The best iPhone in 2024 is, objectively speaking, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but with Apple having unveiled the iPhone 16 series at its latest Apple event on September 9, we'd advise against picking up any new iPhone until we've had a chance to review the upcoming models.
The iPhone 16 was joined by the iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max at said Apple event, so a major shake-up of our current best iPhones list is on the horizon. For an early verdict on all four new phones, check out our hands-on iPhone 16 review, hands-on iPhone 16 Plus review, hands-on iPhone 16 Pro review, and hands-on iPhone 16 Pro Max review.
Of course, the iPhone 15 and its siblings remain excellent phones despite the launch of the iPhone 16 line – the iPhone 13, for its part, has ranked as our best budget iPhone pick for several years now – but the way we categorize these previous-generation phones is likely to change in the coming weeks (i.e. the iPhone 15 Pro Max will no longer be the best iPhone of the lot).
Below, then, we've selected the best iPhones for every use case, comparing key factors such as price, performance, cameras, and battery life to help you find a model that best suits your needs. We've tested every iPhone inside and out, so you can be confident that our recommendations are based on expert knowledge, in-depth analysis, and intelligent comparisons between other iPhones and devices from rival phone-makers.
Quick list
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the best Apple phone you can buy today. Its combination of an A17 Pro chipset, great camera suite (with a new 5x telephoto zoom), titanium design and USB-C connectivity make it a potent flagship handset.
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All things considered, the iPhone 15 Pro is the best all-round iPhone on the market right now thanks to its compact size, A17 Pro chipset, excellent cameras and beautiful titanium design.
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Apple's standard iPhone 15 may lack the bells and whistles of its Pro stablemates, but it's still fast, slick and has a great camera suite. With USB-C connectivity and the Dynamic Island, it's a very complete Apple phone for a compelling price.
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The iPhone 13 is only getting cheaper, and despite its shortcomings, it remains an excellent choice if you’re simply looking for a capable iPhone to tide you over for the next few years.
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The iPhone 15 Plus is indisputably the best iPhone for battery life. You're getting plenty of other great specs here, too, if you can handle this phone's larger size.
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With the iPhone 13 mini now dead and buried, the iPhone SE (2022) is the best small phone that's still available from Apple. It's design may be outdated, but the internal specs remain strong.
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The best iPhone in 2024
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Below, you'll find full write-ups for each of the best iPhones on our list. We've tested each model extensively, so you can be sure that our recommendations can be trusted.
The best iPhone overall
If you want the very best iPhone money can buy right now, then the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the phone for you. Versus the iPhone 14 Pro Max, Apple's latest flagship comes with a refined design in the form of UBC-C connectivity, and a new titanium chassis that's lightweight and lovely to the touch.
A new periscope 5x telephoto camera has improved the largest iPhone's zooming capabilities, making for a more flexible rear camera suite. Speaking of which, the iPhone 15 Pro Max boasts a 48MP quad-pixel main lens and a 12MP ultra-wide lens, making it the most capable and versatile iPhone yet for mobile photographers.
Beyond its photography capabilities, the iPhone 15 Pro Max packs an excellent 6.7-inch Super XDR OLED screen (with ProMotion), and Apple's all-new A17 Pro chipset, which delivers mobile gaming performance comparable to some high-end PCs (yes, really).
In other words, when it comes to iPhones, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the best of the best – it may even be the world's best phone, period – but you'll have to pay handsomely for the privilege of owning one.
Incidentally, the objectively even better iPhone 16 Pro Max launched on September 9, and we're currently putting that device through its paces. Apple has, however, confirmed that its upcoming Apple Intelligence features will be compatible with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which bodes well for its longevity.
Read our full iPhone 15 Pro Max review
The best iPhone for most people
In our general best phones guide, we've listed the standard iPhone 15 as the best phone for most people, but since this guide deals with iPhones, specifically (and the iPhone 15 occupies a different category spot further down this list), we're happy to describe the iPhone 15 Pro as an equally suitable iPhone for most people's needs.
In fact, if you prefer the palm-friendly size of Apple's 6.1-inch iPhones to its supersized Max devices, then the iPhone 15 Pro is the best iPhone available right now. Its larger sibling 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 reasonable (though still expensive) 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 promises console-level gaming performance and supreme multi-tasking capabilities.
On the back, you're getting a 48MP quad-pixel main lens and a 12MP ultra-wide lens, along with a 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.
Sure, the $999 / £999 / AU$1,849 asking price is high, but the iPhone 15 Pro will almost certainly see you through the next four or five years without issue.
As with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it's worth noting that the iPhone 16 Pro was announced on September 9, but Apple has confirmed that its upcoming Apple Intelligence features will be compatible with the iPhone 15 Pro.
Read our full iPhone 15 Pro review
The best value iPhone
The standard iPhone 15 is listed as the best phone for most people in our general best phones guide, but it's equally deserving of the 'best value' title in a list made up of iPhones, exclusively. Not as flashy as the iPhone 15 Pro models, the iPhone 15 is for people who want a powerful Apple device with flagship features but don't want to drop a grand (or more!) on a phone.
What it lacks in titanium sides, 120Hz scrolling or high-spec zoom photography, the standard iPhone 15 still has plenty to offer in both performance and phone photography, as well as a slick smartphone experience.
You get a 6.1-inch Super XDR OLED display, a fast A16 Bionic chipset, a USB-C port, a supremely capable 48MP main camera and Apple’s smart digital screen cut-out, the Dynamic Island, all delivered in a sleek and eye-catching design package.
