Best Samsung phones 2023

The best Samsung phone isn’t necessarily the most expensive. Taking into account budget, feature sets, deals, and your own personal needs are vital to working out which one is best for you. So, we’ve broken all those details down to help you make the decision.

Once you’ve had a read and worked out which of the best Samsung smartphones is best for you, we’ve got even more advice elsewhere that you can check out. Whether it’s the best rugged smartphones for all your explorers or the best portable gaming consoles for a good time on the go, we’ve got you covered.

Anyway, here are the best Samsung phones in 2023:

• Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra – best Samsung smartphone overall
• Samsung Galaxy S23 – best Samsung phone for most
• Samsung Galaxy A54 5G – best budget Samsung smartphone
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 – best foldable Samsung phone
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 – best clamshell Samsung smartphone

1. Best Samsung smartphone overall

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best Samsung phone overall if money is no object, given it costs around $1,199 (£1,249).

Pros:

• Bespoke Snapdragon chip
• Exceptional display
• Top-tier camera system

Cons:

• Expensive
• Stiff competition

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best Samsung smartphone on the market today. This is, of course, no surprise, given it’s the most expensive non-foldable phone the company makes. This price isn’t for nothing, however, as it brings a best-in-class chip, camera system, and screen all in a lovely package.

We had the chance to chat about the performance in our Samsung’s Won-joon Choi interview, and the performance is no joke. Of course there’s the bespoke Snapdragon chip making it slightly better than the competition, but it also has software integration to support performance alongside a massive heatsink for a flagship. For gaming, it’s exceptional.

Combine this with the exceptional camera system with five lenses, beautiful chassis for everything to sit inside, and the lovely screen, and it’s arguably the best phone you can buy from any manufacturer.

This is where one downside may come in for you, however. At this level, the competition is stiff. We were mightily impressed in our Xiaomi 13 Pro review after a week with the device, plus the iPhone 14 Pro has so much to love too.

Whether the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is better than those two is hard to say, but if it has got to be Samsung for you, this is the best of the best. If you’re gonna drop a pretty penny on it, be sure to grab one of the best phone cases to keep it safe.

2. Best Samsung phone for most

The Samsung Galaxy S23 is the best phone for most people, given its better value at $799 (£849).

Pros:

• Value for money
• Flagship chip

Cons:

• Smaller battery
• Lower-res screen

The Samsung Galaxy S23 is the best phone for most people. It has many of the benefits of its bigger brother (the Ultra), but cuts back on certain aspects to keep the cost as low as possible, meaning it can do what it needs without breaking the bank.

The best news is that it shares the same chipset as the Ultra, meaning its performance is mightily impressive at this price. Sure, you can’t get as large RAM and storage configurations, but for $500 less it’s a lovely thing to see.

The sacrifices come in obvious places: the screen isn’t as high resolution and the battery is a little smaller. Battery life shouldn’t be a huge worry, however, as Samsung’s software is very good at managing battery.

3. Best mid-range Samsung smartphone

The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is the best budget phone the company offers, starting at $449 (£449).

Pros:

• Value for money
• Flagship elements

Cons:

• Lower-res screen
• Less versatile cameras

The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is a great mid-range option for anyone after a Samsung phone. Even if you’re on a tighter budget, it’s worth shopping around for deals on this handset – it has many flagship features without the high price.

With a 120Hz display, lovely build quality, and a shared design language with the big boys in the bunch, it definitely feels like a premium product. The battery is nice and big, the main camera is pretty ace for the price, and all around, for day-to-day tasks, this is more than enough.

Still, there are of course drawbacks to buying a phone at a third of the cost of a flagship. The chip inside is nowhere near the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 if you really want to push your phone – the A54 is enough for standard stuff, but don’t expect to max out the graphical settings or do some in-depth photo editing.

That’s the main drawback, mind you. The camera is good enough – nowhere near the low-light or zoom performance of the S23 Ultra, however – while the trusted Samsung software support is a boon against some of the smaller-scale competition. It’s a great deal.

4. Best foldable Samsung phone

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the best foldable Samsung smartphone and costs around $1,799 (£1,649).

Pros:

• Fun – foldables are really fun
• Fast chip
• Big screen inside

Cons:

• High price
• Durability

The best foldable Samsung phone is obviously the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. Why’s that obvious? Well, because they only have one non-clamshell foldable, and this is the most recent. Simple as.

What you get for the high price is a great Snapdragon chip – not the best of the best right now, however – and enough RAM and storage space for most people. Oh, and a big, gorgeous tablet-style screen hidden away in an easy, foldable package.

This is where the primary benefit is. The foldable screen means you can still carry the phone in your pocket, but if you need to do things like gaming, editing, or movie watching, you don’t need another device for the bigger screen experience.

There are drawbacks, of course. The price is a bit nuts – read: far too much. Meanwhile, foldable screens do not have the same durability and standard ones, so that investment isn’t as long-term as a flagship. Oh, and then there are little niggles, like the weird aspect ratio of the big screen, the width of the handset when folded, and the mediocre battery life.

These drawbacks are pretty inevitable right now in the foldable market, so you need to make sure you need a foldable before diving in. If you set on getting in on the hingeful action, this is definitely a great choice – if not the best.

5. Best clamshell Samsung phone

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is the best clamshell Samsung smartphone you can buy and starts at around $999 (£999).

Pros:

• Fun – foldables are really fun
• Fast chip

Cons:

• Poor battery life
• Durability

The best clamshell Samsung phone is again the latest and only model in production – the Galaxy Z Flip 4. There are the same caveats as above but at a lower starting price, helping it look like a more appealing option.

First up, benefits. The form factor is lovely – and the simple gimmick of flipping open your phone again is ace – while the high refresh rate and speedy chip keep everything feeling nice and modern.

Caveats, however, can be just as big as above. The crease from the screen can annoy some, the battery life isn’t very good, and durability on foldable screens is still sub-par. The weirder thing is that a clamshell doesn’t have the big-screen benefit of a book-type foldable.

Still, this isn’t about whether foldables are worth it yet or not – this is simply the best Samsung clamshell, hands down. While the competition is hotting up (I’m looking at you, Oppo), there’s still that tried-and-true Samsung trustworthiness here.

How do I choose the best Samsung phone?

Choosing the best Samsung phone takes a bit of introspection – you need to identify your needs before going ahead with a purchase. If you need a daily driver that just gets social media and text messages done, don’t overpay and go for the A54.

But if the benefits of any of the others – all outlined above – take your fancy, then work out which one ticks all your boxes. A foldable would never work for me – there are too many caveats – but battery life worries may not be as big a deal for you. Work out which best fits your needs and you’re good to go.

Anyway, those are the best Samsung phones. For more advice, check out the best gaming phones and the best gaming iPhone for a chance to spend even more money!