Buying a new phone can be a chore, but we've done the work for you.

Prices for flagship phones are higher than ever, and it's unlikely that they'll ever come back down. The absolutely premium phones, like the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, now cost well over $1,000, or about the price of a good laptop. But, as the ceiling gets higher, devices in the more reasonable $600 to $800 range have gotten even more capable. In fact, our pick for the best overall phone is the $829 Apple iPhone 13, and Google's Pixel 6 included here is priced more like a midrange device than all-out flagship.

There's even more good news: Hot Flagship Fall is just around the corner, and many of the models featured here are soon to be replaced with the next generation. That means it's high season for phone deals, so you might be able to snag one of the outgoing models for a nice price if you're lucky.

One good reason to spend this much on a phone is to go as long as possible before you have to buy a new one. All of the devices featured here have great cameras, nice screens, good battery life, and are fast enough to keep up with your day to day. They'll also generally get more years of software updates than cheaper phones: three years is a bare minimum here, and five is common. Picking the right phone is mostly a matter of preference. Find the one that suits you best, and you'll be rewarded with many years of use before it's time to start phone shopping again.

Or, if you want to get the best smartphone on a budget, you can find something really good for under $500 or even less.

APPLE IPHONE 13
BEST IPHONE TO BUY IN 2022
Out of the four iPhone 13 variants that Apple launched in 2021, the $829 iPhone 13 (unlocked) hits the sweet spot between price, pocketability, and features.

It has a new processor, a bigger battery, 128GB of internal storage, and uses the same large camera sensor as the acclaimed iPhone 12 Pro Max, but you wouldn't know it from its compact size.

In fact, the 13 looks almost identical to the 12 but is just a bit thicker and heavier, with substantially bigger camera bumps and lenses that swapped places. (No, you won't be able to reuse your iPhone 12 case for the 13.) Otherwise, it has the same overall design, a brighter 6.1-inch OLED display, the same 12-megapixel selfie camera, the same MagSafe wireless charging, the same water and dust resistance (IP68), and the same support for both sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G networks. On top of all that, it comes in six colors (including pink), one more than you can choose from in the Pro models.

What's different with the iPhone 13's new A15 Bionic chip is that it should still feel fast in years to come, but it's difficult to measure significant speed improvements with iPhones. The new chip helps the iPhone 13 run more efficiently, which lasts well into the evening without needing a top up.

Using the same camera sensor that made the iPhone 12 Pro Max the best smartphone camera for photos and videos in 2020, the iPhone 13's main wide-angle camera has

FOR MOST PEOPLE, THE IPHONE 13 IS AN EASY CHOICE

It is significantly improved. Photo details are sharp and accurate, colors are rich without being oversaturated, focusing is fast and reliable, portrait mode is good enough to use day to day, and low light and night sight are both exceptional. Its ultrawide camera, on the other hand, has only been minorly updated for better low-light performance.

Video quality is also great. The main camera has sensor stabilization, which helps when you're walking around. It can do all the modes that matter in terms of 4K and slow-mo and handles them all super well. It even lets you record videos in Cinematic mode, which helps you smoothly switch focus between subjects by changing the depth of field.

The iPhone 13 starts with 128GB of storage. Because its storage is not expandable, and depending on how you'll be using the phone, you might want to bite the bullet and upgrade to the next tier.

For most people, the iPhone 13 is an easy choice: it offers similar performance, design, camera features, and (sometimes) better battery life than other iPhone 13 models, for less money.

Source: Re-posted and Summarized from Johnson and Gloria Sin at the verge.

My Take: I guess I now know what my next phone will be.