Best flagship killers 2022 - buyer’s guide

The Poco F3 has been finally dethroned from this list by the new Poco F4 GT. It is the cheapest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-packing smartphone on the market, but that’s not the only thing that’s great about the Poco F4 GT.

Just like the Poco phones before this one, the F4 GT also comes with one incredibly good AMOLED screen with 1B colors and 120Hz refresh rate. There are four stereo speakers, fast charging, and a reliable triple-camera system, too.

The all-round package also includes physical magnetic pop-up gaming triggers, unbelievably fast 120W charging, and the familiar MIUI 13 on top of Android 12.

The best part of the Poco F4 GT is its pricing, of course. The phone costs €550, which makes it the cheapest flagship you can buy in 2022, a flagship killer, if you will.

The Poco F3 has been replaced by the Poco F4 this year. It’s a minor refresh over the popular F3 model with Dolby Vision support for its 120Hz OLED, better cooling system for the Snapdragon 870 5G chipset, improved 64MP primary camera with OIS, and faster 67W charging.

The most evident change is the design, of course, which has gone from curved towards flat shape. It is still IP53-rated, as usual.

The Poco F4 has an excellent all-round package, just like the previous models. It offers stereo speakers, fast 67W charging for its large battery with good endurance rating, a dependable triple-camera setup with improved quality, and the latest MIUI 13.

The Poco F4 launched at €399, but the early bird price is €349, which is an incredibly competitive tag and we can see it purchased over a few flagships – hence the inclusion in this list.

The Realme GT Neo 3T is pretty much the same phone as the Poco F4, but from another maker. If you fancy Realme over Xiaomi, the Neo 3T offers similar 120Hz AMOLED, the same Snapdragon 870 5G chipset, same triple-camera setup (sans OIS), and you will get an even better battery life with faster 80W charging.

The Realme GT Neo 3T costs as much as a mid-ranger at €429, so some cuts had to be made. There is no ingress protection for starters. You will not find a zoom camera, while photo and video quality isn’t the best of the bunch. But we can very much live with these omissions on that price.

The Realme GT Neo 3 is a more premium version of the Neo 3T with an improved display (1B colors), a faster and newer Dimensity 8100 5G chipset, and an improved main camera with a new 50MP sensor and OIS.

These updates add an extra €180 on top of the Neo 3T price, which may not be worthy for some. But these premium features get the Neo 3 closer to the flagship class and with its €599 price tag, it can easily pass as a flagship killer, too.

The €429 OnePlus Nord 2T is an excellent phone with a 90Hz AMOLED screen, powerful Dimensity 1300 5G chip, stereo speakers, and promising cameras. It also blazing-fast charging and fluid Oxygen launcher on top of Android 12.

The OnePlus Nord 2T is a minor refresh over the Nord 2 – there is 80W faster charging, up from 65W, and newer Dimensity 1300 SoC. The D1300 model is the same as the Dimensity 1200 within the Nord 2, with the only novelty being the MediaTek’s HyperEngine 5.0 support, which should improve gaming performance.

The Nord 2T is a powerful smartphone with many premium features. And because of its more than reasonable price, it deserves a spot on our shortlist here.

The €299 Xiaomi 11T is an excellent offer, which can be easily considered as a flagship killer. It features a great OLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+, though Dolby Vision is reserved for the 11T Pro model. We are quite happy with the Dimensity 1200 5G chip performance - it delivers flagship-like speed.

The triple-rear camera is dependable - it offers good photo and video quality. It cannot offer lossless zoom though, and the selfies aren't up to par.

The good all-round experience also includes loud stereo speakers, rich connectivity options, side-mounted fast fingerprint sensor and splash resistance.

If you live in India, where the Xiaomi 11T is not available, you may want to consider the Xiaomi Mi 11X Pro - the local version of the EU's Mi 11i. It is pretty much the same phone as the 11T sans the more powerful Snapdragon 888 chipset and the slower 33W charging.

The Xiaomi 11T Pro price has dropped to some more reasonable levels (about €450) and we are ready to recommend it for its outstanding Dolby Vision screen, excellent Dolby Atmos speakers, flagship performance, and reliable camera experience.

One of the key features of the 11T Pro is the 120W fast charging - a full charge is achieved in 21 minutes!.

The triple camera on the back is rather good, too, even if the daylight processing isn't up to par. The selfie camera on the other hand is in dire need of an update.

The battery life on the 11T Pro is rather disappointing, the top-of-the-line chipset is prone to throttling and not having complete ingress protection is worrisome. Then again, at that price and with these versatile skills, we believe many will find the 11T Pro an excellent daily driver. Xiaomi is advertising it for its video capturing skills and it indeed deserves a praise, so if you fancy shooting videos, you should definitely consider it.

The Motorola Edge 30 price is incredibly attractive at €450, almost half of what the maker is asking for the Edge 30 Pro model that is the same phone but with the most current Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset.

So, the Edge 30 is a great offer for those seeking an all-round experience - it has a great 144Hz OLED and powerful enough Snapdragon 778G+ chipset with 8GB RAM and 5G. It also packs a more premium camera setup with a 50 OIS MP primary, a 50MP ultrawide with AF, and there is also a high-res selfie shooter with 4K video capturing.

The cool Ready For connectivity is also supported.

For the extra €350-€400 over the regular Edge 30, the Edge 30 Pro will give you a faster chipset, faster charging and 8K video capturing – and we don’t think those are worth that much.

The Motorola Edge 30 has everything that fits the description of a flagship killer – a brilliant screen, gaming-oriented performance, premium cameras, and stereo speakers. It’s design is splash-proof, and while the charging isn’t impressively fast at 33W, it will do for most people for sure.

The iQOO Neo 6 is an India-exclusive phone on a very tempting price, that offers a beautiful design and a solid and lightweight build. The most notable features of the Neo 6 are its excellent 120Hz HDR10 AMOLED screen and the lovely performance with excellent stability courtesy of the Snapdragon 870 5G chip.

The Neo 6 speakers turned out loud, though the quality was a mixed bag. The battery life was also pretty good, but the standby performance was rather mediocre. The cameras are reliable, but they save a bit overprocessed photos, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Overall, we’ve put the iQOO Neo 6 on our shortlist for it is an excellent device for gaming and multimedia, and it is priced just right. It will do the job as a cameraphone, too, though if the photo quality is a priority, the competition has better offers for that.

The Galaxy Z Flip3 5G is the latest compact foldable smartphone by Samsung and its highlight is probably the waterproofed design. The device also features an improved hinge and foldable AMOLED, now with 120Hz refresh rate.

The Flip3 also utilizes the best Snapdragon 888 5G chip available to date, and it features a flagship-grade Samsung dual-camera with a small rear-facing AMOLED screen for selfies and notifications.

The folding screen is the centerpiece of this device, but it’s also its weakest point. The repairs aren't a piece of cake with this phone. The battery life is mediocre at best, while the fast charging is not that fast and there is no bundled charger. Finally, the Z Flip3 5G is expensive despite its caveats!

The Flip3 is quite the premium all-rounder - a small yet powerful phone, with excellent performance and camera, gorgeous build and screen, and its foldable design that's prone to all sorts of customizations and that's why it's on this list.