The biggest smartphone fails of 2020

The smartphone world endured a yearlong roller coaster ride as the transition to 5G collided with the COVID-19 pandemic. The former meant that we got 5G phones in almost every price segment, as well as some big price increases at the higher end. Meanwhile, the pandemic hit business heavily in the first half of the year, as lockdowns led to the collapse of offline retail.

However, even without these two factors, we still saw several major smartphone failures that are really hard to justify. From Microsoft to OnePlus and beyond, here are the most notable smartphones failing in 2020.

The curious case of the delayed Nokia

HMD first introduced the Nokia 8.3 in March. It’s an upper-middle-tier phone with a sleek design, respectable specs, and a ton of supported 5G bands. A month passed after the disclosure and we didn’t get the phone, then two months and then three months. It took about six months before the phone was available for purchase.

To our knowledge, HMD did not disclose the reason for the delay. However, the postponement coincided with the delay of the latest James Bond film (No Time To Die). And yes, HMD was the film’s “official phone partner”, strongly suggesting that the film’s delay forced HMD.

It didn’t help that when the Nokia 8.3 was finally available for purchase, consumers had better and / or cheaper 5G options on the market, such as the Pixel 4a 5G, Poco F2 Pro, and OnePlus Nord. It also didn’t help that HMD went all year without a proper flagship phone. If this is still the case through the first half of 2021, that means we haven’t seen a flagship Nokia launch in two years.

Microsoft Surface Duo

Microsoft made waves in 2019 when it revealed the Surface Duo for the first time, marking its first major entry into the Android phone space. It was also quite an intriguing concept. Microsoft showed off a foldable dual screen and promised to reinvent the way it interacted with apps.

Unfortunately, reviews showed the Surface Duo to be an unpolished mess at launch. Microsoft’s software contained many bugs, while the list of apps that supported the dual-screen design was disappointingly short.

Related: All the improvements we’d like to see with Surface Duo 2

However, the lack of polish wasn’t the only hit against Microsoft’s phone. It was too expensive. For $ 1,400, you have the 2019 flagship silicon, no 5G, no NFC, no fast charging, and no wireless charging. You’d better spend a little more to get the Galaxy Z Fold 2, unless Really you want that book-like Kindle experience.

Escobar Fold 2

The brother of the late drug lord Pablo Escobar released a $ 350 folding smartphone in 2019, but this was a scam. The so-called Escobar Fold was literally just a Royole Flexpai in disguise. The Royole CEO had no idea this was happening, while many customers complained that (unsurprisingly) they were not receiving their orders.

This sketchy company stepped up its game in 2020 as it then decided to release the Escobar Fold 2. Of course, this wasn’t an original design either, but rather the Samsung Galaxy Fold with a gold ribbon concealing Samsung’s branding. A Galaxy Fold in disguise for $ 400? Yes, don’t expect to receive your order here either.

Motorola Razr

Motorola managed to attract general attention in late 2019 when it announced that the Razr foldable phone would be making a comeback as a modern foldable. With a clamshell design, a foldable main display, and a large external display, it certainly combined retro and modern in theory.

However, when the phone finally launched in 2020, it offered anything but for its money. By spending $ 1,500, you got a small battery, a camera setup similar to entry-level phones, a mid-range chipset from 2018, and Android 9 many months after the Android 10 release. It didn’t help that some users did too. will complain of build quality issues.

Related: The best folding phones you can buy

The Razr was also defeated by Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip. It offered ultra-thin glass, better build quality, a more impressive spec sheet, and a cheaper price. It’s no wonder Motorola made buy-one-get-one-free offers shortly after launch. The company launched a 5G variant in late 2020, offering a more modern mid-range silicon and dual rear camera setup. However, it apparently failed to gain traction compared to Samsung’s products.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra may have launched at $ 1,300, but that was a truly high-end phone. This made it one of the best premium flagships. The vanilla Galaxy Note 20, on the other hand, was a strange mistake for Samsung. It wasn’t a bad phone on its own, but it was definitely a bad phone by Samsung’s standards.

For $ 1,000, you got a phone that was actually inferior to the Galaxy S20 FE in a number of ways. Samsung’s cheapest S20 series phone had a 120Hz refresh rate, microSD card support, a slightly larger battery, and a 3x optical zoom camera. The Note 20 had to settle for a 60Hz screen, fixed storage, and 3x hybrid zoom camera.

However, Samsung’s Vanilla Note model had a couple of advantages over the S20 FE. Those included more RAM (8GB vs. 6GB), 8K recording, and the S-Pen. However, is it really worth paying the extra $ 300 for these additions? And don’t get us started with plastic design. It’s understandable to see this stuff on cheaper phones (say, Galaxy S20 FE), but the fact that plastic was used on a $ 1,000 phone without the corresponding increase in features elsewhere was odd.

Flip Flops Motorola Edge Plus

Lenovo-owned Motorola launched its first proper flagship in quite some time this year, and it wasn’t the worst phone released in 2020, yet the company drew the ire of many enthusiasts when it initially stated that it could only guarantee one version of Android. . upgrade to the $ 1,000 Motorola Edge Plus.

The company then changed tack after negative press and claimed that it would in fact be offering two Android version updates. This still left an incredibly bitter taste, as it looked like Motorola was trying to get a quick one out. An upgrade is disappointing for a budget phone, but for a $ 1,000 device? Out of here.

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This wasn’t the only failure of a Motorola smartphone in 2020. The company made the Edge Plus exclusive to Verizon in the US That was such a silly move, considering it was the brand’s first flagship in a long time. weather. You’d think the company wanted to showcase the best of Motorola to the widest possible audience.

OnePlus in 2020

The BBK-affiliated brand had a solid 2020 on the flagship front, with the OnePlus 8 Pro in particular standing out. This marked the company’s first full-blown premium flagship, and it was delivered. Between photo quality, water resistance, wireless charging, and that QHD + 120Hz display, this definitely felt like a high-end experience to challenge top-tier gamers. Even the OnePlus Nord was a great phone too, making for an outstanding mid-range experience.

However, OnePlus also made a number of missteps this year, starting with its decision to launch the OnePlus Nord N series. The more expensive Nord N10 was only slightly less expensive than the Nord, but it missed several notable features. (eg OLED screen, better processor, additional selfie camera). Meanwhile, the Nord N100 was simply a rebranded Oppo A53 and offered little performance, not to mention the most disappointing type of triple camera setup (main / macro / depth).

Other notable missteps include an extremely divisive redesign of the Oxygen operating system that prompted unfavorable comparisons to One UI, the promise of just an Android version update for the Nord N series, and a smartphone marketing campaign that turned very exhausting very quickly.

What was the biggest smartphone failure of 2020? Vote for your first choice in the poll.