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Friday, July 1, 2022

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?