My Top Preferred Phones in 2021

Here is where my bias will be too obvious as I am going to rank my phones according to my preferences. This is subjective and fuzzy even when I consider two criteria – usability and novelty. Ranking them with these criteria and getting the average did not result to the ranking I made. When I did this ranking, it is as if I am going to let go of the phones ranked low - ranking by way of elimination. So, when I consider a phone as among the best or has a high rank on this post, it means it is harder for me to let it go, and thus my most recommended ones.

In 2020, Nokia Lumia 1020 was my best phone. This is apart from the excellent camera experience and results, it is also a reliable phone as it works as the first time I have it except for the unusable app market. So, it still does the things I usually do on a phone – music play, casual gaming, web browsing, photo shoots, video recording, video playback and the usual calls and text messaging. Next to it, is the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact. I am at home (comfortable) the moment I use it, from the user interface to the size of the phone. Making it to the third spot is the Sony Xperia 1 II. I think I need more time to really like the phone. Learning curve on the Photo Pro and Cinema Pro app are not as simple as on LG and some Nokia devices I owned. Nokia Asha 202 comes fourth due to its reliability on battery, best back-up phone especially on power outage. SonyXperia Z1 Compact (b) completes the top five of my best phones. I guess, it was just special to me.

For 2021, I will be ranking 28 phones out of 37 phones I owned for the reason that I still do not have enough time with the other phones. It is difficult to rank them against my other phones.

The following phones are already lost. But, still, ranked them anyway. Losing interest was the main reason it was lost, as I let others use them and not asking them back.

28 (27)  Firefly Mobile Aurii Secret 4G

27 (26)  Asus Zenfone 5

26 (25)  CloudfoneThrill Plus

25 (24)  Nokia X2 Dual SIM

 

These next phones were good. But, some of them are unusable or my interests on them just faded as most of them are replaceable by other phones on the higher rank. Those on higher rank even offer more on usability and novelty.

24 (23)  Nokia 1600

23 (22)  Alcatel OT-C552

22 (21)  Nokia 1100

21 (20)  Nokia N70 (b)

20 (19)  Nokia N8 (a)

19 (17)  HTC Desire 200

18 (18)  Nokia N9

17 (14)  HTC Windows Phone 8X

16 (16)  Lenovo E156

15 (8)     Nokia N70 (a)

14 (13)  Sony Xperia Z1Compact (a)

13 (15)  Sony Xperia miro

 

These phones are satisfactory even in 2021. These are usable and somehow unique. But, I have low confidence in recommending them to anyone.

12 (12)  Asus Fonepad Note FHD6

11 (9)     Sony Xperia Z3 Dual

10 (5)     Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (b)

9 (new) Sony Ericsson Satio

8 (11)     LG G4

7 (10)     Nokia N8 (b)

6 (7)       Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Dual

 

Then, these are my top 5 phones. These are the best phones under my collection that I can still recommend, even in 2022 – for various reasons and for different people.

5 (4)       Nokia Asha 202

• -          Its long battery life (longest one on my test, almost 4 days) makes this a go-to phone for emergency and back-up. It is also a good main phone for elderlies and anyone who only needs basic phone functions. Some features are also present that some may appreciate.

4 (6)       LG V50s ThinQ 5G

• -          Since this particular phone has the dual screen (has attachable second screen), I would recommend this to people who needs a phone for multitasking or those who wants to bring multi-display PC experience on their phones.
• -          The camera capability of this phone is also worth recommending. Manual controls are not only for photo shoots, but also for video recording – including controls on audio (gain, limiter and low cut filter controls).

3 (2)       Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact

• -          Powerful compact. I still know people who wants a small-sized android phone that is not compromised on performance and features.
• -          One uncompromised specification of this phone is the display. It has sharp 5 inches IPS display, a full HD+. It is also able to show HDR contents. The black may not be as deep as recent OLEDs, but, it is dim enough not to hurt your eye when used in dark environment. There is also a night light mode that turns the display into amber – so it gets more comfortable on the eye when used during bed time.
• -          It has good battery life to battery capacity ratio. Despite having a small battery capacity, my conservative battery testing gives almost 2 days of battery life (short of about 3 hours).

