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Choosing the best mobile phone can be a daunting prospect in a world where multiple brands release dozens of models every year.
So suddenly you have to ask yourself: Is it more important to choose the latest model, with its fancy new cameras, shiny new processor and eye-waveringly high price tag?
Or should you keep an eye on your wallet and opt for a less premium model?
These are questions you need to ask yourself before making a decision on which is the best smartphone for you.
But we are still here to help.
In order to help offer some insight into which are the best mobile phones available in Australia, we’ve done the research for you.
You can get a deeper insight into how we did this below, but the TLDR version is we checked the products being recommended by top ranking sites on Google and crunched the numbers.
The result is this page, highlighting the nine best smartphones you can buy in Australia today.
Of course, everybody has different needs when it comes to a smartphone, so you may find none of these phones match your needs.
If that’s the case, consider checking our guide to the best Android phones. If you’re on a budget, we have a guide to the best cheap phones in Australia as well.
We’ve also rounded up the best brand phones:
Alternatively, reach out and let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll try to help directly. If you need a new mobile plan, we’ve done the analysis to come up with the best mobile plans in Australia, too.
These are the 6 best mobile phones in Australia right now:
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S24+ Plus 5G (Dual Sim, 6.7'', SM-S926B) Editor choice
7/10 sites recommend
It’s has only been available for a couple of months, but the S24 Ultra has moved to the top of this list, just like its predecessor did..
In our review of the phone, we found it to be an exceptional device, with lightning fast responsiveness and a brilliant camera system.
Its AI features can be a little difficult to uncover within various menus, but when you find them they typically work quite well. Being able to colourise old black and white photos is a lot of fun.
In any case, expect to see this handset climb higher up the list in the coming months. It’s fantastic.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
7/10 sites recommend
For many people, bigger is better, particularly when it comes to their smartphone. The iPhone 15 Pro Max takes everything good about the iPhone 15 Pro, and puts it into a larger body.
That larger body means two key advantages. Firstly you get a whopping 6.7-inch screen to look at.
Secondly, the battery gets a big boost, making it a powerhouse of longevity when partnered with the powerful A17 Pro processor.
The Pro Max also offers a slightly superior camera over the standard Pro model thanks to a 5x optical zoom setting only found in the larger model.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Apple iPhone 15 Pro – 128GB – Natural Titanium STILL SEALED IN BOX BRAND NEW Hall of Fame
6/10 sites recommend
The iPhone 15 Pro is a fantastic device and was only the second phone to be awarded a Hall of Fame award in 2023.
Its camera array offers spectacular photos for a mobile device, and the inclusion of the Action button offers a huge amount of customisation for phone shortcuts.
With iOS 17, you also get features like Standby mode, that turn the device into the best bedside clock you could hope for.
It offers great battery life too, making this a brilliant option for anyone married to the Apple ecosystem.
Google Pixel 8 Pro
6/10 sites recommend
The Pixel 8 Pro is the best smartphone Google has ever produced, though it hasn’t quite made its way across all the sites we reference for this guide.
Google has implemented some significant upgrades in this year’s Pro model. You get the Tensor G3 processor to handle the intense computational requests needed for the machine learning photo editing tools.
There’s a gorgeous 6.7-inch OLED display with a 2992 x 1344 pixel resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate that’s brighter than last year’s model.
And Google has committed to seven years of software updates. That’s a real commitment, and future proofs your purchase nicely.
Google Pixel 7a
6/10 Sites recommend
Google’s more price-friendly model of the Pixel 7 has recently hit store shelves around the country, and it hasn’t taken long for the phone to land in this list of the best phones in Australia.
With its stunning 6.1-inch FHD+ display capable of 90Hz, the Pixel 7a is a joy to use, with an impressive camera array and all of Google’s intelligent software inclusions.
It’s a compact and IP67 water resistant smartphone, capable of doing pretty much anything a flagship can do.
It does lack a good zoom option like the flagships, and battery life is a little light, but this is still an exceptional device for the price.
Apple iPhone 15
6/10 sites recommend
The introduction of the dynamic island feature, which adapts a window around the front face ID cameras, was a revelation for Apple last year. So much so that it’s now found in the iPhone 15.
While the camera doesn’t offer the same versatility as the Pro models, the dual lens system is still a great option for most people.
Plus, you get features like Standby mode and Siri all out of the box with iOS 17. It may not be the best iPhone on the market at the moment, but it’s still a great option for budget-savvy iPhone users.
How we chose the best mobile phones
Review sites – including this one – are subjective by nature. Everybody has a different opinion of what is best.
So to try and counter the fact that every best guide on the internet has a different opinion of what is best, we approached our list by combining the results of some of the top sites recommending mobile phones on the market today.
To determine this list, we followed the same journey most consumers would follow: we went to Google.
We searched for “Best mobile phones” and identified 10 of the top results. It’s important to note that Google results can change often.
Sites referenced
We listed out all of the phones recommended on each site, tidying up any slight differences in spelling for consistency.
