Top 10 samsung best smartphones in 2023-19
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Samsung, a veteran player in the ever-evolving world of mobile technology, has consistently rolled out an array of cutting-edge innovations, unparalleled performance, and a plethora of remarkable features. When it comes to smartphones, especially the flagship ones, Samsung consistently delivers. Show
Whether we're delving into the feature-rich OneUI software, the super-bright and vibrant AMOLED displays, or the inventive, avant-garde cameras, Samsung's smartphones have it all. It's no surprise that they frequently find themselves perched at the pinnacle of the best smartphones on the market. Whether your priority is battery life, pro-grade photography capabilities, seamless performance for the latest gaming titles, or a captivating display for immersive binge-watching, Samsung has you comprehensively covered. Let's not forget the foldable smartphones, a trend Samsung started. The Korean company was also the first one to bring an affordable foldable to the market with the Z Flip line (check out our best flip phones article as well). Whether you desire the crème de la crème of Samsung phones, a mid-range gem, or a sleek foldable, Samsung boasts an extensive lineup, and we're here to guide you in your quest to find the best Samsung phone for you. Without further ado, let's dive right into our roundup of the best Samsung phones available right now. Which is the best Samsung phone right now? - here is our list
Honorable mentions:
Galaxy S23 UltraPhoneArena Rating:9.2/10 The best Samsung phone overall (Image credit - PhoneArena) The Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best smartphone Samsung has to offer right now The pinnacle of Samsung's Galaxy S line-up in 2023 is without a shadow of a doubt the remarkable S23 Ultra! This device stands as the best Samsung phone and the epitome of the Android flagship, checking all the boxes expected from a top-tier phone. The S23 Ultra boasts a gorgeous display, bright and vivid with a buttery-smooth 120Hz refresh rate. But the Galaxy S23 Ultra is not just a pretty display, this phone is a photographic powerhouse, featuring a cutting-edge quad-camera system. The powerful camera system consists of a 200MP primary sensor, two zoom lenses, and an ultra-wide lens. The phone performs well in various lighting conditions, producing detailed photos with great dynamic range. Night photography and Portrait mode have been substantially enhanced compared to its predecessor as well. The best Samsung phone to date comes equipped with the best Qualcomm silicon too. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy is on duty further fortifying the smooth user experience. In the battery department, the S23 Ultra ranks among the longest lasting Samsung phones. With its big 5,000mAh battery, it guarantees an entire day of heavy use, outshining most of the competition. During our testing, this phone endured 18 hours and 57 minutes of continuous web browsing, 8 hours and 54 minutes of non-stop video streaming, and 7 hours and 13 minutes of relentless 3D gaming. All in all, if you want the best Samsung phone, and you prefer the tried-and-tested bar design, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is your best bet. Galaxy Z Fold 5PhoneArena Rating:8.5/10 The best foldable phone from Samsung (Image credit - PhoneArena) Samsung's latest and greatest foldable is here, and now it closes with no gap! The best Galaxy phone might be a foldable, and for some people it actually is. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is ideal for multitaskers - after all, it's a phone and a tablet at the same time. And, of course, it comes with all the perks of a flagship Galaxy phone, making our list of the best Samsung phones without any struggle. There's a lot to like about this last-gen foldable. The two displays are, in typical Samsung fashion, just great - the 6.2-inch outer display (a.k.a the "cover display") and the big 7.6-inch flexible display that unfolds before your eyes in its full glory when you open the phone. Both displays support 120Hz refresh rates for smooth scrolling and transitions. Samsung also redesigned the hinge so now the phone closes with almost zero gap! Just like its non-folding cousin - the Galaxy S23 Ultra - the Z Fold 5 rocks top silicon, the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, which is currently the best Qualcomm has to offer. The camera system of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is also pretty versatile - you get a 50MP main camera with Optical Image Stabilization, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP telephoto with OIS and 3X optical zoom. We mentioned multitasking in the beginning and indeed Samsung has improved the Z Fold 5 in that area as well. The taskbar now supports up to 4 recent apps, and you can split-screen, switch and