2 (1)       Nokia Lumia 1020

• -          It still has excellent camera outputs even in 2022. If you are into manual photo shoot, you can still appreciate what this phone can do.
• -          It has satisfactory video outputs as well – with its good color rendering, details and active stabilization.
• -          Satisfying audio on 3.5mm headphone jack. Dolby atmos will provide great audio delivery on your wired earphones and headphones. Yes, headphone jack. Something that is missing on most phones recently.
• -          The design is very human. J The seamless transition of curves from the display to the body feels good on hand and pleasing to the eye. Quite compact, too.

1 (3)       Sony Xperia 1 II

• -          Excellent photography controls and output. Despite being criticized by some people for having less of computational photography it still gives quality images. It does have HDR (image stacking), but not as artificial as others. There is a night mode (lowlight), but not as aggressive as most phones. And if you really want a bright night time shots, there is a manual control where you can push the ISO and shutter speed to its limit – or adjust it to your liking.
• -          Excellent video recording. With its Cinema Pro app and Video Pro app (sideloaded), you will be able to record quality videos. You can place color grading on Cinema Pro app for that cinematic output.
• -          Still, monthly security updates are coming – albeit, might end early next year, 2023. And if you are into near stock android, then this is worth recommending.
• -          Excellent audio quality via loudspeaker (not the loudest on the market), 3.5mm audio jack (yes, that ancient feature), and wireless audio. You get high resolution audio and a good surround sound, courtesy of Dolby atmos – even on the speaker. Yes, not the loudest on the market, but for near-your-face content consumption (like a phone usually is for), you will certainly appreciate the boosts on audio quality.
• -          It has an excellent display. The resolution is still an unrivaled 4k (21:9 type, not the UHD). Brightness might not be ideal on direct sunlight. Creator mode makes it usable outdoors – makes the display provide accurate colors, too.

There you have my personal ranking on my collections, and eventually my top 5 recommendations in 2022.

What can you say about it?

Battery Testing Ranking in 2021

Last year, 2020 there were 19 phones tested for battery charging duration. Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (b) [00:15 hour] topped the ranking, being the fastest to be charged. Followed by Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (a) [01:08 hours]. Though, both of these started having bad battery in 2019. Next are Lenovo E156 [01:49 hours] and Sony Xperia 1 II [01:54 hours]. Nokia N8 (a) [01:57 hours] completes the top 5. The slowest to charge spent 04:29 hours. You can always go back to this post for last year's ranking - Phone Reviews – Introduction and Benchmark Plans.

This year, 2021, I did not only rank the charging duration, but also battery life with conservative testing. It includes music playback (with the display on) [20 minutes], web browsing [10 minutes], casual gaming [10 minutes], photo shoot [5 minutes], video recording [5 minutes], and video playback [10 minutes]. That is a one-hour testing session. In a day, there are 5 testing sessions, while the remaining 19 hours are for standby session. This is also specified on the first post of this series. I will also include a ranking for screen on time which is essentially similar to the battery life, overall.

But, first, here are the untested phones.

·         Phone 1 – Nokia 1100 [unbootable]

·         Phone 2 – Alcatel OT-C552 [unbootable]

·         Phone 3 – Nokia 1600 [unbootable]

·         Phone 8 – Nokia N8 (a) [blank display] was #5

·         Phone 9 – HTC Desire 200 [unbootable] was #7

·         Phone 11 – Asus Zenfone 5 [lost]

·         Phone 13 – Nokia N9 [unbootable] was #12

·         Phone 14 – Nokia X2 Dual SIM [lost]

·         Phone 19 – Cloudfone Thrill Plus [lost]

·         Phone 20 – Firefly Mobile Aurii Secret 4G [lost]

·         Phone 23 – Nokia N70 (b) [unbootable]

Here is the rundown from the longest duration (slowest to charge) to the shortest duration (fastest to charge), with the following format: Current Ranking (Previous Ranking) Phone [Hours Charging]

