5 Best Phones for TikTok in 2022 – All you need to know
TikTok is one of the most popular apps these days. As of Q1 2019, TikTok is the most downloaded app on the Apple App Store. Launched in September 2016, TikTok has exploded in popularity over the past five years. The latest TikTok statistics show that, as of January 2021, the platform has 689 million monthly active users worldwide. This makes TikTok the seventh-largest platform in terms of users.
Almost all the users of TikTok use their phones to make their tiktoks. As you probably know, not all phones have the same quality output when it comes to making videos or taking photos. In this article, we list 5 phones that have excellent built-in cameras with all the needed specifications and features to make your tiktoks stand out from the crowd.
If you want to read a full detailed review of our recommended phone for TikTok click here. Or if you are more interested in our top budget pick we got you covered here.
DID YOU KNOW: 62 percent of TikTok users in the US are aged between 10 and 29. In comparison, just 7.1 percent of them are over the age of 50.
NOTE: Below you can find a comparison table and a detailed description of the best phones for TikTok.
TOP RECOMMENDED PHONES FOR best phone for tiktok
| BEST AFFORDABLE | RECOMMENDED | ||||
| Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro and F3 | Google Pixel 6 | Xiaomi 11T Pro | Samsung Galaxy S22+ | iPhone 13 Pro | |
 |  |  |  |  | |
| Perfect For | Performance without breaking the bank | Mind blowing photo capabilities | Flagship performance at half the price | Camera, gaming and web browsing | Next level experience |
| Display | IPS LCD 120 Hz | AMOLED 90 Hz | AMOLED 120 Hz | Dynamic AMOLED 120 Hz | 6.1 ” Super Retina XDR OLED |
| Operating System | Android 11, MIUI 12.5 | Android 12 | Android 11, MIUI 12.5 | Android 12 | iOS 15 |
| Memory | Up to 256GB (8GB RAM) | Up to 256GB (8GB RAM) | Up to 256GB (12GB RAM) | Up to 256GB (8GB RAM) | Up to 1TB 6GB RAM |
| Camera | 48 MP | 50MP wide, 12MP ultrawide | 108MP wide, 8MP ultrawide, 5MP telephoto macro | 50MP wide, 10MP telephoto, 12MP ultrawide | 12 MP (f/1.5, 26mm (wide), f/2.8, 77mm (telephoto),f/1.8, 13mm, 120Ëš (ultrawide)) |
| Battery | Li-Ion 5160 mAh | Li-Ion 4614 mAh | Li-Po 5000 mAh | Li-Ion 4500 mAh | Li-Ion 3095 mAh |
| Sound | Stereo speakers | Stereo speakers | Stereo speakers | Stereo speakers | stereo speakers |
| Sensor | Side fingerprint | Fingerprint optical | Fingerprint side-mounted | Fingerprint ultrasonic | Face ID |
| 2,963 Reviews | 1,395 Reviews | 187 Reviews | 21 Reviews | 250 Reviews | |
| Price not available | $469.50 | $449.50 | $799.99 | $949.99 | |
| Buy on Amazon | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Amazon | Buy on Amazon |
What are the best phones for TikTok?
Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro and F3 – best affordable phone for TikTok
| HARDWARE | 7/10 | |||
| BATTERY LIFE | 9/10 | |||
| DISPLAY | 7/10 | |||
| MEMORY | 8/10 | |||
| VALUE/PRICE | 10/10 |
| CUSTOMER REVIEWS |
Key Features
|
|
|
Detailed Review
Poco X3 PRO and F3 are probably the best budget phones best phone for TikTok currently available on the market.
Poco X3 PRO comes with a 6.67 inch IPS LCD screen that also features a high refresh rate. Usually, you will find a 120 Hz refresh rate on more premium phones, but this one has it too. This basically makes scrolling, watching videos, and gaming super smooth and brings other benefits regarding display. There is also support for HDR10 and the phone features a Full HD resolution.
The phone runs on a Snapdragon 860 with Adreno 640 and is actually the only one to feature this chipset. It offers some of the best performance in its class. Compared to Galaxy A52 with Snapdragon 720G, the Poco X3 PRO just blows it out of the water. In terms of gaming performance, it is two times more powerful than Samsung’s mid-ranger. And it is much cheaper too. In fact, the phone can outperform almost all other mid-rangers.