rearrange apps much easily. Last but not least, let's not forget battery life. During our battery tests, the Fold 5 lasted 9h 22 min on non-stop web browsing, 6h 30 min continuous video streaming, and 5h 34 min on 3D gaming. This foldable is one of the top Galaxy phones for a good reason, and it also ranks as one of the best Samsung phones, and best smartphones overall. Galaxy Z Flip 5PhoneArena Rating:8.0/10 The best clamshell foldable phone The Galaxy Z Flip 5 comes with a brand-new cover screen that can do a lot of things! Samsung's finally nailed the clamshell foldable phone! The Z Flip 5 is one of the best Samsung phones and one of the best foldable phones out there, and it's been notably improved from its predecessor. As any foldable (barring the Mate Xs series), the Z Flip 5 has two displays. Once you unfold it, you are greeted with a beautiful 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a narrow 22:9 aspect ratio, ideal for scrolling or watching movies. You get impressive colors on this AMOLED display. Also, it has a dynamic 1-120Hz refresh rate for buttery smooth scrolling (it can go low to 1Hz if you're looking at something static to save battery life and up to 120Hz for a fluid experience when browsing or UI interaction). But the best part, and also the big upgrade compared to last year, is the new cover screen. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 now boasts a large 3.4-inch external display, much more useful than the tiny front screen of its predecessor. You can run third-party apps on the screen, including Google Maps, YouTube, and Netflix, and this list will only grow with time. You can also text directly on the cover screen without the need to open the phone, and that's just great! As for the camera,you have a dual camera system on the Z Flip 5, much like its predecessor. There's a 12MP main camera and a 12MP ultra-wide shooter - pretty standard specs. The dynamic range is improved but it still produces colors that are on the more saturated side (some people call this a "Samsung look", basically colors that are better than reality - brighter and lively). Powering the device is a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (same as the Z Fold 5), a beast of a chip which is receiving universal praise. Thanks to that, the Z Flip 5 is plenty fast and hiccup-free. It's not ideal for gamers because it throttles a bit on heavier and demanding games, so maybe go for the S23 Ultra if you're a gamer. As for battery, the Z Flip 5 sports the same 3,700mAh battery cell as the one in the Z Flip 4. On our extensive battery life tests, the Z Flip 5 scored 12h and 21 min on non-stop web browsing, 7h 13 min continuous video streaming, and 5h 6 min on 3D gaming. So, the numbers are more or less the same as what we had last year, which is not a surprise, given both phone have identical batteries. All in all, if you're looking for a clamshell phone from Samsung, you should go for the Galaxy Z Flip 5. Galaxy Note 20 UltraPhoneArena Rating: 9.3/10 The best Samsung phone with an integrated S Pen (Image credit - PhoneArena) The Note 20 Ultra is still an amazing phone, even though it's more than three years old The Note 20 Ultra is the last model from the dedicated Note-series, at least for now. Released in 2020, now it's a more affordable option for all of you who would like an S-Pen Samsung phone for less money. The Note 20 Ultra features a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen that looks beautiful and premium. Colors are gorgeous and the display has excellent viewing angles. You get 120Hz refresh rate for smooth animations, which is by now a standard in the industry. But the Note is also sporting a great camera system. There are three lenses on the back of the Note 20 Ultra: a 108MP main camera with OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 12MP 5X periscope telephoto camera for zoom. The images captured with this phone have saturated and vivid colors. Low light images also look great. Under the hood, the Note 20 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 865 Plus (which was a flagship processor in late 2020) paired with 12GB of RAM. You can multitask efficiently, and the chip is quite capable even for 2023. Of course, it won't be as fast as, say, the S23 Ultra, but it is still good enough for regular users. Keeping the lights on is a generous 4,500mAh battery. With 120Hz screen enabled, the phone lasts a full day even with heavier usage. If you want to save battery, switching to 60Hz gives a big difference here. During our battery life tests, the Note 20 Ultra lasted 9h and 33 min on non-stop web browsing, 7h continuous video streaming, and 5h 9 min on 3D gaming. All in all, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is quite a good option for 2023 for people looking for a Note phone for less money. Galaxy S23The best compact flagship from Samsung right now The