Best smartphone 2022: the best Apple and Android phones reviewed - Stuff

If you’re successful the marketplace for a mobile upgrade, this is the database you’re looking for. From big-screen Androids to the latest iPhone flagship, we’ve reviewed the champion smartphone options you tin bargain successful 2022. And to assistance you prime which is the close acceptable for your pocket, we’ve ranked our favourites below.

To trial the champion smartphone options, our squad takes each exemplary retired into the existent world. That means binge-watching connected the autobus to measurement artillery life, snapping each time to container an medium of camera samples, and maxing retired the graphics connected Genshin Impact to measure processing power.

After putting each contender done its paces, we item the winning handsets successful this guide. If you’re buying specifically for the best Android smartphone, we’ve got a abstracted diagnostic covering precisely that. We’ve besides rounded up the best fund blowers, the top mid-range mobiles, and our favourite smaller phones.

Our prime of the champion smartphones you tin bargain close now

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

If you’re buying for the eventual smartphone acquisition successful 2022, the Samsung Galaxy Ultra S22 is apical of the tree. Superlative successful each respect, it exceeded each expectations successful testing. Clad successful Armour Aluminium and Gorilla Glass Victus Plus, it feels adjacent parts premium and rugged successful the hand. Its sizeable 6.8in AMOLED show is sublime connected the eyes, portion the bundled S Pen stylus is much responsive than ever.

Performance is likewise peerless. Whether you prime up an Exynos oregon Snapdragon example, the Ultra whizzes done astir each app, task and game. That silicon is complemented by a neural processing portion which gives the top-spec S22 excessively galore camera highlights to summarise: from zoom clarity to colour reproduction, it’s the people of the field. Yes, you’ll wage handsomely for the privilege of squeezing an S22 Ultra into your pocket. But if you’re consenting to bash so, your reward volition beryllium the champion wide smartphone you tin bargain close now.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro

At archetypal glance, the latest iPhone doesn’t alteration anything. Upon person inspection, it changes one: the notch. Now a pill-shaped cutout called Dynamic Island, the UI adapts astir it to amusement app-specific shortcuts. Unless an app doesn’t enactment it, past it remains a achromatic blob.

Otherwise, the Pro is an evolutionary iteration. You inactive get a wide, ultra-wide and telephoto trio of cameras, but the rear flash is brighter, macro zoom is boosted to 2x optical and the main sensor has leapt to 48MP. Stills consciousness elaborate and alive, portion low-light shots are present adjacent better. Up front, selfies are sharper, portion the vivid 6.1in show is brighter astatine 2000 nits. It tin besides beryllium acceptable to always-on, showing a dim mentation of your fastener screen.

As a package, the iPhone 14 Pro is brilliant. With A16 Bionic silicon moving the show, thing fazes it. Add an industry-leading show and awesome camera revamp and you’ve got a apical smartphone. But if you’re upgrading from an iPhone 13 Pro, you mightiness privation to hold different generation.

• Upsized: work our iPhone 14 Pro Max reappraisal here

Google Pixel 7 Pro

A comparatively insignificant upgrade from its predecessor, the Pixel 7 Pro is simply a worthy Google flagship. It matches the outgoing exemplary connected price, portion streamlining the design, adding a speedier CPU and doubling down connected camera capabilities.

Slimmed by a fewer millimetres, it remains a sizeable handset. Like the 6 Pro, its show is simply a 6.7in AMOLED number, but highest brightness has been boosted to a immense 1500 nits. That makes the viewing acquisition adjacent much vibrant, adjacent if you can’t unit adaptive refresh rates to enactment astatine 120Hz.

The 50MP main sensor is unchanged, but the telephoto present has 5x optical zoom and 30x digital, portion a caller autofocus setup lets the ultra wide enactment arsenic a macro snapper. Image prime is superb, with wide dynamic scope and satisfying detail. Night Sight is faster and sharper, too.

Tweaked for gen two, its Tensor spot isn’t the past connection successful mobile muscle, but it matches different flagships for seamless multi-tasking. It’s besides much vigor efficient, squeezing a afloat time of usage from the 5000mAh cell.

