What phones do the Android Authority team use as daily drivers in 2022?

We cowl a great deal of units right here at Android Authority, starting from price range wares to cutting-edge flagship devices and foldable phones. However utilizing a telephone on daily basis as your main machine or each day driver? Now, that’s one other matter fully for us.

We ballot the group yearly to seek out out concerning the each day drivers we use, starting in 2018 and stretching by to 2021. Over a yr has handed since our final ballot, so we figured that we’d survey the group as soon as once more for the 2022 version of our Android Authority each day driver article.

21 Group AA members from all throughout the globe contributed to those outcomes, noting their each day driver, likes/dislikes, and giving a rating out of 10. So which telephones can we use on the group? Let’s get on with the outcomes!

The outcomes

We’ve posted outcomes by each particular person telephone mannequin and by model. Try the charts beneath for a glance, however we’ll do a deep dive afterwards.

Is it any shock to see Samsung is the most well-liked model utilized by Android Authority group members? The Korean producer accounted for a 3rd of all telephones utilized by the group. Apparently, this doesn’t signify a change in comparison with final yr’s ballot, which additionally noticed Samsung accounting for a 3rd of all telephones. In any other case, the Galaxy S22 Ultra was the one Samsung telephone to look greater than as soon as (with two individuals utilizing it).

Samsung house owners on this survey typically praised their telephone’s processing energy, cameras, battery life, and/or show. There have been a couple of complaints too, reminiscent of efficiency and battery life. However the standout complaints got here from Producer Ryan McLeod and Copy Editor Paula Beaton, who had stability points with the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S20 FE respectively.

Paula described frequent freezing, glitches, and the necessity to restart her telephone. In the meantime, Ryan stated he skilled “a couple of glitches the place I’ve to restart the telephone. Not the top of the world, however not nice when it does freeze up.”

What was the second-most in style model, although? That will be Google for a second consecutive yr, accounting for 23.81% of all telephones. Apparently sufficient, all these Pixels had been the Pixel 6 Pro. That’s a serious change from final yr, which noticed the Pixel 4a, Pixel 4XL, and Pixel 5 all seem.

Pixel customers on the group typically praised the digital camera, design, pace of system updates, and show. Nevertheless, sign points, battery life, and overheating had been three complaints that incessantly popped up in our survey. We coated the previous particularly earlier this yr, as Options Editor Rita El-Khoury bemoaned the Pixel 6 Professional’s awful cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity.

The sign woes had been echoed by Opinions Editor Ollie Cragg too:

I have to toggle Airplane Mode ~10 occasions a day. It’s getting so dangerous I’m near abandoning a Pixel for the primary time in shut to 5 years. The battery life can be a bit meh and Tensor likes to get toasty.

Rounding out the rostrum of hottest manufacturers utilized by Group AA was Apple (14.29% of all units). Sure, consider it or not, three group members use iPhones as their main units. This represents a rise over final yr’s survey, when two individuals had been utilizing iPhones.

There wasn’t a particular iPhone that was hottest right here, with the iPhone 11 Professional Max, iPhone 12, and iPhone 13 Professional all showing. These group members principally praised Apple’s units for the ecosystem and cameras. In saying so, we noticed complaints concerning battery life, heating, and Siri.

Apple’s rise on this yr’s survey comes on the expense of OnePlus, which noticed a major decline. It’s additionally attention-grabbing to see that each of the OnePlus telephones that made it onto the listing this yr had been older units (OnePlus 8T and OnePlus 8).

Apart from the manufacturers talked about above, we additionally noticed three different notable manufacturers within the survey. These manufacturers had been LG, Vivo, and Xiaomi. Beginning with LG, Calvin Wankhede continues to be rocking the LG Wing. LG’s machine has a sq., secondary display that pops out from behind the primary display, and Calvin says that is precisely what he likes about it:

It swivels and divulges two shows at any time when I would like it, all with out the sturdiness issues of a folding telephone. It additionally doesn’t have a notch, one thing I can’t look previous on newer telephones.

