The iPhone 14 Professional Max has been out since Sept. 16, 2022, and it’s stunning and highly effective. Nonetheless, it’s just about a laterally improved iPhone 13 Professional Max that may run you $1,200, which is a large hunk of money to slap down for a touch enhanced gadget.
To your pound of flesh ($1,200), you’ll get the A16 Bionic chip, 256GB of storage, and solely 6GB of RAM. I say solely 6GB of RAM as a result of most Android flagship telephones supply between 8 and 16GB of RAM. Additionally, should you select to go all out and get an iPhone 14 Professional Max with 1TB of storage, you’re spending $1,600 earlier than taxes.
Positive, the iPhone 14 Professional Max has superb battery life, takes good pictures and shoots wonderful movies. Nonetheless, it’s not the king of efficiency it as soon as was, with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely crushing it in current benchmark comparisons. Sadly, the S23 Extremely will even value you a foot — and it’s not the very best worth within the flagship cellphone section by a protracted shot.
Shoppers at this time are extra funds aware throughout these unsure financial instances, so spending over $1,000 on a cellphone is probably not the very best concept. Nonetheless, we’ve compiled a listing of 5 telephones that may meet your power-thirsty, content material creation wants, which can value you between $500 and $999. Thereby saving you a whole bunch of {dollars} you possibly can put in direction of issues like consuming this week and paying for the separation remedy you may want after probably switching to Android (no worries we’ve an Apple possibility).
That every one mentioned, let’s take a look at 5 telephones that may prevent cash whereas delivering a flagship expertise.
OnePlus 11
OnePlus 11 specs
Value: $699
OS: Android
Display dimension: 6.7-inch AMOLED
Display decision: 1440 x 3216
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
RAM: 8GB & 16GB choices
Storage: 128GB and 256GB possibility
Rear cameras: 50MP Extremely-Huge + 48MP Principal digicam + 8MP Telephoto Hasselblad Tuned
Entrance digicam: 16MP
Dimension: 6.4 x 2.9 x 0.34 inches
Weight: 7.23 ounces
For underneath $700, you may snag a OnePlus 11 that lives as much as its motto of “By no means Settle.” Many individuals nonetheless have to study extra about OnePlus, and I hope this adjustments in 2023 as a result of they’re producing some critical flagship-level telephones at costs that won’t break your funds.
The OnePlus 11 gives efficiency on par with most different Android flagship telephones, battery life that rivals the iPhone, a stunning AMOLED 6.7-inch show that Samsung solely outdoes, and quick charging that also blows away any of the competitors within the U.S.
The OnePlus 11 additionally comes with a set of cameras fine-tuned by Hasselblad, the ultra-high-end digicam firm that co-developed the ten Professional’s digicam array with OnePlus. The first wide-angle digicam stays the 48MP f/1.8 Sony IMX789 unique to OnePlus. There is a 32-megapixel telephoto at f/2.4. The ultra-wide is a 48MP f/2.2 with a dramatic 115-degree subject of view. We shut with a 32MP front-facing selfie digicam powered by a Sony IMX615 sensor.
The setup performs properly and there have been enhancements to the cameras, but it surely falls wanting the low-light efficiency and telephoto zoom lens of the Pixel 7 Professional, iPhone 14 Professional, or Galaxy S23 lineup, however not by a lot as OnePlus is closing the hole shortly.
Nonetheless, for underneath $700, the OnePlus 11 Professional can maintain tempo with the Apple, Pixel, and Samsung telephones whereas saving you a ton of cash and offering a wonderful person expertise.
See our full OnePlus 11 overview.
Google Pixel 7 Professional
Google Pixel 7 Professional specs
Google Pixel 7 Professional
Value: $899
OS: Android
Display dimension: 6.7-inch AMOLED
SpecsScreen decision: 1440 x 3120
CPU: Google Tensor
RAM: 8GB & 12GB choices
Storage: 128GB upto 512GB
Rear digicam: 50MP Principal Digicam + 48MP Telephoto + 12MP Extremely-Huge
Entrance digicam: 10.8MP
Dimension: 6.41 x 3.02 x 0.35 inches
Weight: 7.48 ounces
Ounce for ounce, and greenback for greenback, the Google Pixel 7 Professional ($899) is likely one of the greatest Android telephones obtainable at this time.
It comes with among the best digicam apps and modifying instruments obtainable on any cellphone. Sure, it has commonplace settings like panorama, evening mode, and portrait. It additionally comes with Photograph Unblur and Magic Eraser, which work splendidly. Let’s face it — most customers’ smartphones are their go-to digicam, and modifying your pictures and movies immediately is a large plus. Few others do it in addition to the Pixel 7 Professional at this value level.
