and there’s still no S Pen bundled in the box, which feels like a real misstep as the large 7.6in folding display is a natural fit for the stylus. Add in another big price bump and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is definitely a hard sell. Even still, this is the best foldable that Samsung has put out thus far – so long as you can stomach the cost.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3; Screen: 7.6in, 2,160 x 1,856 (cover: 6.3in, 2,376 x 968); Camera: 50MP, 10MP (3x zoom), 12MP (ultrawide); Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB; Operating system: Android 14
4. Samsung Galaxy A35 5G: Best cheap Samsung phone
Price when reviewed: £338 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… superb main camera and decent battery life
- Not so great for… mediocre performance and chunky design
Overall, we preferred the Galaxy A55 5G above as the ultimate mid-range Samsung phone, but if your budget doesn’t stretch quite that far, the A35 5G is a terrific silver medalist. We were particularly impressed by the quality of the main camera, which produced detailed and colourful images in good lighting conditions. It didn’t fare as well after dark, but few in this price range do, so that’s not a dealbreaker.
Battery life was well above average for a phone this cheap, lasting for 24hrs 27mins in our looping video test. We weren’t as impressed by the performance, with the older Exynos 1380 CPU only delivering middling results in our benchmarks. The design is also on the chunky side and the secondary cameras didn’t impress us as much as the main. Even still, if your budget doesn’t stretch to the A55 5G, we think you’ll still find a lot to like about the A35 5G.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy A35 5G review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Samsung Exynos 1380; Screen: 6.6in, 2,340 x 1,080; Camera: 50MP, 8MP (wide), 5MP (macro); Storage: 128GB, 256GB; Operating system: Android 14
5. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: Best compact Samsung foldable
Price when reviewed: £1,049 | Check price at Samsung
- Great for… tougher build and massively improved main camera
- Not so great for… stagnant design and prominent display crease
Side-by-side, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 doesn’t look all that different to its predecessor. Indeed, the only real design changes are a more robust IP48 dust and water resistance rating and a marginally thinner 14.9mm profile when folded. Instead, most of the improvements are internal. The processor is upgraded to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 platform, delivering the fastest speeds on any clamshell, and the larger 4,000mAh battery lasted a couple of hours longer than the previous generation.
The best improvement is the main camera, which has been bumped up from a 12MP lens to 50MP, producing finer detail and crisp night shots. The displays are better in that their peak brightness levels are increased but unfortunately, the prominent crease on the internal screen is still rather noticeable. It’s a shame to see one of the key design flaws not being addressed but the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 still offers enough advancements to surpass its predecessor as the brand’s best clamshell foldable yet.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3; Screen: 6.7in, 2,640 x 1,080 (cover: 3.4in, 748 x 720); Camera: 50MP, 12MP (ultrawide); Storage: 256GB, 512GB; Operating system: Android 14
6. Samsung Galaxy S23 (Renewed): A refurbished bargain
Price when reviewed: £445 | Check price at BackMarket
- Great for… specs still competitive and now very cheap
- Not so great for… limited future software support
Take it from us – Samsung flagships needn’t cost the earth. If you’re in the market for a new top-end handset but the rising flagship prices are putting you off, then last year’s Galaxy S23 is still a great pick. It remains one of the fastest smartphones we’ve tested, the display is top-notch and the triple cameras hold their own against more recent releases.
The downside of getting last year’s model is that you get fewer software updates. The S23 was promised four years of OS upgrades and five years of security patches when it first launched, but one of those years has already passed. Still, if you’re happy to take that trade-off for a dramatic reduction in price, and you don’t mind picking up a refurbished model, we highly recommend considering the Galaxy S23 before picking up a new flagship.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S23 review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2; Screen: 6.1in, 2,340 x 1,080; Camera: 50MP, 10MP (telephoto), 12MP (wide); Storage: 128GB, 256GB; Operating system: Android 13
How to pick the right Samsung phone for you
How much should I be spending?
Samsung is best known for its flagships, and with good reason. At the top end of the market, the South Korean manufacturer is one of the best you can get, regularly landing at the top of our best smartphone roundup. These handsets regularly retail for four figures, however, so aren’t for the faint of heart or light of wallet.
Brands like Google and Motorola tend to offer better value in the mid-range and budget brackets but there are still some Samsung options that are worth considering if you’re particularly attached to the brand. None of these dip below the £300 mark, however, so if you’re set on a Samsung, you’ll need to be ready to spend at least that much.
What features should I look out for?
The latest flagships and foldables get Galaxy AI integrated, offering features like Google’s Circle to Search and Live Translate, but cheaper handsets don’t currently offer this – and are unlikely to for the foreseeable future. Otherwise, these are the key specs that you’ll want to look out for when shopping for a Samsung phone:
Display: As we haven’t gone below a certain price point, we’ve only got OLED displays on this list. Beyond that, keep an eye on the resolution and refresh rate, to see how sharp the screen is and how smooth scrolling will be, respectively. Brightness and colour accuracy are part of our core display testing so if you want to double check either, follow the links to our full reviews to check out the results.
Cameras: Like Google and Apple, Samsung flagships offer some of the very best cameras in the business, with far-reaching telephoto cameras, excellent low-light photography and realistic portrait shots. Lower down the pricing ladder, you sacrifice the first two fairly quickly but will still find solid shooters with good colours and detail, as well as acceptable portraits. Once again, we always thoroughly test cameras, so you can see our test shots in the full reviews to see for yourself.
Performance: One area in which Samsung phones tend to be ahead of the pack is performance. The flagships especially are frequently top of the class, and even the more affordable models manage above-average results in our testing. Our full reviews show how each model compares to similarly priced rivals but for your own assessment, a higher clock speed (measured in GHz) generally means that a phone has more raw processing power.
Battery life: Battery capacity is measured in milliampere-hours (mAh), and once again, the higher the number, the bigger the battery. Things like the processor’s power efficiency and the resolution of the display can impact how quickly the battery drains, so it’s not always the case that larger cells last for longer. We also fully test battery life so you can check out the full review to see how long a particular phone lasted in our standardised test.
Software: All of these phones run on Android with Samsung’s One UI launcher over the top, so use will be near-enough identical, whichever you choose. The only difference will be software support. Cheaper phones are generally supported for fewer years, usually getting three or four OS updates, while Samsung’s latest flagships and foldables are all promised a massive seven years of support. So essentially, you get more bang for your buck if you’re willing to put down a larger sum upfront.
Storage: If you do go for one of the top-end Samsung phones, you get a lot more choice when it comes to storage variants. The most expensive phones offer models with up to 1TB of onboard storage, while cheaper phones tend to only offer 128GB and/or 256GB. The upside of the more affordable models, however, is they sometimes support microSD cards, allowing you to expand the storage by up to 1TB yourself. So if you need a high-capacity phone but aren’t fussed about other flagship features, it can be more cost-effective to get a cheaper phone and just fit it with a 1TB microSD card.
