In addition to top performance and cameras, flagship smartphones have another, less obvious but very important advantage. They remain relevant much longer than mid-range smartphones or even budget models. Therefore, it’s a reasonable decision to consider buying a flagship smartphone from previous years.

Moreover, with the release of new models, manufacturers significantly reduce the prices of the previous generation and these models are regularly sold at sales at very interesting prices. Today, we will look at the most interesting, in our opinion, flagships of the past years, which have not yet lost their relevance compared to the current models of the mid-range price segment.

Mostly, these will be A-brand models, although there is also a place for interesting models of Chinese companies. We decided not to take into account the budget in this article, as the models are very different.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

10 flagship smartphones of the past years that have not lost their relevance

Over the past few years, smartphone development has slowed down somewhat, and each successive generation offers only some evolutionary improvements. That’s why the flagship camera phone Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra still looks like a very interesting option. The design of the current Galaxy S24 Ultra is almost identical, except for the titanium frame, and the power of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is still enough for even the most demanding modern games, not to mention any applications.

The smartphone is equipped with a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with an adaptive refresh rate of 120 Hz and a refresh rate of 1440 x 3088. Galaxy S23 Ultra has a good set of cameras: 200 megapixel main camera with laser autofocus and optical stabilization, 10 megapixel periscopic telephoto 10x, 10 megapixel 3x and 12 megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with autofocus. It is also worth mentioning the presence of the S Pen, which was transferred to the S line from the now outdated Galaxy Note models.

The smartphone has a 5000 mAh battery with fast charging support, an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner in the screen, loud stereo speakers, and is IP68 water and dirt resistant.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

10 flagship smartphones of the past years that have not lost their relevance

Apple smartphones are a separate category. They remain relevant longer than Android models. Therefore, the previous top-of-the-line Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is still quite relevant. The smartphone is equipped with a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a resolution of 1290 x 2796 and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The performance is ensured by a six-core Apple A16 Bionic processor and 6 GB of RAM, which is enough for stable and fast iOS operation. The case is made of glass and stainless steel and is IP68 protected.

There are three cameras at the back: a 48MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture and optical stabilization, a 12MP telephoto with 3x zoom, and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera with a 120˚ viewing angle. The front-facing TrueDepth camera is used for owner identification in addition to selfies. A 4323 mAh battery with support for fast wired and 15W wireless charging is responsible for the battery life.

Google Pixel 7 Pro

10 flagship smartphones of the past years that have not lost their relevance

Google Pixel smartphones have a certain audience of connoisseurs of the absolutely pure Android OS, as designed by Google. But, in addition to the uncluttered shell and long-lasting support for updates, Google smartphones always have very good cameras. First of all, thanks to well-written software and processing algorithms. That’s why the previous flagship Google Pixel 7 Pro still looks very interesting. The smartphone has a high-quality 6.7-inch LTPO AMOLED display with an adaptive refresh rate of 120 Hz and a resolution of 1440 x 3120. And the performance is handled by Google’s own Tensor G2 processor with a frequency of 2.85 GHz, which is manufactured for Google by Samsung.

The rear camera system includes a main module with a resolution of 50 megapixels, f/1.9 aperture, optical stabilization and laser autofocus. There is a 48-megapixel telephoto module with 5x zoom and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle module with a 126° viewing angle. The battery capacity is 5000 mAh and supports 23W wired and wireless charging, which charges the smartphone by 50% in half an hour.

ASUS Zenfone 10

10 flagship smartphones of the past years that have not lost their relevance

Unfortunately, ASUS has decided to abandon compact smartphones in its current lineup. But the ASUS Zenfone 10 is still available and may be of particular interest to users looking for a powerful but compact smartphone with a small display that will be convenient to use with one hand. The smartphone has a compact 5.92-inch FullHD+ AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Inside is the previous flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. The RAM can be 8 or 16 GB, and the storage capacity is 128/256 or 512 GB.

The case frame is metal, and the back cover is made of plastic. There is protection against dirt and water according to the IP68 standard. There is a dual camera on the back: A 50-megapixel main camera with optical stabilization and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a 120° viewing angle. Autonomy is ensured by a 4300 mAh battery with 30W charging support, which allows you to fully charge the smartphone in 1.20 hours. Asus is not strong on customizing the shell, so the smartphone uses almost pure Android.

Moto Razr 40 Ultra

10 flagship smartphones of the past years that have not lost their relevance

A new line of folding smartphones Moto Razr 50 will soon go on sale. Already now, the clamshell Moto Razr 40 Ultra is on sale at a good discount. So the smartphone is a very interesting option if you want something unusual or have nostalgic memories of the original RAZR V3. The smartphone has two screens: a flexible internal OLED with a 6.9-inch diagonal, 1080 x 2640 resolution and 165 Hz refresh rate. And a smaller external 3.6-inch 1056 x 1066 OLED with a 144 Hz refresh rate, which can not only display notifications, a music player, or serve as a viewfinder for the camera. It also supports full-fledged work with most applications.

Inside, there’s not the latest, but quite powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor and 8 or 12 GB of RAM. The external dual camera includes a 12-megapixel main module with f/1.5 aperture and optical stabilization, as well as an ultra-wide-angle 13-megapixel module with a viewing angle of 108°. The internal selfie camera has a resolution of 32 MP. The battery capacity is 3800 mAh, with fast and wireless charging. Moto Razr 40 Ultra runs on almost pure Android 14.