26 (#17)	HTC Windows Phone 8X	[11:10 hours]
25 (#15)	Asus Fonepad Note FHD6	[07:38 hours]
24 (new)	Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet	[05:55 hours]
23 (new)	Sony Xperia SP	[04:40 hours]
22 (new)	Sony Xperia Z2	[04:16 hours]
21 (new)	Sony Xperia Z Ultra	[04:09 hours]
20 (new)	Sony Xperia Z	[03:55 hours]
19 (#16)	Sony Xperia Z3 Dual	[03:31 hours]
18 (#18)	Sony Xperia miro	[03:21 hours]
17 (#13)	Nokia Lumia 1020	[03:04 hours]
16 (new)	Sony Ericsson Satio	[02:58 hours]
15 (new)	Sony Xperia XZ Premium	[02:56 hours]
14 (new)	Sony Ericsson W980	[02:45 hours]
13 (#3)	Lenovo E156	[02:38 hours]
12 (#11)	Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Dual	[02:25 hours]
11 (#10)	Nokia N70 (a)	[02:25 hours]

Here are the top 10.

10 (#17)	LG V50s ThinQ 5G	[02:20 hours]
9 (#6)	Nokia Asha 202	[02:16 hours]
8 (#14)	LG G4	[02:10 hours]
7 (#9)	Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact	[02:07 hours]
6 (new)	LG G8 ThinQ	[02:03 hours]

And, here are the, best, top 5 (#5 faster, only, by 8 seconds to #6)

5 (#8)	Nokia N8 (b)	[02:03 hours]
4 (new)	LG Wing 5G	[01:57 hours]
3 (#4)	Sony Xperia 1 II	[01:55 hours]
2 (#2)	Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (a)	[00:37 hour]
1 (#1)	Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (b)	[00:30 hour]

From this ranking, I find around 2 hours to be good enough. The top two phones are outliers due to their deteriorated batteries.

Now, for the battery life and screen on time, with the following format: Battery Life Ranking [Battery Life] Phone (Screen on Time Ranking [Screen on Time])

26 [0 day 00:52 hour]	Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (b)	(#26 [00:52 hour])
25 [0 day 01:18 hours]	Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (a)	(#25 [01:00 hours])
24 [0 day 17:00 hours]	Sony Ericsson W980	(#21 [04:00 hours])
23 [0 day 21:27 hours]	Nokia N70 (a)	(#24 [03:27 hours])
22 [0 day 21:37 hours]	Sony Xperia Z3 Dual	(#23 [03:37 hours])
21 [0 day 21:44 hours]	Nokia Lumia 1020	(#22 [03:44 hours])
20 [0 day 23:40 hours]	Sony Xperia miro	(#20 [04:40 hours])
19 [0 day 23:56 hours]	Sony Ericsson Satio	(#19 [04:56 hours])
18 [0 day 23:59 hours]	Nokia N8 (b)	(#18 [04:59 hours])
17 [1 day 00:23 hour]	HTC Windows Phone 8X	(#17 [05:23 hours])
16 [1 day 00:26 hour]	LG G4	(#16 [05:26 hours])
15 [1 day 00:32 hour]	Sony Xperia Z	(#15 [05:32 hours])
14 [1 day 00:40 hour]	Sony Xperia Z Ultra	(#14 [05:46 hours])
13 [1 day 01:00 hour]	Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Dual	(#13 [06:00 hours])
12 [1 day 02:22 hours]	Sony Xperia SP	(#12 [06:22 hours])
11 [1 day 04:36 hours]	LG G8 ThinQ	(#11 [07:36 hours])

Here are the phones on top ten.

10 [1 day 04:49 hours]	Sony Xperia Z2	(#10 [07:49 hours])
9 [1 day 21:23 hours]	Asus Fonepad Note FHD6	(#9 [08:23 hours])
8 [1 day 21:32 hours]	Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact	(#8 [08:32 hours])
7 [1 day 22:27 hours]	Sony Xperia 1 II	(#7 [09:00 hours])
6 [1 day 23:28 hours]	Lenovo E156	(#6 [09:28 hours])

And, the top five phones. Exceeding 10 hours of screen on time.

