Samsung Galaxy S20 review
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- Silver
- arT
- 02 Sep 2020
Tony, 15 Jun 2020WARNING ! Do not buy any Samsung S20 if you are outside USA... moreSo what do you recommend? I have s8 and need to change phone because of general tired. I was focused on s20 or S10 , perhaps s20+. Because of 5G is still in developing stage i decided to drop this feature. I must say i like samsung's environment and now it's hard to imagine to change system (mail, app, my habits in everyday work with phone). I also considering other brands bad ip67/68 is important for me , i like the compact dimmension units too. Please help in my choice.
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- JayLee
- XEe
- 31 Aug 2020
I am due for an upgrade and I am currently using the Galaxy S9. Would the Galaxy S20 be a good upgrade and how does it compare to the Galaxy Note20 which I am also considering?
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- Anonymous
- Yh7
- 16 Aug 2020
Notesh, 26 Jul 2020What happens to battery life when you use the phone at 60Hz... moreI'm curious also
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- Dude
- pK4
- 02 Aug 2020
Notesh, 26 Jul 2020What happens to battery life when you use the phone at 60Hz... moreIve had mine for two weeks now and have had to enable battery saving to get through a day. Things like restricts background data and locks the processor at 70%. I've got the Exynos version.
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- peter
- NYD
- 22 Jul 2020
Smart phone
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- vmw
- UGk
- 20 Jul 2020
Cindy K, 17 Jul 2020Hello, I also use s7 edge and want to change to s20, but is... moreusing the ss865..no issues..previously was using s9 with exynos,runs hot even just simple web browsing...exynos sucks big time..avoid at all cost..will be a waste of money..
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- Rishi
- gwB
- 17 Jul 2020
Cindy K, 17 Jul 2020Hello, I also use s7 edge and want to change to s20, but is... moreNo overheating at all. I run my phone at 120hz all the time. Only time it got warm was when playing back the 8k video i recorded (laptop couldn't play it at all).
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- Cindy K
- sEL
- 17 Jul 2020
Paulsey, 07 Jun 2020Hi I have an S7EDGE and took the plunge to upgrade to th... moreHello, I also use s7 edge and want to change to s20, but is s20 still overheating?
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- Rishi - S20 received
- gwB
- 16 Jul 2020
Andrew8210, 13 Jul 2020Yes.Dex will support 4K monitor however depending on the co... moreThanks for your reply, Andrew. I have the phone and testing it out whenever time permits. Here are some bits of my experience so far. Fast phone. Simply love the 120hz refresh, cannot have it otherwise anymore. Recorded some 10 sec videos in 8k and these my laptop is not able to play them back yet. Guess too much work ( it's an older i5 ). Photos are excellent, auto focus needs improvement. Native 64 mp is good but color and highlight better through main camera. I am surprised pleasantly with the ultra wide though, very good. UX is very good so far and i am glad i got this phone. Note that the clear view case from samsung was a disappointment this time, with a small sliver of a window. Just get a generic case. If dex mode works out well, it will be the best deal for the money. Will post again based on the experience. Thanks for all the help.
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- Andrew8210
- GR$
- 13 Jul 2020
Rishi - Dex question, 10 Jul 2020Dear gsmareana team, I have some questions on Dex which... moreYes.Dex will support 4K monitor however depending on the content you might need to decrease the resolution and preserve the aspect ratio of the original content. in my case the recorded video and certain media worked well, other imported videos shot on iphone strangely did not play well due to lower aspect ratio.
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- Rishi - Dex question
- gwB
- 10 Jul 2020
Rishi S20-Ordered, 09 Jul 2020Hi gsmarena team,
This is about your comment 'On t... moreDear gsmareana team,
I have some questions on Dex which the review did not speak about. I came across some reviews on youtube but not able to find this info: Does Dex output support a 4k monitor and how is 4k playback? If not, what is the max output resolution, is it smooth and does it support HDR? I might upgrade to a 4k monitor if it supports and skip a laptop altogether this time. Also, how is the BT keyboard and mouse speed in Dex mode, are there lags? Lastly, is there a dedicated hub on sale, should I wish to use usb type A and hdmi connects since that cost will be offset by retaining my existing setup, rather than buying a type-c to hdmi cable plus a BT keyboard/mouse. If this solution is good for a moderate user (MS office/web/nothing too fancy), then this will fulfil one of the reasons i bought the S8 for (which was botched by Samsung due to the MS office license issues in Dex mode). I think this just might be a double bonanza to avoid spending on a laptop. Thanks.
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- Rishi S20-Ordered
- gwB
- 09 Jul 2020
Hi gsmarena team,
This is about your comment 'On the flip side, though, the iPhone 11 Pro almost certainly outshines the S20 in the camera department..'.
I have gone through all the image comparison shots posted in your testing kit for ISO, good and low light sections for all samsung phones from s8, s9, to s10, Note 10, and S20 siblings. And also saw how the pixels and iphones took those same images (i did not check the huawei P30 pro since that is not an option for me). Your tool is excellent for comparing images, so big thanks.
