Let's not kids ourselves. All phones are basically the same. And once you pay over four or five-hundred dollars, they're actually all pretty good.
They all take a half-decent photo. They all have nice screens to watch video on. They generally have enough storage for those photos and videos. They come in cool colours. They have enough battery life to last the day... mostly.
So if you need a new phone, you may as well throw a dart at a board.
Except...
What if you want one that is genuinely different from the pack? I've got one for you - but you'll need to have your checkbook ready...
Last year's race to launch a phone with a folding screen was a three-way affair, with Huawei's Mate X taking by far the most unusual approach. The Mate X's screen folded around the outside of the device. A lot of people asked why they would do it that way. After I had a little play with one at a Christmas party I started to ask, why wouldn't you do it that way?
Unfortunately, the Mate X was only sold in China, so probably didn't get the international attention it deserved. Now the 2020 version, the Mate Xs is here and I do mean here, for sale in New Zealand. I've been using it as my primary phone for a few days and I can certainly assure you, there's no other device quite like it.
There's no point hiding this phone's greatest trick; the FullView OLED display folds out to a massive, tablet-sized 8-inches. Even when folded, the main screen is 6.6-inches, certainly right in that sweet-spot of useable screen-space versus easy handling and portability. But unfolded, as a tablet, the Mate Xs allows a much bigger viewing area for documents, looking at photos or video and more complicated operations like editing. You can easily multi-task, choosing a Multi-window app from the customisable list that appears with a long swipe from the right of the screen. Any app you select then hovers over the main screen in its own smaller window which you can move around where you want and copy and paste from one app to another.
Obviously this big, square screen takes mobile gaming to a whole new level, leaving your enemies nowhere to hide in first person shooters. There's also a slew of new cooling innovations including the use of something called Bionic Carbon. I have no idea what that is. What I do know is the Mate Xs stays cool open or closed.
The fold-out operation is made possible by Huawei's new and improved Falcon Wing hinge. It feels robust and reliable and snaps into place with a satisfying kerchunk. What's really crazy is how flat the screen is when unfolded. You have to be looking pretty hard, in just the right light at just the wrong angle to see any kind of seam at all. Basically, it has to be used to be believed.
But wait! Where's the selfie-cam? Unfolded, this thing is literally all screen. Big screen. Square screen. Rotating screen - you can hold it whichever way you like... but not a camera in sight. On the back, a whole different story, with the Super Sensing Leica Quad Camera System; Wide angle, telephoto, ultra-wide angle and Time-of-Flight lenses combining to take great shots, near or far, dark or light. Just like Huawei's other flagship devices, the camera on the Mate Xs is superb... and the really good news is it's also your selfie cam.
You see, when folded, the 8-inch display actually becomes two displays, the 6.6-inch screen on the front and a 6.3-inch screen on the back. When you change to selfie-mode in the camera app, you're instructed to flip the phone over and there you are - looking back at yourself on that 6.3-inch screen nestled snugly alongside those four magnificent lenses, as you can see in this image. (That button with the red line is the catch to unfold the phone, by the way. With another comforting click)
So you've basically got the world's highest-specced selfie camera, with access to all the features and effects you've been using on any of your other shots.
There's another cool camera trick the Mate Xs can do no other phone can; Mirror Shooting. When you're taking a photo of someone else, via the main screen, just touch the Mirror Shot icon and your subject will also be able to see the shot on the secondary screen facing them. No-one needs to ever be caught with their eyes closed again.
The other hidden feature is the fingerprint sensor, underneath the side-mounted power button. I've seen this on a handful of other phones and tablets and I love it. Definitely faster and more reliable than any in-display fingerprint reader I've used to date. A shame there's no face-unlock option, due to there being no forward facing camera, but that fingerprint sensor works so well, I haven't missed it too much.
And that's not the only fast thing about the Mate Xs. It uses the same uber-powerful Kirin 990 5G processor we saw on the Mate 30 Pro. In tandem with a respectable 8GB of ram, the Mate Xs flies along - even when resizing apps after folding or unfolding the screen. A huge 512GB of internal storage is standard and the 4500mAh battery is fairly generous too. Combined with the miraculous power-saving abilities of that Kirin chip, I was pleasantly blown away by the overall battery life, especially given the size of the display. Huawei seems to be the battery life authority these days.
I have to admit, I do miss wireless charging here - obviously no reverse charging either. Maybe you can't do wireless charging through a wrap-around display, I'm not sure. Fast charging via USB-C works well though and I was also surprised at how light and slim the Mate Xs is. Even when folded it doesn't really seem to take up an uncomfortable amount of space in my pocket. When unfolded eight inches is just the right size for me to still be able to grip in one hand. The Intersteller Blue colour of the rear casing is pretty classy too.
In these turbulent times, it's worth reiterating Huawei phones like this, while still technically Android devices do not have access to certain apps and services... or do they? Certainly, by using Huawei's Phone Clone app, you can port pretty much all the apps, accounts, files, addresses and pictures across from your old phone in a matter of minutes and that works very well. What's more, Huawei's App Gallery is quickly growing into one of the most well populated app stores out there, with more and more New Zealand-based content being added all the time. The only feature I'd like to see Huawei figure out is contactless payments via NFC. I know there's a service called Huawei Pay available in some other markets so hopefully we'll see that here soon enough.
So a totally unique fold-out screen that looks fantastic and feels durable. Tech specs that match up with the very best of the best. An unbelievable camera setup that offers more selfie options than any other. 5G capable in a market with a very limited number of 5G phones available. And an App Gallery that goes from strength to strength every day. How much?
$3999.
Not a typo.
Insane right?
So the question is, do you want to own the most expensive phone in town?
Maybe, for a phone as unique as this, you're prepared to do something crazy.