5 [2 days 00:20 hour]	Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet	(#5 [10:20 hours])
4 [2 days 00:36 hour]	LG Wing 5G	(#4 [10:36 hours])
3 [2 days 02:18 hours]	LG V50s ThinQ 5G	(#3 [11:18 hours])
2 [2 days 05:14 hours]	Sony Xperia XZ Premium	(#2 [12:14 hours])
1 [3 days 23:22 hours]	Nokia Asha 202	(#1 [19:22 hours])

For a stress-free battery life, at least for me, a phone has to last more than a day, or at least 5 hours of screen on time. 17 phones satisfy this, making the top ten phone really good. Twice that, at least 2 days total standby time and 10 hours of screen on time, is already impressive. And there are 5 phones. Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet may be large, but the display resolution is Full HD. LG Wing 5G was just released last year, making its battery optimization on par with new phones. Though, take note that the smaller display was not used during the battery test. LG V50s ThinQ 5G was also tested without the second screen. Unexpectedly, Sony XZ Premium joins the top 5, despite of using the ultra hd resolution on some video playback sessions on my test. The top phone for battery life is, expectedly, Nokia Asha 202. It has a good battery performance since I bought it. Being a feature phone with the tried and tested BL-5C battery, it is anticipated to outlast other phones, especially smartphones.

You can always read the review of each phone by clicking on the corresponding link.

Do you have a phone with the same model from any of the phones I tested? How is the battery life doing?

phone 37 – lg g8 thinq

the 8th phone i acquired this year, 2021. hopefully, the last one. ha! this is also the last g series of lg. this might also be the last chance to expand my portfolio of lg mobile devices. i started with lg g4, acquired in 2016. then continued with lg v50s thinq with its dual screen in 2020. in 2021, i acquired lg wing 5g and this lg g8 thinq.

lg g8 thinq was released in 2019. same year when sony entered a new era in smartphones, releasing the first generation of xperia 1, xperia 5 and xperia 10 series. i was still using xperia z1 compact (a) as a personal phone, and xperia z5 premium as a work phone, still satisfied back then. so, despite of exciting announcements from sony, lg, nokia and some other makers, i was not encouraged to upgrade or expand my collections. but the headline features revolving around the z camera (tof sensor) caught my attention. i will tell the experience with it along the tasks for the battery tests. i will also relate my experience on biometric securities present on lg g8 thinq.

but, before those, here is the result of the battery test. charging duration results to 2 hours and 3 minutes. it performs better than most of my phone collection and falls near my preferred charging duration, which is 2 hours. but battery life fell quite short resulting to a day, 4 hours and 36 minutes. 7 hours and 36 minutes of those is the screen on time. not bad at all even for 2021 casual usage. besides it is just 2 years since the release. for continued casual usage, this phone requires daily charging.

battery score card

music play on lg g8 thinq is as good as the lg v50s when it comes to 3.5mm wired audio and bluetooth wireless audio. but loudspeaker is better on lg v50s and way better on some of my xperia collection with front stereo loudspeakers (z3, z5 premium, xz2 compact, 1 ii), at least when we talk about being immersive and quality. this might be because of the speaker setup. one is downfiring like the v50s. the other is on the display. the vibration is on the 30%-40% part of the display, from the top. by default, the speakers does not fire left and right separation, at least, based on how i hear it. it sounds like i am playing two mono speakers side by side. and that the speaker display is not as loud as the downfiring speaker. but there is dts audio setting to customize sound output. this is not to say that music experience is inferior. it still offers better experience than many smartphones on the market in 2021.

still on the music experience, z camera made it more fun and unique. with features, hand id and air gestures, i was able to play music without touching the phone. i tried it with wet hands, too. no, not what you are thinking, maybe, ha! i was washing the dishes, then. first, hand id lets me unlock the phone. then, using air gestures, i was able to open the music app. next is to play music using air gestures. though, this is limited to play or pause the most recent play list. then, again, using air gestures, i can turn the volume up or down. all those, without touching the phone. i think, i have to bring this phone for “no phone touching” challenge with my friends. then, play music, watch youtube videos and answer a phone call. ha!

