Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra review

28 Feb 2020


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I would guess that the 100x Zoom has improved about 150-250% after the Firmware Update.

https://mobile.twitter.com/UniverseIce/status/1235058916876152832

    AnonD-754814, 04 Mar 2020I don't know what small pick means to you. It doesn't mean ... moreApple licenses the ISA and designs their microarchitecture from scratch. This is a "bit" different from Snapdragon and Samsung who license complete off the shelf microarchitectures (A76, A77, A55) from ARM. The only similarity is that all SoCs are able to run code in ARMv8 but that's it.
    Going by your logic Intel designs AMD processors (x86 is an Intel property) but at the same time AMD designs Intel processors too (x86-64 is AMD property). They only licence the ISA from eachother and both are able to run x86 and x86-64 code but that's the only similarty.

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      • AnonD-754814
      • uNV
      • 04 Mar 2020

      Anonymous, 03 Mar 2020There is already laser AF +PDAF. They missed out on Dual p... more"There is already laser AF +PDAF"
      What are you trying to tell by this ?

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        • AnonD-754814
        • uNV
        • 04 Mar 2020

        Anonymous, 03 Mar 2020Problem is the software was poorly done. Almost all pho... moreDon't give example with pro Camera.
        Nothing is as fast as dual pixel and laser autofocus.
        Samsung has proved it. Have you hit your head somewhere ? The Sony XZ had Laser autofocus. So, definitely it will be better though the difference will not be noticeable to the normal eye as both are pretty fast.
        If you look at the Xiaomi phones with almost the same 108MP camera.
        They used laser autofocus. They have no problem with focusing.

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          • AnonD-754814
          • uNV
          • 04 Mar 2020

          Paul, 04 Mar 2020Why dont you guys review the most accesible phone of the bu... moreWhy would someone pre-order it if they can't trust the Brand ?

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            • AnonD-754814
            • uNV
            • 04 Mar 2020

            Nick Tagataka, 04 Mar 2020"small pick" It would be still illegal if it ever touched ... moreI don't know what small pick means to you. It doesn't mean small copy. And to me small pick means taking a look and use it as your advantage.
            Anyway, are you telling there is no similarities between Samsung Tetracell and Sony's Quad bayer ?
            I think the difference is very little.
            And I think you didn't know this, Apple design their SoC based on ARM's architecture too.
            So, even if Apple find small similarities with exynos they can do nothing as Apple's design is also based on ARM and Exynos is also based on ARM.
            How will Apple prove it unless it's the exact same copy.
            Their origin design is same. ARM V .

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              • Paul
              • Fvc
              • 04 Mar 2020

              Why dont you guys review the most accesible phone of the bunch first ? I know the ultra is the most interesting hardware wise but everyone is going to buy the s20 and s20+ . If it is shit it would be good for people to know so they can cancel the preorder. How many people are going to preorder the ultra ? lets be serious.

                AnonD-754814, 03 Mar 2020They don't want to give Samsung Money ! Are you kidding ? ... more"small pick"
                It would be still illegal if it ever touched Apple's IP, and if the ideas Samsung might copy were unpatentable, so broad and generic that there would be absolutely no risk of infringement, then probably they would've already found them and implemented on their own Exynos SoC after tearing apart A-series chip and looking for every single one of them that they might be able to use. What you're suggesting *might be* true, and I don't know the underlying truth because I'm not an insider or anything. But using my common sense and some knowledge on semiconductor industries, I don't believe that's the reason why Apple is not relying on Samsung for the SoC production.

                Another possibility is that Apple has been avoiding Samsung since the allegation they faced back in 2015 where Samsung fabricated A9 slightly underperformed compared to TSMC fabricated one, though I would say the possibility that this is the actual reason isn't that high.

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                  • Anonymous
                  • vV5
                  • 04 Mar 2020

                  Anonymous, 03 Mar 2020LOL, that tipster Ice Universe says S20+ has better camera ... moreAnd you believe whatever anyone says on the internet.

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                    • RCW
                    • 8mp
                    • 03 Mar 2020

                    How come GSM arena do not do the Audio review anymore?

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                      • Anonymous
                      • LQu
                      • 03 Mar 2020

                      AnonD-754814, 03 Mar 2020I'm assuming Samsung didn't use Laser autofocus. So, I'm 10... moreProblem is the software was poorly done.

                      Almost all phones use Phase Detection.
                      Few have Dual Pixel
                      Many Sony with Hybrid (Phase Detection + Contrast Detection)

                      You do not see this kind of issues on other devices. Kinon and Sony do not use dual pixel, but do fast AF than Canon who created dual pixel tech ..

