Need help choosing between new Android phones

General
1

I’m ready to upgrade and there are so many new Android phones that I’m overwhelmed. I care about camera quality, battery life, and long-term updates, but reviews online conflict and most are sponsored. Can anyone share real-world experiences or recommendations to help me decide which new Android phone to buy?

2

You are not crazy, reviews are a mess right now. Sponsored stuff everywhere. Here is the short version based on what you care about: camera, battery, long term updates.

If you want the longest support and clean software
• Google Pixel 8 or 8 Pro
• Samsung Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra

Both brands promise 7 years of OS + security updates on these lines. That is better than almost everyone else right now.

  1. Camera quality
    Best still photos
    • Pixel 8 / 8 Pro. Great HDR, faces, low light. Point, shoot, done.
    • S24 Ultra is strong too, more zoom, more control, but needs a bit more tweaking.

Video
• S24 Ultra beats Pixel, more stable, better detail.
• Pixel is fine for casual use but not as strong as Samsung or iPhone.

If you only want easy “take photo, it looks good” go Pixel.
If you want zoom, better video, more control, go S24 Ultra.

  1. Battery life
    • S24 Ultra lasts longest for most users. 1.5 days for average use.
    • S24 and S24+ are good, not amazing.
    • Pixel 8 Pro is decent, Pixel 8 is ok. They make it through a day, not much more if you are heavy user.

If you are on your phone a lot, the S24 Ultra is safer.

  1. Long term updates
    Right now the strong choices:
    • Pixel 8 series
    • Galaxy S24 series

Both advertise 7 years of OS and security updates.
Older models like S23, Pixel 7 get fewer years. Fine if cheaper, but not as future proof.

  1. Practical picks by budget

High budget
• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

  • Best battery of the bunch
  • Strong camera, great zoom, strong video
  • Long update support
  • A bit big and heavy

• Pixel 8 Pro

  • Best “auto” camera experience
  • Clean Android, smart AI tools
  • Updates for years
  • Battery not as strong as S24 Ultra

Mid budget
• Galaxy S24+

  • Bigger screen and battery than S24
  • Same chipset and updates
    • Pixel 8
  • Smaller, lighter
  • Great camera, weaker zoom, ok battery

Lower budget but still solid
• Pixel 7 or 7a if cheap on sale

  • Less years of support left
  • Still great camera for price
  1. What I would do, simple version
    Ask yourself:
    • Want best camera for photos and do not care much about heavy gaming or crazy zoom
    → Pixel 8 Pro if you like big phone, Pixel 8 if you like smaller.

• Want strong all rounder with better video, zoom, and battery
→ Galaxy S24 Ultra.

• Want something cheaper but still decent
→ Pixel 7a if you find it for a good discount.

If you share your region and budget, and if you prefer smaller or larger phones, you will get more specific recs. Right now, for most people with your priorities, the safe top two are Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S24 Ultra.

3

I’ll mostly co-sign what @hoshikuzu said, but add a slightly different angle so you’re not just hearing the same checklist twice.

If your priorities are:

  1. Camera
  2. Battery
  3. Long‑term updates

then I’d actually start with how you shoot:

1. What kind of camera person are you?

  • “Point, shoot, share, no effort”:
    Pixel 8 / 8 Pro really are the champs here. The processing is tuned so faces and HDR just work. I actually think the Pixel’s portrait photos look more natural than Samsung’s sometimes over-sharpened vibe.

  • “I zoom on everything, record my kid’s soccer games, and crop like crazy”:
    Galaxy S24 Ultra is still your better bet. The zoom flexibility is real, and the video is smoother. Where I disagree a bit with the Pixel hype: if you care about video as much as photos, Pixel falls behind. It’s fine, just not great.

2. Battery in real life, not just specs

  • I’ve used Pixels that technically “last a day,” but if you’re on 5G, with maps, socials, and camera, the Pixel 8 (non‑Pro) can feel tight by evening.
  • S24 Ultra is realistically the “don’t think about it” battery phone. Even if you game or shoot a bunch of video, it holds up better.
  • If you hate battery anxiety more than you love slightly nicer photo processing, I’d rank it:
    S24 Ultra > S24+ > Pixel 8 Pro > Pixel 8.

3. Long‑term updates vs long‑term performance

Both Pixel 8 series and S24 series getting 7 years is great. What people skip over:

  • Samsung historically keeps performance decent over time and has battery settings that help you nurse longevity.
  • Pixels get updates fast, but sometimes those updates ship with bugs early on. If you’re not into troubleshooting random quirks after a big update, keep that in mind.

