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the-best-wireless-earbuds-to-buy-right-now

The best wireless earbuds to buy right now

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The true wireless earbuds market has never been more crowded than it is in 2021. With so many to choose from, finding the best earbuds can seem daunting. But the vast selection is actually a good thing: not only are there excellent picks for everyday buds to carry in your pocket, but you’ve also got a slew of options that prioritize things like noise cancellation, fitness, lengthy battery life, and comfort.

Even if you don’t consider yourself any kind of audiophile, it’s important to find a set of earbuds that sound good to you. This means different things depending on the person: do you want head-rattling bass or something more balanced with an immersive soundstage? You’ll want to find a pair with a good, reliable Bluetooth connection — all of the below picks check off that box — and enough battery life to last you through a normal day of intermittent listening.

Remember that getting the most out of earbuds requires a good seal in your ear. Always try the various ear tip sizes that come with whichever buds you purchase — and don’t be afraid to experiment with different sizes in each ear. Ears are funny like that. Many of these earbuds have apps you can install on your phone to further personalize their sound and controls the way you want.

If you’re looking for the overall best noise-canceling earbuds, you’ll be very happy with Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds. They have best-in-class noise cancellation and sound great.

But if you’ve got other priorities, there is a range of great options from Apple, Beats, Jabra, Sennheiser, and Ultimate Ears that won’t disappoint. This guide covers higher-end wireless earbuds. If you’re on the hunt for more affordable options, check out the best cheap wireless earbuds to buy.

Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds are the best noise-canceling wireless earbuds you can get.
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

1. Bose QuietComfort Earbuds

Best noise-canceling earbuds

The QuietComfort Earbuds offer very powerful active noise cancellation, but what’s equally nice about them is how customizable the ANC is. You can choose between 11 different levels of noise cancellation (based on how much of the outside world you want mixed in) and set three favorites to cycle between when you double-tap the left earbud.

Bose’s premium earbuds put out fantastic audio with punchy bass. Their transparency / ambient mode is second only to Apple in how natural it sounds. And even the voice mics work well, so you really get the whole package — as you should for this kind of money.

The AirPods Pro remain the best wireless earbuds for iPhone owners because some of their best features only work with other Apple products.
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

2. Apple AirPods Pro

Best wireless earbuds for the iPhone

There’s no beating the interplay between AirPods and Apple’s other devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The AirPods Pro don’t offer the best sound quality of our top picks, but it’s perfectly satisfactory to many people. And the active noise cancellation is right up there with Bose.

But it really all comes together if you’re in Apple’s ecosystem and also own a Mac or iPad. The AirPods Pro can automatically hop between devices based on which one you’re using, and on iPhone or iPad, spatial audio delivers immersive surround sound when watching streaming video apps. They’re fantastic for making calls with, and Apple continues to pull ahead of competitors when it comes to ease of use.

Here’s a tip: if none of the included ear tips get you a perfect seal, I recommend a set of memory foam tips like those from Comply or Dekoni.

The Jabra Elite 75t are the best wireless earbuds if you want to pair with two devices simultaneously.
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

3. Jabra Elite 75t

Best wireless earbuds for multitasking

Jabra is pretty much the only company making true wireless earbuds that support “multipoint” for two simultaneous Bluetooth connections. So you can pair them up with a phone and your laptop or tablet at the same time. Jabra’s mobile app offers a ton of customization over the controls, EQ, and even includes bonuses like white noise or nature sounds if you’ve got situations where they’d be handy.

Jabra Elite 75t

  • $130
  • $150
  • 14% off

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Jabra’s Elite 75t earbuds offer pleasing bass-heavy sound, reliable performance, and can connect with two devices — like a phone and laptop — at the same time.


  • $130


    at Amazon


  • $130


    at Best Buy

The newer Elite 85t earbuds add more effective noise cancellation to the mix, but the 75ts are on sale so frequently that they’re still the go-to pick if multitasking is important to you. They pack a wallop when it comes to bass — but not to the point where it overwhelms the rest of the mix.

Jabra backs them with a two-year warranty in the event you experience any hardware issues. (I’ve had a 75t bud stop taking a charge out of nowhere, so it can happen.)

The Powerbeats Pro have been around for some time now, but they still rank as the best wireless earbuds for fitness.
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

4. Beats Powerbeats Pro

Best wireless earbuds for fitness

Nothing has managed to unseat the Powerbeats Pro as the best fitness earbuds since their release in 2019. Their ear hook design keeps them planted on your ears during intense exercise, they can endure your sweatiest workouts, and the nine hours of continuous battery life should get you through just about any marathon. And the sound quality is killer, with plenty of bass to keep you motivated and moving.

And since Beats is owned by Apple, the Powerbeats Pro can also take advantage of features like audio sharing, auto device switching (like the AirPods Pro), and a dead-simple pairing process.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus can last for up to 11 hours on a single charge, which blows away many competitors.
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

5. Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus

Best wireless earbuds for battery life

They can last 11 hours on a single charge. That’s what I consider marathon battery life for true wireless earbuds, and few other companies have managed to keep up with the longevity of Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Plus. They lack active noise cancellation, so that helps them keep playing for longer, but even then, 11 hours is quite a feat. Like the Jabras, these are often on sale and easy to grab at a discount.

Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 2 are the best wireless earbuds in terms of sound quality.
Photo by Jon Porter / The Verge

6. Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2

Best wireless earbuds for sound quality

Sennheiser’s second swing at true wireless earbuds improve on the original Momentums with a more comfortable fit and the addition of active noise cancellation. But everything about these earbuds is second fiddle to their sound quality: the Momentum True Wireless 2 earbuds put out dynamic, expressive, and wonderfully detailed audio. They’re the sort of buds that will bring out things in your favorite music you haven’t noticed before.

But that upgraded sound quality comes for a hefty $300 price. If you want arguably the best sound that true wireless earbuds can deliver, these are it. But all of these other picks sound plenty good in their own right.

You’re not going to find any silicone ear tips that can match the UE Fits and their custom tips, which mold to match your ear shape in seconds.
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

7. UE Fits

Best wireless earbuds if comfort is everything

If you often have difficulty finding ear tips that fit your ears comfortably, it doesn’t really get better than the UE Fits. These earbuds include special tips that mold to the shape of your ear during a 60-second fitting process that you activate with UE’s app. They get warm during molding (but not uncomfortably so) and you can feel them adapting to the contours of your ear canal.

Once the process is done, you’re left with custom earbuds with a fit that’s as close to perfect as you’ll ever find — unless you visit your local audiologist for a professional mold, and that gets expensive fast. Ultimate Ears has a fit “guarantee” and will send you a second set of tips should your first molding attempt go awry. The UE Fits are quite good, last for up to eight hours of continuous playback, and they’re rated IPX4 for water resistance.

UE Fits

  • $249

Prices taken at time of publishing.

The UE Fits come with unique ear tips that permanently mold to the unique shape of your ears in just 60 seconds. This allows for a much better fit that you can comfortably wear for hours.


  • $249


    at Ultimate Ears

Related:

oppo-find-x3-pro-review:-standout-for-all-the-right-reasons

Oppo Find X3 Pro review: Standout for all the right reasons

(Pocket-lint) – Oppo is on the move, gaining popularity in its home market where it’s even overtaken Huawei. But it’s not just gaining at home: it’s now undoubtedly a top contender in the world of smartphones, make it the most likely challenger to Apple and Samsung’s dominance. 

Oppo’s latest effort, the Find X3 Pro, is seeking to go toe-to-toe with the likes of the Galaxy S21 Ultra and iPhone 12 Pro Max, offering a big and premium flagship experience that, as we’ve found, is stunning in almost every way.

Distinctive design

  • Glass and metal design; curved glass around rear camera enclosure
  • Dimensions: 163.6 x 74.0 x 8.26mm / Weight: 193g
  • IP68 water and dust resistance

For the past few years we’ve seen smartphone makers all use the same tired design and – for 2021 so far – thankfully we’re seeing some new takes. Samsung kicked things off with its odd, but purposeful, camera hump in the S21 series – the one that wrapped around the edge of the phone to form a more deliberate part of the design. 

Now the Find X3 Pro delivers what we think is an even more refined finish. Rather than have a separate unit for the camera, Oppo made the camera protrusion part of the same piece of glass as the rest of the phone’s back, forming this completely seamless curve. The company says it took 2000 attempts to get this right, and nearly gave up on the idea, but the effect is really unique.

The result is a lot more subtle and refined than just having a rectangle sticking out of the back fo the phone. It’s also unique, unlike anything else currently on the market. It’s really lovely to look at – and far better looking than the odd digital renders that leaked ahead of the phone’s launch – although the camera arrangement definitely has some iPhone-like vibes. 

The rest of the Find X3 Pro’s back is one smooth surface with gradual curves towards the edges, while this blue model features a lovely frosted soft glass finish that’s really nice to the touch. The branding is minimal too, giving this phone a look and feel that’s highly polished and befitting of its high price tag. 

It’s slimmer than its predecessor, the Oppo Find X2 Pro, too. In fact, it’s a more than a 1mm thinner than the vegan leather model of old and noticeably lighter too – although there’s no denying the Find X3 Pro is still quite a large phone. It doesn’t have the bulk or weight of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra though. 

Pocket-lint

It’s skinny bezels all the way around on the front and nothing cuts into that display panel except for a small selfie camera punched into the top corner.

Aligning itself slightly with recent trends, the curves around the edges of the display are less extreme than we’ve seen in the past, but are very much still there. It seems the trend of ‘waterfall displays’ died before it began. Unsurprising, really, given how easy it is to perform accidental touches on those things. 

Another positive is that Oppo has built in some stereo speakers, so if the phone is close enough to your face, you get that left and right channel effect while watching movies and listening to music. The loudspeaker at the bottom is definitely the louder of the two, however, and can be quite easy to cover with a hand by accident – especially during landscape gaming – leaving you with quite a quiet left channel only. 

