Smartphone Awards 2024!

Summary

The 2024 Smartphone Awards highlight the top phones of the year, with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra winning MVP for its all-around excellence in display, performance, and durability. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold takes Most Improved for its impressive evolution over the first-gen foldable, while the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra receives the 'Bust of the Year' for failing to live up to the legacy of previous models. Other notable mentions include the Vivo X200 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL, which impressed in their respective categories. Overall, the awards emphasize consistency, innovation, and the importance of phones excelling in multiple areas.

Takeaways

• 😀 The iPhone 16 Base model made notable improvements, including upgraded RAM, chipset, and cameras, bringing it closer to the Pro models.
• 😀 The Pixel 9 Pro Fold won the 'Most Improved Smartphone' award due to its significant upgrades in design, foldable screen, and camera quality, making it a much more compelling device than its predecessor.
• 😀 The Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra was awarded 'Bust of the Year' for being a generic large phone that lacked the innovation seen in previous Zenfone models, marking a shift away from the brand's identity.
• 😀 Small phones are becoming increasingly rare, with larger phones dominating the market. The question arises whether smaller phones, like those under 6.5 inches, will continue to exist in the future.
• 😀 The MVP of the Year award went to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, praised for excelling in all categories—performance, screen quality, battery life, durability, and camera—without any single flashy feature.
• 😀 The Galaxy S24 Ultra was compared to a golf pro (Scotty Scheffler), excelling at everything but not standing out in one specific area, yet it was the most complete and reliable phone of the year.
• 😀 The Pixel 9 Pro XL, while not winning MVP, was highlighted as the phone the reviewer used most often in 2024, showing its reliability and great performance.
• 😀 The Vivo X200 Pro was a runner-up for MVP, with its great camera system, bright screen, and solid chipset, making it a highly capable device despite not having the latest Snapdragon chip.
• 😀 The smartphone industry is evolving with foldable devices like the Pixel Fold showing significant progress, while brands like OnePlus failed to release a follow-up foldable this year.
• 😀 This year marked a shift where the base iPhones gained more attention and praise, with the iPhone 16 Base offering the most complete experience without the high price tag of the Pro models.

Q & A

What phone was awarded the Most Improved Smartphone of the Year?

The iPhone 16 was awarded the Most Improved Smartphone of the Year due to its enhancements in RAM, chipset, camera, and overall layout, making it closer to the Pro models than previous base iPhones.

What specific improvements were made to the iPhone 16 compared to its predecessor?

The iPhone 16 saw improvements like more RAM, a better chipset, upgraded cameras, a new layout, and the addition of the camera control button, which was previously exclusive to the Pro models.

Which foldable phone won the Best Foldable Award?

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold won the Best Foldable Award, as it represented a significant improvement over its predecessor, with thinner hinges, a flatter fold, better cameras, and a brighter outside screen.

Why was the Pixel 9 Pro Fold considered a major improvement over its predecessor?

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold was considered a major improvement because it addressed the shortcomings of the first Pixel foldable, such as thick bezels, an imperfect fold, and a poor overall hardware experience. The second-generation model was thinner, folded flat, and had better cameras and display quality.

What phone received the Bust of the Year award, and why?

The Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra received the Bust of the Year award. While not a bad phone, it was seen as a step back from previous Zenfone models, losing its appeal as a compact flagship phone and becoming just another large, generic device.

What makes the Zenfone 11 Ultra deserving of the Bust of the Year award?

The Zenfone 11 Ultra received this award because it represented a departure from the earlier Zenfone models, which were known for offering small, compact flagship phones. The 11 Ultra, however, was a larger, more generic device, which felt like a missed opportunity in a shrinking market for small phones.

Which phone was named the MVP of the Year, and why?

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra was named MVP of the Year for its exceptional all-around performance, including a great screen, chip, battery life, cameras, software, durability, and even smaller details like the vibration motor and speakers. It was praised for being a consistent performer, earning the reviewer's trust as a daily driver.

What were some standout features of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra?

The standout features of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra included a top-tier screen, powerful chipset, great battery life, impressive cameras, excellent software, durability, and attention to small details like vibration motor and speaker quality.

Why did the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra win the MVP award despite not being the flashiest phone?

The Galaxy S24 Ultra won the MVP award because of its overall excellence and consistent performance across all aspects of a smartphone, making it a reliable choice for daily use. While not flashy, it was praised for doing everything well without major weaknesses.

What is the significance of the reviewer's personal use of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra?

The reviewer's personal use of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra for most of 2024 demonstrated how highly they valued the phone. It was a testament to the phone's overall quality and reliability, as the reviewer chose to use it as their daily device over a range of other options.