Written October 2025
Best overall: Samsung Galaxy S23
Key Specs:
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor & 8 GB RAM
- 6.1″ FHD+ 420 PPI 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with 1750 nits of peak brightness, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, 168g weight
- 50MP Wide + 12MP Ultrawide + 10MP 3× Telephoto + 12MP selfie camera
- 3,900 mAh battery with 25W wired charging, 15W wireless charging
- Android 13 with 4 major Android updates (and extended security updates)
- IP68 dust and water resistance
See my hands-on Galaxy S23 review for more.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 is a phone that I have loved ever since it came out, and now more than ever, it radiates pure value in almost every possible way. Its highly efficient, blazing-fast, and flagship-grade Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, comparable to the Apple A16 Bionic (found in the iPhone 15), will handle your daily tasks, gaming, and more with virtually no lag or issues. Its amazing 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED display feels snappy and looks great, and its 6.1″ screen size, while considered small by some, is the perfect size in my opinion. The S23’s 50MP main lens takes great shots, albeit with a bit of noise (in my experience) and can even record in 8k, with noticeably improved shots over the last generation under low light. The telephoto and ultrawide lenses are great added bonuses too, although the switching between the three lenses is a bit janky, as the colors and white balance vary a bit between them. The build quality of this phone, with its Corning Gorilla Glass 2 glass front (the same protective glass as the newer Galaxy S25) and back combined with an aluminum frame, gives the phone a sturdy and quality feel. This phone is still a premium phone that has just lost a lot of its value as Androids tend to do and will not feel like a cheap $200 phone to you. I highly recommend getting it.
| Cons: | -Some users report that with the OneUI 7 update, their pictures have been looking a bit washed out or blurry. That’s it, that’s the only con, this phone is spectacular for the price. |
Brand new, reliable, functional phone for lighter users: Moto G Stylus 5G 2024
Key Specs:
- Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor & 8 GB RAM
- 6.7″ 120Hz FHD+ 395 PPI pOLED display with 1200 nits of peak brightness
- 50 MP Wide + 13 MP Ultrawide + 32 MP selfie camera
- 5000 mAh battery with 30W wired charging, 15W wireless charging
- Android 14 software (with limited major OS update promise)
- IP52 dust and water resistance
The Moto G Stylus 2024 from Motorola may not be the biggest powerhouse or have some premium features like flagship phones, but it comes brand new, has all of the features you need and some extra nice-to-haves, and is powerful enough to handle your day-to-day tasks, like messaging, scrolling social media, and even some light gaming. This budget phone is designed to give the user the best possible experience, even having some features premium flagship phones don’t. The Moto G Stylus 2024 features 256GB of storage, which is a great amount for storing everything you need, but, in case that isn’t enough, it has a microSD card as a low-cost way to expand storage, a feature flagship phones these days lack. It packs a large, 120Hz, OLED display and comes with a built-in stylus in case you want to take notes, draw, or do whatever else on the go. Its cameras aren’t anything special but are competent enough to capture important memories, vacation photos, or whatever else you need them to do. As a brand-new phone with a large battery, it will give you exceptional battery life, with some tests showing over 20 hours of continuous video playback. Overall, this functional phone is designed to do everything you need it to; therefore, I recommend it as my favorite new phone for this price range.
| Cons: | -Not very good dust and water resistance -Not very good software support |