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Jul 23, 2023

The best Verizon phones in 2023

Daz Skubich Published: Aug 2, 2023 We’ve gathered the best Verizon phones from the wireless provider in, so you can find the best new phone for you whether you’re currently a Verizon wireless customer

Daz Skubich

Published: Aug 2, 2023

We’ve gathered the best Verizon phones from the wireless provider in, so you can find the best new phone for you whether you’re currently a Verizon wireless customer or want to join.

Verizon came out top among our best cell phone providers guide, thanks to its reliable and fast 5G network, and array of simple plans. Verizon offers all of the latest flagship 5G phones, including the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the budget-friendly Google Pixel 7 Pro, and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

These phones are all available with Verizon, but we’d recommend using the Verizon Coverage Map to check the signal in your area. If you can’t get 5G signal yet, check out the best 4G phones. Or, if you love gaming as much as we do, read our ultimate best gaming phone guide.

These are the best Verizon phones in 2023:

The best Samsung Verizon phone.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra specs:

Pros:

Cons:

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a show of best practices across the smartphone industry. Although it’s expensive, if you’re prepared to invest in a phone that can do it all, the S23 Ultra is your best bet. It’s the best 5G phone on the market right now and builds on Samsung’s existing reputation of quality and innovation.

If you’re looking for a Verizon phone built for gaming, the S23 Ultra’s Galaxy-exclusive Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset means it can handle any game you throw at it and even tackle raytracing on the go. Thanks to its vapor chamber, it also outperforms the other S23s in the lineup, even though they all use the same chip. Plus, the industry-leading cameras are perfect for any amateur photographer out there, which means taking stunning shots easier than ever.

As we mentioned, the only real downside to the S23 Ultra is that it’s pricey, so it might not be the right investment for you right now. Don’t worry, we’ve got a great selection of other Verizon phones that might suit your price range better. You can also check out our guide to the best Samsung phones overall.

The best Verizon iPhone.

iPhone 14 Pro Max specs:

Pros:

Cons:

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is currently Verizon’s best iPhone, boasting all the new features for the iPhone 14 line, like the unique UI feature Dynamic Island, a brilliant camera, long battery life, and Apple’s classic, sleek design. We can forgive the lack of fun colors for all the other great benefits of choosing the Pro Max over the base iPhone 14.

One of our favorite features is the 6.7-inch high refresh rate screen on this thing. It’s perfect for playing all the best mobile games and Apple Arcade games, with its powerful battery meaning you don’t need to constantly take breaks to recharge. Another great feature of the Pro range is its crash detection technology which will automatically call the emergency services if you’ve been in a serious car accident.

The major downside is the Pro Max’s price. But, with the iPhone 15 release date right around the corner, the price should come down, and Verizon has some great offers to sweeten the deal. Plus, if you’re already an Apple fan and own any of their peripherals or computers, it makes sense to add to your existing system rather than settling for an Android phone that isn’t as easily integrated with your other devices.

The best Motorola Verizon phone.

Motorola Edge (2022) specs:

Pros:

Cons:

It might not be the newest model, but the 2022 Motorola Edge is Verizon’s best offering from the company, blending high-quality graphics and display with a lower price and less bulky handset. The star of the show is really the 144 Hz AMOLED screen, allowing for ultra-realistic graphics and an adaptive refresh rate to save on battery life.

Some people might be put off by the fact the Edge 2022 only runs Android 12, but it’s also meant to come with three years of guaranteed OS support so you can get a decent life out of your handset before it starts trailing behind the competition. While this should be the case, it doesn’t look like Motorola has brought the Edge up to Android 13 as of yet, something it was meant to do in early 2023 – and we’re expecting Android 14 in a matter of months. We haven’t been able to independently verify this, but it doesn’t look like it’s supported yet.

Still, It’s got a decent amount of storage, so if you plan to use that screen for a lot of gaming, you can fit the likes of Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail easily. Sadly, the Edge 2022’s camera leaves a lot to be desired, and it’s got a low splash and dust resistance rating at only IP52, so you’ll need to be extra careful to protect that beautiful screen from damage.

Still, this is a great option if you’re looking for a more affordable smartphone and your top priority is graphical fidelity. If you’re willing to look outside of Verizon’s offerings for a great Motorola phone, check out our best Motorola phones guide.

Read our full Motorola Edge 30 Ultra review.

The best Google Verizon phone.

Google Pixel 7 Pro specs:

Pros:

Cons:

If you’re looking for a flagship Verizon phone, then the Google Pixel 7 Pro is the perfect blend of top-quality features and affordability. Don’t get us wrong, it’s still a lot pricier than many other smartphones out there, but compared to Samsung and Apple’s top-end flagships, the Pixel 7 Pro is significantly cheaper.

The Google Tensor G2 chipset is Google’s most powerful chip yet, featuring an in-built VPN and enough power to run any app or game you can think of, though it’s still a tad behind Apple and Qualcomm. The battery life also isn’t the best compared to the S23 Ultra and the iPhone 14 Pro Max, so you might be able to run your favorite games beautifully but not for very long.

The cameras on the Pixel 7 Pro are pretty impressive, too. They’re bolstered by the impressive suite of photo editing tools including photo unblur and magic eraser, making it easier for you to take perfect photos for your digital scrapbooks. If you’re considering a phone from the Pixel line, check out our guide to the best Google Pixel phones.

Read our full Google Pixel 7 Pro review.

When finding the best Verizon phones on the market, there are a lot of features to take into account. We start by looking at how a phone performs against other phones in a similar price range to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck. Then, we focus on how a phone performs in everyday life. This includes things like battery life, screen size and resolution, 5G connectivity, and camera quality.

Of course, at Pocket Tactics we’re particularly interested in mobile gaming, so we also look at how the device’s storage, RAM, display refresh rate, chipset, and battery life affect its performance for gaming. Of course, everyone values different things in their devices, so just because we’ve rated something as the best, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best option for your life. We’ve got a detailed guide to how we test if you want to learn more.

That’s it for the best Verizon phones in 2023. If, after all of this, you’ve decided that Verizon isn’t the provider for you, head over to our best cell phone providers guide. If you’re looking for a new way to play your favorite mobile games, we’ve also got a guide to the best portable gaming consoles.