Valentine's Day 2024: Best smartphone options to gift your special person

With just a couple of days left before Valentine’s Day approaches, the quest for the perfect gift intensifies.

For those who cherish both love and technology, a smartphone comes off as a thoughtful gift. The new range of handsets not only captures memories but also symbolizes the intimacy shared between tech-savvy couples.

To help you find the perfect gift, DH lists some of the top smartphones worth buying to present to the special person.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max or 15 Plus

With the 3nm class A17 Pro silicon, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the most powerful premium smartphone in the industry. It performs smoothly and has one of the best camera hardware we have reviewed so far in 2024.

Apple iPhone 15 Plus is also a good option. It delivers great day-to-day performance, gaming, and the camera too, it excells in almost all light conditions. Also, it can last two days easily under normal, the best among its class.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Samsung's latest Galaxy S24 Ultra is the most versatile smartphone in the market. The Galaxy AI, which runs on Google's generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI) model Gemini, can perform several tasks with just voice.

Device owners can even create custom wallpapers and themes with just text prompts. The live translation and transcription features work amazingly fast and is accurate most of the time.

The camera too, takes brilliantly in all conditions. It also supports 120X zoom. It has the best display panel for smartphones. Thanks to Corning's special Gorilla glass coating, Samsung has managed to greatly reduce the reflection and glaring issues.

OnePlus 12

OnePlus 12 is a well-rounded premium phone and costs almost half of most of the rival tier-1 branded phones.

The Flowy Emerald green model is one of the best-looking premium phones. It has that natural marble stone-like texture and feel. To be honest, very few can match that kind of visual appeal.

OnePlus 12 is a complete package; it has Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, a high capacity 5,400mAh battery and a beautiful display, which can offer peak brightness up to 4,500nits.

Also, with the big vapour-cool chamber, the OnePlus 12 is well insulated to support graphics-rich games for long hours without getting overheated.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5

It is the best clamshell-design flip phone available in the market. The phone has good build quality, the display is amazingly bright.

Also, for the first time, the cover display of the Galaxy Z Flip has a bigger space to reply to the message instantly. Also, it has a reliable Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen processor to deliver smooth performance.

It features a 3.4-inch super AMOLED HD (720x748p) screen on the front. Inside, it has a bigger 6.7-inch full HD+ Infinity Flex Display-design-based Dynamic AMOLED 2X foldable screen.

It comes with a 3,700mAh battery, dual-camera module-- 12MP Ultra-wide camera + 12MP Wide camera, and a 10MP front camera.

OnePlus Open

It comes with a well-built flexible display and also the foldable phone is slim and light. Also, the front cover display is perfect for working one-handedly, way better than other branded phones in its class.

Also, it boasts several patented technologies. This has helped the company reduce the number of key components required to make foldable phones to 69 compared to more than 100 components required in a similar class of handsets.

It sports a 6.31-inch 2K AMOLED LTPO screen, supports 120Hz refresh rate, 20:9 aspect ratio, and is protected by Corning's Ceramic Guard.

Inside, it comes with a wider 7.82-inch 2K flexi-fluid AMOLED LPTO 3.0 screen, support 120Hz refresh rate, and 2,800 nits peak brightness.

It is protected by a triple-layered shield including ultra-thin glass protective guard.

It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, 16GB LPDDR5X RAM, and 512GB storage (UFS 4.0), and runs Android 13.2-based OxygenOS. It is specially optimised to deliver a seamless user experience on a foldable phone. It houses a 4,805mAh battery and support 67W charging speed.

Also, it comes with a Hasselblad camera and the latest Sony camera sensors offering better photography than the competitors.

OnePlus Open comes packed with a Hasselblad triple-camera module with--48MP (with LYTIA-T808 sensor, Dual-layer Transistor Pixel technology, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation) backed by 48MP Ultra Wide sensor, and a 64MP Telephoto lens (OIS) with LED flash on the back.

On the cover display, it has a 32MP camera and inside, it features a 20MP sensor. Its price start at Rs 1,39,999 in India.

