February ended with a blast for smartphone enthusiasts. Seriously, although it’s the shortest month of the year, it probably was one of the most relevant for the smartphone scene in 2023. During this month, the smartphone industry increased its pace with many phone releases that will be trending until the end of the year. We saw the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, the global debut of the OnePlus 11, the Xiaomi 13 series, and the Honor Magic5 series. The month was also big in the mid-range segment with the release of devices like the POCO X5 Pro, the iQOO Neo 7, and the Vivo V27 series. Considering all this, it’s hard to say how this month was remarkable for enthusiasts. But I’ll try my best to build a list with the Top 10 smartphones launched in February 2023.
Through this article, we will list the most relevant smartphone releases of February 2023. In the past few weeks, about 15 smartphones were released. So making a list of the top 10 best was not too hard, but it was not easy considering how good the smartphones were. In this list, we’ll list some of the most relevant options, including the ones that are set to keep agitating the market throughout 2023
Top 10 smartphones of February 2023
Worth mentioning that we are not ranking these devices, this is a list that considers the most relevant smartphone releases. They are not ranked by specifications and features. Also, if one device is considered among the best for you but is out of this list, feel free to include it in the comments section.
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
- OnePlus 11
- Xiaomi 13 Pro
- Honor Magic5 Pro
- POCO X5 Pro
- Oppo Reno 8T
- Vivo V27
- Realme GT3
- Vivo X90 Pro
- OnePlus 11R
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
We will start this list with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Samsung to the earliest of February to unveil its new flagship smartphones series at. The brand introduced the usual three smartphones. But the vanilla and S23+ are mostly incremental upgrades, while the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the one that shines in the lineup.
In terms of design, there are no changes in comparison to the last year’s model. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultrapacks a new generation of Samsung’s Dynamic AMOLED screen with 6.8 inches and a 3,088 x 1,440 QHD+ resolution. It innovates as the first flagship with the Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Under the hood, the phone packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 For Galaxy. That is a slightly overclocked version only available in the Samsung Galaxy S23 series flagships.
The King of Samsung Galaxy flagships
Perhaps the biggest upgrade in the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is in the camera department. The phone packs an all-new 200 MP ISOCELL camera with Laser AF, PDAF, and OIS. It is joined by a 10 MP periscope telephoto shooter offering 10x optical zoom, a 10 MP 3x zoom telephoto shooter, and by a 12 MP ultrawide sensor.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra also boasts an IR Blaster, Ultra-Sonic fingerprint scanner, and Stereo Speakers. It draws power from a huge 5,000 mAh battery. Unfortunately, Samsung did not bring any revolution in the charging department. So it still sticks with 45W fast charging. Embrace yourselves, it could be worse, as typical Samsung phones are limited to 25W charging. The phone also has 15W wireless charging and 4.5W reverse wireless charging.
The phone introduced Samsung’s One UI 5.1.1 with new features. Also, it keeps being the Galaxy Note’s spiritual successor with the S Pen slot. The Galaxy S23 Ultra will be the top Galaxy flagship for the entire 2023, as the mid-year window will be occupied by foldable phones.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is certainly worth its place in the Top 10 smartphones of February 2023.
OnePlus 11
A few days after Samsung, OnePlus had one of its biggest events of 2023. The company not only presented the OnePlus 11 to global markets but also unveiled a ton of new products including its first-ever tablet. For the smartphone market, the brand uncovered the OnePlus 11 and its sibling the OnePlus 11R (we’ll cover it later in this list). Both devices deserve a place among the Top 10 smartphones launched in February.
The OnePlus 11 will be, for the time being, the main flagship of OnePlus for 2023. The company doesn’t have plans for a Pro variant, and as result, we’re expecting a OnePlus 11T for the second half. The flagship ticks all the boxes of a good flagship for 2023.
One single flagship to rule them all
The OnePlus 11 packs a 6.7-inch Quad HD+ AMOLED screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, we have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC with up to 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512 GB of UFS 4 storage. It draws power from a huge 5,000 mAh battery with 100W fast-charging support. The panel also brings a dedicated display chip to ensure a smooth refresh rate and lift some weight from the Adreno 740.
In terms of optics, the OnePlus 11 brings a 50 MP main camera with OIS, a 32 MP telephoto 2x camera, and a 48 MP ultrawide shooter. There is also a 16 MP selfie camera, and we can’t forget that a Hasselblad is tuning atop this camera setup.
The OnePlus 11 also brings NFC, Stereo Speaker, Bluetooth 5.3, and Wi-Fi 7. Yes! The device is ready for the next standard of wireless networks with Wi-Fi 7 support. The OnePlus 11 runs OxygenOS 13, which nowadays, is an alternate version of ColorOS 13.
Xiaomi 13 Pro
The Xiaomi 13 Pro’s release took place in December 2022. However, that device was limited to the Chinese market. Now, it’s different, after all the device is now up across global markets. It certainly was one of the most remarkable releases in February, thus it joins our Top 10 smartphones of February list.
