Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra - What you need to know (Updated - On sale!) - Android

Galaxy Note 20: What’s new?

The Galaxy Note 20 series carries forward the DNA of one of history’s most storied phone lines. The original Note was derided as an aberration, a too-huge phone bound to fail. Surprisingly, consumers loved it. Once it caught on, every phone maker jumped aboard the giganto-phone train. Not too long ago, the Note 7 was a burning disaster — literally. Samsung came roaring back a year later with the Note 8 and it has been on a the steady ever since.

So where does that leave us in 2020? The Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra are the pinnacle of a smartphone family that’s been about upping the ante. Is the ante sufficiently upped?

Samsung is clearly responding to a competitive market. Other phone makers have pushed boundaries with massive batteries, fast displays, high-megapixel cameras, and leading processors. Not every manufacturer has found the right formula. On the surface, the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra take all these characteristics and combine them successfully in one product.

Both phones sport an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass on the front. The Note 20 Ultra has the brand new Gorilla Glass Victus, while the cheaper Note 20 features Gorilla Glass 6. The Ultra has Gorilla Glass on the rear as well, but the Note 20 drops to “glasstic,” which is Samsung’s name for glossy plastic.

Both are svelte with measurements of 8.1mm and 8.3mm thick, respectively.

The displays have been upped to 6.9- and 6.7-inches for the Ultra and the Note 20, respectively, which makes them larger than their predecessors. The Ultra gets a sharper and faster screen with WQHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Super AMOLED 2 tech ensures high contrast and lush colors on both phones.

Under the hood you’ll find the absolute latest processor in the Snapdragon 865 Plus, which is an enhanced version of the 865 with higher clock speeds. Memory and storage configurations are about the same as last year, with 8GB/128GB available to the Note 20, and 12GB of RAM and 128 or 512GB of storage available to the Note 20 Ultra, with microSD expansion to boot.

Samsung ported over the camera system from this year’s S20 family, and that makes us sort of nervous. (The S20 Ultra’s camera had focusing problems.) The Note 20 Ultra’s main sensor is 108MP and it’s aided by an IR focusing array. It has a 12MP telephoto camera capable of 5x optical zoom and a 12MP wide-angle camera.

Samsung mixed things up a bit in the Note 20 with a 12MP main camera, 64MP telephoto camera, and a 12MP wide-angle camera.

Both phones share the same 10MP selfie camera.