Four phones with best battery life
Apple iPhone XR
Cnet rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Battery life: 19 hours, 53 minutes
The good: The less expensive XR delivers most iPhone X and XS features, including an excellent big screen in a comfortable body, fast performance, Face ID and wireless charging, with an admirable battery.
The bad: The single rear camera lacks optical zoom and has a limited portrait mode. Its LCD screen, while large, bright and vivid, is still a step below the iPhone XS’ OLED in contrast. The aluminum XR is slightly less durable than the steel XS.
The cost: $750
The bottom line: The XR is the best iPhone for the price, delivering most of the advantages of the XS for hundreds less.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
Cnet rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Battery life: 19 hours, 20 minutes
The good: The Note 9 is a big, beautiful phone with top-tier specs including a massive battery and internal storage that starts at 128 GB. The S Pen doubles as a wireless remote for taking longdistance selfies.
The bad: It offers few real innovations over the Note 8. The fingerprint reader is uncomfortably close to the camera.
The cost: $616 (refurbished) to $1,000
The bottom line: One of the year’s best phones. But unless you’re in dire need of an upgrade, the smart move is to wait for what the next iPhone, Pixel and even Galaxy S10 bring.
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Cnet rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Battery life: 18 hours
The good: The Mate 20 Pro goes above and beyond with exciting new features and an eye-catching design, and its battery life will take on all comers.
The bad: You can’t use microSD cards to expand the storage. The main loudspeaker hidden in the charging port is muffled when you plug the phone in.
The cost: $989
The bottom line: Its impressive list of features puts it unquestionably among the top phones of the year.
Vivo Nex
Cnet rating: 4 stars out of 5
Battery life: 21 hours, 50 minutes
The good: Using the full, no-notch screen is an unparalleled experience, and performance is as smooth as butter. The pop-up camera works pretty well, too, and its battery might last longer than you do.
The bad: Its copycat iPhone X gestures are unwieldy and hard to use. It feels heavy.
The cost: $599
The bottom line: The clever engineering and fantastic notch-free screen serve as a model for other phones. But good luck finding it outside of Asia, India and Russia.