2023 was a relatively slow and enormously difficult year for smartphone companies. Despite the challenges, we’ve seen a lot of advancements on some of the best and latest smartphones, including the latest iPhones, Google Pixel devices, Samsung’s Galaxy phones and tablets. We’ve also seen fascinating releases that promised different takes on existing form factors, thin foldables, new camera sensors, and improved software and hardware that brought anticipated and requested features to the show floor.
To celebrate the successful year of 2023, the Pocketnow team has sat down and picked 13 devices in different categories, crowning the Best Smartphone of 2023 with a special award. And while we would’ve loved to give everyone an award for doing their best, we’ve only included the devices that really pushed their limits to the maximum and stood out the most with their unique features, major improvements, and innovative executions.
Best smartphones of 2023
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Best Conventional Flagship
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the latest and the greatest smartphone in Apple’s lineup. The smartphone is powered by the latest Apple A17 Pro chipset, coupled with 8GB of RAM. It has a more refined Titanium chassis that makes it lighter and more comfortable, and it features a new periscope telephoto camera.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the Best Conventional Flagship because of its all-around enhancements and improved features and hardware. The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a new 3nm, powerful chipset that’s capable of console-level gaming, a new titanium chassis that feels significantly lighter than last year’s iPhone 14 Pro Max, and a camera that’s notably better than in previous years.
It’s fair to say that if you’re an Apple user, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is currently the best smartphone you can buy. The phone gets you a lot of new features and improved hardware, some of which you won’t be able to find in other iPhones, even in the 15 Pro model, such as the new periscope telephoto camera.
As an honorable mention, we must include the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, which came with a plethora of improvements on its own. Samsung managed to improve the camera, its general performance, battery life, and durability.
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Best Camera
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the latest and the greatest smartphone in Apple’s lineup. The smartphone is powered by the latest Apple A17 Pro chipset, coupled with 8GB of RAM. It has a more refined Titanium chassis that makes it lighter and more comfortable, and it features a new periscope telephoto camera.
Apple has done a marvelous job this year on the entire iPhone 15 series, and the latest iPhone 15 Pro Max has received the Best Camera Smartphone Award. Apple has improved the iPhone 15 Pro Max in every way possible, and it’s the first iPhone in the series to sport a new periscope telephoto camera that’s capable of 5x optical zoom. While Apple is late to the party, the camera enhancements this year deserve a round of applause.
Images and videos usually come out sharp, well-balanced, and with little noise in challenging conditions. Nighttime shots are typically clear with great detail, and the camera captures accurate colors even in direct sunlight. Selfies are spot on, and while some will prefer other OEM’s color profile, there’s no denying that the 15 Pro Max takes excellent photos in most environments.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
Best Foldable
$1620 $1920 Save $300
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the latest foldable flagship in the lineup. It’s equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, a powerful triple rear camera, a large 6.2-inch cover and 7.6-inch main display, and a large battery that can last all day on a single charge.
Samsung has managed to once again do a fantastic job on one of the most popular foldable flagships, the Galaxy Z Fold 5. While the company failed to stand out in 2023, it made small enhancements that made the Fold 5 a solid recommendation, and a safe option buy for smartphone enthusiasts and those who are new to the new foldable market.
The Fold 5 received the Best Foldable Award for a number of reasons, one of which is the inclusion of the excellent S Pen. While some other foldables support the stylus input, none have done it the same way as Samsung, making the Fold 5 stand out by a mile. We also still believe that the software experience is best accomplished on Samsung’s devices, although this could be subjective depending on your preferences.
The final word is that if you’re looking for a solid foldable with few sacrifices and excellent software support, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is still the device to beat. Other OEMs are slowly catching up, and we look forward to seeing how Samsung responds with its next-generation device, the Galaxy Z Fold 6, that’s expected to arrive in the summer of 2024.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
Best Flip-style Foldable
$850 $1000 Save $150
The latest Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 comes with a large 3.4-inch cover display, a 6.7-inch AMOLED foldable display with 120Hz refresh rate, upgraded Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, dual-12MP cameras, and much more.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is undoubtedly one of the best foldable flip phones in 2023. Samsung equipped the latest phone in the series with a larger cover screen, a premium chipset, and made some small enhancements that make it a compelling device at a price that’s affordable.
