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00:00All right, welcome to probably my favorite video to do every year, welcome to the smartphone
00:22awards 2020.
00:24So 2020 was of course a very different year, a lot of crazy stuff happened but you know
00:28what, tech didn't really stop, even events didn't really stop, we kept having these
00:34virtual events and there was constant new product announcements, there's more videos,
00:38more reviews than ever this year, and there's more shapes and sizes than ever before on
00:44this table of 2020 smartphones in front of me.
00:48So that's why at the end of the year we like to look back over everything and give out
00:51some awards for some of the best, some of the most interesting, some of the most influential
00:55stuff that came out during the year.
00:59It's always like late, late during the year.
01:02There's even been other YouTubers putting on jackets, sitting in front of tables full
01:06of stuff and giving out trophies to their favorite products, which is actually kind
01:10of flattering.
01:11I love that that's actually a thing that's happening now, but this is it, this is the
01:15one you've been waiting for, let's say.
01:17This is the smartphone awards 2020.
01:20So for those who are new here, the way we do this is we've got a bunch of categories
01:24and for each category, there's going to be a winner.
01:27And then if there's any worthy, maybe a runner up and some honorable mentions, but really
01:31we'll focus on that winner.
01:33All the categories are timestamped below if you want to skip around, but maybe just grab
01:36the popcorn, sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
01:39So let's get right into it with the first category, which is the best big smartphone.
01:46So most phones are pretty big already nowadays, but I like to reward what I would call the
01:51best use of space.
01:53So if you're going to carry like a genuinely huge phone, you want it to have the best
01:56use of that extra space.
01:58It's got to have a big screen, it's got to have a big battery and a lot of big features
02:02taking advantage of that space.
02:04And there's a lot of competitors in that category this year, a lot of really big phones, but
02:09the winner overall for the best big phone of 2020 is going to go to this guy right here.
02:17This is the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra.
02:19So congrats to Xiaomi on their first smartphone award ever.
02:22They made an absolute monster phone this year.
02:25This was like the 120 phone.
02:27It had a 120X zoom on that camera, a 120 Hertz display on the front and 120 watt fast charging
02:36included in the box.
02:37That's the fastest I've ever seen in a phone.
02:39That's supposed to get you 40% battery in five minutes of being plugged in, which is ridiculous.
02:44And it's also got a bunch of other high end top end features like 50 watt wireless charging.
02:49It's got a 4,500 milliamp hour battery, half a terabyte of storage and pretty much every
02:53other high end spec you could imagine.
02:56Now they also made a nice little one of one MKBHD edition.
03:00I don't know if you can see that.
03:01That is pretty cool.
03:02But also this phone is only sold in China.
03:05So there's a little asterisk on that.
03:06If you have to import it to get it, that's maybe what you're into, but there are some
03:11runner ups that should definitely be recognized.
03:15Now I think a no brainer for this category is also Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
03:22Another huge phone with a lot of really big features.
03:25They fit the stylus in the side of the phone again, 4,500 milliamp hour battery, huge camera
03:30system, huge display and a notorious competitor in the big phone category.
03:36And I'm also going to give a shout out, a little mention to the Asus, where is it on
03:41the table?
03:42The ROG Phone 3.
03:43Oh no.
03:45I can't find it.
03:46There's so many phones here.
03:47Yeah, here it is.
03:48Okay.
03:49ROG Phone 3.
03:50We already know this phone's got a gigantic battery.
03:52It's also got a huge front facing speaker system, which you really don't see often in
03:58most phones this year.
03:59And so you have to give it props for that.
04:01If it's using the extra space the way big phones should, that's worth recognizing.
04:05All right.
04:06On to the next category.
04:08All right.
04:09So next up is the best compact phone of the year.
04:13This is kind of like the opposite.
04:14So most phones are big.
04:16It's actually kind of rare to see a great compact, small flagship level smartphone.
04:23And so because there's still a market for it, we like to reward when that's done well.
