Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
It’s hard to say which the absolute best smartphone in the market, as the answer depends on your preferences, needs, budget, etc. That said, most people would agree that the battle for the crown is led mainly by the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. These are among the most popular premium devices out there, and both are on sale for Cyber Monday! You can get the Galaxy S24 Ultra for $899.99, or the Pixel 9 Pro XL for $849.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra offer is available directly from Samsung, and maximum savings only apply to the Titanium Blue, Titanium Green, and Titanium Orange color versions. Other colors are $949.99. The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL discount is available from Amazon, and the price is the same regardless of which color you pick.
Which should you get?
These are both amazing devices, so which one should you pick? Let’s go over the main pros and cons together.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
The best of the best in the S24 series
Samsung’s true flagship device, the Galaxy S24 Ultra offers the very best specs and features from any Galaxy phone to date. Ai and camera functions are the name of the game, with a 200MP primary camera, 50MP 5x telephoto, 10MP 3x telephoto, and 12MP ultrawide shooters. Smaller display bezels, 2,600 nit display, 5,000 mAh battery, an advanced cooling vapor chamber, up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage, and 12GB of RAM make for a powerful mobile computing system. The new ProVisual Engine offers AI-powered camera tools for photo and video capture.
To many, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is still the best smartphone all-around. It’s a high-end handset through and through, and Sammy made no sacrifices here. You can always check out our full Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review for all the details, but we can tell you right now it’s tough to beat it. Our main complaint was the price, but today’s deal makes the phone much more enticing.
For starters, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is made beautifully, as you would expect from any Samsung flagship. The Gorilla Glass Armor back and front scream quality, as does that titanium frame. It looks and feels great. Not to mention, it’s pretty resistant, offering an IP68 rating for optimal dust and water resistance.
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
The performance won’t disappoint you. The device features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and 12GB of RAM. It will fly through any app. The display is also stunning, offering a 6.8-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X panel with a QHD+ resolution and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Not to mention, this is also one of the best camera phones around. And despite all the power and resource-intensive specs, the phone can still last about a day and a quarter on a full charge, based on our testing.
Of course, you also get the S Pen, which we know many of you love. And if you care for longevity, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra gets a seven-year update promise, which is still among the best in the industry.
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
Pure XL-ence.
Google reserves its best hardware for the largest device in the line. The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL offers a 6.8-inch display, the biggest battery we’ve ever seen in a Pixel phone, and 37W wired charging. Otherwise, the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro XL share almost all other hardware and software features, giving users the option between display sizes with top hardware.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is fantastic, but there are some reasons to go with the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. For one, many of you will prefer the cleaner Google UI, which is much closer to stock Android. This phone will also get plenty of really cool Pixel-exclusive features, and Pixel phones are always the first to get new upgrades. It also has a seven-year update promise, which is right in line with Samsung’s.
The Pixel 9 Pro XL is a great device elsewhere. We absolutely loved the design and build quality. It’s made with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 in the back and front, framed by aluminum. As expected, there’s also an IP68 rating with this one. Packed inside, you’ll find a Google Tensor G4 processor and 16GB of RAM, which is plenty powerful, even if it tends to run a bit warmer. The display is pretty nice, too, offering a similarly-sized 6.8-inch LTPO OLED panel. While still very sharp, the definition is slightly lower at 2,992 x 1,344, but we don’t think it’s something most people will even notice. You still get the smooth 120Hz refresh rate.
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
While camera specs aren’t as impressive on paper, Google is known for its camera prowess. The Pixel lineup has offered some of the best camera phones for years, primarily thanks to its computational photography capabilities. To summarize, the photos will look amazing, too.
If you care about battery life, you might do better with the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. It can easily last a day, but most of the time, we managed to keep it alive for two days before reaching out for a charger.
Are you getting any of these two? Make sure to get yours quickly, because these Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals won’t last much longer. We might see some of these deals pop up from time to time during the holiday season, but it’s not a sure bet, and we doubt pricing will get much better than this.
