From 2005 to 2022, I have acquired 38 phones. Most of these are my collections. Eight were acquired for personal use or used as main phone, while three were for work. With this number of phones, it is tempting to compare them and rank them based on my preference for the sake of fun. Apparently, it is also a good way to assess which phones to keep just in case I have to dispose some. Worst case scenario is to maintain only five phones. Though, I really do not plan to.
In 2021, Sony Xperia 1 II was my most preferred phone. It
was not an instant choice, since it was my third most preferred phone in 2020.
Nokia Lumia 1020 comes second in 2021, dropping from number one in 2020. Third
spot goes to Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact, which was at number two in 2020. LG V50s
climbed to the fourth spot, from sixth. Finally, Nokia Asha 202 completes the
top 5 of my most preferred phones last year, dropping from fourth in 2020. You
can check the complete list of my ranking last year. My Top Preferred Phones in 2021
For this year’s ranking, I counted in all phones. Yep,
including the phone I just bought this year. As usual, I placed the previous
ranking in parentheses.
Just like in 2021, I will still list down the phones that are
already lost. Least preferred, to the point that it was okay losing these.
38 (28) Firefly Mobile Aurii Secret 4G
37 (27) Asus Zenfone 5
36 (26) Cloudfone Thrill Plus
35 (25) Nokia X2 Dual SIM
These next phones were still good to keep, but not really to
use. Some of them are unusable or my interests on them just faded as most of
them are replaceable by other phones on higher ranks. Those on higher ranks
offer more on usability and novelty.
34 (24) Nokia 1600
33 (23) Alcatel OT-C552
32 (22) Nokia 1100
31 (21) Nokia N70 (b)
30 (15) Nokia N70 (a)
29 (19) HTC Desire 200
28 (18) Nokia N9
27 (20) Nokia N8 (a)
26 (14) Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (a)
25 (10) Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (b)
24 (11) Sony Xperia Z3 Dual
23 (17) HTC Windows Phone 8X
22 (16) Lenovo E156
21 (13) Sony Xperia miro
20 (new) Sony Xperia SP
19 (9) Sony Ericsson Satio
18 (new) Sony Ericsson W980
17 (new) Sony Xperia Z
16 (new) Sony Xperia Z Ultra
These next phones fall under my more preferred devices.
These are usable and somehow unique. These phones might be weak in some areas,
but are worthy to be kept on my drawer and also still be used. I might also
recommend these to some people.
15 (12) Asus Fonepad Note FHD6
14 (7) Nokia N8 (b)
13 (8) LG G4
12 (new) Sony Xperia Z2
11 (new) Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet
10 (new) Sony Xperia XZ Premium
9 (6) Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Dual
8 (4) LG V50s ThinQ 5G
7 (new) LG G8 ThinQ
6 (new) Honor Magic3 Zhen Edition
Before listing down the top 5, here are the victors of two
challenges I made this year.
First off, the Antutu challenge. As shown below, the highest
Antutu score was recorded by Honor Magic3 Zhen Edition. It is just normal, as
it has the most powerful SoC on my collection.
Second, which is not as simple as the Antutu challenge, is the Blind Photo Challenge. It consisted of seven rounds. The mechanics is simple. I just posted photos on social media and ask everyone interested to react on photos they liked. I have to eliminate some phones from the challenge every round – those that has the least accumulated reaction. The phone whose pictures has the most accumulated reaction wins. The result is as follows and is won by Nokia Lumia 1020.
Finally, here are the top 5 of my most preferred phones in 2022. I am confident to recommend these, depending on people and purpose.
5 (new) LG Wing
- - Truth be told. Main reason to include this phone in my most preferred list is its form factor. It is the most unique form factor for a smartphone. Its form factor provides new experience in handling especially when recording and watching videos. This is recommended to people who wants novel experience on a smartphone.
4 (5) Nokia Asha 202
- - Going back to its rank in 2020, it holds a candle for an excellent battery life, good for those who need dependable phone.
- - There is also a buzz going around about young adults shifting to “dumb” phones, whether for short term or long term, as a way to “get back their life” from excessive use of social media. Such idea makes me push it to a higher rank as I might need it in the near future.
3 (2) Nokia Lumia 1020
- - Slightly sliding down the rank, it is still worth keeping and using especially its camera, as the resulting photos are still likeable – the blind photo challenge I made this year gave me the hint.
- - The audio side of this thing also makes it my third most preferred phone. The 3.5mm audio port and Dolby Atmos make it a treasure in a time where most phones do not have such port.
- - There is still a demand for a compact phone. And since the market is dominated by large phones, keeping a compact phone that is still capable makes sense.
- - This phone also has an excellent display. It is not an OLED panel that many people seem to prefer. But, this phone has one of the excellent IPS LCD panel ever put on a phone. It supports HDR and is dim enough to be eye-friendly when used in dark environment.
- - It still has a good battery life to battery capacity ratio. Sony’s battery care is doing its job, it seems.
- - The photos from its camera is also doing good, even in 2022. The first blind photo challenge I made was won by this phone. It lacks a lot of features compared to 2022 camera-centric phones but it still provides vivid photos that are likeable.
1 (1) Sony Xperia 1 II
- - Still an excellent phone for manual photography. HDR is still natural. It even improved on photos with brighter backgrounds as it minimizes clipping of highlights.
- - Video recording is without compromise. If you specify it to shoot at 120fps, it does just that.
- - Audio quality is excellent, but not that loud. Dolby atmos works on loudspeaker. Its 3.5mm audio port is a treasure to keep.
- - Excellent display especially with Creator mode.
- - Software updates come sparingly, but the system is already stable. Did not experience any lags and issues. Works generally better than the first time I used it – better as time goes.
There you have my personal ranking on my collections, and
eventually my top 5 most preferred phones in 2022. What can you say about this
list?
Again, here are my top 5 phones -