Sadly, Calvin decried the burden (noting that it was solely barely lighter than the Z Fold 4) and 60Hz refresh charge.

Our resident website positioning specialist Luka Mlinar was the one individual on the group to rock a Xiaomi machine as a each day driver, selecting the Xiaomi 12. He particularly praised the small kind issue, “fairly giant” battery, and quick charging capabilities.

It wasn’t all excellent for Luka, although:

MIUI continues to be a combined bag of fantastic options coupled with an countless pit of frustration.

We are able to perceive this sense as varied group members have discovered MIUI to be very hit and miss when it comes to polish. Each C Scott Brown and I found quite a few annoying bugs in some Poco telephones when reviewing them. Xiaomi launched a working group final yr to be able to tackle the shortage of polish within the pores and skin, however there’s nonetheless some work to do.

Lastly, another machine that stands out right here is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. Sure, Senior Author John Callaham is the one one on the group rocking a foldable as his each day driver. He particularly praised the scale of the foldable display however lamented the show crease.

Different takeaways

• 5 individuals stated they wouldn’t advocate their telephones for buy. Rita and Ollie each stated they couldn’t give the nod to the Pixel 6 Professional, seemingly as a result of connectivity woes. In the meantime, Andy Walker stated he couldn’t advocate the 2019-era Huawei P30 Professional as a result of lack of updates and the machine’s age. Paula says she couldn’t advocate shopping for the Galaxy S20 FE, seemingly as a result of variety of glitches she’s suffered from. Lastly, Curtis Joe famous that the OnePlus 8T wasn’t value a glance as a result of software program expertise.
• There’s nonetheless just one Huawei machine on the listing, in keeping with final yr. However this time, as a substitute of my Mate 20 Professional being the only Huawei handset, it’s Andy’s Huawei P30 Professional. I’m not relying on any Huawei units showing in our 2023 survey.
• All units that appeared on the listing characteristic OLED screens. It looks like LCD screens are behind us for now, as even ~$250 telephones like Samsung’s cheaper A-series and a few Xiaomi units are outfitted with OLED panels.
• Sadly, it’s the top of an period as not one of the telephones right here provide a 3.5mm port. This can be a first for our survey.
• However, 13 units on the listing assist UWB wi-fi connectivity. These had been all Samsung, Google, and Apple handsets.
• The oldest telephone on the listing is certainly the Huawei P30 Professional, launched in Could 2019. It’s nonetheless on Android 10 and was the final main Huawei flagship with Google Cell Companies.
• The typical battery measurement is 4,452mAh, making for an enormous step up over final yr’s sub-4,000mAh common.
• 4 out of the 21 telephones on the listing lack a excessive refresh charge display. These units are the Huawei P30 Professional, iPhone 12, iPhone 11 Professional Max, and LG Wing.
• US and Korean producers accounted for ~71% of the telephones on the listing, with the remaining made by Chinese language manufacturers.

Our group is a wide range of rumored or confirmed telephones for his or her subsequent improve, nevertheless it’s a tie for the most well-liked model. Seven group members stated they’d improve to a Samsung machine, particularly pointing to a foldable or the Galaxy S23 series.

In the meantime, seven colleagues stated they’re contemplating a Pixel machine. 5 colleagues stated they’re trying on the Pixel 7 Pro, one stated they’re both the Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Professional, and one colleague is contemplating the rumored Pixel foldable.

There have been additionally a couple of outlier picks on this regard. Govt Editor Kris Carlon has been utilizing the Huawei Mate XS 2 for a couple of weeks, and he says he’d swap to it as a each day driver if it had Google assist. Oppo additionally previewed the X 2021 rollable phone final yr, and John Callaham is hoping this machine will get a industrial launch.

Foldable telephones additionally accounted for seven units on this class, up from two in final yr’s survey. This means that foldables actually have labored out most of their kinks and have gotten enticing propositions for extra individuals.

Two group members stated they weren’t seeking to improve, and who can blame them? Individuals are holding on to telephones for longer and longer, and our writers aren’t any exception.