Google Pixel 8 series

The new Pixel 8 and 8 Pro are the ultimate camera phones in the market. They boast advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered computational photography technology to excel in all light conditions.

Also with the recent Gemini gen AI update they are capable of offering advanced camera editing, churning out personalised wallpapers and themes, removing photo bombers with object eraser, and doing more.

Nothing Phone 2

With more LEDs on the back, Phone(2) offer more customisation options and functionality. The Glyph Interface can now serve as a visual countdown and progress tracker for ride or delivery services. It also offers additional functionalities such as a volume checker, and timer.

It features a 6.7-inch full HD+ (1920x1080p) flexible LPTO OLED display, will support variable 1-120Hz refresh rate, and peak brightness up to 1,600nits.

The new Phone(2) sports a dual-camera module— a main 50MP (with 1/1.56-inch Sony IMX890, f/1.88) and 50MP ultra-wide sensor with LED flash. On the front, it features a 32MP sensor (with a 1/2.74-inch Sony IMX615, f/2.45).

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G

It has visually appealing design language, amazing build quality, and also, boasts a really good quality display. It is a decent performer and the camera is on par with any premium phone. It can deliver a full day battery life under normal usage. Its price starts at Rs 36,999.

Honor 90

It features a 6.7-inch full HD+(2664×1200p) OLED 120Hz quad curved display, supporting up to 1,600 nits peak brightness.

It comes with Qualcomm's 4nm class Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition, which can clock CPU speed up to 2.5 GHz. It is backed by Adreno 644 GPU, Android 13-based MagicOS 7.1 (two years OS updates), 8GB/12GB LPDDR5 RAM, 256GB/512GB UFS 3.1 storage, features triple-camera module--main 200MP camera (1/1.4-inch sensor, f/1.9) + 12MP ultra-wide camera (f/2.2, support macro) + 2MP depth sensor ( f/2.4) with LED flash, a 50MP (f/2.4) sensor on the front and a 5,000mAh battery with up to 66W charging speed. The company offers a 30W charger separately for free with the phone. Its price starts at 37,999.

Vivo V29e

The V29e series is a gorgeous-looking smartphone. The company has incorporated top-quality build materials to make the mid-range phone look premium. Also, it does an amazing job repelling the sweaty fingerprint smudges.

It comes with a 6.78-inch full HD+ (2400 × 1080p) AMOLED display, an in-screen fingerprint sensor, Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 octa-core processor, Android 13-based Funtouch OS 13, 8GB RAM, 128GB/256GB storage, and a 5,000mAh battery with a 44W charger.

As far as the photography hardware is concerned, it features a dual-camera module-- main 64MP( f/1.79, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation) backed by an 8MP wide-angle lens (f/2.2) with LED flash on the back. On the front, it houses 50MP (autofocus, f/2.45) for selfies and video chatting. Its price starts at Rs 25,999.

Redmi Note 13 Pro

It features a 6.67-inch 1.5K AMOLED display with IP54 water splash-resistant certification.

It has a 4nm class 2.4GHz Snapdragon 7 Gen 2 chipset, Adreno 710 GPU, 8GB/12GB LPDDR4 RAM, 128GB/256GB storage (UFS 2.2), and a 5,100mAh battery with 67W charger. It also comes with an IP54 rating.

It sports a triple-camera module-- 200MP main sensor ( 1/1.4-inch Samsung HP3 sensor, OIS) + 8MP 120-degree ultra-wide angle camera (f/2.2) aperture, 2MP macro camera (f/2.4) with LED flash. On the front, it houses a 16MP sensor. The prices start at Rs 25,999 in India.

iQOO Neo7

It features a 6.71-inch HD+(1650 x 720p) display, fingerprint sensor on the back, triple slots (nano SIM-1, nano SIM-2, and microSD card), and comes with IP52 dust-and-water splash resistant rating.

