**Smartphone Review: Top 5 Smartphones of 2021**

In this review, we will explore the top 5 smartphones of 2021, including their features, design, and performance. We will also discuss honorable mentions that didn't make it to the top 5 list.

One of the most notable partnerships in 2021 was the partnership between Hasselblad and a certain camera manufacturer. This partnership resulted in improvements for the cameras, but we think it was slightly over-hyped. However, we do expect to see the fruits of this partnership in future generations.

Another company that stood out in 2021 is Realme. They released several smartphones, including the Realme GT, which has a 120-Hertz display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip set, and 65-watt charging included out of the box. The early-bird offer for the Realme GT started at just 369 euros, making it an excellent value for its price.

Sony also released several solid smartphones in 2021, including the Sony Xperia Pro I. This smartphone features a one-inch sensor for the camera and offers full manual control with amazing hardware. Although the software processing from Sony may not be traditional HDI look, this phone is perfect for photography and video enthusiasts. With a price tag of 1600 pounds, it's still considered a high-end smartphone.

Vivo also came out with some excellent smartphones in 2021, including the X60 Pro, X70 Pro, and ProPlus. However, one that stood out was the X70 Pro Plus, which features Zeiss optics. Although we got our hands on this phone late in the game, we're excited to see what Vivo has in store for us next year.

Asus also released some great contenders in 2021. The Zenfone 8 was a surprise hit, offering an excellent compact Android smartphone with no real compromises due to its size. With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip set, 120-Hertz display, and 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, this phone is a must-have for anyone looking for a great compact smartphone. The price point is also very competitive.

Another company that deserves mention is Lenovo, who released the Legion Phone Duel 2, a gaming device with a smartphone attached. This phone features a 44-megapixel live streaming pop-up camera, dual turbo charging, and customizable gaming triggers. The fact that you can connect two cables to the smartphone at the same time and charge with them both is absolutely insane.

**My Top 5 Smartphones of 2021**

After careful consideration, here are my top 5 smartphones of 2021:

* Realme GT: With its 120-Hertz display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip set, and 65-watt charging included out of the box, this phone is an excellent value for its price.

* Sony Xperia Pro I: This smartphone features a one-inch sensor for the camera and offers full manual control with amazing hardware. Although the software processing from Sony may not be traditional HDI look, this phone is perfect for photography and video enthusiasts.

* Vivo X70 Pro Plus: This phone features Zeiss optics and is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a high-quality smartphone. With its 44-megapixel live streaming pop-up camera and dual turbo charging, this phone is a must-have for anyone in the know.

* Asus Zenfone 8: This compact Android smartphone offers no real compromises due to its size, featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip set, 120-Hertz display, and 3.5-millimeter headphone jack.

* Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2: With its customizable gaming triggers and dual turbo charging, this phone is an excellent choice for gamers. The fact that you can connect two cables to the smartphone at the same time and charge with them both is absolutely insane.

**Honorable Mentions**

While these five smartphones stood out in 2021, there were several other devices that deserve mention:

* Oneplus (no longer available)

* OnePlus released several excellent smartphones in previous years, but unfortunately, they have been discontinued.

* Huawei: Although Huawei was absent from the smartphone market due to US trade restrictions, their phones are still highly regarded for their performance and design.

**Daily Drivers**

As a YouTuber, I'm always on the go, and my daily drivers need to be reliable, efficient, and feature-rich. My current daily drivers are:

* Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

* Google Pixel 6 Pro

Both of these phones offer excellent cameras, long battery life, and snappy performance.

