The best Samsung phones rankings reflect a busy year for the smartphone giant. Not only have we seen new Galaxy S flagships and improved foldables in the last 12 months, but Samsung has also come out with budget devices that should appeal to anyone looking to save on their next smartphone.

1.Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

The best Samsung phone you can buy

As well as being the new top Galaxy S model, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is also one of the best phones around generally, beating even the usually indomitable iPhone on photography and performance in some areas.

The new 200MP camera proves to be very versatile, offering wonderful detail and color depending on your priority. The overclocked version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset offers lots of power too, while the display is as colorful and bright as ever, even though Samsung's improved the phone's power efficiency.

Samsung's still asking for a lot of money for this phone, and has stuck with the divisive curved display, even if the angle's less extreme than in previous years. We're also unimpressed by its charging speed, which even at 45W is a bit slow. But if you've got the cash to splash, you won't get a better Galaxy phone right now than this one.

2.Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

The best foldable phone from Samsung

Samsung didn't make dramatic changes for the Galaxy Z Fold 5. In fact, Galaxy Z Fold 4 owners will likely be able to skip this version of the foldable phone without regret. But if you're new to foldables, this is Samsung's most polished version yet, thanks to a new hinge design that makes the Fold both thinner and lighter than it's ever been.

The biggest addition to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy silicon. You get top performance from the chipset, which is the same one found in the Galaxy S23 series. But the bigger benefit is battery life. For the first time ever, a Galaxy Z Fold performs well on our battery test, holding out for more than 11 hours. That's not only better than the average smartphone, it's also an improvement over the Galaxy Z Fold 4's sub-10 hour time.

The newer silicon also helps with image processing, so the Galaxy Z Fold 5 turns out better photos than before even if the camera specs are unchanged from its predecessor. We wish Samsung would start adjusting the price on the Galaxy Fold, particularly with the Pixel Fold costing an identical $1,799, but Samsung's phone re-establishes itself as the best foldable phone overall.

3.Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

The Samsung foldable for most people

Like the Galaxy Z Fold 5, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 doesn't see big changes from its predecessor. The same Flex Hinge found in Samsung's other foldable is on display here, too, and the new design helps the Flip to fully snap shut at last. But the bigger change comes to the Flip's outer display — instead of a 1.9-inch strip, you now get a 3.4-inch panel that's big enough to run more widgets without ever having to open up the flip phone. Unfortunately, there's a limitation — you can only run select apps on the Galaxy Z Flip 5's outer display. (That's not something Motorola Razr+ owners need worry about.) Still, we're happy to see the Flex Window arrive on the Galaxy Z Flip 5.

We're also happy with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset powering the phone. You get better performance, sure, but you also get improved battery life over past Flips — the Z Flip 5 now comes close to the average battery life for smartphones on our test, which is a big improvement over the Z Flip 4. Unfortunately, other phones still outlast Samsung's flip phone.

At $999, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 remains Samsung's most affordable foldable phone. It's good news then, that Samsung continues to offer a solid phone at that price, though we'd like to see more substantial changes down the road.