CNET

The overall best smartphone of 2020

Spoiler: It’s the Apple iPhone 12. Why is that? Let’s find out together. iPhone 12: iPhone 12 Pro: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2: Samsung Galaxy S20: Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: Samsung Galaxy Note 20: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G: OnePlus 8: *CNET may get a commission from these offers.

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Spoiler: It’s the Apple iPhone 12. Why is that? Let’s find out together.

iPhone 12:
iPhone 12 Pro:
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2:
Samsung Galaxy S20:
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra:
Samsung Galaxy Note 20:
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G:
OnePlus 8:
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120 Comments

  1. Jimmy Baek

    December 11, 2020 at 7:30 pm

    “you can’t get the note unless you actually write on it”

    Uhhhh no – how about the new adaptive refresh rate, 8k video, expandable storage, 5g USB- C , laser guided AF?? Literally all these features beat out the iphone

  2. mrpmj00

    December 11, 2020 at 7:36 pm

    More online, streaming, cloud, apple iphone, zoom

  3. besweeeet2

    December 11, 2020 at 7:56 pm

    There’s no such thing as a “best” phone due to how subjective it is.

  4. Nemo Ciau

    December 11, 2020 at 8:33 pm

    This guy sucks all of a sudden

  5. mohsin.abbas .shah

    December 11, 2020 at 8:55 pm

    Nice iphone👍👍👍🇵🇰

  6. ABRAHAM JIMENEZ

    December 11, 2020 at 9:01 pm

    Unsuscribed

  7. Brian B

    December 11, 2020 at 9:08 pm

    You must not have heard about the Mi 10 Ultra.

  8. indi bassi

    December 11, 2020 at 9:15 pm

    Yes the iPhone is the best 👍🏽 those who say it’s not can’t offered one ☝️you seem to have put on weight this lockdown not good for you bro

  9. Lorenzo Washington

    December 11, 2020 at 9:22 pm

    Even without the S Pen the Note 20 Ultra is better than the iphone 12 in almost every metric besides ecosystem and video.

  10. sherri moquin

    December 11, 2020 at 9:37 pm

    I’ll be waiting for that s21 ultra next year which is soon so I’m gunna be excited for that

  11. Valentine Yadao

    December 11, 2020 at 9:55 pm

    LOL this sounds so bias just remember that iPhone 12 has 3100mah battery and doesn’t go with a charger. While midrange smartphones nowadays that cost $400 and below at least have 4200mah. What a clown.

  12. Aryan Martinez

    December 11, 2020 at 10:03 pm

    I’m an iPhone 12 user and I have the best of best android phones too, I mess with custom roms to get the best experience out of those phones, but the iPhone is always the phone that ends up in my pocket and I do believe it’s the best for a million reasons. That being said, the way this made this video disregards almost every benefit of an android phone. This has gotta be one of the most weirdly biased videos of all times.

  13. James Burt

    December 11, 2020 at 10:12 pm

    Everyone who doesn’t have an iPhone is a bit salty haha

  14. Joe Lloyd

    December 11, 2020 at 10:15 pm

    If thats the best phone you can keep it I’ll stay with my note20 Altra

  15. mrpritosring

    December 11, 2020 at 10:17 pm

    This is a paid promotion

  16. Paul Marsden Sr

    December 11, 2020 at 11:00 pm

    Great video Sir. Samsung forever. Stay safe. 😀

  17. Yash Veer

    December 11, 2020 at 11:08 pm

    Looking at the competition, the iPhone 12 is the best all rounder phone of 2020. It’s got good camera, battery (despite being smaller) better screen, better design, premium materials used with the same prime camera from the iPhone 12 Pro Max(which has arguably the best camera in any smartphone this year), all at a reasonable price. With that said if you’re looking for the best of the best regardless of the price then it all comes down to the Samsung galaxy note 20 ultra and iPhone 12 Pro Max.

  18. FitForActing Reynaldo B

    December 11, 2020 at 11:48 pm

    I bought the Samsung Galaxy note 20 ultra for t mobile and returned it 10 days later. Will be doing a on a video on why. But I’ll leave three things here for you

    1. Battery life was poor. Who cares if you can charge another phone when you can’t last a day with heavy use
    2. Software felt slow and clunky compared to apple. I am an android lover but used an IPhone 8 since 2016. I had lag on the Note and was so surprised. Yes I did all the updates and it was still there
    3. Having a newborn baby, the picture would be blurry if the camera was moving. So annoying. Great night time shots though

  19. Michael Philip

    December 11, 2020 at 11:53 pm

    Note 20 ultra , pixel 5 and p40 pro still has better cameras than the iphone 12. In terms of still shots.

