Home
News
You are here

The phones with best speakers in 2024

By Victor Hristov

Published: Nov 22, 2024, 7:59 AM

21comments

With you being here, I'm certain that you're fairly aware of what the best phones are, generally speaking. If I'd ask, you'd probably be able to give me some solid suggestions on the best wireless earbuds around too.

But do you know what phones have the best speakers? Yeah, right? Those are a thing too!

We all occasionally want to play that one special song for our friends to hear on our phone, or sometimes just take our phones to the bathroom to listen to some tunes while showering.

I get it! And there are good phones with great speakers out there. In fact, it's quite the selection. So how would you go about picking the one that's best for you? Well, we're here to help you make the right choice.

Keep in mind, though: not all phones with great speakers are equal. For some, that's a bi-product of the build, while for others: it's an intentional thing that the manufacturer did. As such, prices, shapes and sizes vary. But you can see what we mean once you browse the selection below.

Best Phone Speaker — TL;DR:

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 — Samsung's foldable phones have great sounding speakers, which pack a bit more punch than traditional phones.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max — The latest iPhone 16 Pro Max offers a clean and balanced sound, with well-controlled lows and little distortion, even at maximum volume.
Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro — This gaming behemoth is impressive in many ways and we're happy to report that "sound quality" is certainly among them!
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL — Google has improved the loudspeaker on the Pixel 9 Pro XL and it now has more definition in the lower frequencies.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra — Samsung's best phone packs powerful speakers which outperform its cheaper offerings.

What are the phone with the best speaker?

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

The speakers on the Z Fold 6 sound better than those of its predecessor. They seem a bit more balanced overall, with highs that aren't necessarily as crispy, but with mids and lows that definitely sound a bit meatier. With a wide sound stage and a good amount of volume, it provides for a pleasing listening experience.

Also, sound quality tends to remain very good even at the highest loudness levels, as there is no audible distortion.

Read more in our Galaxy Z Fold 6 review

iPhone 16 Pro Max

The iPhone 16 series have quite comparable loudspeakers, but the bigger Pro Max and Plus models pack a bit more punch, just thanks to their sheer size advantage.

The 16 Pro Max specifically sounds great. It delivers good performance with the low frequencies and they don't sound as muddy or flat as on other phones, and overall you get a balanced performance with a good amount of punch. Our audio expert Preslav describes the iPhone 16 Pro Max sound as "silky smooth", which is quite the compliment considering how demanding he is.

Read more in our iPhone 16 Pro Max review

ROG Phone 9 Pro

ROG phones used to have AMAZING loudspeakers with big, two-speaker designs back in the day, but in the last couple of generations the quality has dropped as the company goes for speakers that take up a bit less space.

Still, the ROG Phone 9 Pro sounds great. It gets loud and boomy, it's great for gaming, but also for music listening and YouTube videos on the go. The speakers can be described as loud and spacious, but they have a very pronounced response somewhere in the lower mids, which makes them sound a bit too "dark".

Read more in our ROG Phone 9 Pro review

Pixel 9 Pro XL

Pixel phones have improved a great deal and the Pixel 9 series have the best loudspeakers so far in the series.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL is the best of them all, delivering a bit extra punch compared to its smaller counter-parts. Stand out features of this speaker system are clear lows, and well defined mids (for a smartphone that is).

Read more in our Pixel 9 Pro XL review

Galaxy S24 Ultra

Samsung has been a bit behind others in speaker quality before, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra fixes that as it delivers boomy sound with a lot more definition in the lows, which used to sound very flat on previous editions.

The sounds are generally balanced, and you can listen to music clips through it. But there’s some hollowness in the mids and some harshness in the high frequencies, which can sometimes be fatiguing.

Read more in our Galaxy S24 Ultra review

We asked and you told us – phone speaker quality matters!

A while back we asked you – does phone speaker quality matter? Nearly 80% of the voters said yes – "Speaker quality matters to me and I want better phone speakers in the future". Just over 15% of the voters said that they're happy with how phone speakers sound right now, while only about 5% said speaker quality isn't important to them.

Those aren't surprising results by any means. And while curiously many phone manufacturers don't seem to put that much focus on speakers and sound quality as a whole, there are still some modern smartphones that do provide a great audio experience.

Check these guides by our experts too:

View Full Bio

Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.