04:28This one I think is actually a little closer than you might expect, but the winner for
04:33best compact smartphone of 2020 is the iPhone 12 mini.
04:39So I feel like this is the no brainer pick, right?
04:41It's the same as all the rest of the other iPhones, but smaller.
04:45So same cameras, same display tech, same chip, same RAM, same software, same pretty much
04:52everything, materials, just a smaller phone.
04:55So it's a flagship, but smaller.
04:57And that's what this is all about.
04:58To some way, it kind of represents a sort of a little mini rebirth of this category
05:03of compact flagships.
05:04And hopefully others will follow.
05:06There's people with small hands and small pockets out there.
05:09Give them a great phone.
05:10They deserve to have a small, great phone.
05:12Now why was this closer than you might expect?
05:15Well, there's actually a flagship phone that came out this year on this table in front
05:21of me that's smaller than the iPhone 12 mini.
05:26Quick pop quiz.
05:27You might be looking around like, what is he talking about?
05:29How is that possible?
05:31And that's the runner up, which is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 2.
05:36This little guy right here, folded up, is obviously a much smaller phone than when
05:42it's open.
05:43But it is a compact phone, and it's the big phone in a small body theory.
05:47It's kind of the whole point of a folding phone, and this alternate form factor movement
05:50is enabling things like this.
05:51And the Z Flip 2 was one of the most well-liked folding phones ever.
05:55It has a normal aspect ratio when it's open, and it opens up to be a pretty big phone,
05:59actually.
06:006.7 inches.
06:01But when it folds down and fits in your pocket or your bag, it is smaller than anything else.
06:05I love that, and I'm really looking forward to seeing other future versions of this that
06:10will inevitably have even better specs, higher refresh rate display, better durability, all
06:15that fun stuff.
06:16So, got to mention that Z Flip 2.
06:18All right, so cameras.
06:21We like cameras here.
06:22So if you're talking cameras, you want the best overall smartphone camera.
06:28Turns out there's actually a lot of really good smartphone cameras on this table here,
06:31to the point where the difference between them could come down to preference, as we
06:36showed with the blind smartphone camera test.
06:39But if you had to ask me, if I'm going on a trip, remember those, if you're going on
06:44a trip and you can only take one smartphone camera for all of your photos and videos,
06:49there really is still just one winner here, and that is the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
06:56That is the winner for best smartphone camera 2020.
06:59So look, a lot of people care about camera.
07:01The best smartphone camera of the year this year, just from its prowess across the board
07:05with photos and videos and versatility, goes to this highest end iPhone, and they've reclaimed
07:09their crown.
07:10It's just hard to beat overall.
07:12And I will say, and I've definitely said in the past, I do like some photos from some
07:15other phones almost just as much, and sometimes even more than the iPhone shots.
07:20But the iPhone takes great editable photos consistently, in addition of ProRAW in the
07:25last few weeks with a software update, took it to another level as far as image manipulation,
07:29and then in the video world, the iPhone leveled up again.
07:32They've always had the best video quality in any smartphone, and now there's more HDR
07:38options, better stabilization, and a bigger sensor in the 12 Pro Max.
07:41So it's a no-brainer.
07:42This is the best overall smartphone camera package.
07:45My runner-up shout-outs are going to be, first of all, you might see this coming, as I've
07:49mentioned, the Pixel 5 still often takes photos that I prefer over the iPhone's photos, and
07:55if I had to only take one for stills photos, I would take Pixel 5.
08:01So I definitely want to mention that.
08:02And I want to give a shout-out to the blind smartphone camera test winner for 2020, which
08:07was the Asus Zenfone 7 Pro.
08:10If you watched that video, it was a bit of a surprise winner, but not so surprised.
08:15It's got a new triple camera system on the back that just so happens to swivel over and
08:19become, I think, the best selfie camera system in any phone.
08:23So shout-out to those two runner-ups.
08:25But we definitely have a clear winner for the cameras, which is that iPhone.
