April is finding its end, and when it comes to the smartphone market we had a lot of important releases. Vivo has finally introduced its flagship contenders and its first foldable device. The company even managed to launch the highly-anticipated Vivo X80 series with impressive camera specifications. Also, OnePlus unveiled the OnePlus 10R in India, which happens to be the Realme GT Neo 3 across global markets. POCO started its year with the POCO F4 GT and its excellent Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It was another hottest month of the year that is full of good surprises in the smartphone business. These certainly are among the best smartphone launches of April 2022!
Meanwhile, the rumor mill keeps cycling around new smartphones with 200 MP cameras and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus. April starts the second quarter, which will be marked with more important releases from all mainstream companies. Hopefully, May will bring more surprises for all the market segments. If you’ve missed any of the good releases of April 2022, we’ve listed them in this small list. Here go our small list of some of the best smartphone launches of April 2022.
BEST SMARTPHONE LAUNCHES OF April 2022 – Disclaimer
As aforementioned, this list below brings some of the best smartphones launched in April 2022. At least in our humble opinion. Maybe, you’ll think I’m missing a smartphone on this list. Don’t worry, you’ll be free to comment and share your opinion in the comments section. The devices below are those who stole our attention, created hype and anticipation ahead of their release and etc. There are various options in the flagship segment, as well as some devices that get the spotlight in the mid-range segment. Worth noting that this list is not only composed of the devices that perform better but also brings some good contenders that stole the attention due to their appeal, no matter the segment they’re targeting.
Vivo X Note
We start our list with one of Vivo’s best releases for the year. The Vivo X Note feels like the rebirth of the legendary NEX series that has further raised the race for the bezel-less display. The Vivo X Note also honors the “Note” legacy with a massive 7-inch display. The device’s panel brings LTPO AMOLED technology with a 120 Hz refresh rate, and HDR 10+. A massive display like this one looks crispy thanks to a gorgeous Quad HD+ resolution of 3,080 x 1,440 pixels and 486 ppi density.
Under the hood, the Vivo X Note carries the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC and its 4 nm architecture. The graphical tasks are ensured by a super-powerful Adreno 730 GPU. The phone comes in multiple variants with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, and 12 GB of RAM with 512 GB of Internal Storage.
Stellar camera setup
In terms of optics, the Vivo X Note does impress with a Quad-Camera setup with compelling specs. It has a 50 MP main camera with PDAF, Laser Auto Focus, and Optical Image Stabilization. There is also an 8 MP periscope telephoto module with PDAF, OIS, and 5 x Optical Zoom. The third camera is a 12 MP telephoto snapper with PDAF and 2 x optical zoom. Finally, there is a 48 MP ultrawide shooter with f/2.2 aperture and 0.8 um pixel size. This camera also brings Zeiss optics, Zeiss T* lens coating, dual-LED flash, and more. For selfies and video calls, the phone has a 16 MP selfie shooter with an f/2.5 aperture.
The phone also has stereo speakers, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2 with A2Dp, LE, aptX HD, GPS with GLONASS, and more. There is NFC, IR Blaster, and a USB Type C port. The phone sports an under-display fingerprint scanner of the optical kind. Worth noting that this device brings a larger scanner that allows you to register two fingerprints at once. The phone draws its powers from a 5,000 mAh battery with 80 W fast charging, 50 W fast wireless charging and 10 W reverse wireless charging.
Unfortunately, there is still no word on a global release for this smartphone. But we have strong reasons to believe it will eventually hit other markets. It certainly is one of the most impressive devices released in 2022, so it deserves a place among the best smartphone launches of 2022.
OnePlus 10R / Realme GT Neo 3
OnePlus 10R is also known as OnePlus Ace in China and is very similar to the Realme GT Neo 3. We assume it’s the same body, hardware with a slightly different design, and finish at the back. The specifications are very similar with some obvious differences. However, this device basically confirms our new belief that OnePlus, Realme and Oppo are all the same. Anyway, the OnePlus 10R is easily among the best smartphone launches of April 2022 and showcases BBK group’s prowess in the fast-charging department.
The OnePlus flaunts a 6.7-inch AMOLED screen with a Full HD+ resolution of 2,412 x 1,080 pixels, 20:9 aspect ratio, 120 Hz refresh rate, and HDR 10+ support. The phone is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Worth noting, that this is the first Realme smartphone to come with a centered punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera.
Powerful processor
Under the hood, the OnePlus 10R brings the same MediaTek Dimensity 8100-MAX processor. This processor apparently will be one of the most recurring choices for the “cost-effective flagship” segment this year. It brings ARM Cortex-A78 cores with a faster speed of 2.84 GHz. It’s technically faster than the Realme GT Neo 3 and is another take on the OnePlus partnership with MediaTek. The phone has variants with 8 GB, and even 12 GB of RAM. In terms of storage, it has 256 GB of storage or 512 GB of Storage.
