We have picks for every user, Android or iOS, from inexpensive burners to top-of-the-line flagship smartphones.

Florence Ion, Kyle Barr Published December 23, 2024 | Comments (0)

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The smartphone audience is so wide that it’s difficult to settle on just one of the best phones of 2024. Some of us want huge screens, fast processors, and tons of memory. Others want the very best camera. And then there are the folks who want the best budget phone and/or best small phone (they’re often the same thing)—just something simple and cheap that will easily fit in a pocket.

Like many things, your decision about what smartphone to buy starts with picking a side: Android or iOS? The Google-backed Android operating system is the world’s most popular, with more than 70% market share around the globe, in large part because it’s cheap and used by many small companies in developing markets. However, Android’s market share is trailing behind Apple in the U.S. and Canada, and iPhones recently scored more than 50% of the total US market for the first time ever.

What phone Should I Buy?

If you’re not into spending money, analyze our best budget picks. Here’s a little secret: most of the best budget phones are practically at feature parity with their flagship brethren. If you don’t care about having the best pictures, you can easily get a high-quality phone for less than $500. 

And then there’s the big question: iPhone or Android. Android still holds down a 70% market share worldwide, but in the U.S., Apple’s devices account for nearly 50% of smartphones. The good news is the disparity and interoperability between the ecosystems isn’t nearly as bad as it once was. Apple recently allowed iPhones to message with RCS, so even though the green bubbles continue to survive you can text high-quality pics to your family and send emoji reacts to your friends. 

You can choose the phone ecosystem you’re most comfortable with, unless you’re desperate to play Fortnite natively on your phone in the U.S. Currently, Android’s the only place you can load third-party app stores without much hassle, and even that isn’t all too easy. That is to say, phones are always evolving, but the point is to be satisfied with your choice if you’re going to be using the phone for the next three, five, or seven years (or until the security updates run out).

The editorial staff independently tests and reviews each product found in our Buyer’s Guides. If you purchase something using our affiliate links, Gizmodo may earn a commission. Affiliate linking does not influence our editorial content.