A BATTLE OF TWO ULTRAS

 Samsung has really created a rod for its own back. It keeps making awesome phones.

So what's the problem?

Well, the next phone has to be even awesomer, right?

Earlier this year, the Galaxy S20 range offered three different options, all very capable and generally well received by consumers and critics alike. The top of that range was the Galaxy S20 Ultra - aptly named given it contained more features than pretty much any other phone I've ever reviewed.

Until now...

Something weird has happened. Samsung's S range was always the sexy one. The flagship phones trendy people aspire to. The Notes were for the geeks and nerds. Note people are people who actually use the functions and features - they don't just buy the latest phone so they can impress their friends by putting it on the table at lunch. Note people don't care so much about curves and colours. Note people prefer processing power and a really big screen.

But when I first held the Note 20 Ultra side by side with my S20 Ultra, it was easy to see there'd been a subtle shift. Both handsets are about the same size and yet the Note is more elegant. It's slimmer and because the corners are more square, it seems easier to hold. And that's before you get to Samsung's new feature colour; Mystic Bronze. I'm not the kind of person who cares too much about traditional gender stereotypes, especially when it comes to colours. I don't believe in "girly" colours or "manly" colours but if I did, I reckon Mystic Bronze is both. Or neither. It's pretty cool, anyway.

The back of the Note 20 Ultra has what Samsung describes as a "satin" finish - I really love it because it doesn't pick up fingerprints anything like as much as all the other glass-backed phones we've seen on offer for the last few years. The Samsung logo is embossed into the glass and you can literally feel it when you run your fingers over it. Yes, this is a classy operation to be sure. My major criticism, and I fear it's one I'll have of many phones to come, is that damn camera module. Just like on the S20's, the Note 20 Ultra's triple lens array sticks out clumsily, sharply and annoyingly. I can't wait for phone-makers to make these things flush with the back again. In the meantime they're gathering dust and pocket lint ad infinitum.

The 6.9-inch Edge Infinity-O AMOLED 2X display is sublime, as indeed any display on any Samsung flagship always is. Like other high-end phones this year, the Note 20 Ultra supports a 120Hz refresh rate but now offers the option to use "Adaptive Mode," thereby conserving battery life, only ramping up the refresh rate when gaming etc.

Unfortunately, while some markets get a processor upgrade, New Zealand is left with the same Exynos 990 chip that runs the S20 Ultra - no real complaints from me as combined with a huge 12GB of RAM and a whopping 256GB of internal storage, this thing races along like a bullet train.

Strangely, the Note 20 Ultra offers less in some departments than the S20 Ultra. The battery is quite a bit smaller; 4500mAh as opposed to 5000mAh. This had me worried as the S20 Ultra didn't exactly blow me away with its power consumption. However, I've found battery life is at least as good if not even better on the new device - obviously there's been a lot of power-saving tweaking under the hood. The bonus is, smaller battery means a lighter phone. Of course, the Note 20 Ultra supports wireless, reverse and fast charging, as you would expect.

The other area where the Note 20 Ultra seems less-so than its S-series predecessor is in the camera department; if you have a keen eye for detail you will have noticed one less lens on the rear-facing camera. Again, there's more to this than meets the eye. (Deliberate pun) The missing fourth sensor is the Time of Flight (ToF) lens but this has in effect been replaced by a new laser autofocus module. This is great news for anyone who was struggling with the S20 Ultra's tendency to be too slow to focus when lining up a shot - especially close-up. In fact, there are tweaks to be found all through the camera experience. The 100X zoom function of the S20 Ultra is also gone - Samsung has decided 50X is more than enough for this model which is fair given how impossible it was to hold the phone steady enough to take those grainy, 100X shots. There's now a handy picture-in-picture window that pops up when doing those high-powered digital zooms, showing you the 1:1 view so you can actually point your phone at the right object.

Tracking and split focus effects reach a whole new level on the video side of things but perhaps what's most exciting is the ability to swap between different mics while shooting - choose between near, far or external mics connected via USB-C or bluetooth. The mic array on the new Samsung Buds Live is reputed to be excellent, so I can't wait to give that a go. Basically, there's everything you need to create some pretty professional footage - in 8K if you like - and that's before you even get the pen out.

Of course, a Note isn't a Note without the S-Pen stylus, tucked neatly into its custom cavity at the base of the device. This year, the S-Pen has been reimagined yet again. Partly because of the sensitivity of the display, latency has been dramatically reduced to simulate a more natural writing/drawing experience than ever. What's more, you can draw or write over video while you're shooting it (ideal for highlighting instructions or pointing out people etc) and you can even make notes at specific times during audio recordings too. It doesn't stop there either... While you've been able to control presentations and media with the S-Pen as a kind of a remote, it has now reached virtual magic wand status as there's a selection of five Air actions that enable you to do things like take screen shots and smart select. You can actually customise these, choosing from a dozen or so other shortcuts or you can assign an Air action to launch a specific app. This is all stuff you can already do via the phone's screen of course, but it does save opening an extra menu or two. It takes a little practice to learn the gestures and execute them while holding the button down and it takes even more practice to remember which gesture does what - or maybe my brain is too old for these new-fangled tricks.

There's no denying how closely aligned Samsung and Microsoft have become - the Link-to-Windows shortcut now makes it easier than ever to access your Samsung handset from your Windows 10 desktop. Any notes you make (with the S-Pen or not) are more easily synced between devices than ever, as are pictures saved to the One Drive / Samsung gallery, which seems to have merged itself into the same thing over the last few months.

