Samsung’s Nearly Year-Old Galaxy S24 Ultra Outscores Apple’s Brand-New iPhone 16 Pro Max, Snagging MKBHD’s ‘Phone Of The Year’ Title

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra launched nearly a year ago in January, and it has been crowned MKBHD’s Phone of the Year in its annual smartphone camera awards. The popular YouTuber conducts smartphone camera awards every year, ranking smartphones based on one of their key aspects and as a whole. This year, the iPhone 16 Pro Max did not meet the cut to be the Phone of the Year against the competition.

Galaxy S24 Ultra beats the new iPhone 16 Pro Max to take MKBHD’s Phone of the Year award

Prominent YouTuber MKBHD selects 10 categories each year and ranks smartphones accordingly, and while Apple’s handset failed to be the smartphone of the year, it did manage to secure a spot as the best small phone of 2024. MKBHD has awarded the standard iPhone 16 as the best small phone of 2024, and to a greater extent, the ranking is on point.

The iPhone 16 is a major update, considering the number of changes it brought to the table against the ‘Pro’ models. This year, the iPhone 16 narrowed the gap with the iPhone 16 Pro models when it comes to performance, internals, and the general design of the device. MKBHD emphasized that even though the device features a 60Hz display, the rest of the aspects are pretty enticing and a major step up from the previous generation of iPhones.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max failed to become the Phone of the Year despite Apple’s attempts to introduce major changes to the lineup. MKBHD’s choice for the Phone of the Year is the Galaxy S24 Ultra, considering how the device checks all the boxes, including performance, battery life, display, cameras, and more. The YouTuber also praised the new anti-reflective coating that reduces glare and stated that the Galaxy S24 Ultra was the phone he used most of the year.

Apple introduced major changes with the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max launch, including a new Camera Control button that gives users more control over their photos and videos. However, the new addition is not at all practical, according to some reviewers, with some suggesting that they would prefer on-screen controls rather than a miniature interface that is hard to maneuver and navigate.

MKBHD’s smartphone awards also give the iPhone 16 Pro’s cameras the attention they deserve, as the device has received the Best Camera Award again. The YouTuber praised the smartphone’s photo and video-taking abilities, stating that no other device comes close to the iPhone 16 Pro.

You can check out the full list of awards and their respective awards below for more details.

• Phone of the Year – Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
• Bust of the Year – Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra
• Most Improved – Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
• Best Foldable – Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
• Best Design – Huawei Mate XT
• Best Battery – Red Magic 10 Pro
• Best Value – Nothing Phone 2a
• Best Camera – iPhone 16 Pro
• Best Small Phone – iPhone 16
• Best Big Phone – Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Marques excels in ranking smartphones, as he has been doing this for years, but the results are subjective as the final opinion rests on the end user. However, the ranking and awards do give us an overall picture which is quite helpful when making a buying decision. Samsung is also slated to launch the Galaxy S25 Ultra next month or s,o which will feature major design changes and performance enhancements, giving the iPhone 16 Pro Max an even tougher competition.