It’s that time of the year again when we present to you, GadgetStripe Smartphone award 2021. I know you can’t see me but I am dressed in a suit and tie to match the occasion. Last year was the first edition of the Gadgetstripe smartphone award and we promised to come back with the second edition this year and even coming year and forever.
As usual, a lot of smartphones were released in Nigeria in 2021 and the competition was very tight. Vivo released some awesome phones in the Nigerian market this year to try and shake up Tecno & Infinix’s domination. Xiaomi Redmi further cemented its place as the king of budget phones with amazing value-for-money phones. Tecno and Infinix as usual continued with their dominance as the favorite brand in Nigeria. Tecno and Infinix Combined released over 15 phones in the Nigerian market in 2021.
Samsung on the other hand continues to tackle the strong appearance Apple wants to make up with its iPhones as they gave us new and stronger S-Series smartphones and with the A-series to tackle other phones brands. Oppo Mobile also continues with its game and release some awesome smartphones with great features and specs. Gionee mobile stays like the underdog with Partnermobile in the smartphone world in the Nigerian market.
This award is special this time around because most of the phones taking home the awards this year are phones that are loved by almost everyone and we loved the devices. We have over 13 categories this year and every phone taking an award home this year deserves it. we analyzed together with our team over here at Gadgetstripe before picking our winners. Most of the awards are centered on phones that were released in Nigeria but some categories are open worldwide. Without any further ado, we welcome you to the Gadgetsripe Smartphone award of 2021.
In case any brand wants a plaque after winning any category here they can contact us using our email.
Best Performance Smartphone of the Year
Winner – iPhone 13 Pro Max
The iPhone 13 pro max is the best device in terms of performance this year the Apple A14 Bionic is a powerful chipset. The chipset has been optimized this year that every battery performance is affected positively. Users are getting close to ten hours on the battery of their iPhones. Other worthy mentions include the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra that’s another beast of a phone that has a tiny display at the back. the S21 ultra by Samsung is also another performance king.
Honorable Mentions – Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Best Battery on A Smartphone
Winner – Tecno Pova 2
The Tecno Pova 2 has a monstrous battery 7000mAh and I used the phone for a while this year. It has a battery that can last for 2 days for casual users and people who are always on their phone can easily get a day and a half from the battery of the Pova 2. Charging the phone takes up about 2 and a half hours but it’s worth it since it’s a 7000mAh capacity battery. The Infinix Hot 11 has a 6000mAh battery and it has to be in contention but the Pova is our winner here.
Honorable Mention – Infinix Hot 11
Best Compact Phone
Winner – Samsung Galaxy A32
We hardly get compact phones these days, manufacturers tend to create large phones nowadays. The Samsung Galaxy A32 is the most compact phone of 2021 and its sized at 6.4 inches. It is suitable for one-hand usage and has a plastic build that makes it durable. The galaxy A32 is one of the best budget phones of 2021 and I used the phone as my daily driver for more than two months. it has to be the most compact phone in Nigeria for 2021. There are a lot of big phones in the Nigerian market but the Galaxy A32 is one of the smallest phones even though it’s 6.4 inches.
Best Camera Phone
Winner – Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
The Samsung S21 Ultra is the clear winner here because of its main camera and also its variety of camera lenses. It has a 108MP primary camera that shoots some of the finest photos on any device that made it comparable with the likes of Pixel 6 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. Remember we are focusing on devices that can be are accessible to Nigerians. We can easily pick the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra as the winner of this category since it was also released in Nigeria. Other worthy phones include the devices from Xiaomi and Apple. But the overall winner is the Galaxy S21.
Honorable Mention – Google Pixel 6 Pro, Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Entry-Level Device of the Year
Winner – Infinix Hot 10i
This is one of the hardest categories because a lot of entry-level devices were released in Nigeria in 2021. The Infinix Hot 10i is our winner because of its specs and price. We have two variants that come with 3 or 6GB RAM and 64 or 128GB storage. it runs on Android 11 and Infinix XOS 7.5 is the user interface. The variant released in Nigeria is powered by the MediaTek Helio G25 and it’s decent enough for performance on an entry-level device. it has a battery capacity of 5000mAh and it’s enough to power you through the whole day. The spark 7 by Tecno is another worthy device that needs to be mentioned it is also a fantastic entry-level device.
Honorable Mention – Tecno Spark 7p, Samsung Galaxy A03s
Gaming Phone of The Year
Winner – Infinix Note 11 Pro
The Infinix Note 11 is a clear winner here because of its size and chipset. If you are looking for a gaming phone in Nigeria them I suggest you get the Note 11 Pro by Infinix. It is sized at 6.95 inches and the screen is big enough for anyone to enjoy playing games. The battery is 5000mAh and it can last a whole on a single charge. It is powered by the MediaTek Helio G96 which is sufficient enough for gaming. We have 8GB RAM on the device and it also makes gaming enjoyable without lags. There is an IPS LCD and it has a 120Hz refresh rate for better animation while gaming. There are other smartphones released in Nigeria that are worthy of mention.
