Hello everyone, I’m Hristo, the news editor here at GSMArena and I have the honor of wrapping up this year’s installment of the “My top 5” series. As probably the biggest fan of leaflets in the office, I don’t share the sentiment expressed by some of my colleagues that the year has been boring. Sure, bar phones have been a bit meh for a while, but incremental upgrades are what you get in a mature market. The foldable space, on the other hand, was booming and I love every bit of it.
I didn’t manage to fit into the 5 phones required by the format, so I’ll start with a couple of honorable mentions and then work my way up my personal rankings in reverse order.
Honorable mention: Tecno Phantom V Flip and Phantom V Fold
Tecno’s journey in recent years has been remarkable: from an entry-level manufacturer barely recognizable outside of Africa to the maker of some of the coolest phones around. Last year’s X2 Pro with its unrivaled natural bokeh was impressive, but its entry into the foldable segment in 2023 will be even more so.
The company has provided us with the most affordable landscape foldable of the Phantom V Fold and has managed to bring it to numerous overseas markets as well. Samsung has been left unchallenged in the segment outside of China for too long and I welcome any competition.
The Phantom V Flip was equally aggressive with its pricing and packs one of the best camera systems among the clamshells. I really like its circular external display, although I readily admit that it’s not the best solution in terms of usability. Unfortunately, the promises of an even wider launch for this product never materialized and it only arrived in some Asian markets.
This is also why the V Flip didn’t make the Top 5, while the V Fold was let down by its UI, which isn’t able to adequately utilize the internal screen for multitasking purposes – the main selling point of the for me the whole category. I really hope Tecno continues on the same trajectory and delivers more exciting phones like this in 2024.
5. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
The odd one out more than one on my list takes the final spot. The iPhone 15 Pro Max isn’t the most exciting phone out there, nor is it necessarily the best coffee shop phone coming out this year. However, it is absolutely what made me say “Fucking Finally” the most upon its debut. There’s the move to USB-C, which, while not entirely voluntary, will make life easier for people on both sides of the OS divide.
The adoption of a periscope camera has finally brought Apple up to speed with the best Android cameraphones, while the move to 256GB of storage for the base version is long overdue. I also appreciate the switch from a stainless steel frame to a titanium one. While it’s not as durable, the new material is an acknowledgment that the weight of modern smartphones is getting out of control and that something needs to be done about it. Better yet, the company has finally replaced the sharp-edged frame with a more rounded version that doesn’t dig into your palm and fingers when you hold the phone.
The importance of these changes is amplified by the fact that Apple is the biggest trendsetter in the industry, making the iPhone 15 Pro Max one of the most important launches of the year.
4.Motorola Razr40Ultra
The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra or razr+, as our US readers know, is the kind of phone that pushes technology to the limit and that you can’t help but admire. The cover screen that encompasses the entire half panel and is capable of running most apps fully, is practical and eye-catching. Gone are the days when clamshell foldables had to be opened for the simplest tasks and now we can have the best of both worlds.
There are still some compromises, notably smaller camera sensors and battery capacities than the Razr 40, but the Razr 40 Ultra still embodies the kind of innovative spirit I love to see.
3. Honor Magic V2
The Honor Magic V2 would probably be at the top of my list, if it managed to reach international markets by 2023. Unfortunately it is left for 2024, so what is probably the best piece of hardware I tried last year has to make do of the third.
At less than 10mm thick and weighing 231g, this innovative phone offers the same feel as a traditional coffee shop phone when folded, while still offering an 8-inch screen. It truly is an incredible feat of engineering and is almost hard to believe the first time you handle it. Then there’s really no point in even considering those boring old bars, unless you really need a powerful periscope camera.
Honor still needs to up its game when it comes to multitasking on the big screen, but hopefully Magic OS 8.0 will be ready in time for the global launch in the next couple of months. It may be a 2023 phone, but I’m still excited for early 2024. With Samsung having done the bare minimum in terms of hardware development of its Fold range over the last three years, a phone like the Magic V2 shows that it’s really there lots of room for improvement.
2. Oppo Find N3/OnePlus Open
In another development milestone, the OnePlus Open and its doppleganger Oppo Find N3 have the exact same camera setup as the OnePlus 12 flagship bar phone. Better yet, the Open got it before the 12 and was the cameraphone most powerful OnePlus had made for several months. In fact, it still might be, thanks to the extra flexibility the form factor allows: selfies with the main camera and your own tripod.
Since the beginning of their existence, foldable devices have been absent from the cameraphone race, excused by the fact that the split body is unable to accommodate the large sensors needed for this purpose. Yet Oppo/OnePlus has provided definitive proof that you can indeed have your cake and eat it too.
Better yet, the Oppo-made duo has the best multitasking UI outside of a Galaxy phone. In fact it has bridged the gap so much that at this point you can be almost as productive with either one.
1. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5
The Galaxy Fold5 may have been a disappointment, but the Galaxy Z Flip5 is a well-thought-out update that brought more people to the folding game than any before. It finally made the external screen usable and eliminated the unsightly empty space when folded—the latter is much more of a problem for design-oriented clamshell devices than productivity-focused book-style foldables.
There is the improvement in battery life thanks to the new Snapdragon chipset to consider, but above all due to the fact that it is no longer necessary to open the phone and illuminate the large main screen just to read a message. And with the price in Europe currently hovering around 800 euros, the popularity of the Z Flip5 is easily understandable.
With the durability issues of the first generations, many people are understandably reluctant to try foldables. The best way to solve them is to get the new units into people’s hands, where they can demonstrate their value. And since no phone did better than the Z Flip5 at this, it ends up at the top of my personal ranking of the year.
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