    How can you call the note heavy when the iphone 12 pro max is heavier?

  20. Tesco Primark

    December 12, 2020 at 12:05 am

    Who said?

  21. Happy Samoan

    December 12, 2020 at 12:24 am

    I new it was the iPhone before the video was over 🙄🙄🙄 👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽

  22. SleepyCatGamer

    December 12, 2020 at 12:27 am

    If they say iphone I’m unsubscribing…

    • SleepyCatGamer

      December 12, 2020 at 12:28 am

      Well, that was fast… Bye!

  23. JM Ulan

    December 12, 2020 at 12:53 am

    Great review! Those are points worth looking at!

  24. anordinaryboy1

    December 12, 2020 at 12:57 am

    Best joke i’ve heard this year.

  25. nuyou21

    December 12, 2020 at 1:03 am

    Damn, crying Fandroids in 3, 2, 1! Yep, Apple products owned 2020 and just shamed the so-called competition. 💰😁🎤

  26. Kenny Franks

    December 12, 2020 at 12:38 pm

    Infomercial 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  27. sup me

    December 12, 2020 at 12:42 pm

    🤣❄

  28. sup me

    December 12, 2020 at 12:42 pm

    🍎 ❄

  29. sup me

    December 12, 2020 at 12:43 pm

    Time to block c net for bias

  30. Mayur Kode

    December 12, 2020 at 1:02 pm

    unsubscribed 🙂 Thanks for this video

  31. Ananth Sadvi

    December 12, 2020 at 1:27 pm

    Where is LG wing, the most productive smart phone till now

  32. Travis Marion

    December 12, 2020 at 1:42 pm

    I find it hilarious that you penalize the Google Pixel 5 for not have expandable memory “this year” while the iPhones HAVE NEVER had expandable memory in their lifetimes.

  33. Karthik Viswanath

    December 12, 2020 at 2:01 pm

    Oh this comment section and video is full of Apple die hard fans. Worst comparison I have ever seen. Didn’t expect this from cnet.😑
    Edit- Forgot to tell I really hate this guy…he told an innovative product “whacky” and the phone with bad old notch the “best phone of the year”

  34. Blackhartxox

    December 12, 2020 at 2:31 pm

    Is this a paid promotion?

  35. sheirlyn

    December 12, 2020 at 2:56 pm

    how. about xiomi

  36. Jiří Jankovec

    December 12, 2020 at 3:32 pm

    Best phone with the largest notch and 60 Hz screen in 2020?

  37. Sergei60

    December 12, 2020 at 5:18 pm

    IPhone 12 the best. ahaha. dislike.

  38. YY

    December 12, 2020 at 5:44 pm

    which exactly? 12 or 12 pro? you can’t say the best is 12 then show 12 pro’s camera then show 12’s price

  39. putent

    December 12, 2020 at 6:10 pm

    3:56 there is no way that a freaking iphone is better or has better benchmark scores than a gaming phone like asus or rog. There’s just no way

  40. Zian Lim

    December 12, 2020 at 6:59 pm

    Waste of ti e guys dont watch this

  41. Gregorio Miceli

    December 12, 2020 at 7:00 pm

    How about putting a USB type-C and bringing back the headphone jack? How about under-display fingerprint reader? How about more iCloud storage for less money? How about punch hole instead of the notch? How about the prices starting at $599? How about high refresh rate displays? How about always on display? How about bigger batteries? How about making the matte finish standard across the models? How about including charger and wireless earpods in the box (or at least the regular ones)? How about making iMessage work with Google Messages?
    It’s not the best if there is better

  42. Alexander Cazeau

    December 12, 2020 at 7:05 pm

    “Most iPhone-like of the android phones”

    Yea he’s biased 🤦🏾‍♂️

    • The Observer

      December 12, 2020 at 11:43 pm

      Don’t be defensive. He’s using a Note 20 Ultra.

    • Brandon Hemoi

      December 12, 2020 at 11:55 pm

      He explained what he meant by that though lol. Due to it being made by Google and them having control over the hardware and software, and optimizing the two together. Seems fair to me.

  43. Azlan Lan

    December 12, 2020 at 8:14 pm

    Note 20 Ultra Snapdragon of course

  44. B Nav

    December 12, 2020 at 8:54 pm

    Androids claim they are all about specs just look at their benchmarks its sad.

  45. The Observer

    December 12, 2020 at 11:38 pm

    The Fold is still garbage.

