Let’s start with the fact that I recognize that having access to all types of phones is a privilege that few enjoy, and even fewer can do so on a regular basis. And we reviewers are certainly spoiled in this respect. It’s definitely one of the best parts of the job.
But as the year 2023 comes to a close, I can say one thing for sure: This has been one of the worst years for smartphones. Plagued by various wars (trade, patents, territory, religion), a stalemate in innovation, and a global recession, it was natural for the entire industry to slow down and play it safe.
And it was safe for all major manufacturers, with few improvements and mostly incremental updates.
So, long story short, there isn’t a single phone that wowed me this year. There are a few devices that stood out, though, and those are the ones I’ll list here.
Xiaomi 13Pro
This is one of the first smartphones I reviewed in 2023 and it’s still super nice. The 13 Pro offered great design, build, display, performance and stability, and what a camera!
The Xiaomi 13 Pro is probably the perfectly flawed cameraphone as it not only had the best imaging hardware on the market but also offered the best image and video quality. Defective, due to the dated selfie camera, which still bothers me today.
OnePlus open
I wasn’t a fan of the foldables. I recognize the productivity gains and beauty of these things, but they just weren’t my cup of tea. Why? Because they were thick and strangely uncomfortable when folded. This is until the OnePlus Open.
The Open has it all figured out: decent size, superb design, excellent performance, lovely camera, good battery life, fast charging. It was noticeably better than the Fold5, even more elegant, and managed to impress me throughout the review process and in the weeks that followed. And that’s why it’s on this list.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
This is the phone I use as my daily driver. I’ve been using iPhones since the 3GS, and while the latest and greatest is definitely not the perfect phone, it has more to do with limiting iOS. But it’s my phone, the one I have to love because I’m married to the Apple ecosystem. And while I can use the best wireless earbuds on the market on any device – the AirPods – if I were to part with iOS and its apps – it would cost me far more than half of my digital possessions. So yeah, it’s too late for me.
Luckily, the iPhone 15 Pro Max got lighter this year, thanks to the switch to titanium and aluminum. I don’t really care about the materials, but I appreciate the lighter design. Oh, and the USB-C port was a long overdue change.
Overall, the iPhone is also a device close to perfect – it is great in terms of design, display, performance, camera hardware and a bunch of other little things that many simply don’t need. But it remains flawed due to its still gigantic notch and iOS. Let’s also not forget Apple’s messy image processing.
No phone (2)
I was skeptical about the Nothing Phone, but I was happy to be proven wrong. And I was doubly happy to review the excellent Nothing Phone (2). It was one of the very few unique phones on the market that offered something the others didn’t: Glyph UI. It was a gimmick, that’s for sure, but it was still in development.
The phone was incredibly fast and smooth, something that was once a OnePlus feature. And the Phone (2) performs like the fastest smartphone on the market, I’m not kidding. The Nothing operating system is perfect: fluid, clean and concrete. And if I had to choose one operating system for my phone, this would be it.
Huawei P60Pro
I love Huawei phones for their cameras and that has never changed. I might even advocate buying a Huawei phone or tablet, but this is not the time or place. Either way, the Huawei P60 Pro is one of the best phones for photos with the variable aperture main camera and the most natural image processing I’ve ever seen. It’s also a really good phone with a nice design, a great screen, powerful hardware, and super fast charging.
The P60 Pro has no Google apps and services, nor 5G, and many users believe the Chinese government is spying on them via Huawei phones.
However, it was one of the phones I actually used after reviewing it for a while and I loved it and am quite happy with the photos I received.
Honorable mentions
There are two honorable mentions: OnePlus Nord 3 and vivo V27 Pro.
THE North3 it impressed me with its perfectly rounded spec sheet and affordable price. It’s one of the best mid-range phones out there and I’ve recommended it to more than a dozen close friends and half of them have received it and are very happy with it. If you’re not looking for cutting-edge technology and expensive phones to brag about, the Nord 3 will probably give you everything.
THE vivo V27Pro it’s not the best phone out there, with limited availability. But it’s beautiful, has excellent OLED, fast hardware, great battery life with super fast charging, and most importantly (for me) superb camera quality, selfies included.
Overall it was a boring year, but it still gave us some nice smartphones and I certainly hope that 2024 gives us more interesting and innovative ones. I know it’s a long shot, but still.
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