You will most likely find a version with 6 GB of RAM, although there is a possibility of finding one with 8 GB. The 6 GB version is enough for everyday tasks and also for playing the most demanding games. You can still go for the 8 GB version which makes your phone a little more future-proof. The 6 GB version comes with 128 GB of storage and the 8 GB version can come either with 128 or 256 GB of storage. It does also offer a microSD card expansion so you don’t need to worry about running out of space.
The Poco X3 PRO has a large 5160 mAh battery and supports up to 33 W charging. It will take about 30 min to replenish 60% of the battery capacity, which is pretty good.
Another option, Xiaomi Poco F3, costs a bit more but improves in all areas. It still has 6.67 inches 120 Hz display but it is AMOLED, supports HDR10+, and can achieve greater brightness. The phone is powered by Snapdragon 870 and Adreno 650, which is an improved version of Snapdragon 865. One could say that it is the next best thing after Snapdragon 888. It comes with 6 or 8 GB of RAM.
Unfortunately, Poco F3 is not available in all countries. I added the links below to where the phone is available.
- Amazon DE – Germany
- Amazon FR – France
- Amazon IT – Italy
- Amazon ES – Spain
- Amazon UK – United Kingdom
- Outstanding value for the money
- 6.67-inch display 120 Hz display is amazing. Especially considering the price point
- Snapdragon 860 chipset is capable of running even the most demanding modern games smoothly
- Long autonomy provided by a large 5160 mAh battery
- It will get hot when playing demanding games. If possible we recommend playing without the silicon case for better heat dissipation
- Fast charging with 33 W also heats up the phone. This is normal but we don’t recommend playing any games while charging to avoid double heating
| LEARN MORE | OR | CHECK PRICE |
Google Pixel 6
| HARDWARE | 8/10 | |||
| BATTERY LIFE | 8/10 | |||
| DISPLAY | 9/10 | |||
| MEMORY | 8/10 | |||
| VALUE/PRICE | 9/10 |
| CUSTOMER REVIEWS |
Key Features
|
|
|
Detailed Review
Google Pixel 6 comes to the list of best phone for TikTok as a strong mid-range phone with a good price to value ratio.
As a Pixel user, you can count on long and fast updates. But the hardware is also pleasing: the display is great and photos are great in most conditions. The special AI and AI functions of the Tensor chip expand the possibilities in everyday life.
The Pixel 6 has a 6.4-inch OLED display in 20:9 format with a resolution of 2400×1080 pixels. This results in a good sharpness of 411 ppi (pixels per inch).
Like the Pro, the Pixel 6 has Google’s Tensor chip, which was created in cooperation with Samsung. The Titan M2 is responsible for an extra hardware security layer. Tensor is not primarily about maximum computing power. However, the focus is on AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning). This should make itself felt, for example, in speech recognition or when taking photos.
There are two cameras on the back. The main camera has an internal resolution of 50 megapixels, but it ends up throwing out a 12.5-megapixel photo due to pixel binning. The ultra-wide-angle lens turns 48 into 12.5 megapixels. Like the Pro, the Pixel 6 is said to capture up to 150 percent more light thanks to the significantly larger image sensor compared to the Pixel 5, which is particularly worthwhile for photos taken under poor lighting. Even in the worst light conditions, the “Night Vision” mode still brings out amazing details with unexpectedly natural colors. Photos are good with the Pixel in almost all conditions and better than most top-of-the-line smartphones.
The camera only falls short when zooming. But this is to be expected without a dedicated telephoto camera. In this case, the Pixel 6 Pro might be a better choice.
- Great screen
- Good photo quality
- Wireless charging
- Waterproof and 5G
- No memory card slot
- Smooth back
| LEARN MORE | OR | CHECK PRICE |
Xiaomi 11T Pro
| HARDWARE | 9/10 | |||
| BATTERY LIFE | 10/10 | |||
| DISPLAY | 9/10 | |||
| MEMORY | 9/10 | |||
| VALUE/PRICE | 10/10 |
| CUSTOMER REVIEWS |
Key Features
|
|
|
Detailed Review
The Xiaomi 11T Pro is an excellent device in almost every aspect and is rightfully considered as the best phone for TikTok.
