Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Русский
Türkçe
Svenska
Chinese
MagyarSmartphones are destroying everything else in terms of sales in the mobile market. These incredibly versatile devices outstripped normal cell phones ages ago. With even stronger processors and growing display sizes, the so-called "phablets" are now encroaching on tablet territory. The line between these devices is growing increasingly blurry - at least at the upper end of the market. These smartphone-tablet crossbreeds have taken many of the top spots in our smartphone Top 10 list. As a result, most of the top models in our list are occupied by very recently released devices. Still, here and there a brave old soldier has clung on to the top of the ladder. Besides the ranking of the high-end smartphones, the following charts might be interesting as well:
- Notebookcheck's Top 10 Phablets (Smartphones > 5.5-inch)
- Notebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones < 5-inch
- Top 10 Smartphones under 500 Euros
- Top 10 Smartphones under 300 Euros
- Top 10 Smartphones under 160 Euros
The following table shows the best smartphones we reviewed in the last 12 months. If ratings are equal, newer articles are listed first. You can sort the table by clicking its headers or via text filter (e.g. "iOS").
Notebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones
Best Smartphones as of September 2020
Pos. | Date | Rating | Image | Model | Height | Weight | Size | Resolution | OS | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 09/2020 Neu | 89 % |  | Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra Samsung Exynos 990 ARM Mali-G77 MP11 12 GB Memory, 256 GB | 8.1 mm | 208 g | 6.9" | 3088x1440 | Android 10 | |
| 2 | 04/2020 | 89 % |  | Huawei P40 Pro HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G ARM Mali-G76 MP16 8 GB Memory, 256 GB | 8.95 mm | 209 g | 6.58" | 2640x1200 | Android 10 | |
| 3 | 09/2020 Neu | 89 % |  | Asus ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Qualcomm Adreno 650 8 GB Memory, 256 GB | 9.85 mm | 240 g | 6.59" | 2340x1080 | Android 10 | |
| 4 | 03/2020 | 89 % |  | Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Samsung Exynos 990 ARM Mali-G77 MP11 12 GB Memory, 128 GB | 8.8 mm | 219 g | 6.9" | 3200x1440 | Android 10 | |
| 5 | 12/2019 | 89 % |  | Huawei Mate 30 Pro HiSilicon Kirin 990 ARM Mali-G76 MP16 8 GB Memory, 256 GB | 8.8 mm | 198 g | 6.53" | 2400x1176 | Android 10 | |
| 6 | 04/2020 | 88 % |  | OnePlus 8 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Qualcomm Adreno 650 12 GB Memory, 256 GB | 8.5 mm | 199 g | 6.78" | 3168x1440 | Android 10 | |
| 7 | 04/2020 | 88 % |  | Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Qualcomm Adreno 650 8 GB Memory, 256 GB | 8.96 mm | 208 g | 6.67" | 2340x1080 | Android 10 | |
| 8 | 09/2019 | 88 % |  | Apple iPhone 11 Pro Apple A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic GPU 4 GB Memory, 256 GB NVMe | 8.1 mm | 188 g | 5.8" | 2436x1125 | Apple iOS 13 | |
| 9 | 04/2020 | 88 % |  | Samsung Galaxy S20+ Samsung Exynos 990 ARM Mali-G77 MP11 8 GB Memory, 128 GB | 7.8 mm | 188 g | 6.7" | 3200x1440 | Android 10 | |
| 10 | 09/2019 | 87 % |  | Apple iPhone 11 Apple A13 Bionic Apple A13 Bionic GPU 4 GB Memory, 64 GB SSD | 8.3 mm | 194 g | 6.1" | 1792x828 | Apple iOS 13 |
Top 10 smartphones from the last 12 months - current reviews are listed first
Editors' Comments
Samsung's Galaxy Note 20 Ultra manages to secure first place in this top 10, and the second new-entry, the Asus ROG Phone 3, lands in third place. Other contenders, such as the Sony Xperia 1 II and Moto Edge Plus, did not make this list.
1st – Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra features a 6.9-inch dynamic OLED display with an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. Not only does the panel support HDR10 and HDR10+, it is also the brightest smartphone display we have ever seen. The Note 20 Ultra is powered by an Exynos 990 with 12 GB of RAM and features a whopping 256 GB of microSD expandable UFS 3.1 storage. Its fast USB 3.2 port supports connecting external displays as well as DeX, among other things. The latter is now also supported wirelessly. Like before the Note includes Samsung’s S pen whose slot has been relocated from the right to the left-hand side.
