2020: A Year of Exciting Smartphones

As we bid farewell to 2020, it's hard not to feel that this was a year that didn't quite live up to expectations. However, when it comes to technology, there were definitely some highlights that can lift the spirits. In fact, our friends at Android Authority have put together a special segment where they've gathered their top tech experts to share with us their favorite smartphones of 2020.

Joe Handy's Favorite Smartphone: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

For Joe Handy, his favorite phone of 2020 was undoubtedly the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. As he explains, this phone is a masterclass in consistency, delivering top-notch specs, camera capabilities, and battery life. The screen is also among the best in the business, with a device that feels premium to the touch. What really sets this phone apart, though, is its software experience. Handy praises One UI for being bloated and cluttered, whereas the Note 20 Ultra's UI is streamlined and simple, making it easy to use.

One of the standout features of the Note 20 Ultra is its S Pen stylus, which offers precise control and creativity for users. The phone also boasts an impressive camera setup, with a 108MP primary sensor and a 12MP front-facing camera. With all these features combined, it's no wonder that the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra took the top spot in Handy's heart.

The Oppo Find X2 Pro: A Surprisingly Impressive Flagship

Next up for our friend at Android Authority is the Oppo Find X2 Pro. As it turns out, this phone was a surprise hit for him, especially considering his previous experience with ColorOS on Oppo devices. What really impressed him about the Find X2 Pro was its software, which he describes as being far more refined and polished than any other Android skin he's ever used. The phone itself charges at an incredible 65 watts, making it possible to top up its battery in just half an hour.

The screen on the Find X2 Pro is also a major highlight, with a vibrant display that's perfect for watching videos or gaming. And with a 5x optical telephoto camera and a super great main camera, this phone delivers impressive photography results. The leather back finish adds a premium touch to the device, making it feel like a luxury item in your hand.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip: A Folding Phone That Surprised Everyone

Last but certainly not least is our friend's take on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. As he reveals, this phone was a major departure from his expectations. At first glance, it looks like any other smartphone, with its compact size and sleek design. But as soon as you close the flip open to reveal its clamshell form, things get really interesting.

The foldable display is truly innovative, making this device perfect for those who want an experience that's truly unique. It was a major concern about how well the phone would hold up in everyday life, but Handy reports that it's surprisingly durable and reliable. The phone also boasts impressive specs under the hood, with a large 3300mAh battery and a snappy Exynos 2100 processor.

The verdict is clear: the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip was a surprise hit for our friend at Android Authority, offering an experience that he never saw coming.

A Few Final Thoughts

Our friends at Android Authority decided to cheat by selecting three different phones as their top picks. This was largely due to the incredible number of good devices they released this year, which left them struggling to choose just one.

The Pixel 4a takes the top spot for its impressive build quality, fantastic screen, and tight integration with Google's ecosystem services. For a device that retails at an affordable $350, it delivers more than most flagship phones can muster.

The Oppo Find X2 Pro is another standout phone from this year, offering a refined software experience, lightning-fast charging, and stunning camera capabilities. With a premium leather finish and a design that's as sleek as they come, it's no wonder why this device stood out so much in Handy's heart.

Lastly, there was the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, which we've already covered in detail. This foldable phone may have seemed like an odd choice at first glance, but its innovative design, impressive specs, and surprising durability make it a compelling option for those looking to experience something truly new.