Brilliant display

  • 6.7-inch AMOLED panel, QHD+ resolution (3216 x 1440 pixels)
  • 120Hz refresh rate (with adaptive frame rate)
  • 1300 nits peak brightness
  • ColorOS 11 (based on Android 11)

Oppo has made something of a name for itself by putting fantastic screens on its phones this past couple of years. For 2021, that’s no different. With a high-resolution and fast refresh rate panel – with adaptive refresh up to 120Hz – the Find X3 Pro delivers on that sharp and smooth experience.

Pocket-lint

As if that wasn’t enough, it can display up to a billion colours, is HDR10+ compatible, and has a peak brightness of 1300 nits. The display spec sheet is enough to make any tech nerd’s mouth water.

But it’s not just read it and imagine stuff, it’s great in reality too. It’s bright, it’s sharp, it’s dynamic, and the colours are rich. It’s set to FHD+ resolution by default, but it’s easy enough to change to QHD within the settings and get the full effect of its sharpness (inevitably minus some battery life). 

We don’t find that it over-eggs the contrast too much either, so while blacks are really deep and dark, they don’t cause the screen to feature that overly contrasty or ‘black crush’ look we sometimes found with the Find X2 Pro or OnePlus 8. 

Pocket-lint

Oppo’s ColorOS software is great in a lot of ways too. As Android skins go, it’s worked itself into the position of being one of the cleanest, most fluid and attractive options out there. It doesn’t go crazy with colourful icons and trasitions like Samsung’s One UI, and has attractive rounded corners on the notification bubbles.

It’s come a very long way since it was effectively just a clone of Apple’s iOS back in the day – before Oppo’s launch in Europe (well, relaunch). There are some quirks though. Mainly around notifications. 

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of consistency in how notifications are handled. For instance, we could have a little icon showing we have a notification on the always-on display, but then there’s nothing displaying on the Lock Screen. Or there coule be a little red dot on the app icon, but nothing showing up in the status bar or notification shade when we dropped it down.

The lock screen’s inconsistency was particularly unusual. Even when we’d set notifications to wake up the phone we’d see the notification light up the lock screen, but upon picking up the phone to check again, the notification would vanish – despite being unread and still showing as an icon on the always-on display. 

Pocket-lint

All of these quirks were despite having set notifications to have the ability to show everywhere (status bar/app icon/lock screen), and despite setting our most-used apps to ignore any battery optimisations that might push them to background status or send them to sleep. 

Still, there’s some other fun and good points to ColorOS, such as the Relax app to help you get to sleep at night by playing some calming ambient noise. And we like the customisation options available for the interface and the always-on display.

Performance & battery life

  • Snapdragon 888 processor, 12GB RAM
  • 256GB storage, no microSD expansion
  • 4,500mAh battery capacity

    • 65W Super VOOC 2.0 flash charging
    • 30W Air VOOC wireless charging
  • 5G connectivity

As far as pure power goes, the Find X3 Pro is up there with the best of them, featuring the top-end for 2021 Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series. Here that means the Snapdragon 888 with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.

Load up your favourite games and the phone handles them without breaking a sweat, keeping up with fast animations and transitions. It doesn’t stutter or lag anywhere, so it really doesn’t matter what you try to do with it, it’ll handle it just fine. It didn’t even get particularly warm, even after a 30 minute gaming session. 

Pocket-lint

Battery management is similarly efficient. We struggled to drain the full battery in a single day, even at a weekend with three hours of gaming and then some camera testing we still finished the day with 30 per cent left over.

On quiter days with only a little dabbling with news sites, maybe an hour of gaming and some social media, we could easily finish the day with more than 50 per cent left at bed time. So we have no doubt this could easily be a two-day phone for light to moderate users.

Then when the battery does eventually empty, it has Oppo’s trademark flash charging technology in both wired and wireless forms. With the wired adapter, it can full refill in under 40 minutes. With the proprietary AirVOOC tech – which OnePlus also uses in its Wireless Warp Charge stand – you can fill it up pretty quickly with the wireless charger too. 

Under the microscope

  • 3-megapixel ‘Micro lens’

Where to start with the camera. Let’s go with the gimmick bit first. Because, actually, it’s rather fun. 

In its quad camera system, the Find X3 Pro has a so-called ‘Micro lens’. This gives you the effect of zooming in up to 60x and has its own little LED light ring around it. That’s an essential addition because it’s for shooting really, really close-up shots, allowing you to see detail you just can’t with the naked eye. 

Launch the microscope mode in the camera and a curtain goes from being just about able to see a weave pattern to being able to see the individual threads and weaves in the construction. It’s a similar effect with a weaved nylon watch strap or a clothbound book. Hold it to a screen and you’ll see the sub pixels in the panel. It’s pretty cool. 

Yes, it’s a gimmick – and with a low 3-megapixel resolution – so it’s not particularly sharp, but it is fun and definitely adds a different edge to your photography. 

It also takes some concentration and very steady hands. Holding the camera 1-3mm away from a subject is hard enough without the extreme magnification also making every tiny hand movement or shake exagerated. 

It has a macro mode too, which thankfully isn’t handled by this low-resolution sensor. It instead uses the same sensor as the ultra-wide camera – which we’ll come to later.