08:29All right.
08:30Best battery.
08:31This should be a pretty easy objective award to give.
08:35Basically, the phone that nets you the best overall battery life is going to win.
08:39Although this year, there's a little more to it.
08:40There's some fast charging to consider.
08:43There's charging technologies.
08:44But basically, the winner here is going to be the one that combines the best battery
08:49with the best software, the best features.
08:52And the winner is, in fact, the thick boy himself.
08:55Without even needing wireless charging, it's the Asus ROG Phone 3.
09:00This phone just won't die.
09:03So it's one of two phones I tested this year with the biggest battery I've ever held in
09:06a phone, 6,000 milliamp hours, and then the software optimization was on point.
09:11I had no problem using it at high frame rate mode, 144 hertz, and getting two days of
09:17battery.
09:18But then, of course, you could clock it down to 120, get a little more.
09:20You could clock it down to 90 hertz, get a little more.
09:23You can clock all the way down to 60 hertz, and I never felt the need to do that.
09:27But if I did, I would not be shocked if this was a three-day phone.
09:31So major props to that sort of modularity in the battery experience.
09:35But I'll also give a shout out to the other phone I tested this year with a surprisingly
09:39thin body and still a 6,000 milliamp hour battery, which is that Poco M3.
09:45Again, fantastic battery life and not the same charging tech as the fast charging in
09:51the ROG phone.
09:53But then also, another quick honorable mention, shout out to the Samsung M51.
09:57I didn't get my hands on it this year.
09:59It was released exclusively in India, but that phone dropped with a 7,000 milliamp hour
10:04battery and it was somewhere under 500 bucks.
10:06So I haven't tested it, but I'm pretty sure that one would also be a battery champ.
10:11Good looks.
10:12All right, the design award.
10:15So this is an interesting one.
10:17We've gotten a lot of interesting designs, of course, in 2020, and this is probably the
10:22most subjective, highly competitive award.
10:25On one hand, most phones kind of look somewhat the same, but on the other hand, they're all
10:30very different in all kinds of color and finish and material ways.
10:34This used to be just like the best build quality straight up, but then it went to being my
10:38favorite overall design, which includes build quality.
10:42So for 2020, I don't know, it was tough.
10:45I couldn't pick a phone that had a mirror finish.
10:48I mean, you've seen a lot of fingerprints in this video already, so I just wanted something
10:52that had a matte option.
10:54I couldn't pick a phone that curved the screen too far over the sides.
10:58That's been something I'm not a fan of.
11:01And I couldn't pick a phone that had a really ugly camera bump to my eye, but they kind
11:07of all have crazy camera bumps.
11:10So anyway, my design award for 2020 is going to go to the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
11:19So yeah, this was easily the most subjective award this year, and I think I could be swayed
11:23to any number of the runner-ups that I'm about to mention, but I was just a really big overall
11:27fan of the hardware choices that went into this phone this year.
11:31Obviously the sweet satin finish on the back and this gold color I like, it's pretty sweet,
11:36but also Galaxy Note has always been pretty boxy, which is my preference.
11:40They also flattened out the display on the front so it doesn't curve over the edges
11:44so much like previous Samsung phones.
11:46And of course it's now 120 Hertz.
11:48And then with the cameras on the back, they added laser autofocus to fix the issues with
11:52the S20 Ultra, and it's a top-notch camera system.
11:55Of course you might not like the bump, but I honestly didn't like almost any camera bump
11:59this year, so this one hardly stuck out from the others, and at least it's stuck in line
12:03with the boxy theme.
12:04So yeah, I ended up landing on this as my design award winner for 2020.
12:08I was just drawn a lot to the hardware of this phone, even though I'm not the biggest
12:11fan of Samsung's software, I would just keep coming back to wanting to use this Note 20 Ultra.
12:17So it's a great design.
12:19But there's a couple honorable mentions.
