- Mobile Provider of the Year - TPG
- Best SIM-Only Provider, Value Plans - Moose Mobile
- Best SIM-Only Provider, Large Plans - iiNet
- Best Prepaid Provider, Value Plans - TPG
- Best Prepaid Provider, Large Plans - TPG
- Best Provider, iPhone Plans - Vodafone
- Best Provider, Samsung Plans - Vodafone
- Best Provider, International Calls - Lebara
- Best Provider, Plans for Kids - TPG
- Best Mobile Promotion - Moose Mobile
- Sustainable Mobile Provider of the Year - Felix
- Phone of the Year - Google Pixel 8a
- Best Camera Phone - iPhone 15 Pro Max
- Best Phone Design - OPPO Find N3 Flip
- Best Value Phone - Motorola Edge 50 Fusion
- Best High Performance Phone - iPhone 15 Pro Max
- Phone Manufacturer of the Year - Motorola
Welcome to the 2024 WhistleOut Awards, where we recognise the service providers and phone companies that presented the best telco plans, products & promotions to Australians over the last year.
In today’s competitive telecoms industry, our winning service providers stand out for their consistency in offering consumers great value, with the winning phone companies delivering devices of the best quality and value.
You can find the winners of WhistleOut's Mobile Provider and Phone categories below, or check out the winners of WhistleOut's Internet Provider categories!
Further details about the awards and how they are judged can be found here.
2024 Mobile Winners
Mobile Provider Of The Year
TPG is WhistleOut's 2024 Mobile Provider of the Year, backing up the same achievement from last year. TPG consistently offers Australians great value across its phone plans, particularly in the prepaid area. If you're looking for an affordable mobile plan for yourself or your kids then TPG has got you covered with its range of no-frills options. It's a great place to start your search in this budget-conscious time.
Best SIM-Only Provider, Value Plans
Queensland-based Moose Mobile has made it four-in-a-row winning the Best SIM Only Provider, Value Plans award once again. The budget MVNO runs on the Optus network and prides itself on low costs and great customer service. This is something Moose Mobile has delivered in spades over the last few years.
Runner Up:SpinTel
Best SIM-Only Provider, Large Plans
Winning this category for the second year running, iiNet's value packed 40GB plan is definitely worth a look if you like a big data bang for your buck
Runner Up:Circles.Life
Best Prepaid Provider, Value Plans
TPG and Catch have traded positions this year, with TPG's budget-conscious plans taking it to the top spot. TPG has really established itself as one of the country's most consistent providers of budget-friendly prepaid plans over recent years.
Runner Up:Catch
Best Prepaid Provider, Large Plans
Some people might know TPG best for its cheap internet plans, but it's also a great option if you're in the market for a prepaid phone plan. TPG's no-frills prepaid offerings have now delivered it the gong for Best Prepaid Provider, Large Plans three years in a row.
Runner Up:Felix
Best Provider, iPhone Plans
Vodafone has done it again and made it four in-a-row. Vodafone has set the bar for competitive pricing and inclusions of iPhone contracts over the last few years and is the place to go for people looking to buy an iPhone on a plan.
Runner Up:Optus
Best Provider, Samsung Plans
It's perhaps no surprise Vodafone has mirrored its iPhone Award performance in the Samsung category as well, making it a fourth win on the trot. If you want to buy a new Samsung phone on a contract plan then you could do a lot worse than checking out what Vodafone has to offer.
Runner Up:Optus
Best Provider, International Calls
Lebara came a close second in the Best Provider, International Calls category last year but goes one better in this time around. The inclusions Lebara packed into its $24.90 Small Plan were hard to beat.
Runner Up:amaysim
Best Provider, Plans for Kids
Prepaid plans without too much data are high on the shopping list when looking for a phone plan for children and with its great range of prepaid plan options to meet all needs TPG comfortably took home the Best Provider, Plans for Kids award.
Runner Up:Catch
Best Phone Plan Promotion
Moose Mobile takes home the gong for Best Phone Plan Promotion for offering the Moose 25GB plan for only $9.80/mth for the first seven months, when it normally sold for $24.80/mth. For under $10/mth, the promo price for this plan was extremely cheap and gave users a good whack of data as well. While the plan price did revert to normal after the seven-month promo period ended, it still afforded users plenty of time to enjoy great savings and also do their research to switch to another great deal afterwards.
Sustainable Mobile Provider of the Year
felix mobile has followed up the last two years' performance by winning WhistleOut's Sustainable Mobile Provider of the Year award for the third time running. Sustainability is at the heart of the felix mobile business, running on 100% renewable power, using eSIMs and planting trees for every customer. Guided by its principles of being simple, digital and sustainable, felix mobile encourages people to think more about the environmental impact of their telco choices.
2024 Mobile Phone Winners
Phone Of The Year
Google Pixel 8a
The Pixel 8a is in a league of its own when it comes to more affordable phones, even if it is a little more expensive this year. You’re still getting camera quality and performance that punches above the price tag, and this is bolstered by improved battery life and an extensive support promise. Google now promises seven years of software support for the Pixel 8a, which is unheard of for a sub-$1,000 Android device.
If you’re looking for the best bang for your buck, it’s hard to go past the Pixel 8a. Not only does it outclass phones in its price bracket, it can go toe-to-toe with more expensive rivals.