What that means for photos – examples of which you can see in the gallery above – is that your images retain colour, detail and a natural blur that you generally don’t get with a seperate, low-resolution macro camera. It can get you great results, although its automatic activation can take a little while to get used to. 

With the camera set to its default 1x mode it’ll automatically switch to macro mode as soon as you get close to a subject. Sounds great, except it switches to the ultra-wide lens – and because that’s in a physically different position you have to then adjust and re-frame.

Our only real criticism here is that sometimes with the macro mode the background blur causes edges to appear to have a outline glow, which is kind of odd. 

Flagship cameras

  • Main: 50-megapixel, f/1.7 aperture, phase detection autofocus (PDAF), optical image stabilisation (OIS)
  • Zoom (2x optical): 13MP, f/3.0, PDAF, OIS
  • Ultra-wide: 50MP, f/2.2, PDAF

As for the other cameras, it’s pretty much all good here. Pictures have detail and a lot of vibrancy and life, especially when shooting in daylight. One of the best things is that both the ultra-wide and primary camera use exactly the same 50-megapixel sensor. 

That means – since they make use of the same image processing tech too – that the balance of colour, dynamic range and detail between the two is pretty much identical. It helps photos taken from those two camera appear consistent, which isn’t the case on a lot of other phones. 

The phone cameras seem to handle harsh lighting conditions pretty well too, balancing out highlights and shadows nicely. It’s a really reliable system. 

One thing we did notice – in both daylight and night modes – is that the camera produces quite a warm colour balance. We like the look, but it isn’t necessarily the neutral and clean finish some will like. Saying that, there is a ‘Pro’ mode which will let you adjust all manner of settings, including the white balance. 

There’s also a telephoto zoom camera with 2x optical zoom, 5x hybrid zoom, and up to 20x digital zoom, giving you that extra range you might want to shoot subjects further away. 

Images from this camera don’t have that same quality look of the two primary cameras, but they hold up well – up to about 5x anyway. Zoom beyond that and the detail falls off quite rapidly. At 20x the picture looks quite ropey, with details somewhat jagged and blurry.

With night mode activated the phone performs well in low-light conditions too. To our surprise we found that both the primary and ultra-wide cameras perform well in night mode, drawing in a lot of light. Although, with its wider aperture, the primary is noticeably better.

We took the Find X3 Pro out to compare with the iPhone 12 and Google Pixel 5 at night and found that its images were warmer than the other two. It doesn’t seem as heavy-handed with contrast and highlights like the iPhone, but isn’t quite as realistic looking as the Pixel in our view.

Night mode doesn’t just apply to photos either. Tapping an AI enhancing button boosts the video performance at night too. This does effect the optical stabilisation a little negatively, but results in some pretty colour and hyper-realistic scenery, but it’s impressive to see the difference in really low-light situations. 



Best smartphones 2021 rated: The top mobile phones available to buy today


By Chris Hall
·

Verdict

When it comes to display, battery life and overall speed, the Oppo Find X3 Pro is undoubtedly one of the best flagships on the market right now – and will likely remain a strong choice throughout 2021. 

While the camera does have a habit of warming up pictures’ colour balance and sometimes making them a bit oversaturated, the whole system is immensely versatile and gets great results, regardless of lighting conditions. 

The only other negative relates to quirks with notifications from the ColorOS software. Otherwise it’s hard to find much fault with Oppo’s top-tier flagship.

While Oppo might not be a familiar name to everyone, the Find X3 Pro is so fantastic in nearly every way that it’ll put the brand name on the map. It simply stands out from the crowd for all the right reasons.

Also consider

Pocket-lint

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 

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Oppo is competiting with the big names, and Samsung’s latest ultra-premium device has a lot going for it. The screen is fab and it has a super camera system. Oh, and that Phantom Black colour is stunning too.

  • Read our review
Pocket-lint

iPhone 12 Pro Max 

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It’s Apple’s latest all-singing all-dancing flagship and offers many of the same hardware features. It’s a very polished experience all-round if you’re not up for Google’s Android OS.

  • Read our review

Writing by Cam Bunton.

a-youtuber-has-already-posted-a-full-galaxy-a52-5g-unboxing

A YouTuber has already posted a full Galaxy A52 5G unboxing

The Galaxy A52 5G will likely be announced next week at Samsung’s second Unpacked event of the year, but thanks to an early unboxing video spotted by GSMArena, we won’t have to wait that long to see it in action.

The upcoming midrange device has been subject to plenty of leaks over the past few weeks, and the video from YouTuber Moboaesthetics seems to confirm many of them. The device in the video matches up with previously leaked renders and appears to be fully functional.

Specs featured in the lengthy video include a 64-megapixel main camera with OIS, a 120Hz display, IP67 dust and water resistance, under-screen fingerprint sensor, and a 4,500mAh battery. Unlike the S21 series, there’s a microSD card slot for memory expansion.

The A52 5G and also-rumored A72 5G are both expected to be accompanied by cheaper non-5G variants with other slightly downgraded specs, like a 90Hz screen rather than 120Hz. All told, they’re shaping up to look like highly competitive midrange phones.

