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00:00What's up guys, today we're going to be talking about my top 5 favorite $300 old flagship phones that you should buy in this mid 2023.
00:08I wanted to go ahead and update this list a little bit and give you guys some price updates.
00:12Alright, so we're going to kick it off with the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
00:15Alright, so this phone came down in price just a little bit, not a lot. Last time we looked at it, it was like $420.
00:21Now it's come down to around $370, so it is slowly coming down.
00:26You can kind of find them for like $350 if you really shop around.
00:29But that's typically what this is going to be priced at.
00:33And you also have on this phone an aluminum frame glass bag.
00:37It's one of my favorite phones to recommend this year actually.
00:40It's IP68 dust and water resistant.
00:42And a lot of people forget that this phone actually does have pin support.
00:45It just doesn't have the stylus built in like the Note phones.
00:48But it is actually there.
00:50Now this phone does have a 6.8 inch dynamic AMOLED display.
00:55At 1500 nits peak brightness, 1440p, 515 for the PPI.
01:00Very beautiful display.
01:02And I actually preferred this display over like the S23 Ultra's display.
01:06Simply because it's just a little bit easier to hold since it's not as boxy.
01:10So if you have smaller hands, you can actually sort of handle this phone.
01:14And it's a little bit more comfortable than the wider phones.
01:17So this phone also has Android 13, One UI 5.1.
01:21It will get updates for a few more years which is really good.
01:24You have the Snapdragon AAA processor on here.
01:27And the chip on here is very fast.
01:29Pretty much you can play any game you throw at it.
01:32It does really good with multitasking.
01:34It's still an extremely fast phone.
01:37It does get a little bit warm when you're doing very intensive stuff.
01:40But most people typically won't notice because they'll put a case on it.
01:44But just do note that.
01:46So this phone does have 128 gigs of internal storage and 12 gigs of RAM.
01:50They do have a lot of 256 versions around that you can get for pretty cheap as well too.
01:56So this phone has pretty much all the flagship features that you will want.
02:01Really good sounding stereo speakers on here.
02:03Also under the display fingerprint sensor, very fast.
02:06Samsung desktop support, like I said, stylus support is on here.
02:10It basically has everything that the S23 Ultra has as far as feature wise.
02:15So that's really awesome.
02:16Now the reason why I really love recommending this phone is because it has a really good camera still.
02:22So it's got a 108 megapixel standard, a 10 megapixel periscope telephoto with 10x optical zoom.
02:28And then a 10 megapixel telephoto with 3x optical zoom.
02:32And then a 12 megapixel ultra wide.
02:34It shoots in 8K 24 with a 40 megapixel selfie that shoots in 4K 60.
02:38It still has really good specs even compared to the newest flagship, the S23 Ultra.
02:43Still very high res photos, good dynamic range, really good zoom photography on here.
02:4910x zoom looks really good.
02:5130x zoom even looks really good on this phone.
02:54And of course you can do the crazy 100x zoom, take pictures of the moon.
02:58So it still has a very, very up to date camera.
03:01Like I said, I did a comparison to the S23 Ultra.
03:04Check that out.
03:05You will find that the image quality is not that far off like you would think it would be.
03:11So yeah, the battery life on here is pretty decent.
03:13Like I said, I think Samsung did a really good job with the S23 Ultra upgrading the battery.
03:18The battery life on here isn't bad.
03:20You can pretty much get a day out of it.
03:22About 6 hours of screen on time.
03:245000 mAh battery, 25W charging, wireless and reverse wireless charging is on board.
03:30Like I said, one of my favorite phones to recommend.
03:32As the year goes on, I can easily see this coming down to around the $350 price point.
03:37Alright, next is going to be the iPhone 12.
03:39I really like this phone especially for anybody who really likes the Apple ecosystem.
03:44This is an awesome phone.
03:46You can find them for around $350.
03:48And I think a lot of people are going to be looking at this phone and the iPhone 11 now
03:52since Apple actually killed off the iPhone X and the 8 Plus.
03:56Those phones won't be getting iOS 17.
03:58So this is a good phone that I recommend you guys check out if you really like iPhones.
