We’re inching closer to the end of the year, and it’s almost time to evaluate the best smartphones of 2024. This year brought us some impressive devices, but also left us craving more. As my colleague Hadlee Simons puts it in his recent opinion post describing his ideal smartphone, the Galaxy S24 continues to rely on an outdated camera system, while the Pixel 9 series feels underpowered. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 14 lineup offers a software experience that has divided opinions. So, we asked our readers — Which brand came closest to building an ideal smartphone this year? It was a close competition, but we have a clear winner.

It’s a Google vs Samsung world

Google has clearly done something right this year to be the top choice for users as far as their ideal device is concerned. The Pixel 9 series seems to have hit the right spot, and a recent report corroborated the same, crowning the Pixel 9 Pro XL as the top sales performer in the US.

One survey participant shared, “Honestly, the Pixel 9 Pro comes the closest to the ideal smartphone that I have seen to date, and I absolutely love mine. I love that I can finally get the ‘Pro’ Pixel phone without having to settle for a massive body that is very uncomfortable to use. I don’t have massive hands, so even attempting to use a 9 Pro XL one-handed is just not feasible. Now I can have the top-tier display tech, telephoto lens, better selfie camera, and the temperature sensor (which I actually find quite useful) all in the smaller chassis that I wanted all along.”

While Google received 42.4% of the votes in our survey as the brand that built the ideal phone of 2024, Samsung was a close second. Of the over 4,000 votes we received in our poll, 33.4% of the respondents picked the South Korean brand as the contender for the ideal phone maker of the year.

“Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra/Note24. Yes, I said Note 24 because that’s basically what the S24 Ultra is. Regardless of the device name, it’s the better, well-rounded premium smartphone. The Fold 6 is really nice too. Waiting for a bi-foldable Samsung to trade up for,” said a voter who picked Samsung.

Apple claimed the third spot in our survey but was nowhere close to Google and Samsung’s vote share, with only 6% of the respondents voting for the company. Then again, our website is predominantly focused on Android phones, so there might not have been many Apple lovers taking this poll in the first place. Still, the vote disparity between Apple and the top Android contenders is vast and hard to ignore.

As we reflect on the results of our survey, it’s clear that Google has set the bar for what an ideal smartphone can be in 2024. The company has managed to edge out its competition with the Pixel 9’s thoughtful design, powerful features, and manageable size. It’ll be interesting to see how smartphone makers build on the strengths and weaknesses of this year’s devices to create even more compelling handsets in 2025.