But don't worry: we're here to guide you through the ins and outs of each Our idea of the best phone has a larger display, yet is easy to handle; packs a camera suite capable of replacing a point-and-shoot; and has enough processor power and battery to get work done while you're on the go.
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You won't find slow smartphones with anything less than all-day battery life on this list. This year's top smartphones will certainly be 5G phones like the Samsung S20 line - and other flagships will follow suit given the Snapdragon chipset practically requires 5G connectivity.
But eventually, we'll see some foldable phones with 5G creep into the list, starting with the Huawei Mate Xs and perhaps the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 if and when it comes. But foldable phones are unproven, and 5G in the US isn't in enough cities around the country to recommend. Our list will remain practical.
Why choose us?
Why we have more than a just one pick: We have a top pick, but not everyone looks for the same smartphone features. Some will demand iOS 13 and cling to Apple's iMessage, while others will want customizations and Google Assistant tools available in Android Our phone reviews and this best phone list reflect that diversity. While we've seen more unlocked phones in the US recently, not all are available for every carrier. We have to take that into account when recommending phones, and we favor those that are completely unlocked or available on most if not all the four major carriers.
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Our pick for best phone isn't just crowning the newest iPhone and calling it a day, though our list does have a lot of familiar names: Apple, Samsung, Google and LG, all in the top Newer companies in the US like Huawei and OnePlus make the list, too, though their limited availability is noted. Release date: March Weight: g Dimensions: The Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus is the best phone on our list, though the S20 is so similar and only slightly inferior that we've lumped them together here. That's a bigger jump than last year, owing mostly to the 5G capabilities, as the S20 can only connect to sub-6 5G, while the S20 Plus can do sub-6 and mmWave 5G.
The notches are both centralized like the Note 10, but they're much smaller this time around, and the S20 Plus only has a single lens. The result: more screen. That is, to put it lightly, a lot, and frequently got us through over a day without recharging. Keep in mind that battery life estimate will dip down if you set the refresh rate at Hz, use a ton of 5G connectivity or lend juice with Wireless PowerShare, so adapt accordingly if you're looking to keep your phone going longer.
Camera: The S20 and S20 Plus have truly spectacular cameras. No, not their 12MP main shooters, which are fine - it's the 64MP telephoto that really shines. While it only has 3x optical zoom, it still manages to crop zoom in to a muddy 30x digital zoom - which means the interim intervals are still a good deal more impressive than the competition.
Smartphones are inherently bad for privacy. You've basically got a tracking device in your pocket, pinging off cell towers and locking onto GPS satellites. All the while, tracking cookies, advertising IDs, and usage stats follow you around the internet. So no, there's no such thing as a perfectly secure and truly private smartphone, let's get that out of the way now. But you practically need a smartphone to get by in society, so which phone at least manages to be the lesser of all the evils?
TCL shutting down production of BlackBerry devices certainly doesn't help, either.
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So to find the most security-hardened phones, we looked for key factors like encryption strength, biometrics, hardware-assisted security, VPN availability, and security patch timeframes. Our research narrowed the list down to four great phones, so let's discuss how well each of these devices protects your privacy. Our first requirement in choosing these phones was that they all had to be available for sale in the United States from a major carrier or manufacturer.
Secondly, for a phone to make this list, it had to be encrypted by default to ensure that your data is protected against external access. Another requirement was that the phones all offered granular permission management, which allows you to revoke an app's permission to access certain features like your camera and microphone. Then, to ensure that your data remains safe even when your phone is lost or stolen, we only selected phones with anti-theft protection.
We looked for phones that included extra security features beyond the standard OS-level stuff — for example, strengthening the hardware or adding a security center. With these features, we know these phones took a more dedicated approach to protect your security. With that in mind, we eliminated many popular phones that too heavily relied on Android's basic built-in security features and Qualcomm's generic hardware security module.
We left these devices off the list since the higher-end option was more future-proof. After eliminating the phones which didn't meet our requirements, the finalists were ranked based on how well they scored in the key comparison points above, and with that, the following phones rose to the top.
Last year, our second-place phone was the Google Pixel 3 XL. It only lost to the BlackBerry Key2, a phone built for enterprise and security, but not much else. Fast forward to , and TCL has stopped selling BlackBerry phones , allowing this year's Pixel 4 XL to slide into first place as the best option still standing. Let me start by saying that when it comes to privacy and security, it doesn't matter if you get the Google Pixel 4 or 4 XL.
There are no additional protections found in either variant, so opt for whichever phone best fits your hand size and budget. At the heart of the Pixel 4 XL's security is the Titan M chip, an enterprise-grade security module based on a similar chip used to protect Google's cloud data centers. It handles all sensitive transactions such as mobile payments and apps targeting the StrongBox KeyStore API added in Android 9 , and it's physically separated from the SoC to further protect it.
The map of your face used in the new 3D face unlock feature is also stored in the Titan M. When using this method of authentication, the new face capture is compared to the stored version in the Titan M security chip, minimizing any tampering opportunity. Even the lock screen passcode is verified within the Titan M. To ensure Titan M remains uncompromised, its firmware will never be updated unless you input your passcode. It even protects against bootloader tampering, the firmware in charge of starting up Android.
Rollback protection, a feature that prevents hackers from downgrading your phone to an older and less secure version of Android, is also provided by the Titan M. Google has been aggressively hardening Android's security for the last few years. One of the biggest updates came in with Android 9, which included more than 12 major changes that specifically target privacy and security. Android 10 has only expanded on this with improved location permissions and additional protections that change how apps can interact with your personal data — for example, apps can no longer read your clipboard under any circumstances.
New to the Pixel series this year is 3D face unlock. With Android 10's native support for facial recognition, you can use this technology to authenticate yourself for sensitive transactions such as payments. As with Face ID, Google's facial recognition is more secure than other biometrics thanks to the detailed mapping of your face. You might think a phone made by Google shouldn't be considered a top pick for privacy, but none of the Pixel's extra features beyond those included with stock Android give Google any more access to your personal data.
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With Google's hardware- and software-based protections, you are relatively safe on the web. You're even protected against spam calls thanks to the AI-powered Call Screen features. Thanks to three years of full OS updates, protection will only get better over the life of the phone. Samsung has a long history of catering to enterprise users. To tap into this larger market segment, they had to improve their devices' security beyond the basics provided by Android. The result was Samsung Knox , a combination of hardware and software to provide deep-level protection that starts at the SoC.
And while regular consumers don't have access to many of these features, they are available for any company you join with a BYOD policy. Samsung has joined Apple and Google in creating their own security chip specifically designed to manage sensitive transactions and isolate private data. It is in this chip that Samsung manages Samsung Pass, Secure Folder, and many of its numerous security features.
This key is unique to each device and is used, alongside the Secure Boot key, to detect any tampering with the operating system or bootloader. It is because of these keys that it is nearly impossible to flash custom software on the Galaxy S20 Ultra Exynos variant without tripping the Knox Counter, a hardware-based flag that activates once you attempt to load any custom recovery or firmware. Once tripped, Knox is no longer available as the security and protection advertised by Samsung can no longer be guaranteed.
Knox also includes Samsung Defex, a patch to the kernel that prevents root from being granted to apps even after root was successful. So even if you trip the fuse and forgo access to Knox, Knox is still protecting you. Real-Time Kernel Protection tracks kernel changes and prevents the phone from booting if any tampering has been done.
Samsung is one of the few Android phones that will wipe your data upon subsequent failed login attempts.