Second Opinion #86: Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Review

Published: April 6, 2020, 1:31 a.m.


\nListen to the Note 10+ review from roughly 6 months ago!
\nPricing
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\n$1399 base price, there\u2019s another config for another $200
\nPreorder trade-in with an S10+ brought that down to $799 (-$600)
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\nSpecs
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\nFor full specs, read GSM Arena
\nCPU
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\nSD 865
\nAllegedly the Snapdragon 865 is tied together with the 5G modem, so the cost of the entire device is increased
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\nRAM
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\n12GB; matching Note 10+
\nHigher config has 16GB total though
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\nStorage
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\n128GB base
\nHigher config has 512GB though
\nA real shame this \u201cUltra\u201d tier didn\u2019t have 256GB to match the Note 10+ out of box experience
\nSD Card slot still present though
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\nDisplay
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\nSize
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\n6.9\u2019\u2019 !
\n20:9 aspect ratio
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\nIt\u2019s really tall
\nUnlike the old Nexus 6 Moto, it\u2019s not too wide
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\nSpecial features
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\n2020 screen process
\n120hz refresh rate. 240hz input rate
\n1440p is exclusive of 120hz at release time though
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\naybe a future update enables it at battery life loss
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\nPhysicals
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\nLook and feel, build quality
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\nFootprint
\nWeight
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\nBattery
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\n5000 mah; the biggest ever!
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\nCharging
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\nAllegedly 45w compatible again, but not included, and who cares
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\nPorts
\nSpeakers
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\nInitially impressions would say they\u2019re worse than the Note 10+\u2019s speakers
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\nButtons
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\nAlas, the Note 10+ had perfect button placement on the leftside, S20U moved to the right
\nNo bixby button – Samsung has learned
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\n5G
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\nOf no consequence to me at this time
\nIt\u2019s identical to LTE in everyday experience
\nS20U has the mmWave modem so if T-Mobile somehow pulled a Verizon it could be ultra fast in the park with line of sight
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\nCamera
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\n3 real back cameras (time of flight / depth sensor also but not a real camera)
\nHow is it
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\nIt\u2019s remarkably average
\nInitial impressions were concerning
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\nAny subject movement (a dog, for example) would cause blur
\nThe depth of field of the primary camera made taking typical shots difficult
\nThe default settings leave a lot to be desired (scene optimization)
\nJPEG
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\nSpecial modes
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\n100X zoom!
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\nAn example of practical zoom
\n5x zoom ends up \u201cgrainy\u201d and looking digital, because the optical zoom kicks in at 10x
\nYou can see an Ian from 5 rows away
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\n108mp
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\nThe pixel binning (can you say HTC ULTRA PIXELS?) is back and it\u2019s still mediocre sometimes
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\nNight Mode
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\nNight Mode has been available on previous Samsung phones, but it\u2019s still remarkably good
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\n40mp selfie camera
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\nCool, I guess?\xa0
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\nVerdict
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\nDon\u2019t buy this for the camera, I\u2019d say
\nThe S10+ or the Note 10+ had sometimes better cameras
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\nThe S10+/Note10+ lines shared cameras and the camera \u201cmodules\u201d line had been used in other Samsung devices over time; you could think that this is a first gen-use of a module-line and the software hasn\u2019t caught up yet
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\nThe ultra-wide camera module is 12mp – give me more on that one – I love ultra-wide shots and I rarely zoom