Well, 2022 is a wrap and I can say it’s been a pretty…stale year. We can’t always have exciting years, of course, but the fact that I’m back using a phone from last year, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, speaks for itself.
That doesn’t mean I didn’t have my favorites from this year’s crop, and they go in no particular order here.
Asus ZenFone 9
Just like last year, I’d like to kick off this list with an Asus phone. Of course, this year it’s the Zenfone 9. I’ve always had a soft spot for compact flagships and I think Asus once again has nailed it. In fact, I think the new Zenfone 9 is the cutest phone of 2022. The design is so simple, yet super sleek and premium.
It also checks almost all the boxes for a 2022 flagship phone, with the exception of the telephoto lens. But with a diagonal of 5.9 inches, it’s hard to ask for one. But at least it offers an excellent camera experience with the ones it has.
Also, I’m a big fan of clean Android software, and Asus’ ZenUI is probably one of the best in this regard. It looks stock, but still provides some advanced and ingenious proprietary features. Battery life is surprisingly good, even beating some larger devices with much larger batteries.
Google Pixel 7 Pro
Clean Android is just one reason I liked the Pixel 7 Pro. The camera, of course, is another: I loved the still image processing. There’s something about those that I can’t figure out, but Pixel photos have a discernible vibe. And I like it so much.
I also like how smart this phone is. Google’s AI-powered features like call screening, voice-to-text and vice-versa conversions are great, as is image and text extraction from photos. Pixel 7 Pro is the true definition of a smartphone. Or at least I think it’s the closest we’ve come to smartTelephone.
Were it not for its limited availability in the market, I’d probably be rocking a Pixel 7 Pro right now. Also, many of the smart features aren’t applicable in my home country. After all, speech recognition software has its limitations.
And while bizarre, I really like the design this year, even though it’s almost identical to the 6-series. Last but not least, this year’s Pixel version isn’t plagued with numerous hardware and/or software issues as was usual for Google phones.
The tiny Pixel 7 gets an honorable mention as it’s a compact flagship with a solid feature set and a surprisingly competitive price.
Pixels 6a
I’m not a Pixel fan, don’t get me wrong. Still, it’s hard to deny that the Pixels are pretty good phones this year. I really can’t think of a midranger that stands out from the crowd this year except the Pixel 6a.
It’s affordable, runs on last year’s flagship SoC from Google, offers a flagship-level camera experience, gets all the benefits of being a Google phone in terms of software updates, and is a well-rounded phone overall. If it’s available in your country, you should definitely consider it.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra
I’m currently using the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra and I’m absolutely disappointed that the 12S Ultra is unusable outside of China. I’m lucky enough to be able to hold the 12S Ultra in my hand and it’s a great phone.
It has all the bells and whistles and is hands down the best cameraphone on the market. The telephoto performance is unrivaled in my opinion.
Also, I’m a big fan of the design. I find the faux leather and circular camera module quite unique, while the surface feels great to the touch. Provides excellent grip and possibly better durability than standard glass sandwich construction.
I have also recently become fond of Xiaomi’s MIUI. It’s feature-rich, polished, customizable, and blazing fast.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Like most of my peers, I pick the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra as one of my favorite phones of 2022 and not because we’re getting free Bugattis from the Korean tech giant, but mostly because the S22 Ultra is the closest thing we have to a uncompromising flagship this year. It is the phone that finally unites the Note and S lines and offers an overall unbeatable product.
It’s so feature-rich that it’s hard not to appeal to the masses. Hell, it even has two telephoto focal lengths and that is one of the best things about this phone.
The software is one of the main reasons I like this year’s Ultra. One UI is more polished than ever, has a ton of really useful features, and is perhaps the best custom Android skin designed to be used with one hand. This was One UI’s original selling point a few years ago and it has remained true to its roots.
One criticism I have about One UI 5.0 is that while it feels much smoother than its predecessor, it’s still a bit laggy compared to its competitors. I’ve spent most of this year with the S22+ and can tell you that most, if not all, of the other Android iterations feel faster and more responsive.
Still, I think most people wouldn’t notice the difference and wouldn’t be the least bit bothered by it like I am.
Hopefully 2023 will bring more innovative and cool phones to talk about but more importantly a global release of my favorites.
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