Best Camera Phone
When it comes to the upper echelon of phones, you’re not going to get a bad camera. After all, when you’re spending over $1,000 on a handset, you’re really paying for photo quality.
In a crowded market, the iPhone 15 Pro Max beats the competition thanks to its reliability. It’s the fastest shooting phone on the market, meaning you’re less likely to miss the moment you’re trying to capture - whether it’s a child, a pet, or a concert. When combined with excellent video and macro capabilities, it’s a great all rounder.
What makes the Pro Max stand out this year is the new 5x optical zoom lens. Long-range zoom has historically been unreliable, but Apple has managed to pack the Pro Max with surprisingly fast telephoto capabilities. This makes the 5x camera something you’re more likely to actively use, which is what you want when you’re paying top dollar for tech.
Highly Commended:Google Pixel 8 Pro
Best Phone Design
The OPPO Find N3 is the best example of a tablet-style foldable we’ve seen. It’s a stunning piece of tech that addresses issues like hard-to-use external displays, prominent screen crease, and clunky multi-tasking. When coupled with category-leading cameras, the Find N3 is the kind of device that should push the entire category forward.
OPPO deserves praise for the consideration its given to solving challenges associated with foldable screens when it could just as easily skate by on the novelty.
Highly Commended:Motorola Razr 40 Ultra
Best Value Phone
The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion is a value-packed phone that feels like it should cost more than it does. As with all more affordable devices, the Edge 50 Fusion has made a few compromises to keep the price down, but Motorola has chosen the right ones.
You might not get a best-in-class camera here, but the Edge 50 Fusion delivers in spades when it comes to its sleek design, snappy performance, and long-lasting battery. It feels like great tech that got cheaper, which is a welcome sight in a year where everything else is getting more expensive.
Highly Commended:Nothing Phone 2a
Best High Performance Phone
If you’re after a phone that doesn’t make any compromises, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is as close as you’ll get.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max ticks every box: speed, photographic prowess, and battery life. It’s the fastest phone on the market, has the most reliable camera setup, and has the longest battery life we’ve seen in a high-end phone over the last 12 months. It’s a balanced package.
If you’re looking for a truly premium phone that does the lot, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the device to beat.
Highly Commended:OPPO Find N3
Phone Manufacturer of the Year
Motorola’s had a stunning glow-up over the last 12 months and become a vibrant, innovative player across almost every price point.
The brand has long had a reputation for making great, affordable Android phones, and it’s reinforced that with devices like Edge 50 Fusion and the Moto G84. These are phones where you quite simply get excellent bang for buck.
What’s more interesting is how competitive Motorola has become in the high-end. In the more conventional space, the Edge 50 Pro is a compelling semi-premium pick with some of the fastest charging we’ve seen in a phone.
The foldable category is an even better showcase for Motorola’s prowess. The Razr 40 Ultra was the most ambitious flip phone foldable of the last financial year, thanks to its large external display. It was paired with a more affordable “standard” Razr 40, which was notable as the first “mid-tier” foldable. Given how expensive foldable tech has been, seeing a manufacturer launch cheaper devices in the category is commendable.
It’s for these reasons and more we’ve named Motorola our phone manufacturer of the year. Whether you’re looking for a reliable cheap device, a flashy foldable, or something in between, Motorola is doing something worth paying attention to.
Highly Commended:Nothing
About the Awards
About the Awards The WhistleOut Awards recognise the telco businesses that have consistently provided Australians with the best plans over the last year. The awards also highlight the best promotions and phone products released during that period.
WhistleOut’s mission is to help Australians find better phones and internet, and make better telco decisions. We know it can be a complicated and confusing industry with so many providers, plans and products that it’s easy to get lost and difficult to know who to trust.
That’s where the WhistleOut Awards come in. They aim to cover the different types of phone and internet use cases that apply to most Australians, and show which providers have most consistently offered the best plans over 12 months (July-June). The awards also acknowledge the best phones that have been brought onto the market over the year, and provide a great starting point for anyone looking to make a smart telco change.
Judging Criteria
The WhistleOut Awards are aimed at finding the best providers for different phone and internet needs on a national level.
We have reviewed the biggest cross-section of providers possible, including the top 10 service providers in each category, many smaller providers, and the full range of phone manufacturers available in Australia. The top ten service providers typically cover 80% or more of Australia’s phone and internet plans.
The WhistleOut Award categories for phone and internet plans are judged by awarding 3, 2 and 1 points to the providers of the three best plans in each category on a monthly basis, (July 2023 - June 2024). The award winners are the providers with the highest number of points at the end of the 12-month period. In case of a tie, winners are chosen based on the number of 1st positions, then 2nd positions, then 3rd positions they achieved in that category over the course of the year. A provider can receive points for multiple plans in a category if their plans best match the award criteria.
The exceptions to this judging process are the Best Promotion awards and the Sustainability award. The Best Promotion awards are given to the single best promotion over the 12-month period as judged by WhistleOut’s in-house panel of experts. The Sustainability award was judged by a panel, based on submissions from telcos.
The WhistleOut phone awards are judged by our team of editorial experts who have reviewed the majority of new phones brought out over the last 12 months. Key judging considerations include price, performance, battery, screen, camera, design and the overall user experience.
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