The Realme GT Neo 3 has a better camera setup than its major competitor, or at least, a better main camera. It packs the 50 MP Sony IMX766 snapper with PDAF and Optical Image Stabilization. The other sensors are an 8 MP ultrawide shooter with f/2.3 aperture and a macro shooter with 2 MP resolution. The triple-camera setup has a Dual-LED dual-Tone flash helper. The phone brings a simpler 16 MP selfie snapper upon the front.
The handset also brings stereo speakers without a 3.5 mm headphone jack. There is dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, and QZSS GPS systems. The phone brings NFC and has a USB Type-C 2.0 port. Unlike its competitor, there is an in-display fingerprint scanner. It also runs Android 12 with OxygenOS 12 running at the top.
There are two versions of the Realme GT Neo 3. The regular version has a bigger 5000 mAh battery with 80 W fast-charging. There is a 150W version that comes with this crazily-fast 150 W charging rate. However, it has a smaller 4,500 mAh battery.
POCO F4 GT
Another device joining our list of the best smartphones of April 2022 is the POCO F4 GT. The device is a rebranded Redmi K50 Gaming Edition and is a truly powerful machine with compelling specifications.
Under the hood, the device also brings the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and has an advanced cooling engine to keep performance throttling away. The phone brings variants with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, and 12 GB of RAM with 256 GB of Internal Storage.
The POCO F4 GT flaunts a big 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with 800 nits of brightness, Full HD+ resolution of 2,400 x 1,080 pixels, and 395 ppi density. The screen is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus and has a centered punch-hole cutout for the selfie snapper. The phone brings physical magnetic pop-up gaming triggers which are here to enhance the gaming experience.
In terms of optics, the POCO F4 GT comes with a triple-camera setup. There is a 64 MP main camera with f/1.9 aperture, PDAF, and 0.8 um pixel size. There is also an 8 MP ultrawide shooter, and a 2 MP macro snapper with an f/2.4 aperture. The phone also brings a 20 MP selfie snapper with an f/2.4 aperture of 0.8 um. The phone also brings stereo speakers which are tuned by JBL.
The POCO F4 GT has Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and draws its powers from a massive 4,700 mAh battery with impressive 120 W fast-charging. The phone sticks with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, rather than an under-display one.
VIVO X80 PRO
The Vivo X80 Pro flaunts a 6.78-inch E5 2K AMOLED screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, the phone is available in China with two processing units. There is a variant with Dimensity 9000 SoC with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. The phone has up to 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512 GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. It will reach global markets pretty soon, but right now it’s unclear if both variants will be available. Anyway, both have the same 4 nm manufacturing. However, MediaTek benefits from TSMC’s manufacturing which seems to be free of Samsung’s overheating issues.
The Vivo X80 Pro packs a 50 MP main camera with Optical Image Stabilization, a 48 MP ultrawide lens, a 12 MP portrait camera, and an 8 MP telephoto lens. The device has a 32 MP selfie camera. The new handset also brings Vivo’s custom ISP with a new generation of tweaks. The phone draws its powers from a 4,700 mAh battery with 80W wired charging and 50W wireless fast charging. The phone runs Android 12-based Origin OS Ocean in China. However, this will become Funtouch OS across global markets. Last, but not least, the phone measures 9.1 mm in thickness and weighs in at 215 grams.
The phone has Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, and full GPS coverage. It certainly deserves a place among the best smartphone launches of April 2022.
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G
The OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G is a solid mid-range contender, that adds another entry-level option for Oppo customers in India. For the sake of the mid-range segment, it’s a very decent option for the market. Therefore, it deserves a place among the best smartphone launches of April 2022.
The Nord CE 2 Lite 5G features a 6.59-inch IPS LCD with a Full HD+ resolution and a 20:9 aspect ratio. It has support for a 120Hz refresh rate and supports sRGB, P3 color gamut. The screen sports a hole-punch cutout at the top left corner for the front camera. The Nord CE 2 Lite 5G comes with a 16MP front camera sensor.
On the back, the phone has a triple-camera setup. It has a 64MP main camera sensor with an f/1.7 aperture. There is an 8MP ultrawide camera along with a 2MP macro camera sensor.
The phone packs a 5000 mAh battery and comes with support for 33W SuperVOOC charging out of the box. There is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC under the hood. The phone comes with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.
The Nord CE 2 Lite 5G runs Android 12-based OxygenOS 12.1 out of the box. It weighs about 195 grams and measures 164.3 x 75.6 x 8.5mm.