• Best Android phone: the apical smartphones from Google, Samsung and much reviewed

OnePlus 10 Pro

Delivering slayer specs astatine a competitory terms point, the OnePlus 10 Pro hits a location run. Set speech low-light photography limitations and it’s a top-drawer handset successful each respect. Its all-screen frontage fits the modern mould, complemented by a tactile matte back. The show itself is simply brilliant, with dynamic refresh rates ranging from 1 to 120Hz.

A trademark alert slider marks it retired arsenic a OnePlus handset, portion Hasselblad branding connected the ceramic camera bump hints astatine enhanced shooting modes. Results are large successful bully conditions, with Pro and 12-bit RAW+ options offering utile flexibility for superior snappers.

Performance is predictably superb, portion artillery beingness proved impressively frugal passim our testing. When the 5000mAh compartment did tally empty, 80W SuperVooc refuelling had it backmost to afloat successful conscionable implicit fractional an hour. If you tin grip its heft, the OnePlus 10 Pro is simply a fantastic smartphone for the money.

Oppo Find X5 Pro

If you’re not fussed astir shooting subjects from afar, the Oppo Find X5 Pro has the chops to situation for that coveted spot successful your pocket. From its punchy 6.7in surface to its almighty interior hardware, it does a full batch to warrant the large fig connected its ticket. Top-spec Snapdragon silicon delivers powerfulness successful spades, matched by stupidly speedy 80W wired charging speeds. And portion it mightiness beryllium a fingerprint magnet, the mode the ceramic ammunition curves seamlessly astir the camera lodging is simply a enactment of art.

In each ways but one, camera show is likewise brilliant. The main and ultra-wide snappers seizure bright, elaborate and balanced results, whether you’re shooting successful daylight oregon aft dark. A MariSilicon X neural processing spot besides enhances things with the assistance of instrumentality learning. Only 1 spec holds it backmost from perfection: the meagre 2x optical zoom offered by the telephoto. But if that’s not a dealbreaker, this is simply a five-star smartphone.

Motorola Edge 30 Ultra

Impressive hardware and effortless benignant harvester successful the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra to gain plentifulness of thoroughfare cred for its maker. From a premium decorativeness to ridiculous 125W charging speeds, it has beauteous overmuch everything going for it. A streamlined plan lifts it supra Moto’s much affordable handsets, portion 144Hz refresh rates marque its punchy OLED show among the smoothest retired there. It’s besides a crisp shooter, courtesy of a pixel-packed 200MP main camera and 60MP selfie cam.

It’s not without limitations: the physique isn’t waterproof and the retention isn’t expandable. Zoom fans mightiness besides consciousness restricted by the 2x optical range. But slimline bundle and slick multi-tasking modes bash a batch to alleviate immoderate insignificant grumbles. As an alternate to the accustomed large hitters, the Edge 30 Ultra offers astir everything you’d privation from a high-end telephone – lone without the painfully costly asking price.

Apple iPhone 13 Mini

A twelvemonth aft its launch, the iPhone 13 Mini is the champion tiny smartphone you tin bargain successful 2022. A compact exemplary with precise fewer comprises, it’s a pocketable handset with full-fat performance. And with nary successor successful the iPhone 14 line-up, it looks similar the past palm-friendly iPhone for a while.

Physically smaller than the iPhone SE (2022), it maximises the existent property with a frame-filling 5.4in OLED that’s rich, crisp and bright. Its 12MP main camera delivers awesome results, aided by optical representation stabilisation. And portion surface refresh rates are capped astatine 60Hz, an A15 Bionic processor – the aforesaid spot recovered wrong the iPhone 14 – means iOS 15 runs snappily.

Battery beingness is 1 of the fewer trade-offs, though it inactive out-performed the modular iPhone 12 successful testing. And astatine its caller little price, the iPhone 13 Mini cements its presumption arsenic the apical smartphone with smaller proportions.

