Best Google Pixel Phone 2024: Top picks tested, reviewed and ranked

Our pick for the best Google phone is the top-end Pixel 9 Pro XL. Though the branding is new, this is the follow-up to the 6.7-inch Pixel 8 Pro, putting it up against top-end competition like the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

We were impressed with the updated look of the Pixel 9 Pro XL, with curved edges ditched in favour of flat alternatives and a redesigned camera housing that now resembles a pill more than a bar – but it’s more than just a simple redesign.

In a year with massively increased competition in the AI space, Google shows that its Pixel line still has the upper hand. The new Tensor G4 chipset, while not offering major performance gains compared to the G3, offers support for on-device Google Gemini with multimodal functionality, allowing you to have live discussions with Gemini, as well as being able to analyse photos you share.

It doesn’t stop there, of course; like previous Pixels, the Pixel 9 Pro XL offers a boost to AI photo editing smarts with the new Add Me mode and improvements to Magic Editor, but the AI experience permeates practically every corner of the Pixel experience, from Pixel Screenshots that help you search for information in screenshots, Pixel Studio that can generate images on-device, and much, much more.

It also has the same clean approach to Android as the rest of the Pixel collection, and like other recent Pixels, it benefits from Google’s industry-leading seven years of OS upgrades, meaning it’ll continue to improve over time.

Elsewhere, the 6.8-inch Super Actua display is a treat for the eyes, with a pixel-packed 1.3K resolution and a whopping 3000nits peak brightness that makes using the phone a doddle, even in direct sunlight. That’s backed up by a smooth 120Hz refresh rate with battery-friendly LTPO tech, and it plays particularly well with HDR10+ content too.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL, along with the Pixel 9 Pro (essentially a smaller 6.3-inch version of the Pro XL) offer a triple camera array comprised of a 50MP main and matching 48MP ultrawide and 5x telephoto lenses. These lenses continue to deliver some of the best photographs taken on any smartphone, with accurate colours, plenty of detail and Google’s top-notch skin tone reproduction tech.

It’s also capable of all-day battery life with its 5060mAh battery delivering around six hours of screen-on time with charge left to spare, making it a great all-round high-end option for Pixel fans.

Reviewer: Lewis Painter

Full review: Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review

Right in the middle of Google’s smartphone range, you’ll find the Pixel 8. This device might not offer quite the same specs as the Pro version (most notably lacking a telephoto sensor and having a slightly smaller, non-LTPO screen), but it still packs quite the punch, especially given its relatively modest price tag – even if, like the Pro, it’s more expensive than the Pixel 7.

The camera, like with other Pixel phones, is the main highlight here, delivering gorgeously detailed and punchy images regardless of whether you’re using it during the day or at night. There are also fun AI smarts that allow you to swap out faces in group selfies for better options and even use generative AI to remove huge swathes of an image, but it’s not the only reason you might feel tempted to make one of these your own.

The 120Hz OLED Actua screen, measuring a slightly smaller 6.2 inches than its predecessor, is plenty capable with impressive peak brightness and great HDR support that makes watching Netflix movies a joy, and the design certainly looks sleek and feels premium to the touch as well. It’s just a shame that it doesn’t have the same matte finish as the Pixel 8 Pro, as it’s quite the fingerprint magnet.

It also gets the same long-term commitment as the Pixel 8 Pro, boasting 7 years of OS upgrades that’ll take it through to the release of Android 21, all new features in tow.

While the slow charging speeds and lack of a telephoto sensor are two obvious compromises, we certainly don’t think that these should be dealbreakers when a smartphone offers as good overall performance as the Pixel 8 does.

Reviewer: Lewis Painter

Full review: Google Pixel 8 review

If you’re on the hunt for a small Pixel but want to keep the budget low, the Pixel 8a is a great pick. In many of the most important ways, it matches the (more expensive) Pixel 8 and offers a number of upgrades over last year’s equally tempting Pixel 7a.

New features include another boost to the 6.1-inch OLED screen’s refresh rate, now up to 120Hz to match most of the competition, and it borrows the flagship Pixel 8‘s Actua screen tech for a serious boost in brightness, up to 2000nits max. It makes scrolling through Instagram and doom scrolling on TikTok that little bit better, even if the bezels are egregiously thick.

It also sports the same matte finish as the top-end Pixel 8 Pro, rather than the glossy finish of the Pixel 8, which both makes it less of a fingerprint magnet and gives it a nice satin-esque feel in the hand. Combined with more rounded edges and a thinner camera bar on the rear, it’s a well-built smartphone.

Of course, the headline feature of any Pixel phone is camera tech, and that’s also true of the Pixel 8a. It might not offer any big hardware upgrades, sporting the same combination of a 64MP main sensor and 13MP ultrawide as the Pixel 7a, but it continues to deliver impressive mobile photography with accurate skin tones, exceptional low-light performance and plenty of detail to boot.

Inside the phone, there’s the same Tensor G3 chip as the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. While we would like a little more power in the flagship range, at this price it is perfectly adequate and a good performer in all of our tests. Tensor also powers many of the AI aspects of the Pixel, like the clever call screening features and excellent voice recorder.

Just as with the Pixel 7a, however, the battery life could be better. Our reviewer managed to get through every day without reaching for a charger, but only just. He noted that battery drain was significant, especially with the screen brightness cranked up, with a maximum of around four and a half hours of screen time to completely drain the phone.

Reviewer: Max Parker

Full review: Google Pixel 8a review

At the other end of the spectrum, you’ll find the ultra-premium Google Pixel Fold, the only Pixel available in a foldable form factor. It’s extremely expensive at £1,749/$1,799, but if you want the Pixel software experience on a foldable, it’s your only option right now.

The book-style foldable is squatter than what you’ll find from the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Honor Magic Vs, making the external 5.8-inch OLED panel much more compact and easier to use. It also means the internal 7.6-inch OLED display boasts a horizontal aspect ratio, compared to most other foldables that are taller than they are wider. Both displays are set to a super smooth 120Hz refresh rate, with the inner display boasting a crisp 2K resolution.

You’ll find camera hardware including a main 48Mp snapper, a 10.8MP ultrawide and 18.8MP 5x telephoto lens capable of delivering the famed Pixel experience, with vibrant, impressively detailed shots and access to AI-powered features like Night Sight and Super Res Zoom.

That AI experience also spills over into the general Android 13 experience on offer, with AI-infused Pixel-favourite features like the ability to screen incoming calls on your behalf all present and accounted for.

There are hints that this is very much a first-gen product, however; the crease on the inner panel is both wider and deeper than what you’ll find from most other competitors in 2024, and the hinge doesn’t completely open 180 degrees, leaving the phone to wobble on flat surfaces.

Google has also removed the ability to force unsupported apps to run in full-screen mode on the internal display – a feature of every other book-style foldable – severely limiting just how helpful it can be when general app support is hit-and-miss.

And, as with practically every other Pixel phone, the 4821mAh battery isn’t quite enough to negate that battery anxiety. It’d get to the end of the day – just about – but couldn’t survive into the second day. It also suffers from a rather slow 30W charging experience, though this isn’t that out of place in the foldable market.

If, however, you’ve got your heart set on a book-style foldable and simply have to have the stock Pixel experience, the Pixel Fold ticks most boxes.

Reviewer: Lewis Painter

Full review: Google Pixel Fold review