Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra first look: the return of stylus-powered smartphones

Design

The base Galaxy Note 20 surprised us with a plastic back: last year's model was made of glass and metal, like all devices in the Galaxy S20 line. It seems that in this way Samsung decided to reduce the cost of a smartphone in production, but it still looks impressive, especially in a soft green color.

Plastic is lighter than glass, so the novelty does not stretch the pocket as much. In addition, the smartphone has a higher chance of surviving a collision with the asphalt than its glass competitors. It is also protected from moisture and dust according to the IP68 standard and can withstand a half-hour immersion in water to a depth of one meter.

Thanks to the rough back, the Note 20 does not strive to slip out of your hands. This is not the case with the Ultra model, which is a typical glass-metal sandwich. Due to the heavy and slippery body, we tested the smartphone for strength once. Fortunately, everything worked out.

The curved display protects the drop-resistant Gorilla Glass Victus, but we wouldn't rely on it. It is better to immediately purchase a protective case so as not to spend half the price of your smartphone on repairs.

Screen

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra offers an uncompromising display: 6.9 inches, 3,088 x 1,440 dots, 120Hz (albeit at Full HD + system resolution).

But the standard Note 20 got a 6.7-inch screen with a resolution of 2,400 × 1,080. Matrix technology - Super AMOLED +, pixel density is 393 ppi. The refresh rate is only 60Hz, which is odd for a 2020 flagship.

Before personal acquaintance with the device, there was a fear that the display would not be clear enough: the experience of use affects other smartphones with AMOLED and pixel density less than 400 ppi. However, the live picture was pleasantly surprised: there is no graininess.

There is a suspicion that Samsung has used a matrix with an RGB pixel structure instead of Diamond (a typical AMOLED organization: there are twice as many green photodiodes as red and blue). A similar screen has already been seen in the Galaxy S10 Lite. Ditching Diamond eliminated graininess, making the display as sharp as an IPS with a similar pixel density. Probably a similar solution applies here.

Cameras

The standard Galaxy Note 20 camera has a 12 megapixel sensor. The pixel size is 1.8 μm. There is also Dual Pixel focusing and optical stabilization. The standard camera is complemented by a 12 megapixel wide-angle module and a 64 ‑ megapixel portrait lens with 3x digital zoom and 8K video recording. Front camera resolution is 10 megapixels.

Galaxy Note 20 Ultra inherits a set of cameras from S20 Ultrahowever, instead of a ToF depth sensor, there is a laser diode to aid focusing. The main 108 megapixel camera writes 8K-video, the 48-megapixel periscope module with 5x zoom and 12-megapixel "wide" are also preserved.

Unfortunately, Samsung representatives did not allow filming on new items, explaining this by the dampness of the firmware. So you have to wait for the release samples.

Other features

The devices run on Android 11 with OneUI 2.5 proprietary shell, and the Exynos 990 chipset is used as the hardware platform. We have already tested the Galaxy S20 Ultra based on it and were unpleasantly surprised by the power consumption of the smartphone. Then it was explained by the novelty of the processor, but now Samsung will not have such an excuse. We look forward to a test sample to see if the batteries with a capacity of 4,300 mAh and 4,500 mAh (in Ultra) are enough for a day of operation.

Both models are equipped with stereo speakers and an S Pen, and also support DeX desktop mode when connected to an external monitor. Another business feature of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is the UWB chip for fast file transfer and work with electronic keys.

Most users will not need this, which cannot be said about support for microSD memory cards. It is a pity that it is not in the younger version.

Subtotals

In Russia, the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra for 8/256 GB are sold for 79,990 and 99,990 rubles, respectively. If you need a stylus, there are simply no alternatives: Samsung has long occupied this niche in splendid isolation. However, in other cases, smartphones have many competitors, most of which are also cheaper: iPhone 11 Pro Max, Sony Xperia 1-II, Huawei P40 Pro, OnePlus 8 Pro. Whether the new items will be able to justify the high price - we will find out during full testing.

Buy Galaxy Note 20

Buy Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

The author thanks Samsung for the device provided for testing. The company had no way of influencing its results.