Samsung has not confirmed exactly what it’s announcing at next week’s event, but given the appearance of this video and the recent leaks, it seems certain that the A52 5G will be making its debut soon.

samsung-will-host-another-unpacked-event-on-march-17th

Samsung will host another Unpacked event on March 17th

Samsung has just announced an Unpacked event coming up on March 17th, 2021, its second for the year so far. The invitation calls the event “Galaxy Awesome Unpacked.” Between recent A-series leaks and the chaotic, “awesome”-themed promotional video for last year’s models, it seems safe to assume that we’ll see the Galaxy A52 and A72 devices debut.

An entire event dedicated to unveiling midrange devices is a little unusual, but the leaked information we’ve seen thus far has pointed to Samsung taking these phones very seriously. The A52 5G looks like it will receive monthly security updates — something Samsung has tended to reserve for higher-end phones — and spec leaks have indicated we can expect high-refresh rate screens.

If nothing else, we can hope that Samsung will bring the energy from last year’s unusual video to keep the event entertaining. You can watch by tuning in to Samsung’s YouTube channel on March 17th at 10AM ET / 7AM PT. And please accept our apologies for embedding last year’s ad for the A51 below.

samsung-galaxy-s20-vs-galaxy-s20+-vs-galaxy-s20-ultra:-what’s-the-difference?

Samsung Galaxy S20 vs Galaxy S20+ vs Galaxy S20 Ultra: What’s the difference?

(Pocket-lint) – Samsung introduced three different models of the Galaxy S20 in 2020. The models reflected an upgrade of the regular S10, the S10+ and the S10 5G, called the Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra.

Here’s a look at how these phones stack up to help you work out which one might be the right one for you.

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What’s the same?

  • Overall look and feel
  • 120Hz Infinity-O display
  • Core Exynos/Snapdragon hardware and RAM 

The Galaxy S20 devices all have a similar overall design with metal core and glass front and back, sporting a central punch hole camera in the display and minimal bezels. All the devices have this Infinity-O display, with curved edges. 

Samsung has also put a 120Hz display in all these phones, although naturally, the sizes are all different. That 120Hz display only runs at 1080p however, rather than the full 1440p resolution, which is 60Hz.

On the rear of all the devices is a pronounced camera bump – there’s not even an attempt to blend in the cameras, they are designed to stand out on this generation of phones.

They all have the same core hardware too, either the Samsung Exynos 990 or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, depending on the region you buy it in. This comes with 12GB RAM as standard across all three devices, but the Ultra offers a step-up to 16GB. 

And that’s about where the similarities end. 

What’s different? 

Outside of those outlined details, these phones differ in many ways, seeing each slip into a different position. Here’s what’s different. 

Build and dimensions 

  • Samsung Galaxy S20: 151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9mm, 163g
  • Samsung Galaxy S20+: 161.9 x 73.7 x 7.8mm, 186g
  • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: 166.9 x 76 x 8.8mm, 220g

A glance over the dimensions shows the range of sizes these phones come in. While the overall build quality and look of the phones is the same, physically there’s a big range of size options – some 15mm in height. 

That is almost the same as the size difference between the Galaxy S21 models released in 2021, which basically update all the S20 models. Generally, however, these phones are bigger than older models, but with smaller bezels. There’s also a healthy difference in weight and this mostly comes down to the battery and the amount of glass used in the build.

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Display 

  • Samsung Galaxy S20: 6.2-inch, 120Hz
  • Samsung Galaxy S20+: 6.7-inch, 120Hz
  • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: 6.9-inch, 120Hz

The Galaxy S20 comes in at 6.2-inches as the smallest of the bunch, running up to a massive 6.9-inches on the S20 Ultra – which makes it a big phone. The Galaxy S20+ sits in the middle at 6.7-inches.

These displays are all AMOLED and they all offer a 120Hz refresh rate – although you’ll only get that refresh rate at Full HD+ and not the highest Quad HD+ resolution. (Full HD+ is the default most Samsung phones, with Quad HD+ an option you have to turn on.) In reality, the only difference is size, because they are all equally capable.

Battery

  • Samsung Galaxy S20: 4000mAh
  • Samsung Galaxy S20+: 4500mAh
  • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: 5000mAh

The Galaxy S20 has a 4000mAh battery, while the S20+ has a 4500mAh cell and the S20 Ultra has a 5000mAh battery.

The S20 Ultra sounds like it has a huge battery, but we’ve found the demand on the battery to be quite high, especially when using the camera, so it’s worth reading through reviews to get a full picture of the battery life.

The S20 and the S20+ seem to fair better. These aren’t the most efficient phones in their segment, but we’ve found the Galaxy S20+ and S20 to cope a little better with demand than the Ultra.

Cameras

  • S20: 12MP main, 64MP telephoto, 12MP ultra wide
  • S20+: 12MP main, 64MP telephoto, 12MP ultra wide, DepthVision
  • S20 Ultra: 108MP main, 48MP telephoto, 12MP ultra wide, DepthVision

The big difference in these devices is pushed through the cameras. Firstly, the makeup of the Galaxy S20 and the S20+ are broadly the same – apart from the addition of the time-of-flight sensor in the S20+ – which makes little real difference.

