My top 5 phones of 2021 - Sagar

09 January 2022
I revisit the smartphones that impressed me in 2021.

Sort by:

  • Q
  • QuatPro
  • M@c
  • 30 Aug 2022

5 or 6?

    • B
    • Beware
    • rKp
    • 17 Jan 2022

    Beware of these cheapest of the Chinese brands.

    1st off they are not balanced. Have many shortcomings.
    Over heat. Burst batteries like crackers.
    Plus they put a hole in your pocket sending the money to China.
    They feel cheap after you hold Apple or Samsung or Sony.
    Sony is the best. Samsung is most balanced. Apple is amazing.
    Brand does matter in my experience.
    Pressure sensitive touch is nothing new BTW.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • IJE
      • 13 Jan 2022

      Samsung Galaxy 4ever

        • S
        • SA007
        • rK%
        • 12 Jan 2022

        Glad that someone actually gave the Vivo X70 Pro+ the recommendation it deserves. Most Indians just think that it's overpriced.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • Nu6
          • 12 Jan 2022

          AlienKiss, 11 Jan 2022Sorry, I've pressed submit by mistake. The 888+ is ON... moreIf at all you're checking chipset comparison online, avoid versus.com.
          They're not reliable.

          (E.g) They can tell you Helio G70 us is better than Apple's A14 bionic. (They're that bad)

          Just avoid them!!!

            Samsung is the best ever

              • A
              • AlienKiss
              • iDB
              • 11 Jan 2022

              Anonymous, 10 Jan 2022Neither the Oppo or the Vivo are budget phones. The Vivo is... moreSorry, I've pressed submit by mistake.
              The 888+ is ONLY 0.23% faster than SD855+ (check on versus.com)
              Samsung's software updates (security patches and OS upgrades) are considerably better than most Android oem out there, especially Vivo, which to be frank, I've never even heard about until now.
              Great service center experience is another.
              Also, it is so easy to get root access for a Sony (especially) or a Samsung since they come with unlocked bootloader or they provide the steps to unlock it yourself.

                • A
                • Arvind
                • vGG
                • 11 Jan 2022

                iPhone is best

                  • A
                  • AlienKiss
                  • iDB
                  • 11 Jan 2022

                  Anonymous, 10 Jan 2022Neither the Oppo or the Vivo are budget phones. The Vivo is... moreFirst off all, the SD888+ heats like an oven. You can make a good omelet No thanks!
                  2nd, the difference in computing power between the two cpus is of maximum 30%, which in day to day usage it almost unnoticeable.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • BP4
                    • 10 Jan 2022

                    for me the best overall most complete phones are mi 10s, s20 fe snap variant and vivo 70 pro plus. most complete top end is vivo but is not cheap 1000$. mi 10s has best speakers ever heard ( better than bk shark 4 pro and iphone 13 p m tested), all gorilla g5 and aluminum frame, best haptics, snap 870 no throttle or hot as 888. OIS, telephoto, wireless charging and reverse, 90 hz oled with delta -0,41 from tcl. paid 420 Euro from giztop the 8/256gb and install eu rom. s20 fe is more completed ( ip68, usb 3.1, 120hz, sd card...) but has worse material plastic gorilla glass 3, low haptics and worse speakers... price is variable from 5g and 4g
                    for me mi 10s is the best phone of 2021 and can compete with high end phones, never seen best quality price: a stable processor, high quality material, splash resistant design and basses for speakers that only has been seen on iphones...

                      Anonymous, 10 Jan 2022Samsung was number 1 in India in 2017 before losing the spo... moreYou can just look at markeshare and make conclusion but Samsung is smart even in India Market.
                      1. Their revenue are increasing
                      https://www.statista.com/statistics/719510/india-net-sales-revenue-of-samsung-corporation/
                      From 2016 to 2020 every Quarter their revenue increased.

                      2. Profit is increasing.
                      In Q1 2021 samsung profit rose 88% and Q3 2021 profit rose 39%

                      So marketshare dont tell whole story, samsung sell more devices in rs 10,000 to rs 30,000 range more than anyone (22% marketshare) hence they get more revenue and profit compare to those who sell cheaper phones and get small revenue and profit.

