Mobile Technology

Xiaomi has been battling the big flagship phone makers with its own high-spec, medium-price handsets for several years now, and the Chinese manufacturer isn't letting up in 2020. It just unveiled the Xiaomi Mi 10 and Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro.

At a special Unpacked 2020 event, Samsung has unveiled its first flagship phones of the year: the Galaxy S20, the Galaxy S20 Plus, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra. As last year, we've got three different handsets at three different price points.

Samsung has tried its hand at foldable phones before, but its new Galaxy Z Flip folds from top to bottom rather than from side to side. It's a compact clamshell foldable, in the same vein as the recently-launched Motorola Razr.

The latest low-budget, high-value Android phones from Motorola have arrived, with the Moto G Power and Moto G Stylus set to be two of the best reasons why you don't have to buy a flagship phone in 2020.

Not everyone is able to use their gadgets via the usual taps and swipes, which is why extra accessibility add-ons are so important – such as a new eye-tracking system called Skyle, which works with the 12.9-inch Apple iPad Pro.

Phone makers continue to cram better lenses and more cameras into their phones, and now app developers are catching up: a new app called DoubleTake from Filmic lets you record from multiple cameras at once on the latest iPhone handsets.

New Atlas tries out the Zanco tiny t2 – the world's smallest working 3G phone – which is designed as a portable secondary device to your expensive smartphone. And yes, it’s exactly as practical as we expected, with a price tag a little too high.

Timekettle's WT2 Plus translation earbuds aim to give you a Babel fish type experience, quietly translating what you're saying into your partner's ear and vice versa. We've been playing with them to see how they stack up against hand-held devices.

Doogee is one of several companies making super-durable Android phones, and it distinguishes itself from the pack by making modular machines with attachments that extend their capabilities. The latest and greatest is the Doogee S95 Pro.

Samsung's first phone launches of 2020 are cut-down versions of its best-known 2019 flagships: say hello to the Galaxy S10 Lite and the Note 10 Lite. In Samsung's own words, they bring "premium features" at an "accessible price point."

It's clear that 2019 was a big year for smartphones, and it doesn't look like the pace is going to slow down much in 2020 either. Somewhere among the phones coming down the pipe in 2020, we hope these improvements are included.

A new type of ultrasound technology promises to make a touch-sensitive surface out of just about any common material – metal, glass, wood, plastic – which could open up a number of new ways to interact with our gadgets.