Hey guys, Adam Lobo here from Adam Lobo TV. First of all, Merry Christmas once again and hope you are having a great holiday. Well for me, I just wanted to release just one more review before the year ends because Google Malaysia reached out and also recently revealed to everyone some of the top trending search terms, specifically here in Malaysia for their Year in Search 2020.
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Google Trending Search – Gadget:
- Realme 6 Pro Reviews Malaysia
- Realme x3 60x Malaysia
- Realme 6 Reviews Malaysia
- Realme Buds Air Review Malaysia
- iPhone 12
- Realme 7 Pro Review
- Realme 5i Review Malaysia
- Realme 5 Pro Review Malaysia
- Realme x50 Pro Review Malaysia
- Realme 5 Pro Valentine
So as you guys can see, Realme’s devices appeared 9 out of 10 times within the top 10 trending terms list for gadgets this year. Among all of the smartphones, the Realme 6 Pro is right on top of the list and there are plenty of reasons why it is at the top of the list, where I did two videos on the phone.
But in a nutshell, I have to agree with that list as the Realme 6 Pro was indeed the smartphone which turned LOTS of heads when it was released. From having a Snapdragon 720G chipset, a nice 6.6-inch display and a great 64-megapixel camera, for the price it was surely a no brainer to get the phone and I even had some friends who were long time users of the iPhone who have actually changed to the Realme ecosystem, which makes sense for the amazing value that you get from the phone. So yes, once again, do check out both of my videos that I have done on the Realme 6 Pro if you haven’t done so.
All right, so, 2020 was a very interesting year for the world of tech and I am going to let you’ll know what tech items that I liked and SOME that I particularly use daily as well. Keep in mind that these lists are not THE best but are the ones that had a significant impact for me as a tech reviewer.
Smartphones:
First, let’s look at the smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2
Now obviously this list is going a bit longer than other and first would be the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 as this phone is not only amazing for being innovative and different than the norm but it has TONS of improvements from the first generation and based on me using the phone daily as my daily driver, it was a phone that I didn’t want to return the review unit back to Samsung and if money wasn’t the factor for me, I would totally get it as my daily smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra
Following that, another phone which I like is the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G.
So I have been a user of the Note 2, the Note 4, Note 9 and the Note 10+ plus and I guess I am one of the very rare people who appreciate the S Pen. I loved every single feature that the Note20 Ultra 5G had, and it’s still my choice compared to the S20 series and if your budget is within this price range I would totally recommend this phone to you all.
Huawei P40+
Next would be the Huawei P40 Pro+ where I personally think that this phone would be at the top of everyone’s list if the whole Google issues were resolved. But if you are one of the people who CAN live without Google Play Services, you would surely love this phone and it has been one of the smartphones which I always go back to, due to its best battery optimization and the Leica camera system and the huge sensor systems makes this a no brainer if you are looking for a premium smartphone, which has the best hardware offering.
Sony Xperia 1 II
Now if I had to give a phone an award for the most underrated smartphone, it HAS to be the Sony Xperia 1 Mark II. Sadly, this phone doesn’t get the recognition that it truly deserves because number 1, the marketing on the phone is not THE BEST compared to other smartphones companies and number 2 is that by the time the phone reaches to your hands, especially here in Malaysia, a newer chipset might already be out.
Based on my review video, I saw lots of people commenting on how “expensive” that the phone was compared to other flagships but as I have said in the comments, can you name me any other flagship smartphone which has a 4k 21 by 9 aspect ratio screen, with Dolby Atmos Stereo speaker AND a headphones jack? Hmm?
iPhone 12 Mini
Then as for the final phone in the list, I would give props towards the iPhone 12 mini.
Now I am STILL not a fan of iOS devices because of its UI and that tiny little annoyance when using the phone daily, but out of all the latest iPhone 12 series, I would recommend this, as it has the same main cameras for the rear although lacking the extra telephoto and the Lidar sensor compared to its elder brothers and also the same exact front camera and the A14 Bionic chipset as well.
So if you are the kind of person who just can’t get out of the Apple ecosystem, don’t mind the smaller form factor for its price, I would recommend the iPhone 12 mini.
Tablet:
Now the tablet category has always been a place where all of the iPad Pros took over. And since I didn’t get to review any iPad Pro in this channel, or even use it on a personal level, I would give props towards the Samsung Tab S7+ as this is finally the best android tablet, with its high refresh rate, best of its class screen and it comes shipped with the S Pen as well.
Prior to that, I was using the Huawei Matepad Pro as I felt that this tablet was the perfect addition to the huge Huawei ecosystem, that I tend to use daily more than I expect it to be because of its nice form factor and the other overall great features as well.
Smartwatch:
So smartwatches in general, don’t really appeal to me and while there are TONS of smartwatches being released this year which were great, I eventually only used the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar.
So besides the obvious reasoning of being also solar-powered, I have to be honest to say that I thought I wouldn’t like the fact that it was not a touch screen but because of the fact that this watch has lots of amazing fitness tracking features, especially being able to track the EXACT amount of distance, calories and even predict the type of weighted exercises that I do, that was surely a huge plus. I also found that the step tracking, and down to the heart rate monitoring to be the best compared to other smartwatches that I have tested and that’s why this is my daily smartwatch of choice.
Earbuds:
As for earbuds, if you followed my channel for a while, you all would have known that my ultimate goal is to get an earbud that is not only great for listening music casually in the best quality possible but also an earbud to workout as well.
