smartphones

In September last year, Sony announced a new flagship phone called the Xperia 5, a compact follow up to the tall and slim Xperia 1. Well, now the company has gone super-tall again for the Mark II version of that phone.

In its 9th year the Mobile Photography Awards present an incredible snapshot of photography highlighting how truly sophisticated smartphone camera technology has become. Spanning 20 categories the winners offer a compelling insight into a new medium.

New versions of Android and iOS don't suddenly appear any more – instead, they roll out slowly over the course of several months. Today, Google introduced us to Android 11 for the first time, through a developer preview.

Now more than ever you don't have to pay top dollar to get a decent phone, and LG has crowded the mid-range market even further with the launch of three new phones that sport quad-lens cameras on the rear, as well as some respectable specs inside.

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.

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.

As we draw to the end of not just the year but also the decade, looking back over the development of mobile tech is a fascinating exercise – our smartphones have acted as barometers of change in technology, people, and our world.

It can be challenging for smartphone photographers, holding onto their phone and pressing its shutter release button with the same hand. Just Mobile's ShutterGrip 2 is designed to help, offering features not found in similar devices.