Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra hands-on review

GSMArena team, 11 Feb 2020.

Introduction

The Galaxy S20 Ultra is nothing short of the big new top-dog in Samsung's lineup. Both figuratively, packing everything the S20 and S20+ have to offer, while laso stacking a bigger display, more memory, more battery and, most importantly, a shiny next-gen camera setup.

Then there is the big in the absolute sense. The S20 Ultra is both noticeably taller and heavier than the current flagship Note10+. Where the S20 and S20+ are arguably tamer, incremental upgrades over the S10 generation, the S20 Ultra doesn't hold back in any way.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Samsung Galaxy S20+ Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9mm, 163 g 161.9 x 73.7 x 7.8mm, 186 g 166.9 x 76.0 x 8.8mm, 220 g
6.2-inch, QHD+ (563 ppi) 6.7-inch, QHD+ (525 ppi) 6.9-inch, QHD+ (511 ppi)
120Hz high-refresh rate Dynamic AMOLED, HDR10+ certified
IP68, Stereo speaker setup
Chipset Global: Exynos 990 (7nm), Mali G77 MP11 GPU
Chipset US: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 (7 nm+), Adreno 650 GPU
128GB / 12GB RAM + MicroSD 128GB, 256GB or 512GB / 12GB RAM + MicroSD 128GB, 256GB or 512GB / 12 or 16GB RAM + MicroSD
4,000mAh
25W Fast Charging
4,500mAh
25W Fast Charging
5,000 mAh
45W Fast Charging
Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, Wireless PowerShare
Rear triple camera:
Main - 12MP f/1.8, OIS
Telephoto - 64MP, f/2.0, OIS
- 3x hybrid optical zoom
- 30x super resolution zoom (Space Zoom)
Ultra wide - 12MP, f/2.2
Front camera:
10MP, f/2.2
Rear quad camera:
Main - 12MP, f/1.8, OIS
Telephoto - 64MP, f/2.0, OIS
- 3x hybrid optical zoom
- 30x super resolution zoom (Space Zoom)
Ultra wide - 12MP, f/2.2
DepthVision camera
Front camera:
10MP, f/2.2
Rear quad camera:
Main - 108MP (binned to 12MP), f/1.8, OIS
Telephoto - 48MP (binned to 12MP), f/3.5, OIS
- 10x hybrid optical zoom
- 100x super resolution zoom (Space Zoom)
Ultra wide - 12MP, f/2.2
DepthVision camera
Front camera:
40MP (binned to 10MP), f/2.2
5G (sub-6 only) or 4G (8GB RAM) variant 5G or 4G (8GB RAM) variant 5G only
Grey, Blue and Pink colors Grey, Blue and Black colors Grey and Black colors
4G from - €899
5G from - €999
4G from - €999
5G from - €1099
5G from - €1349

If you are the kind of person that always goes for the very best, the top-tier option available, it really doesn't get any better in camp Samsung at the moment. That being said, there is an argument to be made about certain aspects of the Ultra that don't necessarily make too much sense, like the whopping 16GB of RAM in the top 512GB variant.

And that's actually not the only sensibility argument that can be made in this regard. Comparing the new Galaxy S20 trio, we can't help but instantly notice the impressive feature parity Samsung has managed to pull off. Especially between the vanilla and the Plus. You can read more about those two in our separate hands-on review. Hence, there might just be a solid argument to be made for saving a buck and going for one of those instead. Perhaps, for many, that will net a more manageable form factor, with very little compromise in features. Plus, there is still plenty to learn about the inner workings and potential merits of Samsung's shiny new 108MP nona bayer main camera, as well as the 48MP periscope.

There's a lot to go through even on that front alone. That being the case, join us on the following pages as we take the first of what will definitely be many steps into exploring the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Reader comments

  • Anonymous
  • 26 Oct 2020
  • ptP

Cortex- A77 samsung galaxy S21. Cortex A78 ?

  • Anonymous
  • 04 May 2020
  • vGN

From next year the exynos chips will be more powerfull than snapdragon chips because of AMD gpu in their flagship chipsets, it will compete with more powerfull apple a14 chipsets

I don't understand - why do they do this? Why not put SD chips in all the phones? I hate these Exonus chips.