Keen to upgrade? Discover all of the top handsets in New Zealand and how they stack up
It might seem easy to pick out the best phones in New Zealand, but depending on your budget, your lifestyle and your personal preferences, you might want to do a bit of looking around for the perfect handset – especially when it comes to heavy-hitter brands like Apple, Google and Samsung.
There are so many options to choose from – so we’ve done the hard work for you. Below you’ll find our expert picks for the best smartphones in New Zealand. We’ve looked at a broad criteria of things, including price, performance, display, cameras and more, so chances are high that you’ll find what you’re looking for in this guide.
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1. iPhone 15 Pro
The best phone for most people
Specifications
Release date:September 2023
Weight:187g
Dimensions:146.6 x 70.6 x 8.3 mm
OS:iOS 17
Screen size:6.1-inch
Resolution:1179 x 2556
CPU:Apple A17 Pro
RAM:8GB
Storage:128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Battery:3,274mAh
Rear camera:48MP (wide) + 12MP (ultrawide) + 12MP (telephoto) + 10MP (periscope telephoto)
Front camera:12MP
Reasons to buy
+Beautiful titanium design
+Finally, USB-C connectivity
+All new A17 Pro chip
Reasons to avoid
-Niche camera upgrades
-No change to battery longevity or charging
-3x telephoto zoom no longer Apple’s best
If you prefer the palm-friendly size of Apple’s 6.1-inch iPhones to its supersized Max devices, or the even bigger Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, then the iPhone 15 Pro is the best phone money can buy right now. The 15 Pro Max may have a slightly superior 5x periscope zoom lens, but in every other department, the iPhone 15 Pro can be thought of as exactly the same phone for a more digestible price.
For starters, this is an undeniably beautiful handset. The iPhone 15 Pro boasts a gorgeous titanium design that can withstand unwelcome drops more effectively than its predecessor, and the addition of a USB-C port makes this a more versatile device, too (in terms of both charging and compatibility).
The iPhone 15 Pro’s stunning 6.1-inch Super XDR OLED screen (with ProMotion) is unchanged from the (also excellent) iPhone 14 Pro, but this time, everything is underpinned by Apple’s all-new A17 Pro chipset, which delivers console-level gaming performance and supreme multi-tasking capabilities.
On the back, you’re getting a 48MP quad-pixel main camera lens, alongside a 12MP ultra-wide lens and 12MP telephoto lens that’s capable of 3x optical zoom. As mentioned, that last figure is bettered by the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but the iPhone 15 Pro’s overall camera setup still ranks among the best on the market – everyday users will find more than enough photographic power here.
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2.Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
The best camera phone
Specifications
Release date:January 2024
Weight:232g
Dimensions:162.3 x 79 x 8.6 mm
OS:Android 14
Screen size:6.8-inch
Resolution:1440 x 3120
CPU:Qualcomm SM8650-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
RAM:12GB
Storage:128GB/256GB/512GB
Battery:5000mAh
Rear camera:200MP + 50MP + 10MP
Front camera:12MP
Reasons to buy
+Better performance and battery life than ever before
+Great cameras improve the photo quality over last year
+Titanium frame and durable Gorilla Armor glass
Reasons to avoid
-Big and heavy – titanium didn’t help with that
-Many new and great features are hidden beneath terrible menus
-AI features are often useless and cause performance delays
Samsung has stuck to a tried-and-tested design formula with the Galaxy S24 Ultra it seems: it looks nigh-on identical to both its S23 Ultra and S22 Ultra predecessors. But that’s pretty much where the similarities end, because Samsung’s latest is a far more powerful – and far smarter – beast entirely, so much so it is realistically the best phone you can buy right now if you’re not an iOS loyalist.
To start, the S24 Ultra has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 at its core, and this already impressive processor gets a further boost thanks to a collaboration between Samsung and Qualcomm for the former’s new device. The result, which Samsung calls the ‘Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy’, is a processor that can comfortably run multiple apps and games at once, without so much of a stutter. This new processor is also the brains behind Samsung’s on-device Galaxy AI capabilities.
Truth be told, the screen and battery of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra are pretty much identical to the model it replaces, but perhaps most importantly, the camera has received a small but significant upgrade. While the insane 200MP wide sensor makes a comeback, you’ll now find a new 50MP 5x zoom periscope camera (which replaces the S23 Ultra’s 10MP 10x telephoto lens). While the physical zoom capabilities have effectively been reduced, you’ll be able to pick out far greater detail in the images you take and, for our money, we’d take a more detailed photo over one that employs far too much zoom.
Naturally, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra isn’t a cheap phone, and you will have to dig deep if you want to own one.