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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- What's up, guys?SuperSaf here.And it's finally time.Time for my top fivefavorite smartphones of 2021.Now, last year I did a top 10.And some of you guys did call me outand called it a bit of a cop-out,10 is a lot of smartphones,but there's been so many new devices outlast year as well as this year,and I didn't want to just rip offMarques' format with Smartphone Awards,like pretty much everybody else is doing,so this year I have narrowedit down to just five,but there will be twosections to this video.I'll give you my initial top five picks,but then there'll be a sectionwhere I'll give you allof my honorable mentionsfor my favorite smartphones,which just didn't quite make that list.This video is sponsored by NordVPN.Use the link in the descriptionfor a special offer.Now, as always, a few disclaimers.This is my top-five list.It's of course going to bedifferent to your top five.That's absolutely fine, guys.We can still be friends, no need to argue.Please drop your favoritesdown in the comments below.And I've tested a lot ofsmartphones this year,as you can see, but I'venot tested every single one.There's just one of me, guys.I know I'm SuperSaf, butthere are so many smartphonesthat I can personallycover and thoroughly test.So if there are any smartphonesthat you think shouldhave been on this list,which I haven't tested, then again,drop those in the comments below.Final disclaimer, this listis in no particular order,I'm just going to be givingyou my top five picks,but I will reveal my daily drivers of 2021in the upcoming SuperSafstyle collaborationwith all of my friends.That's currently in the works,and it's going to be live very soon.So make sure you do subscribe,and hit that bell iconso you don't miss it.And with all of that out of the way,let's get to it.So the first smartphone on my list,once again, in no particular order,is a smartphone that I believe wasthe first to release this year.And it really sets a benchmarkor every other flagship that came out,And that is the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.Now, Samsung did a completeredesign for the S21 Ultra,and we've got this veryunique looking camera module,which melts into the sides.And this is a flagship thatticks off all of the boxes.You've got an excellent display,you've got really good battery life,some of the best cameras out therewith the best zoom camera, in my opinion,and arguably some ofthe best video recordingon any Android smartphone.Now, this was the first Samsung smartphonethat did not ship with acharger out of the box,setting a bit of a trend.And Samsung also got ridof the micro SD card slot,which was something thata lot of people weredisappointed about, but nevertheless,this is still an excellent smartphone,and it really does compete evenly year on.Now I do have to give somehonorable mentions hereto the Samsung galaxy S21,as well as the S21 Plus,which offer a lot of thefeatures that the S21 Ultra does,just not quite there.And they do come in at a lower pricecompared to the S20 series last year,so some more great options from Samsung.Moving on to the second pick.And I think this one's going to bepretty obvious for a lot of you guys.It is my iPhone of choice,of course, the iPhone 13 Pro Max.Now I'm going to include theiPhone 13 Pro in this as well,because it's practicallythe same smartphone,just smaller with a smaller battery.And although the design is pretty similarto what we had last year,the iPhone 13 Pro Maxis an absolute beast.We have a pro-motion, 120Hertz display this year,very consistent cameras,and, in my opinion,the best overall camera packagefor photos and videos of 2021.And for me, one of thebiggest pluses has beenthe amazing battery life.The iPhone 13 Pro Max, in my opinion,has some of the best battery lifeon any smartphone this year.And it's my go-to when I'm traveling,because I don't have to keep worryingabout getting it topped up.Now, of course, thereis room for improvement.As much as I like faceID, in the era of masks,I would have liked to havehad touch ID in addition.And although the notch is smallercompared to what we had last year,it is a lot more intrusivecompared to the punch-up designthat many of thecompetitors have opted for.Now we, of course, have togive some honorable mentionsto the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Mini,arguably these are incremental updates,but the iPhone 13 Mini is still consideredthe best small smartphone you can buy.And although we don't havethe same level of updatesthat we've got on the iPhone 13 Pro,and the iPhone 13 Pro Max,the 13 and 13 Mini do havesome improved cameras,and they are priced lowercompared to what we had last year,which will make them thego-to iPhones for most people.Next up on my list isthe Google Pixel 6 Pro.Now, Google did a complete redesignand I'm a huge fan ofthe Pixel 6 Pro design.It looks really unique with the visor.It also makes for somereally fun thumbnails.We've got some excellent cameras overall.One of my favorite selfie cameras.Yes, some may thinkthat the Google look isa bit over-processed, buta lot of people do like it.And this is the first smartphonewith Google's custom Tensor chip sets,that, along with Android 12,gives you some unique featuresthat you're not