  46. The Observer

    December 12, 2020 at 11:48 pm

    Too many butthurt fanboys here. LMAO!!

  47. Smartphonefan52

    December 13, 2020 at 12:31 am

    After looking at the like to dislike ratio, this proves that Android fanboys get triggered more easily than Apple fanboys.

  48. Darren

    December 13, 2020 at 12:34 am

    Fogey IPhone 12 pro, YOU CANT MAIL JPGS !!! Slow processor!! Typing delays in display . Many dissatisfied

  49. Mansurpur World

    December 13, 2020 at 12:59 am

    Look that dislike 😂

  50. Saeed Mous

    December 13, 2020 at 1:18 am

    like the new boxy design but the ugly notch, still in 2020 and lighting port, no finger print living in pandemic era, 60htz screen and worse battery life for 1000$+phones are unacceptable. Common Cnet you can do better than this.
    You definitely getting my dislike for this based video.

  51. Jerard Lopez

    December 13, 2020 at 4:44 am

    Jeez…. I’m unsubscribing CNET…🥱🥱🥱🥱
    BYEEEE

  52. Sbu Mdluli

    December 13, 2020 at 4:48 am

    Come on man this comes down to iOS and android preferences. I choose iPhone 12 but Samsung has a better display ( no notch & it’s got 120hz ), USB C.

  53. KFash

    December 13, 2020 at 5:22 am

    I GUESS HE WAS EMPLOYED TO ALWAYS SAY RUBBISH

  54. bksst

    December 13, 2020 at 6:00 am

    so the pixel 5’s biggest fault is the competition. So how isn’t a competitor that beat Pixel better than the iPhone. Also, that iPhone notch still wins it beauty awards, bs! I stopped listening to CNET when they did a comparison between $30 Google mini vs $100 homepod rather than the $100 Google home. They’re bending over backwards to appease apple fans.

  55. muhirwa gabo Oreste

    December 13, 2020 at 8:55 am

    what about huawei?

  56. Lindo Nkwanyana

    December 13, 2020 at 9:05 am

    Dumb title there. 🤣😂. Lot of Fanboyism going on in the video By the way. 😄. The Galaxy Fold 2 is the best phone of 2020 man. The best Camera is the Pixel. The best Video Camera is iphone. But when it comes to an all Rounder. It’s the fold. Miles ahead of anything Apple has. And believe me. If Apple made the Fold 2. It’d be double the Samsung price. 😃😂🤣.

  57. Lindo Nkwanyana

    December 13, 2020 at 9:07 am

    This video is Joke guys. 😂🤣. The more you watch it. The more you feel like laughing. 😂🤣

  58. zaf240489

    December 13, 2020 at 9:33 am

    Wow! Didn’t know iphone is that much better!

  59. Karthikkeyan Joshi

    December 13, 2020 at 11:01 am

    Ohh… no 2020 just got over … 🙄 the best phone of 2021 has begun

  60. NexT

    December 13, 2020 at 12:09 pm

    Completely BIAS review. Completely spoil CNET reputation. The reasons given, “because she / he said it is, it is the best”. Obviously a bought a non neutral and almost seems like its paid video that put consumer interest ahead of the trust given to CNET. Definately a Christmas holiday season paid program without being honest about it. Shame on CNET.

  61. Daniel

    December 13, 2020 at 3:05 pm

    Well that was a very straight forward intro

  62. Rolex

    December 13, 2020 at 4:03 pm

    I’m really tired of this pro Apple channel 🤦🏽‍♂️.
    I’ll ask youtube to stop suggesting their video to me.

  63. Bible Flock Box

    December 13, 2020 at 4:57 pm

    8k video recording is a gimmick, anyway.

  64. Bobbye McCain

    December 13, 2020 at 6:22 pm

    I absolutely love my new iPhone 12 Pro Max!

  65. mayibongwe tshuma

    December 13, 2020 at 6:35 pm

    This guy is paid

  66. Swadaeel

    December 13, 2020 at 8:55 pm

    It’s literally the ugliest phone! That HUGE notch! No finger print scanner, no expandable memory, no charger for gods sake.

    Okay, so who’s paying for these reviews?

  67. bnza10

    December 13, 2020 at 11:10 pm

    CNET is an Apple sheep

  68. Ozyl 80

    December 13, 2020 at 11:12 pm

    This is Apple promo, garbage

  69. Johnny DB

    December 13, 2020 at 11:37 pm

    All I want to say is: Xaomi mii 10 ultra 5g. Oh, and you are capping

  70. Loki27

    December 14, 2020 at 12:47 am

    The hurt in the comment section 😂

  71. 1mezion

    December 14, 2020 at 1:15 am

    So basically he’s going with what everybody else says well guys you heard it here no matter your individual taste the iPhone is the phone for I you😕
    timestamp 3:04 so there’s a expandable storage on the iPhone? so there’s expandable storage on the iphone?