And that's all from our friends at Android Authority for now. If you want to cast your vote for the Reader's Choice Phone of 2020, be sure to check out their website in the coming days. Until next time, happy smartphone hunting!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enguys so 2020 just about over and it was a pretty rough year not a lot of great stuff happened this year but there was a lot of really good tech that came out this year so i wanted to get a few people over android authority together to talk about their favorite smartphones of the year because this year in particular i think that smartphones got pretty exciting again so let's kick it hello friends joe handy here and my favorite phone of 2020 was the samsung galaxy note 20 ultra i was gonna go with the lg v60 but there are heavy rumors that samsung is ending the note lineup so i'm gonna gush for a minute on what might very well be the last galaxy note samsung did a lot of stuff right this year but they do a lot of stuff right every year and it honestly feels like some people don't appreciate the consistency the specs are top-notch the camera experience is very good the battery life is also very good and the screen is among the best in the business it's a giant phone just like every galaxy note and of course we still have the legendary s pen what i liked most about this phone is that in true galaxy note fashion the device doesn't really have a weak point it didn't come with a headphone jack but no other phones come with a headphone jack these days except for lg so it's an industry critique at this point otherwise it's expensive and that's about the only consistently negative thing that you can say about the phone again i just feel like some people don't appreciate the consistency anymore and it makes me the big sad because this phone is awesome if it is the last one it's nice to see samsung going out on a high note get it high note sorry anyway aside from the headphone jack this phone has everything else and it's hard to criticize the headphone jack removal when everybody else is doing it this thing even gets updates nearly every month it's such a good phone in a line of very good phones and if it's the last one i'm gonna miss the galaxy note series hey guys ryan thomas here and i would say that this year my favorite smartphone is the xiaomi mi 10 ultra now from our review you saw this mega specs 120 hertz display 120 x zoom although i'd recommend against using that all of the time silly fast charging silly fast wireless charging crazy specs i mean you can even get this thing with 16 gigabytes of ram which is nuts for a smartphone this thing is packed to the gills with specs and if you can get it outside of china i do recommend it for those looking for one of the best of the best smartphones on the market so my favorite phone has to be the pixel 4a and let's be honest it's because of the price 2020 was a pretty crazy year so when i was looking for a phone i figured i shouldn't splurge on the biggest and baddest phone on the market i needed something a little more low key and then the pixel 4a came out it has the same camera as the pixel 5 it has a really good screen seriously i think this is underrated how good this screen is and it has a pretty solid battery life plus i feel like it's the perfect size for my hand like the 4a 5g was a little bit too big and it has a fingerprint sensor which has been super helpful in the age of mass not to mention this has a headphone jack so no more dongles spec wise the 4a isn't a beast but it does everything that i need it lets me take pictures and process the images relatively quickly i can do the night sky mode which is pretty cool uh i browse social media day to day i don't really care about 5g or wireless charging although i do wish that it had waterproofing but i feel like as long as i bring an umbrella and avoid pools i should be fine plus look at that teal button ain't that cute hey everyone see scott brown here i've been tasked with telling you about my favorite smartphone of 2020 and that phone is the asus rog phone three this is the phone that i have been the most impressed by this year and uh if you just look at the spec sheet you can see why i mean this phone has the best processor of the year the snapdragon 865 plus it's got a huge battery tons of ram tons of internal storage i mean it's just got everything up the display is incredible no interruptions no display cutout no notch none of that nonsense yeah it's got some big bezels on the top and bottom but i'd rather that than a you know a big black dot in the middle of the display that's interrupting my my video watching or my gaming or whatever it is that i'm doing so yeah oh and the display 144 hertz display refresh rate which is just super smooth and so amazing it's just once you use it you can't go back and yeah so i i love this phone now there are other phones out there that have a similar specs pedigree uh such as the galaxy note 20 ultra but the software on this phone is a lot better than one ui i think asus has just done a terrific job it's it's very similar to something like oxygen os or even the pixel ui where it keeps things super simple and very close to stock android but adds in some new features to make it so it's more usable and that's just something that one ui can't compete with one ui in my opinion is just it's just bloated there's just too much going on so yeah i love this phone my favorite phone of the year the only reason that this phone isn't my daily driver the only reason that i don't use this phone every day is just because it's just it's just too big this phone is just massive it's a huge phone it's physically big it's very heavy it's not the kind of phone that i want to just keep in my pocket all day for that i'm still using the oneplus 7 pro but if i had to tell someone what the best phone of the year was it would be this one the asus rog phone 3. so i kind of cheated and i picked a few different phones this year because there have been so many good phones this year that all kind of surprised me i just had to pick three first of all you got the pixel 4a and i think this phone surprised a lot of people this year it's got pretty good build quality for what it is it's screen is really fantastic you've got really tight integration with all google's apps and services and it's 350 bucks and i think for most people they're not gonna feel like they really need that extra performance that you're gonna get from a more flagship phone unless you're like a gamer or something but overall it was a really solid device and for 350 that's pretty hard to turn down next up for me i got the oppo find x2 pro and honestly this phone specifically very much surprised me this year i wasn't expecting to like an oppo phone this much especially because the first apophone i ever reviewed the oppo r15 pro i really really didn't like coloros was really janky and not great back then but then when apple sent the find x2 pro over i was super impressed like color os is a lot better this thing charges at 65 watts so you're able to charge it up to full in like half an hour the screen is really really good and it's also 120 hertz there's a 5x optical telephoto camera on here the main camera is super great with amazing white balance like this phone is awesome and of course it's got that really nice leather back that you're gonna get on this device so yes it's really expensive but it is a really nice premium phone if you got the cash for it and the glass for me this year has got to be the samsung galaxy z flip i did not expect this phone to delight me as much as it does i mean it starts normal size and then it closes clamshell to be this little tiny box and it's almost hard to find in your pocket once you have it in there there were multiple times where i actually thought that i lost the phone because it was just deeper in my pocket than i was used to so if you've got the cash for it and you want to experience a folding phone i mean z-flip really cool okay so i think that's about it for us today but make sure you leave your comment down below what your favorite phone of the year was and also over on the website on android authority.com we actually have an upcoming thing where you can vote for the reader's choice phone of the year so make sure you go and do that very very soon we'll have more info on that as it comes i'll catch you guys in the next video\n"