10 Best Android Smartphones in the Philippines 2022 | Buying Guide Reviewed by IT Specialist

The products we introduce below were carefully curated by the mybest team, from the best-sellers of E-commerce sites like Lazada, and using the points mentioned in our detailed and thoroughly researched buying guide.

Disclaimer: These products are recommendations made by our team at mybest Philippines. Our expert, JC Rogelio, is not affiliated with, nor is he endorsing any of the brands we mention below.

**Prices may vary depending on the website and their campaign period**

To give you a rundown, here are our top 3 picks for the best Android smartphones you can buy online:

1. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
   
2. Xiaomi Mi 11
   
3. Huawei Mate 40 Pro 5G
   
   

Check out the table below to further compare the characteristics of these three as well as the other seven that made it to our list.

Here are some key points to consider:

1. Consider the battery life and charging method.
2. Know the smartphone's performance.
3. Evaluate the screen size, type, material, and resolution.
4. Check the rear and selfie camera.
5. Look for features that add convenience.
6. Think about purchasing from mobile carriers or retailers.

Many smartphone users take battery capacity for granted. Having the latest processor and largest RAM on your device will be useless if you can only use the device for a short period. It will be constantly plugged in a charger, and it won't last a whole day if you're always on the go. Also, newer components require a lot of power to operate, which is how an Android smartphone works.

Battery life should always be the priority of power smartphone users. Get a smartphone with at least 4000mAh of battery capacity to sustain your daily usage. Other brands offer more than that and have the latest tech that allows quick charging. The charging brick that comes with the device lets you fully charge the smartphone in just over an hour. 

If you're going to use your mobile device for games, photography, or video conferences, you might need a bigger battery capacity, or you might as well bring a portable power bank if you're always in transit.

Some brands have wireless charging or reverse charging capability to provide juice to other devices. Just keep in mind that wireless charging docks are generally sold separately. 

Others only have wired charging and it won't be much of a hassle if you are always close to a wall socket or devices that have USB ports. Whichever way you want to charge the smartphone is your choice but to be future-proof, choose a unit that has a Type-C USB slot.

Gauging a device's performance will always boil down to its processor, RAM capacity, and storage capacity. These two components should be on top of your mind when looking for the best Android device.

We're not going to dive down to the nitty-gritty of how a processor works in this article. But in the simplest terms, everything that happens within your smartphone relies on the capability of the processor. Specific smartphone brands use different processors in their devices: Snapdragon, MediaTek, Kirin, and Exynos, to name a few. 

Take note that the graphics processing unit or GPU can be manufactured by a different brand and always come already packaged on the processor to fit in a smaller device. As of January 2021, Nanoreview has released the latest ranking of processors for mobile devices. 

On that list, Snapdragon 888 with Adreno GPU, made by Qualcomm, is considered the leading processor nowadays. Followed by Exynos 2100 with Mali-G78 from Samsung, HiSilicon's Kirin 9000 with Mali-G78, Dimensity 1000 Plus with Mali-G77, and Helio G95 with Mali-G76, both by MediaTek. These are the best processors that you may want to be installed on your next mobile device.

Random Access Memory in PCs works the same with smartphones. A higher-capacity RAM lets you operate multiple tasks simultaneously without slowing down the system. An Android operating system is very notorious for having tons of bloatware from a smartphone brand on top of Google's software. 

Wherein bloatware is always running in the background and constantly eating up significant RAM space, thus limiting your phone's ability to operate multiple apps. It is advisable to get at least 4GB of RAM to have a decent experience on your mobile device.

Anything and everything that you put into your phone eats up storage space. All the apps, photos, videos, or documents go straight to your ROM (Read-Only Memory). Cheaper models offer 16GB of space, but with the number of vital apps that a user might need, this space is not enough. Maxing out a smartphone's storage could also result in lags and a frustrating experience. 

At least a 32GB space should be enough for light users, for those who do business or pleasure on their smartphones should consider getting a 128GB variant. Well, when it comes to purchasing a mobile device, what you pay for is what you will get.

One of the biggest factors that consumers consider is the display type and how big is the screen size. All modern mobile phones have touchscreens so it is only logical to make the screens responsive, tougher, and with high resolution.

Imagine watching your favorite Korean drama on a small screen, where you have to squint your eyes so you can read the small subs below the screen. Hard, isn't it? 

A huge screen lets you enjoy streaming and better social media interaction. Anything above 5.5 inches should be your target size when you're planning to play online games or watch the next episode of your anime series on Netflix.

Smartphones currently have three types of display: AMOLED, IPS LCD, and LCD. By far, AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) is the best type of display that you can get. In the case of Samsung smartphones, their flagship phones use a Super AMOLED display. It provides the best viewing angle, highest brightness and produces the best color contrast, among others.