The main cameras are the same – a new 12-megapixel sensor with massive 1.8µm pixels – while both have a 64-megapixel “telephoto” camera. In general, these cameras all perform well, although the telephoto isn’t as sharp out at 10x zoom as the Ultra is. Beyond that, quality starts to drop off on both rapidly.

The setup of the Galaxy S20 Ultra camera is almost completely different. The only thing in common on these cameras is the 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle, with the S20 Ultra sporting a 108-megapixel sensor for the main camera. This is paired with a 48-megapixel telephoto, which is a 10x hybrid optic periscope lens. That combination gives 100x zoom, although that’s mostly a gimmick, as photos at 100x zoom look poor.

Which is the best camera? The S20 Ultra is the best performer for zoom, certainly. But in normal shooting, the S20 and S20+ main camera will often be sharper and richer than the S20 Ultra’s pixel-combined 12-megapixel images. The S20 Ultra, of course, can capture more detail in 108-megapixel mode, but for most, the S20 and S20+ main camera might give better results.

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Prices

  • S20 Ultra: £1199, $1399.99 (at launch)
  • S20+: £999, $1199.99 (at launch)
  • S20: £799 (4G), £899 (5G), $999 (5G) (at launch)

There’s a big difference in the prices of these handsets and that’s broadly reflected in the screen size, but the core power for these phones is pretty much the same. The S20 Ultra is obviously a huge price and it might be that the Galaxy S20+ falls better into your price range for the performance and the features that it offers.

The Galaxy S20 comes in at a cheaper price because it comes as a 4G phone. The models and prices will obviously vary across regions and since launch, prices have dropped significantly, meaning these models are cheaper than the Galaxy S21 models that replaced them.

Conclusion 

Samsung’s line-up of Galaxy S20 devices looks to cover all bases. The core experience of these phones will be similar – similar feel, the same software and with the same core hardware, all perform to a similar level.

All have great displays, with the Galaxy S20+ likely to be the sweet spot in terms of size and balance of features. The camera performance is variable, although the S20 Ultra has a natural advantage when it comes to zoom performance.

Ultimately, the S20 Ultra offers a huge amount, but comes at a high cost. We suspect that for those wanting a larger device, the Galaxy S20+ will be all the phone they want.

It’s worth considering, however, that the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE offers similar performance to the Galaxy S20+, but offers better value for money, so might also be worth considering.

  • Samsung Galaxy S21+ vs S20 FE vs Galaxy S20+: What’s the difference?

Writing by Chris Hall.

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Oppo Reno 4 Pro 5G review: Classy mid-ranger

(Pocket-lint) – If you’ve looked at Oppo’s Reno family over the years, confused at exactly where it fits, which devices are in it, and if they’re even available where you live, then fear not – you’re not alone.

Since the first Reno phone (which was released in 2019), Oppo has expanded the range considerably. Among that product family is where you’ll find a particular gem: the Reno 4 Pro. 

It’s a sleek, attractive and well-proportioned, but for a mid-range device it’s arguably a little pricey. Does that affect the overall proposition? Read on…

Design

  • Dimensions: 159.6 x 72.5 x 7.6mm / Weight: 172g
  • Monogrammed design on Space Black model
  • All glass front and back design

When 5G first hit the scenes – and just like when 4G became a thing – phones were pretty large. Not only did phones need an extra external chip to act as the modem, but space was required for cooling, while larger batteries were required to ensure longevity.

In 2020, however, thanks to the advancement of processors that have built-in 5G modems, that changed. Samsung showed it with the S20. And Oppo – having first shown it with the Find X2 Neo – does it again with the Reno 4 Pro. It’s impressively slim and sleek for a 5G-capable device. 

In fact, it’s very similar to the Find X2 Neo in terms of size, shape and build. It’s got the glass on the front and back that curves towards the edges, making it look and feel really slim. It’s narrow, too, and has really skinny bezels on the front – ensuring the screen takes up the majority of the space (around 94 per cent of it, says the spec). 

Where it differs is in the styling and finish of that rear panel. There’s a new Arctic Blue model that features a frosted glass finish, but unlike most other frosted glass phones, this has been created with an Oppo-designed technique using microscopic laser etchings along the surface. This way the finished product resists scratches and fingerprint smudges. 

We were sent the Space Black model which has a much more traditional black, glossy look. However, even that’s unique. There’s a rainbow effect that appears when you angle it towards light, as well as a pattern of repeating monograms spelling out ‘OP’. Because, er, Oppo. The company says this is to make the phone something of a fashion statement. We feel you’ll either love it or hate it. Opinions are definitely mixed here at Pocket-lint. 

The camera housing is among one of the most attractive we’ve seen on a smartphone. It’s a simple, glossy rectangle with rounded corners that protrudes from the back with three identically sized camera rings in a neat row. It’s compact, and pleasant to look at. 

