Between the cancellation of the Mobile World Congress due to the Coronavirus, renewed tensions at Huawei regarding the ban suffered by the United States of America, companies like Essential that are unable to carry on their business and those who have more put, in these early months of 2020 it is almost difficult to focus on new arrivals in the smartphone field. Fortunately, however, the last few weeks have also brought positive news, from the launch on the market of the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Z Flip range to the announcement of Xiaomi Mi 10. Let's go, therefore, to make order in this chaos, trying to think about what i are best top-of-the-range Android smartphones in February 2020. We remind you that the prices taken into consideration are only those present on Amazon Italy or on the official websites of the manufacturers.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
Arrived in our country in the second half of 2019, Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ is considered by many to be one of the most convincing smartphones produced by the South Korean company in recent years, clearly awaiting the arrival on the market of the Galaxy S20 range. The strengths of the device are the excellent display, the photographic sector that does not disappoint expectations, good autonomy and build quality. For more information, we advise you to consult our review of Samsung Galaxy Note 10+.
Defined on several occasions as a complete and versatile smartphone, the device also has some flaws, such as the lack of an audio jack for headphones and having to choose between Dual SIM and expandable memory. For the rest, the connectivity sector is complete: NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, 4G LTE, USB Type-C 3.1 port, wireless charging and Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac / ax are in place. Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ is currently sold for around 910 euros on Amazon Italy through resellers (12 / 256GB model).
OnePlus 7T Pro
Arrived in Italy in the last months of 2019, OnePlus 7T Pro is a convincing smartphone. Of course, a part of the fans had to complain about the generational leap not too marked compared to the previous model, but we are still talking about a smartphone that already started from an excellent base and that improves it in some aspects. For all the details of the case, please take a look at our OnePlus 7T Pro review.
The smartphone gives its best in excellent performance, above-average screen, in the complete software, in the good photographic sector, in the excellent constructive solidity, in the display with 90 Hz refresh rate and in the fast charge Warp Charge, which allows you to recharge the device at 70% in about 30 minutes.
The device, however, also has some flaws, from the autonomy not exactly the best to the lack of the headphone jack and wireless charging, passing through the non-expandable memory.
The connectivity sector is rather complete: there are Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C 3.1 and NFC.
OnePlus 7T Pro is found at 759 euros on the official website (model 8 / 256GB). In any case, in our view, this year it is worth taking into particular consideration the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition, which can be purchased for 859 euros on the official website (12 / 256GB variant).
ROG Phone 2
If you are looking for a smartphone that particularly focuses on brute force, then you must turn your gaze to ASUS ROG Phone 2. We are in fact talking about a device that has distinguished itself in the gaming sector, since it has particularly convinced those who are used to playing on the move. On the other hand, the Taiwanese company has refined all the most "criticized" aspects of its predecessor, creating a convincing smartphone from many points of view. For more information, we recommend you read our ROG Phone 2 review.
The main strengths of the device are the above average performance, the gaming side features (such as the Air Triggers), the excellent autonomy (6000 mAh battery) and the screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate. As you may have guessed, ROG Phone 2 could therefore actually be suitable even for those who do not aim exclusively at gaming.
In any case, there are some flaws: for example, waterproofing, wireless charging and expandable memory are absent. However, the connectivity sector is all in all complete: USB Type-C 3.1 port, NFC, audio jack for headphones, Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac / ad are in place. ROG Phone 2 is currently sold at a price of 699 euros on the official website (model 8 / 128GB). For more information, we also invite you to take a look at our page dedicated to ROG Phone 2, where you can find insights on every single aspect of the smartphone.
Google Pixel 4 XL
If you are looking for a smartphone other than the usual, capable of offering good software support and innovative features, Google Pixel 4 XL could do for you. Arrived in Italy in the last months of 2019, the smartphone has convinced fans thanks to the classic "Google Experience", which in this case finds its strength in features such as astrophotography, Motion Sense, Live Caption and instant transcription from audio to text. We are talking about possibilities that represent a potential revolution for some users and surely Google has shown that it holds a lot to these exclusive features, since others are coming through the next major release Android 11. In this regard, the Californian company already has announced that software-side support will continue at least until October 2022 for Google Pixel 4 XL. For all the details of the case on the device, we refer you to our review of Google Pixel 4 XL.
The smartphone gives its best in the excellent build quality, in thesoftware optimization, in top performance, in the exceptional photographic sector and in the excellent screen with a refresh rate of 90 Hz.
The main pain points are found in the lack of the audio jack for the headphones, in the internal memory that cannot be expanded, in the autonomy only in the average, in the absence of the headphones in the package and in the fact that to take advantage of the Dual SIM you have to go through an eSIM (although the latter aspect could be seen as positive by a certain type of user).
For the rest, the connectivity sector is complete: we find Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 5, USB Type-C 3.1, wireless charging and NFC. Pixel 4 XL is currently sold at a price of 899 euros on the Google Store (model 6 / 64GB).
