It is the last month of the year and by this time, most smartphone manufacturers had announced their flagships and maybe even all the phones they want to announce for the year (there are sometimes exceptional cases).

With over 10 million subscribers on its YouTube channel only, Arun Maini (host and owner of Mrwhosetheboss) is one of the top go to content creators when it comes to smartphone reviews will millions of people across the world trusting his judgment and by extension his recommendation.

One of Mrwhosetheboss’s latest videos is the 2022 smartphone award where he gives awards to the best phones in 9 different categories with the overall best smartphone being the 10th and the top trophy to win.

1.) The “Most Improved” Award – Won By Google’s Pixel 7

This was the first award and it was given to the manufacturer and flagship phone, which he believed has seen the best improvement in terms of capabilities and features compared to its immediate predecessor.

According to him, “When the Pixel 6 launched last year, they gave us the glimpse of something special, a bit of never before seen software magic. But it was kind of hard to appreciate it when the phone was plagued with reception issues, bugs, and glitches all around.” And many more which you can get from the video.

He concluded, “So, considering all of that, I am genuinely shocked that in 1 year, they fixed all of those issues with the Pixel 7.”

2.) The “Most Timeless” Award – Won By Apple’s iPhone 13

The Most Timeless Phone according to him is the phone from last year (2021) that still holds up the best this year (2022).

Speaking about the iPhone 13 winning the Timeless Phone Award “Partly because it is still a solid phone. It is fast, it is got good battery, and it is got 4 more years of full on software support from Now. And it is partly the fact that its replacement – the iPhone 14, is almost the same phone.”

3.) The “Best Small Phone” Award – Won By ASUS Zenfone 9

The Best Small Phone award is exactly what it sounds like. Its contenders are compact phones from smartphone giants with small screen size and body such as the Samsung S22 and Google Pixel 7.

He said, “It is not just because the Zenfone 9 is smaller than its contenders but it is also because it is also doing that while basically being a top of the line flagship.”

He made a shout out to the Samsung Z Flip4 being a great smartphone considering it can fold in half but it is not for everyone because of how expensive it is.

4.) The “Best Foldable” Award – Won By Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4

According to Mrwhosetheboss “If you are going to spend over $1500 on a piece of hardware, then I would say that nothing is more important than software that let you best take advantage of it.”

He also believes that Oppo currently has the best foldable hardware. According to him, their foldable phone is currently the only one that has a shape that makes sense when folded and unfolded.

Xiaomi foldable phone also got a shout out for being the tinniest foldable phone.

Samsung seems to have won the trophy for being more available globally and for its software advantage over the others.

5.) “Best Gaming Phone” Award – Won By ROG Phone 6 Pro

There are three globally available contenders for this award including the iPhone 14 Pro and RedMagic 7S Pro.

The ROG phone 6 Pro wowed him because of its top of the line hardware, software, and incredible cooling system. He also believes that it is a general multimedia powerhouse with a great speaker and battery endurance.

6.) “Best Budget Phone” Award – Won By Poco X4 Pro

While there are contenders from different brands such as Redmi, Oppo, Realme, and OnePlus, this round went to Poco.

“It is got the specs, it is got the design, and it also prioritizes battery life,” Mrwhosetheboss said.

7.) “Best Midrange Phone” Award – Won By Nothing Phone 1

The contenders of this award include Samsung A53 5G and A73 5G, iPhone SE 2022, Poco F4, and Google Pixel 7.

The award went to a new company that just enter the market but didn’t allow that to stop them from releasing an amazing smartphone.

“It is got intriguing design, reliable software and cameras, and more noticeably a level of attention to detail that you only get from an ambitious company that is trying to prove themselves in an unforgiving market.” Mrwhosetheboss said.

8.) “Best iPhone” Award – Won By iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max

Talking about the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, Arun said, “They have got fantastic cameras, blindingly bright displays, and even though I have turned off the new Always On-Display feature, and even though the battery has taken a slight hit from last year, they are still undeniably the best iPhones ever made.”

He believes the new iPhone 14 probably isn’t worth it for $799 and you should rather go for the iPhone 13 from 2021 which is very similar but $100 cheaper at $699.

9.) “Best Android” Phone Award – Won By Google Pixel 7 Pro

The contenders on the Android side range from Samsung, to Sony, Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi, and OnePlus.

He ruled out the Samsung S22 for weak battery life, calls the S22 Plus “a very reliable all-rounder” phone, and the S22 Ultra “is kind of like the everything phone”.

He made a shout out to Vivo and Xiaomi flagships by calling them “probably the two best phones for photography on the market.”

Speaking about why the Google Pixel 7 Pro is the best Android phone, Arun said, “It is the easiest flagship to recommend.” For two reasons.

First, “It is incredibly simple, it is easy to set up with a fast transfer adapter in the box. It is easy to use with software that is both very intuitive and full of helpful tutorials. And also, It is simple to take incredible photos with, with a camera that doesn’t overload you with options.”

The second reason is that it is an $899 phone which is $100 to $200 cheaper than most top of the line flagship phones.

10.) Best Phone of the Year Award – Went to Google Pixel 7 Pro

He doesn’t agree with people that said the Google Pixel 7 offers the best value because of its competitive price. His argument was that the Pixel 7 Pro has more than enough perks to justify the price difference between the two 2022 Pixel phones.

Source: Mrwhosetheboss (YouTube).