Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

A brilliant phone let down by problems common to Samsung phones, and Samsung's embargo handling and out-of-context quote of his review annoyed him.

Adaptive refresh rate helped it beat the S20 Ultra despite a smaller battery, but the Exynos chip held it back.

Refined the S20 Ultra's camera with better dynamic range, laser autofocus and usable 20x zoom.

Used as the benchmark: dimmer than the Mi 11 screen and slower in gaming, but still top tier for cameras.

He calls it probably the best phone Samsung has made, but it is mostly a foil for the standard Note 20.

Used as the familiar Android reference phone without any real judgement.

Joint best money-no-object phone, with the best screen, camera and battery life, refined almost to perfection.

Won the battery test with the highest score ever recorded on his tests, though the Exynos version sold in the UK will last about 10% less.

Best overall photo camera you can buy, with extreme detail and balanced processing, plus fun extras.

Mentioned as a size and finish reference for the Mate 40 Pro.

Praised for hardware feel and look that few phones rival, as an example of Samsung's strength in hardware.

An extreme, ambitious phone with great display and cameras, but disappointing packaging and the biggest price hike in Note history.

Samsung's best phone yet and his pick of the current flagships, held back by Samsung software quirks, confusing regional variants and average Exynos battery life.

Used as the benchmark: it has a better A-plus display and a larger 108MP sensor, but charges at half the speed.

Wins the comparison in almost every category thanks to better design, brighter display, laser autofocus and a much improved S Pen, despite a smaller battery and less RAM.