Best Flagship Smartphone in 2023

scrimshaw on 11/04/2023 - 15:21
Last edited 11/04/2023 - 16:33 by 1 other user

Moderators at OzBargain are now running yearly polls to decide the best products in popular categories that get asked repeatedly in the forum. Our aim is to have a central thread where users can vote on the items, suggest options and also change their vote throughout the year. For more information on how these polls work, or if you want to suggest a new poll that isn't covered already, please refer to our announcement thread here.

Question

What is your favourite flagship smartphone in 2023?

A poll for whom money is no object, or when you just want a uber-expensive phone to claim your taxes on. Like before, we're capping it off at $1800 as the price ceiling.

The winner of Last year's poll was Samsung's best selling flagship: the Galaxy S22 Ultra (231 votes), then iPhone 13 Pro with 54 votes. The Google Pixel 6 Pro took 3rd place (36 votes), and the regular sized iPhone 13 4th place with 33 votes.

Remember: You can change your votes at anytime, and suggest more than 1 product over the course of the poll.

How do I suggest products to What Should I Buy polls?

If you have a product that you would like to suggest for the poll (that is currently not in the Poll Options), you'll need to make a top-level comment (i.e. not replying someone else's comment) and fill up "Suggestions" text box just above your comment:

Suggestion box

Do try to make a sensible suggestion (e.g make sure the phone is still available to purchase) and include a brief argument as to why you would recommend the product. You can only suggest 1 product at a time.

Poll Options expired

This is part of What Should I Buy poll for 2023. Check out other recommendations from the OzBargain community.
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closed Comments

  • scrimshaw on 11/04/2023 - 15:30
    +2
    Suggested Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus

    This is an example of what a suggestion should look like.

    Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus

    • Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset (no more Exynos, yay)
    • 6.6inch FHD display with up to 120hz refresh rate (adaptive)
    • Triple camera setup with 50 megapixel shooter, 12 mp ultrawide and a 10 mp telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom
    • Battery life has been great so far, the 4700mah battery gives me roughly a day and a bit of usage between charges. I also only charge my device up to 85% (to protect battery life) and the estimated battery runtime is 1 day 19 hours.

    Bought this for $899 in a Amazon flash deal.

    My previous device was the S21 Ultra so one of the biggest things that I'll miss is the 108 megapixel sensor. The FHD display is plenty sharp however and I think there should have been a 12GB RAM model if you're buying the expensive 512GB ROM variant, but unfortunately you're getting 8GB of RAM on both 256GB and 512GB models.

    Overall, it's a decent flagship phone, but don't buy it if you're expecting the best camera out there, or are expecting a camera upgrade over the regular S21 or S22 (it's about the same).

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 11/04/2023 - 15:52

    iphone 14 pro does everything I want and some stuff I didnt even know I want. can recommend.

    • billadm on 16/11/2023 - 11:29
      -2

      can recommend

      It depends on what is your salary so nearly $2,000 for a phone are just nuts for you.
      With a $400 phone you can do exactly the same things just you can't tell your friends I've a iPhone 14 Pro.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 16/11/2023 - 11:42
        +1

        Nah it’s just for me. Got no friends other than maybe some well wishers on here that don’t hate my guts

        Also the question was regarding flagships. What $400 flagship were you referring to?

        • billadm on 16/11/2023 - 15:05
          -1

          What $400 flagship were you referring to?

          I'm just a common person who cares about saving money and at the same time being smart and looking for the best value for the money.

  • payless69 on 11/04/2023 - 16:22

    Where are the Hasselblad and Zeiss phones?

  • Axelstrife on 11/04/2023 - 16:29

    Im guessing sale prices aren't included making this poll exclude all the actual flagship phones as they are mostly all over $1800.
    Time to remove or adjust the price restriction since since both Apple and Samsung are now over that price for their flagships.

    • scrimshaw on 11/04/2023 - 16:36
      +1

      Sale prices can be taken into account. Just make sure it's reasonable, in the sense that

      • the sale was offered legitimately, by a well known retailer (eg Amazon, JB Hifi) and not as a result of pricing error or mistake by i-Tech or something.
      • the sale price is obtainable without requiring one to sell off an existing device (e.g Apple or Samsung or SquareTrade trade-in offer)
      • sale price was obtainable as an outright purchase, not requiring one to negotiate, sign up to a plan, do some kind of credit card / points hack, and not including use of discounted gift cards or staff discount
  • peternow on 11/04/2023 - 16:41
    Suggested Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4

    Galaxy Z Fold4

  • Hellcrusher3304 on 11/04/2023 - 16:51
    Suggested Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

    Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

  • Nillionaire on 11/04/2023 - 17:08

    Aren't all of these in this category too?