                      Check video below to see Hybrid AF of XZ vs Dual Pixel of S7. The S7 with slower AF.
                      Also phones with same type of AF wont perform same.
                      It is software thing.
                      S20 and 1 ii have same sensor, be sure S20 wont be able to act that fast while doing burst or tracking.

                      https://youtu.be/PkweTytXotc


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                        • Anonymous
                        • LQu
                        • 03 Mar 2020

                        higher, 02 Mar 2020Apple acquired chemical vapor deposition (CVD) machinery fo... moreApple watch uses oled from Japan Display

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                          • Anonymous
                          • 7kH
                          • 03 Mar 2020

                          MrPhone, 03 Mar 2020I can safely assume that camera performance can still be im... moreFingerprint sensor also covers larger surface area.
                          Update should fix a lot of things. By the time other flagships make their phones available, the S20 ultra should improve tremendously.

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                            • Anonymous
                            • IaE
                            • 03 Mar 2020

                            AnonD-754814, 03 Mar 2020Don't get your hopes high. If the S20 ultra doesn't perform... moreThere is already laser AF +PDAF.
                            They missed out on Dual pixel AF. This is why the regular S20 version has sharper pictures in Auto and video doesn't hunt for focus.

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                              • Anonymous
                              • LQu
                              • 03 Mar 2020

                              LOL, that tipster Ice Universe says S20+ has better camera than S20 Ultra.
                              He also says Exmor imx555 is better than Isocell Bright HM1.

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                                • AnonD-754814
                                • uNV
                                • 03 Mar 2020

                                higher, 03 Mar 2020Why? Because you say so? By the way Apple confirms it, here... moreLTPO oled is completely different. As LG has no technology like this , Apple provided the tech to LG.
                                For for your knowledge, this technology cannot be used for making smartphone screen as the advantage is only power saving in this design. Color accuracy sucks. Do some research.
                                BTW the argument wasn't over this.
                                You said Apple gave design to Samsung to produce displays for Apple, which is complete shitt info.
                                If apple have their design and want to make it by someone then it will definitely not be Samsung. They will go to Samsung only when they need Sammy tech.
                                And I never said Samsung made the OLED first.

                                  AnonD-754814, 03 Mar 2020Because it hasn't happened. What hasn't happened and not co... moreWhy? Because you say so? By the way Apple confirms it, here's the the text on the iPhone 11 Pro product page: Custom OLED with consistent color and brightness, even in the corners.

                                  OLED was developeded by Kodak anyway, not Samsung so why idolize Samsung? I don't remember you commenting on the LTPO-OLED backplane technology developed by Apple for Apple Watch S4 and S5. Is that not true either because you say so? Samsung also developed LTPO displays for their watches but it was more than a year later than Apple.

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                                    • AnonD-754814
                                    • uNV
                                    • 03 Mar 2020

                                    Kendra Shields, 03 Mar 2020Thank you for this advice! It actually makes sense to wait ... moreThank you. I'm glad that you liked my opinion.
                                    You need to understand one thing. Waiting is always bad. You want to wait till August for note 20. But that time we might be informed by Samsung(or the leakers) that Galaxy S21 is coming with some exciting feature and improvements. Will you wait again.
                                    My advice/opinion on those who want to buy a phone is ....
                                    First ask yourself if you really need a phone now. If not then okay.
                                    If yes then buy the best/most-favorite phone that fits in your budget. You can't wait more than 4 weeks.
                                    If you can , that means you don't need a phone for now.

                                    And for Huawei phones they are not any better. Their main problem is, they struggle with complex light situation(not low light). iPhone does the best at complex situation.
                                    I think for the price iPhone 11pro might be better than the S20 ultra. But if you want to do low light photography, S20 ultra is definitely a go here. It's just miles ahead others.

                                    You should watch the 'Linus Tech Tips' review. They are the best youtube reviewer there.

                                      AnonD-754814, 03 Mar 2020Don't get your hopes high. If the S20 ultra doesn't perform... moreThank you for this advice! It actually makes sense to wait for the Note 20 Ultra since by then they might have taken all the errors from the S20 Ultra and corrected them in the Note. I'm just so impatient. I really want a new phone with a brilliant camera that takes photos with extremely high quality and detail.

                                      I just searched Amazon and found the Mate 30 Pro International version but it comes without Google apps so maybe it will be an unwise thing to order it?

                                      I was also thinking about the 11 Pro Max but saw that it lacks behind Samsung in regards of photo details.

                                      I really thought 2020 would be the year camera quality and detail would improve drastically but now I'm not so sure:(

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                                        • Anonymous
                                        • atf
                                        • 03 Mar 2020

                                        AnonD-754814, 03 Mar 2020Because it hasn't happened. What hasn't happened and not co... moreApple are not an android OEM’s they didn’t conform there new project that easy unless it’s ready.

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