The tripe-camera setup performed very well and includes a depth-of-field sensor. Samsung’s Note 20 is furthermore IP68-certified against ingress of dust and water and supports 5G and Wi-Fi 6. Too bad the display will only run at 120 Hz in FHD+ resolution.
Top 10 Laptops
Multimedia, Budget Multimedia, Gaming, Budget Gaming, Lightweight Gaming, Business, Budget Office, Workstation, Subnotebooks, Ultrabooks, Chromebooks
under 300 USD/Euros, under 500 USD/Euros, 1.000 USD/Euros
Best Displays, for University Students
Top 10 Smartphones
Smartphones, Phablets, ≤5-inch, Camera SmartphonesNotebookcheck's Top 10 Smartphones under 160 Euros
Pricecompare
2nd – Huawei P40 Pro
The Huawei P40 Pro features a 6.58-inch OLED display running at a native resolution of 2640 x 1200 and a refresh rate of 90 Hz. It is powered by Huawei’s current flagship SoC, 8 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of storage space. The latter can be expanded via NM card.
Its highlight is without a doubt the incredible camera with an improved main sensor. It stormed our charts with ease. The P40 Pro’s focal length ranges from ultra wide angle on the one end to a 50x digital zoom on the other.
The main setback to this incredibly powerful device are the current restrictions imposed on the Chinese by the trade embargo. Accordingly, the smartphone lacks Google’s services, various certifications, and some audio codecs.
Pricecompare
3rd – Asus ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition
The Asus ROG Phone 3 is a full-fledged gaming thoroughbred. Its 6.59-inch FHD+ AMOLED display runs at a refresh rate of 144 Hz and a touch-samping rate of 270 Hz. The rear features a configurable LED logo. The air trigger buttons can be freely configured in compatible games to support either gestures or macros.
The phone is powered by either a Snapdragon 865 (Strix Edition) or a Snapdragon 865 Plus and between 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage and 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage without support for microSD storage expansion. It supports dual Wi-Fi 6 in addition to 5G and features a powerful 6,000 mAh battery guaranteeing long battery life. In our review, we particularly liked the ROG Phone 3’s great connectivity, great performance, and really good stereo speakers. Unfortunately, it lacks an IP certification and support for wireless charging.
Pricecompare
4th – Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
With its 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED display the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is one of the largest smartphones currently available. Its high resolution of 3200 x 1440 pixels makes for an ultra-sharp picture. That is as long as you decide not to run the phone in 120 Hz mode, because that will lower resolution to 2400 x 1080.
An array of five cameras ensure great photo quality, a 100x zoom, and support for 8k video. However, photo quality when zoomed-in or in low-light situations is in need of improvement.
All things considered the Galaxy S20 Ultra is a smartphone that leaves almost nothing to be desired and is an eye-catcher due to its sheer size alone.
Pricecompare
5th – Huawei Mate 30 Pro
Huawei's Mate 30 Pro Huawei Mate 30 Pro Smartphone Review: A strong smartphone even without Googlefeatures a 6.53-inch large OLED display running at a native resolution of 2400 x 1176, the oddness of which is courtesy of the noticeably curved display providing additional screen real estate on both sides. The lack of a volume rocker is also due to this curved display, and it has been replaced with a gesture performed along the curved side of the device.
The rest if the hardware is top notch. Depending on the exact model you get at least 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of fast UFS 3.0 storage that can be further expanded via NM card. It also features a large 4,500 mAh battery, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, 3D face recognition, and a modern up-to-date SoC with optional 5G and USB 3.1. Its quad camera is definitely a highlight, and with its secondary main sensor it clearly shifts camera focus towards videography.
Pricecompare
6th – OnePlus 8 Pro
The OnePlus 8 Pro features a 6.78-inch large OLED display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. It is powered by an up-to-date flagship SoC made by Qualcomm and equipped with either 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of UFS 3.0 storage or alternatively 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage with various color options at your disposal.
The quad-lens camera features two 48 MP sensors, one of which sits below an ultra-wide angle lens. It is furthermore equipped with a hybrid zoom and a color filter lens. All things considered the photos turned out good but not great. Nevertheless, the camera’s usability spectrum is very wide.