Google Pixel 6a

We’ve agelong been fans of Google’s affordable phones, and the Pixel 6a lone continues that record. Well-rounded and wallet-friendly, this is arsenic streamlined arsenic Android excellence gets. There’s nary of the Nothing Phone 1’s snazzy lighting, but the composite ammunition does a stellar content of the solid utilized by its premium cousins. You’re besides getting axenic Android 12, which the 6a’s Tensor CPU runs without a stutter.

Where the Pixel 6a truly excels is successful the shooting stakes. With almighty algorithms successful its arsenal, astir each representation it captures is balanced, noise-free and packed with detail. There’s nary telephoto, but autofocus is rapid, portion Night Sight pulls true-to-life stills from tricky late-night scenes.

It’s not without compromise. You don’t get luxuries similar wireless charging, portion 60Hz refresh rates mean likewise priced rivals apical it successful the show stakes. But you’ll conflict to find a amended all-round Android acquisition for less.

Sony Xperia 1 IV

The Xperia 1 IV isn’t a mainstream mobile, and Sony’s good with that. It’s a phenomenally susceptible Android handset, with exceptional performance, a cinematic 4K show and day-long artillery life. And it’s packaged successful the smartphone equivalent of a crisp concern suit. But it has a precise wide people market: photographers.

Rapid burst shooting, extended manual options and stellar representation prime marque it a superior instrumentality for skilled snappers. Daylight results had exceptional clarity successful testing, portion images remained sharp, balanced and mostly escaped from sound successful debased light. The 1 IV besides debuts a continuous optical zoom lens, getting you person to subjects without integer trickery. Sony’s camera app is comprehensive, portion object-tracking autofocus is unnaturally fast.

It’s existent that rival devices bash much to clasp your hand, often for a smaller outlay. Heating tin besides beryllium a interest erstwhile pushing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 silicon with dense loads, specified arsenic shooting 4K HDR video. But it inactive demolishes benchmarks and runs the Android interface breezily. Fans with heavy pockets won’t beryllium disappointed.

Motorola G82

Not everyone wants to walk the champion portion of a expansive connected a smartphone. If your budget’s smaller by 2 thirds, this sub-£300 smartphone is simply a steal. The Motorola G82 packs an OLED show with 120Hz refresh rates, a generous 5000mAh artillery and an optically stabilised 50MP camera. All features you’d expect from handsets costing a chunk more.

Sure, determination are immoderate signs of the compromises required to scope its terms point. Its integrative physique doesn’t interruption the G-series mould, portion the 2MP macro camera is small much than a token addition. The Snapdragon spot wrong won’t acceptable immoderate benchmark records, either.

But acknowledgment to Motorola’s minimal instrumentality connected Android, wide show is acold from shabby. The main sensor besides impresses, producing detailed, realistic images, portion the packaging is neat and no-nonsense. If you privation a mid-tier mobile that nails the basics astatine a keen price, this is your pick.

The champion foldable smartphone you tin bargain close now

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

It’ll permission a crook successful your slope balance, but Samsung’s top-spec foldable sets the benchmark for folding smartphones. As sturdy and stylish arsenic you’d expect for the price, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is heftier than a mean handset erstwhile folded, but easier to grip than its predecessor.

The main show has a little noticeable crease than erstwhile Z Fold devices, portion desktop productivity features marque multi-tasking a breeze. It helps that the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor is zippy successful the extreme. Top-tier shooting skills are inherited from the Galaxy S22, too. The main sensor produces consistently elaborate stills successful astir each scenarios, portion the telephoto snapper zooms with awesome clarity.

With colourful OLED tech and 120Hz adaptive refresh rates, the outer sheet is arsenic bully arsenic you’ll find connected immoderate flagship phone. Yet it’s the lesser of the two: the 7.6in surface wrong is bright, creaseless and vibrant, offering acres of abstraction for scribbling with the S Pen. We conscionable privation determination was determination to stash the stylus. Perhaps wrong that bare wallet.

• Best foldable: which folding smartphone should you buy?