Forget your iPhone 12 Pro Max, ignore Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Fan Edition and Google’s Pixel 4a, this is my 2020 smartphone

When 2021 begins, it’s time for my traditional look back over the past twelve months to decide my personal choice of ‘Smartphone of the Year’ here on Forbes. It is fair to say that 2020 was not for everyone according to plan. The way the market has adapted for COVID-19 has changed what many people wanted to find on their mobile phones.

My choice of smartphones is rarely about the largest screen, the largest numbers or the overwhelming specifications – although some of the choices come close here. It’s about the device that reflects the world of 2020, that looks at the broader smartphone ecosystem, and is striking for what it is and represents.

Let’s take a look at a number of phones I’ve considered before announcing to whom I’m awarding my rosette.

iPhone 12 Pro Max

The iPhone 12 Pro Max arrived in late 2020, and Apple’s offerings have a solid dose of specs and capabilities.

On the one hand, it’s all you want in a modern iPhone; two-day battery life, an enhanced photo and video camera, a large screen paired (finally) with widget support on your home screen, several years of support for OS and Apple’s tightly integrated ecosystem (though as always a velvet-covered enclosed community ).

On the other hand, because the iPhone 12 Pro Max has everything you could have in a modern iPhone, you have to deal with two main problems. The first is size; it’s a large device that is almost impossible to use every feature, and for some reviewers it’s simply too big to be ‘a phone’, even though it’s comfortable compared to the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

The second edition of the prize. Although there are more expensive devices out there – usually those that push the envelope with folding screens – the Pro Max is a big investment. You look at $ 1400 for the model with 512 GB of storage, the storage space you really need, given the features of the camera and the video features offered.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max is undoubtedly a technological marvel. But the price, especially in an economy severely weakened by the coronavirus pandemic, puts it out of reach for many people. This is not an annual game of specs. Top Trumps, my phone of the year should have a wider appeal than the top ranks of the geekerati.

Google Pixel 4a

Google dropped the premium 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 is the best value for money in this space.

There is almost nothing that is flashy about this device. The battery will see you through the day, but you will need to charge overnight; compared to other Android devices in 2020, the 5.8-inch screen is relatively small; and the design is modest with a screen at the front and a polycarbonate rear.

Still, Google has increased the RAM and storage of the Pixel 3a. The single camera lens may not win any specifications, but take advantage of Google’s image processing to produce good photos. And because you’re a Google phone, it’s one of the few phones, and you can reasonably trust that your Android upgrades and security updates will come quickly and easily.

If you need an Android handset that offers a ‘it’s good enough’ experience, it’s hard to look beyond the price, value and capabilities of the Pixel 4a.

OnePlus Nord

The release of the OnePlus Nord after the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro in the previous month was a crucial device for OnePlus. The pace of a single model is updated every six months to stay abreast of specifications and a value-for-money device with flagship specifications has changed into a smartphone with specifications and prices that are comparable is with other flagships.

The OnePlus Nord linked the value for money offering to a feature set that was close enough to the flagship specifications. This was a turning point for OnePlus. Although the company appeared to supply Pro brands, there was always a feeling that it came from the same manufacturing stock, and that it was essentially two versions of the same device.

This was not the case with the OnePlus Nord. Here was a new phone launched separately from the major summer releases, which takes a different view of what it means to be a OnePlus device, and manages to upset the fanbase to such an extent that it literally redefines OnePlus.

Whether redefining what OnePlus offers, the company can find further success in 2021, or whether the bridges have burned with the community is going to be one of the stories of the next twelve months. The Nord is a key tool for OnePlus, but the impact on the entire smartphone ecosystem may be less.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition

Although the Galaxy S20 family was launched in February, it took about six months before the favorite sibling showed up. With the awkward nature of the name, Samsung has managed to find a good balance between price and functionality in the Fan Edition of the flagship, and much of it feels like a reaction to COVID-19.

The three Galaxy S20 models that led the charge came ‘before’. The Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra pack the features that were very beneficial to the warriors who were constantly on the move around the world, who needed the power and were happy to pay a premium. In 2020, the approach will pay off, and like many other manufacturers, Samsung had to look at its portfolio through a new set of circumstances.

The result is the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition, a device that adorns the fat from the S20 formula. The broad strokes are the same, but a keen eye will notice the glass replaced by plastic, a more square design around the flat screen and a camera with 3 12 megapixel lenses (telephoto, wide and ultrawide) that just ‘ a little falls a little less than the cheaper flagships.

Yet it is a package that works. It delivers Samsung’s software experience, the Qualcomm 865 Snapdragon has the performance, and it does not feel particularly compromised. Whether you see $ 700 as the top of the middle or bottom of the flagship markets, the Fan Edition feels like the flagship to the people. I do wonder what the reaction would be if this version was launched along with the other three models? I suspect Samsung would see much more unit sales, but with the associated lower turnover

Apple iPhone SE (2020)

2020 has changed the dynamics of the smartphone market. The coronavirus pandemic has affected the entire ecosystem, from supply and manufacturing, through introduction and marketing, to the needs and demands of consumers. The priorities in 2019 did not remain constant.

Each phone was viewed through a slightly different prism than expected. For me, one handset is brightly lit. 2020 update of the iPhone SE. The SE has almost the same specifications as the then current iPhone 11, but at a much lower price, and it feels like an iPhone not compiled for Cupertino’s geekerati, but for everyone else.

Why not the iPhone 12 Mini? For me, there are two reasons. The first is that it simply did not capture the public’s imagination; a look at the rate of Christmas Day activations shows how the iPhone SE does not even place in the top ten and the 12 Mini.

The iPhone SE captures the mood much better than any other smartphone in 2020. The release and subsequent marketing, designed before the pandemic began, best reflected the mood of the world. The launch became one of the first notable virtual technology launches; it was one of the first smartphones sold to consumers, which would understand the impact of a lock and the work of the home. It has found success in a world that wanted power in a smartphone, as well as affordability and usability.

That’s why the iPhone SE is my 2020 smartphone.