The list of shortcomings is fairly short, among others for example the slow USB 2.0 port and its merely average call quality.
Pricecompare
7th – Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro
Compared to its predecessor, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro comes with a much larger battery, and despite the 90 Hz display battery life was improved significantly thereby. The 6.67-inch OLED display runs at FHD+ resolution, and the device is powered by a Snapdragon 865, 8 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of UFS 3.0 storage for an overall high level of performance.
The quad-camera’s main lens features a 108 MP sensor. Additional cameras include an ultra-wide angle, a portrait lens, and a zoom lens. The spectrum covered by the Mi 10 Pro’s quad-lens camera array is thus fairly wide, and in addition it also supports recording videos in 8K resolution. Our only gripe with the camera was its lens arrangement.
Other downsides include the slow USB 2.0 port as well as the lack of IP certification against ingress of dust and water.
Pricecompare
8th - Apple iPhone 11 Pro
The Apple iPhone 11 Pro hardly changed compared to last year's model and is definitely the most compact high-end smartphone. It has a 5.8-inch OLED screen with 2436 x 1125 pixels. The fast SoC always ensures a responsive user experience. The storage cannot be expanded, so you have to choose between 64, 256 and 512 GB SKUs.
The new triple camera now includes an ultra wide-angle lens, which enables really great shots both for pictures and videos. The Apple smartphone once again offers an IP68 certification and supports wireless charging. The significantly increased battery capacity also enables excellent battery runtimes.
You should have a look at the iPhone 11 Pro Max if you want a bigger battery and more more screen area.
Pricecompare
9th - Samsung Galaxy S20 & S20+
The Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ scored identically, and thus have to share their spot in our top 10. The Galaxy S20 features a 6.2-inch OLED display, a triple-camera, and a 4,000 mAh battery. At 6.7-inches the Galaxy S20 Plus is slightly larger, comes with a large 4,500 mAh battery, and a quad-camera array. Both cameras are very similar and offer an ultra wide angle and a zoom lens in addition to the main camera. Unlike the S20, the S20 Plus features an additional 3D camera. Both phones are available with 128 GB of storage and optional 5G. If you opt for the latter you get more RAM, and the S20 Plus 5G can be optionally purchased with 512 GB of internal storage.
Both smartphones feature great design, a great 120 Hz display, and modern connectivity.
Pricecompare
10th - Apple iPhone 11
The Apple iPhone 11 is the least expensive product within Apple's current smartphone generation. The 6.1-inch IPS display has a resolution of 1792 x 828 pixels, so the pixel density is lower compared to the bigger siblings and there is no HDR support, either. The design is also a bit bulkier with wider bezels. The small iPhone is available with 64, 128 or 256 GB storage.
The dual-camera at the back offers an additional wide-angle lens. The smartphone is also certified according to IP68, supports wireless charging and provides long battery runtimes. It is, however, annoying that Apple ships the smartphone with an insufficient power adapter.
Pricecompare
Best Smartphones in Comparison
Test Results
| Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra Mali-G77 MP11, Exynos 990, 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | Huawei P40 Pro Mali-G76 MP16, Kirin 990 5G, 256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash | Asus ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition Adreno 650, SD 865, 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Mali-G77 MP11, Exynos 990, 128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash | Huawei Mate 30 Pro Mali-G76 MP16, Kirin 990, 256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash | OnePlus 8 Pro Adreno 650, SD 865, 256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash | Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro Adreno 650, SD 865, 256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash | Apple iPhone 11 Pro A13 Bionic GPU, A13 Bionic, 256 GB NVMe | Samsung Galaxy S20+ Mali-G77 MP11, Exynos 990, 128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash | Apple iPhone 11 A13 Bionic GPU, A13 Bionic, 64 GB SSD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | ||||||||||
