The best-sounding smartphones and tablets of 2024

The top speakers among compact flagships

In stark contrast to the mid-range category, choosing the best-sounding compact flagship was pretty easy. Firstly, there aren't that many compact high-end smartphones, and secondly, Apple has two smartphones in this category. Historically, Apple has always had some of the best stereo speakers on its smartphones.

So it's no surprise that this year's winner is the Apple iPhone 16 Pro, closely followed by the non-Pro iPhone 16. Both devices deliver exceptional sound quality with well-balanced output when it comes to bass, mids and highs. Sure, the iPhone 16 Pro isn't very loud to begin with, but the sound quality is unrivaled. And that's pretty impressive, given that small devices struggle with bass and are generally more distorted at higher volume.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 takes third place, but only because the Xiaomi 14 doesn't sound convincing enough and delivers rather muffled vocals. It definitely has more bass than the S24, but the latter delivers a cleaner sound, albeit flat. The two Pixels this year are hard to recommend if you are looking for the best-sounding speakers.