The Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G is Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone packed with its latest and best features, but how good are they when you put them all together? Samsung figures three is better than two or one, having again come out with a trio of phones for its flagship Galaxy S line. The Galaxy S20 and S20+ are flagships on their own merits, only the S20 Ultra is the one meant to push the envelope. Where the other two are highly similar to each other, this one stands out a little more. Even so, choosing between the S20 Ultra and either one of the other two will depend on what you prioritize most.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra SpecsDisplay: 6.9-inch 3040 x 1440 Dynamic AMOLED display 21:9 aspect ratio with 522 pixels per inch |
Getting bigger
The S20 Ultra is the largest phone Samsung has made—purely on screen size—at 6.9-inches. If you remember the Galaxy Mega from back in 2013, you would know that phone was significantly taller and wider than this phone is, despite having a 6.3-inch display. It’s also only 0.1-inches bigger than the Galaxy Note10.
Even with its super thin bezels, it’s going to be an unwieldy device for some. The camera array has a noticeable bump in the back, and the added dimensions all around contribute to a heavier frame. If you like big phones, there aren’t too many that will be bigger than this.
As I noted in my review of the other two S20 devices, Samsung wisely abandoned the curved displays it championed for so long. This phone has a flat screen and is better for it. It was probably also a good idea to move the front-facing camera back to the middle, rather than to the right-hand corner.
Under the hood, the S20 Ultra isn’t all that different from the other two models. The processor, RAM and internal storage are the same. The microSD card slot to expand storage further returns, while the headphone jack doesn’t. Samsung removed it, marking the first time it has done so for a Galaxy S phone. The company also combined the dedicated Bixby button with the power button and moved it over to the right side above the volume buttons.
The feature set is extensive, but the S20 Ultra is largely defined by its camera, headlined by its 108-megapixel standard wide lens. It’s an impressive camera array on paper, and there’s more to it once you dig deeper.
Performance and software
There’s a lot to like about how this phone performs. It’s powerful enough to handle everything from streaming media to gaming. As a daily driver, it’s a workhorse, and if productivity is important to you, you’ve got a big screen and efficient battery life working for you.
In fact, I had little to complain about when it came to just using the phone like I normally would. I’m not crazy about Samsung’s ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, though. If there’s going to be a new version coming, it’s likely coming in the next Galaxy Note. In the S20 Ultra, it can sometimes be unresponsive or take a little too long to get past the lock screen.
On the other hand, the phone supports a 120Hz refresh rate for the screen. It’s not enabled out of the box, but you can set it by going to Settings>Display>Motion smoothness. You’ll be glad you did because it makes for a smooth experience navigating the interface and apps. Scroll through a social media feed or news article and it becomes obvious. It’s buttery smooth and makes a difference when playing more demanding games.
There is a catch, though. The phone offers a 3400 x 1080 resolution option (it’s 2400 x 1080 by default), but when you select that, 120Hz won’t work. It’s likely Samsung did this to preserve longer battery life, but in any case, you can’t use both at once. I always chose 120Hz over the higher resolution for the simple fact 2400 x 1080 still looks great on this gorgeous display.
Although it will show itself in time, the marriage of hardware and software here is pretty robust, making the S20 Ultra a more than capable handset.
Camera – Space Zoom
This is really the bread and butter of the device. More importantly, it’s what sets it apart from the other two S20 models. Samsung crammed a lot into the camera array, but as I’ll explain, it’s not all especially useful.
I’ll start with Space Zoom, the 100x zoom in the 108-megapixel standard lens. The moment Samsung announced it, I was immediately skeptical. I was right to be because the resulting image is totally unusable. It is a technical feat to make a phone zoom in that far, but there are virtually no optics involved, so what you end up with is a mostly-cropped digital zoom that makes the photo look like a blotchy, pixilated photo.
Even at 30x zoom, the photos are okay, but not exceptional. It is cool to be able to get something out of zooming in that far, but again, don’t expect anything impressive. At 10x zoom, however, results look far more interesting. The hybrid zoom combines the 4x optical zoom of the 48-megapixel telephoto lens and adds digital zoom to make up the rest. It’s just the right number because it doesn’t push the image sensor to overly crop or interpret a scene.
All this zooming also makes it challenging to shoot handheld. At 10x, it’s not too bad, but above that, you will find it hard to frame a shot. At 100x, it’s almost impossible, as the slightest shake can pull the camera off-centre.
Camera – 108-megapixel sensor
By now, we know that megapixels do not make or break a camera. Here’s the thing: the image sensor inside is actually 12-megapixels. Samsung uses what’s called pixel binning to split each pixel in the sensor at a 9:1 ratio to push the number up to 108.
While the sensor’s physical size is 70 per cent larger than the Galaxy S10+, pixel binning ultimately determines how well it shoots. However, you can turn 108-megapixels off and shoot at 12-megapixels, which is better in low-light settings.