going to findon any of the smartphone,such as magic eraser,as well as some excellent speech to text.Now, having said that,the software has beenpretty buggy in my experience,with lots of app crashes,in particular on Googleapps, which is super weird.And although the camerasare generally really goodfor photos, they're stillnot up there for the video.Having said that, the Pixel 6 Prodoes come in at a very competitive price,and, overall, it's anexcellent smartphone.Now, an honorable mention hasto go to the Google Pixel 6,which comes in at an evenmore competitive price,offering a lot of what youhave on the Pixel 6 Pro,and it's such an easysmartphone to recommend.Now, before we continue, a quick thanksto our sponsor for this video, NordVPN.Are you tired of yourinternet service providerand other third partiestracking your every move online?Well, you can easily hide your online datafrom them all using NordVPN.I've personally been a NordVPN customerfor over four years,and that's because it's so easy to useand works with all of my devices,Android, iOS, Windows,Mac OS, and even Linux.With the tap of a button, youcan connect to the internetvia your remote private server,keeping your data hiddenfrom everyone else.And this also means you canaccess content and applicationsthat may not be available in your country.There's a holiday seasondeal on right now.And if you go to nordvpn.com/supersaf,you can get a two year plan,plus one additional monthwith a huge discount.And you have nothingto lose as NordVPN hasa risk-free, 30-day money-back guarantee.Right, so we've gonethrough the top three,which I'm assuming a lot of you hadprobably already guessed,but the next two were very,very difficult for me to pick,but I've narrowed itdown to two smartphones,which I've really enjoyed using this year.The first might be a bitof a surprise for you guys,and that is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.That's right, the flip.Now you guys know I've been a huge fanof foldable smartphones,with the Fold 1 and Fold 2being some of my favoritesmartphones of 2019 and 2020.But the flip reallysurprised me this year.And that's because in my opinion,this is the first foldable smartphonethat appeals to the massescoming in at under $1,000.We've got a really good display,with 120 Hertz refresh rate,as well as a secondary cover display,which could be a little bit larger.And Samsung has somehowmanaged to give thisan IPX 8 water and dust resistant rating,which is still mind-blowing to methat you can have a folding smartphonethat can have water and dust resistance.Now, there is still some wayto go for foldable devices.The battery life on the flipthree is really not that great.I've not had battery anxietyon a flagship smartphone for some time,but I did have with the Flip 3.And the cameras, althoughthey're pretty good overall,they don't quite meetup to the competition.However, this is a big stepfor foldable smartphones,and it gets me reallyexcited that these are nowso much more accessibleto a lot of people.Now I have to give an honorablemention to the folding king,the best smartphone thatfalls out into a tablet.And that is of coursethe Samsung Galaxy Z.I hate the name of it.The Fold 3, I'm just goingto call it the Fold 3.The Fold 3, although it might seemlike a bit of an incrementalupdate to the Fold 2,it's such a joy to use withsome beautiful displays,both inside and out,really good battery life,software that's optimizedto take advantageof the larger display.An IPX 8 water and dust resistant rating,like we've got on the Flip 3.And, for the first time on a foldable,support for the S Pen,something really important,especially consideringthat we did not havea note device this year.Now, the Fold 3 stillcomes in at 1600 pounds,which is pretty high.And that's the reasonwhy it didn't quite makemy top five list.Now the final smartphone on my list,again, this is in no particular order,but this was so, sodifficult to narrow it down,but I think it's going tobe the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra.This was a smartphone thatreally tried to go all out.And although it's gotthe biggest camera bumpon any smartphone that I've seen,it does have a purposewith a secondary display,which you can use to take selfiesfrom the rear facing cameras.Arguably one of thebest displays out therewith the 120 Hertz and a1700-nit-peak brightness,a very premium ceramicbuild with 67 Watts wiredas well as 67 Watts wireless charging,which I believe makesit one of the fastestwireless chargingsmartphones of this year.Now, it's not perfect, of course,the cameras didn't quitelive up to my expectations.And although they're really good overalland have improved as well,I really don't like the factthat they've plastered 120X on the back,when it's a five timesoptical zoom camera,big stretch all the way to 120.I mean, definitely not a fan of that,but apart from that, it reallydoes tick all of the boxesfor a premium 2021 flagship smartphone.Now I have to give an honorable mentionto the Xiaomi 11T Pro as well,which came out a littlebit later in the year.This is much more affordable,coming in at around 600 poundswith the QualcommSnapdragon 888 chip sets,108-megapixel primary camera,and 120-watt charging,included out of the box,at that price.I mean, most of thesmartphones on this listdon't come with a chargerincluded