The best compact phone
Specifications
Release date:July 2024
Weight:187g
Dimensions (folded):85.1 x 71.9 x 14.9 mm
Dimensions (unfolded):165.1 x 71.9 x 6.9 mm
OS:Android 14
Screen size:6.7-inch
Resolution:1080 x 2640
CPU:Qualcomm SM8650-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
RAM:12GB
Storage:256GB/512GB
Battery:4000mAh
Rear camera:50MP + 12MP
Front camera:10MP
Reasons to buy
+Durable design and more refined build
+Powerful performance and productive features
+Galaxy AI is pretty good, and getting better
Reasons to avoid
-Lacks innovative cover-display capabilities
-Battery life is below average and charging is slow
-IP48 protection does not mean it’s dust resistant
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 continues to improve upon Samsung’s brilliant work in the foldable screens department – and although improvements upon last year’s Z Flip 5 aren’t massive, it does have a more durable design and a powerful swathe of features. For its clamshell folding factor, we’ll happily call it the best compact phone you can currently buy in New Zealand.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 oozes style, with a slightly different two-tone design approach to previous models that sees the camera lenses surrounded by colour rings. The screen on the back is brilliant to interact with, although the full phone experience is reserved for the unfolded screen. For the back screen, though, Samsung’s new live translation feature (which shows what you’re saying in a translated language on the back screen for the person you’re conversing with) is an absolute win.
Though the Z Flip 6 is a frontrunner in the foldable space on price and performance, those two points don’t ring as true when you put the Z Flip 6 against non-foldables at similar price points. With this in mind, if you’re going to get the Z Flip 6, you best be married to the folding form factor. Its cameras aren’t bad either – including 50MP wide, 12MP ultrawide and 10MP selfie lenses – but you’ll want to gravitate to another phone if snaps are super important to you.
Additionally it’s only IP48 resistance rated (meaning it’s not resistant to dust) and battery life is below average.
4. Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
A brilliant Android alternative
Specifications
Release date: August 2024
Weight:221g
Dimensions:162.8 x 76.6 x 8.5 mm
OS:Android 14
Screen size:6.8-inches
Resolution:1344 x 2992
CPU:Google Tensor G4
RAM:16GB
Storage:128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Battery:3,200 mAh / 4,323 mAh
Rear camera:48MP Main + 12MP Ultra Wide + 12MP 2x Telephoto
Front camera:12MP 3x Telephoto
Reasons to buy
+Exquisite design and excellent build
+High-quality cameras
+Always-on display
+New Dynamic Island
Reasons to avoid
-Still just 3x optical zoom
-Premium price
Google’s latest high-end phone takes what we love about the Pixel series and supercharges it. With a new rounded design (including a camera bar that separates it from every other phone on the market) and a huge amount of RAM, the Pixel is better than ever this year. Just note that this year the larger model is called the Pixel 9 Pro XL, whereas it was previously called the Pixel Pro.
Google’s Pixel phones are celebrated for their brilliant and easy-to-use operating systems which are backed entirely by the Google Suite of apps. Underpinning the device is the Tensor G4 chip, the latest SoC built by Google and Samsung exclusively for the Pixel range, with a screen size bump over last year’s Pixel 8 Pro. Google’s camera hardware and software is also extremely impressive (including 50MP wide, 48MP telephoto, 48MP ultrawide and 42MP selfie lenses) and is well worth considering if you’re after beautiful, easy-to-take snaps. There’s also 37W fast charging for the first time, a significant bump from 30W fast charging on the previous Pro model.
The device also comes with the best of Google’s AI smarts, but you will have to put a lot of trust into Google if you want to use them. The Gemini Nano model runs on-device as a new virtual assistant, with a new Google Studio for generating AI images, and most notably a new tool that organises your screenshots and allows you to search for the text and image contents inside of them.
There are, however, performance limitations with the Tensor G4 chip when you put it in competition with similarly expensive phones powered by Snapdragon silicon. It’s still a great phone, but you may notice more lag if you put it in competition with the Samsung Galaxy S24+ or S24 Ultra.
What is the best phone in New Zealand in 2024?
While there’s no ‘best’ phone among the phones listed above, there might just be a brilliant pick for you to consider. When it comes to being a one of the best all-rounders, the iPhone 15 Pro takes the top spot, but if you’re after a similarly powerful alternative, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is well worth considering (especially for its camera performance).
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL makes for a brilliant third option too, if you want Android hardware and an Apple-like software experience. If the price is your biggest concern, you should absolutely consider the Samsung Galaxy A55, or the standard iPhone 15 if you’re a fan of iOS.