Best Phones in the UAE for 2023 – Top Smartphones

Buying a new smartphone can be very complicated, even in 2023. The sheer number of devices available from all sorts of brands, such as Apple, Samsung and Huawei, can overwhelm anyone and make the decision very hard. That’s where we set some guidelines to help you choose the best phone in the UAE for 2023.

The most important factor in deciding on a new smartphone is the price range, and if you are looking for the best phone, be prepared to spend some Dirhams and Dinars. If you’re more budget conscious, you should check out the best phones under AED 2000 or even those under AED 1000.

Once you have a budget, the next decision is easier: iPhone or Android. If you want an iPhone, pick the latest model you can afford. If you’re in the Android camp- we have a guide for the best Android phones. 

But if you don’t care about that and want the best phone, this list is for you. We have picked the smartphones that we believe are the best in the UAE for 2023 and tested them in various features such as display, performance, battery life and cameras. We’ve also listed the key specs for each device, what the smartphone is good at and what could be improved.

Best Phones in the UAE for 2023

1. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the first flagship smartphone of 2023 on this list and is setting up a very high bar for all upcoming phones. While it doesn’t look like a huge upgrade from last year’s Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, Samsung has made all the right changes, starting with the new 200-megapixel camera that takes highly detailed and beautiful shots during the day or night. 

Samsung has also tweaked the design slightly, and the display is less curved now, which makes the phone fit better in your hand. The processor is faster this year while being more efficient on the battery, and the base model is now equipped with more RAM and capacity without getting a price bump. And yes, you still get the unmatched S Pen experience. Overall, the S22 Ultra might not have the best of everything from other phones on this list, but it is the most well-rounded phone, so it earns the top spot on our best phones for 2023.

Screen: The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 6.8-inch OLED display with 1440 x 3088 pixel resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. If that sounds familiar, it is the same as last year’s model. However, the S22 Ultra still has the best screen of all smartphones we’ve looked at, so you’re not losing out on anything. Having said that, I think Samsung could have pushed the refresh rate on the S23 Ultra to 144Hz to continue its dominance.

Performance: The Samsung S23 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, which makes it the fastest Android phone currently available. But it doesn’t stop there, as these processors are custom-made “for Galaxy” with faster clock speeds on the GPU and performance core. That means the entire Galaxy S23 range will still be faster than other phones equipped with this chipset.

Camera: While the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has an identical camera layout to its predecessor, you now get a new 200MP sensor with excellent performance. Photos taken at full 200MP resolution can crop quite clearly into distant objects. Nighttime photography has also improved with beautiful low-light shots, and so has the performance of the video camera. You still have the highly versatile zoom lenses at 3x and 10x and ultrawide. The selfie camera has dropped from 40MP to 12MP but brings dual pixel technology for better selfies.

Battery Life: The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has the same 5000mAh battery capacity as last year’s S22 Ultra; however, with a more efficient chipset, you are getting a lot more out of it. It lasted almost two days on a full charge with moderate usage, which involved a fair bit of camera and 5G usage. Charging speeds of 45W on wired at 15W on wireless are good but far from industry-leading numbers from other phones in this roundup.

Read Our Full Review of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

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2. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is Apple’s highest-end phone and was our choice of the best phone in the UAE until the Galaxy S23 Ultra showed up. That could change when the iPhone 15 arrives, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy the iPhone 14 Pro Max- especially if you can find a good deal. It has everything a power user would want- a large and beautiful screen with high refresh rates, a processor that’s faster than any other mobile processor and a camera that can take stunning photos during day or night time. Let’s not forget the eco-system the iPhone offers as well as how polished mobile apps designed for it are. The iPhone 14 Pro Max is expensive, but it’s definitely worth it.

Screen: The iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 6.7-inch OLED screen with a 1290 x 2796 pixel resolution, a 120Hz variable refresh rate and a very high peak brightness of 2,000 nits. New this year is an always-on mode that can show notifications even when the phone is in sleep mode. Apple has also eliminated the notch on the top and added a dynamic island with really cool animations to act as notifications or minimized apps.

Performance: The iPhone 14 Pro Max comes equipped with Apple’s latest A16 processor, which smokes every other mobile processor. Combining that with the fast refresh rates of the screen and iOS optimisations gives you one of the fastest phones you can get.

Camera: The iPhone 14 Pro range takes a massive step forward with its 48 MP main camera. This allows the iPhone 14 Pro to take incredibly details shots, especially in ProRes mode. Apple has also improved the Ultrawide camera though the telephoto/optical camera remains the same as last year. The iPhone 14 Pro Max also ranks top of our best phone camera guide.

Battery Life: Apple spoilt us with battery life on last year’s iPhone 13 Pro Max, and the new iPhone 14 Pro Max is even better, offering a couple of hours of additional usage for easily getting a day and a half. Unfortunately, charging speeds haven’t improved and remain on the lower side- both wired and wirelessly.