And out of all that I have tested, I always tend to go back to the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 earbuds, as I still think that it’s the perfect hybrid earbuds to use for working out or even when I am going out. The sound quality was definitely the best and most importantly the noise cancellation is still one of my favourites as well.
And speaking of noise cancellation, that’s actually the ONLY reason why I don’t use the Klipsch T5 II Wireless Earbuds, where I did review and have the McLaren version. But, it’s still one of my favourites as well. Since I workout in an environment where already has its own music, having noise cancellation would come in clutch for those kinds of situation.
But I have to give an honourable mention towards the Edifier X3 earbuds for being the best bang for the buck option earbuds, so if you are looking for earbuds which have great quality without paying a lot of money, then the Edifier X3 is still my recommended choice.
Headphones:
As for headphones, I didn’t get to try out many, but all in all, when Sony announced the new XM4 variant, I immediately fell in love with it since it was the headphone where Sony literally listened to what we had to say or complain on the XM3 and made the XM4 just perfect, with the multi pairing functions, the proximity sensor and also an improved noise cancellation. So yes, the Sony WH1000 XM4 is my personal favourite headphones for the year 2020 but let’s see if my choice changes when I get my hands on the Apple Airpods Max next year when it’s out here in Malaysia.
Speakers:
As for speakers, again, if you have followed me for a while here on YouTube, you would have guessed which speakers that is my preferred choice, because out of all that I have tested, I totally loved the Sonos Arc.
Now not only the speaker has such an amazing aesthetic and also a great built quality but having Dolby Atmos in my very own home was something that I would never ever think that I would achieve in the year 2020 with the price that Sonos offered for the Sonos Arc and I was instantly blown away by its results.
Paired with two Sonos One SL and the Sonos Sub, there is honestly absolutely no need for me to even bother going to the cinema anymore and with their introduction of the Sonos Move, it made my life easier by having the best quality WIFI music streaming anywhere around the home easily.
Laptops:
As for laptops, this year has to be the year that I had so many opportunities to test out many Windows laptop since I am primarily a macOS user for the past 15 years.
My first choice would be the ASUS Expertbook B9450 where that laptop was the best for me when it comes to the overall specs, performance and most importantly, it is the world’s first lightest business laptop, where if your budget weren’t a concern, I would totally recommend that.
But if you want to go with something a bit affordable, I kind of liked Huawei’s Matebook 14, as I have been using the laptop daily and did TWO videos about my usage of the laptop and I would recommend that if you have a budget within the price range.
Now before you ask, I have not gotten to test out the M1 Macbook laptops, so I can’t comment on that, but out of all, I am eager to test out the M1 Macbook Air, since it totally does not have a fan on the laptop, so I guess I will have to wait till next year then.
Home Appliances:
Now, since this year, we are all stuck at home most of the time, home appliances had a significant part in our lives and although I only got introduced by their products just about a month ago, I have to say that I was very impressed by the VAX ecosystem, with not only its great quality and cleaning options from cleaning your sofa, to vacuuming and mopping the floor at the same time, but also the OnePWR battery system was such a brilliant integration to use the SAME battery for all of the devices was super great indeed.
And another appliance which I found great is Dyson’s Slim Fluffy Extra, as it is a vacuum that listened towards those who kept complaining about the price of the V11, which I still think it’s worth the money, but with the new Dyson Slim Fluffy Extra, you are getting most of what the V11 offers but up to 30 per cent lighter weight and of course a reduced price as well.
TV:
Speaking of being stuck at home again, having a TV I would say was quite essential as well and if you are in a budget and want the best bang for buck TV, I would recommend any TV system from Hisense, where I got the chance to review the B7100 TV which is currently out of production, but what’s great is that they have lots of varieties of options available for you guys to choose… from Smart TVs to even Android TV’s as well.
However, if you have just a bigger budget, instead of going out and getting an OLED TV, I would totally recommend the LG Nano cell TV as I loved my overall experience using this as my daily television of choice, from the amazing WebOS to the magic remote and the screen quality, this is AS CLOSE as you can get to an OLED TV, so this is another one of my favourite techs for this year as well.
Camera:
So I have been shooting all my videos using the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6k camera and I have to say that having used, the Sony a7S II and the Sony A7 III, I always felt like I didn’t like how the colours turned out and the dynamic range also wasn’t the best as well, especially with the lower bit rate and the lack of a flip-out screen made it even hard for me to consider getting it as a run and gun option.
But when Sony announced the Sony a7S III camera, I was blown away by its image quality, where S-Log 3 and Sony’s colours overall has improved immensely. Autofocus was great and most importantly the form factor was something which I loved about the camera as well, making it my favourite camera for the year 2020.
Car:
And finally, while this is not exactly consumable tech, but I have to give a shoutout to one of the best tech cars of the year 2020 which is the Proton X50 as the tech features packed in this car was truly amazing. Yes this is not an electric car or what, but the overall tech-related experience was great, from the overall phone connectivity, the QD Link app for the car which allows you to start your engine and turn on your aircon through the app was truly great, even the voice command features were way better than even Amazon Echo and Google Home as well. But you can use it if you want to through your phone with the app and on top of that, it is a car which is nowhere near as expensive as other cars which have the similar features, making it my favourite tech car for the year 2020.
All right guys, that’s the wrap of my favourite tech for 2020 and with this, I am surely eager to find out which tech gadget that will be trending in the year 2021. Any prediction guys?
Stay safe and see you… next year!
