Best Phones in 2022: Top 10 Best Smartphones Now
Best Phones in 2022 Right Now
We test and evaluate the best phones because you deserve a handset that has it all. The best phones offer great cameras, the performance needed for multitasking, and enough battery life to last all day.
To help you choose the best smartphone for you, we test dozens of handsets in the lab and in the real world to give you in-depth reviews and recommendations you can trust. We also compare the best camera phones to see which devices deliver the best image quality.
With robust options available at all price levels, you don't have to spend a lot to get something great. You can get a solid mid-range phone that offers all the features you need for under $500.
Our best phones list has something for everyone, including great deals and amazing flagships for those willing to pay a premium. We have ranked all the top phones based on our testing. Here are the top smartphones right now.
Which Are The Best Phones?
Based on our testing, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is the best phone you can buy right now. It offers a 120Hz promotion display with the best cameras on a phone. This includes a new macro mode, a cinematic mode for video, and brighter low-light images. Plus, you get more than 12 hours of battery life in our testing. If you prefer a smaller 6.1-inch display, the iPhone 13 Pro is also great, as it has all the same features.
The regular iPhone 13 is the best phone under $800, as you get a brighter display and better wide and ultra-wide cameras than the iPhone 12 that's a step ahead of Android phones, plus one from the A15 Bionic processor and longer battery. Superb performance. life.
If you like Android, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the best Android phone you can buy, thanks to its powerful cameras, long battery life, gorgeous dynamic 120Hz display, and S Pen support. But if you're looking for a great Android experience, try the Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro, which both have Android 12 and a Google-made Tensor chip that enables smart AI features. And the relatively low prices are great.
Those on the budget should also stick with Google. The Google Pixel 5a offers a great camera for less than $500. The Moto G Power is another good deal, as it offers the best battery life on the market.
If you miss the physical keyboard, apparently OnWardMobility promises that the BlackBerry 5G isn't dead and is coming this year, but we're not holding our breath.
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Top 10 Best Phones in 2022 You Can Buy Today
1. iPhone 13 Pro Max - Best Phones in 2022
2. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra - Best Phones in 2022
3. iPhone 13 - Best Phones in 2022
4. Google Pixel 6 - Best Phones in 2022
5. Google Pixel 5a - Best Phones in 2022
6. iPhone 13 Pro - Best Phones in 2022
7. OnePlus 9 Pro - Best Phones in 2022
8. Samsung Galaxy S21 - Best Phones in 2022
9. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 - Best Phones in 2022
10. iPhone 11 - Best Phones in 2022
1. iPhone 13 Pro Max - Best Phones in 2022
The best phone overall
Pros
- Amazing Performance
- Best-in-class cameras
- 120Hz ProMotion display
- Excellent battery life
- Best cameras in a phone
Cons
- Could use faster charging
- Cinematic mode capped at 1080p
- No Touch ID
| iPhone 13 Pro Max Specification | |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.7-inch OLED (2778 x 1284) |
| CPU | A15 Bionic |
| RAM | 6GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB 1TB / No |
| Rear camera | 12MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 12MP telephoto with 3x |
| Front camera | 12MP (f/2.2) |
| Weight | 8.5 ounces |
| Battery life (Hrs: Mins) | 12:16 |
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iPhone 13 Pro Max: The iPhone 13 Pro Max earns the title of the best phone thanks to some major upgrades. This includes a new 6.7-inch ProMotion display that scales up to 120Hz for silky smooth animations, great performance from the A15 Bionic chip, and a great battery life of over 12 hours in our web surfing test.
The cameras on the iPhone 13 Pro Max are simply the best in class, thanks to better sensors that capture more light and new photographic styles that let you change the look of your pictures. But the coolest camera features are a new Macro mode that lets you shoot great close-ups for video, and Cinematic Mode that delivers a compelling bokeh effect with automatic focusing between subjects.
Charging can be faster. But, overall, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is second to none.
2. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra - Best Phones in 2022
Samsung's best phone
Pros
- Amazing Performance
- Dynamic 6.8-inch AMOLED display
- Dual telephoto lenses
- S Pen support
- Great battery life
Cons
- No charger or microSD card
- A bit bulky
- Pricey
| Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Specification | |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.8-inch OLED (3200x1400; 10-120Hz) |
| CPU | Snapdragon 888 |
| RAM | 12GB, 16GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB / No |
| Rear camera | 108MP wide, 12MP ultra wide, 10MP telephoto (3x zoom), 10MP telephoto (10x zoom), laser AF sensor |
| Front camera | 40MP (ƒ/2.2) |
| Weight | 8.08 oz |
| Battery life (Hrs: Mins) | 11:25 |
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Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is a better big-screen phone, offering a dynamic 6.8-inch AMOLED display that scales from 10Hz to 120Hz for super-smooth performance. But the killer feature is the dual telephoto camera, with 3x and 10x optical zoom, and the ability to space zoom up to 100x with a new Zoom Lock feature. The overall camera quality has also improved with better-looking Portraits and brighter shots with Night Mode.
The S21 Ultra also excels at capturing video with a new Director's View mode that lets you record using the front and back cameras at the same time. Other highlights include a faster performance from the Snapdragon 888 chip and extra-long battery life from the 5,000mAh battery, as the S21 Ultra lasted about 11.5 hours on our web surfing test. The Galaxy S21 Ultra doesn't include a charger or microSD card slot in the box, but overall it's the best Android phone you can buy.
Samsung is a month or two away from revealing its Galaxy S22 lineup; At the time we could see the successor to the Galaxy S21 Ultra as a more Galaxy Note-like phone.
3. iPhone 13 - Best Phones in 2022
The best phone for the money
Pros
- Amazing Performance
- Brighter display
- Great cameras
- Very good battery life
- Compelling Cinematic video mode
Cons
- Lacks 120Hz display
- Slower charging than rivals
- Cinematic mode capped at 1080p
| iPhone 13 Specification | |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.1-inch OLED (2532 x 1170) |
| CPU | A15 Bionic |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB / No |
| Rear camera | 12MP main, 12MP ultrawide |
| Front camera | 12MP (f/2.2) |
| Weight | 6.1 ounces |
| Battery life (Hrs: Mins) | 10:33 |
iPhone 13: The best phone for the money, the iPhone 13 offers a great camera experience in a compact design. The main camera now collects more light and the ultra-wide camera captures more scenes. And Cinematic Mode for Video gives you Hollywood-like depth in your footage, thanks to the powerful new A15 Bionic processor.
Other highlights include a brighter 6.1-inch display and a smaller notch up top to give you more screen real estate. The biggest improvement is battery life, as we saw an endurance of around 10.5 hours, which is an improvement of over 1.5 hours from the iPhone 12. Add to that your base 128GB of storage for $799 and you can't go wrong with this iPhone.
4. Google Pixel 6 - Best Phones in 2022
The best Android experience for a great price
Pros
- Amazing Performance
- Great price
- Unique design
- Tensor chip adds smarts to the phone
- Android 12 is a welcome update
Cons
- Slow fingerprint sensor
- Battery life can be short over 5G
- Some color issues with photos
| Google Pixel 6 Specification | |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.4-inch OLED (2400x1080) |
| CPU | Google Tensor |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB / No |
| Rear camera | 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide |
| Front camera | 8MP (f/2.0) |
| Weight | 7.3 ounces |
| Battery life (Hrs: Mins) | 8:13 |
Google Pixel 6: Google Pixel 6 is the best smartphone if you want the ultimate Android experience, especially now that Google has started using its Tensor chipset to power the phone. The Tensor keeps pace with the Snapdragon 888 inside most other top Android phones, but more importantly, it powers the kind of machine learning-powered experiences that make Google's phones unique.
