Best Smartphones of 2021!

This video is sponsored by MediaTek.
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Ah 2021. The year we all thought would be a full-on back to normal, only to get a watered down version of 2020, and matched with weird variant names, and then the unheard-of concept of a chip shortage. We saw some products sort of die, RIP Galaxy Note, we also saw some companies exit the game all together, RIP LG, and then we saw some weird moves we’re still trying to figure out, I’m looking at you, OnePlus. Yup, it’s been an interesting year to say the least, but at the same time, I also think it’s been the best year for smartphones.

I called 2020 a year of refinement where companies even embraced the mid ranger a bit more, but 2021 was kind of a different animal. I’d call it more a year of maturity. A lot of the products we saw before as nice gimmicks have now evolved to become trustworthy products, up to the point where it’s made us debate if what we’ve known as a flagship is actually the best you can buy. It almost feels like a transition year, so our list for the best of the best got even more interesting. I’m Jaime Rivera with Pocketnow and these are our top picks for smartphones of 2021, sponsored by MediaTek.

#Pocketnow #BestSmartphoneAwards

0:00 - Intro
1:40 - Best Budget Smartphone That Offered 5G
2:21 - Best Camera
3:22 - Best Conventional Flagship
4:36 - Best Design
5:57 - Best Mid-Ranger
7:08 - Best Value
8:10 - Best Compact Smartphone
8:58 - Best All-Rounder
10:00 - Best of the Best
11:36 - Conclusion

Follow us:

[Garrettdx]

Man, LG was such a slept on phone manufacturer. Jaime always did them justice in his reviews, unlike some others.

[Uncle_Drew]

I would love to have Jaime narrate my life story. It would be like Morgan Freeman narrating documentaries.

I agree on the winners on each categories. Great job in explaining why.

[Tabooza]

Samsung kings of Innovation 💡. Thank you for always setting and pushing the bar higher. Increasing competition for us consumers.

[bengaligangsta]

I agree. I got the Z fold 3. It's a game changer and it's now going to be hard to go back to a normal phone! I've got an excellent deal too so it's not so much more expensive than other top range flagship phones

[SJF]

LG made some great phones, I remember my G6 and V20 with great fondness!

[AS_]

Wishing team pocketnow a very happy and prosperous New year ahead.
🍻

[insertnickhere]

And they finally made the performance gap between the SD and Exynos not as big as it used to be(although the gap is still definitely

[primetimebkny]

I agree with the number one pick. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is an all round beast

[FloRiva]

I’m glad Google is finally becoming a legit competitor to Samsung and Apple in the smartphone market. They’re going to become the company that OnePlus should have, I feel like both companies are going on opposite trajectories.

[adariepennant]

Lg + motorola + HTC + blackberry + Nokia + Lenovo = should just joint forces teamup merged and also make a super ultimate mobile phone together. 🤝🏽🤔👀💡

[jdneilso]

Well, I took your recommendation on the Z Fold 3 because Best Buy has it for $999 and so far, I'm loving it.

[Garrettdx]

I thought the X3 camera design was fugly. Otherwise I agree, it's a great all arounder. The X2 is still one of the nicest looking modern phones to me.

[saadahmed]

The intro was soooo amazing... really summed up 2021

[paulmarsdensr]

Brother I just want to thank you for always putting out great content. My S21 ultra 5G from Samsung and I'm also on the Verizon network. The best smartphone I think Samsung has ever made. I always keep my smartphones for 2 years. I might go 3 years this time. Your list is very good. Happy new year to you and your family brother.

[errickkitchin]

Watching this on my slate black S21 Ultra. I pre-ordered this phone, got it in January, and have loved it ever since.

[brandonminiman]

Pixel 6 is phone of the year. Says me, thank you.

Also those Samsung trade deals last a very long time. Don’t be tricked.

[seinfarage]

Awesome video n happy new year from Sénégal

[EyPapi]

Great job on the picks for the categories.

[LOTR_BTTF]

Think I probably would have went with the Pixel 5a for the best midrange phone. It actually won the camera test MKBHD did recently.

[baddad]

Yes I love how you did this review I feel it was very true I do have the Z fold 3 I was moved how good it is after having note phones many years. It's a beast on Android 12 beta.