i also appreciate the default music app of lg mobile as there are onscreen options to turn the volume, and change the pitch and speed of the song. nothing to do with air gestures. the volume option saves the physical volume keys from further abuses. i have been enjoying such accessibility since lg g4 and it is available on my other lg mobile devices, too (v50s thinq, wing 5g).

web browsing is an ordinary affair. i get sharp images and texts. good color rendering. snappy browsing and jumping from one tab to another. no disappointments here.

on gaming, this phone excels, too. still, in 2021. game launcher is present here. there is an option to customize refresh rates and resolution. though, it is limited to 60hz. no stutters. performance is similar to xperia xz2 compact, xperia 1 ii, lg v50s thinq and lg wing 5g.

for photo shoot and video recording, you might want to read my post on lg v50s thinq as the experience is very similar. except that my lg g8 thinq has a telephoto lens and that the front camera has variable focus. it has an autofocus, but also lets you manually control the focus which is good if you want to capture those little pores on your face as it is really sharp. ha! it gladly humiliates my other phones in that department. of course, including xperia 1 ii, which is criticized for having too soft selfie camera.

video playback on lg g8 thinq is not my cup of tea, though. color rendering is actually great. display brightness is ideal in both bright and dark environment. it also has a high resolution display. with 6.1 inches 19.5:9 display, 1440p is sharp. it gives 564 pixel density. already near xperia 1 ii with 643 pixel density. what makes the tea quite cold? it is the iphone grade notch. the same notch that brings headline features on lg g8 thinq. aside from lg g8 thinq, lg v50s thinq is the only phone i have with undesirable notch. though, the latter has smaller one. that is one compromise to make. besides, not all videos are affected by the notch. only videos shot and produced on 21:9 aspect ratio are affected. 16:9 contents are safe. workaround? pinch to zoom out and you will be watching the movies and videos on a screen diagonal less than 6 inches.

aside from the usual device security like pattern, password and personal identification number, this phone also has knock on code and biometric device security measures. the last is the most interesting security this phone has. first, it has fingerprint sensor that is widely used on android devices, placed on the rear. it is as fast as the fingerprint sensors on my xperia 1 ii and xperia xz2 compact. even a quick pat on the sensor unlocks it. second, the face id, which is used on iphones and some android devices. this is not the traditional face id or face unlock that i have on my xperia miro and other older xperia devices. the traditional approach can be fooled with a picture and it needs adequate lighting. face id on lg g8 uses z camera (tof sensor) to save 3d data. so, unless they can make a wax version of your face, nobody else can fool the face id, at least, ideally. it also works even without adequate lighting. third is the hand id. i never saw this feature on other phones – making some people dismiss it as a gimmick since “you will still touch the phone after using the hand id anyway”. some people even complain of steep learning curve. however, i was able to play music and turn up the volume without touching the phone, on the first day i have it. no i am not a fast learner. it is just so easy to learn that i thought i can enter the bending world and be a smartphone bender, ha! (but i guess jerryrigeverything is the master of that, in another way). and at least, there are some apps that can take advantage of it. there are some times i really wish my older phones can do like this – while washing the dishes or clothes, or even washing myself in the bathroom. unlock the phone, play music, pause it, turn up the volume – you can also do the same on youtube app. you cannot do this every day on other phones. so, you do not do it every day. but since i now have the g8, who knows.

generally, this is a well rounded phone that has unique features, others call gimmick. i also admire how seamless the chassis is. the flushed camera design and the continuous flow of glass to the frame. but due to sony influence on my preference, i wish it is a bit square. even the display looks a little bit more rounded or curvy on the corners. speaking of the curvy, this also has a curvy display. gladly, it is not as pronounced as other phones. images are not distorted, but still has an annoying way of reflecting lights where the glass curves. you already heard my concern on display notch, too. performance wise, there is nothing to complain here. display is great. audio experience is good, great via 3.5mm wired audio. one hand operation is also doable. but it does not beat my xz2 compact for that matter. thankful that i looked back to 2019 to expand my phone collection and acquired this piece of electronic masterwork.