Find out more about the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

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3. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

It took Samsung a few years, but the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 finally feels like a phone that can be used for just about everything. Samsung has improved the cameras on the phone, and the design is more refined than previous generations. You get the top specs and a phone that folds out into a mini tablet with a UI that handles the transitions beautifully.

Screen: Samsung continues to refine the display tech and aspect ratio with the Galaxy Z Fold series. This year’s model focuses more on the external display, making it wider for better usage. The folding screen is massive at 7.6 inches with AMOLED technology, 1812 x 2176 pixel resolution and 120Hz refresh rates for a butter-smooth experience. Although a stylus is not included, you can purchase an S-Pen separately with the Fold.

Performance: The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 updates the processor to the fastest one available at launch- the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. You get the same memory and storage options as last year, which are 12GB RAM and 256GB to 1TB storage. You also get 5G and dual SIM support, Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E.

Camera: The cameras on last year’s fold were strictly ok, and Samsung has rightly improved upon that. The main camera is now 50 MP f/1.8, a big improvement over last year’s 12 MP model, especially in nighttime photography. You also get the ultrawide camera and an improved zoom lens to shoot at 3X. The selfie camera is still under the display and not the best.

Battery Life: There’s not much change in battery tech on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 from last year’s model. You still have a 4400 mAh battery with 25w charging- it’s fine and should get you through a normal day, but not much beyond that.

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4. Apple iPhone 14 Plus

The new iPhone that most people will get will be the iPhone 14, and you have two options- the regular iPhone 14 and the larger iPhone 14 Plus. Because there isn’t much different from last year’s model, we think most people should go for the larger iPhone 14 Plus, so at least it feels newer. The larger display size also allows for a larger battery- Apple claims the iPhone 14 Plus has the longest battery life of any iPhone it has ever released.

Screen: While there isn’t much difference in the screen technology on the iPhone 14 compared to its predecessor, you at least get a larger size. The 6.7-inch retina (1284 x 2778 pixel) display is a great-looking screen but lacks the high refresh rates of every other phone in this roundup.

Performance: The iPhone 14 Plus has the same processor as the iPhone 13 Pro. You may think you’re getting an older processor, but it’s the second fastest processor on any mobile phone, bested only by Apple’s latest A16. Apple has increased the RAM on this year’s model to 6GB while storage sizes remain as at 128GB, 256GB and 512GB.

Camera: The iPhone 14 Plus has a similar camera to last year’s model, but you should get slightly better nighttime shots with it this year. The 12 MP main camera is accompanied by a 12 MP ultrawide camera on the back and a 12 MP selfie camera on the front.

Battery Life: Because of the larger size of the phone, you also get a bigger battery with the iPhone 14 Plus—Apple claims to have the longest-lasting battery of any iPhone the company has made.

Find out more about the iPhone 14 Plus.

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5. Huawei Mate 50 Pro

Huawei continues to push forward with its latest release- the Huawei Mate 50 Pro. As expected, the phone packs an excellent camera system with a variable aperture on the primary camera and a periscope-based optical lens. There’s also the new super-tough Kunlun glass that survived our walnut challenge. Like other Huawei phones, the Mate 50 Pro lacks Google’s Services, and Play Store, which could be a blessing for some, but Huawei has put in a lot of work on its App Gallery that offers most of the important local apps.

Screen: The Huawei Mate 50 Pro has a 6.7-inch OLED display with curved sides, tiny bezels, and a 1212 x 2616 pixels resolution. The screen quality is excellent, with brilliant colour reproduction and a fast 120Hz refresh rate.

Performance: The Huawei Mate Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, which is not the latest CPU but fast enough. We found no performance issues using the phone as a daily driver. The lack of 5G does prevent it from touting the fastest download speeds.

Camera: Huawei has always been brilliant with cameras, and the Mate 50 Pro is no exception. It takes stunning shots, be it day or night.

Battery Life: The battery capacity on the Huawei Mate 50 Pro isn’t the largest we’ve seen compared to other phones, but thanks to software optimizations with EMUI, we managed to get a full day out of it. Charging speeds are decent at 66W wired and 50W wireless charging.

Find out more about the Huawei Mate 50 Pro.

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6. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4

Screen: The 6.7-inch flexible display has a great looking 1080 x 2640 pixel resolution. The AMOLED screen has a fast refresh rate, and while the crease is visible, you stop noticing it after some time.

Performance: Equipped with the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is fast. You have 8GB RAM and up to 512GB storage to get all things done. 5G is also supported by the latest cellular connectivity.

Camera: Samsung hasn’t upgraded the cameras on the Galaxy Z Flip 4, which is a shame; however you get a lot more flexibility with screen positions in using the cameras now.

Battery Life: Samsung has improved the battery life on the Galaxy Z Flip 4 compared to its predecessor, and you can now easily get a day. Charging speeds aren’t the fastest, but it’s good enough.