Xiaomi Civi 1S
Xiaomi launched a new incremental upgrade for its Civi series in China. To those unaware, this replaces the CC series with an appeal to the style and young users. Unfortunately, the Civi is not available across global markets. But we may eventually see this smartphone reaching other markets in a disguise.
Gizchina News of the week
The Xiaomi Civi 1S packs a 6.55-inch OLED display with HDR 10+, 120 Hz refresh rate, and 950 peak brightness. The device has a Full HD+ resolution with 2,400 x 1,080 pixels and Corning Gorilla Glass 5. It’s a punch-holed display.
Under the hood, we have one of the most interesting aspects of this handset. It brings the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ processor. It’s the first smartphone in the industry with this chipset. The device also has 8 GB of RAM with 128 GB of storage, 8 GB of RAM with 256 GB of Storage, and even 12 GB of RAM with 256 GB of Storage. The GPU tasks are ensured by an Adreno 642L GPU. This processor brings the following configuration: 1 x 2.5 GHz Cortex-A78 & 3 x 2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4 x 1.8 GHz Cortex-A55. Will soon arrive on more devices.
The Xiaomi Civi 1S has a 64 MP main camera with PDAF, an 8 MP snapper for ultrawide shots, and a 2 MP macro camera. The phone has a 32 MP selfie camera with Auto-Focus and 0.8 um pixel size. The handset also brings stereo speakers and lacks a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Other features include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 with A2DP and LE, Tri-band GPS, NFC, IR Blaster, and USB Type-C 2.0 port. The phone has an under-display fingerprint scanner and draws its powers from a 4,500 mAh battery with 55 W fast charging.
Motorola Edge 30
The Edge 30 comes with a 6.5-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display. It has a 144Hz refresh rate support. THE 10-bit panel also supports HDR10+ and comes with a centrally aligned hole punch cutout for the front camera.
The phone comes with stereo speakers with support for Dolby Atmos. There is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ SoC under the hood. It comes with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. There is no support for storage expansion via a microSD card slot.
Motorola has launched the smartphone with Android 12 out of the box. It runs a layer of MyUX on top of Android. On the back, there is a triple-camera setup. The phone comes with a 50MP main camera with All-Pixel Autofocus and OIS. It also has a 50MP ultrawide camera with a 118-degree field of view. The ultrawide camera doubles up as a macro sensor. The third sensor is a 2MP depth sensor. For selfies, the phone has a 32MP front camera sensor.
The device packs a small 4,020 mAh battery with support for 33W TurboPower fast charging. There is no 3.5mm headphone jack. The phone has an IP52 rating for splash resistance. The device certainly deserves a place among the best smartphone launches of April 2022.
iQOO Neo 6
The iQOO Neo 6 certainly sits among the best smartphone launches of April 2022. The device is one of the most cost-effective smartphones with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
The iQOO Neo 6 flaunts a 6.62-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with 2400 x 1080 pixels resolution. The panel brings with support a 120Hz refresh rate, and also an impressive 1200Hz instant touch rate, Furthermore, there are 1300 nits peak brightness and 360hz touch sampling rate. The phone also comes with an independent display chip, just like the Neo 5. This dedicated display chip is said to ensure the screen is producing accurate colors and the display will automatically adjust to the environment to offer a better experience in low brightness situations. It also enhances the gaming experience giving you smoother frame rates.
Under the hood, the flagship phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. There are three variants available 一 8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB, and 12GB + 256GB. The phone also features a VC cooling system to keep the phone cool during gaming.
In terms of optics, the phone comes with a 64MP main camera with f/1.9 aperture, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, and a 2MP portrait lens. There is a 16MP snapper on the front of the device for selfies and video calls. The rear camera offers optical image stabilization (OIS) and 4K 60fps shooting s well.
Furthermore, the iQOO Neo 6 draws power from a large 4,700mAh battery unit with support for 80W fast charging and in terms of software, the phone runs on Origin OS based on Android 12 out of the box. Other features include an in-display fingerprint scanner, dual speaker setup, dual linear motor for rich vibration, and noise reduction algorithm.
Samsung Galaxy M53 5G
Samsung continues its campaign to conquer the mid-range market with its Galaxy A and M-series. If March served to bring a bunch of important Galaxy A-series devices, April brings the anticipated Galaxy M53 5G. The M5x series usually is one of the best-selling lineups in the M-series, so the Galaxy M53 5G brought compelling specs to not disappoint its loyal customers. Obviously, is one of the launches that got the spotlight in April, so It’s part of the best smartphone launches of the April 2022 list.