The Xiaomi 13 is up for those who want a cheaper and more compact flagship. But for those who prioritize power, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is the highest offering – at least until the rise of the Xiaomi 13 Ultra. The device brings a gorgeous 6.73-inch LTPO AMOLED screen with Quad HD+ resolution, Gorilla Glass Victus, 120 Hz refresh rate, and HDR10+ support.
Under the hood, it gets the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with up to 12 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512 GB of UFS 4.0 storage. The phone brings a triple-camera setup with a 50 MP Main camera with OIS and Laser AF, a 50 MP telephoto 3x camera, and a 50 MP ultrawide snapper. There is also a 32 MP selfie camera. The camera brings Leica tuning for professional shots.
Honor Magic5 Pro
Honor started 2023 with glory on the international scene. The brand unveiled the Magic Vs to the global foldable segment and introduced all-new Honor Magic5 series flagships at the MWC 2023. The Honor Magic5 Pro brings the better the brand can offer in terms of technology. For that reason, it certainly grabs a place among the top 10 smartphones of February.
The Honor Magic5 Pro brings a 6.81-inch LTPO OLED screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate and 2,848 x 1,312 pixels of resolution. This panel is super bright due to the max brightness mode that delivers up to 1,800 nits of brightness.
Under the hood, the Honor Magic5 Pro brings the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with up to 16 GB of RAM And 512 GB of Internal Storage. In terms of optics, the Honor Magic5 Pro packs a triple 50 MP camera setup. It has a main shooter with Laser AF and OIS, there is an ultrawide 50 MP shooter with Auto-Focus and a 50 MP periscope telephoto camera with 3.5x optical zoom. The phone also has a 12 MP selfie shooter and a set of software features to boost the camera capabilities. One of these software solutions provides an impressive 100x optical zoom.
The Honor Magic5 Pro brings an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, stereo speakers, UWB support, and Wi-Fi 6. The flagship draws its power from a 5,100 mAh battery across global markets. The Chinese version has the world’s first 5,450 mAh battery.
Gizchina News of the week
The phone runs MagicOS 7.1 software which is based on Android 13.
POCO X5 Pro – the king of mid-ranges joins the top 10 smartphones launched in February 2023
The POCO X5 Pro was a significant upgrade after the launch of the POCO X4 Pro last year. The phone brings significant upgrades over its predecessor, and also has a more powerful chipset. The POCO X5 Pro has a 6.67-inch Full HD+ AMOLED screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate.
Under the hood, the phone packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G with up to 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of Internal Storage. The phone packs a 108 MP main camera, an 8 MP ultrawide shooter, and a 2 MP macro sensor, along with a 16 MP selfie camera. The POCO X5 Pro runs on MIUI 14 with Android 13 as the underlying version.
The POCO X5 Pro brings a 5,000 mAh battery with 67W fast charging. Other features include NFC, Stereo Speakers, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Unfortunately, it drops the micro SD card slot so there is no expansion.
Oppo Reno 8T
For some, the Oppo Reno 8T passed off-radar, but the device was relevant for the mid-range market. The phone packs a 6.7-inch AMOLED screen with FHD+ resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate. Perhaps, it’s not the most relevant device for hardware lovers. After all, it brings the old Snapdragon 695 5G. Anyway, we can say the device compensates as a jack of all trades.
The Oppo Reno 8T has up to 12 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of Internal Storage. The device also features a triple-camera setup with a 108 MP main camera, and 2x 2 MP sensors. One of which is a microscope camera that offers up to 40x zoom. This level of zooming capabilities is not widely available among smartphones in the mid-range market. The device also has a 32 MP selfie snapper on the front.
Other features include an in-display fingerprint scanner, Stereo speakers, and NFC. The Oppo Reno 8T draws its power from a 4,800 mAh battery with 67W fast-charging support.
Thanks to the impressive specs it brings to the mid-range segment, the phone deserves a place among the Top 10 smartphone releases of February.
Vivo V27 – a premium mid-range camera beast among the top 10 smartphones of February 2023
The Vivo V27 may not be the leading device in the series, but I have to confess that it’s my personal favorite. We’ve reviewed the Vivo V27 Pro and checked the device’s qualities. However, the phone’s availability is quite limited. The Vivo V27 is the phone that Vivo intends to sell to the overall international market. There are almost no changes between the vanilla and the Pro despite the chipset and the color options – the Pro has the fancy color-changing version. But this is not the most notable difference, the chipset is.
A new 4nm mid-range chipset with ARMv9 cores
The Vivo V27 Pro packs the Dimensity 8200 and we are pretty aware of its capabilities. The V27, on the other hand, brings the all-new Dimensity 7200. What is so exciting about this chipset? Well, it brings a 4nm process to the mid-range segment. It also switches to the ARMv9 architecture with 2 x Cortex-A715 cores and six ARM Cortex-510. This is one of the few mid-range chips with this architecture, and perhaps, may have some advantages over the Pro, at least in efficiency. In performance, the Dimensity 8200 may still take the lead thanks to the higher amount of performance cores and GPU cores.
