Best business smartphones of 2023: the top handsets for work and productivity

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REASONS TO BUY
REASONS TO AVOID
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REASONS TO BUY
REASONS TO AVOID
Best Business Smartphones
(Image credit: Future)

If you're buying for or as a business smartphone user, you'll require different features from your personal phone to be proactive and productive as a professional. Your business phone will need to charge quickly, offer you versatile business apps, and have ample storage space and a high-quality screen—that's before you get into the details of the specific security software you'll need for your work phone. Don't forget the all-important aftersales and support, too. 

Not all business smartphones tick all these boxes, which is why this list isn't just a copy of our guide to the best smartphones. No, the best business smartphones need a little more, and they need to keep providing it for a long time, too, not just when you take it out of the box for the first time.

It can't always be easy to tell how good a handset and its features will be for you, which is why we've drawn up this list of the best business and work phones you can buy right now.

  • If you landed here looking for best business phones (the good old fashioned landline models that sit on a desk in an office), then try our best VOIP phone guide.

All of these should be more than capable of running the latest business apps (opens in new tab) for Android and iOS apps for iPad (opens in new tab)/iPhone as applicable, everything from PDF apps (opens in new tab) to privacy services (opens in new tab) and connecting with your business phone service (opens in new tab). We've also got a list of the best business tablets if that's more useful to you.

With phone makers offering ideal for employees of all levels, we've updated this guide to give you the latest buying advice to help you choose the best smartphones for business use. We'll keep updating it too when new phones come out, as long as they're great for business, so perhaps see the latest Samsung Galaxy or Apple's most recent iPhone on this list too.

Although some of these selections may overlap with our best phones for casual use, we've identified how these picks will help your business, too, as not everyone needs the flashiest smartphone trick.

(Image credit: Future)

Best business smartphone at a glance

iPhone 14 Pro

(Image credit: Future)
Apple's best smartphone to date

Specifications

Weight: 206g
Dimensions: 147.5 x 71.5 x 7.9mm
OS: iOS 16
Screen size: 6.1-inch
Resolution: 1179 x 2556
CPU: A16 Bionic
RAM: 6GB
Storage: 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB
Battery: 3,200mAh
Rear camera: 48MP+12MP+12MP
Front camera: 12MP

Reasons to buy

+
Outstanding performance
+
Incredible new camera
+
Great design and build quality

Reasons to avoid

-
No USB-C
-
No ultra-fast charging

The newest main-series device from Apple is a great business phone, with some features that are great for productivity, like a 120Hz display, always-on functionality, and the updated A16 Bionic.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max has the same great 6.7-inch display as the 13 Pro Max, though it drops the notch for the brand-new Dynamic Island. All around, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is another great update to the iPhone lineup and is the best iPhone experience available.

Read the full review: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

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Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review apps

(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

2. Samsung Galaxy S23

The best Samsung available

Specifications

Weight: 168g
Dimensions: 70.86 x 146.3 x 7.62 mm
OS: Android 13
Screen size: 6.1 inch
Resolution: 2316 x 1080 pixels
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 128GB / 256GB
Battery: 3,900 mAh
Rear camera: 50MP Wide, 12MP Ultrawide, 10MP telephoto
Front camera: 12MP

Reasons to buy

+
Powerful chip
+
Improved selfie camera
+
Bigger battery than last year

Reasons to avoid

-
Should have a better sensor
-
Pretty similar to last year model

If you're looking for the best Samsung available, the Samsung Galaxy S23 is the phone for you. The S23 has improved battery life and power compared to the previous model Samsung S22. It has a powerful bespoke Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and a new, cleaner look. 

Read the full review: Samsung Galaxy S23

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Google Pixel 7 Pro

(Image credit: Peter Hoffmann)
Google's newest flagship

Specifications

Weight: 212g
Dimensions: 162.9 x 170 x 76.6mm
OS:
Screen size: 6.7 inch
Resolution: QHD+ (1440 x 3120) LTPO OLED at 512 PPI
CPU: Google Tensor G2
RAM: 12 GB LPDDR5
Storage: 128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB
Battery: 5000 mAh
Rear camera: 50MP / 12MP / 48MP
Front camera: 10.8MP

Reasons to buy

+
Snappy and responsive interface
+
Great usability
+
Incredible photo editing abilities

Reasons to avoid

-
Lacks deep feature set of best competition
-
battery and charging time could be better

The Google Pixel 7 Pro is absolutely brilliant with a snappy and responsive interface and intuitive operating system. One of the most impressive parts of this phone is the ability to improve photos with software. Thanks to the Tensor G2, this phone can also recognize speech more accurately, and make phone calls sound better.

Read the full review: Google Pixel 7 Pro

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Samsung Galaxy A53

(Image credit: Future)
The best budget business workhorse

Specifications

Weight: 189g
Dimensions: 159.6 x 74.8 x 8.1mm
OS: Android 12
Screen size: 6.5-inch
Resolution: 1080 x 2400
CPU: Exynos 1280
RAM: 6GB
Storage: 128GB + support for a microSD card up to 1TB
Battery: 5,000mAh
Rear camera: 64MP + 12MP + 5MP + 5MP
Front camera: 32MP

Reasons to buy

+
Same great design
+
Improved cameras
+
Great features for price

Reasons to avoid

-
No USB-C
-
Not as powerful as higher priced competitors 

The Samsung Galaxy A53 is the best budget business phone on our list right now. This phone has advanced cameras, a quality screen, and a great design. The Camera has a 64MP main camera, with an additional 12MP ultrawide and 5MP macro camera. There is also a 5,000mAh battery that lasts all day, though it takes a while to charge. All around, what you get for the price is truly astounding with this phone.

Read the full review: Samsung Galaxy A53


Collin Probst
B2B Hardware Editor, TechRadar Pro

Collin is the B2B Hardware Editor for TechRadar Pro. He has been in journalism for years with experience in both small and large markets including Gearadical, DailyBeast, FutureNet and more.


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