    • iPhone 14 Pro Max
    • iPhone 14 Plus
    • iPhone 14
    • Galaxy Z Flip 4
    • Galaxy Z Fold 3
  • AustriaBargain on 11/04/2023 - 17:35
    +2

    Am happy with my 14 Pro. Life is too short to not own the best version of something in the world and I use my phone all day every day so it may as well be that. Don't even miss the size of my old Max, the Pro feels big enough.

    • [Deactivated] on 11/04/2023 - 20:39

      13 Pro is almost the same. Got 512GB one on Officeworks deal. Just for lulz loaded full offline Wikipedia on it, 95GB.

    • Gary Gary Gary on 20/06/2023 - 14:30

      Have both in my household, to be honest, the Pixel 7 pro wins photography, call quality and screen feel.

      iPhone wins video and raw power.

      IPhone isn't the best across the board, then also factoring in the pixel is half the price, it's not an easy decision.

  • Wiadro on 11/04/2023 - 19:47
    +1
    Suggested iPhone 14 Pro Max

    because its the best and the iphone 15 pro max will also be the best

    • AustriaBargain on 11/04/2023 - 20:43
      +1

      Rumour is that the 15 Pro Max might get the telescopic lens and the 15 Pro might not, kind of like how the 12 Pro Max got the extra image stabilisation and the 12 Pro didn't.

  • happychild100 on 11/04/2023 - 20:39

    Good timing! I'm in the market for a new phone and struggling to choose. Pixel 7 pro looks pretty good all-rounder for $975, but poor charging speeds and average for gaming (Daily pogo player), but superb camera. On the other hand i've used Xiaomi phones the past few and the Xiaomi 13 pro looks good, but the price is getting insane, easier to stay with the same company. Not a huge fan of the Samsung devices but another amazon deal like that and i'll bite quickly!

    • maiuspala on 26/05/2023 - 12:57

      I have had P7P pretty much since the launch.
      Maybe I'm just tired of the pixel phones, but this phone has been "meh" for me since the beginning.

      I was much more excited to use my pixel 4xl, which I felt was ahead of time (probably so far the only class 3 face unlock of any android phone, same as iphones) and 7pro feels like a sidegrade not upgrade - just a bit better battery and a lot better screen.

  • Elquines on 12/04/2023 - 00:47
    +1

    Suggestion: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

    All the specs are there and it's more of a taste between iPhone 14 Pro and the S23 Ultra. I love both and they're both go-to flagship phones!
    I simply recommend the latter because of the price. S23 ultra all-time low at ~$900 and there were amazon deals at $1200, whereas iPhone 14 Pro is at ~$1400 (with 15% off GC).

  • Hugh G Rection on 12/04/2023 - 10:07

    i buy a new iPhone pro max every year and just pass it down to my kids, so everyone gets an upgrade, lol.

    • Nillionaire on 26/06/2023 - 20:22

      You're the cool dad every kid is jealous of in high school

      • FlipperMeTimbers on 18/08/2023 - 11:27

        reading this a month later, and I am jealous.

    • capslock janitor on 28/07/2023 - 20:39
      +1

      how many kids u got

  • OzHan on 21/04/2023 - 12:37
    +1

    Can recommend S23 Ultra if you can get a decent discount. nearly all the issues in previous iterations have been addressed.

    • Nillionaire on 26/06/2023 - 20:24

      Aesthetically doesn't look as good as the S21 Ultra imo

      • OzHan on 27/06/2023 - 10:44

        That is subjective, for me aesthetics/colour becomes irrelevant the moment I put the case on.

        • pinkybrain on 27/06/2023 - 11:44

          you can still have opinion of a design whether it has case or not

          The S21 ultra design does look more better
          the S22 to S23 ultra design looks boring

  • sajidmib on 09/05/2023 - 13:22
    +1

    Samsung S23 Ultra getting better with time and all the enormous trade-in discount per-launch and post-launch are great value for money. iPhone on the other hand is the best phone hands down at premium price it is you get what you pay for.

  • Spendmore on 09/05/2023 - 16:00
    +2

    If Android then S23 ultra, if IOS then you don't really have a choice.

    • Nillionaire on 26/06/2023 - 20:24

      You have a choice between the base models and pro models. Unless you're getting the latest pro/pro max, it may be worth comparing whether the latest base model is a better choice than an older pro model

  • Panzer04 on 19/06/2023 - 20:48
    +1

    Baffled the fold 4 isn't higher. Suppose most people haven't tried or got a folding phone, but I think the fold 4 is easily the best out of this list. Everything is just a generic fast slab of glass, fold 4 gives you a compact tablet!

    If you want one of those zoomy cameras, fair enough - but otherwise fold 4 is just fantastic IMO!

    • maiuspala on 20/06/2023 - 14:08

      I have been thinking of getting fold4 since it came out. Has it got anything you are not happy with it that could be better.