The new cover screen makes the Flip 5 an even easier recommendation, since users can now use selected third-party apps, and take advantage of the larger screen without having to open their device. If you miss classic flip phones, the Flip 5 might just offer the new smartphone phone you’ve been itching for. While other foldable flip phones might offer larger cover screens and similar specs, the Flip 5 is the one that provides the best overall package.
Users can also find the Flip 5 on sale throughout the year, and Samsung often offers unmissable deals and great trade-in deals that could bring the $999.99 starting price tag down to the more affordable $800 range.
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Most Innovative
$799 $999 Save $200
The Google Pixel 8 Pro, featuring the third-generation Tensor G3, is Google’s flagship phone for 2023. It introduces some small improvements overall, a brand-new processor to set it apart, a thermometer sensor, and promises an outstanding smartphone camera experience.
The Google Pixel 8 Pro is equipped with the Google Tensor G3 chip, and while it might lack the raw power of other competing devices, it makes up for it with its advanced AI enhancements and technology solutions. If anything, Google has proved that raw power alone doesn’t make a smartphone, and a device with less performance can still accomplish tasks thanks to the power of various algorithms and models.
The Pixel 8 Pro is one of the best camera smartphones, and if you’re looking for a device that has new and trendy features that are currently only available on desktops – such as the ability to render higher-quality videos at night, the ability to manipulate images like you could on PC using Photoshop, then the Pixel 8 Pro is the phone for you.
The Pixel 8 Pro is one of the most innovative smartphones in 2023, and it stands out with its unique photo and video editing features, AI enhancements, and beautiful new rounded looks.
OnePlus Open
Best Design
The new OnePlus Open is powered by the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, and comes with an inward folding design. It houses a 7.8-inch main, and a 6.3-inch cover display with 120Hz refresh rate. It has a powerful triple camera setup, and support for 80W wired charging.
The OnePlus Open was voted for the Best Design award for its ergonomic design, immersive displays, and powerful performance. The Open features the perfect form factor and shape, and it’s one of the best foldable devices, equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC and 16GB of RAM.
OnePlus’ first foldable also has an excellent software, and it’s perfect for power users, and those who want to multitask on a mobile device that can open up to a large-display tablet. The OnePlus Open borrows a lot of design elements and aesthetics from the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus 12, and it’s easily one of the most distinguishable foldable smartphones that you can buy right now.
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OnePlus 11
Best for Most
$600 $700 Save $100
Featuring a large 6.7-inch AMOLED LTPO 3.0 display and powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, the OnePlus 11 is one of the best Android flagships you can buy right now. It also comes with a Hasselblad- tuned camera system and a big 5,000 mAh battery that supports fast charging.
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Google Pixel 8
Best for Most
The Google Pixel 8 features a 6.2-inch display with adaptive refresh rate (up to 120Hz). It also ships with the improved Google Tensor G3 and a 4,575 mAh cell that will allow for all-day use. And if you enjoy capturing images on your smartphone, its cameras, enhanced by AI will help capture the best moment in your life.
The OnePlus 11 and the Google Pixel 8 are both fantastic smartphones, and they’re easily some of the best devices we can recommend to most users due to their great looks, ergonomic and compact design, and excellent set of features.
The OnePlus 11 stands out with its powerful hardware, large display, fast charging, and large battery. The Pixel 8 has a gorgeous display, a more compact design, one of the best cameras in 2023, and seven years of OS and security updates going for it.
Depending on your budget and needs, one of these devices will likely provide you with enough features to justify their price tag, and if you’re a fan of Google’s version of Android and fast software updates, the Pixel 8 will be a great choice. For those looking for more customization options, and slightly more hardware and overall features, the OnePlus 11 might be the ideal alternative.
HONOR 90
Best Mid-range
The HONOR 90 is an excellent midranger. It’s fast, responsive, has a great camera setup, and it can last a full day on a single charge. The HONOR 90 has a large 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, support for 66W fast wired charging, and a triple camera setup on the back.
The HONOR 90 is a solid midranger. It offers an excellent package in a compact form factor, beautiful looks, and a competitive performance with plenty of features to get you up and running quickly. The phone comes with a large 6.7-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate. It’s bright, colorful, and looks beautiful with its slim bezels.
The phone is powerful enough to do anything from running multiple apps in the background, playing graphics-intensive games, and editing high-resolution photos on the device. It’s capable of everything but costs less than half of most modern flagships. If you’re in Europe and looking for a solid midranger that nails all the basics, the HONOR 90 is the phone to buy.