04:02So this one has the aluminum frame.
04:05It's IP68 dust and water resistant.
04:07It's a little bit more boxy than the iPhone 11 and XS and stuff like that.
04:12So this phone has a pretty good display especially compared to the iPhone 11
04:17because that one has an LCD.
04:19This one has the OLED display, a Super Retina XDR display, 1200 nits peak brightness at 6.1 inches,
04:251080p plus, 460 for the PPI.
04:28It's a very good looking panel here.
04:31And like I said, the overall design, it looks pretty similar to the iPhone 14 that we have now.
04:36So basically, the cameras are basically switched.
04:39So this phone, iOS 17, it will get updates for a very long time.
04:43It's running the Apple A14 chip.
04:45It's a super, super fast phone.
04:47It just flies through applications.
04:49I did a little speed test with this in the 14 Pro Max.
04:53Basically, it was on par with the 14 Pro Max as far as opening applications.
04:57Playing games pretty much felt the same on it.
05:00It's a very, very nice phone to have for, you know, cheap gaming experience.
05:05Now the base model on here is 64 gigs of internal storage and 4 gigs of RAM.
05:10You also have on here some pretty good sounding stereo speakers, great bass quality.
05:14This phone has all the same features, pretty much Face ID, also your NFC,
05:19all that good stuff is going to be on here.
05:21And you even have the MagSafe wireless charging as well on here.
05:24This phone does a really good job with the cameras.
05:27Like I said, I couldn't really tell a big difference from the 12, 13, and 14 as far as camera quality-wise.
05:34Especially when you're in good lighting.
05:36But even in just lower light, this phone still performs really good.
05:40So like I said, that's why I recommend just spending less money and getting this phone, honestly.
05:44I would never get the 13 or 14 over this phone.
05:47So you have a 12-megapixel standard and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide.
05:51It shoots in 4K60 and a 12-megapixel selfie cam that also shoots in 4K60.
05:56Really good image quality coming out of this phone.
05:59Basically still flagship-level quality photos.
06:02Really good ultra-wide on here.
06:04Really good selfies on here as well too.
06:06And video, like I said, is really good on these iPhones.
06:10So really no complaints at all with the image quality on here.
06:13Like I said, very close to the newer phones.
06:15You also have on here pretty good battery life as well.
06:18It's a 2,815 mAh battery.
06:21Like I said, you do have the wireless and MagSafe charging on here.
06:26Screen on time is pretty good on here.
06:28Like I said, I got mine used and this one has 86% battery health
06:33and I'm easily able to get through a day no problem on this phone.
06:37So battery life is pretty good on the 12.
06:39So I would definitely consider the iPhone 12.
06:42Alright, so the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
06:44A lot of people have been asking me about this phone
06:46and I don't think this is coming down in price, at least until the next, you know, the S24 Ultra comes out.
06:54Simply because this phone is in a unique position
06:56because it's still getting security patches
06:58and it's the last Note phone that's still getting security patches with SD card support.
07:04So that's a big deal actually.
07:05It's a bigger deal than a lot of people think.
07:07So this phone has the stainless steel frame on here.
07:10It's IP68 dust and water resistant.
07:12You have the built-in stylus.
07:13So anybody who's into digital artwork or you just want to navigate with a stylus,
07:17this is an awesome phone for that.
07:19Massive 6.9 inch display on here.
07:22It's 1440p, 496 for the PPI, 120Hz HDR10+.
07:26Not a big difference from this display in the newest S23 Ultra.
07:31The biggest difference is this only runs 120Hz at 1080p and not 1440p.
07:37Other than that, still an excellent looking display.
07:40You know, still looks really good.
07:42This phone got its last major update with Android 13, One UI 5
07:46and it's currently getting the security patches.
07:50Snapdragon 865 plus chip is on this model and it is a beast still at gaming
07:56and basically doing whatever on this phone.
07:58It is really good.
07:59It's able to play PUBG at 90 frames.
08:01It just flies through the OS really well.
08:04So it's still a very fast phone.
08:05Nothing about this phone feels dated as far as speed wise.
08:08And again, that's for the Snapdragon version.
08:10I'm not sure about the Xenon's version.
