Top 5 smartphones phones

Best Phones: Top 5 Smartphones You Should Buy

What is the best smartphone? Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max tops our list! We've thoroughly tested and analyzed the best phones on the market, focusing on camera capabilities, battery life, CPU and display, to reveal the widely debated topic: iOS or Android.

Posted by Saurav Mahoto, Contributor on Friday, July 15th

Today's smartphones provide incredible mobile computing experiences that help you get work done outside the office, in the field, and wherever you are. People certainly have different mobile needs, but every smartphone on this list is more than capable of providing all the basic features most users could ever want in a mobile device.

Some smartphones excel at taking pictures, some phones can double as a small tablet, and others are durable enough to withstand a drop in the field. The term "best" may be specific to your needs, but there are truly exceptional smartphones that are better than others.

These are the top 10 smartphones that we currently recommend as the best of the best.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

The best smartphone

Image: Apple

Apple's biggest and most feature-rich iPhone is a mouthful, the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Apple listened to customers, and while the phone looks roughly the same as last year's 12 Pro Max, it's slightly thicker with more battery capacity and longer battery life.

The display now supports a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz, while the optical zoom on the telephoto lens is improved to 6x. Macro photography and cinematic video modes are new features in the camera system that are sure to please photographers and video makers alike.

Apple continues to actively improve iOS 15 while offering 1TB of internal storage to capture content to your heart's content.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max starts at $1,099 for the 128GB model and goes up to $1,599 for the 1TB storage. The iPhone 13 Pro Max is available in graphite, silver, gold and sierra blue.

Professionals:

High quality ceramic glass and stainless steel materials Best video recording performance High quality cameras Stable and well supported by Apple

Disadvantages:

ExpensiveWide and heavy

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

The best Android phone

Image: Samsung

Display: 6.8 inches (resolution 3088 x 1440 pixels) 120Hz AMOLED | CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1| RAM: 12GB LPDDR5| Internal Storage: 128GB-1TB Storage | Rear Cameras: 10MP rear telephoto lens f/4.9 10x optical, 10MP f/2.4 telephoto lens 3x optical, 108MP f/2.2 wide-angle camera and 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera (120° field of view) | Front camera: 40MP f/2.2 camera under the display | Weight: 229g | Dust/water resistance: IP68

Samsung's first flagship of 2022 has been released as the Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G. While the 2021 S21 Ultra supported the S Pen, there was no way to store, carry, or charge the S Pen. With the S22 Ultra, Samsung has fully embraced it as the successor to the Note, with the power of the S Pen, flat and square design elements, and all the latest and greatest specs in a smartphone.

Read our full review: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

The Galaxy S22 phones were the first to be widely launched with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor inside. While the same resolution cameras are found in this year's S22 Ultra, Samsung has improved the camera's capabilities, especially when it comes to low-light photography. With two telephoto lenses, Samsung sets itself apart from Apple and Google with a fantastic zoom.

Professionals:

Amazing four rear camera system Gorilla Glass Victus Plus Fully integrated S Pen support

Fantastic 5G and RF performance High capacity battery

Disadvantages:

Some duplicate Samsung apps

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G

The best foldable phone

Image: Samsung

Main display: 7.6 inches (resolution 2208 x 1768 pixels) Dynamic 120Hz AMOLED | Covered display: 6.2 inches (resolution 832 x 2268 pixels) AMOLED | CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888| RAM: 12GB LPDDR5| Internal Storage: 256GB/512GB, UFS 3.1 | Rear Cameras: 12MP rear f/2.4 telephoto lens, 12MP f/1.8 wide-angle and 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle cameras (123° field of view) | Front cameras: 10MP f/2.2 camera on the cover display and 4MP camera below the main display | Weight: 271g

While I named the iPhone 13 Pro Max as the overall best phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the overall best phone for productivity. With S Pen support and an IPX8 waterproof rugged design, the Z Fold 3 is the perfect phone and mini tablet I could ask for, and it's very well optimized for work on the go.

Due to the excellent pre-launch and trade-in offers, I bought the 512GB model to serve as my daily driver. In addition to the hardware improvements, Samsung has made the purchase a bit easier by dropping the price by $200 compared to the previous Z Fold 2.

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 serves as a very capable smartphone and small tablet, providing extremely strong and fast 5G connectivity in both modes. The external display offers a typical 6.2-inch smartphone with 120Hz refresh rate support this year. The large 7.6-inch main display is stunning with a 120Hz refresh rate, Samsung's beautiful AMOLED technology and special support for the S Pen. What could be more perfect for the Note and a foldable fan?

You get the fastest RAM and internal storage available, S Pen support, water resistance, triple rear cameras, a 10MP front camera, a unique 4MP camera under the display and much more. The 4,400 mAh battery will easily see you through the day, even when using the large main screen.

Professionals:

Stunning technical marvel Incredible AMOLED displays Pen support IPX8 water resistance Software optimization for foldable and large display use

Disadvantages:

Expensive No S pen support on the cover screen Not the best Samsung camera on the back

Google Pixel 6 Pro

Google's best phone

Google's Pixel 6 Pro is the best smartphone currently available from Google. The Pixel 6 has many of the same specs, one less camera on the back and a slightly smaller display: the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro have Google's new Tensor processor.

The Pixel 6 Pro is a flagship competitor and starts at $899 for the 128GB model, with the 512GB model priced at $1,099. You can buy it in Stormy Black, Cloudy White or Sorta Sunny with some storage capacity limitations with different color options.