"Parts Are a Waste" Famous YouTuber Selects the Worst Smartphone of the Year?

18 Million Subscriber YouTuber Selected for 'Smartphone Awards 2023'
Solana Saga and Google Pixel Chosen as Worst and Best Respectively

Solana, a US blockchain company, saw its ‘Saga Crypto Phone’ named the worst smartphone of the year. This selection was made by a tech-focused YouTuber with over 18 million subscribers.

Marques Brownlee, an American YouTuber who reviews various devices including phones, laptops, desktops, cars, and tablets, uploaded a video titled ‘Smartphone Awards 2023’ on his channel on the 20th.

Brownlee chose Solana’s Saga Crypto Phone as the ‘Bust Of The Year,’ the worst smartphone. He harshly criticized it, saying, “This phone is a useless device not worth recommending for purchase,” and added, “The ceramic, display, and battery used here are a waste.”

American tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee, who has over 18 million subscribers [Image source: Capture from Marques Brownlee's YouTube channel]

On the other hand, he praised the ‘Phone Of The Year,’ the Google Pixel 8, stating, “It still offers amazing still photography capabilities and a much improved display.”

He also complimented the iPhone 15 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra models, saying, “With the addition of the USB-C port, they finally feel complete,” and added, “There are no flaws, and they are sturdy.”

Brownlee further divided the awards into categories such as ▲Best Big Phone ▲Best Small Phone ▲Best Camera ▲Best Value ▲Best Battery ▲Best Design ▲Best Foldable ▲Most Improved.

Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S23 Ultra was selected as the ‘Best Big Phone.’ Brownlee commented, “The design is quite restrained, and it includes all the hardware you want,” adding, “Especially, the camera zoom function seems unmatched.”

For the best small phones, he ranked the Asus Zenfone 10 and Galaxy Z Flip5 as first and second, respectively. The reason for their selection was that they are small but technically excellent phones equipped with all major features.

Google Pixel 8, selected as the 'Phone Of The Year' by Brownlee [Image source=Provided by Google]

The ‘Best Camera,’ ‘Best Value,’ and ‘Best Battery’ categories were awarded to the iPhone 15 Pro, Galaxy A54, and iPhone 15 Plus, respectively. Brownlee explained, “For the camera category, I considered performance in various situations as well as ease of use for photos and videos.”

He said, “The ‘Best Value’ category was personally the hardest to choose,” adding, “The Galaxy A54 doesn’t have standout features but offers a fundamentally problem-free phone at under $400, striking a good balance between function and price.” He also noted that the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Asus ROG Phone 7 were excellent products in the camera and battery categories, respectively.

The ‘Best Design,’ ‘Best Foldable,’ and ‘Most Improved’ awards went to the Honor Magic V2, OnePlus Open, and Nothing Phone 2, respectively.

Brownlee prefaced the video by stating it was “entirely a personal opinion.” As of the afternoon of the 22nd, the video has recorded over 3.6 million views.