To pick up and hold the phone in the hand, the Pro is just a delight. Some of the rough edges we found between the glass and metal on the Find X2 Neo aren’t an issue here. This is one slim, smooth and sumptuous mid-ranger.

Those curved edges and the slim nature of the phone do mean there’s a tendency to accidentally touch the display though. We’ve often accidentally tapped an icon in the bottom corner of the display when it pressed into the base of our thumb. Similarly, with navigation gestures enabled, we’ve also often found ourselves trying to swipe away notifications only for it to launch the ‘back’ gesture instead.

Display

  • 6.5-inch AMOLED display, 90Hz refresh rate
  • FHD+ resolution (1080 x 2400 pixels) 
  • Punch-hole selfie camera

The screen on Oppo’s top mid-range phone is AMOLED, meaning you get plenty of benefits. It’s bright (at about 500 nits peak brightness), and features deep inky blacks and vibrant colours. 

It also has the added bonus of a 90Hz refresh rate, which means animations stay smoother. When you’re switching between areas in the user interface or scrolling up and down menus it helps everything seem all that much more fluid. 

Heading into 2021, the Quad HD resolution display seems to be on the way out in smaller devices for the sake of battery life. And so Full HD sharpness on the Reno 4 Pro is perfectly fine – and as much as expected. It’s still virtually impossible to see any individual pixels. 

For the most part this is a bright and vivid panel. We put it side-by-side with the Samsung Galaxy S21, for instance, and – set to vivid mode – the Oppo more than pulls its weight for things like Netflix watching, general interface appearance, and photo viewing. Where it struggles a little is with games, but we’ll get more into that in the performance section. 

It’s not quite perfect though. The curves in the corners, for instance, don’t quite match the more square corners of the phone, while the top and bottom bezels are noticeably thicker than the sides. Both combined makes for a slightly uneven look. 

Performance

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor, 12GB RAM 
  • 4,000mAh battery, 65W Super VOOC 2.0 charging
  • 256GB storage, no microSD expansion
  • 5G connectivity

Look at the current mid-range market and you’ll see Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 700-series is the most popular. Here, it’s the same 765G chip that’s inside the OnePlus Nord and a handful of other powerful mid-rangers. 

Joining it, there’s a generous 12GB RAM and 256GB storage (in the UK variant), which is more than enough to keep the most demanding apps running smoothly and ensure you have enough space to store all of your photos, music and video for entertainment on the go. 

Like the Nord, we’ve not had any issues with performance. In fact, for most tasks, the Pro will feel pretty much as good as any flagship would. It’s fast and responsive, partly down to the fluidity of the display, partly down to the 765G platform being plenty powerful enough.

Loading up games isn’t quite as quick as some of the more recent top-tier phones, but the difference isn’t remarkable. Where you do notice the difference is in the graphics quality. Details that might be smooth and sharp on higher-end phones seem a little rough around the edges. Lines look a bit jagged, almost like the game won’t run at its full resolution. At least, that’s what we found while playing Mario Kart Tour. 

The 4,000mAh battery on board is about standard in terms of capacity these days. But what’s not standard is Oppo’s Super VOOC 2.0 flash charging technology. This particular flavour is the 65W variant – which we’ve seen on top-tier phones like the Find X2 Pro. With an empty battery, it’ll charge from 0-66 per cent in just 15 minutes and finish its charge completely in 35 minutes. Now that’s fast! 

What we’ve found in the past with phones using this tech is that it changes your charging behaviour. You no longer have to charge it overnight. You can wait until it runs almost flat, plug it in, and even 10-15 minutes is enough to get through the rest of the day. 

Oppo seems to have done something rather magical with battery life too. Its standby performance is pretty remarkable. If you’re someone who isn’t glued to your phone constantly then you shouldn’t have too much trouble making the Reno 4 Pro last two days between charges. We’ve left it overnight on many an occasion, in standby, and woken to find it only having lost five per cent of its charge. Impressive.

Cameras

  • Triple rear camera system:
    • Main: 48-megapixel, f/1.7 aperture
    • Wide/macro: 12MP, f/2.2
    • Zoom (2x): 13MP, f/2.4
  • 32MP selfie camera
  • 4K video at 30fps

The Oppo Reno 4 Pro’s 48-megapixel main camera is joined by a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 13-megapixel 2x zoom lens. What’s interesting here is that the 12-megapixel ultra-wide is also being branded as a ‘night’ camera. A lot of that is down to the fact that Oppo has boosted its night performance, especially when shooting video. 

Pocket-lint

: Macro modeMacro mode

That ultra-wide doubles (triples?) as a macro camera, too, and that means not having to rely on a dedicated low resolution sensor for close-up shots – as is so prevalent in many rivals. And you can tell: the macro shots are actually decent, retaining good colour and depth, while avoiding suffering from that nauseating swirling bokeh effect we’ve seen from some of the poorer macro solutions. 

As for that third lens, that’s a 5x hybrid zoom camera, so while it’s not quite as impressive as the high-end periscope-like lenses that go up to twice that, it’s still a very versatile system. At 2x optical zoom, images retain colour, sharpness and depth, but as soon as you push it up to 5x – which is where it’s using digital zoom – things can look a little ropey. Images lose sharpness as they tend to once you switch into digital zoom. 