The cameras have a 50MP main lens, but the real story remains the software, where Tensor helps power features like Magic Eraser to easily remove people from the background of your shots and Motion to make action shots more dynamic. mode. If you want a telephoto lens and a bigger display, you can always upgrade to the Pixel 6 Pro for $899.
That's $300 more than the Pixel 6's starting price, and the price is one of the phone's better features. It is difficult to find a better starting price for such a premium device.
5. Google Pixel 5a - Best Phones in 2022
The best budget camera phone
Pros
- Amazing Performance
- Spectacular cameras
- Big, bright display
- IP67 water resistance
Cons
- Older chipset
- Limited to US and Japan
- No wireless charging
| Google Pixel 5a Specification | |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.43 -inch OLED (2400 x 1800) |
| CPU | Snapdragon 765G |
| RAM | 6GB |
| Storage | 128GB / No |
| Rear camera | 12.2MP (f/1.7), 16MP (f/2.2) ultrawide |
| Front camera | 8MP (ƒ/2.0) |
| Weight | 6.5 ounces |
| Battery life (Hrs: Mins) | 9:45 |
Google Pixel 5a: The Google Pixel 5a is the best sub-$500 phone you can buy right now, as it offers the best photography available on a mid-range phone. If you don't want to spring for an expensive flagship device, the Pixel 5a is your best option, especially for fans of Android.
With the Pixel 5a, Google adds a second rear lens to its budget phone - a 16MP ultrawide shooter to augment the 12.2MP main camera. This extends the Pixel 5a's flexibility over previous models, while the phone continues to benefit from Google's prowess with computational photography. The Pixel 5a's display is big and bright, and the phone offers IP67 water resistance, which is something missing from the previous A-series models.
You'll pay $100 more for the Pixel 5a than the Pixel 4a's bargain-basement price, but Google has added 5G connectivity and an improved processor to this model. (The Pixel 5a also costs $50 less than last year's Pixel 4a 5G.) The Tensor ship in the Pixel 6 offers a better overall experience, and it's only $150 more than the Pixel 5a, but Google's least expensive new phone. It remains an excellent option for this. to bargain
6. iPhone 13 Pro - Best Phones in 2022
A powerhouse flagship with great battery life
Pros
- Amazing Performance
- Gorgeous and bright 120Hz display
- Spectacular cameras
- Vastly improved battery life
- Long battery life
Cons
- Fast charging limited to 20W
- No mask-friendly face authentication
- 4K ProRes video limited to 256GB and above
| iPhone 13 Pro Specification | |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.1-inch OLED (2532 x 1170) |
| CPU | A15 Bionic |
| RAM | 6GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB / No |
| Rear camera | 12MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 12MP telephoto with 3x |
| Front camera | 12MP (f/2.2) |
| Weight | 7.2 ounces |
| Battery life (Hrs: Mins) | 11:42 |
iPhone 13 Pro: If you want the power of the iPhone 13 Pro Max in something more compact, then the 6.1-inch iPhone 13 Pro is the best phone for you. This flagship packs all the same great features and performance as its bigger brother, including a new 3x telephoto zoom camera, 120Hz ProMotion display, and support for ProRes video.
The iPhone 13 Pro also benefits from longer battery life, as this iPhone lasted over 11 hours on our web surfing battery test. We just wish the charging was faster. Add in a great display, a sleek cinematic mode for video, and impressive new macro photography and you have a great all-around phone.