Google Pixel 7a
Best Budget Phone
$450 $500 Save $50
The Pixel 7a is the new affordable smartphone from Google, featuring much-awaited features such as a 90Hz responsive display, a more powerful camera setup, and support for wireless charging. The Pixel 7a is powered by the Tensor G2 chipset, and it’s the best device in the A series yet.
The budget smartphone market is incredibly competitive, and you can buy many great devices anywhere between $200-$500. However, one device stood out the most with its superb camera quality, great general performance, and massive enhancements that made it to this list. The device in question is the new Google Pixel 7a.
Google’s latest affordable device has undergone significant changes, and the Pixel 7a now features a 6.1-inch OLED display with 90Hz refresh rate, the flagship Tensor G2 chip with 8GB of RAM. It has a powerful dual camera setup that competes against devices that cost twice the Pixel 7a, and this year’s phone even made room for a 7.5W wireless charging coil inside the device.
If you’re looking for quick software updates, an excellent budget phone with a flagship-like camera quality, and a great all-rounder, the Pixel 7a ticks all the boxes at an affordable price.
Motorola Razr+ 2023
Best Compact
$700 $1000 Save $300
The Motorola Razr+ (2023) (also known as Razr 40 Ultra in some regions) is the company’s latest flip-style foldable. It features a 6.9-inch AMOLED foldable display, a 3.6-inch cover screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, 12MP and 13MP cameras, and much more.
The new Motorola Razr+ (also known as the Moto Razr 40 Ultra in some regions) is the company’s latest flip-style foldable. The Razr+ ticks all the boxes, and it surprised everyone with its massive changes to the form factor, design, and durability that Motorola managed to keep under wraps.
The Moto Razr+ is powered by the powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, and it packs a massive 3.6-inch cover screen, and 6.9-inch AMOLED main display. The cover screen can be used to use any apps, reducing the need to open up the phone and check your notifications, emails, and it even lets you compose messages on the fly.
Additionally, the Razr+ is one of the most compact smartphones that money can buy in 2023, and it’s easily the most pocketable device. It’s slim, lightweight, and packs a ton of features that make it the best compact device this year.
Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
Best Gaming Smartphone
The ASUS ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is one of the best gaming smartphones in 2023. It comes with a flagship chipset, a highly responsive 165Hz display, pressure-sensitive zones, and an air vent to help you get the best gaming experience.
There are several gaming smartphones you can choose from, but none of them feature as many features, performance enhancements, and unique looks as the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate. Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage, it’s one of the most powerful devices, even in late 2023. It’s one of the few rare gaming devices to feature an IP54 ingress protection certificate. It has a bright display, and lots of gaming-oriented features that help gamers become better, and more efficient in the most competitive titles on Android.
As a runner-up, the nubia REDMAGIC 8S Pro receives a round of applause for its elegant and gamer-y looks, outstanding performance, and long battery life. The 8S Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2 SoC, with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. It’s fair to say, it’s one of the fastest gaming phones in 2023. It has shoulder triggers, RGB lights, and built-in features that help you master any game within minutes, helping you rank up faster and more efficiently.
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iPhone 15
Most Improved Smartphone
The iPhone 15 comes with a 6.1-inch OLED display with the new Dynamic Island, a dual camera setup, new colors, and a USB Type-C port. It’s powered by the Apple A16 Bionic chip, and it’s the most affordable high-end iPhone you can get your hands on today.
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iPhone 15 Plus
Most Improved Smartphone
The iPhone 15 Plus is larger than the standard iPhone 15. It comes with a 6.7-inch OLED display, a dual camera setup, new colors, and a USB Type-C port. It’s powered by the Apple A16 Bionic chip, and it’s the best and most affordable large iPhone you can get your hands on today.
The iPhone 15 series are the most improved smartphones in 2023. The standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus stand out with their more reasonable price tags than their Pro siblings. The new devices feature USB Type-C ports – a first on an iPhone – a new dual camera setup, and a more powerful and efficient chip. The standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus also benefit from Dynamic Island, bringing flagship features previously only available to the Pro series to the more affordable devices.
The iPhone 15 series are excellent devices, featuring new cameras that improve low-light performance, and additional zoom levels that yield higher-quality images with even more detail. If you’re looking for a great all-rounder that provides everything you need with a large screen, we recommend the iPhone 15 Plus, and the iPhone 15 for those looking for a smaller version with all the same features and premium craftsmanship.
What did you think of our list of the best smartphones of 2023? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