12:21First of all, I have to give a shout-out to my favorite back of a phone, I think of all
12:27time, which is pretty high praise, but Huawei P40 Pro, every time I pick up this phone,
12:33it's got this nice, soft touch back, it's just like iridescent silver look to it.
12:40I love the back of this phone.
12:41I wish every phone had some sort of version of this material.
12:45Yeah, it's great.
12:47Couldn't not mention it.
12:48And then I also want to give a little mini award, there's no trophy for it, but a little
12:52mini award to a new recognition for 2020, which is best hinge, because hinges are so
13:00important in all these alternate form factors, we had swiveling, we had vertical hinges,
13:05we had backwards hinges, forwards hinges.
13:09There's a lot of hinges happening on this table.
13:12But my favorite hinge of 2020 is the one found in Microsoft Surface Duo with the magnets
13:21and this thin form factor, this body, it's...
13:27For all the things this phone didn't get quite right.
13:30The one thing they absolutely ace nailed was the hinge and the weight of it and this
13:35folding experience, and just for that reason alone, I'm really looking forward to the next
13:40version of this thing.
13:41And then favorite crazy design, just kind of have to give it the recognition.
13:45I don't even have it on this table, it didn't ship, it wasn't even a real phone, but I'm
13:49going to mention it anyway, Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha, that thing kind of took it to the
13:53next level.
13:54This is the one with the crazy wraparound display, like, all right, you want to start
13:57curving the display around the sides of a phone.
13:59Let's just fast forward a couple of years and see what it looks like with the screen
14:03wrapping all the way around the back.
14:05We got to actually see what that was like this year, and we learned a lot from it.
14:09So yeah, lots of great designs this year.
14:10Like I said, it was pretty subjective, could easily go to any others that are maybe a little
14:15more subjective to your taste, but I gave it to the one that I think made the best
14:19most overall correct decisions.
14:21All right, best budget phone of 2020.
14:27This category heated up a lot.
14:29I mean, there's a lot of phones on this desk here that really earned their spot because
14:33of their price to performance ratio, and you know, everyone has a different definition
14:36of budget.
14:37For some, it's a certain price range.
14:40For me, I want to reward a winner that really brings a good amount of stuff from the high
14:45end expensive experience down to a phone that's lower in price.
14:49That's what makes a good budget phone for me.
14:53It's got to be an overall good experience for the buyer at the end of the day.
14:55So the winner for best budget phone of 2020, that's going to be the Google Pixel 4a.
15:04This is a killer phone.
15:06It was kind of a surprise hit actually that Google found with this A-line starting with
15:10the 3a from last year.
15:12Now you get the 4a at 349, and it gets you that world-class camera, the A1 Google software
15:18experience for Android, and overall decently well-built phone for literally less than half
15:23of the price of a lot of comparables out there, plus a headphone jack.
15:27It's really good.
15:28This turned out to be easily one of the best phones to recommend anywhere under 400 bucks.
15:32So that's quality.
15:33My runner-up is also a phone that was a budget version of an expensive line.
15:38So again, you're seeing high-end stuff brought down in price.
15:41And I'm going to give a shout out to the iPhone SE, solid runner-up here.
15:47So this was 400 bucks, and it was rocking the same world-class chip, the same spec as
15:52the flagship iPhones at the time, and the same familiar iPhone software experience.
15:57But again, decently well-built.
15:58The design is a bit dated, of course, as they move away from phones with fingerprint readers,
16:02but you do get metal and glass here.
16:04But they did get rid of the headphone jack, and I feel like I can't give a winner of
16:09best budget phone to a phone that got rid of the headphone jack out of principle.
16:14But I do also want to give a quick shout out to a runner-up in the best budget space, and
16:19that's going to be OnePlus Nord.
16:22This phone was a little less of trying to bring something bleeding edge from the top
16:26down in price, but more of being a quality overall budget experience.
16:31So I think they made a great set of choices to keep price low, but deliver a consistently
16:35really nice phone.
16:37So a lot of people are going to like the Nord for that reason.