Probably one of the most shocking features is the ridiculously fast 120W charging. According to Xiaomi the phone can be charged from 0 to 100 in just 17 min. Of course in reality it takes a couple of minutes longer but nevertheless, it is at the moment the fastest charging phone on the planet.
The design of Xiaomi 11T Pro looks very sleek. The performance is also impressive. After all, the smartphone is equipped with a Snapdragon 888 that will handle everyday tasks with ease. Gamers should also be satisfied with the performance of the 11T Pro. Complex 3D games are not a challenge for this smartphone.
The OLED panel has a resolution of 2,400 x 1,080 pixels – with a size of 6.7 inches, the 11T Pro has a high pixel density of 393 ppi. This means that the display shows the content beautifully sharp. We also really like the high screen refresh rate of 120 Hz, because everything scrolls smoothly across the screen.
The phone also comes with a triple camera. As with the predecessor, Xiaomi relies on a 108-megapixel sensor in the main camera. An ultra-wide-angle lens (8 megapixels) and a tele-macro lens (5 megapixels) complement the camera setup on the back. The main camera is optically stabilized and shoots videos in either 4K at 60 frames per second or in 8K resolution at 30 frames per second. The camera is top-notch. The photos look good in both daylight and low light.
- Extremely short charging time
- Outstanding performance
- High-contrast and colorful display
- IP protection and wireless charging are missing
| LEARN MORE | OR | CHECK PRICE |
Samsung Galaxy S22+ – best phone for TikTok
| HARDWARE | 9/10 | |||
| BATTERY LIFE | 9/10 | |||
| DISPLAY | 10/10 | |||
| MEMORY | 9/10 | |||
| VALUE/PRICE | 9/10 |
| CUSTOMER REVIEWS |
Key Features
|
|
|
Detailed Review
When talking about the best phone for TikTok we cannot go past the Samsung Galaxy series. The Galaxy S22+ is noticeably larger than its smaller brother, which also brings some benefits.
The most obvious one is a bigger and brighter display. The S22+ features a 6.6 inch Dynamic AMOLED display with 1750 nits peak brightness.
Thanks to an almost 90% screen-to-body ratio the phone is still slim and compact enough to be able to comfortably store it in your pockets. However one of the most distinctive features of this year’s display doesn’t come from hardware but software. The phone is able to reduce screen refresh rate down to 10 Hz when not needed. This greatly improves battery life.
The phone has 3 cameras. A 50M wide standard, 10MP telephoto with 3X optical zoom and a 12MP ultra-wide which also acts as a macro camera. The macro mode is triggered automatically when focusing on an object from a close distance. The telephoto lens is especially great too and optical zoom can be used on a variety of occasions. The phone is great at capturing night photos as well.
Performance is certainly not an issue as this phone features Snapdragon 8 Gen and comes with 8GB of RAM. The chipset can handle any demanding game without really breaking a sweat. And it is perfect for stuff like watching videos, social media browsing, websurfing and multitasking.
Whether you are considering this phone for its cameras of performance, you won’t be disappointed in any case.
- Beautiful and very bright display
- Powerful performance
- Faster 45W charging
- Improved camera set
- Battery life could be even better
| LEARN MORE | OR | CHECK PRICE |
iPhone 13 Pro Max
| HARDWARE | 10/10 | |||
| BATTERY LIFE | 9/10 | |||
| DISPLAY | 10/10 | |||
| MEMORY | 9/10 | |||
| VALUE/PRICE | 10/10 |
| CUSTOMER REVIEWS |
Key Features
|
|
|
The iPhone 13 pro max’s outward design hasn’t changed very much. The phone has glass on the front and back, along with a shiny stainless steel frame. The layout is otherwise unchanged too, the notch is a smidge smaller and the camera bump is just a little larger. That’s the biggest change that you’ll see, but if you pick the iPhone 13 pro max up you will notice that it’s heavier than before, weighing 240 grams, which is pretty heavy for a smartphone.