Honorable Mention – Vivo V21, Redmi Note 10s
Revolutionary Phone of the Year
Winner – Tecno Phantom X
This Award has to go to the Tecno Phantom X because it’s a revolutionary phone. The Phantom lineup by Tecno is their flagship line up and the last Phantom phone was released in 2019. This year Tecno outdid themselves by releasing a phone with a curved display. It has a spectacular design with glass at the front and back. Tecno also added a telephoto camera on the Phantom X. We have dual cameras at the front of the phone and an optical in-display fingerprint sensor. The phone has a massive update coming from the Phantom 9 that was released in 2019. Another phone worthy of mention has to be the Infinix Zero X because of its design and features.
Honorable Mention – Infinix Zero X
Best Value for Money Phone
Winner – Tecno Spark 7p
The Tecno Spark 7p is the best value-for-money phone released in Nigeria for the year 2021. It has awesome specs and when it was launched it was sold for less than 70 thousand naira. unfortunately, due to the current exchange, the price has gone above 70 thousand. The phone is powered by the MediaTek Helio G70 and it has a 90Hz refresh rate. It has a 5000mAh battery and a 16MP main camera. the device has 4GB RAM and a 64 or 128GB storage option. I had a good time using the phone and I recommended it to a lot of our followers here.
Best Design Smartphone of the Year
Winner – Tecno Spark 8p
The Tecno Spark 8P wins this category comfortably because of its unique rear looks. It has a double design accent at the back at the top where the camera bump is located we have a glossy finish. At the bottom, we have a textured finish that provides a better grip and protection from stains and smudges. Another Exciting contender will be the Vivo V21 because of how it shines if light reflects on it.
Honorable Mention – Vivo V21
Most Innovative Smartphone of the Year
Winners – Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 & Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3
These foldable phones by Samsung represent the future of smartphones. The improvements made by Samsung with just 3 generations of foldable is incredible. It shows that Samsung is taking feedbacks and trying to improve their foldable phones. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 has an impressive camera that hides under the screen when it’s not in use. On the Galaxy Z Flip Samsung added a bigger display in the front that can be used when taking selfies or reading notifications. They are impressive phones and I know the next iteration of foldable by Samsung will even be better.
The Brand With The Best Virtual Launch Event in 2021
Winner – itel Mobile Nigeria
If you follow through all of the smartphone virtual launches this year which has been the way smartphones has been launched since the beginning of the Covid-19 Era. itel Mobile always have the colorful launch event. Last year, 2020, itel won in this category and I am not surprised seeing them winning in this category again. They even made it more colorful this year and made it more lively as we saw the some of the celebrated celebrities at the launch and also itel launched more gadgets accessories and even Laptops.
Smartphone Brand of the Year
Winner – Tecno Mobile Nigeria
This year has been a busy one for Tecno mobile in Nigeria, they released some budget smartphones in the country. The brand also released their flagship phantom X and that phone is made for special people. Other brands also did well this year and Samsung Mobile Nigeria also released lots of phones in the country. Tecno stood out because they controlled most of the market share in the country in 2021.
Honorable Mention – Samsung Nigeria
Most Anticipated Smartphone of the Year
Winner – Tecno Phantom X
Before releasing the Phantom X Tecno did a lot of teasing and we saw that the device was going to come with a curved display and a telephoto camera. a lot of us anticipated the phone because of its unique design and features. The Phantom X did not disappoint and we can say that Tecno put in a lot of effort into that phone. it is their flagship that can compete with some other top phones in the market. If the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro were officially available in the Nigerian market then they would have won this category easily.
The smartphone of the YearÂ
Winner – Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
This is the biggest award of the night and it has to go to the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. The top-end device was released by Samsung this year. We have the Exynos 2100 Powering the Variant available in Nigeria and it handles performance sufficiently. It comes with 12 or 16 GB of RAM and any app you throw on the phone will work just fine. battery life is superb it is one of the best batteries on a phone in 2021. As usual, it has the best display in the market and we also have an improved 108MP camera here.
Honorable Mentions – Redmi Note 10 Pro, Tecno Phantom X, and Infinix Zero X
Rounding Up
That’s it for this year’s Gadgetstripe Smartphone Award hope you enjoyed reading this edition. Next year in 2022 we promise to be back with another edition. There are a lot of smartphones that will be released in the new year and as usual, we are going to keep you updated with the necessary information about them all. We say a big thank you to all our readers and active users and we wish you all the best for 2022.