4. A couple options people forget

If price matters at all:

  • S23 Ultra on discount is still a monster camera + battery combo. Fewer years of updates than S24 Ultra, but if you upgrade every 3–4 years anyway, it’s often the better value.
  • Pixel 7 Pro still has a great camera and will be supported for several years, but only makes sense if the discount is actually large compared to Pixel 8 / 8 Pro.

5. Quick recommendation by “personality”

  • Hate fiddling with settings, love photos, okay with average battery:
    → Pixel 8 Pro.

  • Want a tank phone with big screen, top battery, great zoom, stronger video, and you don’t mind One UI:
    → Galaxy S24 Ultra.

  • Want something smaller / cheaper but still solid camera + updates:
    → Pixel 8 or a discounted S24 (non‑plus).

If you drop your budget, country, and whether you prefer small vs big phones, people can probably narrow it down to 1 or 2 exact models pretty easily. Right now though, with your priorities, it’s realistically a Pixel 8 Pro vs S24 Ultra coin flip, weighted by:
auto photos → Pixel
battery + video / zoom → Samsung.

4

I’d lean a bit differently from @himmelsjager and @hoshikuzu in one key way: I’d decide first by size and weight, then by camera / battery, not the other way around. If you hate using a big slab, the “perfect” camera on a Galaxy S24 Ultra will not matter in six months.

1. Start with size

  • Like big phones:
    Shortlist: Pixel 8 Pro, Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy S24+.
  • Prefer compact / one‑hand use:
    Shortlist: Pixel 8, Galaxy S24.

Cut anything that feels too big in hand. That one choice already cleans up half the confusion.

2. Camera: what you actually shoot

Where I slightly disagree with both of them: I think the gap between S24 Ultra and Pixel 8 Pro for photos is smaller than people make it sound.

  • Portraits / people / low light:
    Pixel 8 & 8 Pro still have the “point and it looks right” vibe, especially for faces.
  • Travel / events / concerts:
    S24 Ultra’s zoom is not a gimmick. If you ever zoom past 3x, it really pays off.
  • Video:
    Here I agree: S24 Ultra is clearly ahead. If you record a lot of kids, pets, sports, it matters.

If you mainly post stills to social media, portraits, food etc, Pixel 8 Pro is honestly enough and less fiddly.

3. Battery reality, not specs

Where I’m slightly harsher on Google: Pixels can feel fine at first and then show weaker endurance a few months in if you are on 5G, maps and camera.

Rough real‑world order for heavy users:
S24 Ultra > S24+ > S24 > Pixel 8 Pro > Pixel 8.

If you hate carrying a power bank, the Galaxy S24 Ultra stands out. Pixels are “one full day” phones, not “forget the charger” phones.

4. Long‑term updates vs long‑term sanity

Both Pixel 8 series and S24 series promising 7 years is great, but:

  • Pixels get Android updates first, and sometimes that means first in line for weird bugs.
  • Samsung is slower but tends to ship more polished updates, and One UI has tons of knobs to manage battery health and background apps.

If you are not the type to troubleshoot random glitches after a big update, that is a point in Samsung’s favor.

5. Pros & cons snapshot

Since you mentioned being overwhelmed, here is the fast tradeoff view that complements what @himmelsjager and @hoshikuzu wrote:

Pixel 8 / 8 Pro
Pros:

  • Best “auto” photo experience for most people
  • Clean Android, quick updates, long support
  • Smart photo tools (Magic Editor, Best Take, etc)

Cons:

  • Battery is just okay, especially on Pixel 8
  • Video is still behind Samsung in stabilization and consistency
  • Tensor chips can run warm under load

Galaxy S24 / S24+ / S24 Ultra
Pros:

  • Excellent battery, especially S24 Ultra
  • Strong zoom and better video, great for travel and events
  • Very long support and lots of power‑user options

Cons:

  • Heavier software layer; can feel bloated if you like “stock” Android
  • Camera processing is sharper / punchier, not everyone loves the look
  • S24 Ultra is big and heavy, not ideal if you prefer compact phones

6. How to actually choose in 10 minutes

  1. Go to a store.
  2. Pick up Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S24 Ultra.
  3. Decide which one your hand likes more.
  4. Take 3 quick comparison photos indoors and one short video on each.
  5. Look at them right on the phones, not zoomed to 300%.
  6. Take the one whose feel + photos + video make you smile more, not the one with the “better spec sheet.”

If you share your region, budget range, and whether you want small vs big, you can narrow it to literally one or two models and be done. Right now, for your priorities, it really is:

  • Prefer smaller & simple great photos: Pixel 8.
  • Want big and balanced with camera, battery, video, zoom: Galaxy S24 Ultra.
  • Want big but cleaner software and easy photos, okay with weaker battery: Pixel 8 Pro.