Best iPhone alternatives in Australia for 2024

The best iPhone alternatives for 2022

1. All-round iPhone competitor: Google Pixel 8 Pro
2. Best camera: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
3. Best money-saving iPhone alternative: Motorola Edge 30 Pro
4. Best pure Android phone: Google Pixel 7
5. Best for gaming: ASUS ROG Phone 7

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Why we chose it

It feels like a natural fit that the best competitor phone to the Apple iPhone would come directly from Google. The Pixel 8 Pro does it all, with a large and pleasing display that's also surprisingly tough.

Combine that with smart cameras that work well for portrait, landscape and some of Google's own AI magic and you're looking at a camera phone that can go toe-to-toe with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and in many ways best it.

The Pixel 8 Pro is fearsomely powerful out of the box - and it will be able to eke out extra performance down the track thanks to its AI-led processor. The final icing on the cake here is Google's competitive pricing - it starts at $1,699, compared to $2,199 for the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

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Why we chose it

When it comes to photography, it's a very close race between Samsung's S23 flagship and Google's impressive Pixel 8 Pro. We'll give the slight edge to Samsung here, because the inclusion of a full 200MP standard sensor gives it a lot more scope for cropping and zooming, over and above what the Pixel can manage.

Samsung also manages a great job of appealing to both pro shooters with lots of customisation, while also making it easy for novices to capture some really eye popping photos in its "Single Take" mode.

Head here for Finder's review of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

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Why we chose it

Motorola has, for years now, delivered some solid affordable phones, but few of them were great. The Motorola Edge 30 hits an absolute sweet spot of affordability, nice thin design and quality performance, alongside a display that can refresh at up to 144Hz for silky-smooth scrolling.

The phone also boasts exceptional battery life within its price bracket along with extremely fast wired and wireless charging. Having originally launched in early 2022, it's also a lot cheaper than before with an average street price of $900 - that's less than half the price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Head here for Finder's review of the Motorola Edge 30 Pro.

Today's Motorola Moto Edge 30 Pro deals

Deal

47% off Motorola Moto Edge 30 Pro

Was: $943.38Now: $499.99

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Deal

44% off Motorola Moto Edge 30 Pro

Was: $949.55Now: $531.75

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Why we chose it

It should come as no surprise that the best pure Android phone would come from the company that makes the Android operating system. The advantages of the Pixel 7 and its pure Android approach are twofold. Firstly, you get full Android updates guaranteed until October 2025, and you get them before any other handset on the market.

Secondly, pure Android is almost endlessly customisable, so you can really make your Pixel 7 work and look the way you want it to, not the way the manufacturer's launcher or pre-installed apps insist you have to. The Pixel 7 also benefits from aggressive pricing, as well as the future improvement possibilities of Google's Tensor G2 system on a chip.

Although it was recently superseded by the Google Pixel 8 (see above), the Pixel 7 can still go toe to toe with the iPhone 15.

Head here for Finder's review of the Google Pixel 7.

Today's Google Pixel 7 deals

Deal

7% off Google Pixel 7

Was: $635.48Now: $591.00

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Deal

7% off Google Pixel 7

Was: $635.48Now: $591.00

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Deal

37% off Google Pixel 7

Was: $999.98Now: $629.99

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Why we chose it

If you're looking for an iPhone alternative specifically for games, it's important to check if your favourite titles are available on the Android platform. If they are exclusive to iOS, you're better off sticking with Apple.

With that caveat out of the way, our top pick for gaming is the ASUS ROG Phone 7. Equipped with a 165 Hz Samsung AMOLED display, Qualcomm's cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 gaming chip and a massive 6000 mAh battery, it's easily one of the best mobile gaming devices on the market. It also comes with an AeroActive Cooler 7 that doubles up as a subwoofer.

It's certainly not cheap - and its camera performance leaves a lot to be desired at this price point - but if your chief concern is mobile gaming, this is the model to get.

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Compare phone specifications

In the table below, you will find the chief specs for every phone mentioned in this list. See how they compare side by side.

Glossary: Key smartphone terms to consider

Display	AMOLED displays don't need a backlight and screen pixels are actually turned off to produce blacks, which can save energy. Super AMOLED has improved visibility in direct sunlight. LCD displays use a backlight, which reduces contrast. An IPS LCD display has truer colour reproduction and looks better when you view the screen at an angle.
OS	This is the operating system. Apple's iOS works seamlessly with the App Store for a dynamic and engaging mobile phone experience. Android is an open source platform created by Google, meaning anyone can play around with it. All the phones on our list use the Android OS except the Apple iPhones.
RAM	RAM is your phone's short-term memory. When you use an app, instead of writing data to your phone's internal storage or SD card (long-term memory), the data is stored in the device's RAM so it can be recalled quickly and easily when it's needed. The more RAM the better. Apple's iPhones have far less RAM than Android smartphones. When the RAM reaches capacity on an Android phone, RAM is recycled through a memory-heavy process called garbage collection. Apple does it differently and is able to run just as smoothly with half the RAM of most Android mobile phones.
Megapixels	MP is short for megapixels and is generally accepted as a guide for image quality. More megapixels doesn't mean a better-looking photo. Megapixels are about the maximum size of the image in relation to image quality. The more megapixels, the larger you can blow up your picture without it becoming distorted.
Sensor size	Too many megapixels for a small image sensor will ruin the image quality.

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Amazon prices last updated on 19 December, 2024 at 04:00 am

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