Transitioning between the four main focal lengths is easy enough though. There’s an icon on the screen that you can tap to quickly switch between 0.6x, 1x, 2x and 5x. Or you can tap, hold and drag it to use the smoother zooming interface – as it turns into a wheel on the screen. 

Pocket-lint

: Ultrawide cameraUltrawide camera

What impressed us was that – while sometimes the images came out with slightly over-exposed highlights – the balance of colour and light between the three cameras was pretty uniform. Greens and purples look the same in all three in the collection above. While they all have a little over-sharpening in the darker areas, that evenness isn’t something you typically see when using three unique sensors. 



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Laser detection autofocus ensures that the camera focuses quickly and reliably even when the light levels aren’t optimal. Indoors in dim conditions we found it to focus fast, which made it quick and easy to grab the shot we were after without repeatedly tapping the screen in frustration trying to get the camera to lock on. 

There are plenty of shooting modes too. Open up the More tab in the camera app and you can shoot with stickers, shoot in ‘Pro’ mode to get fine-tuned control, shoot slow-mo, time-lapse, and even scan text or use Google Lens to assess the scene for text and everyday items. It doesn’t feel overly busy with options thankfully, and the main collection of shooting modes is where most people will spend their time. 

Verdict

The Oppo Reno 4 Pro’s spec sheet may make it seem like a mid-range phone at a near-flagship price, but its performance and everyday reliability makes this one genuinely good phone – regardless of the price.

The camera system is strong and consistent, offering versatility without falling into the same traps as other mid-range phones with multiple cameras on the back. This has three cameras and all of them useful and actually decent. 

A perceived lack of power could put off the smartphone enthusiasts when compared to similarly priced devices, but we’ve enjoyed almost everything that the Oppo phone has to offer. The only minor criticism is graphical performance compromises when it comes to gaming.

While the Oppo is considerably more expensive than the OnePlus Nord or Google Pixel 4a, for that extra money you get a more premium design, a more versatile and powerful camera, and a stupendously fast-charging battery. The Reno 4 Pro is an impressively slim and sleek device that still has all the functionality you’d expect from a top-tier phone.

Alternatives to consider

Oppo Find X2 Neo

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It’s not exactly the same, but it features similar build and performance. The only compromises you make, really, are a poorer camera system and slower charging speeds. But it’ll save you some money as a result.

  • Read our review

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE

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Samsung hit all the right notes with the ‘Fan Edition’ of the S20. It’s got all the top features that matter – like a 120Hz display, flagship-spec processor, and a solid camera system. The price isn’t that much higher considering the spec bump either.

  • Read our review

Writing by Cam Bunton. Editing by Mike Lowe.

The OnePlus 9 will ship with a charger in the box

Along with a confirmed release date, we got our first official look at the OnePlus 9 today and another tidbit of information: it will come with a charger, unlike recent flagships including the Galaxy S21 and iPhone 12.

In a message thread on the company’s community forum, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau said that the 9 will ship with a charger in the box. Recently, Apple and Samsung stopped including chargers with their flagship devices, citing environmental benefits and saying that customers already had the adaptors anyway. The jury’s still out on the environmental impact of the move, but it’s sure to have helped the companies’ bottom lines.

OnePlus is in a slightly different position, of course. One of its phones’ differentiating features has been fast wired charging. The OnePlus 9 is rumored to include 45W fast charging and would be no exception. Including a charger that allows customers to take advantage of that feature only makes sense.

While there have been plenty of credible-looking leaks and rumors, we still don’t have many confirmed details about the upcoming OnePlus 9 — but that will change soon. OnePlus announced today that the 9 series will debut on March 23rd. The company also confirmed a three-year partnership with Hasselblad to collaborate on future OnePlus device cameras.

oneplus-9-to-launch-on-23rd-march-with-5g-and-hasselblad-camera

OnePlus 9 to launch on 23rd March with 5G and Hasselblad camera

(Image credit: OnePlus)

The OnePlus 9 will launch on 23rd March, OnePlus has confirmed. The firm has sent out invites to an online-only event that kicks off two weeks tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10am EDT, or 2pm GMT.

It has also confirmed some of the phone’s features. For starters, there will be more than one handset, as the company refers to the “OnePlus 9 Series”. 5G will come as standard on at least one of the phones, while there’s also a tie-up with camera firm Hasselblad to boost the device’s imaging ability.

Given it was just an invite, OnePlus stopped short of delivering a full spec list. Recent rumours have included a curved 1440p screen with a refresh rate of 120Hz, 45W fast charging, and reverse wireless charging.

A 120Hz refresh rate would mean better fast-moving images with less blur. High refresh rates are becoming more common in smartphones, as seen in the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S21, and rumoured for the Apple iPhone 13. They’re becoming so commonplace that Samsung is even putting them in its mid-range smartphones.

We’re expecting the OnePlus 9 range to comprise the OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro and cheaper OnePlus 9R and we’ll be sure to give you a full rundown of all their respective features on the big day.

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