                        • n
                        • noigel
                        • iDI
                        • 10 Jan 2022

                        Motorola Edge 20 Pro.. I`m an owner of this phone.. It have great battery life, but cameras.. As for me - its worst of camera on my last phones (Pixel 3a, Motorola One Zoom, LG g8).. even old Essential Phone with Google camera has better camera.. I hope it`s software and Lenovo will fix it on next update..

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • TRR
                          • 10 Jan 2022

                          Anonymous, 10 Jan 2022The Oppo has the same price as a Note10 or Xperia 1 II. Whi... moreNeither the Oppo or the Vivo are budget phones. The Vivo is a flagship with a modern flagship chipset (SD888+). Why would you buy a 2-3 year old flagship over the Vivo? It runs circles around those phones. You're being very ludicrous.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • iDB
                            • 10 Jan 2022

                            Anonymous, 10 Jan 2022You can't get a 2-3 years old flagship new for the pri... moreThe Oppo has the same price as a Note10 or Xperia 1 II. While the Motorola and the Vivo are the same price as S20 FE 5G, or A52s 5G or Xperia 10 III.
                            Also, I didn't mean buying second hand phones or refurbished (which is basically the same as second hand).
                            But on the long run, would you get a Note 10 or an Oppo?

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • TRR
                              • 10 Jan 2022

                              AlienKiss, 10 Jan 2022Considering the they are SMARTphones, they do a LOT more th... moreYou can't get a 2-3 years old flagship new for the price of a budget phone. Your only alternative is a used flagship but not many people are comfortable with buying used or refurbished phones.

                                • A
                                • AlienKiss
                                • iDB
                                • 10 Jan 2022

                                hari120, 10 Jan 2022Or maybe people are smart enough not to spend this much mon... moreConsidering the they are SMARTphones, they do a LOT more than just a regular dumbphone (phone calls and sms messages). Like running a plethora of apps, 3D games, viewing and editing/creating documents, videos, photos, audio files, pdfs, writing scripts and running them, having access to file explorer, USB OTG, having access to the terminal command, even being able to install another OS like Linux Ubuntu or Kali without root access and running it from Android!
                                If you'd ask me to get a 'budget' phone, I'd go buy an older high-end flagship from 2-3 years ago. Still better than any new budget phone in every department, including the CPU/GPU.
                                This is the reason I'm only looking for high-end flagships from respectable brands that offer great security updates and upgrades for long periods of time, on top of great service centers.
                                Maybe you should stick to a phone without an actual operating system, since you're clearly not needing one.

                                  Best smartphone of 2021 in India is Google Pixel 4A and iPhone 13 imo.

                                  BBK is flooding the market with the same kind of phones and made it into a fish market

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • tZ0
                                    • 10 Jan 2022

                                    Hemedans, 10 Jan 2022Samsung started producing better phones after Huawei threat... moreSamsung was number 1 in India in 2017 before losing the spot to Xiaomi in 2018 by a huge margin. Huawei is a big rival too for Samsung in 2018, but Xiaomi is a bigger threat to Samsung at the start of 2019.

                                    The reason I said Xiaomi influenced Samsung to focus on budget lineup is because Xiaomi is expanding more than Huawei in India just as China market started to slow down. China was Huawei's stronghold in 2018-19 and Samsung knew they will have little growth in China.

                                    India was the fastest growing market but mostly in the entry and midrange segments. Samsung need to revamp its entire budget and midrange lineups to compete with market leader Xiaomi in India, thus the A series as we know it was born.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • TRR
                                      • 10 Jan 2022

                                      Hello Life, 10 Jan 2022there are phones.. which are tiny like iphone 12 mini but a... moreHe likes phones that are big. Why should he like small phones like the soon to be discontinued iPhone Mini if he only likes big phones?

                                        Anonymous, 10 Jan 2022All phones do the same thing. Is there a phone that does an... morethere are phones.. which are tiny like iphone 12 mini but as powerful as something which is double the size.. then there are phones which can fold in half.. there are phones which can survive drops from 2 height buildings.. great for adventurers like me.. there are phones which can capture surface of the moon.. there are phones with dual displays.. there are phones with customizable lighting on back.. all of which launched on 2021.. if you have 5 favorites which are just same phones kind of just from different brands under a same god father brand.. something is definitely wrong..