The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G flaunts a 6.7-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 2,400 x 1,080 pixels of resolution. For starters, this is an Infinity-O display (punch-holed) that features Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
Under the hood, the Galaxy M53 5G packs an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 900 processor coupled with an integrated Mali G68 GPU. This particular chip is a decent processor thanks to big ARM Cortex-A78 cores. The handset boots OneUI 4.1, which is based on Android 12.
The all-new Galaxy M53 seems to be a cost-effective Galaxy A73 5G. We say that due to the quad-rear camera setup including a 108MP primary sensor. Accompanying it is an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, a 2MP depth sensor, a 2MP macro sensor, and an LED flash. For selfies and video calls, it offers a 32MP front shooter inside a punch hole notch.
The latest M-series handset comes with a 5,000mAh battery unit and 25W fast charging support. Unfortunately, we don’t think that any of the Galaxy mid-range phones will go beyond this charging rate. However, similar to other mid-range Galaxy handsets, the Galaxy M53 5G also doesn’t come with a charging adapter. It offers a Type-C charging port, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, a (hybrid) micro-SD card slot, and Dolby Atmos audio. In terms of connectivity, it offers Dual-SIM, 5G, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, Glonass, and NFC.
Vivo X Fold
It’s not every day we bring a foldable smartphone to these lists. However, the Vivo X Fold was one of the hottest releases for the smartphone market. And yes, foldable smartphones are still… smartphones. So it marks a presence among the best smartphone launches of April 2022.
The new Vivo foldable smartphone flaunts an 8.03-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate support. It has a 4:3.5 aspect ratio and a 2K resolution. Unlike the Z Fold 3 and its under-display camera, Vivo’s foldable brings a punch-hole cutout at the top right for the 16MP front camera. The device has an aerospace-grade wing hinge to ensure a smooth and durable folding mechanism,
The first (true) foldable smartphone of 2022
On the outside, there is a 6.53-inch AMOLED display. The screen has a 21:9 aspect ratio and is curved slightly on the right side. There is a hole-punch cutout at the top center for the front camera.
Under the hood, the foldable phone has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. It packs a 4600 mAh battery with support for 66W wired fast charging and 50W wireless charging. That’s a pretty decent battery and charging setup for a device in the foldable segment. After all, there are more challenges in this category. The Vivo X Fold, surpasses its major competitor in battery backup. The device has a quad-camera setup on the back. It comes with a 50MP F/1.75 main camera sensor and a 48MP ultra-wide camera. The camera setup also includes a 12MP portrait camera (47mm focal length) and an 8MP periscope camera with 5X optical zoom and up to 60x digital zoom. The device also comes with an alert slider and runs Android 12-based Origin OS Ocean on top.
The Vivo X Fold is the first “real” foldable of 2022. After all, it brings a 2022 flagship processor the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
Moto G52
We end our list with an affordable smartphone. After all, in this competitive market, there is room for all pockets. The Moto G52 continues the lineup with compelling specifications, but only 4G connectivity. Anyway, it may figure as a decent option for certain markets. After all, it brings a decent camera setup and an OLED display, which is not very common for this category.
The Moto G52 sports a 6.6-inch OLED display with a Full HD+ resolution with a DCI-P3 color gamut. The phone offers a 90Hz refresh rate and a 360Hz touch sampling rate. The phone’s screen has fairly thin bezels on all four sides. Under the hood, it is powered by a Snapdragon 680 processor and it runs on Android 12. According to Motorola, this device is eligible for one more update with Android 13. To those unaware, the Snapdragon 680 is a sequel to the Snapdragon 662 family, made on a modern 6 nm manufacturing node. It’s not a beast in terms of performance but is efficient.
A good camera setup
In terms of optics, there is a triple-camera setup led by a 50MP main camera, an 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 2MP macro vision sensor. Thankfully, there is an ultrawide camera, after all, many companies are neglecting this sensor for the not-so-useful macro and depth combo. There is a 16MP selfie snapper on the front which is decent for selfies and video calls. As usual, the phone draws its power from a big 5000 mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging.
Motorola has finally improved its game when it comes to charging tech. The phone comes with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Despite the fact that the company ships software that is very reminiscent of vanilla Android, it still manages to deliver interesting goodies. For example, the company enters the trend of virtual RAM with this device. It supports up to 1.5 GB of Virtual RAM. It works just like other devices.
The phone also has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and follows the trend of stereo speakers. It supports Dolby Atmos, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since Motorola is a Lenovo company. There is also a 3.5 mm headphone jack, something that you can only find in the mid-range department. The panel has Lenovo’s ThinkShield security suite, IP52 water resistance, NFC, and micro SD card support.
The Moto G52 may not be the 5G phone that some users were expecting, but still deserves a place among the best smartphone launches of April 2022.