08:12Like I said, micro SD card support, 128GB of internal storage and 12GB of RAM.
08:17You still pretty much have all of your same flagship features on this phone.
08:20Really good sounding stereo speakers with great bass quality.
08:23NFC is on here.
08:25On the display, fingerprint sensor is very fast.
08:27Samsung desktop support, reverse wireless charging, wireless charging.
08:31It basically has everything you could want in a flagship phone.
08:36So the interesting thing about the Note 20 Ultra is it still has a pretty good camera setup.
08:41I would say the zoom quality is not as advanced as like the S22 and S23.
08:47It doesn't have the 100x zoom.
08:49It can go up to 50x zoom but it can still do the moon shots and stuff like that.
08:53And like I said, those phones do a better job in low light.
08:56This phone, it does a somewhat decent job but in daytime photos, almost identical.
09:02Check out my comparison I did.
09:04It's a very close.
09:05So it's got a 108MP standard, 12MP periscope telephoto, does 5x optical zoom, 12MP ultra-wide.
09:13It can shoot in 8K24, 10MP selfie cam that also shoots in 4K60.
09:18It's still going to take some really good shots, especially in good lighting.
09:23You can almost, you know, you almost can't tell the difference between the newer phones and good lighting.
09:29But yeah, the video is pretty solid on here.
09:32But like I said, as far as the camera situation for the average person,
09:36I think this is a really, really good phone for taking pictures still just as a point and click
09:41if you're just a casual camera, you know, photo taker.
09:45The battery situation on here is a 4,500mAh battery.
09:49Wired charging on here at 25W.
09:52Basically, I can still get pretty good battery life out of my Note20 Ultra.
09:56I can squeeze around 6 hours of screen on time out of this one.
09:59And yeah, so nothing feels dated about this phone.
10:02So I definitely check this out, you know, for 300 bucks.
10:05It's a really, really good option.
10:06All right, so the next phone is the Galaxy S22.
10:09So I really like this phone, guys.
10:11I think the only thing that holds this phone back a little bit is the battery situation.
10:16It kind of reminds me of the S10e where you only get it around like –
10:20with this one, it's like 5 hours of screen on time, it feels like.
10:23So not quite a full day.
10:24But if you get like a battery pack with this phone, it's just a steal.
10:28So this phone is easy.
10:29You can find it for 300 bucks.
10:31And I love the design of this phone.
10:33Glass back, aluminum frame on here.
10:34It's IP68 dust and water resistant.
10:37Just a really nice phone to look at and hold.
10:39I really like the camera design on here as well.
10:416.1-inch dynamic AMOLED display, 1,300 nits peak brightness,
10:451080p 425 for the PPI, very slim bezels.
10:49Like I said, just a very pretty phone to look at.
10:52It has the Android 13 One UI 5.1 on here.
10:55And it's a very fast phone with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip as well.
11:00Like I said, this phone can get a little bit warm.
11:03But like I said, most people won't notice because they'll have a case on it.
11:06But I've never had any actual major performance problems with this phone.
11:10It just flies through anything you throw at it.
11:12Opening apps, you know, gaming, PUBG, whatever you do on it.
11:16It's a very, very fast phone.
11:18128 gigs of internal storage and 8 gigs of RAM is on board.
11:22And like I said, performance-wise, it is absolutely awesome.
11:25It has a lot of the same flagship features.
11:27Very fast under-the-display fingerprint sensor.
11:29Samsung desktop support.
11:31Reverse wireless charging is on here.
11:33And it's just an awesome experience.
11:35I think the cameras are pretty good on this phone as well too.
11:38It's got a 50-megapixel standard, a 10-megapixel telephoto, 3x optical zoom,
11:43and a 12-megapixel ultrawide.
11:45It can shoot in 8K 24 and a 10-megapixel selfie cam that also shoots in 4K 60.
11:50Absolutely awesome cameras.
11:52Basically, it's pretty much identical to the S23.
11:55I actually did a side-by-side comparison with the photos.
11:58A lot of people even prefer the S22.
12:00So if you want a camera for $300 that's going to give you basically the top flagship quality stills,
12:08definitely check this phone out.
