Here are the handsets with the best smartphone speakers

Most phone speakers are not that great, mainly because of their size. However, a few handsets pay more attention to audio than others, offering better quality sound and even front-facing speakers in some instances. Here are the smartphones with the best speakers.

Smartphones with the best speakers

Editor’s note: We will regularly update this list of smartphones with the best speakers as new devices launch, but the latest isn’t always the best! We’ll always focus on the best audio rather than the newest, but natural tech improvements may mean clear winners are newer devices. Read on!

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a massive phone with an extensive list of features and abilities. It offers excellent performance, wears a vivid screen, boasts S Pen support, has great battery life, includes fantastic cameras, and more. Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is also one of the best phones with the best smartphone speakers.

In our Galaxy S24 Ultra review, we remarked that the phone has “loud, punchy speakers,” building on the solid sound offered by its predecessor. Like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, the latest model’s speakers can double as a miniature boombox while keeping distortion in check.

It’s not a true audiophile phone, though. The device lacks a headphone jack, but at least you get plenty of Bluetooth support and can still use dongles. As Samsung’s top model, it’s costly, starting at $1,299. The device is starting to age, though, and you can often find it at a discount.

Galaxy S24 Ultra specs:

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

Google’s new XL flagship once again offers an excellent photography kit, long Android support period, and unique AI smarts. But it’s has a hidden talent: it’s speaker system. It’s easily among the best of the Pixel series, that includes the former claimant of this spot, the Pixel 8 Pro.

The Pixel 9 Pro XL also supports spatial audio, if you enjoy immersive 360-degree sound when listening with supported headphones. We’ve tested spatial audio on Pixels in the past, and the results are quite impressive.

Beyond it’s speakers, the Pixel 9 Pro XL is a mighty device. It offers a great display, solid build quality, much faster wired charging, and a much cleaner design. If we had any qualms, it would be the base storage quota of just 128GB and the Tensor G4, which still runs warmer than its contemporaries and lags behind in grunt.

Pixel 9 Pro XL specs:

ASUS ROG Phone 9

The following top picks for the best phone speakers are the two gaming phones that are part of ASUS’ ROG Phone series. The ninth edition devices not only include excellent speakers, but they also retain a 3.5mm headphone jack. The physical output has support for 32-bit audio, spatial audio, and AudioWizard with multiple listening profiles.

The ASUS ROG Phone 9 series speakers are great out of the box, but you can get the most out of them by tacking on several accessories, like the AeroActive Cooler X Pro or the Tessen controller.

ASUS has bolted some impressive specs on the device too, headlined by a Snapdragon 8 Elite. It also includes a gorgeous design, an amazing battery life, and a gorgeous screen with a 165Hz refresh rate.

ROG Phone 9 specs:

ROG Phone 9 Pro specs:

Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2024)

Motorola isn’t known for amazing flagship phones, but it sure knows how to make a great budget phone. The Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) is a great overall package considering the price, and it also happens to have some of the best smartphone speakers.

It has two, one in the earpiece and another one pointing downwards. In our Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) review, we mention how loud these get. In fact, we mention these are the loudest speakers we’ve ever tested in any Moto G models. That said, distortion does start creeping in past about the 50% volume levels. It isn’t horrible, but definitely noticeable.

The Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) is a pretty awesome phone elsewhere, especially at the $400 price point. We love the OLED screen, included stylus, textured back, and long battery life. We managed to get about two days per charge!

Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) specs:

Apple iPhone 16 series

We can have the Android vs iPhone argument all you want, but at the end of the day, we can’t deny Apple makes some pretty good phones. The iPhone 16 series is another example, offering various body sizes and shapes but keeping the general experience consistent. This includes the speaker performance.

All four devices come with dual speakers; one is in the earpiece, and one is firing downwards. This arrangement hasn’t changed much from the iPhone 15 lineup, which themselves were excellent for loudspeaker playback.

The iPhone 16 series offers excellent wireless audio features, including Bluetooth 5.3 support, A2DP, spatial audio, and Dolby Atmos. Paired with a great display and excellent camera arrangement, and you have a solid entertainment and content capture package.

iPhone 16 specs:

iPhone 16 Plus specs:

iPhone 16 Pro specs:

iPhone 16 Pro Max specs:

Sony Xperia 1 VI

Sony has offered smartphone speakers with great audio quality for a long time, including other original big brand ideas like being one of the first to commit to offering water-resistant Android phones. To the goods: the Sony Xperia 1 VI kept the stereo front-facing speakers and still offers a 3.5mm jack.

The full-stage stereo speakers also offer a balanced left and right playback, making sound much more immersive and natural. Sony mentions it has made improvements to reduce distortion at high volumes and optimize low-frequency sounds. Additionally, there is support for all the highest standards, including DSEE Ultimate, 360 Reality Audio, LDAC, Hi-Res wireless audio, Bluetooth LE audio, and Snapdragon sound.

Otherwise, Sony’s phone is quite impressive, offering top-of-the-line specs for outstanding performance, a great camera experience, a simplified but elegant design, and a 4K display. Just be ready to pay a pretty penny for it, as it carries a £1,299 price tag. Another big downside is that there are no plans to officially bring it to the USA.

Xperia 1 VI specs:

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6

If you’re looking for a foldable phone with some of the best phone speakers, we think the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 is the right choice. The previous generation had remarkable speakers, and the latest Samsung flip phone follows the tradition. The device is very loud for such a small phone, and the audio is very nice and clean, even at the highest volumes.

Additionally, this is a very nice device elsewhere, and it’s also on our list of the best foldable phones. We are fans of its sizeable external display, gorgeous design, performance, and overall experience. The cameras are also pretty nice, even if they aren’t quite up there with the best of the best.

Of course, you can read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 review to learn more about the device.

Galaxy Z Flip 6 specs:

OnePlus 12

OnePlus doesn’t usually stand out in terms of speaker quality, but it did things right with the OnePlus 11, and the OnePlus 12 is keeping the momentum going. The stereo speakers are loud and punchy. There’s also support for Dolby Atmos and spatial audio.

Otherwise, it’s a pretty good phone, overall. We love the design, it has a stunning display, powerful performance, and the fast charging is insane at 100W (80W in the USA). The price is also pretty enticing at $800. While this often means OnePlus has to make some sacrifices to reach these price levels, our only real concerns are the cameras and the limited IP65 rating.

Otherwise, OnePlus seems to have addressed what was wrong with the OnePlus 11. The OnePlus 12 now has wireless charging support, and it can charge at amazingly fast 50W speeds.

OnePlus 12 specs:

These are the best smartphone speakers, in our opinion. It’s rare that a phone doesn’t have some kind of loudspeaker, but this is all about those that do it better. We’ll also be keeping an eye on new models that fit the bill, so stay tuned for updates to this list of best phone speakers.