2023 is coming to an end and smartphone brands ensured the year ended with a bang not a whimper. December was surprisingly busy with numerous smartphone launches, ranging from flagships to mid-range offerings. OnePlus launched the OnePlus 12 in China while iQOO 12 was India’s first phone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. In this article, we take a look at the top smartphones that launched in December 2023.
Table of Contents
OnePlus 12
OnePlus 12 is the company’s latest flagship offering and this succeeds the OnePlus 11. The handset made its global first debut in China and is set to debut globally and in India next month. The phone comes with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC compared to Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 on the OnePlus 11. The handset ships with a Quad HD+ display with up to 4500 nits peak brightness, which is among the top in the industry.
OnePlus 12 runs on the latest Android 14 OS out of the box and has Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection on top. The phone comes with a 50MP Sony LYT-808 primary camera with OIS, a 48MP ultra-wide camera, and a 64MP Omnivision OV64B, periscope telephoto camera. There is a 32MP shooter on the front for selfies. The OnePlus 12 packs a 5400mAh battery with 100W SuperVOOC fast charging and 50W wireless charging.
- Launch date: December 5th.
- Price: RMB 4299 (around Rs 50,700) for the 12GB + 256GB model, RMB 4799 (approx Rs 56,00) for the 16GB + 512GB model, RMB 5299 (around Rs 62,500) for the 16GB + 1TB model and RMB 5,799 (around Rs 68,500) for the 24GB + 1TB model.
- Check out the launch story: Complete specifications and prices.
iQOO 12
iQOO 12 originally debuted in China last month. In December, the phone finally made its way to India and became the first model in the country with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. The phone comes as a successor to the iQOO 11 and brings a brand-new design language. The phone houses a 6.78-inch 1.5K flat LTPO AMOLED display with HDR10+ and 144Hz variable refresh rate.
The phone features a 50MP Omnivision OV50H camera with OIS, a 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 64MP 3x telephoto camera. There is a 16MP selfie shooter on the front. We get a large 5000mAh battery with 120W ultra-fast flash charging.
- Launch date: December 12th.
- Price: Rs 52,999 for the 12GB + 256GB model and Rs 57,999 for the 16GB + 512GB model.
- Check out the launch story: Complete specifications and prices.
Redmi 13C 4G/5G
Redmi 13C launched in India earlier this month and the handset comes in both 4G and 5G versions. The latter made its global debut in India. The handset comes with a typical budget design. There is a waterdrop notch for the selfie shooter, up to triple camera sensors, and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor for security. The phone houses a 6.74-inch HD+ display, a 90Hz refresh rate, a 50MP primary camera, and a large 5000mAh battery.
The 4G version comes with the MediaTek Helio G85 SoC, while the 5G version ships with the MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ SoC. Both models boot Android 13 OS out of the box.
- Launch date: December 6th
- Price: The 4G version is priced at Rs 8999 for the 4GB + 128GB version, Rs 9999 for the 6GB + 128GB version and Rs 11,499 for the 8GB + 256GB model.
- The Redmi 13C model costs Rs 10,999 for the 4GB + 128GB version, Rs 12,499 for the 6GB + 128GB version and Rs 14,499 for the 8GB + 256GB model.
- Check out the launch story: Complete specifications and prices.
Vivo S18 series
The Vivo S18 series also launched in December, however, it is limited to China. These are believed to be rebranded as Vivo V30 series globally. The lineup includes three models: Vivo S18, Vivo S18 Pro, and Vivo S18e. These models come with a 120Hz FHD+ AMOLED display, Android 14 OS out of the box, and 80W fast charging support. We get a 50MP primary camera on all three models.
The Vivo S18 and S18 Pro sport a 6.78-inch FHD+ display, while the S18e gets a smaller 6.67-inch screen with an AMOLED panel. The S18 is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC with Adreno 720 GPU while the S18 Pro gets a more powerful MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ chipset. The Vivo S18e ships with the Dimensity 7200 SoC and packs a 4600mAh battery capacity. The S18 and S18 Pro have large 5000mAh battery cells.
- Launch date: December 14th.
- Price: The Vivo S18 series price starts at RMB 2299 (approx Rs 27,300).
- Check out the launch story: Complete specifications and prices.
Realme GT 5 Pro
Realme GT 5 Pro is another China launch and is the latest flagship offering from the brand. The device brings a large 6.78-inch 1.5K curved AMOLED 8T LTPO display with a 144Hz refresh rate, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, Android 14 OS, up to 16GB RAM, and 1TB storage. We get a 50MP Sony LYT-T808 sensor, a 50MP Sony IMX890 periscope telephoto sensor with OIS, and an ultra-wide-angle lens.
The Realme GT 5 Pro is equipped with an IP64 rating, a 3VC iceberg cooling system, NFC, Dolby Atmos, an under-display fingerprint sensor, and Hi-Res audio. We get a 5,400mAh battery with 100W fast charging and 50W wireless charging support.
- Launch date: December 7th.
- Price: RMB 3,399 (around Rs 39,800) for the 12GB + 256GB version, RMB 3,999 (Rs 46,800 approx) for the 16GB + 512GB model and RMB 4,299 (around Rs 50,400) for the 16GB + 1TB variant.
- Check out the launch story: Complete specifications and prices.
POCO M6 5G
POCO M6 5G is the new budget offering from the brand in India. This is also one of the cheapest 5G offerings in the country. The handset is believed to be a rebrand of the Redmi 13C 5G as it shares the same design and specifications. The handset features a 6.74-inch display but with an HD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. There is a large 5000mAh battery and 18W fast charging support. However, you are getting a 10W adapter in the box.
The handset features the MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ 6nm processor with ARM Mali-G57 MC2 GPU for graphics. The performance of the phone should be quite decent for the price. We get a 50MP primary camera on the back and this should offer decent and sharp images. There is a 5MP shooter on the front for selfies.
- Launch date: December 22nd
- Price: Rs 10,499 for the 4GB + 128GB, Rs 11,499 for the 6GB + 128GB model and Rs 13,499 for the 8GB + 256GB variant.
- Check out the launch story: Complete specifications and prices.
iQOO Neo 9 series
Launched in China this week, the iQOO Neo 9 series includes two models: the iQOO Neo 9 and Neo 9 Pro. The phones are premium mid-range offerings where the vanilla model comes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, while the Pro version ships with the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 SoC. The phones offer AMOLED panels with up to 144Hz refresh rate. This should offer premium content-consuming and gaming experiences.
The iQOO Neo 9 and Neo 9 Pro ship with Android 14 OS out of the box and pack a 5000mAh battery with 120W fast charging support. The phones are equipped with a 50MP MX920 VCS bionic sensor, which is the same as the Vivo X100. We have a 16MP shooter on the front for selfies.
- Launch date: December 27th.
- Price: The iQOO Neo 9 series price starts at RMB 2299 (around Rs 27,800).
- Check out the launch story: Complete specifications and prices.