The Note 20 Ultra also makes DeX mode a wireless proposition. If you have a compatible smart TV, a simple tap of the DeX shortcut is all it takes to pair the phone with a big screen in Samsung's simulated version of a destop PC. You can then use the Note 20 Ultra's display as a touch pad or run different apps on two screens simultaneously. Yet another demonstration of the ultimate power of this device.

And to be honest, I've really only scratched the surface - not that you're likely to suffer too many scratches given Samsung's use of the latest and toughest Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.

To say the Note 20 Ultra is everything the S20 Ultra is and more isn't technically true - but the few things Samsung has stripped away have undoubtedly made it even better. Add in an improved display and a world of new S-Pen features and there's no question this is the 2020 power-user's dream phone.

Click here for more information on the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

HUAWEI'S APP SOLUTIONS STARTING TO BLOOM

There's no point saving money on a phone if it doesn't do the job.

But what is the price point that gets you from entry-level limitations to at least some premium features? $500? $800? These days, you'll probably have to shell out at least a grand for good battery life, a decent camera and a fast processor, right?

Right?

How does $300 work for your budget?...

Okay, I'm exaggerating... the Huawei Y6p isn't $300. It's $299RRP. I'm going to keep reminding you of that as we go along, so apologies in advance.

First up, before the elephant can get anywhere near the room, just like Huawei's other 2020 handsets, the Y6p does not include Google services. By now, this is pretty well covered territory and to be honest, I've actually stopped caring about it. For most users, by the time you've used Phone Clone to copy your existing apps to this device, you might not even notice any difference. Remember; this is still an Android 10 phone, it's just not a Google phone. As I've mentioned in previous Huawei reviews, the App Gallery is growing at pace, day by day and the selection of apps really is pretty comprehensive.

But now there's yet another tool to ensure you're not missing out on anything; Petal Search. This is a new search engine you can easily add as a widget onto the Y6p's (or any Huawei phone's) home screen. It's an incredibly user-friendly tool, allowing you to web search or look up apps directly from the widget. And I don't just mean apps currently available on Huawei's App Gallery, I mean any app. If it can't be installed by downloading an APK - don't worry, if you don't know what that means, you'll be prompted with step-by-step instructions - you'll be given the option of adding a browser shortcut so you can use the web version instead.

For example, although my ANZ GoMoney app is not yet compatible with the Y6p, the web version works perfectly instead.

Rest assured, there aren't many apps out there that won't work with this phone and Petal Search will help you find all the ones that do.

Apps that offer contactless payment options seem to be the main holdouts when it comes to joining the Huawei party - for me that means not only my ANZ app but Caltex and BPMe too. Hopefully these guys will all get their Huawei Mobile Services functionality working soon so I can start paying for petrol from my car as god intended.

So that's Petal Search... not unique to the Y6p but another demonstration of Huawei's ongoing commitment to providing elegant handset solutions that really do the job.

Back to the phone itself though...

Although it runs a Mediatek octa-core processor, rather than the blazing fast Kirin chips you'll find in the high-end Huawei flagships, I haven't found the Y6p to be particularly sluggish when I'm using it. Admittedly, features like the face unlock take a little longer to work but they still work. As an alternative, there's a fingerprint sensor on the back which is very fast indeed.

Remember, right now this phone is selling for under $300.

You get 4GB of RAM and 64GB of built-in storage, which is quite generous for a device in this price bracket. There's also an expansion slot in the sim tray for a microSD card of up to 512GB.

You can choose between Midnight Black or a very fetching Phantom Purple and the 6.3inch LCD screen is clear and bright, with the option to adjust the colour temperature to your preference, run in dark mode and there's even an eBook mode that converts the display into a soft black-and-white - much easier on the eyes for bedtime reading.

There's a single, downward-firing speaker that can be turned up surprisingly loud. The sound is impressively clear and free of distortion or vibration - especially when listening to more speech-oriented content like podcasts. There's a physical headphone jack if you're one of those people who still prefer that. If not, I found bluetooth connectivity to be excellent.

I'm not sure if there are any other $300 phones out there with a triple-lens rear-facing camera array but if there are, I'd be amazed if they do as good a job as the one on the Y6p. Again, this is not the unrivalled, AI-assisted photo experience you'll find on a Mate or P-series Huawei flagship but I didn't have to work very hard to get some great wide-angle shots. Not to mention good exposure from indoor pics taken at night - I really wasn't expecting a lot but the Y6p seems to be able to find a little extra light when needed, despite the fact there's no dedicated night mode.

The selfies I've taken with the 8MP front-facing camera are clear, with true colour reproduction. Sadly, they were still of me... I guess there's only so much you can do.

The real star of the show is battery life. The Y6p is a reasonably compact phone, especially when compared to some of the giant, mega-phones around these days. Yet it still contains a whopping 5000mAh battery. Between Huawei's traditionally aggressive battery optimisation settings and the lower power consumption of the Y6p's mid-range processor and display, the battery lasts days. Literally. Some nights I go to bed with the power indicator still sitting on 80%. The downside is, there's no fast-charging option and the charger connects via microUSB. This is really annoying as I've got pretty used to reversible Type-C plugs and having to go back to fumbling with a one-way-only cable is almost unforgivable.

Almost... remember, this is only a $300 phone. Oh, actually - right now as an introductory offer, it's selling for just $199. Surprise!

That's actually the main problem with the Y6p - because it does most things really well, it's easy to forget how little you paid for it. Processing power and storage? Good. Camera? Very good. Choice of apps? Thanks to Petal Search, excellent. And battery life? Unbelievable.

If you're on a budget, the Y6p is a no-brainer.

Click here for more information on the Huawei Y6p.