
Nothing
The $499 phone to beat

Xiaomi
Best camera phone of 2023
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
A 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED at 144Hz with 2,160Hz PWM dimming — reviewers agree it's the best screen Nothing has built, with realistic outdoor brightness around 1,600 nits. The headline 5,000-nit peak, though, only materialises with special HDR test files; everyday brightness is far lower.
TechTalkTown may earn a commission from purchases made through links below. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This does not influence our reviews. Learn more.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
The 6.73" LTPO AMOLED at QHD+ 120Hz with Dolby Vision and HDR10+ is among the best smartphone panels of 2023 — 2,600-nit peak brightness, though only briefly under direct sunlight as Wired notes.
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
The headline value play: a 50MP Sony LYT-710 main with OIS, a true 50MP 3.5x periscope telephoto (80mm) with OIS, and an 8MP ultrawide — flagship-tier hardware Samsung and Apple don't put in phones at this price. Output is characterful and the telephoto is a genuine win, but reviewers consistently flag inconsistency, average low-light and a gimmicky 140x digital zoom.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is a camera-first phone — four 50MP cameras with Leica tuning, a 1" variable-aperture main sensor, and an accessory grip that turns it into a proper mirrorless workflow. The consensus across Wired, PetaPixel, Phone Arena, Android Authority, and Android Headlines: best camera phone of 2023.
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
The Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 with UFS 3.1 storage is a clear, tangible step up from the Phone (3a) generation — Nothing claims +27% CPU, +30% GPU and +65% AI. It's a perfectly capable everyday chip that feels noticeably quicker, but it's explicitly not a gaming powerhouse and warms up under sustained heavy load.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 + 16GB RAM delivers flagship-class performance with strong thermal headroom — Xiaomi's tune is among the best of 2023 SD 8 Gen 2 phones for sustained tasks.
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
The ~5,080mAh cell reliably gets through a day and endurance improved across all of GSMArena's tests versus the 3a Pro — but it's only an 80mAh bump over last year and looks small next to 6,000–7,000mAh budget rivals. 50W wired charging is the trade-off win; there is no wireless charging at all.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
5,000mAh battery + class-leading 90W wired and 50W wireless charging — Reddit's drain shootout placed it ahead of S22 Ultra, OnePlus 11, and Pixel 7 Pro at 10h 26min total SOT.
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
At $499 it directly undercuts the experience-per-dollar of the same-priced Pixel 10a and iPhone 17e, and several reviewers would take it over the 10a without hesitation. The closest internal threat is its own cheaper sibling, the standard Phone (4a), which shares the same cameras for $150 less.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
The 13 Ultra's value proposition depends entirely on region — at 5,999 yuan ($870) in China it's a steal; at €1,500 European import or US grey-market it's premium-priced and a niche purchase. Galaxy S23 Ultra at $1,199 wins the official-availability + 4+5-year update fight.