      • Panzer04 on 21/06/2023 - 09:29

        Bearing in mind I am/used to be a guy that carried around an iPhone mini + iPad, mostly using the iPad for reading on the train and using the iPhone only if I didn't have the iPad on hand. New to android as a whole. iPad is better, but not enough so that it isn't offset by the inconvenience of hauling it around, I've just been leaving it at home now in favor of the fold.

        The fold is good enough to basically replace the iPad for reading and the like. Folding out bigger makes it feel way more usable when you want to just do stuff on it, without being cramped into a small column. Videos are pretty good, though not ideal because the square aspect ratio of the screen doesn't buy you that much extra room for either the wide or tall aspect ratio videos that are so common nowadays (though it's pretty easy to browse Youtube comments while keeping the video in view, if you are so inclined)

        Battery life is more than good enough for my purposes, enough so I'm comfortable setting it to cap at 85%. That being said, can also charge at work so not an issue for me.

        Inner screen picks up a lot of fingerprint oil and dirt, and since it doesn't get cleaned when you put it in your pocket you'll have to do so yourself. Haven't found it to be vulnerable to damage, since if you aren't using it it's safely enclosed. I don't find the crease to be a problem at all tbh - you forget about it basically immediately.

        Some apps can be a bit janky going from front screen to back (eg. firefox has two views, and if you open it on the front screen first it won't have back/forward buttons, I had to restart it in tablet view to get those - and then they stay in the front view and make the search/address bar almost unreachable), but usually isn't a problem, and if it really is an issue I just force-reopen said app in the right view. There's a few settings you'll want to fiddle with to get the screens behaving how you like, but that's not much work.

        It is definitely big and heavy compared to my old 12 Mini, but I find the width makes it good for one-handed use when folded, and it's still reasonable to hold one-handed when open as well (say if you're just reading). I notice how heavy it is if I compare to my Mini at home, but it's really not an issue otherwise. It's depth definitely makes it stand out in jeans etc, so that took a little getting used to, but again, I got over that pretty fast too, and since it's not that wide it doesn't feel like a massive slab.

        If I had to summarise, most drawbacks aren't big enough that you won't get used to them pretty quickly. I can imagine improvements, but stuff like the "gap" when you close it only seems like an issue in a review - actually using it, you just don't really care to be honest.

        • maiuspala on 21/06/2023 - 21:30

          Thanks mate. Will have to play with it in store again to see if it works for me.

    • Nillionaire on 13/09/2023 - 14:03

      Suppose most people haven't tried or got a folding phone,

      Because there aren't any built for my preferences yet. Samsung's folded display is too thin for me. Google's one is too small / short for me.

  • auna on 31/07/2023 - 13:29
    -3

    The answer is iPhone 14 Pro Max, especially if you consider the ecosystem of Apple. Technically at the end of 2023 it’s near 100% likely to be the 15 Pro Ultra.

    Only obscure bleeding edge phone’s unavailable in Australia have a chance in comparison due to things like cool factor, gaming performance, folding.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/08/2023 - 08:51
      +3

      Haha Mr 'I'm not an Apple guy' at it again, saying the iPhone is the best, Apple Watch is the best, I have Apple+ premier, Airpods are the best. For the record, Pixel 7 Pro won 'Phone of the year' in 2022 from nearly all the major tech blogs/reviewers or the S22 Ultra in some cases.

      As an example, MKBHD is probably the most respected tech reviewer in the world and had this to say in 2022 - https://9to5mac.com/2022/12/27/iphone-loses-the-spotlight-to…

      People who aren't in the 'Apple ecosystem' or iSheep know there is better in the market

      • ifuggedxyz on 03/08/2023 - 11:41

        People who aren't in the 'Apple ecosystem' or iSheep know there is better in the market

        for cheaper too!

  • Hugh G Rection on 11/08/2023 - 13:49
    -1

    apple is the gold standard, samsung just continues to copy apple. samsung doesn't even make there own operating system, so you can get anything that runs android and they are all the same. apple is in a class of its own.

    • [Deactivated] on 12/08/2023 - 17:02
      -1

      HAHAHA the hilarity/irony of that statement. Where to begin. Actually, saw the username so won't bother

      • Hugh G Rection on 12/08/2023 - 18:35
        +1

        lol, you don't need to say anything. according to the poll im correct and you are wrong. mic drop :)

        • [Deactivated] on 12/08/2023 - 19:22
          +1

          Widgets, multitasking, lockscreen controls, swipe texting, Standby, Always on display, homescreen customisation beyond rearranging app icons, predictive text, private tabs, default app selection, lock screen customisation, eSIM, 5G, dynamic refresh screens, OLED displays, crash detection, ProRAW photos just to name a few. USB-C and actual fast charging (yet to come to iOS with sh&tty Magsafe instead).

