Last week, GSMA hosted the MWC (Mobile World Congress) 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. However, unlike previous years, there weren’t many big launches. That’s because companies now prefer to announce their important devices at their own annual conferences.
Anyway, there were some 5 smartphones that caught our attention. We have compiled them in this article. Three of them are from separate brands, while two of them are from the same brand. These OEMs are HONOR, OPPO, realme, and POCO.
With that being said, let us take a look at these phones one by one.
Best Smartphones at MWC 2022
1. HONOR Magic4 Pro
Our pick for the star of Mobile World Congress 2022 is none other than HONOR Magic4 Pro. The latest flagship smartphone from HONOR offers almost all the high-end features one can expect.
The device sports a glass sandwich housing with a metal frame. It flaunts a 6.81-inch 10-bit curved OLED LTPO display with a resolution of 1312×2848 pixels, up to 120Hz refresh rate, and a pill-shaped cutout for the front-facing cameras. The panel is not only HDR10+ certified but also IMAX Enhanced.
The phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset paired with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. It also comes with an independent security chip and an independent display chip for always-on HDR as well as MEMC.
Though the handset houses a large circular module on the rear, there are only three cameras – 50MP wide lens, 50MP ultra-wide lens, and 64MP 3.5x telephoto lens. The remaining two holes are for a flicker sensor and an 8×8 dTOF laser focusing system. On the front, it has a 12MP shooter and a 3D depth sensor.
Other features of the HONOR Magic4 Pro include IP68 certification for dust and water resistance, dual stereo speakers, ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, Magic UI 6 based on Android 12, 4,500mAh battery, 100W fast wired charging, 100W fast wireless charging, and 5W wireless reverse charging.
The device is offered in four colors (cyan, gold, black, orange) and starts at €1099 outside mainland China. Its availability will be revealed closer to the release.
2. OPPO Find X5 Pro
Unlike the HONOR Magic4 Pro, the OPPO Find X5 Pro was not announced at MWC 2022. The company unveiled it a few days ago but showcased it at the GSMA-hosted conference.
The successor of OPPO Find X3 Pro retains the design language from its predecessor with some tweaks. The Glaze Black version sports a glass back, while the Ceramic White variant flaunts a ceramic rear panel. Both have a metal frame.
The phone sports a 6.7-inch 10-bit LTPO 2.0 curved AMOLED display with a resolution of 3216 × 1440 pixels, up to 120Hz refresh rate, up to 240Hz touch sampling rate, and 525 PPI. It has a punch-hole at the top left corner and Corning Gorilla Glass protection.
The handset is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip coupled with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. There’s also a self-developed MariSilicon X chipset for image processing. As for software, it boots ColorOS 12.1 based on Android 12.
It arrives with a triple rear camera system powered by Hasselblad. The setup includes a 50MP primary sensor with 5-axis OIS, a 50MP ultra-wide unit, and a 13MP 2x telephoto snapper. On the front, it has a 32MP shooter for selfies and video calls.
Other features include dual stereo speakers, in-screen fingerprint sensor, 5,000mAh battery, 80W fast wired charging, 50W fast wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging.
The OPPO Find X5 Pro is priced at €1,300 for a sole 12GB+256GB memory configuration in Europe. It will go on sale on March 14
3. realme GT 2 Pro
The realme GT 2 Pro is the only old handset is the list. It made its debut in China in January. However, it was announced for Europe at MWC 2022. The device is the first proper flagship smartphone from realme.
The phone’s back is made of biopolymer to offer a paper-like touch and feel. Whereas, its frame is made of metal. Despite featuring a different body material, it is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC as other premium Android smartphones.
The chipset is coupled with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. As far as software is concerned, the handset ships with realme UI 3.0 based on Android 12.
One of the interesting features of the phone is its 6.7-inch display. This 10-bit flat LTPO 2.0 AMOLED panel has a resolution of 3216 x 1440 pixels and up to 120Hz refresh rate, 1000Hz touch sampling rate as well as 1,,400 nits peak brightness. Protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, it has a punch-hole at the top left corner and a fingerprint sensor with support for heart rate monitoring underneath it.
Apart from a great display, the handset also comes with an equally impressive 50MP (Sony IMX766 with OIS) + 50MP (150° ultra-wide) + microscope lens triple camera system on the rear and a 32MP Sony IMX615 front-facing camera. Other features include dual stereo speakers, a 5,000mAh battery, and 65W fast wired charging.
The realme GT2 Pro is priced at €749 and €849 for 8GB + 128GB and 12GB + 256GB memory variants respectively in Europe. It is already up for sale in select regions.
4. POCO X4 Pro 5G
The next device is our list is POCO X4 Pro 5G, which is a budget offering. Despite being a rebranded Redmi Note 10 Pro 5G, we considered it to be one of the best smartphones at MWC 2022. Because it only looks unique (subjective) but also costs only €269 and €319 for 6GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB versions respectively (early bird pricing).
Talking about highlights, it flaunts a glass sandwich design (flat plastic frame) and is built around a 6.67-centered punch-hole FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate, 395 PPI, and 1,200 nits peak brightness. It is run by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC paired with LPDDR4x RAM and UFS 2.2 storage.
For photography and videography, there’s a 108MP (wide) + 8MP (ultra-wide) + 2MP (macro) triple rear camera system and a 16MP front-facing camera. Other features include dual stereo speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a hybrid MicroSD card slot, an IR blaster, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and an IP53 rating.
Last but not least, it boots MIUI 13 for POCO based on Android 11 and gets its juice from a 5,000mAh battery, which has support for 67W fast charging.
5. POCO M4 Pro
The final phone is our list is POCO M4 Pro. It is even more affordable (early bird pricing) than the POCO X4 Pro 5G as it is priced at only €199 (6GB + 128GB) and €249 (8GB + 128GB). It is a rebadged variant of the Redmi Note 11S, which we consider better than the Redmi Note 11 Pro in terms of value.
The handset’s body is entirely made of plastic but still sports a 6.43-inch centered punch-hole AMOLED display with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels (FHD+), 409 PPI, up to 90Hz refresh rate, and 1,000 nits peak brightness level. It is powered by MediaTek Helio G96 SoC coupled with LPDDR4x RAM and UFS 2.2 storage.
It arrives with a 64MP (wide) + 8MP (ultra-wide) + 2MP (macro) triple rear camera setup and a 16MP front-facing camera. It runs MIUI 13 based on Android 11 and is backed by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging.
Other features include an IP53 rating, dual stereo speakers, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a dedicated MicroSD card slot, and an IR blaster.
RELATED:
- OPPO’s ‘ultra’ flagship tipped to debut in H2 2022, possibly with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus
- Realme mid-range smartphone with OnePlus like Alert Slider coming in April: Report
- OPPO Find X5 Pro Dimensity Version AnTuTu score is out, beats Snapdragon variant
- POCO announces free YouTube Premium for POCO X4 Pro 5G, M4 Pro buyers
- HONOR Magic4 series gets its LTPO displays from BOE and Visionox
