Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, LG V60 ThinQ 5G, Microsoft Surface Laptop 3, and more: ZDNet's reviews round-up

The Galaxy S20 Plus is the best Android phone we've used over the past year. It offers the complete package. A robust camera setup, an impressive screen, and it has the performance to match. The addition of 5G connectivity is something that some people won't be able to take full advantage of quite yet, but with a phone that costs $1,200, odds are you're not planning on upgrading anytime soon. While the S20 Ultra is more phone than most will ever need, the S20 Plus is just right. A modest mix of cost and performance, with a dash of 5G future-proofing.

SEE: Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus review: The S20 that business users need

LG has always come in at a launch price a bit lower than others, but this year it is really trying to compete with a price hundreds of dollars less than comparable flagship phones. In addition, users get a dual-screen experience that helps take productivity and efficiency to the next level. Phone calls sound great, reception is excellent, music rocks with the speakers and headphone jack, the Dual Screen has many great functions, and it's a great overall phone. It's one of the most affordable 5G phones available now and the Dual Screen cover makes it one of the most productive, too.

SEE: LG V60 ThinQ 5G review: Modern network, two screen option, reasonable $900 price

The Honor 9X Pro is a well-built handset whose glass back, while slippery, is attractive, and whose side-mounted fingerprint scanner will please some people and disappoint others. The pop-up selfie camera makes for an uninterrupted screen, which is impressively large and readable. There is plenty of internal storage, good battery life and a capable Kirin 810 chipset. At around £200 this handset has many plus points. But the lack of Google Mobile Services is a big issue.

SEE: Honor 9X Pro review: An affordable large-screen handset with a major drawback

The sheer quality of its design ensures that the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 3 is a delight to use. It's slim and light, and has a striking metallic finish, yet also delivers a spacious, attractive screen and performance that will satisfy all but the most demanding professional and creative users. The only fly in the ointment is the relatively modest battery life from the Core i7 configuration, which definitely leaves room for improvement.

SEE: Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (13.5-inch) review: Thin, light and classy

The ThinkPad T495s isn't going to win any awards for raw computing horsepower, but it should prove a reliable platform for office software, email and web browsing when you're on the road. With a slim but robust design and all-day battery life, it also has a more competitive price tag than many of its Intel-based rivals.

SEE: Lenovo ThinkPad T495s review: A solid AMD-powered business workhorse

The HP ZBook 17 G6 is a seriously powerful piece of kit, designed to provide desktop-grade functionality in a transportable package. That said, few will want to carry this 3kg-plus beast very far, very often. It's bursting with ports and connectors so there's no need for a dock, and there's even an integrated optical drive. But it will be worth double-checking on battery life: our Xeon-based review unit was not impressive in this respect.

SEE: HP ZBook 17 G6 review: A heavy-duty, user-upgradable mobile workstation

For £269.99, the standout features are the high-resolution camera, the large screen and the accolade of being the only One handset with a pop-out front camera. Motorola may be doing itself a disservice by having quite so many One-series handsets, but the One Hyper is a decent effort with a good battery life and a competitive price.

SEE: Motorola One Hyper, hands on: A competitive mid-range phone with good screen, cameras and battery life

Huawei Y6s is not affected by the ban on Google Mobile Services. It's quite a feat to deliver an Android handset for little more than £100, and for the most part the compromises Huawei has made to meet that low price point are acceptable. Unfortunately, jerky scrolling and delays following screen presses might prove a deal-breaker for many buyers, Google Mobile Services support notwithstanding.

SEE: Huawei Y6s, hands on: A budget big-screen phone, but speed is an issue

With the Atom XL/L, we see Unihertz reveal its fourth rugged smartphone. The Atom L/XL takes the tiny Atom experience and improves upon it with a larger four-inch display, better camera, digital mobile radio support (XL only), and more. Kickstarter prices start at $239, so act soon.

SEE: Unihertz Atom XL hands-on: Four-inch display, 48MP camera, and DMR support for less than $330

While Google seems to have let Wear OS hang on the vine, companies like Mobvoi continue to offer options for those who don't want an Apple Watch. The latest model improves in some areas. We enjoyed the TicWatch Pro 2020. Also, the $260 price for a smartwatch with GPS is almost a no-brainer purchase for wearable fans.

SEE: TicWatch Pro 2020 review: Google Wear OS smartwatch with layered display, ample RAM, and low $260 price