The Best Phones in 2022 (updated May)

Google nails phone-making with the Pixel 6 Pro which we rank in the top three phone camera kits, displays, and battery endurance rankings among flagship phones for a price significantly below its competitors. 

The individually calibrated Pixel 6 Pro camera set is now up with the best of them in wide and ultrawide camera quality, while the periscope zoom rivals the S21 Ultra quality at each zoom level, even 10+ ones. 

Google also managed to beat Samsung at its own display quality game by introducing when of the most color-balanced and accurate phone screens out there. The cherry on the top of our Pixel 6 Pro review is its long-lasting battery that is only rivaled by the more expensive Galaxy S21 Ultra and iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Sony rounded off the end of the year by releasing the crazy camera phone — the Sony Xperia Pro-I. The selling point here is a massive 1.0-type Exmor RS sensor in the main camera, coupled with a variable aperture of F2.0 / F4.0. It comes with three different pro apps loaded in — from full manual controls for photo mode to a full movie-making suite that can capture 4K video at up to 120 FPS.

But it's a phone for heavy enthusiasts — Sony is selling the Xperia Pro-I for $1,800. The good news is that it comes with 512 GB of storage by default, to hold all of your high-quality pictures and clips.

Gaming phones are a bit of a meme, but it’s nice to see Asus fully embracing it. The ROG Phone 5 Ultimate has an aggressive-looking design, a tiny screen on the back whose sole purpose is to display custom logos, and 4 hardware pressure point buttons for enhanced gaming. It wouldn’t be a “gaming phone” if it didn’t have absolutely silly specs, too, and the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate delivers. 18 GB of RAM on a smartphone? 144 Hz screen? External cooler that you need to connect to the phone via a proprietary port? Yes, yes, and how else would you have it?

It’s a niche phone, absolutely, but it’s hard to keep it away from a “best” selection. After all, it is probably the (or among the) most powerful Android phones out on the market right now. Even if you don’t need all the power — you definitely get the bragging rights.

If the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is a bit too much for you, go for the non-Ultimate version. It’s just as good, it just cuts back on all of that overhead that you may or may not need.

With a price matching the Google Pixel 6 Pro, the OnePlus 10 Pro is an alternative take on that "clean Android" experience. OnePlus did not switch to Oppo's Color OS, but did borrow some of its features for Oxygen OS 12.

What does that all mean? It's a snappy phone with a few extra quirky quality of life features that we happen to love. Its camera is not the best, but it's certainly above average. Its design is unique and recognizable, its screen is spectacular, and its haptics are on point. Our one gripe with the OnePlus 10 Pro is its battery life — we wonder if an update down the line might fix that. Keep an eye out!

Read more: OnePlus 10 Pro review

The OnePlus 9 is still up for sale and you can nab one for $599. That's the same price as the cheaper Google Pixel 6. And, we have to say, the OnePlus 9 still holds up. It will not beat the Pixel in the camera department, but it won't lose by a whole lot, too. Its hardware is a bit older than the Pixel's, but it's still powerful and contemporary.

In fact, at its current price point, the OnePlus 9 is an absolute bargain.

The Apple iPhone 12 mini was pretty good and all, but it kind of lacked in the battery department. The 13 series remedied that issue. So the iPhone 13 mini has the same powerful processor as the 13 Pro, but is a tiny little phone that stays out of the way most of the time. And, for $700, it's pretty hard to beat — a 5.4-inch display is OLED with excellent colors and brightness, a thin and compact body, superb performance, and pretty respectable cameras.

If you tend to two-thumb type on your phone often, the 13 mini is probably not your cup of tea. If you want a phone that can fit any pocket and can bring the power and performance if you happen to need it throughout your day — that's the contender right here.

Read more: Apple iPhone 13 mini review