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 8.8 (4.4, 4.4) | 3.2 (2, 1.2) | 3.6 (2, 1.6) | 9.6 (4.8, 4.8) | 3.6 (2, 1.6) | 8 (5, 3) | 2.4 (1.2, 1.2) | 11.6 (3.6, 8) | 10 (5, 5) | 29.2 (13.2, 26) |
| Response Time Black / White * | 3.2 (2, 1.2) | 2.8 (1.6, 1.2) | 2.4 (1.2, 1.2) | 2.8 (1.2, 1.6) | 3.2 (1.6, 1.6) | 7 (3, 4) | 2.4 (1.2, 1.2) | 3.2 (2, 1.2) | 8 (5, 3) | 20.4 (7.2, 13.2) |
| PWM Frequency | 245.1 (99) | 365 (99) | 255.1 (99) | 240.4 (99) | 245.1 (99) | 258 | 373.1 (99) | 290.7 (99) | 214 | |
| Screen | ||||||||||
| Brightness middle | 860 | 584 | 625 | 734 | 592 | 796 | 753 | 787 | 740 | 679 |
| Brightness | 878 | 576 | 630 | 748 | 605 | 779 | 762 | 793 | 747 | 671 |
| Brightness Distribution | 96 | 95 | 88 | 95 | 96 | 94 | 96 | 98 | 94 | 93 |
| Black Level * | 0.68 | |||||||||
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 * | 4.5 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 0.68 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 0.8 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 max. * | 10.4 | 2.3 | 4.5 | 6.8 | 5.5 | 1.55 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 4.57 | 2.4 |
| Greyscale DeltaE2000 * | 2.4 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
| Gamma | 2 110% | 2.16 102% | 2.22 99% | 2.11 104% | 2.16 102% | 2.237 98% | 2.24 98% | 2.2 100% | 2.269 97% | 2.24 98% |
| CCT | 6466 101% | 6355 102% | 6750 96% | 6299 103% | 6173 105% | 6310 103% | 6415 101% | 6339 103% | 6284 103% | 6610 98% |
| Contrast | 999 | |||||||||
| Heat | ||||||||||
| Maximum Upper Side * | 33.8 | 30.2 | 36.9 | 35 | 39.8 | 46.7 | 33.1 | 38.8 | 44.8 | 41.7 |
| Maximum Bottom * | 31.1 | 30.6 | 36.8 | 34.1 | 41 | 46.9 | 30.7 | 42.2 | 43.6 | 39.1 |
| Idle Upper Side * | 27.1 | 28.3 | 27.6 | 32.1 | 27.4 | 33.1 | 30.4 | 34.6 | 32.4 | 39.7 |
| Idle Bottom * | 24.9 | 27.2 | 26.2 | 27.9 | 25.5 | 32.1 | 27.8 | 32.2 | 30.8 | 33.2 |
| Battery Runtime | ||||||||||
| Reader / Idle | 1223 | 1474 | 2104 | 1858 | 2174 | 2103 | 2133 | 2084 | 2041 | 2765 |
| H.264 | 993 | 1137 | 1674 | 1131 | 1098 | 1023 | 973 | 1046 | 978 | 1147 |
| WiFi v1.3 | 644 | 743 | 964 | 720 | 823 | 923 | 865 | 791 | 794 | 866 |
| Load | 338 | 198 | 336 | 221 | 219 | 296 | 198 | 336 | 218 | 267 |
| Power Consumption | ||||||||||
| Idle Minimum * | 0.65 | 0.92 | 0.91 | 0.76 | 0.87 | 2.2 | 0.61 | 0.58 | 1 | 0.56 |
| Idle Average * | 1.06 | 1.41 | 1.47 | 1.91 | 1.75 | 3.3 | 1.19 | 1.99 | 1.7 | 2.99 |
| Idle Maximum * | 1.49 | 1.47 | 1.49 | 1.96 | 1.83 | 3.7 | 1.23 | 2.03 | 2.3 | 3.02 |
| Load Average * | 4.91 | 3.35 | 4 | 4.72 | 3.85 | 5.9 | 4.18 | 3.13 | 5.8 | 4.17 |
| Load Maximum * | 10.29 | 6.37 | 9.55 | 10.15 | 6.64 | 8.3 | 8.53 | 5.43 | 11.8 | 5.44 |
* ... smaller is better
Benchmarks
| Geekbench 4.4 | |
| 64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra | |
| Huawei P40 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra | |
| Huawei Mate 30 Pro | |
| Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro | |
| 64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra | |
| Huawei P40 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra | |
| Huawei Mate 30 Pro | |
| Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro | |
| Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal - offscreen Overall Score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei P40 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra | |
| Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy S20+ | |
| WebXPRT 2015 - Overall Score (sort by value) | |
| OnePlus 8 Pro | |
| Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy S20+ | |
* ... smaller is better
