2023 was a bit of a surprise. If you had asked me for this list at the beginning of the year, I wouldn’t have included most of them, even though I knew they were coming. One, in particular, took me completely by surprise, and every time I mention it to people I have to stress how serious it is that I like this device, lest they think I’m joking.
The four devices listed below are the ones that naturally came to mind while writing this. I could have included one more for a nicer top 5 list, but everything else I’ve used this year had at least one annoying quirk that kept it from being here. Then there are also some things I’ve never had a chance to use.
With that said, here’s the list of my best phones of 2023 that I’ve used this year, in a very specific order.
4. Google Pixel 7a
After years of using Pixel phones, I’ve come to the sobering conclusion that Google isn’t very good at making flagship phones. The recent Pixel 8 phones are no different and if this were my list of the worst of 2023 they would definitely be here.
Google Pixel 7a
But what Google is extremely good at is making mid-range phones. The company has already demonstrated this in the past with the Nexus series and continues to do so with the Pixel A series phones.
This year’s Pixel 7a was a real gem of a phone. The compact design made it a pleasure to use, the performance of the otherwise anemic Tensor chip was perfectly adequate for the price, and the cameras remain among the best on the market. Add to that the clean Android experience and suite of Pixel-exclusive features and it was an easy recommendation, especially for first-time buyers.
The Pixel 7a highlighted the fact that smartphones don’t have to be complicated to be good, and there’s something special about a device that does a few things but does them well. It reminded me of the heyday of the Nexus series and how good Google can be when it simply focuses on making good phones rather than positioning itself alongside the iPhones and Galaxies of the world.
3. OnePlus open
When foldable devices first launched in 2019, they set out to answer one question: “What if you combined a mediocre tablet and a subpar smartphone into one overpriced device?” Since then, we’ve seen several iterations of more or less the same formula where the internal screen isn’t worth using most of the time and the external screen is worse than any regular smartphone.
OnePlus open
OnePlus Open is the first foldable that understands the importance of being a good smartphone first and then a tablet. It understands that people spend more time on the external screen and it needs to be as good as any non-foldable flagship smartphone. It’s not a foldable that folds into a mediocre phone, it’s a really good phone that opens into a foldable. And this makes the difference.
2. Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Choosing an iPhone for the best of the year list reminds me of the time when the Mercedes Benz S-Class was chosen year after year as the best car in the world. ‘Oh, one of the most beautiful and expensive things is also the best? Who would have known?” Not everyone agreed and most had their favorite that was better at one thing or another. But the S-Class didn’t win because it was good at something specific. It won because it was good boy anything.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro
The iPhone 15 Pro isn’t the absolute best on this list, but that’s mostly because I found something a little more interesting. But objectively speaking, this is the best phone I’ve used all year. It does everything and is the best at almost everything. You might say it’s boring, but it requires a superhuman level of skill to achieve. Doing this year after year is no easy task and no one else does it.
You might scoff at it, just like people did when they called the S-Class the best car in the world. You could argue that there’s no such thing as the best phone, but if there has to be, this is it.
1. No phone (2)
Nobody expected it. Carl Pei himself could not have predicted this. But the Nothing Phone (2) was my favorite phone that I used all year.
No phone (2)
At first I thought it would be difficult to explain why, but it really isn’t. It’s the phone I enjoyed using the most. The combination of clean software with just the right amount of customization, sublime UI performance that puts the 2x more expensive Pixel 8 Pro to shame, a nice screen, and that unique design pushed all the right buttons for me. I used this phone for months and only changed it because I lacked a good telephoto lens.
But in those months I had what was probably the best Android phone. Many phones are destructive with customization of the Android OS or hide it away somewhere as if it’s something to be ashamed of. Nothing’s software celebrates the core design of its Android OS with only minor, tasteful customizations. It reminded me of the good old days of early OxygenOS and how good Android can be if handled with care and respect for the OS and the user. More importantly, it was simply a damn good phone and one I felt I could rely on every day.
If they take this phone and add a good telephoto lens to it, next year’s list will only be one item long.
Start a new Thread