Special mention: Folding smartphones
We have now entered, also in Italy, in the era of leaflets, given the release in our country of Samsung Galaxy Fold, Motorola RAZR and Galaxy Z Flip. We are talking about a separate market, which actually falls into the top of the range because of the price, but which has different characteristics and must therefore be contextualized separately. The first smartphone of this type to arrive in Italy is Samsung Galaxy Fold, which was launched on December 16, 2019 and is sold for 2050 euros on the official website (variant 12 / 512GB). Critics have defined him on several occasions as a "forerunner", while highlighting the limitations. For more information on this device, we refer you to our Galaxy Fold test.
The second folding device that landed in our country was Motorola RAZR, officially available in Italy from early February. At the moment, the smartphone is sold exclusively for 1599.90 euros via TIM (model 6 / 128GB). It must be said, however, that in general there are not many stocks and that the device should arrive on the free market in March. In any case, we are talking about a smartphone that only supports eSIM (therefore no physical SIM) and it is also for this reason that it is currently sold "by leaning" to the aforementioned telephone operator.
For the rest, the first opinions of the critics have arrived and are not very positive. In particular, to "creak" are autonomy, camera, build quality and performance. Generally speaking, Motorola RAZR has been described as a device that pays the youth for this technology. At the moment, it is probably the least convincing leaflet. For more details on the smartphone, we refer you to our Motorola RAZR test.
Finally, we find Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, folding smartphone available in our country from February 14 at a price of 1520 euros on the official website (model 8 / 256GB). We are talking about a device that in some ways incorporates the Motorola RAZR form factor, but which has a truly top-of-the-range hardware compartment and implements interesting solutions, such as a small external screen that is used to display basic information, from now to call notifications. For all the details of the case on the device, we refer you to our first contact with Galaxy Z Flip. The smartphone has not yet been tested in detail by critics, but we can tell you right now that it is certainly an interesting solution, always keeping in mind the fact that it will take some time before the prices go to align to those of the "standard market" and that this technology can really make a breakthrough at the consumer level.
Market choice: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite
In the midst of this chaos, the time has come to go and see an objective data, namely that relating to the top-of-the-range smartphone (range above 500 euros) most purchased on Amazon Italy in this period. Well, according to the ranking of Bestseller devices, the choice of the Italians fell on Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite, or the smartphone launched by the South Korean company shortly before the Galaxy S20 range was announced.
We are talking about a device that clearly finds its peculiar characteristic in the nib holder, as per tradition of the Note range. The remaining main strengths of the smartphone are to be found in the good display, autonomy, in the complete connectivity sector (which also includes NFC and audio jack) and in the convincing camera.
The most criticized aspects of Galaxy Note 10 Lite are the lack of waterproofing and support for DeX, the performance not exactly at the top and a price considered by some to be a little too high for a "Lite" model. In any case, surely Galaxy Note 10 Lite can be an interesting device for a certain type of user. The smartphone is sold at a price of around 590 euros on Amazon Italy (variant 6 / 128GB).
Next arrivals: Xiaomi Mi 10, OPPO Find X2, Samsung Galaxy S20 and MWC question
The 2020 edition of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona was canceled due to the Coronavirus, but clearly the smartphone manufacturers are ready to announce their devices, especially through events broadcast online. In particular, Xiaomi has already announced its range of Mi 10 smartphones, which enjoys a top performance configuration. We find in fact a SoC Snapdragon 865, 8 / 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128 / 256GB of internal memory UFS 3.0. In short, on paper, there seems to be everything the market has to offer in terms of internal components. For all the details of the case, we refer you to our in-depth analysis on Xiaomi Mi 10. The smartphone has currently been announced in China, but they should also arrive in Europe (as happened for previous generations). However, we have no information on this, also due to the Coronavirus issue.
In this regard, other companies have already announced that, despite the cancellation of the MWC 2020, they will still hold their event in the coming days. It is the case of Huawei, Honor, Realme, Sony and OPPO. The top four companies will hold events on February 24, 2020, while the OPPO event is expected to be held on March 6. There are myriads of rumors and leaks in this regard, but in general the devices that seem to be more interesting are OPPO Find X2 and Realme X50 Pro 5G.
The first should be a top of the range that does not miss anything, while the second could be the right device to lower the "entrance price" for the new era of 5G connectivity. For the rest, announcements will also probably come from brands such as Nokia and LG, but you understand well that at the moment it is essentially impossible to make predictions about it. In short, surely we will see some beautiful ones in the smartphone field in the next few days, although the situation is not exactly rosy due to the issues related to the Coronavirus and the US / Huawei tensions.
In the meantime, what is certain is that Samsung has unveiled its Galaxy S20 smartphone range on 11 February. These are top-of-the-range devices of course, which point everything on screens with QHD + resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate, on large batteries, on a photographic sector that is at the top, at least on paper, and on an internal component that points in high in performance. There would be myriad aspects to be analyzed on these smartphones, but for all the details of the case we refer you to our test of Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 + and Galaxy S20 Ultra.
In any case, given the recent announcement, the critics have not yet had the opportunity to test these devices properly and we can therefore still not unbalance ourselves too much in this regard. Surely there will be no way to talk about it well over the next few weeks. If you are interested in these devices, the pre-orders are already open and the actual availability on the market is expected from March 10, 2020. The starting price for the basic variant is 929 euros, but for all the information we refer you to our news dedicated to the Galaxy S20 range.
