The best Android phones in 2022: We test, rate and rank the best options available to buy right now
- Which Android phone is right for you?
- We rank and rate the best options you can buy today
- Google Pixel 6 Pro
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
- Oppo Find X5 Pro
- OnePlus 10 Pro
- One Plus 9
- Oppo Find X5
The best Android phones: Our top pick
For
- First-class camera performance
- Adequate experience with Android 12
- Elegant design
Against
- no headphone jack
- Charging could be faster
The Pixel 6 Pro is Google's highest-performing smartphone to date. It's got a top-tier camera system paired with some fantastic software, and it's pretty fast thanks to the new Tensor chip at its core.
Likewise, with all Google cell phones, you get an unadulterated Android experience and a solid course of events for future updates.
Possibly the most impressive is the price. Although it can
compete with the best in terms of performance, it does so at a significantly
lower price.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
For
- Bright and powerful screen with adaptive refresh
- Integrated S Pen stylus is great
- Great camera performance
Against
- Precious
- The software is not exactly bug-free
- Battery life should be longer
Oppo Find X5 Pro
For
- an impressive design
- Big screen
- Battery life is market leading
Against
- Expensive
- Slippery and easily attracts fingerprints
- The ultra-wide camera is inconsistent
We love Oppo's focus on the ultra-premium level, offering a design that sets it apart from all the rest.
Not only does it ditch the glass in favor of the harder and more durable ceramic, but it has made the back of the phone completely seamless. It's molded and compressed into a single surface, including the camera bump rising from the rear.
Add to that a stunning display, fantastic battery life, and powerful cameras and you have one of the best phones on the market. In addition, it comes equipped with fast wired and wireless charging.
There are still some questions about the software, but
overall it's a phone that we think will make anyone looking for a top-notch
flagship happy.
OnePlus 10 Pro
For
- Great price for a premium phone
- Fast and responsive performance
- Crisp, bright display with adaptive refresh
Against:
- Battery life could be better
- Camera performance could be better
Now that OnePlus and Oppo are officially the same company, the OnePlus 10 Pro is something of an Oppo Find X5 Pro 'lite'. It offers many of the same features, and even very similar software, but costs less.
With its QuadHD+ resolution screen -complete with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and high adaptive brightness- it has one of the best screens on the market. And with OnePlus' focus on delivering a fast and smooth experience, it's really fast and responsive too.
We were surprised that the battery life was not as strong as
the Find X5 Pro, and the cameras are not as good, but it is still a very
complete device and that it comes with a software support guarantee for the
next 4 years.
One Plus 9
For
- excellent fast charging
- impressive performance
- Wireless charging has finally been added
Against
- plastic frame
- Wireless charging is only 15W
The OnePlus 9 is our pick since it offers an incredible involvement at a truly reasonable cost. Now that it is no longer the current generation, and that it is on sale since its launch, you can get one at a very competitive price.
It offers great performance, the OxygenOS software
treatment, very fast charging, and a great 120Hz screen, with some cutbacks in
build quality to arrive at a more affordable price.
Oppo Find X5
For
- nice design and shape
- Bright and vibrant screen
- Great battery performance
- Fast charging (adapter included)
Against
- The Snapdragon 888 is a previous generation hardware
- Screen and bezel design is a bit dated
The Oppo Find X5 is perhaps one of those phones where looking at the numbers on the spec sheet might not be the best way to judge the phone. Because even though it "only" has a fullHD+ screen and uses an "old" Snapdragon 888 processor, the overall experience is good.
The shape and finish of the glass on the back are smooth, and comfortable and do not attract fingerprints. The cameras perform well in broad daylight, the screen is bright and vibrant, and the overall feel is that of a smooth, responsive phone that can handle anything.
If you can live without some of the frills the Find X5 Pro
has to offer, the regular Find X5 is worth considering.
Other products we consider
When trying to figure out what we think are the best Android phones available today, we spent hours testing real-world performance, battery life, and gaming, as well as hitting the streets and taking photos. Then, we check the results with a fine tooth comb. We take several factors into account when recommending devices, and also when a new device makes it into our top five picks. It's not just about our tests, but we also take into account consumer opinions, brand quality, and value.
In all of our reviews, there are also many products that we
test that doesn't make the final cut. However, as they may be suitable for some
people, we have listed them below.
- Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
- Google Pixel 4A 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S21 FE
- OnePlus Nord 2
- Sony Xperia 5II
- Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
How to choose the right Android phone
There's a lot more to choosing an Android phone than an iPhone: Apple's divisions mostly revolve around size, with all models offering a similar experience and few unique features.