Galaxy S23 is the 'vanilla' model from the Galaxy S23 trio. It is a great compact-ish flagship phone for all of you who want to spend less but still get the best from Samsung. Basically, the best compact Samsung phone at the moment. The 6.1-inch AMOLED display that the Galaxy S23 sports is a pleasure to look at. It has vivid colors and sharp image, and now it's turning up the brightness up a notch to 1,750 nits of peak brightness, so you won't struggle to look at it even in the bright sunlight. As for the camera, the Galaxy S23 camera doesn't bring an upgrade over its predecessor, at least on paper. It's still a pretty good 50 MP main, 12 MP ultra-wide, and 10 MP telephoto combo like last year. However, the Galaxy-edition Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the processor this phone is sporting, and its power changes things - the S23 has more realistic colors and a powerful HDR. Speaking about the processor under the hood, the flagship-grade Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy performs excellent with any task you throw at it. Thanks to the better heat dissipation in the S23 over its predecessor, the performance remains fast and furious over longer periods of time. Ideal for heavy users and gamers, we might add. Another area of improvement over last year is in the battery department. Samsung has graced the Galaxy S23 with a bump in battery size over its predecessor. The phone performs better than the S22 in battery life across all our extensive battery tests. During our battery life tests, the S23 was able to hold on for 15h and 21 min on non-stop web browsing, 8h 6 min on continuous video streaming, and 6h 7 min on 3D gaming. So, the battery life of this bad boy is reliable and up-there with the iPhone 14. Thanks to all of this, the Galaxy S23 gets its deserved place as probably the best Samsung phone for the money. Galaxy S23 FEThe ideal option for those on a budget Samsung's S-series Fan Edition models are usually widely popular, however, there's no S22 FE this year. The Galaxy S21 FE was one of the top Samsung phones and a very popular choice when it first launched three years ago. And now it's time for the successor, the Galaxy S23 FE. The phone launched on October 26 and comes with a premium S-series design, a 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with HDR10+ support and a variable refresh rate of 120Hz, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 from Qualcomm, and a quite decent camera system as well. Samsung has upgraded the main camera from the first FE and now it boasts 50MP. The other two cameras are the same - a 12MP ultrawide, and an 8MP telephoto but still, it's more than most midrange phones offer these days. The best thing about the Galaxy S23 FE is its price, the phone starts at $599, which is really close to Samsung's top midrange phone, the Galaxy A54. Speaking of which... Galaxy A54PhoneArena Rating: 8.5/10 The best Samsung A-series phone (Image credit - PhoneArena) One of the best midrange phones on the market The Galaxy A54 is currently the best Samsung A-series phone. It is currently the best mid-ranger Samsung has, and it was announced on March 15, and was available in stores on April 6. The Galaxy A54 5G comes with a (slightly-smaller when compared to last year) 6.4-inch Infinity-O Super AMOLED display, with a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth animations. Colors look nice and vibrant and the viewing angles are great on this display. The Galaxy A54 comes with refinements in the camera department. There are three rear cameras: a main camera with a 50-megapixel sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide shooter, as well as a 5MP macro camera, while on the front you get a 32MP camera. As for the photos, they turn out quite good. Yes, you do have your typical Samsung processing with oversaturated (better than reality) colors, but the previous model kinda overdid this, while the A54 5G tones it down. Night photos are also just slightly better than last year. As for performance, the Galaxy A54 5G is equipped with Samsung's own Exynos 1380 SoC, that's bringing some improvements over last year. This might not be your phone if you're a gamer and want to run games at high settings (there may be some hiccups or struggle), but for regular things like web browsing or watching movies, it performs good enough with the occasional stutter here and there. The Galaxy A54's battery life is very good. The phone has a generous 5,000mAh battery cell and can go a full day of heavy use, even with the 120Hz refresh rate turned on. Just like its predecessor, this phone is strong in the battery department, so you won't be disappointed. Honorable mentionsSamsung has loads of phones and some deserve to be mentioned even though they didn't make it to the above list for different reasons. Despite that, they're still quite good and deserve to be included, so we're sharing them with you in the honorable mentions category. Now, onto the list! Galaxy A34PhoneArena Rating: 8.7/10 Not available in the U.S., but great mid-ranger and great price-to-quality ratio The Galaxy A34 is unfortunately not available in the U.S., but European and U.K.