  72. Thomas Mwangi

    December 14, 2020 at 4:51 am

    Ayaz aint gonna waste 20 min doing a run down of 20 first place contenders! LOL

  73. Tom

    December 14, 2020 at 5:32 am

    best phone of the year is still
    my iphone 10x max and most likely going to be next year too.

  74. Nick Tsiotinos

    December 14, 2020 at 7:48 am

    Not if you do not like iOS….. No matter how good the hardware may be…. The iPhone 12 is the best phone on iOS.

  75. Mayur Birari

    December 14, 2020 at 8:15 am

    Give this guy a demotion! ( based on general comments here)

  76. karthik nair

    December 14, 2020 at 8:38 am

    ShitPhone is best !?????

  77. John Michael Ullegue

    December 14, 2020 at 9:00 am

    New design??

  78. Jakov Latkovic

    December 14, 2020 at 9:12 am

    Man, this is almost as bad as Verge’s PC build.

  79. Reza Karamollahi

    December 14, 2020 at 12:39 pm

    Eeeehhhmmmm. No it’s not

  80. Job 9:24

    December 14, 2020 at 1:27 pm

    I’m waiting to see what’s up with the google pixel 6

  81. Øystein

    December 14, 2020 at 2:36 pm

    Are people drunk? It’s not even close to be the best this year 😛

  82. murcielago Batman

    December 14, 2020 at 4:21 pm

    Well you can tell cnet is a apple fanboy channel. I mean they have a whole section for Apple product

  83. Smiley

    December 14, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    I’ll come back to re-check “dislikes”

  84. pieman192

    December 14, 2020 at 8:33 pm

    Great video , I agree nothing beats the iPhone 12 especially that thing with the crease in the middle of the screen 😂

  85. Omer Khan

    December 14, 2020 at 9:37 pm

    Another crapy video from a fellow brown brother.

  86. Mariachee Bandidos

    December 15, 2020 at 1:34 am

    this is kinda why reviewers don’t like to express their true thoughts or opinions especially on youtube.

  87. Lawrence Arabia

    December 15, 2020 at 2:29 am

    This is not a video. It’s advertising for iphone.

  88. Mike Pelekanos

    December 15, 2020 at 5:10 am

    Sorry to upset everyone but the Xiaomi mi 10 ultra beats the iPhone 12 pro max in the camera department. So how exactly is it the best smartphone?? I mean don’t get me wrong, the iPhone 12 pro max is a very good phone but I don’t think it’s the best.

  89. Fawad Khalid

    December 15, 2020 at 10:29 am

    Apple sponsored video

  90. Pavan Kumar Bhukya

    December 15, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    What about huawei mate 40 pro

  91. Prakhar Kumar

    December 15, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    It’s like my platform, whatever I say is best is best.
    Biggest invention magsafe!!!! Dude! Have u seen a glass fold?

  92. Sloppy Toons

    December 15, 2020 at 2:52 pm

    You need to justify your recommendation of people’s opinions better than just this person is reviewing it for a while. There are people who have done their job for a long time and aren’t that good at it. Probably to quantify what camera is best you can peer review some professional photographers and see who uses what for for the emergency picture that needs to be taken. Not one quirky reviewer.

  93. Mayamiko Tutu

    December 15, 2020 at 3:03 pm

    Iwe siya fodya

  94. Ajay Dattatray

    December 15, 2020 at 4:37 pm

    I hope they see mkbhd blind camera test

  95. D P

    December 15, 2020 at 5:48 pm

    First off you use a Note 20 but wearing a Apple watch.
    2nd Galaxy Fold is whacky ?
    3rd Pixel 5 chip not as fast ?
    4th iPhone the best camera ?
    Galaxy S20 to heavy because your co-worker says so ?
    Let’s see Iphone 12 had nothing better to do than go back to a previous design along with keeping a notch , take away the charger and create a new Fitness plus app for $10 a month.
    The so call phone experts at CNET call this new innovative Iphone 12 the phone of the year. WOW !
    Better title would be Status Phone of the year .
    Apple keep laughing all the way to the bank can’t hate for making easy money . I would to .

  96. D P

    December 15, 2020 at 5:50 pm

    Please take this bias video down don’t kill your credibility because of Apple .