The 13 pro max can survive up to 6 meters underwater for 30 minutes. The display’s cover glass, the ceramic shield by corning, once again offers some of the best protection in the industry, though it will shatter and scratch if you abuse it. The screen itself it’s a 6.7″ (OLED, 1284×2778,120Hz refresh rate) with a pixel density of 458 PPI. For the first time, Apple is introducing a high 120-hertz refresh rate on its phones. Some games can’t fully utilize it just yet, but aside from that, the feature is executed very well. The display can drop down to as little as 10 hertz and then jump up to 120hz on the fly, depending on whether you’re touching the screen and the current content. It has a wide color gamut and pretty much flawless color accuracy. With an excellent 1050 nits in auto-brightness, this is one of the brightest panels on the market.
CAMERA:
The biggest update with the pro max model this year must be the cameras. All three rear cameras have been improved. The 12 megapixel main sensor has larger pixels than before, the largest single pixels in a smartphone in fact. The 12-megapixel telephoto now has optical three times zoom instead of 2.5 times. The 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor lets in more light and now has autofocus so it can double as a macro cam. There is a lighter scanner too and it helps the three cameras with depth maps for better portraits and faster autofocus. In low light only the selfie camera is the same 12 megapixel unit as before. During the day the 13 pro max takes very good photos with the main camera and of course, they have a very iPhone-like flavor. Colors are accurate, detail is good and noise is non-existent.
CHIPSET:
The iPhone 13 pro arrives with Apple’s latest A15 Bionic, 6GM RAM chipset. The phone is equipped with 6GB of RAM versus 4GB of RAM on the non-pro models. Performance-wise the pro max is way ahead of its Android competition, its closest rivals are actually last year’s iPhones. The new chipset improves last year’s performance by 10% and it is the fastest chipset in a phone to date. The one concern we do have is that the GPU was quick to throttle and we would have liked to see a better-sustained performance. The 13 pro max comes with ios 15.
AUDIO:
The audio quality from its speakers was similarly impressive. The iPhone 13 pro max has a bottom-firing speaker and it uses its earpiece as a second channel. The speakers are among the best sounding speakers that you can get on a phone.
BATTERY:
The MAX comes with a 4352 mAh battery, which is the biggest one that Apple has ever put in an iPhone. The 13 PRO MAX has a 121-hour battery life. This phone will likely survive a full day or two of heavy usage. Unfortunately the iPhone ships without a charger. Using Apple’s 20-watt charger, the 13 pro max goes from 0% to 42% in half an hour. The phone supports charging up to 27 watts, so if you get a more powerful adapter you can get up to 55% in half an hour.
CONCLUSION:
The screen is fantastic. the stereo speakers are great. Performance is still unmatched and the battery life is simply class-leading. Photo and video quality is great across the board too, but is this the most innovative phone ever? Hardly, but it offers a very solid experience in pretty much every department and of course, it’s the best iPhone ever, so if you’re upgrading from an iPhone that is older than the iPhone 12 pro, we definitely recommend it.
- Very good chipset.
- Great battery life.
- Amazing value for the price you pay
- Pricey
| LEARN MORE | OR | CHECK PRICE |
Additional hardware information
Cameras
The phones these days feature multiple-camera setups. In fact, it is very difficult to find a phone with just one camera. Usually, they have at least two in the back and some even feature four. Now there is a logical explanation behind all this. The companies aren’t just stacking cameras left and right. Each camera is different and serves its own purpose. This is how we get the best results and enhance our photography experience. The most common camera types you will find are wide camera, ultrawide camera, telephoto camera, macro camera and ToF sensor.
Wide camera – It is also known as the main camera that we find on the rear side of the phone. You will notice differences in Megapixels that a certain camera has. A good main camera should have at least 12MP. Furthermore, it is also good if it has good autofocus and an optical image stabilizer, also known as OIS.
Ultrawide camera – It offers a wider field of view than the main camera. This way you can capture more into the image and it is more similar to what our eyes see. It can offer a great advantage when taking wider images such as family reunion photos for example. However, sometimes a photo can appear curved due to a wider angle and some objects might appear abnormally shaped.
Telephoto camera – It is normally used for zoomed-in shots that are taken from a distance. You can zoom in on a scene or subject and get closer without actually having to move. This can serve us well when we don’t want to approach the subject. A telephoto lens increases focal length. It brings objects closer to you.
