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.
Screen size and battery life are the dominant feature for me right now and I’m sure the camera will catch up with further software updates.
The best feature of this phone is
1. Largely defined by its camera which is 108 – Megapixel standard wide lens
2. The screen size of 6.9 inches.
Two features of this phone I am looking fwd to: 5G connectivity. Battery life and camera features sound great too!
The long battery life and screen size. Perfect for watching a good movie on daily 1 hour commute 🙂
I like the battery life and size of the phone.
I love Samsung phones! Androids are the best platform! Love all the features of 5G!
I like the big fast screen and the big fast battery
The long battery life would be great as well as the microSD card slot will be convenient for extra storage.
The long battery life is great, now i have to recharge my phone every 3 hours or so (it’s old and doesn’t keep charge anymore). I also like the size of the phone. I like to play games on my phone while i’m watching TV and since i can’t see see well from close i have to take my glasses off to play, but then i can’t see the tv! Thank you
My favorite two features are the battery life and screen size, I mostly surf
and watch videos so these are more impotant to me than camera features.
The huge 5000mAh battery will definitely be useful, especially with such a large display. Also, the 108-megapixel camera should allow for professional quality pictures.
The long battery life and the 108 megapixel camera are the 2 features that I like the most. My battery always dies so quickly on my phone and the picture quality isn’t the greatest. Awesome giveaway! I could sure use a new phone. I have an ancient Note 3. Lol
I planned on buying this phone preCovid but then money was tight so fingers crossed, my two favourite things about this phone beside actually having a phone again and being connected with family… The camera is my favourite, beautiful professional-quality photos & the display, just wish it came in the same colours as a regular s20
I like the battery life and the single take function of the device. It can freeze precious memories with a single click.
Size of screen and battery life. Newer model than my 2016 phone.
The two features of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G that will make my life easier is the screen size as I have trouble with small screens so the bigger the better for me, the other thing I like is the camera.
Mostly I just want a 5G phone to prove to my mother-in-law that it won’t give me the corona virus. But seriously, a 1440p screen is very important to me (resolution snob!) so I would love to see what this looks like on that big sexy 6.9 inch screen. That with a 120 Hz refresh rate and oh man, games would be buttery smooth. I love my LG G5 but I think it’s time to retire her. My last Samsung was the Galaxy Nexus so I would like to come back to the Samsung club.
that will be a perfect replacement for my galaxy S8 !!
I would make good use of the battery life and the storage capacity. Looks like a great phone!!
longer battery life and the storage will be very useful
Sine this be my first cell phone, I am impressed with everything, but especially the long life battery feature.
The wireless charging and the fantastic camera are the best features for me.
The Galaxy S20 is currently the phone I’m jonesing for! I have a Galaxy S7 right now so I desperately need an upgrade and I love Samsung phones so I want to stick with the Galaxy line!
One of the features that I like the best about the S20 is the huge memory and storage options. My S7 is constantly telling me it’s full and that I need to delete apps so I’d love to not have that worry. I can’t even imagine having the option for a 2TB microSD! That’s basically unlimited storage! The other feature that I love is the incredible photo and video capabilities. The different size cameras give an array of shooting options and would deliver amazing photo quality and the 8k video would look incredible! I take lots of photos and videos of my baby neice so I’d use this feature a lot! Lastly, I love that they got rid of the curved screen because I hate that on my S7! But I love the fingerprint sensor so I’m glad they kept that and the fast charging is such a time saver! I’d also love to try the 5G network so that’s another feature that would be awesome to try! Thanks so much for the chance to win my dream phone! I’d be over the moon to be able to upgrade my ancient S7!
The S20 would make my life easier or more fun with it’s next generation of video and it’s next generation of speed
The two things that would make my life easier is the longer lasting/faster charging battery and the amazing camera! The camera would also make my life more fun! Thanks for the chance!
The two features of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G that will make my life easier or more fun would be the size of the phone because my kids make fun of my caveman fingers and also the storage space because I can put my music, photos, videos and games without having to delete anything.
Long battery life and camera’s capabilities would make my life easier.
Two features of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G that will make my life easier or more fun: the super large screen size and the 108-megapixel sensor camera.
I like the 108-megapixel sensor and its zoom technology. I can’t wait to experience it.
What isn’t there to like about this… for me though, the whole camera (megapixals, etc) and fast charging are my two favorite features that would be useful for me and my lifestyle.
The battery performance and the camera with a great zoom.
Fast charging and long battery life are key to success for me.
108 mega pixel camera and 8k recording hmm
Winning this phone would be very beneficial for both work and home. My computer and phone are over 10 years old. Updating the performance from battery life to software, and camera would be amazing!
The battery life and large display are my favorite features.
I love the display size and the great camera. Also love the battery life. All in all a great new phone.
Wider lens and extra memory will make it easier to capture many amazing outdoor scenes, especially with the improved night mode and battery longevity.
Battery life and quick charging are the most important to me. I use my phone for practically all my online usage as well as my music throughout the day. I’ve been a satisfied samsung phone user for many years now and always enjoy upgrading every couple years.
Productivity is important to me, so the big screen and efficient battery life of this phone is something I’m looking towards. Besides, this is the best of the best, why wouldn’t I be excited for the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G
The extended battery life and better camera would improve my life so much!
I’d try it for free for the battery life and camera
After being let down by the battery of my iPhone for so many years, the Samsung Galaxy phones would make my life more fun by giving me the extended battery life. I would also have a great time using the camera, especially the 108-megapixel sensor and the large screen size.
fast charging and battery life are the best
battery and screen size!!
battery life and camera (:
I currently have the S8 after switching from always having an iPhone. And wow the camera has been great. However this phone is basically done as it keeps shutting down on me and am in desperate need of a new phone. As a frequent traveller (or was before covid)….all I do is take pictures and sometimes I don’t want to carry my camera. So having a phone where the camera kicks butt I would love to have the new Samsung. And also being a tourist (currently laid off flight attendant and going with the sympathy card haha) half of the time it’s a huge pain when the battery dies and you have nowhere to charge it. So this new 5000mAh battery would be fantastic!!
Hope I can win 🙂
Many times I have tried to take a picture on my phone and have been disappointed because even at full zoom, it is impossible to see what I wanted to take a picture of.
Large screen and optical & digital zoom would be fantastic.
I would love to win a flagship phone as I’ll never be able to afford one and I know Samsung quality is usually pretty good at least In the products that I’ve had.
Two of the features that would make my life easier are the longer battery life and faster charging.
The camera and video capabilities is a priority for me as is battery life. As I like the convenience of taking photos with my phone this Samsung would be perfect.
For me the fast charging and 120 refresh rate are killer features!
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