-based buyers can get their hands on it. It's a mid-range phone announced together with the Galaxy A54 in March of 2023. Overall, this phone offers a great experience for its price of 399 euros in Europe and 349 British pounds sterling in the UK. It has a great display for its price with a high-quality resolution of 2400x1800 (FHD+) - a resolution that's hardly distinguishable from higher resolutions, so you get a crisp picture and 120Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling and animations. The camera is also quite good. You get a standard for a mid-range phone 48MP main camera, complemented by an 8MP ultra-wide and a 5MP macro snapper. The camera performs similarly to its predecessor, the A33. The colors are bright and cheerful and the details are good. Under the hood, the A34 is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 1080 chipset - a mid-range chip that ensures a good performance while doing basic tasks like browsing the web or social media. The chip struggles slightly with heavier games and tends to stutter (we tested it with some demanding games like Apex Legends), but with some lighter games, it performs alright. And as for the battery, the Galaxy A34 is solid. It comes with a generous 5,000mAh battery capable of lasting up to two days with regular use, and even more, if you use your phone less often. Galaxy S22 UltraPhoneArena Rating: 8.8/10 Last year's flagship. Although not as good as the S23 Ultra, still a powerhouse in 2023 The Galaxy S22 Ultra is Samsung's flagship phone from 2022, which now has a successor in the face of the S23 Ultra. Despite having a successor though, this phone is very good for 2023, and you may also find it on a bargain here and there for an even better bang for your buck. The Galaxy S22 Ultra has the same size display as its successor - a 6.8-inch screen. It also has the same peak brightness (1,750 nits) meaning it gets as bright in sunlight as its successor, a level that's actually better that lots of competitors. You also get balanced colors and sharp details on the display. The camera on this phone is quite impressive. It features a 108MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide, a 10MP telephoto, and a second 10MP telephoto which can go up to 10X periscope zoom (gives better quality images than the regular zoom on other phones, which is just digital zoom). As for photo quality, the S23 Ultra beats this one just when you start to nitpick, otherwise, the S22 Ultra delivers great-looking photos with sufficient detail and pleasant colors. Under the hood, the S22 Ultra comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip - a flagship processor for 2022. In Europe, users get an Exynos 2200. Both chips are awesome for regular use and gaming. Controversially enough, the Exynos is slightly slower than the Snapdragon, but this can only be really seen in benchmarks, and in real life, you would hardly feel the difference. The S22 Ultra sports a 5,000mAh battery cell. When used normally, the phone should last about a day. If you take a lot of photos or game a lot, the battery may drain faster, so do keep that in mind. All in all, the S22 Ultra's battery life is average when compared to its competitors. Read More: Galaxy S22 Ultra review Galaxy XCover 6 ProSome people just don't like using cases on their phones. And some of you may remember the old days of rugged phones, they were aplenty! Nowadays, though, rugged phones are severely underpowered and their specs are putting them out of competition with true flagships. The Galaxy XCover lineup is an exception. This series is offering almost flagship performance and specs in a rugged enclosure. The latest iteration is the Galaxy XCover 6 Pro, a phone with a 6.6-inch AMOLED display offering a 120Hz refresh rate. Granted, the processor inside is not a flagship one, but the Snapdragon 778 offers plenty of power. There's a 4050mAh battery and s dual camera system with a 50MP main snapper. This phone is also available in the US through AT&T, so if you're a fan and use this carrier, there might be a sweet deal on the model available. Best Samsung phones - benchmarks and test resultsAs we mentioned already, we have extensive tests that we put every phone through to ensure it is up to standard. Here, you can see the results from our battery, performance, and display tests for all the phones in this list. First off, starting with displays:
Then, let's see how all these top Samsung phones perform on benchmarks. And last but definitely not least, check out the results from our extensive battery tests on all of the best Samsung phones available right now.