With the right conditions, the S20 Ultra can capture amazing shots, with a great number of options available to shoot with. Pro mode has always been my personal favourite, though it bothers me Samsung won’t let it work with all three lenses. Single Take is surprisingly useful for capturing a key moment in multiple ways. If you’re watching live music and get close enough, pan around the band and you get multiple photos and video clips all at once. It’s not as great for most situations, but is handy at the right time.
Food mode is made for the Instagram and Facebook crowd. Live Focus is back, though I found the standard and telephoto lenses adept at creating bokeh effects of their own. I would recommend turning the scene optimizer off to reduce the level of software processing so that colours don’t oversaturate. Unfortunately, it may still oversharpen objects, or smooth out skin a little too much.
That processing can be problematic when interpreting night or low-light scenes, where subtlety is often the better route. Night mode is better than it was before, but I don’t see it overlapping Google or Huawei. If you’re comfortable enough, shoot in RAW and learn to edit those images. It’s the only way you can avoid any post-processing.
Video recording
The S20 Ultra supports 8K video recording, but unless you have an 8K TV lying around, it shouldn’t matter to you. There’s also a caveat to how this works that you may want to know.
To shoot in 8K, you need at least a 33-megapixel sensor or higher. Since the telephoto lens has the 48-megapixel sensor, that’s the one that actually shoots the footage. You don’t notice the switch from the standard lens, but that’s what’s happening to get 8K.
It is neat that you can pull out a 33-megapixel still photo from 8K footage, but I would only attempt to do it in daylight conditions for subjects that are further away. If you’re shooting a vista, or capturing wildlife from a distance, there’s a possibility such a feature could work.
Those instances may be few and far between. Plus, 8K TVs (and content) aren’t ubiquitous yet, so it may be a feature that’s more relevant later on. To me, shooting in 4K at 60fps is more impactful. Shoot any scene with plenty of movement and the footage will look nice and crisp.
Pro Video mode shouldn’t be overlooked, either. It’s the same idea as the Pro photo mode, with granular controls for composition. Adjust the shutter speed, ISO, white balance and focus, along with temperature, saturation, highlights, shadows and contrast. If you fancy yourself an amateur filmmaker, you might like that level of control over a scene. Unfortunately, it’s missing 24fps, which would have given footage a more cinematic flair.
Samsung continues to restrict lenses for video capture. You can’t shoot any video with the ultra-wide lens, and with the telephoto one stepping in on 8K, it’s not available, either.
Battery life
With all the features and performance packed into this phone, you’d be right to wonder about battery life. In my testing, it held out impressively well, giving me juice to work with after a long day of regular usage.
I’d expect something good when there’s a 5000mAh battery inside, but its ability to sip gradually is superb engineering. It’s some of the best battery performance I’ve seen in a smartphone of its size. It is true that 120Hz does affect its longevity per charge, though I was fine with that trade-off.
The phone comes with a 25W charger in the box, capable of fast charging from zero to full in roughly one hour. It does support 45W chargers in case you want to give that a boost. Of the three S20 phones, this is the only one that does.
Wireless PowerShare is there for those times you want to charge another device wirelessly on the phone’s back. It’s decent for a quick boost on another phone, but is better suited for smaller devices, like the Galaxy Buds or Buds+, for instance. Anything that supports Qi wireless charging is compatible.
5G connectivity
Canada’s major carriers have confirmed their 5G networks are coming. Rogers even rolled out its own on March 6, but it only works in pockets of downtown Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. I didn’t have access while testing the S20 Ultra, so can’t offer any insight into how well it works.
Final thoughts
The S20 Ultra is undoubtedly a powerful and fully-loaded handset. The big screen, robust components and smooth performance should make it a shoo-in for anyone. And yet, I’m cautious to recommend it. The Galaxy S20 and S20+ are impressive and the features that set the Ultra apart are either not as compelling or not as relevant yet.
If you want the best of the best Samsung can offer, then sure, this may be the phone for you. But if you want competent performance with most of the same features (and a better price), either one of the other two S20 devices would suffice for most users. It’s also a big phone in size, and that could matter where ergonomics are concerned.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G is available now in cosmic grey.
The 100X zoom and long battery life would be what I need.
Large display and longer battery life are great. 🙂
Sounds like this Apple girl is heading Samsung’s way. 108 mega-pixel camera and 8K video recording. I will never pull out my DSLR again!
Definitely the space zoom and the longer battery life!
Need a bigger phone so the size is great (big paws) and future-proof 5G means I can hold on to it for a while.
Unlike my sons, I LOVE a big screen and the camera sounds really good. This phone would be perfect!
The #Kewl 100x zoom & great battery life are both features that are great and camera back in the middle.
