The iPhone 15 was a watershed moment for the vanilla series: it got a high-resolution camera for the first time, adopted the Pro series’ Dynamic Island (but not the refresh rate), and switched to USB-C. Even though it is a 2.0 port for data transfer, it still supports video output.
The new 48MP main camera now has a 2x in-sensor zoom and produces really good results. A 2x mode can also be used for portraits, which also turn out quite nice (although we like the 1x portraits better).
There are many good reasons to upgrade to the iPhone 15, especially if you have an older iPhone and don’t plan on upgrading to Android. Despite being the vanilla model, this one comes at a flagship price, but Amazon’s small discount makes it a little easier to swallow.
You could, of course, opt for the larger iPhone 15 Plus. This has the same benefits as the 15, but is larger with a 6.7” display and a 4,383 mAh battery. The durability on this one is pretty good. That said, no optical zoom and only 128GB of storage on a $1,000+ phone can be hard to justify.
You might want to take a look at the older iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. We’ve already listed all the reasons why the 15 series models are better, but here’s a good reason to choose the 14 instead: money.
The iPhone 14 costs €110 less than the equivalent model 15, the iPhone 15 Plus costs €195 less. With that kind of savings, maybe it’s fine to stick with Lightning and a 12MP camera for a few more years.
The Poco F5 was one of the highlights of 2023. Its Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 punches above its weight and is not very heavy (metaphorically speaking), the phone is down to just €365.
You also get a rare 12-bit display with Dolby Vision, a 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel at 120 Hz. The camera is not surprising with a 64 MP (1/2.0”, OIS) main camera and an ultra-wide angle 8 MP (120°), but you have stereo speakers and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Furthermore, a 5,000 mAh battery with 67W fast charging (100% in 46 minutes).
The Poco F5 Pro is an upgrade in several categories: a higher resolution (QHD+) display, a more powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, and a 5,160 mAh battery with both 67W wired and 30W wireless charging (50% in 32 minutes for the wireless option). You lose the headphone jack and battery life decreases. It’s a solid package, but the vanilla F5 offers much better value for money.
If your budget for a new phone is around €550, you should also take a look at the Nothing Phone (2). It also uses Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and has a 6.7-inch 120Hz FHD+ display, this time an LTPO panel. And once you’ve admired the elegant LED lighting on the back, take a look at the cameras: the 50 MP main has a larger 1/1.56″ sensor (and OIS) and the ultra wide angle also has a 50M sensor (114° lens).The 4,700mAh battery supports both 45W wired and 15W wireless charging.Nothing promised 3 OS updates (starting with Android 14) and 4 years of security patches.
The Realme 11 Pro and Realme 11 Pro+ are an interesting pair with stitched (faux leather) backs and large round camera islands. The Realme 11 Pro looks more expensive than it actually is and has a pretty good 6.7-inch 120Hz 10-bit (FHD+) display and a Dimensity 7050 chipset.
Realme 11 Pro+ isn’t that cheap, but it makes up for it with a 200 MP main camera (against 100 MP on the regular Pro) and the addition of an 8 MP ultra wide angle camera (112° against none on the Pro). Additionally, while both phones have 5,000mAh batteries, the Pro+ model charges at 100W rather than 67W. That means a 15-minute charge gets you up to 63%, while the Pro gets up to 42% in the same amount of time. time.
The Samsung Galaxy A54 will soon be replaced by the A55, but it is one of the best mid-range models of 2023 and over time it has dropped to a really good price of €350 (€400 if you want the 256GB model, but you might be better off instead with a microSD card). This phone has a 6.4″ FHD+ OLED display at 120 Hz, an Exynos 1380 chipset and a 50 MP (1/1.56″, OIS) main camera and a 12 MP (123°) ultra wide-angle camera. The 5,000mAh battery only supports 25W wired charging.
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