The Pixel 8 Pro is the best smartphone you can buy right now. A combination of premium hardware and advanced software make it very easy to recommend.

Google’s Tensor G3 chip is key, enabling both great performance and a range of advanced photography features. Alongside excellent camera hardware, it’s the best point-and-shoot phone camera for still images.

While a 213g phone with a large 6.7-inch display won’t be for everyone, the high-resolution 120Hz OLED screen here is a joy to use. With slick Android 14 software and an incredible seven years of updates, the Pixel 8 Pro is the smartphone to beat in 2023.

However, that doesn’t mean it’s the best for everyone. The combination of average battery life and slow charging is frustrating, while the regular Pixel 8 is a better choice if you’re looking for something more compact.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra is another Samsung Ultra phone that does just about everything – including unique S Pen stylus support – offering as much phone as you could ask for.

The camera is one of the best in any phone, with a 200Mp main shooter backed up by an ultrawide and two telephoto lenses at different zoom levels. The 12Mp selfie camera is a let down though – skip this if that’s a priority.

The expansive 6.8in LTPO AMOLED display delivers both high WQHD+ resolution and adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz, and with S-pen stylus support it comfortably fills the productivity niche of the former Note phones.

Throw in top performance from the customised Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip inside and all-day battery life, and you have a whole lot of phone – quite literally, as other than the high price, the main downside is its sheer size, which won’t be for everyone.

If you can’t afford the Pixel 7 Pro or 7, then Google has another option for you: the decidedly affordable Pixel 7a.

This mid-range phone packs the same flagship Tensor chip as its bigger brothers, along with a familiar design. But it’s a slightly smaller phone, and made from plastic rather than glass.

There are downside, of course. The camera specs aren’t quite the same, though it still impresses. You’ll also get slower charging and only a 90Hz refresh rate on the display – the same as the regular 7, but not as smooth as on the Pro. If you can live with those downsides though, this is an excellent option for the price.

If you want an Android smartphone with top specs in 2023 that’s designed to stay fast and will have software support till 2028, the OnePlus 11 is a great choice. It’s also one of the cheapest high-end phones to offer this.

The absence of wireless charging shouldn’t be a dealbreaker for most people. After all, this phone has an excellent screen, top cameras, good battery life and truly fast charging, and some of the best performance in any Android phone thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. The lack of full waterproofing is more annoying to us.

The OnePlus 11 is a fine flagship and one of the best phones you can buy for a price that undercuts many competing products.

The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra – also known as the Razr+ in the US – is the best foldable right now.

The latest Razr packs a larger and more useful exterior screen that’s the biggest on any flip phone yet, extending almost entirely across the phone’s outer side. It even lets you run full Android apps without opening the phone, though some work better than others.

Beyond that you can expect good battery life, great dust and water-resistance, and a capable main camera – though the other lenses are a little lacking. The improved hinge design also allows the Razr 40 Ultra to close completely flat and feel more solid as a result.

However, it’s also worth considering the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, which is a great alternative.

Samsung is known for its flagship phones, but the Galaxy A14 proves it can also make great budget handsets. Despite costing just £150/$179 at full price, it still delivers the fundamentals of a great smartphone.

That includes a premium design, great battery life and Samsung’s slick One UI software, alongside the promise of four years of security updates. The 6.6-inch LCD display is a clear step down, but it still delivers a solid viewing experience.

Performance is fine for the basics, though you will have to be patient at times. And the main camera performs better than you’d expect from such a cheap phone.

Poor supporting lenses and slow charging are the main frustrations here. But by ditching 5G, the Galaxy A14 is an impressively well-rounded phone for the price.

The Galaxy S23+ isn’t the best phone on the market at any one thing. But it’s a great phone at almost everything, with few flaws so long as you can manage the fairly steep price.

A slick, simple design is paired with top Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 performance, long battery life, and a versatile triple rear camera array. Throw in Samsung’s promise of five years of software support and this begins to look like an incredibly practical choice.

Besides the price the main downside is the 45W wired charging, which is fine, but slower than other options at the price. The smaller Galaxy S23 is a little cheaper, but slightly harder to recommend thanks to even slower charging and shorter battery life, though you may find those trade-offs worth it for the smaller size.

The Zenfone 10 is a full-force flagship in a small size, and with remarkably few compromises for it.

The 5.9in display is one of the smallest on the market, especially on the Android side, though note that overall the phone is about the same size as the regular Galaxy S23.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and up to 16GB of RAM mark this as a serious performance phone, and it also boasts excellent battery life, which puts other compact smartphones to shame.

The gimbal-stabilised main camera impresses, especially at night, though there are definitely better cameras on similarly priced rivals – especially when it comes to options like a telephoto lens.

Given the phone is so good, it’s also frustrating that Asus is only promising two major Android updates, though the phone will at least get security support through to 2027.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro is a top-tier flagship, but what stands out most is its main rear camera, featuring an enormous 1in sensor that captures more light for stunning results.

That main shooter may be the standout, but all of the Leica lenses impress, though the trade-off is putting up with an enormous rear camera bump.

The software experience can be frustrating too – we don’t love Xiaomi’s MIUI – but performance from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is absolutely fantastic, with its improved power efficiency and a larger battery delivering significant battery life improvements.

It’s also worth considering the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, but it’s even more expensive and not available in the UK or US.

Read our full Xiaomi 13 Pro review

The Open is technically OnePlus’ first ever foldable, though parent company Oppo has plenty of experience. And it shows – this is an impressively accomplished device with few compromises.

The displays are the real highlight. A 6.31-inch cover screen looks just like a regular smartphone, then opens to reveal a 7.82-inch inner display with a barely noticeable crease. Both are 120Hz OLED panels, and look fantastic.

OnePlus has done its best to make the most of this larger screen, with various features that make multitasking easy. But Android’s lack of support for third-party apps, combined with the high price tag, remain the main reasons most people shouldn’t buy one.

It’s a shame, as the rear cameras and design are a real hit. Performance is great too, and average battery life is offset by 67W fast charging via the adaptor in the box.