Best smartphones you can’t buy in South Africa

Many tech companies, including smartphone manufacturers, often overlook South Africa as a market in which to launch their products. A good example is Google, which has never sold its smartphones locally.

While they haven’t officially launched locally, retailers like Connected Devices sell some of these smartphones as special imports.

MyBroadband looked for the best smartphones you can’t buy in South Africa to see if pricing is available through retailers like Connected Devices.

Only four of the 10 devices listed can be bought from Connected Devices — the OnePlus 12, Google Pixel 8, Google Pixel 8 Pro, and Google Pixel 7a.

Regarding specs, the OnePlus is arguably the best-specced phone, with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, up to 24GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and a large 6.82-inch OLED display.

It is available from Connected Devices with prices starting from R24,549.

The Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro both feature Google’s in-house Tensor G3 chip. The base model features a 6.2-inch display, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of storage.

On the other hand, the premium Google Pixel 8 Pro has a 6.7-inch display, 12GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage.

The Google Pixel 8 starts at R16,799 at Connected Devices, while the Google Pixel 8 Pro starts at R22,699.

The Google Pixel 7a is considered a mid-ranger. It uses hardware from previous flagships, including the Google Tensor G2 chip.

It features 8GB of RAM, up to 256GB of storage, and a 6.2-inch display.

The remainder of the devices listed aren’t available in South Africa unless you import them yourself, which can be expensive.

These include the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra, Fairphone 5, Motorola Edge 50 Pro, Sony Xperia Pro, Xiaomi 14 Ultra, and Xiaomi Redmi Turbo 3.

Of these, the Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra and the Xiaomi 14 Ultra are arguably the highest-specced, both packing a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

The Zenfone 11 Ultra combines the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. It features a 6.78-inch OLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate.

On the other hand, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra offers up to 1TB of storage and features a higher-resolution 6.73-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Ten of the best smartphones not sold in South Africa are listed below. We have included indicative South African pricing from retailers with imported units. Smartphones are listed in alphabetical order.

Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra — no SA pricing

Fairphone 5 — no SA pricing

Motorola Edge 50 Pro — no SA pricing

OnePlus 12 — R24,549 (Connected Devices)

Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro — from R16,899 and R22,699 (Connected Devices)

Google Pixel 7a — R12,599 (Connected Devices)

Sony Xperia Pro — no SA pricing

Xiaomi 14 Ultra — no SA pricing

Xiaomi Redmi Turbo 3 — no SA pricing