Here’s What Makes the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra the Best Android Smartphone Yet
Nearly 10 years after the first Galaxy S burst onto the scene, Samsung has launched another set of phones that are breaking the mold once again. Headlining the launch is the Galaxy s20 Ultra, a big-screen phone with a game-changing camera and a dazzling display.
I got to spend a week with the S20 Ultra testing out all its range-topping features. Here's why it's the best Android phone to date.
Key Specs
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
• 6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with 120 Hz maximum refresh rate and HDR10+ compatibility
• Quadruple camera with 108 MP main, 48 MP telephoto with 10-times magnification optical zoom, 12 MP ultra-wide, Depth Vision sensor; 40 MP selfie camera
• 12/16 GB of RAM, up to 512 GB of expandable storage
• 5,000 mAh, fast wired and wireless charging, reverse wireless charging
• Built-in stereo speakers, waterproof body
A Game-Changing Camera
The four-sensor rear camera setup of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is one of the best phone cameras we've ever tested. Simply put, it's packed with more megapixels and intuitive, creative photo tools than the competition.
The main snapper is equipped with a 108 MP image sensor that captures sharp, insanely detailed photos. For comparison, most of the top smartphones today have 12 MP primary image sensors with nine times fewer pixels.
When the lighting conditions are not great, the S20 Ultra will automatically capture 12 MP images, which combine nine of its main sensor’s pixels into one.
And then there are the camera’s epic zoom capabilities. The S20 Ultra has a 48 MP sensor sitting behind a telephoto lens with 10-times hybrid optic zoom, meaning that you can capture objects up close without sacrificing image quality. I found this feature particularly useful for capturing wildlife in New York City’s Central Park.
The 100-times space zoom feature of the S20 Ultra is straight-up sorcery. By utilizing a high-resolution image sensor, its optics, and cutting-edge processing, the phone can capture shareable images of objects that look impossibly far away.
The Galaxy S20 smartphones are Samsung’s first that can capture 8K video. With a resolution of 7,720 by 4,320 pixels, the futureproof footage has four times as many pixels as 4K clips. In addition to being super sharp, the content opens up a whole new world of creative possibilities — users can crop the frame of the content and still be left with incredibly crisp videos.
The camera capabilities of all the Galaxy S20 Ultra are wrapped in an incredibly intuitive user interface, thus ensuring that everyone can capture memories beautifully. During my testing, I was particularly impressed by the Single Take camera mode. Available on all Galaxy S20 versions, this AI-powered feature will capture a selection of excellent still images and video clips simultaneously. Using it is as easy as long-pressing the camera shutter button.
The Best Display in the Business
Considering the camera quality, there are no surprises here! The Dynamic AMOLED display panel of the Galaxy S20 Ultra is simply outstanding. I enjoyed every second I spent gazing at the vast 6.9-inch. The big-screen Galaxy made everything feel like a breeze — from texting, to gaming, to streaming The Crown on Netflix.
The screen is even bigger than the giant panel of the Samsung Galaxy Note10+. This time around, in addition to the mandatory high-resolution, vibrant colors, and HDR10+ compatibility, the screen has an industry-leading maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz. The feature was previously available only on niche gaming phones, so I tip my hat to Samsung for making it mainstream.
Such a high refresh rate means that the onscreen experience of the Galaxy S20 Ultra is enjoyably smooth, even if you're just refreshing your email. You’ll love the feature even more if you like Android gaming, because multiple popular titles support the high refresh rate.
Overall, Samsung deserves a major nod for making such a massive screen available on the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Seven-inch tablets are still a thing, but now you can opt to have a comparably big display on a phone that’s perfectly pocketable.
Outstanding Performance and Battery Life
The Galaxy S20 Ultra packs Qualcomm’s range-topping Snapdragon 865 chipset. Coupled with at least 12 GB of RAM (the phone is available with up to 16 GB of RAM), the chipset is as powerful as it is futureproof.
The variant I tested came with 12 GB of RAM, which is more than what many laptops have. The phone was simply impossible to slow down while I used it. It switched seamlessly between Microsoft Outlook, Google Docs, Slack, Spotify, Twitter, Google News, among other apps. Occasionally, I even threw in a Real Racing 3 gaming session into the mix, which didn't throw off its performance at all.
You can expect at least a day of heavy use from the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. The big phone has a huge 5,000 mAh battery, which is vast by today’s smartphone standards.
If you are mindful about not maxing out the display resolution (it’s set to FHD+ out of the box), as well as using the 120 Hz maximum refresh rate (it’s available only in FHD+ resolution), you will easily get more than a day of use from the smartphone.
As expected, all the phones have fast wired and wireless charging capabilities. Like last year’s Galaxy S10 product family, the newcomers can also wirelessly charge other compatible smartphones and gadgets if necessary.
Wrap-Up
I’ve been testing Samsung Galaxy S smartphones since 2011, and each generation has been excellent. The 11th Galaxy S iteration, just like the original, will likely set the standard for all other high-end Android smartphones to come.
The pricing kicks off at $1,400 — a steep amount, but worth it considering the performance and the features you’re going to get. The 6.2-inch Galaxy S20 and the 6.7-inch Galaxy S20+ start at $1,000 and $1,200 respectively.
Compared to the Galaxy S20 Ultra, the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ both have main image sensors and selfie cameras with slightly lower resolution and lesser zoom capabilities (though still incredible by other phones' standards). Samsung offers ample storage and RAM on all Galaxy S20 variants.
All Galaxy S20 phones are fully waterproof and equipped with stereo speakers. For the first time, there’s no standard audio jack on these devices — but thankfully, you’ll still get a pair of excellent USB-C earbuds by EKG alongside every Galaxy.
Read More:
Your Ultimate Samsung Smartphone Guide
Our Favorite Android Smartphones of the Year
Wireless Chargers Worthy of Your New Smartphone
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