          ALL brought to Android first and then introduced by iOS years later

          Sheep who buy iPhones thinking they're better and voting in a poll means nothing. The Pixel 7 Pro or Galaxy S22 Ultra won Phone of the year on nearly ALL major tech blogs including MKBHD. Those tech experts know a LOT better than you and the general public.

          I'm sure you iTards who say foldables are useless will say they're awesome in 10 years when Apple eventually does it though. "According to the poll." LOL you're a clown

          • Hugh G Rection on 12/08/2023 - 21:16

            @[Deactivated]: better get this crybaby android fangirl another bottle, lol.
            let me guess you also say that about your holden in comparison to my bmw.
            my iPhone's operating system is made by apple and works seamlessly with my iMac, iPad, MacBook, apple watch, etc…. how is that android computer working for you? oh doesn't exist. must be on that ancient broken windows, roflmao.

            most people use iPhones because they are faster and smoother, super simple to use, timely updates, apple ecosystem, security, CarPlay, superior support, air tags, resale value, contactless payment, etc…

            just say you can't afford an iPhone and can't afford to be in the superior ecosystem instead of bashing it. most people would agree according to the Poll. *mic drop :)

            • [Deactivated] on 12/08/2023 - 21:25

              @Hugh G Rection: HAHAHA OMG you're a FULL iTard

              Can't be reasoned with because you're basically a deluded cultist. Sure Apple stuff talks well to other Apple stuff but the device itself is outdated. You're a biased Apple cultist whereas I have all so have no bias.

              I have an Android phone because it's simply better than the iPhone. I have an iPad Pro 12.9 because it's simple better than its competitors and I have a MacBook because it's also better. I'm not biased unlike you. The tablets and laptops are arguably better. The phones are not. iPhones are well behind

              I see you're also Sydney based. If you wanna call people girls, come meet me. Most Apple cultists are fat dorks so I'd guarantee you wouldn't say a thing in front of me. If you want to prove that wrong, message me and we'll tee it up. I'll come to you ya dorky keyboard warrior

              If you don't accept the invite, don't keep talking because all it shows is that you are all talk and a dorky keyboard warrior

              Also based on ABS data, I'd be a top 1.5% earner in Aus so don't try start with that BS you lil nerd

  • freelife on 14/08/2023 - 17:14

    iPhone 14 Pro battery gate is in the way of an otherwise perfect phone. Good size, powerful specs, amazing camera…

    In saying that, it's time for Apple to innovate. An iPhone X moment. This triangle camera design is getting old with its all screen block look. I hope they make a folding phone soon, as I would totally ape into that.

  • sydneybargainer on 23/09/2023 - 21:47

    I got given option for work phone… S23 plus or iphone 14 plus…. and i picked s23 plus and looking at above poll feel like wrong choice?!

    • non-core promise on 24/09/2023 - 18:39
      +1

      Those choices are for completely different people. If you're already in Apple or Google's ecosystem, pick that one.

      Stop overrelying on what other people think and develop some independence.

      • sydneybargainer on 24/09/2023 - 21:04

        Yup. Even though I admire & fancy iphone - it is not practical to afford a new Iphone every 2-3 years… So instead of making move from my current Google eco system - (with heavy heard) I decided to stick with it!

      • Nillionaire on 14/11/2023 - 20:32

        If you're already in Apple or Google's ecosystem, pick that one.

        I do the opposite. My personal phone is a Pixel so I chose an iPhone as my work phone.

  • AntonioSantino on 05/10/2023 - 11:35

    "A poll for whom money is no object, or when you just want a uber-expensive phone to claim your taxes on. Like before, we're capping it off at $1800 as the price ceiling."
    Are these not contradictory…uber-expensive capped at $1800??? Why not money is no object, uber-expensive, flag ship capped at $750?
    It is a tad silly to limit uber expensive, money is no object, phones to under $1800

  • Quarter Pounder on 07/11/2023 - 13:08
    +1
    Suggested iPhone 15 Pro

    Solid flagship phone, with USB C

  • edisonAU on 13/11/2023 - 22:58
    +1
    Suggested Google Pixel 8 Pro

    Given the recent release of Google Pixel 8 Pro, and the low price people have been buying it. This gets my vote.

    Magic Editor/Eraser, and Best Take have really made a difference in simple photo editing for most people. Also it is pure Android meaning no bloatware. I also use the Hold For Me when making calls to call centres.

  • [Deactivated] on 02/12/2023 - 20:14
    Suggested iPhone 15 Pro Max

    Titanium unibody design with Ceramic Shield screen and frosted back glass. 5x zoom lens and Dynamic Island. Rounded chassis edges for comfortable use.

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