Welcome to the third edition of the annual GadgetStripe Smartphone awards. You can get a recap of the first GadgetStripe smartphone award and the second edition of GadgetStripe awards if you want. For the third edition, we decided to share the phones that excited our readers the most in 2022. We didn’t limit ourselves because this year we covered over 100+ phones on our website. We saw a lot of new phones even though innovation wasn’t really there but brands challenged themselves. There was a new player in town and they seem to have hit the ground running.
The awards here are subjective to our own opinion here at GadgetStripe. We compared lots of phones before coming up with this award. We will also like to know your opinion about any award in the comment section below. Without further ado, let’s dive in and share as we announce the various winners in all our categories.
The Categories – GadgetStripe Smartphone Awards 2022
1. Best Performance Smartphone Award of 2022
Winner – iPhone 14 Pro Max
The iPhone 14 Pro Max retains the crown from last year’s winner which is the iPhone 13 Pro Max. It is powered by the A15 Bionic chipset and it delivers maximum power coupled with Apple’s optimization. There is no app that the phone wouldn’t handle even games too. The chipset powering the phone is efficient enough that it also improves battery life on the phone. As far as performance goes without any speed throttling the iPhone 14 Pro max is the clear winner. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra which uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU also deserves an honorable mention alongside Google Pixel 7 Pro which uses Google’s, Tensor Chip.
2. Best Battery on a Smartphone
Winner – iPhone 14 Pro Max
The iPhone 14 Pro Max comes with a 4323mAh battery but it outperforms android smartphones with 5000mAh or more in terms of workload and still retains a good battery percentage. You can get up to 10+ hours under continuous intensive usage. Apple even claims you can get up to 25 hours of continuous video streaming. The phone has the ability to last long and barely a few phones can compete. Other honorable mentions include the ASUS ROG Phone 6 Pro, and the iPhone 14 Plus.
3. Best Compact Phone of the Year
Winner – ASUS Zenfone 9
The ASUS Zenfone 9 is an incredible phone at just 5.9 inches. It comes with a Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and an FHD+ resolution. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 with up to 16GB RAM and 256GB storage space. It has a leather-like finish with aluminum frames and there’s also a headphone port at the top. The device also has a 50MP main camera that can shoot 4K videos and a 12MP selfie camera that can shoot 4K. It also has a 4300mAh battery to compliments its performance. Honorable mention has to be the Google Pixel 6A or the Samsung Galaxy S22.
4.   Best Camera Phone of the Year
Winner – iPhone 14 Pro
The iPhone 14 Pro wins the award and it edges the Google Pixel 7 Pro in terms of video abilities. Apple added a new 48MP camera this year and they also improved cinematic mode and stabilization. It is a phone you can depend in any situation even in low light. The Pixel 7 Pro comes close and even takes better photos than the iPhone in some cases. It falls out because of the quality of the videos it records. The iPhone 14 Pro Max also has the same camera system as the 14 Pro.
5. Best Foldable Phone Award of 2022
Winner – Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the winner but I don’t know for how long they will dominate. More brands have jumped into making foldable phones. And some of them have a better form factor than what Samsung is offering. The reason the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is ahead is because of its software integration on its phone. It is also available globally while competing brands make their foldable available in Asia. The Oppo Find N2 comes in close and there might be a global release soon. There is also the Honor Magic VS foldable and Xiaomi’s MI Mix Fold 2 with a thin form factor. We hope these Fold make it to the global market in 2023.
6. Best Entry-Level Phone of the Year
Winner – Moto G22
The Moto G22 is the best phone to buy for a first-time smartphone user in 2023. It is well-balanced and offers real value for money for less than $150. The phone has a 6.5-inch IPS LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate and HD+ resolution. It comes with a 50MP main camera and a 16MP selfie camera which is great for a cheap phone. The phone has a 5000mAh battery great design and a punch-hole cut-out display. Other honorable mentions include the Samsung Galaxy A13 and the Redmi 10C.
7. Most Improved Phone Award of the Year
Winner – Pixel 7 Pro
The Pixel 7 Pro has to be the most improved phone from last year. When the pixel 6 Pro was released in 2021 there was some backlash from users and tech enthusiasts about its buggy software. There were problems with the fingerprint scanner and other problems. The Pixel 7 Pro improved on that and Google also added face unlock in case you are having problems with the fingerprint scanner on the display. They listened to the consumers and improved the device.