Android phones are totally different: there are many manufacturers, some well-known and others more niche, and there is a wide range of prices, designs, and features - including phones with certain specificities, like gaming phones, for example.
stock android vs. devices with "skin
One of the considerations is how close you want your phone to be to stock Android. While all Android voices have the same underlying experience, alterations made by the manufacturer can bring character, but they can also bring duplication and bloat.
Google offers its own smartphones - the Pixel smartphones - while a couple of proposition an "unadulterated" experience. Those phones running Android One are about as close to stock as you can get - including those from Nokia and a couple of other manufacturers, though they're rare.
Motorola also offers an almost stock experience on its devices, although Lenovo offers a completely different experience (Lenovo owns Motorola).
In general, brands have been drifting towards Google in recent years: there is more use of Google's stock apps instead of duplicate alternatives, as well as the use of features like Google Discover on the home screen to improve the experience.
Skin and manufacturer will define the experience, with OnePlus often thought of as light-touch and well-optimized, all the way to Samsung's highly evolved reworking that's packed with features. Brands like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi (and previously Huawei) are often considered somewhat less advanced in terms of software but tend to offer better value for money.
Hardware considerations
Android phones cover all aspects of hardware, but there are really two areas that get discussed the most: flagship and non-flagship.
This gap has narrowed recently, with mid-range devices offering an experience closer to that of a flagship, meaning the many everyday experiences are just as good on an affordable device as they are on a flagship phone.
Qualcomm dominates these devices, with the Snapdragon 800 series at the top tier and the 700 series at a level just below. Now we see the new versions of the 800 series hardware reappearing in the newer devices as a sub-brand, while some devices will use slightly older hardware to be better value for money.
Samsung is the big outsider here, often using their own Exynos hardware, but often having a mix of Qualcomm and Exynos as well. Huawei also uses its own Kirin hardware, although generally, not being able to use Google, it's not considered an Android phone in the same sense.
There are plenty of cheap Android phones out there, some with lesser-quality Qualcomm hardware, others with MediaTek to bring the price down even further.
RAM gets ridiculous, up to 18GB on some gaming devices, while storage matches the price, with microSD expansion included on some but not all devices.
The screen dictates the size
One of the major choices is picking the size of the gadget. Smaller devices fit better in your hand, while larger devices offer a more immersive gaming and multimedia experience, but can consume more power.
High-quality displays that were once exclusive to flagship devices are now commonplace in more affordable devices, where you can get an AMOLED display without paying the premium prices. Samsung Display is often considered the market leader, and many brands declare a Samsung display to convince you to buy it.
Refresh rate is the ultimate battleground, from the typical 60 frames per second to 144fps on some gaming phones. Many phones are settling around 90 or 120Hz, with the lower refresh rates now being reserved for the lower-positioned devices.
Curves are common, although they are slowly becoming the preserve of flagship phones, with some offering a flat screen on a "normal" device and curved on a "pro" device. Although the curves are nice, some may find the tactile feedback better on a flat device panel.
cameras
The camera is the most talked about aspect of a modern smartphone and the comparisons between the different devices never stop, all to be the best.
The most important thing is to have the main camera that takes good photos in all conditions: it is the one you are going to use the most, so it is the one that has to work. There's a lot of hype: high resolutions, supportive sensors, fancy features. Most important is point-and-shoot performance, which is why Pixel phones tend to do so well.
Camera performance is also a big differentiator as flagship phones have better-performing cameras and mid-range devices often have secondary or tertiary sensors that are not of good quality or not really necessary.
Choose the most suitable phone for you
The great thing about Android is that Google takes care of everything, so you can go from one brand to another and almost immediately you'll know where things are, you'll be able to seamlessly access your emails and contacts, but you'll be spoiled for choice.
Choosing a phone that fits your budget is important, but you also have to keep in mind that you may not need all those flagship features. If you only use your phone to send messages and browse social networks, do you need four cameras on the back and all the power in the world?
If you spend all your time gaming, is a gaming phone better?
The best phone will be the one that best suits your needs,
and although we test and evaluate all the Android phones we recommend, you have
to make the decision and the phone that is best for you.
More about this story
All the products on this list have been tested in real situations, just as you would use them in your day-to-day life.
A phone is something you use all day, every day, so we've used all the options on this list extensively to see how they perform in the real world. We've tested battery life, gaming performance, connectivity, camera performance, and everything else you might need to know. Thus, we have given you all the data you need to help you make purchasing decisions.
As with any roundup, it's not possible to offer a list that works for all types of users, but we draw on the experiences and opinions of the entire Pocket-lint team - as well as thoroughly evaluate the areas mentioned - to make it the best it can be.
What we always avoid when making these selections are
unnecessary comparisons of specifications and marketing lines; we just want to
provide an easy-to-understand summary that gives you an idea of what it's
like to use each product. Our verdicts are concise, but this is purely in the
interest of brevity. Rest assured, everything on this list has been thoroughly
tested.
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