7. Xiaomi 12

Screen: The Xiaomi 12 comes with a 6.28″ AMOLED with 1080 x 2400 pixel resolution, which supports 68 billion colours, has a 120Hz refresh rate and is rated for Dolby Vision and HDR10+ with a peak brightness of 1100 nits. Visibility in bright light is good; colours are rich and crisp.

Performance: Under the hood, the Xiaomi 12 comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and is supported by 8 or 12GB of RAM. You also get up to 256GB UFS3.1 storage. Put together, these lead to a very powerful flagship that can handle any task you throw at it.

Camera: The camera on the Xiaomi 12 is 50MP wide with a 13MP ultra-wide and a 5MP macro sensor. While it doesn’t get the same triple 50MP treatment as its elder sibling, the camera setup on the Xiaomi 12 is very capable. Content creators out there can record up to 8K video and 4K at 60fps HDR10+ footage. Photos from the 50MP wide lens come out crisp and have natural colours.

Battery Life: The ‘small’ Xiaomi 12 packs a massive 4500mAh battery inside. You get 67W charging (with the charger in the box), which gives you a full juice up from 0 in under 40 minutes. Not just that, if you have the right wireless charger, you can also charge it up with up to 50W wireless charging.

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8. Motorola Edge 30 Ultra

Screen: The Motorola Edge 30 Ultra has a 6.67-inch curved P-OLED display with a blazing-fast 144Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 1250 nits, along with 1080 x 2400 pixel resolution. While it looks great, we would have preferred a less curved display as that helps prevent accidental touches.

Performance: Motorola went for the fastest components available for Android at launch, which means you get the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 with 12GB RAM and UFS 3.1 storage of 256GB. Other markets are getting higher storage versions, but the Middle East only has the 256GB model.

Camera: The Motorola Edge 30 Ultra comes equipped with a 200 MP camera, the first we’ve seen on any phone. This allows it to take incredibly details photos. Night-time performance is also pretty good using pixel binning. While the telephoto camera isn’t the best, you can technically just crop from the 200 MP image for better results. You also get a 50 MP ultrawide and a 60 MP selfie camera.

Battery Life: The Motorola Edge 30 Ultra may not have the highest capacity battery, but it charges ridiculously fast. Motorola bundles a 125W charger in the box, which is fantastic and can get you a full day with just 7 minutes of charging. Wireless charging speeds are also very fast at 50W.

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9. OnePlus 10 Pro

Screen: The OnePlus 10 Pro has a massive 6.7-inch display with a fast 120Hz variable refresh rate and 1440 x 3216 pixel resolution. Colour production and brightness levels are also great.

Performance: The one area where the OnePlus 10 Pro does not disappoint is performance. The phone flies with the latest processor and tons of RAM with fast storage.

Camera: Continuing its partnership with Hasselblad, the OnePlus 10 Pro improves cameras over its predecessor but not by a massive amount. You get pretty good pictures but not as good as some of the other flagship phones.

Battery Life: The OnePlus Pro 10 has a massive 5,000 mAh battery and very fast wired and wireless charging. That combination means that you’ll seldom run out of juice.

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10. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

The Samsung Galaxy S22 was our favourite smartphone of 2022 until the iPhone 14 Pro Max was released. Following the Galaxy S23 Ultra release, we have moved it lower on this best phone list but haven’t removed it. It’s still an excellent phone with a good 108-megapixel camera and S-Pen support. And you can’t find a better screen than the one on the S22 Ultra. Add to that some great performance and battery life, and you have an excellent phone that stands the test of time.

Screen: The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has a massive 6.8-inch OLED display with curved sides. While similar to last year’s model, Samsung has improved the brightness on the display, but besides that, it’s still the slightly curved sides with a sharp 1440 x 3088 pixels resolution and a smooth variable refresh rate of 120Hz.

Performance: The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra uses the fastest processor available at the time of its release- the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It also has 8GB or 12GB of RAM and storage options from 256GB to 1TB. You also get 5G, dual SIM support, Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E.

Camera: There are four cameras on the back of the Galaxy S22 Ultra to get you that perfect shot. The main 108MP camera has an f/1.8 aperture great for nighttime photography and videos. You also get two telephoto cameras at 3X and 10X optical zooms, while digital zooming allows you to go 100x. There’s also a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a 40MP selfie camera.

Battery Life: With a massive 5,000MAh battery, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra should last you a full day and then some. You also get fast 45W wired charging which, while not the fastest, is fast enough to get you from 0 to 100 in an hour. There’s also support for 15W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.

Summing Up – What Will Be Your Phone Choice This Year?

So that’s our list of the best phones you can buy in the UAE. The newly crowned Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a fantastic phone that’s extremely capable but there is plenty of competition around the corner with flagship phones such as the Xiaomi 13 Pro and Huawei Mate X3 that we will be looking at.

These upcoming phones have phenomenal cameras, so even if they don’t end up on this list, you’ll likely see one or more of them ending up on our best camera phones guide.

As always, it’s smart to not pay the full price for any phone and times like White Friday are great to pick up all kinds of devices, including smartphones.

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