As 2021 begins, it’s time for my traditional look back over the twelve months my personal choice of ‘Smartphone Of The Year’ was decided here on Forbes. It is fair to say that 2020 was not planned for everyone. As the market shifted to COVID-19 there is what many were looking to find in their phone.
My choice of smartphone is rarely about the largest screen, the largest numbers, or the overpowering specifications – although some of the options here come close to that. It’s about the mobile device featuring the world of 2020, which looks at a broader smartphone ecosystem, and which in particular stands out for what it is and what it represents.
With that, let’s go through a bunch of the phones I’ve been thinking of, before revealing who I’m giving my rosette to.
No spoilers on the winner, so here’s a picture of Edinburgh Castle instead.
PA Images via Getty Images
iPhone 12 Pro Max
The iPhone 12 Pro Max arrived in late 2020, and Apple’s offerings come with a huge dose of specifications and capabilities.
On one hand this is everything you could possibly want in a modern iPhone; two-day battery life, an enhanced camera for photos and video, a large screen (finally) with support for widgets on your home screen, several years of OS support, and Apple’s tightly integrated ecosystem (though as usual, this is to large community with a velvet cover).
On the other hand, since the modern iPhone 12 Pro Max has everything you could possibly want, you have to contend with two main issues. The first is the size; this is a great handset that makes it almost impossible to use all the features with one hand, and for many reviewers it is just too big to be a ‘phone’, although it is a comfort smart development compared to the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
The second issue is price. While there are more expensive handsets out there – usually the ones that push the envelope with folded displays – the Pro Max is a great investment. You’re looking at $ 1400 for the model with 512 GB of storage, storage that you really need because of the camera capabilities and available video features.
There is no doubt that the iPhone 12 Pro Max is a technological marvel. But the price, especially in an economy severely weakened by the pandemic of coronavirus, is making it out of reach for many. This is not an annual game of Specifications Top Trumps, my phone of the year must be more attractive than the highest levels of the geekerati.
Google Pixel 4a
Google was basically surpassing the high-end handset market this year, bringing the Pixel 5, Pixel 4a 5G, and Pixel 4 to the mid-range market. Of the three, I think the Pixel 4a represents the best value for money in this space.
There is almost nothing flash about this handset. The battery can see you through the day but needs an overnight charge; compared to other Android handsets in 2020 the 5.8-inch screen is relatively small; and the design is unexpected with a screen on the front and a polycarbonate back.
But Google has increased the RAM and storage from the Pixel 3a. The single camera lens may not achieve any key features but will benefit from Google image processing to deliver great images. And being a Google phone as one of the few handsets you can be reasonably confident that your Android updates and security updates will arrive in a timely and prompt manner.
If you need an Android handset that delivers ‘this is good enough’ experience, it’s hard to overlook the price, value and capabilities of the Pixel 4a.
OnePlus Nord
The release of the OnePlus Nord, following the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro in the previous month was a crucial handset for OnePlus. The speed of one model was updated every six months to stay on top of the specs and offer a value for money handset with flagship specs transformed into a smartphone with specs and prices compared to other major flagships.
The OnePlus Nord had value for money along with a feature set that was close enough to iconic specs. This was a turning point for OnePlus. Although the company had gone out of their way to provide Pro branded handsets, there was always a feeling that these came from the same manufacturing stock, and in fact they were two versions of the same device -hand.
That was not the case with the OnePlus Nord. Here was a new handset that was launched apart from the main release of the summer, which took a different view of what it meant to be a OnePlus handset, and caused a stir. put on the fanbase to the point that it was literally redefining OnePlus.
Whether this redefinition of what OnePlus offers will allow the company to find more success in 2021, or whether the bridges with the community were burned, will be one of the stories in the next twelve months. The Nord is a flagship handset for OnePlus, but perhaps the impact on the entire smartphone ecosystem is so small.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition
Although the Galaxy S20 family launched in February, it took about six months before their favorite brother or sister arrived. With the chaotic nature of the name to one side, Samsung found a good balance between price and functionality in the Fan Edition in its prime, and a big part of that feels like a response to COVID-19.
The three Galaxy S20 models that led the charge reached ‘the previous times’. The Galaxy S20, S20 Plus, and S20 Ultra, packed with din features that were a huge boon to the ever-moving road heroes around the world, who needed the power and were happy. pay a high price. 2020 added to that approach, and like many other manufacturers Samsung had to look at their package through a new set of scenarios.
The result is the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition, a handset that trimms the fat from the S20 formula. The wide strokes are the same but take a closer look at the glass back with plastic, a more square design around the flat screen, and a camera with 3 12 megapixel lenses (telephoto, wide, and ultrawide) that drop just a little bit. short on the rugs at a higher price.
But this is a package that works. It delivers a Samsung software experience, has the performance of a Qualcomm 865 Snapdragon, and doesn’t feel particularly vulnerable. Whether you see $ 700 as the true top of the mid range or the very bottom of the iconic markets, the Fan Edition feels like a prime place for the people. What do you think the response would be if this version was launched alongside the other three modules? I suspect Samsung would have seen a lot more unit sales but with the lower version associated with it
Apple iPhone SE (2020)
2020 changed the market dynamics of the smartphone. Pandemic coronavirus has affected the entire ecosystem, from supply and manufacturing, through launch and marketing, to consumer needs and demands. Priorities in 2019 have not remained stable.
All phones were viewed through a slightly different prism than expected. For me, one hand tool was introduced to sharp relief. 2020 update for the iPhone SE. Carrying almost the same specs as the current iPhone 11 but at a much lower price, the SE felt like an iPhone designed not only for geekerati Cupertino, but for everyone else.
Why not make the iPhone 12 Mini? For me there are two reasons. The first is that it did not capture the imagination of the people; a look at the Christmas Day activity level shows the iPhone SE in the top ten and the 12 Mini without even adding.
The iPhone SE captures the feel far better than any other smartphone in 2020. Designed before the onset of the pandemic, the release and subsequent marketing changed to reflect the feel of the world the best. The launch became one of the first well-known virtual technology bows; it was one of the first smartphones sold to consumers who understood the meaning of locking and working from home meant. He found success in a world that wanted power in a smartphone as well as an affordable and practical price.
That’s why the iPhone SE is my smartphone of 2020.