To the surprise of many, 2023 actually ended up being a pretty big year for mobile tech. We saw small refinements from some of thebest Android smartphonemakers while others entering a new product category for the first time. This all added up to more choices for consumers to pick from across the landscape of devices, price points, and form factors. If we really take a moment to think about the year as a whole, it may have been one of the best for mobile in recent memory. But it didn’t all come together at once in order to propagate the world of smartphones. Instead, it blossomed as the year went on, with some expected changes and, at times, successes springing up out of the blue.
Winter 2023: The weather was cold, but the phones were red-hot
2023 started off quickly, with several major phone launches right away. OnePlus kicked the year off by attempting to steal a bit of thunder from Samsung, aiming for theOnePlus 11to be the first major smartphone in the US to arrive with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. After a couple of years of failed critical successes — even among thebest OnePlus phonesin 2022 with the 10T and 10 Pro — the company was looking for a rebound. Not that these phones were particularly bad, but they lacked the wow factor we had come to expect from OnePlus.
The OnePlus 11 brought everything back to its roots with its impressively fast performance at a price that strongly undermined much of the competition. By packing in top-of-the-line specs and selling the phone for only $700, it is hard not to think of this device as a win. Even the cameras — once a massive weak point for the brand — were better than we’d seen int he past. The overall design of the phone was a bit polarizing, though, and the lack of wireless charging is getting to be a real annoyance at this point, but it’s hard to argue that the OnePlus 11 didn’t start the year off with a bang.
Unfortunately, OnePlus could only hold off the competition for so long, as Samsung took the stage in February to announce its latest smartphones. Galaxy Unpacked brought the S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra, each with designs that strongly mimicked the Galaxy S22 series. In fact, aside from the customQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2for Galaxy chipset — an overclocked variant that looked to retained some exclusivity, at leastfor a few months— there wasn’t much new under the hood, either. But it was a major shift in the Samsung Galaxy landscape, as all S23 devices globally ran on Qualcomm’s chipset rather than forcing the in-house Exynos SoC onto the European market. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like that’s a trend that’s sticking with theGalaxy S24 lineup.
Samsung did make some changes to the software and tweaked the cameras to improve processing. On that front, we did see a major change to the very impressive Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, with a jump from a 108MP sensor to a massive 200MP. While it seems that there is still some work to be done with that sensor to fully take advantage of it, the change did allow for improvements in zoom photos and more detailed high-res images. But largely, Samsung opted to stand still in its new line of smartphones, which, on the one hand, isn’t all bad as it’s not as if the Galaxy S22 series was bad. But on the other hand, it’s a familiar path we’ve seen from the brand for a few years running.
As we neared Spring, MWC brought us some interesting devices and sneak peeks as to what we could look forward to for the rest of the year.Honor debuted the Magic 5 Produring MWC, and though it’s not readily available in the US, this phone is very impressive in the camera department and hardware. Its image capture rate is crazy fast, the face unlock system is fantastic, and the display is beautiful. If only it were officially offered here in the States.
As for the teases, we were tipped off about the Nothing Phone (2) and a future foldable from OnePlus. We also saw prototypes of a new form factor coming from theMotorola Rizrand a wildOnePlus 11 with built-in liquid-cooling. Clearly, the year had more than a few surprises ahead of it.
Spring 2023: Surprises from some old friends
Spring was a really busy season for Android fans. Ushering in the season of change was Samsung, launching one of thebest budget phonesyou can find in theGalaxy A54 5G. This phone has done an excellent job of giving those users whodon’t need the absolute best of everything from their phonea really good all-around device, all for under $500 — just like the model before it. Again, Samsung is sticking with its tried-and-true formula in the budget sector just as it did in the premium. But I think in this arena, it doesn’t make as much sense to reinvent the wheel. In the end, that would only raise the cost of the device and lose your audience.
Next up was Google I/O and unlike years before, 2023 brought us some exciting hardware at the event. While thePixel 7amay not be the most exciting device, it is another one of those fantastic budget devices that offers a lot of functionality without spending a lot of cash. The hardware that was exciting happened to be Google’s first-ever folding phone: thePixel Fold. With literal years of rumors behind it, this was supposed to be the dream foldable for Android fans everywhere, and in some ways, it was. The dimensions Google went with offered a wider-than-tall shape when closed, Pixel-exclusive features, and someexcellent — though imperfect — cameras. But it didn’t all play out as we hoped.
Google wowed Pixel and foldable fans alike with its Pixel Fold announcement, only to disappoint once the phone actually arrived on store shelves.
While the shape and cameras delivered for many, the software wasn’t quite what we’d hoped for. It’s the clean UI that Pixel lovers enjoy, but Google didn’t do enough to take advantage of the form factor. Since Samsung has done so well with its software on foldables for years now, there is a certain amount of expectation that Google could at least match those expectations. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. While the Fold has some decent multitasking features, many of Google’s own apps don’t scale properly, and the Tensor G2 processor consistently overheats. However, it does offer a great starting point with hope for what a Pixel Fold 2 can be. Google has fixed some of these issues through recent updates, but it’s too little too late for this first-gen foldable.
