Samsung's Galaxy S23 series is outstanding, as are its folding phones. But the truth is that a lot of people can't afford those expensive handsets — and that's why the Galaxy A54 is so important. You get many of the same features found on Samsung's more expensive phones at a fraction of the price.
For starters, the Galaxy A54 looks a lot like the more expensive Galaxy S23 it's imitating. The frame is plastic instead of aluminum, but the A54 is comfortable to hold and looks incredible thanks to its Awesome Violet and Awesome Lime colors. You also get an IP67 rating to safeguard it from dust and water.
The front of the phone is taken up by a 6.4-inch AMOLED display that delivers crisp text and strong, vibrant colors. Even more impressive is the 120Hz refresh rate, which allows everything to feel fast and smooth. This is also helped by the reliable Exynos 1380 processor and up to 8GB of RAM. The Galaxy A54 isn't the fastest phone you'll ever use, but it's more than capable of anything you'd want to throw at it. What about the cameras? The 50MP main camera isn't the best we've ever seen, but for quick and casual photography, it gets the job done. It also tends to produce very bright and overly saturated photos, more so than its S23 cousins. Does that mean pictures look lifelike and 1:1 accurate to the real world? Not exactly. But if you prefer your photos to have a real punch to them, the Galaxy A54 certainly delivers.
If you have more money to burn, a phone like the Galaxy S23 or Galaxy S23 Plus is going to deliver a better experience in every department. However, if $450 is the most you can spend, you'll find very little to be disappointed about with the Galaxy A54.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 was one of the most stylish-looking smartphones to come out in recent years, and the Flip 4 wisely brings back the exact same look, but with more color customization options. We adore the two-tone finish and the petite size when folded up. But don't mistake the small size for lack of power — this thing is, along with the Fold 4, the most durable foldable phone ever, with IPX8 water resistance and "Armor Aluminum" building material.
The Flip 4 is an awesome device for those who find modern Android phones too large and hard to pocket. Unfolded, the 6.7-inch, 1080 x 2640 display looks and behaves like any other top Samsung screen, with vibrant colors, top-notch sharpness, and a fast refresh rate of up to 120Hz for buttery smooth animations. Samsung also improved the software for the outer Cover Display, allowing users to open any app on the smaller 1.9-inch display.
New to the Flip 4 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, which has a stronger GPU and superior battery efficiency. The latter is important, as battery life has always been a slight weakness in previous Flips. While the Flip 4 isn't going to win any battery endurance awards, it is now possible to get all-day use provided you're not pushing it too heavily.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra may be one of the most expensive phones you can buy, but it packs in enough power and features to make it well worth its price tag. In fact, it delivers incredible value despite its high price, since you're getting nearly everything you could want in a smartphone in a package that will serve you well for years to come.
The biggest thing that might dissuade you from picking up the Galaxy S23 Ultra is quite literally its biggest thing: at 9mm thick, 78mm wide, and 233 grams in weight, this is easily one of the largest smartphones out there. Still, it's in the same class as most other "max-sized" phones, so there's no reason to shy away unless you have especially small hands. The Galaxy S23 Ultra also makes up for that with its rounded edges and simple yet elegant styling. On the front is a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED display that offers QHD+ resolution with a very crisp density of 550 pixels per inch (ppi). The impressive size and clarity of this screen more than justify the larger phone, and it reaches a peak brightness of 1,750 nits, so you'll have no problem reading it clearly when outside on a bright sunny day.
As with its predecessor, the cameras on the Galaxy S23 Ultra are what really sets it apart from its smaller siblings, and this year you're getting a 200-megapixel (MP) main camera with Laser Auto Focus that's joined by a pair of 10MP telephoto cameras to offer both 3x and 10x optical zoom levels. The combined camera system allows for surprisingly good 30x and 100x digital zooms, offering the kind of advanced photography that simply isn't available on any other smartphone.
Samsung has also packed in its own take on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. Rather than using an off-the-shelf version of this already-powerful processor, Samsung worked with Qualcomm to create a bespoke chip that's been boosted to new performance heights. To say there's performance to spare here is an understatement. The chip is also very efficient, delivering up to two days of battery life per charge.
Rounding out the package is Samsung's S Pen, which is included with the Galaxy S23 Ultra to let you jot down quick notes without even turning on the screen, annotate screenshots, or just scribble down shorthand just about anywhere on your phone. It's a great productivity tool, and you'll never have to worry about where to keep it as it tucks away in the bottom of your phone when you're not using it.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra retains its crown as not only the best Samsung phone to buy, but it is easily one of the best Android phones to get in 2023. It's extremely versatile with an established design that will appeal to nearly anyone who's willing to spend the money for top-notch performance in a phone that's about as future-proof as you can get.
Put simply, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the best Samsung phone for productivity on the market right now, sporting a cool foldable form factor. You can pick the phone up in Gray Green, Phantom Black, Beige, or a Samsung-exclusive Burgundy color. The first thing you'll notice is the productivity-focused dual screens: The 6.2-inch front display and 7.6-inch main display both boast a 120Hz variable refresh rate that adapts depending on what you're doing. There's a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, and a robust yet lightweight Armor Aluminum frame with Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the cover screen and back, for added durability.
With the Z Fold 4, you're getting the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip in both the U.S. and the U.K., with 12GB RAM and up to 1TB of onboard storage (though there's no microSD card slot). The 4,400mAh battery should see you through most days with plenty of change, and there's up to 25W wired charging and 15W wireless charging, though there's no charger in the box. On the camera front, there's a 50MP main sensor, a 12MP wide-angle lens, and a 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom and digital 30x Space Zoom mode. There's also a 4MP Under Display Camera.
But where the Galaxy Z Fold 4 stands out is its productivity features. There's support for the S Pen, but no storage slot, though you can pick up a case with included storage. The Z Fold 4 is running Android 13 which gives you the Taskbar. This works like a Windows PC taskbar to allow quick switching between apps, yet handily disappears when you don't want it — for example, when watching full-screen videos.
You can use up to three apps on the unfolded screen and add a fourth app over the top, which can be used as a floating window. Altering the shape and size of each app window is a breeze, and it's really easy to activate multitasking. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 also works with Samsung's DeX mode, turning your smartphone into a desktop computer as well as providing access to Microsoft's Xbox Games Pass. You'll also get 5G connectivity and four Android OS updates, as well as five years of security updates, ensuring this phone will last for years to come.
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