7. OnePlus 9 Pro - Best Phones in 2022
A very good flagship value
Pros
- Amazing Performance
- Beautiful 120Hz display
- Crazy fast wired and wireless charging
- Fantastic cameras
- Gorgeous design
Cons
- Morning Mist model is very slippery
- Nightscape photos are inconsistent
| OnePlus 9 Pro Specification | |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.7-inch AMOLED (3168 x 1440; 1-120Hz) |
| CPU | Snapdragon 888 |
| RAM | 8GB, 12GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB / No |
| Rear camera | 48MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, 8MP telephoto with 3x optical, 2MP monochrome |
| Front camera | 16MP (ƒ/2.4) |
| Weight | 6.95 ounces |
| Battery life (Hrs: Mins) | 10:40 |
OnePlus 9 Pro: The OnePlus 9 Pro includes the best cameras ever with a OnePlus phone. With the help of camera expert Hasselblad, the OnePlus 9 boasts an excellent array of lenses that accurately capture color and produce the photos you'd expect from leading camera phones, as you would our OnePlus 9 Pro Camera Face Can see in -off.
There are other features beyond the cameras that make the OnePlus 9 Pro a major challenger to the Galaxy S21 Ultra. You get a display with a dynamically adjusting refresh rate, scaling between 1 and 120Hz. This helps with battery life, as the OnePlus 9 Pro lasted over 10.5 hours on our battery test. OnePlus' WarpCharge 65T technology means your phone can be fully charged in a little over 30 minutes. Throw in a Snapdragon 888 processor and lots of RAM, and you have the best-performing Android phone around.
A successor, the OnePlus 10 Pro, makes its debut in China on January 14. It will come to other countries after that, so we are expecting a new phone to replace the OnePlus 9 Pro.
8. Samsung Galaxy S21 - Best Phones in 2022
A Samsung flagship for less than $800
Pros
- Powerful performance
- Excellent dynamic 120Hz display
- Refined design
- Powerful camera zoom
Cons
- No charger or microSD card slot
- Plastic back
- Some camera inconsistencies
| Samsung Galaxy S21 Specification | |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.2-inch OLED (2400x1080; 48-120Hz) |
| CPU | Snapdragon 888 |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB / No |
| Rear camera | 12MP (ƒ/1.8) wide; 12MP (ƒ/2.2) ultrawide; 64MP (ƒ/2.0) telephoto with 3x optical zoom |
| Front camera | 10MP (ƒ/2.2) |
| Weight | 6.07 oz |
| Battery life (Hrs: Mins) | 9:54 |
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Samsung Galaxy S21: If you are looking for a flagship at an affordable price, the Samsung Galaxy S21 is one of the best phone options. The S21 makes a great first impression with its sleek contour cut camera design, which blends the camera into the rear of the device. And the cameras themselves impress with even better portraits and a new Zoom Lock feature that lets you get even better results with up to 30x zoom.
The Galaxy S21 makes a few trade-offs for its $799 price tag. You won't find a charger or microSD card slot in the box, and the back is plastic instead of glass. But this Samsung phone makes up for those shortcomings with a strong performance from its Snapdragon 888 chip, a large fingerprint sensor for easy unlocking, and fun features like Single Tech 2.0 for capturing photos and videos at once.
9. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 - Best Phones in 2022
The best phone with a foldable screen
Pros
- Amazing Performance
- More durable, water-resistant design
- Dual 120Hz displays
- S Pen support
- Improved multitasking features
Cons
- Still pricey
- Camera hardware not upgraded
- Battery life could be better
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 Specification | |
|---|---|
| Display | Interior: 7.6 inch OLED (2208 x 1768; 120Hz); Exterior: 6.2 inches (2268 x 832; 120Hz) |
| CPU | Snapdragon 888 |
| RAM | 12GB |
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB / No |
| Rear camera | 12MP wide (f/1.8), 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 12MP telephoto (f/2.4) |
| Front camera | 10MP (f/2.2), 4MP under-display (f/1.8) |
| Weight | 9.55 ounces |
| Battery life (Hrs: Mins) | 7:52 (60Hz), 6:35 (120Hz) |
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3: Samsung is trying to make foldable phones more attractive to mainstream buyers, and the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is a big step forward in this regard. While the $1,799 price tag is still pretty high for a phone, it's $200 less than the Galaxy Z Fold 2's first cost. And with an IPX8 water-resistance rating, an armored aluminum frame, and a Gorilla Glass Victus display, the phone is more durable than ever.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 also includes new features like a display with a 120Hz refresh rate (both inside and out), an under-display camera on that interior screen, and S Pen support. However, the latter feature is optional, which means you'll have to pay extra for the stylus.
