As we approach the end of the year, we’re taking a look at some of the best mobile phones the market has had. This year, 2022, has been quite a tough one in the mobile phone market. Although some of the leading brands had decent sales, they had to deal with several obstacles. The COVID-19 outbreak has curtailed the regular production schedules of several brands. There was also a severe shortage of parts that affected almost all mobile phone brands. However, many mobile phones have made their way to the market and some of them are quite decent. These devices come with several upgrades and innovations, but some stand out. The top 5 mobile phone list takes a look at the devices that stand out.
Out of several possible options, I was able to narrow down my choices to the top 5 in this article. This choice is by no means easy because we had some great devices this year. I considered hardware, software and performance in my selection. Price was not considered because “the best” is not necessarily cheap. Warning, all the mobile phones in my personal list of top 5 mobile phones for 2022 are flagships and quite expensive.
My Top 5 Mobile Phones for 2022
1. Google Pixel 7 Pro
It is about the cheapest mobile phone in this list costing $899, but it takes the top spot in the top 5 mobile phone list for some reasons. From the Google Pixel 6 series, the company introduced a design that was highly appreciated by the market. Google Pixel 7 Pro kept this design and it was not a mistake at all. In addition to the well-received design, the Pixel 7 Pro comes with great everyday performance, decent battery life and, as usual, an A-grade camera.
The Google Pixel 7 pro comes with a huge 6.7-inch display that easily passes as one of the best screens on the market this year. Users have absolutely no problem using it even in very bright environments. Under the hood is the Google Tensor G2 chip that makes this device smoother than ever. There are upgrades in AI speech recognition and the performance is quite elegant. Unlike the previous generation, the Google Pixel 7 series has far fewer complaints. This is a testament to the capacity of this device. The battery life of this device is very impressive, so only heavy users will need to charge this device once a day. For light and medium users, there will be no need to recharge.
The Google Pixel 7 Pro camera is one of the best on the market this year. It’s really no surprise, Google has one of the best mobile camera sensors in the industry. In terms of primary camera capacity, this device retains the same sensor as the Pixel 6 Pro, a 50MP primary shooter. However, the Pixel 7 Pro has a telephoto camera with better zoom. There are also some optimizations in the sensors that make the zoomed image quality great.
Apart from the camera, another area where Google has always been good is software optimization. Of course, this is no surprise, Google owns Android. Pixel phones get all the Android innovations before any other Android device. Also, Pixel devices have the privilege of receiving regular and fast updates. This way, there is little or no chance of the device lagging. In addition to some new features like the excellent live transcription in the Recorder app, the Pixel phones will also receive five ears of software updates.
2. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Well, it’s expensive and it’s big, but it’s worth it if we’re really talking about the best. Thus, it has a place in my top 5 mobile phone list. With the increase in size, Samsung had more room to stack the Galaxy S22 Ultra with the best hardware. This mobile phone comes with a huge 6.8-inch display that supports 120Hz high refresh rate, not forgetting the built-in stylus. The stylus is a feature reserved for the Note series, but the Ultra model is now the successor to the Note series, so it comes with a stylus. If you must own this device, you’ll have to part with $1,200, but it’s worth every cent.
Under the hood, this mobile comes with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. We all know that this is one of the best chips on the market and it’s no surprise that the performance is great. Samsung also got a little creative with the design by adding the stylus to the bottom of the phone. Stylus lag is also lower, which means it’s better than older models.
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The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra comes with five sensors on the back, keeping the main 108MP camera. However, the company has optimized the telephoto sensors with an excellent portrait mode. Honestly, the 10x telephoto sensor in this device is the best you can find in the mobile phone market. Samsung has put a decent 5000 mAh battery on this device, knowing the power draining features that the mobile phone offers. The battery will barely last a day with average use, and heavy users will certainly need to charge at least once a day.
The square design of the Galaxy S22 Ultra is unique and premium. Unfortunately, the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s main strengths are in its niche features. If you use the 10x zoom regularly, as well as the stylus, then spending $1200 on this device shouldn’t be a problem. As for the software, Samsung has also made some optimizations in addition to the four years of software upgrades.
3. iPhone 14 Pro Max
The iPhone 14 Pro Max has a place on this list, and it would be strange if it didn’t. Whether it’s the Pro or Pro Max model, I see them as basically the same. The Pro Max is only $100 more expensive, selling for $1,099. One of the main improvements is in the “Dynamic Island” feature, which is not exactly new to the market, but Apple has packaged it quite well. Just like other flagships, the iPhone 14 Pro Max comes with a large 6.7-inch screen that supports up to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. Depending on the usage situation, the refresh rate can reach up to 1Hz, which allows the device to save energy. Of course, the new AOD is another important feature.
Like other iPhones, the camera on this device is one of the best. It comes with a 48MP sensor which seems sufficient with the right software optimization. This sensor can output 12MP images by maximizing light sensitivity. Even in low light, the images are pretty decent with little to no noise. Although Apple claims this camera is a huge leap forward, it really isn’t. It is only slightly better than its predecessor. We can call this obstacle in improving the iPhone camera “natural” because Apple is almost at the top.
This device also comes with an A16 Bionic chip, which is slightly above the previous A15 Bionic. However, this shouldn’t worry anyone, given that the A15 is well above most Android flagship processors in terms of performance. In this way, the A16 is clearly the best there is.
4. OnePlus 10 Pro
Just like the Google Pixel 7 Pro, the OnePlus 10 Pro also starts at $899. With a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 coupled with a decent camera and a massive battery, this device easily earns a spot on my top 5 mobile phone list. If you don’t want to use the Pixel 7 Pro, then you should try the OnePlus 10 Pro. Starting from the design to the software of this device, everything is of premium quality.
This mobile comes with a 6.7-inch LTPO2 Fluid AMOLED display that supports up to 120Hz refresh rate. With a brightness of 1300 nits, users will have no problem using this device in bright light. If there’s anything you need in a flagship display, the OnePlus 10 Pro has it. The camera on this device is pretty normal (48MP + 8MP + 50MP), but its collaboration with Hasselblad means it has one of the best cameras on the market. The battery is a huge 5000mAh battery that supports 80W wired, 50W wireless as well as reverse wireless charging.
5. Xiaomi 12S Ultra
Just like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra packs decent hardware, but the price is cheaper as it retails for approximately $970. This mobile phone can easily handle all the other devices in this list.
Starting with the display, this device uses a high-end 6.73-inch E5 AMOLED screen that supports 2K resolution. This device is LTPO screen and energy saving. There are other flagship qualities like Gorilla Glass Victus, high refresh rate and others. Unlike other flagships, this mobile phone comes with an in-screen fingerprint sensor. With a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, this device outperforms the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 models on this list.
In the camera department, this mobile phone uses a 50MP Sony IMX989 sensor which is large in size. It captures more lights and the output image is much better. Xiaomi has also made some optimizations to the imaging software, which significantly upgrades the camera. With the big hardware, Xiaomi also uses a big 4860mAh battery that supports 67W wired fast charging, 50W wireless fast charging and 10W reverse wireless charging.
Conclusion
As I said earlier, this list mainly looks at hardware, software and performance. Of course, there are other cell phones that may be on par with the devices on this list. Unfortunately, I can only include five devices in this list. Xiaomi 2023 is already off to a good start with the Xiaomi 13 series and the Redmi K60 series making a big entry into the market with decent innovations and upgrades. What do you think of the mobile phones on this list? Let us know in the comments section below.
