The best smartphones

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra offers a 6.8-inch AMOLED display, which impresses with both a high pixel density and a high refresh rate. It is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy with 12 GB of RAM. There is a choice of 256, 512 or 1,024 GB of internal memory. Also on offer are dual SIM (and dual eSIM), IP68 certification, a large 5,000 mAh battery, UWB and an S Pen integrated into the casing.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is a first-class smartphone, even though Samsung primarily focuses on fine-tuning.

Samsung not only provides many new AI functions, but also a full seven years of updates. The quad camera on the back offers very good imaging performance, but has only really been given a new look. I have to criticize Samsung for the calibration of the display, which is still really good, but it could be better in the high-end range. The SoC gets quite warm when under long workloads, impacting performance.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra can be purchased directly from the Samsung online store and is also available from all other major electronics retailers in addition to Amazon Germany.

The Apple iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max are technically almost identical and only differ in terms of their display and battery size. Both are powered by the Apple A18 Pro which provides a lot of computing, AI and gaming power. The display is not only very bright, but also boasts accurate color reproduction. Thanks to LTPO technology, the refresh rate is dynamically adjusted up to 120 Hz.

The iPhone 16 Pro series offers a powerful overall package with only a few shortcomings.

The triple camera offers good to very good image quality with all lenses. In particular, the videography should be emphasized once again, which now also supports recordings in Ultra HD with up to 120 frames per second as well as Dolby Vision and is currently unsurpassed in its versatility.

The only points of criticism are the lack of support for 320 MHz Wi-Fi channel width and the absence of high-res audio codecs for Bluetooth.

The Honor Magic6 Pro offers a 6.8-inch OLED display with a high pixel density and operates at up to 120 Hz. It can be as bright as 5,000 cd/m², but only for displaying Ultra HDR material. It is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with 12 GB of RAM and has 512 GB of internal storage.

The Honor Magic6 Pro leaves little to be desired.

One highlight is the triple camera on the back, which has two 50 MPix sensors and a periscope zoom with 180 MPix. The 5,600 mAh silicon-carbon battery is not only comparatively large, but also allows for incredibly long battery life. The whole package is rounded off by a comprehensive range of features, including 3D face recognition. 6 GHz Wi-Fi 7 is one of the few things that are missing.

The phone can be ordered from Honor itself , Amazon Germany and MediaMarkt among other options.

The Samsung Galaxy S24+ is a step up from its compact sibling, the Galaxy S24 and is only slightly larger. However, there are other differences on the inside: the Galaxy S24 Plus has a larger OLED display with a higher resolution of WQHD+, the battery is larger, it has 4 GB more RAM and an ultra-wideband chip. European editions of both models are powered by a modern Exynos SoC, which, however, is not as efficient as the Snapdragon in the Ultra model.

The Samsung Galaxy S24+ offers a strong overall package with seven years of updates. The Galaxy S24 is more compact, but also has to make compromises in terms of features.

Both Galaxy smartphones boast IP68 certification, wireless charging, tri-band Wi-Fi, dual SIM (incl. eSIM), many new AI functions and an identical triple camera. Unfortunately, the latter has only received software improvements, but still takes good photos and benefits from the new Galaxy AI. However, it is a shame that neither supports Bluetooth 5.4 or Wi-Fi 7.

The S24 and S24+ can be purchased directly from Samsung's online store. Pretty much every major electronics retailer should have them in stock, too. Another option is notebooksbilliger.de.

The Xiaomi 14 is the Chinese company's most compact high-end smartphone. It has a 6.36-inch OLED display with a high pixel density and a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. It is powered by a fast Snapdragon SoC and has 12 GB of RAM. There is a choice of 256 or 512 GB of memory. In addition to USB 3.2, IP68 certification, fast charging at up to 90 watts and eSIM support are also available.

The Xiaomi 14 is a powerhouse with a good Leica camera.