More apps support the Galaxy Z Fold than ever before, so the apps you use daily will likely benefit from the phone's support for multitasking. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 isn't for everyone, but it is the best foldable phone Samsung has released yet.
10. iPhone 11 - Best Phones in 2022
An even better value at an even lower price
Pros
- Amazing Performance
- Great photos, especially with Night Mode
- Fast A13 Bionic CPU
- Long battery life
Cons
- Fast charger not included
- Just 64GB of storage to start
| iPhone 11 Specification | |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.1-inch LCD (1792x828) |
| CPU | A13 Bionic |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB, 128GB, 256GB / No |
| Rear camera | 12MP wide (ƒ/1.8); 12MP ultrawide (ƒ/2.4) / 12MP |
| Front camera | 12MP (ƒ/2.2) |
| Weight | 6.84 ounces |
| Battery life (Hrs: Mins) | 11:20 |
iPhone 11: For an astonishingly low $499, the iPhone 11 delivers surprisingly good low-light photos via its Night Mode, and a new ultra-wide lens that lets you capture more subjects or more with a 120-degree field of view. Let's fit in the scenes. Selfies also get a serious upgrade, with a 12-megapixel camera that automatically switches to a wider view when the phone is switched to landscape mode.
The 6.1-inch LCD on the iPhone 11 isn't OLED - great, as you get from the new iPhone 12, but it's colorful and bright. A great A13 Bionic processor, long battery life, and your choice of six colors solidify the iPhone 11 as the winner. It's an even better deal with the arrival of the iPhone 13, which is taking another $100 price cut on this old phone.
How To Choose The Best Smartphone Right Now
1. Android or iPhone? Android phones give you more options in terms of price, size, and new design. However, iPhones offer faster software updates, better games and apps, and better security and privacy. Check out our iPhone vs Android face-to-face.
2. Unlock or Carrier? US Most buyers in the U.S. buy new phones through their wireless carriers. But an unlocked phone gives you the freedom to buy the device without a contract and then bring it to the provider you want to use.
3. Screen Size: If you're looking for a bigger phone, 6 inches and above is a good place to start. The largest phones are 6.5 by 6.8 inches. If you want something that you can use easily with one hand, go with one of the best small phones with a screen under 6 inches.
4. Cameras: Ignore the megapixel count. Instead, look at the camera face-off between the phones to see the photo quality and look for special features like Night Mode to get better quality in low light. Plus, check out our best camera phone roundup.
5. Battery life: Generally, phones with bigger batteries (measured in mAh) offer the longest battery life, but that's not always the case. So we run our battery test.
How Do We Test SmartPhones?
For a smartphone to make it to our best phones list, it needed to excel in some tests that we run on each handset. We do some of these tests in our laboratories and some in the real world.
When it comes to performance, we rely on synthetic benchmarks like Geekbench 5 and GFXBench to measure graphic performance. These tests allow us to compare performance across iPhone and Android devices. We also run a real-world video transcoding test on each phone using the Adobe Premiere Rush app and time the results.
To measure the quality of a phone's display, we perform laboratory tests to determine the panel's brightness (in nits), as well as how many colors each screen is (DCI-P3 color gamut). In these cases, a higher number is better. We also measure each panel's color accuracy with a Delta-E rating, where lower numbers are better and a score of 0 is correct.
One of the most important tests we run is the ProowMix battery test. We run the web surfing test on 5G or 4G at 150 nits screen brightness until the battery runs out. In general, a phone lasting 10 hours or more is good, and anything above 11 hours makes our list of the best phone battery life.