Here is the result: all the images i saw are inferior to the ones posted for the S20s. The one and only phone that comes close to the S20s is the iphone 11 Pro, and it only comes close. It shows more sharpness by bumping up contrast, but without equal detail as the S20s (see the inscription on the dollar bill in your image - 'this is a valid tender..', and also see the detail captured by S20 in low light on the fabric, the ropes, the pattern on the dollar bill next to Lincoln's image, and also see the detail on the abacus frame. The 64 MP native image posted for the S20 is mind blowing in detail (check the clock tower image details captured in 64 MP against the same for any other phone). Also, the excessive sharpening in the iphone has resulted in a moire in the ISO image on the iphone 11 pro, but not once on the S20s. So how is the S20 outshined? This is the first ever time the megapixels show all detail they are meant to in native 64 MP, yet not enough credit given to the S20. Then see the video stabilisation in the samples you posted, is there any match to the S20? How about 8K and the ability to take high quality pictures from the frames. I saw the image of 8K grab vs the 4K grab (check the detail on the billboard far away on the road and see the difference in clarity). Which phone in the world can do this? 8K may not be possible to view on mainstream devices right now (not cheap certainly), but neither is 4K so cheap even now, yet phones have provided 4K video since 3-4 years, when 4K was only available on a handful of super expensive TVs. So 8K is future proofing some precious memories one captures, and will remain relevant for a decade, so where else do we get this capability? You might say we don't need so much resolution, but such was said about 4K a few years ago. I have a one year old child and would like to capture the precious memories which we might enjoy even 10-20 years later. Why not 8K to record and store them? Does anyone care about the quality of SD video anymore (which we lived on for decades)? And didn't you say that the S20 captures HDR videos as well (almost missed that one).
The iphone 11 pro cannot match the S20s in camera; your images are saying so (to those who would spend the time going through the images with a fine comb), even though subjectively you write otherwise. It may be faster etc, but is also way more expensive (here in India), and limited in storage. It is not a viable alternative to the S20, except to those invested heavily in Apple ecosystem.
I don't know about the snapdragon vs exynos differences and maybe the iphone is faster. But the overall experience vs price is a different thing. With all the goodies like 8K, sharp 64 MP capability, single take, 120 Hz refresh for the HDR 10+ display, and the fast charging tech with PD and PPS support (yes, i also read your detailed article about the PD 3.0, PPS, emarking on type-c cables, 45 W with 9V at 5A etc...good info there too, so thanks again) the S20 (vanilla variant due to size and price) nails it in user expectation for me (i will know the experience when i receive and use the phone).
I have used the galaxies S3, S4, S8, and all of them delivered good value for the money i spent. iphones are good, but always too expensive for what i got from them. Now I am awaiting the S20 which i ordered after thorough checks through the reviews here and elsewhere. What sealed the deal wasn't words or opinions, but solid facts spoken by the images themselves, and the objective parts of your review. I would highly recommend to align the commentary to the evidence you post for your conclusions. All in all, very helpful website. Some comments were also helpful. Thanks.
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- Rishi
- gwB
- 09 Jul 2020
Anonymous, 03 Jun 2020Im looking for a new phone to replace my s8 and im now seri... moreDo not buy any A series to replace s8. They are a class apart. I changed to an A50s after my s8 screen broke, and it's a bad downgrade in speed, and worst, camera focus hunting, poor colors and poor low light performance. A70 may be better but i doubt it will match the s8. A mid range phone cannot match a 2-3 year old flagship. Paper specs are one thing, and the user experience is another. Buy the s9 or s10 or s20, or any other similar range if you want the same or better experience.
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- Tony
- mvL
- 15 Jun 2020
WARNING ! Do not buy any Samsung S20 if you are outside USA, Korea and China. This is due all test result show Exynos 990 is about 15% - 20% slower compare to Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. Well, you might not notice it when you use it as a phone but, a big sales point of S20 series are Dex - use the phone in desktop mode like PC. Performance difference around 15% - 20% is a big gap in this purpose ! Use USA version with Snapdragon CPU/GPU you feel much smooth and response compare to the European version with Exynos 990 CPU/GPU. Samsung actually should not even commercial Dex for the Exynos 990 version S20 series. If you could try both in Dex mode, you will for sure know what I mean. But if you will purely use it as a phone without heavy gaming, then Exynos 990 version is perfectly OK. But then why should you pay such a high price tag ? There are so much phones can do it.
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- Rupak shah
- TSL
- 12 Jun 2020
nik, 10 Jun 2020I think it depends on your budget, though I personally want... morePerfect
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- nik
- vxk
- 10 Jun 2020
Anonymous, 03 Jun 2020Im looking for a new phone to replace my s8 and im now seri... moreI think it depends on your budget, though I personally want the A71 over the S20.
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- Paulsey
- j2m
- 07 Jun 2020
Anonymous, 03 Jun 2020Im looking for a new phone to replace my s8 and im now seri... moreHi
I have an S7EDGE and took the plunge to upgrade to the S20. Just got it a couple of days ago but honestly am impressed with how it performs and the stereo speakers in it blew away my S7Edge. The camera has improvements as well (wide angle and telephoto)so I don't think you can go wrong going with the S20
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- Anonymous
- sxs
- 03 Jun 2020
Im looking for a new phone to replace my s8 and im now seriously considering A71 because of the good reviews online they said its value for money. But im concerned if it will last me long and should i just go with s20 instead. Please help