We analysed the number of times each product was mentioned in those 10 guides. The more frequently a product is mentioned, the more agreement there is between experts reviewing these products that the product is among the “best”.
We set a minimum of four mentions across all 10 guides to be eligible for inclusion here. This means at least 40% of the sites surveyed recommend each product.
Before we created this page, we took some time to remove products that are either unavailable, or difficult to find in Australia.
We also leveraged our own experience with products to ensure that we wouldn’t be recommending any product that doesn’t deliver.
What to look for when choosing the best mobile phones
Whether you’re after one of the models listed above or something completely different, the decision factors you need to consider when buying a new phone are the same.
iOS or Android
For better or worse, there are two options for mobile phone software when you are looking to buy a new smartphone.
That means the first decision you need to make is whether you want to buy an Apple phone running iOS, or a different brand running Android.
Both have their own strengths and weaknesses. Understanding which you prefer will go a long way in helping you decide what phone you should buy.
Design
More than any other piece of technology, the smartphone reflects who you are.
It is your central hub, connecting all the important parts of your life in one place, from messaging or calling friends to playing mobile games when you are bored.
But design isn’t just about the look of the phone important to note that design isn’t just about colours either. It’s also about comfort. So if you have small hands, an extremely large device is going to be hard to use, and you should consider a device that is comfortable to hold.
Camera requirements
The best mobile phones are now so good they effectively replace the entire compact digital camera market.
But not every phone camera is equal. In fact, camera technology is one of the key differentiators between the best mobile phones today.
Look for multiple lenses for different functions like zoom or wide-angle shots. Consider the phone’s ability to take wonderful photos in low light.
Battery life
For the vast majority of smartphones, you will get between 1-2 days worth of use before the battery runs out.
There are a few things you can do to maximise your phone’s battery. Firstly, choosing a device with a larger battery can help. A 4,000mAh battery is more likely to last longer than a 2,800mAh battery, for example.
You can also choose a smartphone with an effective low-power mode. This mode will switch off a bunch of features when the battery starts to run low. This lets you prioritise battery over functionality.
Additionally, devices with fast charging can be plugged in for just a few minutes to recover a decent amount of battery power.
Display
Display size is important because it will impact the comfort of the phone. Not just in the hand, but also for your eyes.
But also look at things like the resolution of the screen and its refresh rate. Resolution refers to the number of pixels that make up the screen. The more pixels there are, the clearer the picture will be in most cases.
Refresh rate could be important if you plan on using the handset to play games or stream sports. Typically a higher refresh rate the better the phone will be at displaying fast moving objects.
Performance
Your new phone needs to do whatever you ask of it. The processors that power your phone can vary dramatically in performance.
If your phone is mostly for browsing Facebook or sending text messages, then you probably won’t need a powerful processor. If you want to edit photos or play high-quality video games, you are going to need a processor built for performance.
Benchmark scores are an easy way to understand how good a processor is at doing its job. It’s not foolproof though. Plenty of manufacturers have cheated to make their benchmark scores look better than they really are.
Price
Price is always an important decision factor. You may want one of the best mobile phones in the world, but your budget may not support that desire.
The good news is that it’s fairly easy to get a great bargain on your next phone. Older models or mid-range phones offer a lot of the performance for a fraction of the price.
Update history
- 6 December 2022 – First Published
- 11 January 2023 – Updated the number of recommendations for products. Added iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 14. Removed iPhone 13.
- 6 February 2023 – Updated the number of sites recommending products. Added a comparison table.
- 3 March 2023 – Updated the number of recommendations for products. Added Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, and OnePlus 11. Removed the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and Apple iPhone 14.
- 3 April 2023 – Updated the number of recommendations for products. Added the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.
- 1 May 2023 – Updated the number of recommendations for products. Lowered the minimum number of recommendations to 4. Added iPhone 14, Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus and iPhone SE (2022).
- 2 June 2023 – Updated the number of recommendations for products
- 3 July 2023 – Updated the number of recommendations for products. Removed the Google Pixel 6a. Added the Google Pixel 7a.
- 2 August 2023 – Updated the number of recommendations for products.
- 5 September 2023 – Updated the number of recommendations. Removed Google Pixel 7, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus, Apple iPhone SE and Apple iPhone 14. Added Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5.
- 10 October 2023 – Updated the number of recommendations. Added the Apple iPhone 15 Pro.
- 6 November 2023 – Updated the number of recommendations. Added Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, Google Pixel 8 Pro and Apple iPhone 15. Removed Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max and Apple iPhone 14 Pro.
- 8 December 2023 – Updated the number of recommendations. Removed Google Pixel 7 Pro.
- 8 January 2024 – Updated the number of recommendations.
- 5 February 2024 – Updated the number of recommendations.
- 8 March 2024 – updated the number of recommendations. Removed OnePlus 11. Added Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
- 8 April 2024 – updated the number of recommendations. Removed Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy Z Flip 5.
