Whether you are on a strict $200 budget, or looking to make a $1,800 splash for the latest and greatest foldable, Samsung has you covered. The smartphone and electronics titan has lofty expectations of itself and, luckily for Android fans, usually paves the way with some of the best Android phones money can buy. Some may criticize Samsung for its design choices or One UI's occasional heavy-handedness, but these quibbles usually range from unwarranted to wildly inaccurate. So check out the best Samsung has to offer. With such a wide range to choose from, you're bound to find something that fits your expectations — and your budget.

Our savvy selection of Samsung's top Galaxy phones in 2023

Samsung isn't scoring any points for an exciting upgrade this year, but that doesn't mean the Galaxy S23 Ultra isn't an incredible phone. It takes everything we liked about last year's device and makes it better — or, at the very least, keeps the experience surprisingly consistent. A slightly refined design means the curved display is now flatter than ever (though, the company could just, you know, make it flat), while the squared-off frame fits better in the palm of your hand. It's a small design change, but an appreciated one nonetheless. While S22 Ultra owners might find the look and feel pretty familiar — and, ultimately, not worth an upgrade — it's still some of the best Android hardware around.

And that extends to the specs. Powering the S23 series, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset is impressive. Everything feels buttery smooth, from endlessly scrolling through Twitter to playing even the most demanding mobile games. And with a couple of exceptions, the chipset handles it all while keeping cool under pressure. Battery life is also exceptional. You can expect about a day and a half of runtime on a single charge. Unfortunately, charging speeds can't quite measure up. 45W isn't too slow, but you'll need a compatible PPS brick, and one isn't included in the box.

Really, though, the camera is where you'll find the biggest upgrade. With a massive 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor, the images this thing is capable of can blow your socks off. It struggles with motion and shutter lag, but all four lenses can score phenomenal photos and videos. All that, and we didn't even mention the S Pen. Truly, this is a powerhouse of a device. You'll have to shell out a pretty penny for it, but we doubt you'll regret picking one up.

Like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 was an incremental upgrade over the Z Fold 3. For the same super-premium $1,800 MSRP — though it regularly gets $300-$500 discounts now that it's been out for over six months — the Fold 4's screens are both a touch wider than before, making the phone easier to hold in tablet mode and the cover screen more useful as apps fit better on it.

Cameras had been a generation or so behind on the first three generations of the Fold, but the 4 made some significant upgrades. Granted, the Galaxy S23 Ultra's cameras are noticeably better, but it's progress. The true performance boon comes from the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 proved itself to have thermal issues on the Galaxy S22 series, but they were fixed on the 8+ alongside improving the efficiency. 12GB of RAM is a big upgrade as well, especially when using multiple app windows, and adding a 1TB storage tier means that even the download hoarders should find no fault with the Fold 4 — well, assuming you can stomach the 1TB's price of $2,160. That's what carrier incentives are for, right?

Of course, we're also coming up on the expected launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 5, so unless you spot a great deal on last year's hardware, it might be worth waiting. Make no mistake, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 remains as capable as ever, but at these prices, you should expect the latest and greatest.

For $300, the Samsung Galaxy A23 is a meaningful upgrade from Samsung's more entry-level smartphones like the ultra-affordable Galaxy A03s. Compared to that much less expensive phone, the A23 boasts a Snapdragon 695 chipset (whereas the A03s has a budget MediaTek CPU), plus the A23 has an additional gigabyte of RAM for 4GB total. This smartphone also has double the built-in storage at 64GB, and its screen — a 120Hz, 1080p LCD panel — is excellent for the price. Plus, it has a 5,000 mAh battery to keep it going all day. It's also guaranteed security patches for four years from its initial US release. That's well into 2026.

The Galaxy A23's cameras aren't anything special, though, despite the primary sensor's 50MP resolution. The better-equipped — and newer — Samsung Galaxy A54 has also seen sale prices as low as $375, occasionally complicating the A23's value proposition. Still, if you cannot get a higher-end phone at a steep discount, the A23 is a great way to spend 300 bucks, especially if your carrier is offering any appealing incentives.

These days, there's no such thing as a truly small flagship. The last one we had was the Galaxy S10e — RIP, you tiny angel — but the Galaxy S23 is as close to one as you can get today. Featuring the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 — admittedly with slightly less RAM — a screen that's just as bright but more reasonably sized, and new camera design, this 6.1-inch phone is sensible and reliable. While its big brothers might steal the spotlight, the Galaxy S23 is just as powerful and packs 95% of the same features, costing hundreds less than the S23+ and Ultra. It's also free with trade-in at all three major carriers, which is how I got my lovely little Lavender S23.

After years of preferring smaller phones, you get used to needing to top off your battery early, but I regularly get over eight hours of screen time on my Galaxy S23, though that may be slightly skewed by my tendency to use my phone on lower brightness. The cameras here are virtually identical to last year's Galaxy S22. While that means they're still pretty decent for photography during daylight hours or well-lit interior shots, it can still struggle a bit in lower light. Samsung's well-known photo processing can leave photos feeling oversaturated or over-brightened, but it'll still be fine in most instances. Hopefully, the Galaxy S24 gets an upgrade to its main and zoom cameras.

