Google Pixel 8 Pro is your readers’ phone of 2023.
Well, folks, you know what they say: Great minds think alike. Over the last two weeks you’ve voted for your favorite Android phone of the year, and just like in 2022, our readers will vote for the same phone that won our internal award. The Pixel 8 Pro is your pick for the best smartphone of the year – sorry, Samsung fans. Good luck in 2024.
We received more than 5,000 votes this year, but no Android phone can compete with Google’s latest flagship, which completely outperforms the competition with 37% of all respondents.Second place went to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, but with only 20% of the vote it wasn’t a particularly difficult challenge.
If you’ve used the Pixel 8 Pro, it’s easy to see why. This year Google created one of its best smartphones, certainly the best of the Tensor era. This is a device that improves significantly on its predecessor, combining a frosted glass back and a flat screen with seven years of operating system update support. Essentially, it’s closer than ever to competing with Samsung’s best hardware and ultimately surpassing it in the software department.
The is also one of the first phones to truly focus on AI, and not just in the Photos app. Sure, Best Take caused a lot of excitement, but this hardware is Google’s playground for all kinds of AI experiments, including Gemini Nano. I may not have been overly impressed with my first impressions of the company’s new LLM software on this device, but the promise alone made me excited to see where this phone would go in the future.
Elsewhere in the poll, the smaller Pixel 8, OnePlus Open and Galaxy S23 models received a handful of votes, rounding out the top five. I definitely think there would be more votes in the Open if this phone was a little more affordable – it is my personal choice for the best result of the year. If OnePlus is listening, the next-generation foldable phone should be available in physical stores. Its hardware is exceptional and its software remains unmatched in this type of format. But the trade press in general, praising these solutions, can go no further.
Meanwhile, comments focused on both the Samsung Galaxy S23+ – the middle child of the 2023 range – and the Xiaomi 13 Ultra. I admit that I’m a little surprised by Xiaomi’s absence in the US, but I’ve spent almost the entire calendar year envying Xiaomi’s photography prowess. I can’t blame those who have easy access to the device for preferring it to recycled ideas from Google and Samsun.
I wonder if Google will continue its momentum, but the smart money is there. However, the presentation of the Galaxy S24 series is not too far away. So if you want Samsung’s latest flagship to take the top spot, rest assured that you know the company’s vision for the future of Android much earlier. Google. returns to the stage to make another statement.