16:39No headphone jack on this phone either.
16:41But again, solid dang for the buck.
16:43But like I said off the top, it's really hard to go wrong in this category.
16:46It heated up a lot.
16:48You've got the Moto G series, the Samsung A series.
16:51You've got the Poco phones.
16:53There's a lot going on.
16:54Cheap phones are getting good.
16:55Like I've said, let's keep that up.
16:58Okay.
16:59So, biggest bust of the year.
17:02The trophy you hate to have to give, but I don't know.
17:06There's always something every year that feels like you're rewarding the ones that do good
17:12things, and this is sort of a slap on the wrist of the bad stuff.
17:16I mean, you already know if your phone's bad when it comes out, but we've had some notable
17:20losers in the past.
17:21Winners?
17:22Losers?
17:23We had HTC U Ultra, we had Red Hydrogen, we had Pixel 4.
17:29This year, it goes to a phone that actually wasn't that bad of a phone.
17:36It just had a horrific launch strategy and a terrible price.
17:40You probably all know where I'm going with this.
17:42This is a Samsung Galaxy Note 20.
17:46This is the bust of the year for sure.
17:49Now, Samsung is usually pretty good at putting together a compelling package for a smartphone
17:52at each price point, but the Note 20, launching at a thousand bucks, seemed very out of character.
18:00Basically launching it alongside the Note 20 Ultra to kind of justify its higher price.
18:04But Note 20 with its plastic back, with its 1080p 60 hertz display, with its non-expandable
18:11storage, like this phone was absolutely never worth a thousand bucks and it deserves the
18:16Note 20 title.
18:19Couldn't recommend it.
18:20Now today, you can go on Amazon and get this phone for 799, which is closer to about right.
18:26But yeah, when this guy launched, it was definitely a miss.
18:30Pretty uncharacteristic from Samsung, but that's why it's the bust of the year.
18:34Just never really landed.
18:35Also, honorable mention to the Escobar Fold 2, which I also don't have on this desk because
18:42it is in the possession of the FBI.
18:44Someday I'll be able to tell that story.
18:46All right.
18:47Most Improved Award, MIP 2020.
18:51And there's really only one phone, if I'm being real, that actually deserves this one.
18:55See phones typically, we get a little bit of an improvement each year.
18:59Maybe a faster chip, maybe a little bit of a better camera.
19:03Maybe it's got a little refresh in the design.
19:05You see some cool stuff year over year.
19:07But sometimes this Most Improved Award goes to the biggest jump from a terrible phone
19:12the year before.
19:14This is none of those things.
19:16This is just a straight up significantly better phone than last year.
19:19Let's just get to it.
19:20Most Improved Phone of 2020 is definitely Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2.
19:25This is the epitome of second gen games.
19:28Generation 2 of a new form factor is when you expect to see the most improvement and
19:32Samsung definitely delivered that here.
19:35Huge improvement on the front display going from a candy bar bezel afterthought to a real
19:41usable full screen phone.
19:43And huge improvements on the inside display going from a notched, slightly ugly setup
19:47to this thinner bezeled, notchless, 120 Hertz display.
19:52That's just a joy to use.
19:53It's one of my favorite phones of the year for sure.
19:55And it's a clear runaway favorite for the 2020 Most Improved Award.
19:59But I do want to give an honorable mention though to a phone that didn't really actually
20:06get better, but you could argue delivered a better experience.
20:12Pixel 5, right?
20:14So last year was Pixel 4's bust of the year.
20:18Pixel 5 turns around, comes back, gets you a same camera, a worse processor arguably
20:24and removes some features like Project Soli and the image processing chip.
20:29But for some reason, Pixel 5 landed at a sweet spot in price and was just a more understood
20:36package.
20:37It didn't have to compete against the crazy high-end ultra stuff in the same way.
20:41And for that reason, I'll give it a little recognition.
20:44The phone isn't necessarily dramatically better than last year, it's actually worse, but it
20:50was much better marketed and it landed the right way.
