Best mobile phones 2022

REVIEWS BEST HOW TO NEWS DEALS OPINION PHONES LAPTOPS HOME TECH SECURITY MORE<\b> Skip to content HOT TOPICS iPhone 14 Google Pixel 7 Best Phones Best Laptops Best VPN Services Best Antivirus Back To School When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn't affect our editorial independence. Home / Best Picks / Phone Best Picks BEST PICKS The best smartphone 2022 There are a wealth of great phones to choose from this year By Henry Burrell Phones Editor, Tech Advisor SEP 26, 2022 2:25 PM BST Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry TABLE OF CONTENTS Best smartphone 2022 1. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 2. iPhone 14 Pro 3. Google Pixel 6 Pro 4. Oppo Find X5 Pro ... 2022 is nearly halfway done and the tech gods have blessed us with some truly superb smartphones. Whether you’re looking for performance, camera smarts, or value, our definitive list of the ten best phones has it all. The top phone on this rundown won’t be the ideal phone for everybody so make sure to check out all ten. The best phone for you is out there, depending on what you value most – camera, battery life, design, specs, price, and more to boot come into play. Samsung and Apple feature of course, but looking further afield to Android competitors such as OnePlus, Google, Oppo, and Xiaomi could mean you find your ideal pocket partner. Trust us, these phones all deliver – just all a little differently, and that’s a great thing. Good competition means better phones for everyone! Best smartphone 2022 1. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra – Best overall phone Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra - Best overall phone Pros Excellent camera Phenomenal display Stylus support Cons Bulky Expensive Slower charging Best Prices Today: $999.99 at Amazon While the S21 Ultra dabbled with Note-like features, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is unquestionably a full-blown successor to 2020’s Note 20 Ultra in everything but name. It’s expensive, but the best overall phone you can currently buy thanks to incredible performance and balanced features. The design is distinctly different from the other entries in the Galaxy S22 range (which is to say very ‘Note-like’) and features an integrated S Pen stylus that expands functionality beyond most rivals, especially in terms of productivity. Despite familiar-looking camera hardware, the upgrades made by Samsung render it one of the best systems in any phone right now; with a 108Mp main shooter backed up by an ultrawide and two telephoto lenses at different zoom levels – with the zoom performance particularly improved on previous models. The expansive 6.8in LTPO AMOLED display delivers both high WQHD+ resolution and an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz, while long-term software support that surpasses even Google’s Pixels rounds out an impressive list of pros. If you can handle its huge size, it’s a real winner, with five years of software support the best in Android land. Read our full Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultrareview 2. iPhone 14 Pro – Best iPhone iPhone 14 Pro - Best iPhone Pros Dynamic Island is genuinely great First iPhone with always-on display Phenomenal cameras 120Hz display Cons Battery life same as 13 Pro No fast charging More expensive in the UK The regular iPhone 14 is a very minor update over the iPhone 13, so it’s a pleasant surprise that the iPhone 14 Pro is such a leap over its predecessor. Some of the change is only skin deep, but when such a visual overhaul as the Dynamic Island makes its debut, it’s hard not to notice. Apple has shrunk its famous screen notch into a pill and circular shape below the top bezel but filled in the blank space with black pixels, and then used animations to have notifications and updates from apps originate from the space, creating a use for the cut outs now seen for cameras on most phone screens. It is very clever, and means you can see what music playing, timers, weather and more constantly at the top of the screen without having to hop into the app. The phone’s cameras are also exceptionally good, with the first 48Mp sensor on an iPhone allowing for 2x zoom cropping in addition to the 3x telephoto lens and a capable ultrawide. Apple has also finally introduced an always-on display that simply dims your lock screen and pleasingly doesn’t affect battery life, in our testing at least. It’s not a huge upgrade on the 13 Pro but if your phone is three or four years old this iPhone will feel lightyears into the future. Read our full iPhone 14 Proreview 3. Google Pixel 6 Pro – Best user experience Google Pixel 6 Pro - Best user experience Pros 120Hz display Superb cameras Slick OS Greatly improved battery life Cons Biggest, thickest, heaviest Pixel yet Awkward fast charging Google shook things up for 2021, with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro debuting the company’s own Tensor silicon and a