In recent years, Apple's standard models have felt like minor upgrades that pale in comparison to their respective Pro-level counterparts, but the iPhone 15 bucks that trend by being a genuinely great value product.
Note, though, that Apple's upcoming Apple Intelligence features will only be compatible with the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16, which is worth bearing in mind if you're keen to own a future-proofed AI phone.
Read our full iPhone 15 review
The best budget iPhone
The iPhone 13 wasn't the biggest yearly iPhone upgrade we'd ever seen when it arrived in 2021, but almost every aspect of it is a little better than the iPhone 12, which means it's still a brilliant iPhone overall. More importantly, though, it's the cheapest iPhone (bar the iPhone SE) that Apple still sells.
In our review, we found that the phone's battery life was particularly impressive, with the iPhone 13 making it through every day that we used it without needing a top-up before bed.
We were also impressed by its design, which includes a smaller notch (versus the iPhone 13), and by the sheer amount of power that this phone still has to offer, which comes as a result of its A15 Bionic chipset. At launch, Apple claimed that the iPhone 13 had a 50% faster CPU than the competition, and while that’s hard to confirm, this is certainly a speedy phone.
The lack of a 120Hz screen, which saw its iPhone debut on the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, is a shame, and it's doubly upsetting that even its successor didn't move past 60Hz. Even so, this is still a superb device with plenty of life left in it. If you're looking for a cheap iPhone to see you through the next couple of years, this is it.
Read our full iPhone 13 review
The best iPhone for battery life
The iPhone 15 Plus takes everything that's great about the standard iPhone 15 and supersizes it, meaning this is the handset to go for if you prefer the 6.7-inch size of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but don't want to spend big on its various bells and whistles (read: you can do without that 120Hz refresh rate).
This year's model gets all the same benefits as the standard iPhone 15 – USB-C, the Dynamic Island, the A16 Bionic chip, the 48MP main camera, and so on – but the Plus also benefits from battery life that is, quite frankly, the best we've ever seen on an iPhone.
Seriously, the iPhone 14 Plus impressed with its battery longevity last year, but the iPhone 15 Plus reaches new heights on the juice front. It doubles the screen-on time of phones like the Motorola Edge 40 Pro / Edge Plus 2023 (5.25 hours of screen-on time) and even Apple's own iPhone 15 Pro (5.5 hours of screen-on time), with a record (by our own testing) 10.25 hours of screen-on time. This equates to up to two days of use per charge, although we'd more confidently tell you to expect a day's use no battery percentage peeping required.
Read our full iPhone 15 Plus review
The best small iPhone
With the iPhone 13 mini now officially discontinued, the 4.7-inch iPhone SE (2022) is the new best choice for anyone who prefers a smaller iPhone.
This dinky, classic-looking iPhone was actually the first mid-range iPhone to support 5G, which was a major selling point at the time. The presence of the same A15 Bionic chipset as you’ll find in the iPhone 13 range continues to be a big plus, too, meaning this phone has more power than most Android flagships, despite costing far less.
With a slim, lightweight build and a compact display, the iPhone SE (2022) is supremely comfortable to use, but, at this point, it also feels very dated, with big bezels positioned above and below the display. It’s more expensive than its predecessor, too, despite still being affordable in 2024. If not for those issues, this iPhone might rank even higher.
Read our full iPhone SE (2022) review
FAQs
What is the best iPhone?
The best iPhone is usually one of the latest numbered models, but the value of each will depend on your specific needs. If you want a big screen, go for a Pro Max (the latest and greatest is the iPhone 15 Pro Max). For top specs in a smaller size, pick a Pro, and if you want to save some money, then get a standard model or the latest SE.
Which iPhone is the best value for money?
Right now, the iPhone that offers the best value for money is the iPhone 15, although the iPhone 13 Pro remains a strong choice if you're keen on the benefits of a Pro-level iPhone but don't want to spend big on a model with the Dynamic Island.
How to choose the best iPhone?
A lot of iPhones are quite similar to one another, so choosing which model to buy mostly just means seeing what's different between them and finding the right fit for you.
All iPhones are powerful, and Apple supports them for a long time, so age and chipset needn't be a big deal, but if you don't plan on upgrading for a long time then a newer model with a faster chipset is ideal.
Bigger factors, though, include the screen size – and bigger isn't always better. If you want something compact that you can easily slip into a small pocket, then consider one of the mini or SE models. But if you plan on doing a lot of gaming or video-watching, then something larger would be better.
Resolution and refresh rate are also worth paying attention to for the optimal visual experience – the higher the better in both cases, so ideal options will have things like a 120Hz refresh rate and a resolution above 1080p.
Camera quality and battery life are important considerations, too, and you can't get a full picture of these just from a specs list, so read our full entries above (or click through to our detailed reviews) for insights into how each phone fares in those departments.
How we test
We've reviewed every phone on this list, so for each, we've passed our expert judgement on them after extensive testing. This testing saw us use each phone as our main handset for at least a week, and often longer.
In the process, we would explore various use cases, including calls, texts, social media, video streaming, gaming, taking photos and more, with some heavy use days and other lighter ones.
In short, we use our iPhones just like you would – but we make sure to test every key feature, as well as running benchmark tests, checking how long they take to charge, and more.
From that, we've then ranked each handset, factoring in price, value, and how they compare to one another, with a particular focus on their screens, designs, battery life, performance, and cameras.
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