Ryan Haines / Android Authority
There have been loads of smartphones on provide in 2022, masking quite a lot of worth segments from low-end all over to the $1,000+ flagship tier. However what did you consider these handsets on the time of their launch?
We posted polls all year long asking whether or not you thought a particular launch was “scorching” or “not.” Now we’re nearing the top of the 12 months, it’s time to sift by the outcomes to see which you voted as the most well liked and coldest telephones of 2022.
We opted to seize outcomes from polls that acquired 500 votes or extra. This fashion, we struck an excellent stability between having loads of units and getting a strong concept of what readers thought at launch. In saying so, there have been a number of lacking units that didn’t attain the required variety of votes. These units included the Xiaomi 12S series, Asus ROG Phone 6, Vivo X80 Pro, and OnePlus 10R.
You possibly can take a look at the graph beneath for a visible breakdown of the most well liked and coldest units at their respective launches. In fact, inexperienced represents the proportion of “scorching” votes and crimson represents “not” votes.
The most popular and coldest telephones of 2022
The key winners
The most popular system of the 12 months? Nicely, that title belongs to the Google Pixel 7 series. 86.7% of polled readers felt that the brand new Google telephones had been scorching stuff at launch and it’s straightforward to see why. The enticing worth tags, neat AI capabilities, and top-notch cameras all made for a fantastic combo. The corporate additionally addressed points like poor mobile reception, unreliable Wi-Fi/mobile handovers, and a nasty fingerprint scanner. Not surprisingly, the Pixel 7 Professional was additionally your Reader’s Choice for the most effective telephone of 2022.
Our runner-up was a little bit of a shock, as 84.6% of readers felt that the Motorola Razr 2022 was a scorching product at its world launch. The primary two Razr foldables had been fairly common in comparison with Samsung’s Flip line, but it surely appears like the corporate is heading in the right direction with the brand new system. Anticipate a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 SoC and a a lot larger exterior show than the Z Flip sequence. Pricing can be a bit cheaper or a bit dearer than Samsung’s counterpart, relying in your locale.
Google was primary this time, however Xiaomi was additionally the one model to have two units within the prime 5.
Choosing up the bronze medal is the Asus Zenfone 9, with 83.7% of respondents saying it was scorching. This was one of many few compact flagship telephones to be launched in 2022, so we will see why it obtained this reception. However there’s extra to the telephone than a pocket-friendly kind issue, because it additionally delivered a 3.5mm port, IP68 ranking, and gimbal picture stabilization tech.
Our second foldable telephone on the record is the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2, touchdown in fourth place (83.2% scorching). Sadly, this can be a China-only launch, however that didn’t dampen the keenness of surveyed readers on the time. Xiaomi’s sophomore foldable introduced an impressively skinny physique, 67W wired charging, and Leica-branded cameras. It wasn’t good although, because it didn’t have water resistance or wi-fi charging like Samsung’s foldables.
Rounding out the highest 5 was the Redmi K50 Gaming. The Poco F4 GT is basically a rebranded model of this system, but it surely’s fascinating to notice that the Poco system didn’t obtain sufficient votes to make the lower. In any occasion, you bought a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, retractable shoulder buttons, and 120W wired charging for a strong gaming bundle.
The massive losers
4 telephones acquired extra “not” votes than “scorching” votes in 2022. The largest loser? Nicely, that may be the HTC Desire 22 Pro, with 82.2% of surveyed readers voting for “not.” The corporate promised a “metaverse telephone” earlier in 2022, however the finish end result was a largely forgettable £399 (~$485) mid-ranger. And people metaverse capabilities? Nicely, one of many promoting factors on this regard was the flexibility to make use of the Vive Circulate headset. This wasn’t a standout function when rival telephones might use the handset too.
The “runner-up” was the $649 OnePlus 10T, with 68.1% of “not” votes in contrast 31.9% “scorching” votes. OnePlus centered virtually purely on efficiency right here, bringing a robust SoC, ultra-fast wired charging, and a fantastic display screen. However the firm lower wi-fi charging, full-blown water resistance, the alert slider, and nice cameras within the course of.
If there was ever any doubt that HTC was successfully useless, the Want 22 Professional gave us definitive proof.
In the meantime, the Apple iPhone 14 series was the third telephone to obtain extra “not” votes (58.3%) than scorching nods. We’re guessing polled readers merely didn’t like what they noticed from the brand new iPhones, or that they hated Apple’s handsets and iOS to start with. Apple’s customary iPhones had been mainly the identical units as final 12 months’s fashions, whereas the iPhone 14 Professional line caught as much as Android OEMs with 48MP cameras and pill-shaped cutouts.
Lastly, the one different telephone to get extra “not” votes (57.9%) than scorching votes was the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE. Reader feedback on our ballot article on the time pointed to the upcoming arrival of the Galaxy S22 sequence, the shortage of a microSD card slot just like the S20 FE, and the worth. It’s arduous to disagree with these assessments.
With the advantage of extra time in the marketplace, do you assume any telephones deserved to be ranked greater or decrease? Tell us by way of the feedback part beneath!