refreshed Android 12 experience out the box, along with a completely new design and some significantly enhanced cameras. Despite dropping the ‘Pixel XL’ naming convention, the 6 Pro is an undeniably sizeable phone, with a stunning QHD+ curved-edge OLED display that – for the first time in the series – makes the move to a higher, smoother 120Hz refresh rate (just like the iPhone 13 Pro range). The camera system also relies on a new 50Mp main sensor, which delivers astounding dynamic range and showcases smart new features, like Magic Eraser and rock-solid Face Unblur. It’s also backed up by both a 12Mp ultrawide and a periscopic 48Mp telephoto camera, with a 4x optical zoom; a far cry from the Pixel range’s old single-sensor approach to photography. Tensor doesn’t benchmark well against the competition but in real-world use offers more than enough grunt to handle the most demanding mobile apps and games, while also boasting a specialised skill set for machine learning and AI tasks that rival silicon lags behind in. A huge 5003mAh battery also ensures some of the best battery life on a Pixel ever, even if fast charging is a bit of a mess. Read our full Google Pixel 6 Proreview 4. Oppo Find X5 Pro – Superb cameras Oppo Find X5 Pro - Superb cameras Pros Best-in-class display Versatile cameras Unique design Cons No periscopic zoom Expensive The Oppo Find X5 Pro is a phenomenal phone by any measure. The 6.7in 10-bit 120Hz QHD+ panel is one of the best displays in any phone right now and Oppo backs it up with 80W wired and 50W wireless charging, a 5000mAh battery, and a top-tier camera that boasts 50Mp sensors on both the main and ultrawide lenses. You’ll have to live without a periscopic zoom lens – the telephoto here is a measly 2x zoom – but results across all three rear lenses are exceptional. The design is unique too, thanks to a seamlessly sloped camera module built right into the ceramic of the phone’s body. In terms of pure performance, the Find X5 Pro is also hard to beat, with all of the above, plus a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, 256GB storage and 12GB RAM. You just have to be willing to pay the price, as it doesn’t come cheap. Read our full Oppo Find X5 Proreview 5. Google Pixel 6a – Best value Google Pixel 6a - Best value Pros Great performance Solid battery life Very good camera Cons 60Hz display Slow charging Back plastic scratches easily Best Prices Today: $349.00 at Amazon Although the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro have bigger, better screens and improved cameras, the $449/£399/€459 6a is better value and the Pixel phone most people should buy. For the asking price you get the Google Tensor chip, the same as the 6 and 6 Pro, resulting in flagship level performance. Older A-series Pixels were sluggish – not this one. You only get a 60Hz refresh rate screen, slow 18W charging, and a plastic back that we found scratches quite easily. There’s also only a 12.2Mp main camera, the same as on the Pixel 5, rather than the Pixel 6’s 50Mp shooter. But aside from that this is close to the full Pixel experience at a superb price, with three years of Android OS updates and five years of security updates. Read our full Google Pixel 6areview 6. iPhone 13 – Superb all-rounder iPhone 13 - Superb all-rounder Pros Brilliant performance Capable cameras Long battery life Great value Cons Still a 60Hz display No telephoto camera Slow charging Best Prices Today: $829.00 at Amazon $829.00 at Apple While it loses out on the 13 Pro’s high refresh rate display, the iPhone 13 still boasts cutting-edge features like Apple’s newest 5nm A15 Bionic chip and the latest camera features, like Cinematic Mode. The rear camera system now sits at a diagonal, primarily to accommodate the impressive sensor-shift OIS (optical image stabilisation) that was exclusive to 2020’s iPhone 12 Pro Max (although there’s still no telephoto sensor), while on the front – despite the same 60Hz refresh rate as the previous model – you still get a stunning 6.1in OLED display, complete with a smaller notch. iOS 15 is an excellent improvement on Apple’s already well-respected mobile operating system out of the box; adding wellbeing features like notification summary, that ensure you’re not constantly distracted by your device. Like the Pro, some of the best battery life on an iPhone comes as part of the iPhone 13 experience but fast charging speeds are still well behind the curve. Read our full Apple iPhone 13review 7. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 – Best foldable Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 - Best foldable Pros Superb performance Solid battery life Folds in half Cons Durability questions 'Slow' 25W charging No telephoto camera Best Prices Today: $851.48 at Amazon Samsung has addressed the Z Flip 3’s issues of bad battery life and middling camera performance for the price and made the Z Flip 4 an all-day phone with the same main and ultrawide cameras as the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus. It means this is the best foldable phone you can buy today, at a price similar to flagship slab smartphones. While durability questions remain over the display and the crease in it, we can’t test that – but Samsung says the Flip will last for at least 200,000 open and close motions, which roughly equates to five years of average use. The improved battery is likely down the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset with its improved energy efficiency, meaning you no longer have to charge the Flip halfway through the day. 8GB RAM is more than enough, though you might want to spend a little more to get 256GB storage. We also love the side mounted fingerprint sensor. For all intents and purposes, this is an S22 with a better processor that folds down to half its size. It’s compelling, and one of the best phones full stop. Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4review 8. Vivo X80 Pro – Outstanding cameras Vivo X80 Pro - Outstanding cameras Pros Truly outstanding camera Fast wired and wireless charging Superb battery life Cons Awkward camera design No Gorilla Glass Frustrating software Best Prices Today: $969 at Ali Express Vivo has knocked it out of the park with the X80 Pro, a phone whose camera is truly excellent, rivalling the best Apple, Samsung, and Google have to offer. A Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip powers four rear lenses, the main being a wonderfully capable 50Mp sensor. Every lens benefits from Vivo’s V1+ image processing chip, and there’s gimbal stabilisation on the telephoto lens to aid clarity of zoom shots. It’s an incredibly full feature set, and low-light photography is outstanding. Add to that excellent video modes with cinema-wide aspect ratios and a film-like grain and you’ve got a powerhouse camera in your pocket. The phone is a big one so you’ll have to be happy with a 6.78in AMOLED. It’s a 120Hz LTPO (with variable refresh rate) and QHD+ resolution. Downsides to the phone are the lack of Gorilla Glass for proven scratch and crack protection to the front and back, and the frustrating software. But overall this is another leap forward for Vivo that you should seriously consider if you want a premium camera on the back of your phone. Read our full Vivo X80 Proreview 9. OnePlus 10 Pro – Outstanding battery life OnePlus 10 Pro - Outstanding battery life Pros Super-fast 80W wired charging Great longevity Top specs Cons Inconsistent cameras No IP rating Best Prices Today: $780.08 at Amazon The latest flagship phone from OnePlus is a good alternative to the likes of the S22 or Pixel 6 series, especially if you live in the US and have few other high-end Android options. With a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and speedy 80W wired charging the 10 Pro has core specs to match anything its rivals offer, and we’re broadly fans of the slick design too – though not everyone is. Despite support from Hasselblad, the camera system is still the phone’s primary weakness here and the main thing that sets it apart from the pricier but similarly-specced Oppo Find X5 Pro. The rear triple sensor setup is impressive, don’t get us wrong, but inconsistencies – especially in exposure – only serve to remind us that it’s not up there with the best of the best, and that makes it a touch harder to recommend; even if the OxygenOS user experience is superb and battery life is among the best of any flagship currently out there. Read our full OnePlus 10 Proreview 10. Xiaomi 12 Pro – Great for multimedia Xiaomi 12 Pro - Great for multimedia Pros Nice design Excellent display Strong cameras Fast 120W charging Cons Disappointing battery life No IP rating The Xiaomi 12 Pro has an awful lot going for it, but that’s coupled with a pair of major flaws. It sports a sleek, understated design, there’s a beautiful display paired with a quad-speaker setup and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip delivers impressive performance. For the most part, the camera system is great too, not quite best-in-class but good. Unfortunately, the battery life is a clear failing – which might be fixed with updates, but for the moment frustrates. If you spend your days not far from a charger, this is a superb phone. Read our full Xiaomi 12 Proreview Your buying guide for the best phones in 2022 When choosing a phone you should consider these things: build quality and design, ease of use, features, performance, and value. Generally speaking, a flagship phone in 2022 will start at around £700 but can cost over £1,000 in some cases. On contract, you’re looking at between £30 and £50-per-month on average but you can spend a lot more if you want an expensive phone and lots of mobile data. It’s worth noting that while this list highlights the best smartphones available right now, that doesn’t explicitly mean flagships (even though they do feature heavily here). There are entries that cross over with our mid-range and budget phone charts too, but earnt their