June arrived with a new phone from an classic brand: Motorola. If OnePlus has seen a slump over the last few years, Motorola has been downright sleeping. But 2023 was a welcomeresurgence for the brand, starting with theMotorola Edge+ (2023). While this phone doesn’t necessarily excel at any one thing, it is such a joy to use, thanks to its very clean software with useful and unique features, a competent camera system, and a solid hardware experience. Then wrap that up at an affordable price, and we end up with a winner.
But Moto wasn’t done impressing us for the year. Instead, it gifted foldable fans theRazr+. This phone brought eyes back to the legendary brand in a very positive light, thanks to a clamshell-style flip phone that featured a full cover display capable of running any app you want. Paired with a slim design that folds completely flat, great software, and an affordable price, and this was the flippable phone to get in 2023. Long-time Android fans had been waiting for Motorola to get its act together, and it was nice to see these successes come to fruition.
One last device that deserves a mention from its debut in June is theAsus Zenfone 10. Asus continues to do a fantastic job of providing a mostly no-compromise Android phone that fits into a compact form. It has great software, flagship specs, a decent set of cameras, and amazing battery life. I hope it continues making these phones for years to come; not everyone wants a big phone, but deserves big phone energy.
Summer 2023: A lull in a storm filled with new hardware
With summer here, we’ve made it through the stormy season of a constant deluge of new phones, but that didn’t mean we completely avoided a few drops of new tech rain. In fact, July gave us theNothing Phone (2), which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Nothing refined the gorgeous transparent design style it created with thePhone (1), just as it did for the LED Glyph interface on the back of the phone. The Phone (2) also got a UI refresh to the slick Android skin. While its specs could be called midrange, complete with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 from 2022, the device performs well in everyday use. It also brought a competitive price to the table, complete with official availability in the US.
The big news of the summer came from Samsung during the company’s second Galaxy Unpacked event in August, where we got the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5. While these two phones are packing some seriously impressive tech, you might catch a theme here. TheGalaxy Z Fold 5quite possibly received the least amount of updates year-over-year in nearly every aspect from any phone in 2023, so much so that, without a keen eye, you could quite easily mistake it for last year’s Z Fold 4. It’s nice that the newer model finally closes completely shut, but in terms of hardware changes, that’s about all it has going for it. It may sound harsh for a device that is quite impressive in actual use, but Samsung needs some tough love here soon —it’s getting completely overtaken by its competition.
As for theGalaxy Z Flip 5, it picked up a more sizable refresh than its larger sibling. Along with the ability to close flat, the Z Flip 5 ditched its small, bandage-sized display on the cover for what looks like a file folder-shaped display. Instead of wrapping the display around the cameras entirely as the Razr+ does, Samsung went around them. Though it looks a bit odd, it is great to see a larger display on the cover of the Z Flip 5. Aside from those changes, the 2023 Flip largely remained the same as before. Not necessarily bad, but just a thing that happened.
Fall 2023: An avalanche of new smartphone options
Fall 2023 brought some of the most impressive phones in the year as a whole. Let’s start with the Made by Google event, where thePixel 8andPixel 8 Proreceived official unveilings on stage. These two phones run Google’s latest in-house Tensor G3 processor, bringing a big improvement over the previous generation. Along with better thermal performance, the new AI capabilities brought a host of new features, primarily in the camera department. The G3 chipset enables on-device processing for sometruly impressive, and to somea bit creepy, photo editing that allows users to have a truly one-of-a-kind mobile camera experience.
The next device launch is possibly the biggest surprise of the year; certainly, it’s thebest foldablefor the year. I don’t think anybody really expected theOnePlus Open, technically the first folding phone from OnePlus to be as great as it is. I’ve owned three different Galaxy Z Folds,reviewed the Pixel Fold, own an Open, and it is the only foldable that I don’t feel forces compromises to keep a foldable in my pocket. It offers useful software features you can’t get anywhere else, the size and shape are excellent, and it has a great camera system. I can’t sing its praises enough. Way to go, OnePlus.
As the new phone season of 2023 wound down, we did get one more surprise to add to a year that had quite a few. Motorola finally released its standard Razr in the US, months after it arrived in locations around the world. Where the Razr+ offered a premium flagship flip phone at a great price, theMotorola Razris the premium midrange flip phone with an equally great price. At $700 but frequently found for $600 or less, this phone offers about 85% of what the more expensive option does, which makes it a steal for someone who is looking to test out the folding phone space but doesn’t want the big money risk.
A year full of hits, but what’s next?
Looking at the year in total for Android phones, I think it’s safe to say it was a pretty great year. We saw the resurgence of Motorola with three impressive flagship devices along with its host of budget phones in the G-series. OnePlus returned to form in the OnePlus 11 and wowed us all with the Open. Google put some more polish on its wearable with thePixel Watch 2, took a step in maturity in the Pixel 8 series, and had a decent first entry into foldables. Samsung didn’t rock the boat too much in its year-over-year progression, but still launched some really impressive products.
I think the return of some real competition this year will lead to some fascinating years to come. The only question that remains is whatever comes next. With 2024 on the horizon, we won’t have to wait too long to find out.