A highlight of the Xiaomi 14 is the triple camera, which was developed in cooperation with Leica. It not only offers three high-resolution sensors, but also good image quality and many setting options. Unfortunately, the second nano SIM can only be replaced by an eSIM; dual eSIM is not possible. UWB is also not available.

The Xiaomi 14 can be purchased directly from the manufacturer and is also available from Amazon and MediaMarkt, among other options.

The OnePlus 12 upholds OnePlus' reputation. The company that makes flagship killers delivered another really good smartphone this year. It is built around a 6.82-inch AMOLED display, a fast SoC from Qualcomm and a powerful camera setup with three high-resolution lenses. There is also plenty of memory, Wi-Fi 7, a 5,400 mAh battery, fast charging and an IR blaster on board.

The OnePlus 12 is a powerful camera flagship that is already available for less than 1,000 euros.

Although four years of updates is fine in itself, it is not much compared to the rest of the class. In addition, the OnePlus 12 is not waterproof with IP65 certification and the GNSS accuracy could be improved in the test.

The OnePlus 12 can be ordered from OnePlus as well as Amazon Germany and other companies.

Just like its big brothers, the Apple iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus are technically identical in most respects and only differ in terms of display and battery size. The panels are bright and accurate, but only work with a refresh rate of 60 Hz, which means that iOS can sometimes be jerky.

The iPhone 16 models are great smartphones if the meagre 60 Hz refresh rate is not a knock-out criterion.

Although the dual camera has to make do without optical zoom, at least the 2x magnification works almost loss-free in everyday use thanks to the sensor crop. The limitations of the Pro models also apply here, and there is only USB 2.0 on board, which is quite a disappointment considering the price.

The Honor Magic V3 is a super-thin foldable with a 7.92-inch main display and a 6.43-inch external display. It offers a fast Snapdragon, plenty of memory, is waterproof and is capable of fast charging. Compared to its predecessor, the camera has been significantly upgraded and now relies on a main sensor from Sony with 50 MPix. This is joined by a 40 MPix lens, which serves as an ultra-wide-angle and macro lens, as well as a periscope zoom with 50 MPix and optical image stabilization.

The Honor Magic V3 feels like a conventional smartphone, but has a large foldable display.

In the test, the Honor Magic V3 impressed with its bright and accurate displays, both of which even support pen input, as well as very good battery life. However, the foldable has neither 6 GHz WLAN nor UWB.

The Magic V3 can be had directly from Honor and is also available from MediaMarkt and Saturn, as well as in other stores.

The Sony Xperia 1 VI does a few things differently to its predecessor and the competition. After the 21:9 displays of the past, Sony has now opted for a wider 19.5:9 format, but has significantly reduced the resolution with Full HD+. However, this benefits the battery life, which is extremely long.

The Xperia 1 VI does many things differently and this is precisely what makes it stand out.

The triple camera on the back has a new optical zoom, which can operate variably between 85 and 170 mm. Photos can also be taken in the classic 3:2 format, but unfortunately only with a slightly reduced resolution.

The Xperia 1 is also dust and waterproof again, has an audio jack and allows memory expansion using a microSD card. Sony has extended the update support, but still lags behind the high-end competition.

The Sony Xperia 1 VI can be ordered directly from Sony but is also available on Amazon Germany.

The LTPO AMOLED display of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is very accurate and is powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with 16 GB of RAM. 512 GB are available for storing files. There are no other storage options or expansion via microSD; NFC, Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 7, USB 3.2 (Gen. 2) and an infrared transmitter are onboard however an ultra-wideband chip (UWB) is not included. All common cellular network standards are available, including 5G Sub6, as well as the option to add two nano SIM cards. However, Xiaomi clearly has something against eSIMs.

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra presents itself as a great camera smartphone with influences from Leica.

The 14 Ultra focuses entirely on the cameras, which were developed in cooperation with Leica. The main camera can once again rely on four 50 MPix sensors and has been given the new 1-inch sensor from Sony, while the others are now all macro-capable. In general, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a really good imaging performance and shows only a few weaknesses.

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is available from the Mi Store, notebooksbilliger.de and Amazon Germany.