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MagyarThe Best Smartphones
Smartphones 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:
The Best Smartphones
Pos. | Date | Rating | Image | Model | Height | Weight | Size | Resolution | OS | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 09/2020 | 89 % |  | Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra Samsung Exynos 990 ARM Mali-G77 MP11 12 GB Memory, 256 GB | 8.1 mm | 208 g | 6.90" | 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 | 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 | 6.90" | 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 | 10/2020 Neu | 88 % |  | Samsung Galaxy Note20 Samsung Exynos 990 ARM Mali-G77 MP11 8 GB Memory, 256 GB | 8.3 mm | 192 g | 6.70" | 2400x1080 | Android 10 | |
| 9 | 10/2020 Neu | 88 % |  | OnePlus 8T Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Qualcomm Adreno 650 8 GB Memory, 128 GB | 8.4 mm | 188 g | 6.55" | 2400x1080 | Android 11 | |
| 10 | 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 | 5.80" | 2436x1125 | Apple iOS 13 |
The table above contains an overview over the best smartphones reviewed by Notebookcheck over the course of the past 12 months as well as still relevant and available older products. In cases of identical score the more recent device is listed first. All prices in above table and price comparisons are updated daily and can thus differ.
Editors' Comments
This month, we see two new entries. Promising candidates under review right now are the Huawei Mate 40 Pro as well as Apple’s new iPhones.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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8th – Samsung Galaxy Note20
The Samsung Galaxy Note20 is the Ultra’s smaller sibling. The main differences between the two are in camera setup and storage capacity, minor differences include choice of material and display technology. The Note 20’s 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus display runs at a native FHD+ resolution at a refresh rate of 60 Hz. The Samsung smartphone is powered by an Exynos 990 SoC with access to 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. The latter is not expandable via microSD.
In our review, the Note 20 performed very well in pretty much every category. However, considering its high price we would have expected full 5G support, and truth be told the lack of microSD support is annoying.
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9th – OnePlus 8T
With the OnePlus 8T, the Chinese OEM returns to its roots by offering a powerful flagship smartphone at a comparatively low price. With a 6.55-inch AMOLED display running at 2400 x 1080 and 120 Hz, 8 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of internal storage the 8T is surprisingly well equipped. Unfortunately, it lacks a microSD port for storage expansion. Alternatively, a higher-tier SKU with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage is also available. With Wi-Fi 6 and 5G the device supports the latest communication standards.
The OnePlus 8T performed very well overall in our test. The only thing really missing was an IP certification and support for wireless charging. The cameras were decent but certainly not among the best of the best.
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10th - 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.
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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 | Samsung Galaxy Note20 Mali-G77 MP11, Exynos 990, 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | OnePlus 8T Adreno 650, SD 865, 128 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | Apple iPhone 11 Pro A13 Bionic GPU, A13 Bionic, 256 GB NVMe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | 9.6 (4.8, 4.8) | 20 (11, 9) | 11.6 (3.6, 8) |
| 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) | 6 (3, 3) | 3.2 (2, 1.2) |
| PWM Frequency | 245.1 (99) | 365 (99) | 255.1 (99) | 240.4 (99) | 245.1 (99) | 258 | 373.1 (99) | 250 (99) | 458.7 | 290.7 (99) |
| Screen | ||||||||||
| Brightness middle | 860 | 584 | 625 | 734 | 592 | 796 | 753 | 610 | 743 | 787 |
| Brightness | 878 | 576 | 630 | 748 | 605 | 779 | 762 | 621 | 734 | 793 |
| Brightness Distribution | 96 | 95 | 88 | 95 | 96 | 94 | 96 | 95 | 91 | 98 |
| Black Level * | ||||||||||
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 * | 4.5 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 0.68 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 0.89 | 1.2 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 max. * | 10.4 | 2.3 | 4.5 | 6.8 | 5.5 | 1.55 | 1.6 | 4.3 | 1.69 | 2.6 |
| Greyscale DeltaE2000 * | 2.4 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 1.5 |
| Gamma | 2 110% | 2.16 102% | 2.22 99% | 2.11 104% | 2.16 102% | 2.237 98% | 2.24 98% | 2.09 105% | 2.199 100% | 2.2 100% |
| CCT | 6466 101% | 6355 102% | 6750 96% | 6299 103% | 6173 105% | 6310 103% | 6415 101% | 6368 102% | 6423 101% | 6339 103% |
| Heat | ||||||||||
| Maximum Upper Side * | 33.8 | 30.2 | 36.9 | 35 | 39.8 | 46.7 | 33.1 | 35.5 | 45 | 38.8 |
| Maximum Bottom * | 31.1 | 30.6 | 36.8 | 34.1 | 41 | 46.9 | 30.7 | 32.6 | 43.8 | 42.2 |
| Idle Upper Side * | 27.1 | 28.3 | 27.6 | 32.1 | 27.4 | 33.1 | 30.4 | 26.7 | 25.7 | 34.6 |
| Idle Bottom * | 24.9 | 27.2 | 26.2 | 27.9 | 25.5 | 32.1 | 27.8 | 25.1 | 24.9 | 32.2 |
| Battery Runtime | ||||||||||
| Reader / Idle | 1223 | 1474 | 2104 | 1858 | 2174 | 2103 | 2133 | 2067 | 1539 | 2084 |
| H.264 | 993 | 1137 | 1674 | 1131 | 1098 | 1023 | 973 | 1123 | 1103 | 1046 |
| WiFi v1.3 | 644 | 743 | 964 | 720 | 823 | 923 | 865 | 589 | 1023 | 791 |
| Load | 338 | 198 | 336 | 221 | 219 | 296 | 198 | 326 | 203 | 336 |
| Power Consumption | ||||||||||
| Idle Minimum * | 0.65 | 0.92 | 0.91 | 0.76 | 0.87 | 2.2 | 0.61 | 0.92 | 1.1 | 0.58 |
| Idle Average * | 1.06 | 1.41 | 1.47 | 1.91 | 1.75 | 3.3 | 1.19 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.99 |
| Idle Maximum * | 1.49 | 1.47 | 1.49 | 1.96 | 1.83 | 3.7 | 1.23 | 1.54 | 1.7 | 2.03 |
| Load Average * | 4.91 | 3.35 | 4 | 4.72 | 3.85 | 5.9 | 4.18 | 5.49 | 4.6 | 3.13 |
| Load Maximum * | 10.29 | 6.37 | 9.55 | 10.15 | 6.64 | 8.3 | 8.53 | 9.99 | 9.4 | 5.43 |
* ... smaller is better
Benchmarks
| Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal - offscreen Overall Score (sort by value) | |
| Huawei P40 Pro | |
| Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra | |
| Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro | |
* ... smaller is better