out of the box.So, you know, it's pretty impressive.So that is my top-five list,but don't go anywhere yet, guys.As mentioned, there arelots of my favorites,which just didn't quitemeet that top five,but I think do deserve a mention.The first being the Oppo Find X3 Pro,which kind of got forgotten, I would say,it released very early in the year,and it did tick up a lot of boxes,it's got an excellent display,some great cameras with the same sensorfor the primary, as wellas the out right camera,and something that's completelyunique to the Find X3 Pro,and that is the world'sfirst microscope camera.Now I'm going to put my hands up,I initially did considerthis a bit of a gimmick,but after using the Find X3 Pro,I found myself using the microscope cameramore than the other cameras,because it was just so much fun.We then have the OnePlus 9 Pro,which I think also deservesan honorable mention.This is very similar to the Find X3 Pro,it almost looks identical from the front,because, you know, Oppo OnePlus,but the OnePlus 9 Pro is areally, really good smartphone,comes in at a lower pricecompared to the Find X3 Pro,and has a very fast andsmooth software experience.Now it did have theHasselblad partnership,which did result inimprovements for the cameras,but I do think it was alittle bit too over-hypedand I think we'll be seeingthe fruits of this partnershipat a later point after a few generations.I also have to give anhonorable mention to Realme.I mean, they released a lotof smartphones this year,maybe a bit too many,but the one that really stoodout for me was the Realme GT.Realme seems to be taking the placeof what OnePlus used to be,offering a flagship devicewith all of the flagshipspecs that you would expect,but at a very competitive price point.The Realme GT has a 120-Hertz display,the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip sets,65-watt charging included out of the box.And all of that startedwith an early-bird offerof just 369 euros.Now, sure, it's not going tolive up in terms of the camerasto a lot of the $1,000flagships out there,but realistically speaking,having those amazingspecs at that low pricemakes it the idealsmartphone for spectrum keys.Now, Sony also released somesolid smartphones this year,but the one that reallystood out for me wasthe Sony Experia Pro I.With a one-inch sensor for the camera,they've gone full out on the hardware.And although the softwareprocessing from Sonymay not be the traditional HDI lookthat you get from other smartphones,if you're somebody that's reallyinto photography and video,having all of those manual controlswith the amazing hardwareis absolutely excellent.You've also got a 4k, 120-Hertz display,and this is a really nice smartphone,which is still for theniches, I would say.And that's because itcomes in at 1600 pounds.Now, Vivo came out withsome excellent smartphonesthis year as well, the X60 Pro,the X70 Pro as well as the ProPluses, it's a lot of pros,but the X70 Pro Plus, excellent smartphonewith some Zeiss optics.This is a smartphonewith that unfortunately,I got a little bit late,so I didn't get a full chance to test,but Vivo are producingsome excellent devices,and I'm really hopingthat I can spend more timewith Vivo smartphones in 2022,Asus released some great contenders.The Zenfone 8 was a bitof a surprise for me.Although the design is a pretty standard,it's, in my opinion, the bestcompact Android smartphoneyou can buy with no realcompromises because of its size.You've still got the QualcommSnapdragon 888 chip set.You've got 120 Hertz display,and you've also got3.5-millimeter headphone jack.I mean, how many smart phoneshave one of those these days?This all comes in as a verycompetitive price point as well.And let's not forget the gaming monitorsthat we have this year.The Asus ROG Phone 5 Ultimatewas a standout for me,with its unique design, 144-Hertz displaywith one millisecond response time.It was the world's first smartphonewith 18 gigabytes of LPDDR5 RAM.And it also has a massive6,000 milliamp power battery.And we also had the LenovoLegion Phone Duel 2,which came in at a much lower price point.And this is more of a gaming devicewith a smartphone attached,rather than a smartphonethat can do gaming.And that's because it'skind of built landscape.And that includes the 44-megapixel,live streaming pop-up camera,which is actually placed on the side,lots of gaming triggerswhich you can customize,as well as dual turbo charging,which completely blew my mind.The fact that you can connect two cablesto the smartphone at the same timeand charge with themboth, absolutely insane.And those are my topfive smartphones of 2021,along with all of the honorable mentions.What are your favoritesmartphones of 2021?Do you agree with my list?Do you disagree with it?Remember, guys, we can still be friends.Drop your favorites in the comments below.And, as mentioned, I will be revealingmy daily drivers as wellas all of my friendsin the upcoming SuperSafStyle collaboration video.You don't want to miss that,it's currently in the works,and will be coming very, very soon.So make sure you have subscribedand hit that bell icon,so you know as soon as it's live.I hope you enjoyed thisvideo and found it useful.If you did, then do smashthat like button for me.Thanks for watching.This is Saf on SuperSaf TV,and I'll see you next time.\n"