place here, based on the capabilities and quality on offer, relative to their price. Buying a phone outright will usually give you the best value, but we appreciate finances in the real world don’t always accommodate such big one-off purchases. If you can, you’ll obviously need a SIM card and plan, as well as the phone. If you don’t already have one, check out our best SIM-only deals. FAQ 1. Should you buy an iPhone or Android phone? There’s more than one mobile operating system, but really only two worth talking about: Android and iOS. The vast majority of phones today run Android – 13 being the latest publicly-released version. Apple’s iOS platform, currently on iOS 16, may have a lower market share but developers almost always release their apps on iOS first. As a result of this approach, it has one of the best app stores you can find. If you have an Android phone or an iPhone and want to move to a phone running the other OS (operating system), it’s fairly easy to transfer your contacts and other select data from one to the other. What you can’t move are paid-for apps and certain app data (like WhatsApp backups), so keep this in mind if you’re considering a change of platform – and research any specific concerns you may have about the process. 2. Why should you buy an unlocked phone? An unlocked phone is one that is not tied to any particular mobile operator, such as Vodafone or EE. Buying ‘unlocked’ usually means buying the phone outright without a SIM card or contract attached. The most important point is that an unlocked phone is almost always a better deal than buying a phone on contract – if you can afford it. The only real exception to this is Apple’s iPhones – because of their traditional popularity, operators often subsidise the cost of buying an iPhone in order to lock you into a lucrative long-term deal. Generally speaking, if you can afford the upfront cost of the handset, you will pay less over the life of your phone by buying unlocked. More importantly, you are not locked into a lengthy contract. If you want a new handset at any time, you can buy one without having to up-purchase your way out of said contract or commit to another two years. Just be sure to make certain the phone you’re getting is not locked to a certain network. 3. Which SIM or mobile plan should you get? One other thing to consider is the size and shape of the SIM required for your phone. Make sure you get a nano-SIM if a nano-SIM is what your phone requires. For the record, every phone in this list takes a nano-SIM. If you get that wrong it is easily solvable; every network will gladly send over a different-sized SIM. SIM cards tend to come in all three sizes, you simply pop out the one you need. But that’s assuming you are getting a new SIM, and if you’re looking for a SIM-free phone or unlocked phone you probably already have one. More important is to make sure that if you want 5G you get a 5G-enabled phone and SIM. Related: How we test smartphones Related stories for further reading Best phone deals Best SIM-only deals Best phone network Best phone insurance All smartphone reviews Best Android phones Best iPhone Best mid-range phones Best budget phones Best gaming phones Best kids’ phones Best battery life phones Best waterproof phones Best camera phones Best big phones Best rugged phones Best budget 5G phones Best Chinese phones Best budget Chinese phones Best dual-SIM phones Best phone stand Best new phones coming soon Author: Henry Burrell, Phones Editor Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once. Recent stories by Henry Burrell: The Pixel 7 shows yearly updates are unsustainable How to watch today’s Google Pixel 7 launch iPhone 14 review More stories Port Harcourt: Unsold Sofas Might Be Distributed Almost for Nothing Tired of muscle and joint pain? Try this Man Who Made $95 million in 2008 Reveals New Prediction [Pics] Always Put a Plastic Bottle on Your Tires when Parked, Here's Why Do You Speak English? Work a USA Job From Home In Nigeria Port Harcourt: Unsold Sofas Might Be Distributed Almost for Nothing Tired of muscle and joint pain? Try this Tired of muscle and joint pain? Try this Motion Free How Shiseido’s CEO Masahiko Uotani Put People First in the Company’s Global Strategy. How Shiseido’s CEO Masahiko Uotani Put People First in the Company’s Global Strategy. WSJ Custom Studios Do You Speak English? Work a USA Job From Home in Nigeria Do You Speak English? Work a USA Job From Home in Nigeria Find Online Jobs | Sponsored Ads Work as a Nurse in the USA . See Salaries Work as a Nurse in the USA . See Salaries Nursing jobs | Search Ads The best Android phone 2022 The best Android phone 2022 Electrician Salaries In The USA Might Surprise You Electrician Salaries In The USA Might Surprise You Easy Jobs | Search ads Tech Advisor helps you find your tech sweet spot. We steer you to products you'll love and show you how to get the most out of them. POLICIES ABOUT TECH ADVISOR CATEGORIES SUBSCRIBE Copyright © 2022C