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 is the more affordable of Samsung's 2022 foldables. More affordable, mind you; this thing still costs a thousand bucks. But the Galaxy Z Flip 3 did, too, and the newer model is an objectively better device. Unfortunately, the newer Flip suffers the same pitfalls as the older one: crummy battery life and middling cameras, which aren't issues you'd expect to face in any non-folding phone that costs this much. But both aspects have been improved with this generation, thanks to larger batteries and enhanced low-light camera performance.

The Flip 4's hamburger-style folding screen means it's more or less a normal phone when it's open and an eminently pocketable little square when it's closed. The tiny cover screen is handy for checking the time or notifications without firing up the battery-hungry internal screen. It also simplifies taking higher-quality selfies using the phone's rear-facing cameras.

We won't dance around it: if you take away the wow factor folding phones still have, you're essentially getting a midrange experience at a premium price here. But it's hard to deny that the Flip 4 is extremely cool, and its build quality exceeds what you'll find in Samsung's A-series phones. Plus, none of those other phones fold in half — well, not more than once, anyway.

Much like its bigger brother, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is set to replace this phone soon, complete with a much larger exterior display, so if you can wait for its successor, we recommend it. That said, the age of this particular phone may lead you to find some excellent deals on it — a win-win in our books.

Samsung skipped the FE series for the Galaxy S22, but the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is still a pretty decent phone one year later. The S21 FE launched less than a month before the Galaxy S22 did, but thanks to some excellent deals, it's stuck around as a solid mid-range offering. It has an outstanding 120Hz display, powerful battery life, and good performance. At its full $600 price point, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is up against the Google Pixel 7, which offers better performance and more capable cameras for $100 less — though it is worth noting that the S21 FE is practically always on sale.

Now that the Galaxy S22 has been dropped down to $700, the decision of whether to buy the S21 FE or an older S22 is a bit more complex — unless you're buying through a carrier, at which point, neither makes sense given the trade-in incentives for the Galaxy S23. That said, the S21 FE has a larger screen and better battery life while costing less, and you won't have to deal with the poor thermal performance provided by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It's a bit of a toss-up, but generally speaking, the $500 price point for Samsung phones has always been a little murky. And speaking of which...

The Galaxy A53 was one of our top picks for the best budget phones for all of 2022, and the newly released Galaxy A54 is a worthy successor in every way. Samsung is still using a vibrant, and smooth 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate display that makes everything from watching content to just scrolling through your setting look immaculate. Plus, it even maintained excellent battery life once again, thanks to the 5,000mAh capacity that can keep you going for two days. While there's no doubt that the Samsung Exynos 1380 isn't the most powerful chip — meaning you'll still run into some sluggishness if you try to push it too hard — all of your day-to-day tasks can be handled with no problem.

While the new design brought some perks like a glass back instead of a plastic one like the A53, it didn't bring the ability to charge your Galaxy A54 wirelessly; although you won't have to charge often, it will take a while when you do. Still, you'll be hard-pressed to find a midrange Android phone for under $500 that will be as stable and reliable as the Galaxy A54 — especially going into the future, thanks to Samsung's commitment to keeping it updated for four years.

If you are on a tight budget, you can’t do much better than the Samsung Galaxy A14. With a retail price of $200, this device gives you a fantastic screen and solid performance. Just don’t expect great results from its cameras. Samsung didn’t alter the power of the Galaxy A14 as it shares the same Mediatek Dimensity 700 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and 5000 mAh battery as its predecessor.

It does bump the display up to FHD+ while keeping the same 90Hz refresh rate which is impressive for a device at this price. To make it even better, the Galaxy A14 is $50 less expensive than the Galaxy A13 5G, and it ships with Android 13 and One UI 5.0. The Galaxy A14 is only available in black if you live in the United States. The rest of the world gets to choose between black, green, red, and silver.

The best Samsung phone for you

The Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 4, and Galaxy Z Flip 4 are all high-end, unique devices. They're quite different — two of them fold, after all — but like Samsung's best smartphones, they all share a few things in common. On all three phones, you'll find some of the best screens you can get in any electronic device today, immaculate build quality, and can do things most other phones can't do right now. You know, like fold.

If you aren't ready to buy into the foldable lifestyle — it's not for everyone — the Galaxy S23 Ultra might be the phone for you. It's running on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the most powerful chipset you'll find in any Android phone day, complete with a higher clock speed exclusive to the S23 series. Its 200MP camera is seriously impressive. It's an expensive phone — priced even higher than one of the company's two folding options — but with five years of upgrades ahead of us, think of it as an investment in your mobile future.

The Galaxy S23, Galaxy S21 FE, and Galaxy A54 cost substantially less than Samsung's top-tier offerings. If you prefer a smaller screen, can deal with middling battery life, and need a phone right now, go for the base-model S23. Meanwhile, the S21 FE and Galaxy A54 are great midrange options, and both are larger than the base-model S23.

On the less expensive side, the A23 and the A14 offer basic smartphone functionality at very reasonable prices. Neither's a powerhouse, but if your budget can bear it, we recommend the A23 over the A14. While the two devices share much of the same DNA, the A23 is a better all-around performer and has a slightly better 120Hz display. However, it costs $100 more at retail, so if your budget doesn't allow for it, the A14 will suit your needs.

If you're interested in entertaining less expensive phones from companies other than Samsung, there are some great budget Android phones from other manufacturers, too.