It runs Android 12-based MIUI 13 OS, 12nm class MediaTek Helio G85 octa-core processor, 1000MHz ARM Mali-G52 2EEMC2 GPU, 4GB/6GB RAM LPDDR4X RAM with 64GB/ 128GB eMMC 5.1 storage (expandable up to 512GB), dual-camera module—50MP(f/1.8) + 2MP(f/2.4) depth sensor with LED flash on the back, a 5MP front camera and a 5,000mAh battery with 10W charge. Its price starts at Rs 24,999.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite

It features a 6.72-inch full HD+ (2400 x 1080p) LCD panel with a 91.4 per cent screen-to-body ratio.

It comes with Qualcomm's 6nm class Snapdragon 695 octa-core (2.2 GHz Kryo 660 Gold x 2 cores + 1.7 GHz Kryo 660 Silver x 6 cores). It comes paired with Adreno 619L GPU, Android 13-based OxygenOS 13.1 OS, 8GB LPDDR4X RAM with 128GB/256GB (UFS 2.2) storage, triple camera module--108MP (Samsung HM6 sensor, f/1.75) backed by 2MP depth-assist camera and 2MP macro lens with LED flash on the back, an 16MP front camera and a 5,000mAh battery with 67W SuperVOOC fast charger support. Its price starts at Rs 21,999.

Redmi Note 13

It features a 6.67-inch full HD+ (1080×2400p) Super AMOLED display, support up to 120Hz refresh rate, up to 1000 nits peak brightness, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 shield.

It also features a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, a 3.5mm audio jack, hybrid dual-SIM slots (one nano + nano or microSD) and an infrared sensor.

It runs on Android 12-based MIUI 14 (will get Xiaomi HyperOS), 6nm class MediaTek Dimensity 6080 processor with Mali-G57 MC2 GPU, 6GB / 8GB / 12GB LPDDR4X RAM with 128GB / 256GB UFS 2.2 storage (expandable) and a 5,000mAh battery with 33W charger.

It has a dual-camera module— main 108MP (1/1.67-inch sensor, f/1.7) + 2MP macro camera (f/2.4) with LED flash. And, it also comes with a 16MP front camera. Its prices start at Rs 17,999.

Redmi Note 12

It sports a 6.67-inch full HD+ (1080×2400p) super AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, supports 1,200 nits peak brightness, and the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield and IP53 water splash-resistant rating.

Inside, it houses a 6nm class Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 CPU with Adreno 610 GPU, Android 12-based MIUI 13 OS, 4GB / 6GB LPDDR4X RAM with 128GB (UFS 2.2) storage (expandable up to 1TB), triple-camera module--main 48MP (f/1.8) + 8MP ultra-wide camera (f/2.2) + 2MP macro camera (f/2.4) with LED flash, 13MP (f/2.0) camera and a 5,000mAh battery with 33W charger in the box. Its price starts at Rs 10,999 on Amazon.

Moto G14

It comes with a 6.5-inch full HD+(2400×1080p) LCD panel, supports a 20:9 aspect ratio, 60Hz refresh rate 89.47 per cent screen-to-body ratio, and the display is protected by a Panda glass cover.

Motorola's budget phone features a 12m class 2GHz UNISOC T616 octa-core processor, Mali-G57 GPU, Android 13 OS, 4GB LPDDR4X RAM, 128GB UFS 2.2 storage (expandable up to 1TB), and a 5,000mAh battery with 20W charger.

As far as the camera hardware is concerned, it comes with a dual-camera module— a 50MP (f/1.8) + 2MP (f/2.4) macro camera with LED flash on the back. It also features an 8MP(f/2.4) on the front.

Bonus: A non-phone gift option

Canon PowerShot V10

If your special person is vlogger or amatuer photographer, loves taking videos and images, Canon PowerShot V10 is perfect gift.

It is a compact camera and weighs 220g, almost same as a modern smartphone. It is easy to carry around in a pocket.

Canon PowerShot V10.

With 25.4-mm CMOS Sensor and Image Stabilisation capability, it can record high quality 4K videos at 30fps (frames per second).

It can capture wide-angle photos, and supports Face Tracking and Smooth Skin Tone Mode. It also comes with built-in stand and microphone. It costs Rs 39,995.

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