OnePlus 11

10 flagship smartphones of the past years that have not lost their relevance

Once upon a time, the OnePlus brand proved to be a good one thanks to successful flagship smartphones that were a bit more affordable than the competition and a well-optimized Oxygen OS shell. Now things are not as cool as they used to be. There are more compromises in the characteristics, and Oxygen OS is almost completely the same as Color OS on OPPO smartphones. But the brand still produces really interesting models. For example, OnePlus 11. It has a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, up to 16 GB of RAM, and a curved AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a QHD+ resolution (3216×1440).

The smartphone is equipped with a 5000 mAh battery, there is no support for wireless charging, but there is a very fast 100 W wired charger. The rear camera includes three modules with Sony sensors. 50 megapixel primary with optical stabilization, 32 megapixel telephoto with 2x zoom, and 48 megapixel ultra-wide-angle 115°. The cameras are said to have been calibrated by Hasselblad specialists. As with all modern flagships, the body is made of glass and metal, but the degree of protection is slightly inferior to competitors: IP64.

Samsung Galaxy Fold5

10 flagship smartphones of the past years that have not lost their relevance

Continuing with the topic of foldable smartphones, it is worth mentioning the Samsung Galaxy Fold5. The new Galaxy Fold6 and Flip6 are coming soon, so prices for the previous line will become more interesting. Unlike the Moto Razr 40 Ultra, the Galaxy Fold5 has a book-like design rather than a clamshell. When folded, it looks like a regular smartphone, and when unfolded, it looks like a tablet. The smartphone is equipped with a 7.6-inch internal Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with 1812 x 2176 pixels, 120 Hz refresh rate and support for the S Pen. And an external 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X 904 x 2316 display with a similar frequency.

Inside is a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and 12 GB of RAM. At the back, the smartphone has a standard modern set of three cameras. 50 megapixel main camera, 10 megapixel telephoto with 3x zoom and 12 megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a viewing angle of 123˚. A 4400 mAh battery is responsible for autonomy. Not too fast charging of 25 W with a cable and 15 W wireless charging are supported. The body is made of glass and metal. And, despite the folding design, the smartphone is not afraid of water and has an IPX8 rating.

Xiaomi 13T Pro

10 flagship smartphones of the past years that have not lost their relevance

The current flagship line of Xiaomi smartphones no longer looks very favorable, given the price, which is almost on par with A-brands. But the previous line is already more attractive. For example, Xiaomi 13T Pro. The smartphone is equipped with a 6.67-inch 1220 x 2712 AMOLED display and a 144 Hz refresh rate. And unlike all the other Android smartphones in today’s article, it is not a Snapdragon, but an octa-core Mediatek Dimensity 9200+ with a frequency of up to 3.35 GHz. The RAM can be 12 or 16 GB, and the storage capacity is 256/512 GB, or 1 TB.

The rear triple camera has a main module with a resolution of 50 megapixels, aperture f/1.9 and optical stabilization. The telephoto module has a similar resolution and 2x zoom. The ultra-wide-angle camera is 12 megapixels. Xiaomi claims that the camera was developed together with Leica. The battery with a capacity of 5000 mAh is responsible for battery life. It supports 120W ultra-fast charging, which can fully charge your smartphone in 19 minutes.

Samsung Galaxy S23

10 flagship smartphones of the past years that have not lost their relevance

Asus smartphones are not yet very popular in Ukraine. And, if we return to the topic of compact modern smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S23 is among the popular brands. Yes, it has a bigger screen than the Zenfone 10, but 6.1 inches is really not much today. The smartphone uses a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. Unlike the current lineup, in which the two junior models received an Exynos processor, all Samsung Galaxy S23s have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

The set of rear cameras is quite standard for modern smartphones. 50 megapixel main camera with optical stabilization, 10 megapixel telephoto with 3x zoom and 12 megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a viewing angle of 123˚. The battery capacity is 3900 mAh. Not too fast charging of 25 W with a cable and 15 W wireless charging is supported. The front and back panels are made of glass, the frame is metal. There is protection according to the IP68 standard.

Apple iPhone 14

10 flagship smartphones of the past years that have not lost their relevance

Despite belonging to the same line, younger Apple iPhone models are usually quite different from the older ones. The iPhone 14 will be interesting for those who want an Apple smartphone in a compact size. It is equipped with a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a resolution of 1170 x 2532 and a standard refresh rate. Like the older model of the iPhone line, the iPhone 14 has a glass and metal body and is protected according to the IP68 standard.

Inside, there is a 6-core Apple A15 Bionic processor and 6 GB of RAM. The rear camera has two 12-megapixel modules. The main one has optical image stabilization and an ultra-wide-angle sensor. The front camera is 12 megapixels TrueDepth. The battery capacity is 3279 mAh, supports fast wired charging Power Delivery 2.0 and 15W wireless charging. 

Current flagships of the past years: conclusions

Getting a new flagship smartphone is great, of course. But in general, from generation to generation, we see minimal improvements in cameras, updated processors with slightly higher performance, and subtle changes in design. And usually there are no radical changes or improvements. Therefore, there is no critical need to buy a new flagship on the day of release. Instead, you can save money and buy a previous generation flagship that will also perform all its functions perfectly.