Technology Top trends in phones from CES 2020: Cheaper foldables, 5G and more

The annual CES electronics show in Las Vegas is a fantastic launchpad for the most exciting, futuristic tech companies can dream up. But phones aren't typically part of that equation.

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Phone-makers are far more likely to save their whiz-bang features and high-powered specs for Mobile World Congress , the world's largest mobile show, which takes place from Feb. 24-27 in Barcelona.

© Angela Lang/CNET

But that doesn't mean CES was bereft of handsets. The phones that we did see, as you can see in the gallery below, hint at important trends we'll see in 2020.

Phones at CES 2020 so far: Cheap, shiny, 5G and concepts

Cheaper foldable phones are coming

The Motorola Razr costs $1,500. The Galaxy Fold is $2,000. And the Huawei Mate X is $2,400. Foldable phones are anything but cheap.

5G phones: Why they're so expensive and when cheap models are coming

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Phone -makers came to CES to prep us for the trends and designs ahead. Here's what we saw. From new foldable phones to new camera designs, here are the most interesting models we saw at the show .

Trending . Best phones : all the top smartphones right now in one place. Buying a 5 G phone already makes a lot of sense, and it's making more sense every day in 2020 : UK operators are now rolling out 5 G coverage in more and more areas in a major way, giving you access to super-fast speeds and

Foldable phones are an emerging category that shakes up an otherwise static world of phones by bending the display in half. The high cost of research and development and new manufacturing techniques make these early foldable designs at least double the cost of their 4G counterparts. The "privilege" of owning a cutting-edge device may also contribute to the price.

But the high price of these first foldables means that few people will actually be able to buy one. Lowering the price will also mean lowering the barrier to ownership, which foldable phones need if they're going to stick around.

Cheaper 5G phones are on the horizon, but they probably won't be very good

Despite hurdles, the wheels are in motion to make the world's fastest 5G phones easier to afford.5G phones are so expensive because the devices and the wireless networks they use cost billions to build. That price trickles down to you. There are a handful of 5G phones that cost less than $1,000, but they trade off features for price and many don't sell widely. Take, for example, the Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro. At $520, it sets an early blueprint for cheap 5G phones, but its limited availability keeps it from coming to US customers.

Annual tech trade show CES 2020 has seen the introduction of a variety of new smartphones We've made a list of the six best phones we saw at CES 2020 , and we'll run you through them all below. Some are 5 G -ready, some are foldable and others are just new iterations of existing series of devices.

Flagship phones are more expensive than ever in 2020 but as the high-end gets better, so too do the cheap smartphones. It's possible to buy a new We've tested, rated and ranked the best cheap phones from the likes of Xiaomi, Oppo, Motorola and many others. Alongside our reviews, you'll find

At CES, TCL showed us a working prototype of a foldable phone that's designed to cost less than the Motorola Razr. It features a 7.2-inch display and three rear cameras and will support 5G .

We also learned that Samsung's next foldable phone, which is rumored to cost $850, could be called the Galaxy Bloom.

TCL's new foldable, a $500 5G phone and this gorgeous Galaxy S10 clone

5G phone prices are already dropping

5G phones aren't as expensive as foldables, but they still cost more per device than 4G handsets with the same specs. The same rule also applies to the faster 5G data technology -- cheaper 5G options will get more people using these devices.

The Most Exciting Tech at CES 2020

The world’s biggest consumer electronics trade show is in full swing. Here are the products and gadgets that caught our eye.Dell promises premium, feature-rich devices for professionals in its new Latitude 9000 series. And that starts with the Latitude 9510. Available March 26 for $1,799 as either a laptop or a 2-in-1, the device is Dell’s first PC built with 5G capability. While the next generation wireless technology is still mostly in development, when it’s available to the masses, that tech will give the 9510 the ability to stream content at lightning speeds.

Best Cheap Phones . The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 fixes many of the flaws of the original to deliver a foldable big-screen experience that really works, for the first folding phone we recommend. 5 G in 2020 is disappointing, but I hold out hope for the C-Band. The C-Band is a new swathe of airwaves

The best cheap phones will make you wonder why you would spend ,000 or more on a phone , and they also make a great gift. The best cheap phone you can buy right now is the Google Pixel 4a. It has one of the best cameras you'll We also like the newer Pixel 4a 5 G , but that phone costs 9.

And for carriers, the faster data speeds could translate into more profits as customers use more data per person.

For phone buyers, it's just nice to have more affordable ways to get 5G speeds. Enter the TCL Pro 5G for under $500, the CoolPad Legacy for $400 and Verizon's plan to sell 20 5G phones in 2020, including some that cost less than $600. Compared to the $1,300 Galaxy Note 10 5G, that's a pretty good deal. Just expect trade-offs in the features department.

Cameras continue to be a design element

Camera tech has always been essential for phones, but even the look and placement of the lenses elicit strong opinions.

The Galaxy Note 10 Lite and Galaxy S10 Lite both feature square and rectangular black camera mounts respectively, mimicking the Google Pixel 4 . Some industry-watchers think that Samsung is taking the bold road to counter the iPhone 11 , whose large, protruding cluster of rear lenses makes Apple's phone immediately identifiable.

The 5 most important things that happened at CES 2020

From high-tech food to folding computers to upgrading your health to a prototype city of the future, these trends mattered.Here are the ones that will have the biggest impact on the rest of 2020 and beyond.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the OnePlus Concept One phone uses an electrical current to either hide or reveal the phone's multiple cameras on its back. The concept is to make the phone look sleeker, especially at a time when camera lenses are proliferating.

Gaming phones continue to carve a niche

Phones aimed at gamers have made up a small but steady contingent of handsets. 5G data has a huge implication for gaming, promising far more immersive and sophisticated graphics through the kind of on-the-fly rendering that can be achieved through 5G's increased data delivery.

Processors, too, are getting into gaming, with the Snapdragon 765G, a midrange chipset that's specifically made for gaming phones. And more phone-makers are set to embrace displays with 120Hz refresh rates for smoother animations.

The Black Shark 2 Pro has neither of the first two things, but it's still possibly the best gaming phone we've seen, complete with a case that makes it work a little like the Nintendo Switch . A helpful gaming mode also makes this handset specifically geared toward gaming, rather than a mainstream phone that's powerful enough to play long sessions of resource-heavy games.

Top phone trends from CES 2020: Cheaper foldables, 5G and more

What the phones at the annual tech confab tell us about some design and price trends for 5G, foldable and gaming phones this year.Phone-makers are far more likely to save their whiz-bang features and high-powered specs for Mobile World Congress , the world's largest mobile show, which takes place from Feb. 24-27 in Barcelona.

CES may be over, but for phones, the year is just beginning.

CNET's 20 favorite products of CES 2020