  97. Darrell Adams

    December 15, 2020 at 11:57 pm

    Best performance def the 1+ 8t

  98. aac 119xx

    December 16, 2020 at 1:48 am

    A CNET deveria liberar um recurso nacional e internacional de banga larga de internet livre, onde os computadores e celulares de qualquer lugar do mundo conectassem a internet da operadora jah aberta como porta de acesso nos aparelhos de comunicação digital, sem ter de introzir senha/chave de acesso ou assintura paga periodoca, ao menos considerando quem não pode manter planos de assinatura pagos e precissam em urgencia acessar a rede universal de conexão ativa. Att.

  99. Manish Nair

    December 17, 2020 at 1:38 am

    lol.. seems like a paid promotion or something with a grudge against Android.. lol

  100. Silemu Silemu

    December 17, 2020 at 10:20 am

    ahhhhaaaa americans with their bragging everytime iphone aaaahaaaaaa

  101. Nawfal Kharbach

    December 17, 2020 at 10:54 am

    This is a highly subjective preference ! 🤮🤢

  102. John Carter

    December 17, 2020 at 12:11 pm

    how much is it?

  103. pitch the ripoff

    December 17, 2020 at 3:31 pm

    This video seems kinda Apple biased. Just my opinion.

  104. Asher Wade

    December 17, 2020 at 10:08 pm

    No one ever talks about THE BEST PHONE => ”reception”-!?!? {8~)

    You might as well talk about ‘the’ best Flat, Rectangular Camera, …which ‘just happens’ to have a phone included; smh. ~ And, honestly, to even mention the iPhone 12 in this discussion {smh}, …

    (a) they took away the 3.5mm headphone jack (so you can BUY their exclusive $155 iPods),

    (b) they took away your charging-brick, (so you can fork out another $49 to buy one); a ‘real’ incentive for 1st-time buyers,

    (c) they retain “the notch” {‘really”? smh}, they ‘still’ maintain a 60fps screen refresh rate, with no battery modulating 120~to~30fps, and

    (d) there is little to no personal customization like Android has with ‘every’ different Android phone, not to mention

    (e)you’re trapped in their Eco$ystem after your first outrageous investment;

    (f) iPhones are like Rolls Royces, a $tatu$ symbol for stodgy old rich men who like permanent “no-change”.

    => THE *REALLY* Best Phone (and price can have ‘nothing’ to do with this – due to iPhone’s shameless price$ over the past 10 years), ‘has to be’ the Samsung Z Fold 2.

  105. Nekminute

    December 17, 2020 at 11:38 pm

    Apple ? lol no

  106. Rayan Rias

    December 18, 2020 at 3:41 pm

    0:12 ohh yea your cnet reviewers. No wonder why iphone 12 was ranked the best. Cuz that’s the only option there is for cnet reviewers 😂😂😂

  107. Moemen SMP

    December 18, 2020 at 4:45 pm

    This video HAS to be a joke

  108. excel kg

    December 19, 2020 at 1:28 am

    Noo your over wrong just say it’s the phone you like.Note 20U and others are far more better

  109. Deepest Tempest

    December 19, 2020 at 1:29 am

    What are the best smartphones with firmware that doesn’t freeze or need constant resetting?

  110. Macross

    December 19, 2020 at 4:32 pm

    10 seconds in and im out already 😂

  111. Howard Mathews

    December 19, 2020 at 4:57 pm

    “Other than writting on the screen, there is almost NO reason to..”
    144hz: am I a joke to you?!

  112. Howard Mathews

    December 19, 2020 at 4:59 pm

    Bro ios sucks, deal with it. Note 10 Ultra is a beast

  113. J. Cardenas

    December 19, 2020 at 7:05 pm

    The best? I suppose that is subjective wouldn’t you say? That is like saying CNET is the BEST YouTube channel. We all know the answer to that.

  114. Ajinkya D

    December 20, 2020 at 12:26 pm

    Biggest invention of all time… Magsafe… Could there be a bigger apple cockblower?

  115. Philip church

    December 20, 2020 at 1:48 pm

    I think this is the most useless review I’ve ever seen…. Just a bunch of apple Fanboys… How can you call the Samsung z fold 2 wacky???????….

  116. Philip church

    December 20, 2020 at 1:49 pm

    He didn’t even talk about the high refresh rate ….. Or battery or.. the notch…. Dudeeee???…😭

  117. Stan Igweonu

    December 20, 2020 at 7:14 pm

    I have the iPhone 12 max pro and it is overrated. It is heavy amongst other cons

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