Android Advisor

google pixel 4a 5g

Price: £499 (inc VAT) from fave.co/3pam7V8 Google makes excellent cheap smartphones for the mid-range market, but the Pixel 4a doesn’t support 5G. Well, anyone disappointed by that can now be satisfied with the aptly named Pixel 4a 5G. However, there’s a lot more difference than just the mobile networks these phones support. This is far from the same device with a 5G modem inside. It’s understandable for Google to highlight the 5G element in the name, but it would perhaps have been a good idea to add ‘XL’ to this phone. It’s another solid effort from Google, especially if you want some of the Pixel 5 features at a cheaper price and with a bigger screen. DESIGN In a nutshell, this is a bigger version of the Pixel 4a when is comes to design. A 6.2in…

motorola razr 5g

Price: £1,399 (inc VAT) from fave.co/3lgZAUy Folding phones are still finding their way in the world and after a shaky start, Motorola is back with a new version of the Razr. It’s a retro classic reimagined as a modern smartphone with a flexible screen inside. Before we get any further, it’s worth noting that we never got the first edition of the Razr in for review, presumably due to the reliability issues Motorola experienced. I’ll point out some of the changes, of course, but can’t comment on how much difference they’ve made. DESIGN With the vast majority of phones on the market looking like they come out of the same cookie-cutter, with a different manufacturer logo, it’s refreshing to see folding phones bringing something new and exciting to the game. The Razr 5G is…

sony xperia 5 ii

Price: £799 (inc VAT) from fave.co/36kBTo2 After almost three years of steady decline, Sony’s smartphone sales have finally begun to stabilize. In the three months to the end of September 2020, the company shipped around 600,000 Xperia phones, roughly on par with Q3 2019. Nonetheless, this still accounts for a tiny fraction of the global smartphone market. It would seem a curious failure for the company behind one of the most in-demand consoles in history, a brand which is recognized globally for its TVs and audio equipment. For its 2020 phones, Sony has taken inspiration from another of its key revenue streams – mirrorless cameras. As such, the successor to last year’s Xperia 5 is known as the Xperia 5 II (or mark 2). It looks like a big upgrade on paper, but…

xiaomi mi 10t pro

Price: £599 (inc VAT) from fave.co/35dclcV Xiaomi announced Mi 10T Pro alongside Mi 10T and Mi 10T Lite at the end of September, and we’ve spent the past few weeks vigorously testing Mi 10T Pro. Our first impressions are extremely positive. This is a mid-range phone with a huge 5,000mAh battery that turned in the highest PCMark battery life score we’ve seen to date, a super-smooth 144Hz display, a triple camera that headlines with a 108Mp lens and 5G. Add to that a mostly appealing design, strong performance and hi-res audio, and it’s difficult to understand exactly what is mid-range about Mi 10T Pro – aside from the price, of course. DESIGN When I tell you that looking at Mi 10T Pro is like looking in a huge shiny mirror, it might sound conceited when…

what is 5g?

While tentative plans and a handful of phones were announced last year, 2020 is the year of 5G. Many new phones now support 5G, and it’s expected that all the upcoming flagships will have an option for the latest technology. All four of the main networks in the UK now have a 5G service up and running. The fifth generation of mobile Internet promises huge improvements to both download and upload speeds. It should also have the ability to handle more devices being connected at any one time, with an unprecedented level of demand expected. Coverage will, unsurprisingly, start with major towns and cities. Networks are hoping that a full roll-out will be completed much more quickly than 4G, but it may be limited to larger settlements for the foreseeable future. WHAT IS…

best 5g phones 2020

2019 was the year that 5G phones started appearing on store shelves. 2020 is the year that the technology really took off; with the country’s major mobile carriers now all supporting this new super-fast network infrastructure and a wealth of manufacturers now offering top-tier phones with 5G modems onboard. BEFORE YOU BUY Getting a 5G phone is only one piece of the puzzle, of course. To actually take advantage of this next-gen connectivity you need to: • Have a 5G-capable phone• Subscribe to a network that actively offers 5G connectivity• Subscribe to a contract that actively includes 5G connectivity• Be in an area with good 5G coverage EE and Vodafone were the first networks to get their 5G networks up and running, with O2 joining the fray in October 2019. Three’s 5G network was…