Thanks
Definitely the longer battery life and the snapdragon 865! Keep the games fast, sharp and playable a long time between charges.
I like the battery life and the camera/video power and the options it has.
Samsungs are better than Apple phones
Battery power and the 108-megapixel standard wide lens along with many other camera and video features and the 120Hz screen refresh rate will definitely make my life more fun.
8K Recording and Wireless PowerShare
The two things that will make my life more fun are the fabulous battery life with the fast charging and the 6.9 inch screen size. These will make the phone useable all day and allow for better video viewing.
I like the screen and battery life. Thanks
Battery life and space zoom
The longer battery life and the 100x zoom are great features.
The 5G and battery life.
The battery size is superb, longevity without sacrificing functions! Also love the storage and RAM options so I don’t need to slow down or change how I use my phone,
The large screen would make my life a lot easier, as a pastry artist who is constantly looking up inspiration photos. The long battery life and quick charging is also very appealing.
The space zoom and the great battery life
superb camera & 5G..that’s my next phone choice
well done Samsung!
Love the wireless charge and space zoom!
Love the larger screen size and the 8k video recording capacity
The wireless charging, and the space zoom caught my attention on the S20.
The Space Zoom feature on the camera and the battery life sound awesome!!
Like to check out it 120 MHz refresh rate on the 6.9-inches LCD, almost tablet size(great).
its seem to be a work house of the Samsung phone.
the Spec’s blow my current phone away.
I would love to try Food Mode for my cooking Instagram 😉 Also want to see how the 8K video recording looks! 🙂
I love the space zoom & 8K video recording
1. Efficient Battery life
2. 8K video recording
The 100x zoom and great battery life are both features I would love!
Space Zoom feature on the camera and the battery life both seem to be the features that I need.
The two features that would make my life easier are the increased battery life and the superior camera!
A feature that will make my life easier is the large screen especially because my current phone has a very small screen. The camera will also make life easier as I can use my phone to replace my actual camera when I travel.
The Space Zoom feature on the camera and the battery life both sound awesome!!
5 connectivity would be pretty cool. I’m stuck on the iPhone 6 … very slow compared to the specs on this phone !
Also the battery life is pretty impressive .
I’m used to charging my phone 3 times a day.
I can’t imagine not having to charge my phone several times a day
I I like the battery life and the 108-megapixel sensor for the camera
The two features that I like are the battery life and larger screen size.
Love the idea of wireless charging and the larger screen!
I like the battery life and screen size.
The wider screen size and the impressive camera quality are the ones that are important to me.
Battery life and the 100x zoom camera.
Well I would give this phone to my wife as she is in greater need of a phone upgrade than myself. She currently has the S9 but it always grabbing my Pixel 4 to take pictures because the camera is so much better. The camera on this phone sounds amazing and would definitely end the need of my phone to take pictures. She also always forgets to charge her phone so one with amazing battery life is always excellent as well.
The 8K capture of the camera is absolutely a game changer for me, couple that with the rapid charging and capacity of the battery with extend life is the clincher.
The fact that this device will be one of the largest made by Samsung, I am impressed that the battery will hopefully be able to support the bright display and added features. Having a battery that can last an entire day is essential so the 5000mAh battery is something to look forward to and is something that has always been a deal breaker to me. If this battery can support all the functions the phone offers I am excited for that.
I’m also interested in the camera with space zoom. Even though it is a feature I wouldn’t use on a daily basis, having that option seems to be a plus. I’ve never been big on using my phone for taking photos, but the camera on the S20 Ultra might change this.
It seems like a small feature, but I am really excited to have the camera back in the middle if the device! I have not been a fan of the corner right.
The 8k shooting option is amazing, and being able to expand the memory with a card is key.
I also like the getting rid of the headphone aux plug. Bluetooth is what’s up!!!
I like that the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G has a good battery life and 5G connectivity.
The phone looks like what a phone should like in this era and is a step above all other platforms . I have had the opportunity to see it in action and from its display in terms of streaming and gaming are the best I have ever seen. Older models of android phones lack capabilities such as 5G connectivity and Samsung is ahead of everyone else. A larger phone works for someone like myself as I struggle with smaller phones.
I liked the screen size and large battery.
I’m looking forward to the-
Video feature Up to 8K video recording and the Battery faster charging 5000mAh that one of the features that start acting up on phone well all the features on this phone sounds great 108 pixels and wireless charging , the fingerprints touch opening phone all of them sound good to me. Samsung i believe when above and beyond this time I will always own a Samsung no matter what I swear by them no other phone will ever do it for me. THANK YOU.
The wireless charging, and the space zoom are what caught my attention on the S20.
Two things which I like are Longer Battery Life and 8K video recording capacity.
the powerful zoom and battery sound amazing!
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