Google even has its silicon, the Tensor chip, which is a wonderful performer. The Pixel 7 Professional gives customers 8GB of RAM or 12GB and both 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage. The Pixel 7 Professional includes a 50MP broad lens, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and a 48MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom and 30x SuperRes Zoom. So it is obtained the specs to go face to face with the iPhone 14 Professional or Galaxy 23 Extremely.
iPhone 13 Professional Max (Greatest Purchase)
iPhone 13 Professional Max specs
Value: $999.99
OS: iOS 16
Display dimension: 6.7-inch Tremendous Retina XDR show
SpecsScreen decision: 2778 x 1284
CPU: Apple A15 Bionic
RAM: 6GB
Storage: 128GB upto 1TB
Rear digicam: 12MP Extremely-Huge+ 12MP Principal digicam + 12MP Telephoto
Entrance digicam: 12MP
Dimension: 6.33 x 3.07 x 0.30 inches
Weight: 8.47 ounces
So that you need an iPhone 14 Professional Max, however you do not have over $1,100 proper now. Simply purchase the 13 Professional Max. It is darn-near similar cellphone — run them by way of Ancestry.com and 90% of their DNA could be the identical. The iPhone 13 Professional Max continues to be a robust flagship cellphone. No, it doesn’t have the iPhone 14 Professional Max’s 48-megapixel broad digicam, crash detection, nor satellite tv for pc connectivity to make calls should you’re misplaced within the wilderness, however come on, how typically has that occurred to you?
The iPhone13 Professional Max comes with a Professional digicam system with 12MP telephoto, broad, and ultra-wide cameras; a LiDAR Scanner; a 3x optical zoom vary; macro pictures; Photographic Types; ProRes; Good video, Good HDR 4; evening mode; Apple ProRAW; 4K Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR recording 12MP TrueDepth entrance digicam with Evening mode, 4K Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR recording.
Frankly, though the iPhone 14 Professional Max has a brand new major digicam sensor, it nonetheless is not the leap in efficiency that I used to be searching for. I’m nonetheless holding onto my iPhone 11 as a result of it has not been well worth the cash to improve.
Once more, snatching up a 13 Professional Max will prevent just a few hundred {dollars}, and you’ll nonetheless personal a robust flagship with software program assist that may final for years.
Samsung Galaxy S23 +
Samsung Galaxy S23+ specs
Value: $999 (Amazon)
OS: Android
Display dimension: 6.6-inch AMOLED
SpecsScreen decision: 1080 x 2340
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 256GB to 512GB
Quad rear digicam: 50MP Principal digicam + 12MP Extremely-Huge + 10MP Telephoto
Entrance digicam: 12MP
Dimension: 6.21 x 3.00 x 0.30 inches
Weight: 6.91 ounces
Telling the S23 lineup aside is a bit of difficult typically, and that’s high-quality because it’s an important design that works, feels nice within the hand, and arrives with wonderful efficiency. The S23+ additionally is available in lavender, inexperienced, black, and cream.
We all know Samsung’s design is beautiful, however if you wish to know if it is highly effective, the reply is sure. It arrives with the most recent Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 you’ll discover the S23 Extremely and the OnePlus 11. It additionally includes a beautiful FHD+ (1080 x 2340) AMOLED show working at 120Hz that may render movies easily. It could actually additionally attain 1,750 nits of brightness, guaranteeing your display is seen even within the brightest daylight.
With a triple-rear digicam system that is still the identical because the earlier technology, the primary digicam includes a 50-megapixel sensor adopted by a 10MP telephoto and a 12MP ultrawide. Nonetheless, the S23+ has a brand new 12MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and an 80-degree subject of view for the front-facing selfie digicam.
We’ve not acquired a overview unit, so we wouldn’t have an precise battery take a look at rating to share, however it’s rated for as much as 27 hours of battery life. Nonetheless, its sibling, the S23 Extremely, did final 12 hours and 22 minutes in our testing, and we count on related outcomes for the S23+.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Extremely (Amazon)
Samsung Galaxy S22 Extremely specs
Value: $958
OS: Android
Display dimension: 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED
SpecsScreen decision: 1440 x 3088
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
RAM: 8GB & 12GB choices
Storage: 128 upto 1TB
Quad rear digicam: 108MP Principal digicam + 12MP Extremely-Huge + 10MP periscope Telephoto 10MP Telephoto
Entrance digicam: 40MP
Dimension: 6.4 3 x 3.07 x 0.35 inches
Weight: 8.04 ounces
Just like the iPhone 13 Professional Max, this Samsung Galaxy S22 Extremely stays, even after a yr available on the market, a wonderful flagship cellphone.
The S23 and S22 Extremely are 6.8-inch AMOLED show beasts with wonderful battery life, spirited efficiency, stable digicam efficiency, Snapdragon chips, and as much as 1TB of storage. Additionally they each include Samsung’s wonderful S Pen.
Why spend $1,200+ on a Galaxy S23 Extremely when you will get so most of the similar options for underneath $1,000? Because of Samsung’s excellent 4 generations of Android OS updates and 5 years of safety updates, your S22 Extremely will likely be getting Android updates by way of 2025 and safety updates by way of 2026.
Save the cash now, and in three years, you may improve to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Extremely, which can most likely be capable to rework right into a drone or a automotive.
You possibly can’t go fallacious with the Samsung S22 Extremely; it appears to be like nearly precisely just like the S23 Extremely. Your pals will not know the distinction.
Ultimate Ideas
You gained’t go fallacious with any of those 5 flagship-worthy telephones; I’d simply ensure you perceive and know what your true wants are. In the event you do not care about pictures nor want the very best cameras, a mid-tier and even funds cellphone could also be a more sensible choice for you whereas saving quite a lot of cash.
Moving into, you must know your funds and your precise wants. The perfect recommendation I may offer you is to purchase a cellphone that meets them with out worrying concerning the newest hyped-up cellphone.