12:10It's a really, really good buy.
12:12Also, you have really good sounding stereo speakers on this phone as well too.
12:16Really good bass quality.
12:18This phone also has, like I said, not the biggest battery, 3,700 mAh battery.
12:23And, you know, wireless, reverse wireless, 25-watt charging.
12:27Basically, like I said, around 5 hours of screen-on time is what it feels like I'm getting on this phone.
12:32So not quite a day.
12:34But if you can get over that, this is a really good buy.
12:37Great cameras, great display, and it's super fast.
12:39And it's going to get updates for a pretty long time too.
12:42The next phone is the LG V60.
12:44And even though, you know, LG's out of the smartphone market, I still really like this phone.
12:48I always use it.
12:50Even if you use it as a secondary device because it's extremely cheap at around, like, $167 I see it online.
12:57But also, since it's that cheap, you can actually buy the dual screen case as well.
13:01It costs around $60, I think.
13:04And this is a really good deal.
13:06I really like this phone because it offers a very unique experience that you can't really get with other phones.
13:12So we got the aluminum frame on here.
13:14It's IP68 dust and water resistant.
13:16This phone, like I said, has a dual screen case capability.
13:18So you can basically turn it into two phones.
13:21And it's just, you know, a very well-built phone.
13:24Glass back, aluminum frame.
13:26You also have stylus support on the LG V60 as well.
13:29A lot of people don't know that.
13:31It has the P-OLED display at 6.8 inches.
13:34It's 1080p, 395 for the PPI.
13:37Really nice looking display.
13:39I think the only thing about this display is that it doesn't have high refresh rate.
13:42Even though it's a very smooth 60Hz panel, though.
13:45This phone got the Android 13 update, which was really nice.
13:49So that was quite a surprise.
13:51I did a video on that.
13:52Snapdragon 865 chip on here.
13:54This phone does have micro SD card support on here.
13:57And the unique thing about it has the built-in headphone jack with a quad DAC.
14:03So that's why I said it's a very unique experience.
14:05So you got dual screen case, quad DAC, and SD card support.
14:09That's why I said it still makes for a really good flagship to have in 2023 because of that unique experience.
14:16And honestly, what I do is just threw some antivirus software on here just to make sure.
14:21Since it probably won't get any more security updates.
14:25So just to monitor the phone security-wise.
14:28And, yeah, so I still really like this phone.
14:31It does have also 128GB of internal storage and 8GB of RAM.
14:34It's a very fast phone with the Snapdragon 865 chip.
14:37Still pretty much flies through everything as far as gaming, you know, with PUBG.
14:43And as far as just bouncing in and out of applications, multitasking.
14:46It does a really good job.
14:47Very smooth phone.
14:48And also some very good sounding speakers.
14:51Really good bass quality on here as well, too.
14:54You also have an under-the-display fingerprint sensor on here, which is pretty good as well.
14:59Again, not the fastest, not as fast as Samsung's ultrasonic.
15:03But, you know, it's pretty decent.
15:05This phone also has respectable cameras on here.
15:0864MP standard, 13MP ultrawide, 0.3 depth sensor.
15:12It can shoot in 8K30 with a 10MP selfie cam that also shoots in 4K30.
15:17I think from the shots, as you can see here, it still takes really good shots, especially in good lighting.
15:23Plenty of detail.
15:24Really good ultrawide.
15:26Pretty good depth of field on here as well, too.
15:28So I really like the cameras on here and the color on this phone.
15:31It also gives very good natural colors, which is something that I really like.
15:34You don't have to kind of edit colors if you like the more natural look as opposed to Samsung's more saturated look.
15:41As far as the battery situation, this has excellent battery life and also really, really good standby time as well, too.
15:485000mAh battery.
15:49Wireless charging is on board.
15:51This phone easily lasts a day and a half.
15:53Easy.
15:54So this is a phone that I absolutely love.
15:56Like I said, offers an extremely unique situation here with the dual screen case, SD card support, and also you have the headphone jack for the quad DAC.
16:08So that's pretty much it, guys.
16:10Be sure to let me know what you guys think, and I'll catch you guys in the next one.