Forget Apple’s iPhone or Google’s Pixel 5, this is the best smartphone of 2020

I saw someone on Reddit a few days ago say they missed the so-called 2010 golden age of smartphones. When Android and iOS development was as fast as it was dramatic and there were genuine and cavernous differences between devices and software.

All of that is true. But phones from the early nineties were, let’s be honest, shit. Buggy, slow, terrible camera quality, easily susceptible to water damage and cheap to manufacture.

My HTC Desire Z, as much as I loved it, had a wobbly hinge, it collected dirt on the qwerty keyboard, and when it stopped turning on, HTC refused to repair or replace it. Simply put, those were the smartphones of 2010.

Today? People lament how similar and boring phones are. But being a pedestrian is simply the result of working properly. Android as an operating system has settled comfortably into middle age, with its wild and unpredictable days behind it. Which means that almost any Android device, regardless of price, comes with a minimal level of quality, and that floor is quite high.

I recently reviewed a $ 139 smartphone. About halfway through the review process, I realized that this hyper-budgeted phone is only a slightly better processor and image processing software tuned to be a genuine competitor to the big brands. . That is where we are now. That is good.

But where does the emotion come from? Apple believes it comes from LiDAR technology and Google has returned to budget phones with exceptional battery life. Samsung, however, has bent the glass. Real, genuine, real glass. And it created a whole new category of smartphones with its foldable range. For that reason, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 is my 2020 phone.

The trusted phone of 2020

Samsung is about to launch its third generation of folding phones. Two years ago it seemed that folding was the perpetually delayed Second Coming, but in an instant the folding is now entering middle age. That confidence and wisdom that comes with age is clear on the Galaxy Z Fold 2.

After my first few weeks of use, I was amazed at how accomplished the phone was. The new mechanical hinge is robust and quietly filters out dust. The main screen’s ultra-thin glass (UTG) provides the right amount of tactile resistance, the outer screen was sharp enough and large enough not to seem like an unfortunate necessity.

There are, and still are, no clear and obvious problems with the Galaxy Fold 2. In a year that has plagued Samsung’s rivals with battery and display issues, including Samsung’s own S20 FE, the Galaxy Fold 2 was surprisingly free. from problems. For a phone that folds in half and has a lot more potential problems, that’s impressive.

But that everything works properly is not the only criteria for PotY. The Fold 2’s real appeal – the areas that make it stand out from a sea of ​​similar-looking phones – is its wow factor and multitasking abilities.

Let’s start with the first one. The phone is folded in half. Let’s absorb that for a second. Samsung has put a layer of glass on a tablet that folds in half. Despite all the press, leaked images, and years of accumulation (and previous iterations), I was still blown away by the experience of holding and folding this phone. Less technical friends who see my Fold 2 for the first time are stunned with amazement. Becomes the topic of conversation. I often say that seeing a phone folded in half feels as futuristic as seeing 3D graphics for the first time. They are both fascinated and instantly know what the future is.

Samsung, together with flexible glass maker SCHOTT, is pushing forward solely in the material science of folding phones. In an interview, Motorola’s Jeff Snow told me that he doesn’t see any added benefits to flexible glass in the short term, which is why the Razr 5G doesn’t use it. If folding glass gets to a point where it is as scratch resistant, rigid and unbreakable as the panels Gorilla supplies (SCHOTT tells me they are working on it), it will be thanks to Samsung and co. That deserves recognition.

The actual experience is also tailored to the form factor. There is always a danger with experimental phone designs – they are often standard phones in an extravagant form factor. Motorola’s Razr 5G suffers from this. I imagine people who paid $ 17,000 for a gold Apple Watch were quietly disappointed when they realized it was just an Apple Watch.

Taking the mobile experience to new heights

But the Fold 2 delivers on its design promise by delivering on the software side. Multitasking is brilliant. The best way to explain it is this: I was entering a long code in a banking application that I had just downloaded. I was copying the code from my password vault, but couldn’t get out of the banking app to see the rest of the code because the banking app was resetting my progress (I couldn’t cut and paste either).

Enter split screen. Half of the big screen has the password vault open, the other half has the banking app. It seems obvious, but you would have had to write the code on a sheet of paper with a traditional smartphone. It’s these little improvements that make a big difference to the mobile experience.

Proper split screen with enough screen dedicated to each individual task, for a device you can use anywhere, is a game changer. Chatting on WhatsApp and watching YouTube, or searching for products and reading reviews at the same time, feels like what your phone is supposed to do. The third screen also plays its role by acting as a field monitor when taking pictures so that people can see what they look like before capturing the picture. I miss this on other devices.

The triple camera setup, which includes a 2x telephoto lens and an ultra-wide sensor, is close to Samsung’s best technology. Images are reliably detailed with good dynamic range. Samsung’s over-processed and over-the-top texture smoothing isn’t my bag, but images look great in both light and dark conditions. Turning the phone over and using the rear cameras to take a selfie is very welcome, which also uses the aforementioned field monitor feature. Samsung’s almost endless list of camera features is appropriate for a phone that is so versatile and exciting.

But it is also boring. Everything works in harmony with no obvious errors or glitches, which is not something I say often about Samsung phones. In fact, in a year where Google is having serious design issues with the Pixel 5 and the iPhone 12 having battery drain issues, the Fold 2 is one of the few phones without any issues. I suspect the Korean company really took the time to get the Fold 2 right because it knew that you only have so many opportunities with a fickle audience when it comes to new technology.

However, there are other problems outside of bugs. It is not a very practical device. In another article I said that the Fold 2 was like an “idyllic vacation” and that “unfortunately, the vacation has to come to an end because two weeks of indulgence is not a realistic or practical way to live your life. The Fold 2’s size, price, and constant need for power are more awkward than the small, lightweight, and durable option that Google’s phone offers. “The awkward reality was most apparent when I tried to keep it from falling out of my shorts. gymnastics when exercising.

The short gym door aside, I haven’t been wowed by a piece of tech this year like it’s the Fold 2. Once my 2020 reviews are complete I’ll go back to the flex phone and once again enjoy the feeling of living. a little. in the future. I can’t say that for any other device, so I don’t see why any other device deserves the title of Phone of the Year.