8. Gaming Phone Award of the Year 2022
Winner – ASUS ROG Phone 6 Pro
There isn’t much debate about this one because the phone was built for gaming. It has cooling mechanisms and some features that were specifically made to make it gaming efficient. That of course doesn’t mean other phones like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max aren’t good gaming phones. There are gaming triggers and two displays on the back of the phone. The refresh rate on the display is 165Hz and it is powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. It offers raw gaming performance. The battery here is 6000mAh and other notable gaming phones close include the Black Shark 5 Pro and ZTE Nubia Red Magic 7S Pro.
9. Revolutionary Phone Award of the Year
Winner – Nothing Phone (1)
Since Carl Pei left OnePlus and started his own Nothing brand we have anticipated what he will do. Nothing started with an earbud before bringing their own phone. In a bid to be different and stand out from what everyone is doing, they built a transparent phone. It has multiple LED lights at the back that notifies you when there is a call or message. They call it the glyph interface. Performance, camera, and software are fine and we can say he didn’t let us down. The Pixel 6A deserves a mention because of the value it provides.
10. Worst Phone Award of 2022
Winner – iPhone 14 Plus
Apple ended the mini-series last year with the iPhone 13 Mini and they replaced it with a larger iPhone 14 plus. Don’t get me wrong the iPhone 14 Plus has one of the best battery life on a phone in 2022. The problem is the pricing and there are rumors that Apple are already considering ending it. It is priced around the same price of the iPhone 13 Pro models and they are a better buy. We might not see an iPhone 15 Plus next year.
11. Best Value for Money Phone of the Year
Winner – Pixel 6A
Without a doubt, the Pixel 6A is the winner and it was close to losing out to the Pixel 7. Dollar for dollar you are getting an amazing phone for less than $300. The camera is great and can compete with more expensive phones. it has decent performance and the software is also amazing. If you are on a budget and want a good balance the Pixel 6A is a good choice. The Samsung Galaxy S22 is also another great option for less as a result of the price reduction over the course of the year.
12. Best Design Phone Award of 2022
Winner – Samsung Galaxy S22 5G
The Samsung Galaxy S22 is compact with a flat design at the front and back. It has a nearly baseless display with no curves at the edges. The design at the back is minimal and clean with the camera being differentiated with a bump. It is lightweight and we appreciated the aesthetic of the phone’s design. Other notable mentions include the ASUS Zenfone 9 and the Xiaomi 12 Pro.
13. Best Innovative Feature on a Smartphone in 2022
Winner – Dynamic Island (iPhone 14 Pro/ 14 Pro Max)
The dynamic island was a clever way for apple to differentiate their new camera cut out from the rest. Apple will always be Apple you can’t see them rushing to add features to their phone when other brands are pushing it so hard. They sat back and added functionality to the notch before making it public. It was a smart way to differentiate their phones from just any phone with a cutout. Another innovation that got our attention was the addition of 1-inch camera sensor on Xiaomi and Vivo phones.
14. Most Anticipated Phones of 2022
Winner – Pixel 7/7Pro
The Pixel 7 and 7 Pro were highly anticipated and months before the official announcement Google already dropped teasers. They were anticipated because of the issues faced by the Pixel 6 and 6 pros. The phones lived up to expectations. Another anticipated phone was the iPhone 14 Pro model because of the new features they were bringing on board.
15. Smartphone Brand of the Year
Winner – Google Pixel
You have to give it to Google and their Pixels for 2022. They did an incredible job over the years and it finally paid off this year. The brand released three phones in 2022 and they are all top-class phones with an awesome price-to-value ratio. We will keep an eye out to see what they do with the Pixel 8 series in 2023.
16. Best Smartphone Award of 2022
Winner – Google Pixel 7 Pro
The strength of the Pixel 7 Pro lies in its camera and software. It will give you an awesome software experience and a few brands come close. The phone is powered by the Gen2 Tensor chipset and that is what allows the phone to do all the software magic. It is not a thousand-dollar phone but it matches what the more expensive phones can do. The battery life is also great as well as the LTPO AMOLED display.
cc @AUDU & @IamCharpMan
