Best phones for 2020 - CNET

Starting at only $399, the 2020 version of the iPhone SE is the best budget phone you can find right now. With an A13 processor (the same as the iPhone 11) and an amazing camera, the iPhone SE is way more powerful than it has any right to be. Old-school iPhone fans will also appreciate the return of TouchID and the home button. Read our Apple iPhone SE (2020) review.

The Note 20 Ultra, along with its smaller counterpart the Note 20, is a pricey, ultrapremium phone with an expansive screen, an embedded S Pen stylus and 5G. The Note 20 Ultra also has a triple-rear camera array, the high-powered Snapdragon 865 Plus processor and reverse wireless charging. Read our Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review.

While OnePlus isn't as well-known as Apple or Samsung, the OnePlus%208%20and%208 Pro offers a premium experience at a relatively more affordable price than its rivals. As the more advanced phone, the OnePlus 8 Pro has a 120Hz display and a telephoto camera. But the OnePlus 8 is more affordable and still has 5G, a fast 90Hz display and the same top-of-the-line processor. Read our OnePlus 8 review.

As Samsung's flagship phone for 2020, the Galaxy S20 features a brilliant 6.2-inch AMOLED display with an ultra-smooth 120Hz refresh rate, reverse wireless charging, a water-resistant design and three rear cameras. It's a fantastic daily driver for an Android user, and if you have more to spend, there's also the Galaxy S20 Plus and Ultra. Read our Samsung Galaxy S20 5G review.

The Motorola Edge Plus has pretty much everything you'd hope for in a premium 5G phone: A Snapdragon 865 chipset, a giant battery, an OLED screen with a high refresh rate and multiple rear cameras with heavy-duty specs. Motorola took features found on other top-of-the-line Android phones, put its own Moto spin on them and built them all into one of our favorite Android phones of the year. Read our Motorola Edge Plus review.

Starting at $700, the iPhone 11 is the best midtier model Apple has ever made of its flagship phone. Its cameras get an excellent new Night Mode and an ultrawide-angle camera adds extra detail in photos. Video is fantastic, too. Just be aware, though, that there isn't a headphone jack. Read our Apple iPhone 11 review.

Without considering its price, Google's Pixel 4A has a top-notch camera that takes brilliant photos. But it's even better that the phone costs $349 (£349, AU$599). The 5.81-inch handset also features a headphone jack, 128GB of storage out of the box and a better battery life than last year's Pixel 4. Read our Google Pixel 4A review.

In addition to its main Galaxy S flagship phones, Samsung has a more cost-conscious A series line of phones. This year it launched the Galaxy A51 and its another phone that costs $399 (£329, AU$599) -- though there is a 5G variant that costs $499. The device has four cameras, an in-screen fingerprint reader and expandable storage. Read our Galaxy A51 review.