The Vivo V27 also has a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen with 2,400 x 1,080 pixels of resolution. It also has HDR10+ support and a 120 Hz of refresh rate. The phone has up to 12 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of Internal Storage. In terms of optics, the phone has a 50 MP main camera with OIS, an 8 MP ultrawide snapper, and a 2 MP macro shooter. One of this phone’s main appeals is the 50 MP selfie camera with Auto-Focus.
It has a single loudspeaker, an under-display fingerprint scanner, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, and Wi-Fi 5. The Vivo V27 is a sleek device with just 7.9 mm, but it still brings a good 4,600 mAh battery with 66W fast-0charging. The phone runs on Funtouch OS 13 with the extended RAM feature. The device is a solid mid-range contender with a high-level of technology. Therefore, it deserves a place in the Top 10 smartphones of the February 2023 list.
Realme GT3 / Realme GT Neo5 – the new ruler of flagship killers joins the Top 10 smartphones of February 2023!
During the MWC 2023, Realme presented the Realme GT3 which happens to be a rebranded Realme GT Neo 5 that launched earlier this month in China. The Realme GT3 is the phone’s gateway to the international markets, and we have to say, this is one of the best devices for the flagship killer segment. For that reason, it deserves a place among the top 10 smartphones launched in February 2023.
While we wait for a new Realme flagship with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the Realme GT3 will be a tough device to beat in the flagship killer segment. The phone packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 CPU with up to 16 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of Internal Storage. It also pushes the USB Type-C tech through its borders with 240W charging support.
The Realme GT3 packs a 6.74-inch AMOLED display with a 144 Hz refresh rate. It also brings HDR10+, and 1,400 nits of peak brightness. In terms of optics, it brings the usual Realme GT Neo series package. It has a 50 MP main camera with OIS, an 8 MP ultrawide sensor. Moreover, there is a 2 MP microscope camera, along with a 16 MP selfie shooter.
The phone has stereo speakers, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, NFC, and IR Blaster. The Realme GT3 only comes in the variant with a 4,600 mAh battery and 240W fast charging. The GT Neo5 has another option with a 5,000 mAh battery and “just” 150W charging.
Vivo X90 Pro
Vivo took the wraps off the Vivo X90 series in global markets. The Vivo X90 Pro arrives as the highest offering of the series. This is perhaps a very distinct flagship when we look at the international scene. It is the only one with the MediaTek Dimensity 9200. Which, at least in theory, is similar to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Anyway, the big focus of this phone is to deliver impressive camera quality with ZEISS tuning.
The Vivo X90 Pro packs a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1,300 nits brightness. The device also has 2,800 x 1,260 pixels of resolution and a 20:9 aspect ratio. The phone brings the Dimensity 9200 and has up to 12 GB of RAM with up to 512 GB of UFS 4.0 storage. The Graphical powers are ensured by the all-new Immortalis-G715 MC11 GPU.
The appealing aspect of this chipset is the triple-camera array. The phone packs a 50.3 MP main camera with OIS, a 50 MP telephoto shooter with 2x zoom and OIS, there is also a 12 MP Auto-Focus ultrawide shooter, and a 32 MP selfie snapper. The camera brings unique ZEISS technologies with multiple image capture and video-recording tweaks.
The Vivo X90 Pro brings Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, IR Blaster, and a UD fingerprint scanner. The Vivo X90 Pro draws power from a 4,870 mAh battery with 120W fast charging and 50W wireless charging.
OnePlus 11R – a flagship killer that will be hard to beat joins the top 10 smartphones list
The OnePlus 11R is the third iteration in the new flagship-killer R-series of OnePlus phones. The device ticks a lot of boxes and is the perfect device for those who want performance but don’t want to pay the price asked for the regular flagship.
The OnePlus 11 packs a 6.74-inch 1.5K Curved AMOLED panel with a 120 Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, the phone brings the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 with up to 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512 GB of Internal Storage. In terms of optics, the device has a 50 MP main camera, an 8 MP ultrawide snapper, and a third 2 MP macro module. Due to the obvious cost-cut measures, the phone lacks Hasselblad’s tuning.
Anyway, the focus here is performance, and it does not disappoint. One cool thing is the addition of the alert slider – a legacy OnePlus feature. The device also has an IR blaster, NFC, Stereo Speakers, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2. It draws power from a huge 5,000 mAh battery with 100W charging.
The OnePlus 11R is also available in China as OnePlus Ace 2.
Conclusion – Top 10 smartphones launched in February 2023
These were some of the best smartphones launched in the second month of 2023. Obviously, I could not fill all the good smartphones that month brought to us. But feel free to add more in the comments section below. So let us know if you think that there is one more device to join the Top 10 smartphones of February 2023.
Android flagships, including almost all models featured, continue to have curved panel displays making the installation of glass protectors impossible. It is time to get back to flat screens like iPhones with solid metal frame surround! , Some look like old iPhone XS Max models, albeit, with a taller aspect ratio. For the price of these phones, we should go back to 16:9 aspect ratios with the removal of the bottom buttons.
It’s 2023, we should have a choice of 16:9 or 21:10, which are really hard to hold and use.
Or all manufacturers are forced to sell tall phones because of higher display panel yields?
Can’t wait for Android version of iPhone 15 or will iPhone 15 with USB-C make further inroads into Android?