09 Jan 2020

Whether it was Samsung entering the foldable phone race, or Apple returning to the throne of the smartphone camera world with the iPhone 11 Pro, 2019 featured a series of high-quality mobile phone releases, making it more difficult than ever to make a considered device purchase when it comes to upgrade time.

While it’s a fairly obvious first problem to have. It’s only going to get harder as we head into the 5G era, with phone makers continuing to one-up each other with shiny new features to try and win our allegiance.

If you’re in the process of scoping out your next device or are just curious about the mobile phones that will grace our shores over the next 12 months, our in-house phone connoisseurs have identified the mobile phones to look out for in 2020.

Yes that’s right, Samsung is set to reveal their latest flagship device; the Samsung Galaxy S11 on February 12 (Australian time) at the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco.

This is assuming Samsung continues with its existing naming convention for the Galaxy series, as rumours point to this years’ device taking on a fresh name to celebrate the dawn of a new decade, with Samsung Galaxy S20 being one such name that’s gained traction amongst insiders over the past few weeks.

Either way, it’s expected the Korean tech giant will unveil a trio of Galaxy S11 devices in three sizes, alongside a new Samsung Fold device that’s set to rival the new Motorola Razr.

After a strong 2019, which saw Samsung deliver two amazing devices with the Galaxy S10/S10+ and the Galaxy Note 10, it’s likely Samsung will continue to focus on the development of their powerful cameras.

Some of the Samsung Galaxy S11's rumoured features include 5G, a massive 108-megapixel camera, a hefty 5,000-mAh battery and a faster Snapdragon 865 processor.

An additional sensor that may be included on the S11 is a spectrometer. A spectrometer is a type of sensor that’s able to detect the physical makeup of an object based on its reaction to a light beam, allowing you to potentially analyse a huge range of objects through your camera, such as how many calories are in the piece of fruit you’re snacking on, or it’s sugar makeup – yes this is very wild!.

While it’s only been confirmed as a patent, the potential for this technology within a handset could prove to be a huge selling point for the Samsung Galaxy S11.

Update: Well know phone leaker Max Weinbach of XDA Developers has just released a short video through twitter (seen above), giving us our best look yet at one of the new Galaxy devices. Presumably the Samsung Galaxy S11/S20 Plus.

The short video confirms what previous leaks anticipated, which sees the phone bearing a domino-style back camera, which houses its five camera lenses.

Wait a second, wasn’t it just yesterday that Apple released a trio of amazing new iPhones?

Well yes, it was less than four months ago that the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max launched, however, the tech giant is already full steam ahead with their next-gen device, the iPhone 12. So what exactly do we have to look forward to this year?

Well for starters, it’s very likely that at least one of this years model will support 5G, which is huge considering there’s been a lot of noise around the fact some iPhone users held off upgrading to the iPhone 11 in order to wait for an iPhone that has 5G compatibility.

Although it’s still early days, rumours point to the iPhone 12 sporting a new design, with years’ models potentially phasing out the round-edges, instead opting for sharper squared edges and a flatter front.

In terms of this may come to life, accordingly to acclaimed leakster Ben Geskin, one of the iPhone 12 models may feature a 6.7 inch display which sees the device ditch the notch entirely and embedding Apple's TrueDepth camera system right into a narrow top bezel.

We’ll continue to keep you posted throughout on what Apple is cooking up with the iPhone 12, however it’s safe to assume this year’s release will be pretty massive considering it will be the first soiree into 5G for the iPhone series.

The idea of flip phones being an actual thing in 2020 would of have been a laughable statement throughout the majority of the recent decade, however sentiment towards foldable devices abruptly changed over the past 18 months, with phone makers now scrambling to produce a variety of foldable devices.

For those who remember the good ole days of the Motorola Razr, you’ll be stoked to hear the company is releasing a reboot of the cult classic this January.

The Motorola Razr 2019 leans on same design principles of the original Razr, with a clamshell design that can be flipped open to reveal a 6.2-inch P-OLED display which takes up most of the real estate of the interior.

The updated take on the classic flip phone is equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 710 Processor and is set to be powered by Android Pie, with 8GB of ram and 128GB of storage. The device also includes a handy fingerprint scanner, a 16-megapixel primary camera and USB-C port.

Australian pricing for the Razr hasn't been announced yet, however the device set to launch in the US at $1,499 (USD).

In 2019, Google launched a more affordable handset offering to complement its popular Pixel device series with the introduction of the Google Pixel 3a.

The success of the Google Pixel 3a was no joke and in fact helped Google sell twice as many smartphones during the second quarter of 2019 – it was also a personal favourite of ours, taking home our best bang for your buck device of 2019.

Unlike the Google Pixel 4/4XL which features facial recognition software to help you unlock the device, initial case renders point to the Pixel 4a leaning on what worked incredibly well with the Pixel 3, which is a fingerprint scanner housed on the rear of the device.

Another feature that’s set to carry over from the Pixel 3a is a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is a feature most other flagship devices now omit.

For those familiar with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 4, you’ll be happy to note the Pixel 4a is set to ditch the notch on the front of the device, instead opting for a ‘punch-hold’ cut out in the top left-hand corner of the front screen.

This is a rather premium design for a phone that’s seen as a budget alternative to its more upscale elder sibling, as most other phones that include solus cut-out segments for front-facing cameras are generally thought to be more premium.

There’s still no word on price, however the Google Pixel 3a started at $649 (AUD), so you’d assume the Pixel 4a won’t push past the $700 (AUD) barrier at launch.

It’s expected we’ll see the Pixel 4a arrive in Australia around May 2020, so keep your eyes peeled!

As we recently detailed, Apple is set to follow up their 2019 iPhone 11 range with a new, more affordable device option that’s a sequel to its 2016 iPhone SE offering.
The iPhone SE 2 will be budget alternative to high-end iPhones and is reportedly set to begin mass production in January 2020.

Apple will likely launch the iPhone SE 2 with 64GB and 128GB storage options, with the device being positioned as an ideal upgrade option for existing iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s users, who are not as fussed about the latest iPhone features but still want to enjoy a smooth experience using iOS 13.

According to noted Noted Apple analyst of TF Securities Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s iPhone SE 2 is expected to launch at $600 (AUD), making it roughly $550 cheaper than the iPhone 11 (which is priced incredibly well considering how good of a phone it is).

The $600 price point, would put the iPhone SE 2 up against the Google Pixel 4a in the race for the best low-cost device in the market.

In terms of its release date, although nothing is set in stone, based on the rumours that have surfaced thus far, we’re predicting the device will go on sale sometime around March 2020.

#iphone    #pixel    #samsung