What's good
- Stylish design
- Capable processor
- Affordable price
- Wireless charging
- Unique notifications
What's bad
- Cameras underperform
- Prone to slipping
- Not water resistant
- Limited glyph use
- Durability concerns
What's good
- Blazing performance
- Sleek design
- IP68 waterproofing
- Great low-light camera performance
- All-day battery life
- Rapid charging
- microSD card support
- Front-facing stereo speakers
What's bad
- Bloatware
- Glass front and back means you’ll want a case
- Price
- Not a significant upgrade over the S8 unless you want a better camera
Verdict
Unless you already own the Samsung Galaxy S8, the S9 offers an experience you won’t find with many other phones on the market. Whether you’re looking to play games, take pictures, or simply have a phone that will last all day without worrying about charging, the Samsung has you covered… albeit for a premium price.
What's good
- Extremely long battery life
- Beautiful display
- Good performance
What's bad
- Mediocre speakers
- Disappointing low-light photography
- Not a good choice for high-end gaming or 4K
Verdict
Unless 5G access is essential, the TCL 20S, with its crisp screen and the long battery life, might be just the budget-friendly phone you need.
Samsung Galaxy S10+
- OS
- 6.4"Display size
- 12+ MP Camera
- 2.8 GHzProcessor
- 128/512/ 1000 GBStorage
- Yes4G
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
- OS
- 6.9"Display size
- 48+ MP Camera
- 2.84 GHzProcessor
- 128/256/ 512 GBStorage
- Yes4G
What's good
- Great multitasking and gaming
- Comfortable in the hand
- Beautiful 120hz HDR screen for movies and videos
- All-day battery life
- 5G support
What's bad
- Fingerprint scanner is slow
- Tons of pre-installed apps
- No headphone jack
- High price tag
What's good
- Affordable access to 5G
- Excellent battery life
- Bright display
What's bad
- Weak low-light camera performance
- Only one guaranteed software upgrade
- Bulky and heavy
Verdict
The Motorola One 5G Ace worked well and for a lesser price than other 5G capable phones on the market. In order to achieve such a fair price, sacrifices were made -- including camera quality and screen resolution. However, reviewers felt the One 5G Ace pulls its own weight while looking stylish.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
- OS
- 6.8"Display size
- 108+ MP Camera
- 2.84 GHzProcessor
- 128/256/ 512 GBStorage
- Yes4G
What's good
- Lovely AMOLED screen
- Best battery life for its tier
- S-pen support
- Fast refresh rate
What's bad
- Very expensive
- No MicroSD expansion
- Ads in Samsung software
Verdict
Having to pay extra for more storage up front is a new change for Samsung. In terms of everything else, there’s not a lot to say about the phone in terms of failings. At the end of the day, the simple question is, can you afford it and do you need a phone this powerful?