Click here for more information on the Huawei Mate Xs.
It really is the time of year I look forward to the most.
Oh sure, Christmas is nice. The food and drink. Hanging out with the family. The presents.
And birthdays are okay, I suppose. But the older you get and the more of them you have, the less okay they get. And fast.
No, the special day I'm talking about is when I get to unbox the latest Samsung Galaxy phone.
After few years of my favourite phone getting a bit better every generation, but really staying more or less the same, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G is pretty different. I mean, just look at it.
There's no escaping the fact that camera module is huge. In fact, this is not a small device in any way. Until now, the S-series Galaxies have usually been the more refined, sleek and curvy handsets, while the Galaxy Notes lean more towards the super-functional, industrial look.
The S20 Ultra pretty much blows that theory out of the water. Sure, it still curves in all the right places, although the 6.9" Infinity-O display doesn't fall away quite so quickly at the edges this time round, giving us more control over things like scrolling and Edge Panel shortcuts.
Yes. That's right. A simply enormous 6.9" display with just the tiniest single punch-hole for the forward-facing camera, this year placed in the centre, which is possibly slightly less distracting than the corner punch-hole on last year's Galaxy S10. The screen is sublime. Increase the refresh rate from 60Hz to 120Hz and it gets even sublimer. Operations become smoother, gaming and video clearer. The settings menu warns the higher refresh rate will cost you some charge but the drain wasn't as bad as I was expecting. This is probably due in no small part to the S20 Ultra's upgraded battery, which is definitely no small part.
Samsung have thrown the kitchen sink at this device, with a 5000mAh battery, one of the biggest you'll find in any phone. This charges surprisingly quickly, with the right high speed charger and of course wireless and reverse-wireless charging are basically standard on Samsung's flagships now. Galaxy phones aren't usually known to be the most economical when it comes to battery life and despite the S20 Ultra's oversized cell, it still isn't the best I've used in this department, no matter which refresh rate I run it at. But to be sure, there's still plenty of gas left in the tank by the end of the day.
Apart from the display, that battery is running a lot of other high-end gear. The very latest and fastest processor of course, teamed up with a 5G modem. Again, just a reminder, not many phones are 5G capable in New Zealand, so if you're wanting to connect to the new network, bear that in mind. 12GB of RAM is probably overkill (or future-proofing, whichever way you look at it) but I feel like 128GB of internal storage is a little on the stingy side given the real hero feature of this phone; the cameras.
From time to time other manufacturers have made certain phones all about their photo performance but I think this is the first time I've seen Samsung make the launch of a device so camera-centric. For sure, Samsung's flagships usually sport some of the best photography options going, it's just that this year, they've really gone over the top.
The selfie cam is a very nice 40MP shooter with a decent 80 degree Field of View, ensuring group selfies fit just as well as solo shots. But it's that rear-facing setup that's just so insane. Ultra-wide, wide-angle, telephoto and DepthVision(Time of Flight) lenses all add up to a four-pronged camera attack that is surely the most comprehensive Samsung has offered to date.
The periscopic telephoto configuration combined with a stunning 108MP main sensor adds up to previously unheard of zoom options. The 10x hybrid-optical zoom is amazingly clear and detailed. What's more, you can actually zoom in 100x digitally if you want. Yes, these images are pretty grainy and without a tripod or ledge to lean on, very difficult to get a steady shot - but let me tell you, you can see things through this camera you can't make out with the naked eye. No wonder Samsung refers to this functionality as Space Zoom. Even 30x shots are perfectly usable, this really is quite ground-breaking stuff for a phone camera.
I'm not a massive video-taker but even I'm impressed you can shoot in 8K, although I'm not sure where I'd play that footage? More useful is the tracking auto-focus and the easily accessible Super Steady mode, allowing even a total amateur like me to shoot decent action sequences. Oh, and if you like it artsy, there's the same bokeh effect to blur the background in your video, just like we all like to do in our portraits these days.
Night mode is so clear and offers impressive detail and colour reproduction in low light conditions but perhaps the most ingenious photo feature is a new option called Single Take. Line up your subject, push the button and the S20 Ultra clicks off a simultaneous selection of pictures and videos over a few seconds, presenting you with a whole range of shots to choose from - even boomerangs. The phone chooses the one it likes best, or you can save them all. Mayber you prefer the wide-angle shot... or the one with the black and white filter. It's a brilliant way to get the most out of all these zoopy-doopy lenses.
In-display fingerprint sensors have quickly become the norm. Samsung have moved theirs further up from the bottom of the S20 Ultra, making it far more accessible when holding the device in one hand. It works much faster and more consistently than on the previous model which is a relief, because there's nothing more frustrating than having to use a boring old pin to get into your flash phone.
Face unlock has also improved and now works in both portrait or landscape, although not that well in the dark, even when I've selected the setting that brightens the screen. I can't rule out the possibility my face gets unrecognisably scary in the dark, so it might not be all the phone's fault.
Samsung's One UI, based on Android 10 is now my favourite operating system by a considerable margin. Dark mode options, rotating home screen, streamlined - it has everything I want and not much fluff I don't.
This is one of those phones that simply has every option packed into it, even things you didn't know existed and would never have thought to ask for. Mind you, when you're paying over two-grand you'd better be getting all the bells and whistles. With the S20 Ultra, you most certainly are.
Shame about the size. It is truly enormous and pokes out the top of even my deepest pants pockets. The payoff is a genuinely cinematic performance from that massive, beautiful display, enhanced by some decently powerful, well-tuned stereo speakers.
But I can't deny there's an elegance missing here that used to be hallmark of Samsung's previous S-series flagships. That's not to say this isn't a beautiful phone, but this year that beauty is to be found in sheer performance rather than just looking pretty.
Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G.
