The MKBHD Smartphone Awards have selected the best phones of 2022

Every year popular YouTuber Marques Brownlee (aka MKBHD) holds his own Smartphone Awards, selecting the best smartphones in different categories. While last year’s iPhone was awarded in three different categories, Apple’s smartphone lost the spotlight to its competitors in the category Awards this year.

Just like last yearMKBHD has set multiple award categories for smartphones. They are:

• Best big phone
• The best little phone
• The best camera system
• The best battery
• Design Award
• Value award
• general bust
• MVP (Phone of the Year)

Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of Android smartphones competing for the awards, while Apple currently sells just eight different iPhone models — and only five of them were released this year. Of course, although the awards are based on MKBHD’s own criteria, he did take into account the technical aspects and his personal experience with each device competing for the awards.

But how does the iPhone compare to all the other Android smartphones?

Best big phone

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is definitely a big phone with its 6.7-inch screen. However, MKBHD chose the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra as the best large phone of 2022. According to the YouTuber, the S22 Ultra benefits from a massive 6.8-inch screen with a built-in stylus with software optimized for the large screen, a 5000mAh battery, and four camera lenses behind the phone.

MKBHD also praised ASUS ROG Phone 6, which is considered a smartphone for gamers, is in the same category for having “amazing, massive front-facing stereo speakers” and a headphone jack. Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 also gets an honorable mention for having the same thickness as a regular phone when folded.

The best little phone

Last year, Apple won the best small phone category with the iPhone 13 mini. After all, there aren’t many small phones left on the market, and the iPhone 13 mini was basically the iPhone 13 with premium hardware inside a body with a 5.4-inch screen. But this year, Apple killed the iPhone mini and replaced it with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus.

So it was the winner of the Best Small Phone of 2022 award ASUS Zenfone 9. It certainly isn’t as small as the iPhone 13 mini since it has a 5.9-inch screen, but it’s still much smaller than most smartphones today. With key specs, a “surprisingly great camera,” a headphone jack, and good battery life, MKBHD says the Zenfone 9 is “easily the best phone of this size.”

Oppo Find N2, a foldable phone, gets an honorable mention in this category because it looks very compact when folded.

The best camera system

Choosing the best camera on a smartphone can be very personal, especially since there are different standards for photos and videos, and everyone has their own preferences when it comes to color level and sharpness. a few days ago, MKBHD shared the results of its blind smartphone camera testGoogle’s Pixel 6A took first place, while the Pixel 7 Pro came in second.

But what about MKBHD’s preferences? Although he praised the photos taken with the Pixel 7 and Vivo X90 Pro +, iPhone 14 Pro Max Won Best Camera System of the Year.

The YouTuber says the iPhone has a more solid camera experience, which includes how quickly you open the camera app and take a photo, consistency between all lenses, and how good the device shoots video compared to all Android smartphones.

The best battery

Best Battery of 2022 winner is ASUS ROG Phone 6. Since it is considered a smartphone for gamers, ASUS has put a 6000mAh battery inside the phone. At the same time, it supports fast charging up to 65W, allowing users to recharge the battery from 0% to 100% in less than an hour.

Last year, the iPhone 13 Pro Max won the award for best battery, and several other reviews also praised last year’s iPhone battery life despite the addition of a 120Hz display. However, the iPhone 14 Pro Max fails to offer the same battery experience as the iPhone 13 Pro Max because Apple kept the battery the same size and added an always-on display.

Interestingly, Marquis praised the battery life iPhone 14 Plus, which beats the iPhone 14 Pro Max since it has a regular 60Hz display without the Always-on feature. As a result, the iPhone 14 Plus consumes less power than the Pro model.

Design Award

The design category is also quite subjective, and even MKBHD would agree. And the smartphone that won the 2022 Design Award is Nothing phone. Looking from the sides, Nothing Phone reminds of one of the latest iPhones. However, Nothing Phone has a transparent back full of LEDs that can be used for multiple things like notifications and flash light while shooting.

It definitely crosses the line between gimmick and feature. […] I find it really elegant. I think it’s great that you can see how much battery you have while charging. […] Little things like that. You don’t see a lot of phones trying new things.”

Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 gets an honorable mention in the design category for being a foldable phone that looks more solid than other foldable phones.

Value award

Last year, Google’s Pixel 6 won the value award, and this year the award was given to Pixel 7. MKBHD argues that the Pixel 7 is the best in its $599 price range, and even beats some more expensive flagship phones with its specs. “It’s so good that it was made [Pixel] 7 Pro feels like it’s not a good deal,” he added.

The ASUS Zenfone 9 has once again received an honorable mention, this time in the Value Award category for offering a “truly unique bundle” that includes a 120Hz display for $699.

general bust

The 2021 statue of the year was Microsoft’s Surface Duo 2, which has two separate screens and launched at $1,500. This year, however, it chose MKBHD OnePlus 10T as a bust of the year for having “a very large delta between expectations and potential versus actual results”.

MVP (Phone of the Year)

Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra was the winner of the 2021 Phone of the Year award. But what about this year? The winner for 2022 is Google Pixel 7. As mentioned earlier, MKBHD says the Pixel 7 is a great value thanks to its good cameras, screen, and battery, as well as its “flagship software experience” while costing significantly less than other premium smartphones.

With similar arguments, ASUS Zenfone 9 also received an honorable mention as the best phone of the year. In third place, she chose MKBHD Galaxy S22 Ultra For this category, which he describes as “boring” and “expensive”, but at the same time it is one of the best phones one can get in 2022.

It is contained

Out of three categories in 2021, only the iPhone has now been awarded in one of the categories in 2022. However, MKBHD indicated that it prefers the iPhone’s camera due to its outstanding video shooting quality.

When it comes to pictures, MKBHD has already said so in their videos That the iPhone 14 Pro camera exaggerates post-processing effects such as HDR, which makes some photos look very unrealistic – I personally agree with that.

What do you think of the results? Do you have a different list than MKBHD of the best phones of 2022? Let us know in the comments section below.

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