20:53Good work.
20:54So that brings us to our final award of the night, the biggest award, it's the MVP.
21:01The big one.
21:03This is drifting back into subjective award territory instead of objective.
21:08This could be my favorite overall phone.
21:11It doesn't necessarily have to be the one that puts up the biggest, best numbers, but
21:15it's the phone that maybe had the biggest impact on what happened this year.
21:19It's the phone that maybe was the best overall combination of things.
21:22Maybe it's the phone that was in my pocket, but it's the MVP and it deserves to be recognized
21:27to sort of represent the year in phones.
21:30And so with that, my MVP for 2020 smartphone of the year is going to the Samsung Galaxy
21:39S20 FE, the fan edition.
21:42This is an award for its impact on this new premium mid-range tier that really broke out
21:46this year and for absolutely nailing it.
21:50So when you look back at this phone, the way it launched and the way it was reviewed, it
21:53was pretty quiet, you know, not super flashy.
21:56It's a Samsung flagship launching somewhere in the middle of their range with a pretty
21:59nice feature set, right?
22:01But now that we've sort of collectively realized that this awesome price category has gotten
22:05so good, this premium mid-range, like $700 thing happening, you know, iPhone 12 drops
22:11right in there, Pixel 5 slots right in there, OnePlus 8, 8 Pro slot right in there.
22:17There's a lot of action at this new price.
22:19This phone with its spec sheet and its features is virtually indistinguishable from a flagship.
22:26It nailed it.
22:27This phone is $699 and it has 120 Hertz OLED display, flagship spec, and it's flat, which
22:32is great.
22:33The phone has a high-end triple camera system, which is great.
22:37It has a Snapdragon 865, a flagship chip, and six or eight gigs of RAM.
22:43That's awesome.
22:44And the phone has a 4,500 milliamp hour battery.
22:46Toss in IP68 water resistance, toss in 5G, toss in fast charging, toss in wireless charging.
22:55I mean, it's complete.
22:56Really, the only thing you could complain about is this back.
22:58It's a plastic back, but it is a matte finish.
23:01It's less likely to shatter.
23:02I think a lot of people love to complain about plastic, but this had a couple of new
23:05colors and was actually a pretty nice implementation of it.
23:08This phone's launch made the Galaxy Note 20 look stupid.
23:13This was an actual flagship killer, more of a flagship killer than a lot of the other
23:17stuff that's claimed to be over the years.
23:19This was the shining light of this new premium mid-tier breakout category of the year, and
23:26pretty much nailed everything about it.
23:28Galaxy S20 FE, well done.
23:31I guess that's what you get when you have a Samsung, you know, in this whole category.
23:36They throw a bunch of stuff at the wall to see what sticks.
23:39Some of it really sticks in the form of an MVP.
23:42Some of it really doesn't stick in the form of the bust of the year, but they have a most
23:47improved.
23:48They have all kinds of stuff going on, but I don't know.
23:50I think it all kind of comes down to a lot is still happening in the smartphone world.
23:55And next year is shaping up to be, well, maybe even more interesting than this year.
24:00We get a lot of generation twos next year.
24:02We get a lot of potential most improves next year.
24:06And with any luck, we'll see a bunch more matte phones too.
24:08Of course, I do like to give my honorable mentions to the MVP category.
24:11So I will mention the phone that I've kept in my pocket the longest this year, which
24:16is the OnePlus 8 Pro.
24:18Since it came out early in the year, this has been sort of my steady phone that I returned
24:23to.
24:24Great camera system, great battery.
24:26The only thing I really don't like about it is this screen curving over the edges,
24:30but software experience, battery life, wireless charging.
24:33They finally made a flagship and it turned out great.
24:36Love that.
24:37And my iPhone 12 Pro has been in the other pocket.
24:41But yeah, that's the smartphone awards for 2020.
24:45So with that, it's been an honor to be your host for this year.
24:47Enjoy the rest of your evening.
24:48Good night.