2023’s biggest smartphone releases so far (MARCH 2023)

2023’s biggest smartphone releases so far (MARCH 2023)

 OnePlus 11

This latest ‘flagship killer’ was among the first gaggle of Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones, and brought back the alert slider – which had gone AWOL on the previous-gen OnePlus 10T. It also packs in a trio of Hasselblad-badged rear cameras, high resolution AMOLED display, and rapid wired charging. Even more impressive is that OnePlus has managed to keep the price down, retaining its “value champion” appeal with fans.

Oppo Find N2 Flip

It has tried book-style foldables a few times, but the Find N2 Flip is Oppo’s first attempt at a clamshell. Not that you’d know it: the design and build quality are impeccable, beating Samsung to the punch at a device that folds shut completely with no visible gap between halves. Battery life is excellent, it’s a powerful performer, and takes a great photo. Plus its outer screen is as big as you’ll find on any flip phone. It also undercuts the Galaxy Z Flip 4 by some margin, making it our choice of clamshell phone right now.

Samsung Galaxy S23/S23+

The more mainstream versions of Samsung’s latest flagship phone line give a choice of screen sizes. the 6.1in Galaxy S23 also makes do with a smaller battery and slower charging, but keeps the same trio of rear cameras as the 6.6in Galaxy S23+. Both follow closely in the footsteps of the S22 series, with a new CPU being the biggest hardware upgrade. Design changes are also pretty minor.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

It doesn’t look a whole lot different from the previous generation, but the Galaxy S23 Ultra is packing an all-new, 200MP main camera at the rear that promises exceptional daylight image quality and much-improved low-light performance. It’s a powerhouse, with S-Pen digital stylus for note-taking and the latest Snapdragon CPU.

Vivo X90 Pro

Vivo isn’t a big name in the UK, but it has been doing impressive things on the photography front with partner Zeiss for years now. The X90 Pro is the first we’ll see in Blighty with a 1-inch main camera sensor, which dwarfs the ones found on most other smartphones. Power comes from a MediaTek Dimensity chip, which is able to comfortably compete with the best Qualcomm has to offer.

Xiaomi 13 / Xiaomi 13 Pro

They were revealed early on Xiaomi’s home turf, but eventually both the Xiaomi 13 and its bigger brother got a European debut at the MWC show in February. The more mainstream model has a flat AMOLED screen set inside an aluminium frame, while the higher-end 13 Pro gets curved glass and more rounded styling. Both are powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPUs, pack plenty of RAM and ample storage, but it’s the Pro that photographers will be most interested in. As well as a 50MP zoom lens and 50MP ultrawide, the 50MP main snapper has a 1-inch sensor for dreamy bokeh blur and impeccable low light performance. 120W wired charging and wireless top-ups are also on-board.