If we were to be completely honest, 2022 has been a fairly modest year for the Android platform – especially for Google. That’s not to say we haven’t had impressive new entrants, upgrades, and new releases, and one must be crowned “Phone of the Year” for 2022 by you – our readers.
We likely hit “peak” smartphone a couple of years ago. Since around 2018 most improvements to our smartphones have been incremental. Be that battery life gains, camera quality upgrades, or just general performance levels. In many ways, it’s a testament to how far the industry has come in around a decade, but that doesn’t discount the impressive devices you can go out and buy today.
Sure, new form factors like foldables are starting to become mainstream, but the supposed game-changer that is 5G connectivity hasn’t been as groundbreaking as initially pitched. Almost all flagship smartphones do ship with superfast connectivity as standard though as 5G networks are steadily being bolstered across the globe.
2022 has been a good year for some though. Google’s own Pixel series is a prime example. After a fairly successful soft reboot with the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, it was hard to ignore some issues like poor cellular connectivity and inconsistent in-display fingerprint scanners. With the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, many of the problems have been eradicated. The result is the best Pixel devices in years with the impressive Pixel 6a also helping bolster Google’s phone lineup for late 2022 and early 2023.
Affordable phones have been improving year-over-year, and Samsung has been at the forefront of this. Offering impressive handsets like the Galaxy A53 5G, which leverages flagship-level functionality with a software update path that puts many other OEMs to shame. Of course, the Galaxy S22 lineup has been climbing sales charts as expected. The Galaxy S22 Ultra was an early candidate for “Phone of the Year” just as we entered 2022 with the similarly impressive Galaxy Z Fold 4 entering the fray later on.
Similarly to Samsung, Xiaomi continues to impress with devices like the 12 and 12T series. Although it is regionally limited we’d love to see the Xiaomi 12S Ultra and the mammoth 1-inch camera sensor hit more markets across the globe. That is also true of many of the Vivo, Oppo, and Realme phones littering global markets. Standout phones like the Find X5 Pro, Realme GT 2 Pro, and Vivo X80 Pro are less accessible to the average consumer than they likely should be.
There are almost too many smartphones to talk about. Sony, ASUS, Motorola, OnePlus, and Oppo have released impressive hardware in many shapes and sizes. What you have pinned as your “Phone of the Year” for 2022 is going to be down to a laundry list of features, functions, and price. We’ve whittled down our list to a whopping 27 entrants we think are worthy of making any shortlist for the best phone of 2022.
What you choose as “Phone of the Year 2022” is up to you. Voting remains open until Thursday, December 22, at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET. We’ll announce the winner on Friday, December 23, at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET — so get voting!
Author: Damien Wilde
Source: 9TO5Google