Macro camera – It is used for close-up shots. We can capture images of small objects, such as insects or plants. These objects can appear big in a photo and we can capture a lot of detail. In fact, we can capture things that are too small to be visible to the naked eye.
ToF sensor – It is a piece of equipment that most flagship phones these days have. A ToF sensor can help you determine the distance between the camera and the object. It is actually a depth sensor that helps the phone create a three-dimensional map of the world. It uses infrared light to determine the distance between the objects and maps 3D space.
Dynamic range
The understanding of dynamic range can really help us improve our photos. Dynamic range describes the ratio between the maximum and minimum light intensities. In simple words, it tells us the difference between the lightest and darkest tones in an image. Each device has its own dynamic range, which affects the output – that is our image. The wide the dynamic range, the better. You will stumble across this topic a lot in photography. So just remember that a wider dynamic range gives you better results. A wide dynamic range will allow you to capture more detail in brighter or darker areas. Otherwise, those areas will just appear very bright, nearly white or very dark, nearly black. So to create a good exposure, there must not be too bright or too dim parts.
An interesting fact is that human sight has a relatively high dynamic range. No camera can match it. Therefore some pictures of sunsets for example appear different than they are in real life.
Sharpness
Sharpness in photography stands for the overall clarity of the image. This combines focus and contrast. The subject must be clear, lifelike, and have a lot of details. This is when we can speak of sharpness.
Sharpness is very important in photography. Better sharpness means more detail. Furthermore, it also emphasizes the textures of the subject. You should always try and make your photos as sharp as you can. This way the images will appear more professional and interesting for the viewers.
For the best results, you will have to have good equipment as well as the right technique and well-developed skills. However, with the right gear, it can be much simpler. It is also important to know that sharpness is related to the resolution, as the number of pixels and their size affect overall sharpness.
Resolution
The image resolution relates to the number of pixels that are featured in an image. Higher resolutions simply mean that there are more pixels in the photo, whether lower resolutions mean that there are fewer pixels in a photo. The number of pixels also determines how much information is captured in an image. Or in other words, how much detail it can hold. So, the more the better, as it usually results in higher quality photos.
Changing the resolution, you are basically saying how many pixels you want to have per square inch. So it is always good to have a little more than less. After all, it affects the sharpness of the image as well, and you don’t want blurry photos. You want to capture as much information as you can. Cropping the photo, while keeping the same resolution will significantly drop the quality of the photo. That happens because you remove a certain amount of pixels, which basically means you lose a certain amount of information that should occupy that space. So avoid doing that.
There is a lot of talk about Full HD resolution these days. Here we have 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels high image. Such resolution is very common among televisions these days. However, there is also Ultra HD, which is also known as 4K. This means that the resolution here is about 4000 pixels, although is usually a bit less – 3840 pixels.
Contrast
Contrast represents a visual ratio between different tones in an image. It defines color characteristics and affects areas such as highlights, shadows, colors, clarity, and textures. A simple way of putting it is to say that contrast is the scale of difference between black and white in the photo. High contrast means that there will be bright highlights and dark shadows, whether low contrast images have little difference between light and dark tones.
We also know different types of contrasts. There is Tonal contrast, which refers to dark and bright areas in the photo. Then we have Color contrast which means pairing warm and cold colors to make them stand out more. We also know Conceptual contrast, which helps us add depth and encourages viewers to engage with the photo. Then there’s also Texture contrast, where we combine rough and soft elements for an extra punch. All of the contrasts are very important if we want the image to look professional and appealing. So we must know how to use them if we want to achieve that magical result. They can help us tell a story and make certain things stand out more. So we can really be artistic with the contrast.
Best phone for TikTok – CONCLUSION
As you have learned choosing the best phone for TikTok is not a trivial task. The phone cannot compare to a professional DSLR camera with its small sensor size. Therefore, it is important that the sensor quality is at the top level and you will also need to play with some manual camera settings, as standard auto mode usually won’t cut it.
Any phone from our list will give you the best camera experience. So if you stay within our selection of the best phones for TikTok you are good and ready to go. Have fun taking photos.