Why should you trust this buying guideThe Author Mariyan Slavov is a technology enthusiast and expert in mobile phones. With a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, Mariyan is the former Editor-in-Chief of PCWorld Bulgaria and currently writes for PhoneArena. He enjoys writing about emerging technologies such as graphene batteries, holographic smartphone displays, smart contact lenses, and nanotechnology. In his free time, Mariyan can be found playing guitar, practicing Japanese, or hitting the running track. The Publisher PhoneArena has been around since 2001 as a platform where phones can be explored, compared, and pitted against each other. For the 20 and more years since we first started, we've been evolving and growing our expertise, leading an audience of over 5 million monthly US readers navigate through the mobile tech world. The Approach We believe that there is not one true phone that is “the best” as each user has their unique needs and preferences. However, we make sure to test every phone through a wide range of testing procedures and review approaches, so we can find where each phone shines and what it lacks, and we strictly follow our rating guidelines. We also give our professional opinion about each phone to help you make an informed decision on which Samsung phone is “the best” for you. What makes Samsung phones stand out in the market?As the market leader, Samsung knows how to make phones that make users happy. The flagship phones that Samsung releases are always next to impeccable performance and camera beasts with features hard to replicate by the direct competition. The value Galaxy phones bring is also that Samsung phone users can be certain they get a great phone with little compromise in design and features. And, on top of everything, all of our entries in the best Samsung phones list support 5G, the future of mobile network standards. Arguably the best thing about Samsung smartphones is that the company makes products across all categories: from budget-friendly devices for your mom (if she's not a tech nerd, though) to mid-rangers, to top-performing premium phones, capable of handling anything you throw at them. This pretty much means that there is the perfect new Samsung phone for anyone.
Which series is best in Samsung A, Z or S (how to choose)The most important difference between the three series is actually price. The Galaxy A series are cheaper, and therefore they come with mid-range specs, processors, and cameras. If you're on a budget, you can safely go for a Galaxy A – you will still get a great Samsung experience, just without some of the bells and whistles of a flagship phone. The S series are the ultimate flagships – and they come with flagship prices. If you want the best processor on the market, the best performance, and the best cameras Samsung has, you should be looking into the Galaxy S-series. The Z-series are Samsung's foldable phones. They also come with the latest processors and are very expensive. The difference between the Z and the S series is mainly the foldable factor and the camera systems. If you're looking into an innovative phone and you can benefit from the added value of a foldable screen, you may want to look into the Z series. All in all, to make the best decision, you can check out our reviews on the phones you're interested in. We also have many comparisons like the Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Z Fold 4 which list all the differences between the most premium S and Z device right now (including chip and display benchmarks, camera samples, and battery tests!). How we picked the phones in this guide?If this is not your first time at PhoneArena you probably know that we've tested and continue to test thousand of phones, including all the hot ones as they come out. Our tests include extensive chip and display measurements, battery tests, and real-time use. The Samsung phones in this guide have all undergone our extensive testing and have managed to earn a great score from our team of reviewers. Finding the best device across a given price category is not an easy task, but thanks to our experience with different phones (not only Samsung phones, but other Android phones or iPhones), we've managed to establish the main categories which make a great phone great. We take into account the display quality, the processor and how it performs (both in real life and in benchmarks), the battery life, the cameras and the camera quality in a variety of scenarios, as well as features, design, price, and availability of a given device. And of course, all of these aspects of a given phone are compared to its competition to ensure it is the best phone Samsung can offer. We test the phone's performance running popular benchmarks. For battery life, we run extensive tests on the phones to measure how much they will last given a specific task - either browsing, YouTube continuous playback, and 3D gaming. We also measure the speed at which phones charge. What is the best phone to buy in 2023?The best phones we tested in 2023, including foldables and budget.... Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra | Best phone overall. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. ... . iPhone 15 Pro Max | Best iPhone overall. ... . Google Pixel 8 Pro | Best camera phone. ... . OnePlus Open | Best tablet-style foldable phone. ... . Motorola Razr Plus | Best flip-style foldable phone.. Which phone of Samsung is best to buy?Our top picks for the best Samsung phones. Best overall: Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus - See at Amazon. ... . Best budget: Samsung Galaxy A14 5G - See at Best Buy. ... . Best camera: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra - See at Best Buy. ... . Best battery life: Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus - See at Amazon. ... . Best small phone: Samsung Galaxy S23 - See at Amazon.. What is the most used phone in 2023?The Top 10 Selling Smartphones Of 2023 Are All From Just 2.... Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max: 26.5 million.. Apple iPhone Pro: 21 million.. Apple iPhone 14: 16.5 million.. Apple iPhone 13: 15.5 million.. Samsung Galaxy A14: 12.4 million.. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: 9.6 million.. Samsung Galaxy A14 5G: 9 million.. What is best in Samsung Series A or S?The most obvious difference between the two ranges is build quality, with the flagship Galaxy S series using premium materials like glass and aluminium, compared to the plastic body and rear found on most Galaxy A smartphones. |