An IPS LCD (in-plane switching liquid crystal display) can perform at par with AMOLEDs, but the viewing angle is not ideal and is a notch lower when it comes to brightness. Some manufacturers still use this display because of its lower price to keep their flagship devices more affordable. 

LCDs belong to the lowest tier of the display hierarchy. These displays are commonly found on budget and older phone models that have smaller screen sizes and lower resolutions.

Most smartphones released at least six years ago have some kind of toughened glass screen cover. This protects the display from scratch, nicks, and bumps for careless users. Today, there are four types of glass being used by brands on their smartphone models: a 2.5D, Sapphire, Asahi Dragontail Glass, and Corning Gorilla Glass. 

A 2.5D is used on curved displays, while Sapphire glass is an exceptionally hard but brittle material that other brands considered. Dragontail glass is a Japanese-made alkali aluminosilicate that has the same properties as Gorilla glass. This type is favored by Chinese smartphone makers to create larger and thicker screens. 

As of writing, Corning Gorilla Glass is the gold standard when it comes to durability, scratch-resistance, and clarity. This company boasts of withstanding fifteen repetitive one-meter drop tests without damage.

A resolution defines the number of pixels on a display, and it matters when you have a big screen size. The more pixels it has, the more defined and sharper the images will be. 

You may have a large screen but don't have a higher resolution; the image will appear pixelated and unpleasant to look at. Whether in full-HD, full-HD+, and Quad HD, there no significant difference among the three. 

A higher camera megapixel doesn't necessarily equate to high-quality photos or videos. Do your due diligence when looking for a smartphone with claims of incredible camera capabilities. The trend today on flagship devices is to put as much camera at its rear to cover as much room for photo or video-shooting customizations. Also, selfie cameras are not an exception.

As a minimum requirement, you must be looking at a 16MP rear main camera and an 8MP selfie camera. Unfortunately, the camera sensors should be the real concern of any user. Even if the brand claims that it can shoot at 108MP, but the camera sensor is of lower quality, you might just be kidding yourself into believing that you're shooting at high MP quality.

If you're focused on the customizations and manipulation of images and videos, any camera app can do that for you. Again, the quality of the camera sensors must be scrutinized first before your purchase. If you're not too sure about it, you can always watch a YouTube vlog review to inform yourself.

After discussing the essential factors in choosing the best smartphone, let's take a step forward by knowing some of the best features that might love to have on your devices.

Consumers today just don't want a pretty picture, it must also sound as pretty. A stereo-quality playback means you don't need a separate listening device if you're watching or just enjoying a smooth jazz track. 

Some models are actually sacrificing their unit's thickness just to fit in a surround stereo speaker. Oftentimes, thinner smartphone models may produce crappy and shattered sound because of the small driver, but you can always use a Bluetooth headphone or speaker for that.

Flagship devices are equipped with several connectivity options to make them future-proof. Bluetooth and NFC (near-field communication) connections are the common interfaces that most smartphones have. 

In terms of WiFi connections, there are options to use dual bands such as 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. A 4G/5G connectivity is a must for frequent travelers and tourists to take advantage of the newer and faster SIM carrier connection.

Users with an active outdoor lifestyle should have an IP68 rated smartphone to protect the device from both solid and liquid particles. The first number on the IPXX rating indicates how the device handles solid particles, while the second number is how it fares against liquids. 

Almost all mobile phones today have some sort of unlocking feature such as face unlock, fingerprint unlocks, or voice unlock. Apart from these, the standard 4-digit PIN or pattern unlock still exists.

There are two main ways to purchase an Android smartphone: mobile carriers and retailers. The price and payment method will change depending on what you choose, so we’ll discuss the pros and cons of each.

If you can’t afford a single purchase spending, then getting an Android phone through a postpaid plan might be a good option. Yes, you’ll be locked in a contract for two years, but it allows you to pay in installments. The initial cash-out for the phone will come out cheaper, but the cost will incur in the long run, as you are gradually paying for it on top of your monthly subscription and line usage. 

If you do need the services that a postpaid plan offers, it will most likely be worth it. But if you’re signing up just for the sole purpose of acquiring a smartphone, it might be wise to think about it more carefully.

If you’re not comfortable with having monthly payments or don’t need the services of a postpaid plan, then it’s better to buy the device from a retailer. These phones come unlocked, which means you’ll be able to choose your carrier or could replace the SIM card if you're out of the country. 

Plus, you are not bound to a contract with any mobile carrier and won't receive pesky spam messages because you're on the mailing list of a mobile carrier.

If you're searching for the right Xiaomi or Realme handset for your needs, or just looking around for a cheaper smartphone to fit your budget, check our recommended list products that might help you. Just click on the links below and find the latest device for you or your family. 

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Our buying guide was carefully researched and crafted by the mybest team of writers and editors, in collaboration with the expert featured in this article. We used the buying guide as a basis for choosing and ranking the product recommendations, and we looked at reviews and ratings from different E-commerce sites like Lazada, Shopee, and more.