Samsung officially revealed the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra today, alongside a few other new devices at its online-only Unpacked event.
Both the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra have bigger AMOLED screens and are bigger overall in size than the last generation models. The Note 20 has a 6.7-inch FHD+ Flat (2160 x 1440 resolution), 20:9 aspect ratio, 60Hz screen. It’s 10mm taller and a few millimetres wider and deeper, and weighs a not inconsiderable 20g more than the Note 10.
The Note 20 Ultra blows that out of the water with a 6.9-inch WQHD+ Edge (2560 x 1440 resolution, 19:3:9 aspect, Adaptive 120Hz screen. You can add another 16g to your pocket with this one, plus a few millimetres on each dimension. The main reason for that extra weight is the glass display, the first in the world to use the latest Gorilla Glass 7 (Victus) on the front and back, for extra scratch-resistance.
The display on the Note 20 Ultra is “Adaptive 120Hz”. This 120Hz refresh rate was first seen in the Galaxy range on the S20 and brings with it the promise of smoother animations, video and games. The ‘Adaptive’ element means the phone will switch automatically between 60Hz and 120Hz to best suit the content, which is a neat feature but not the variable refresh rate some users wanted to see.
While it’s great to see a 120Hz screen on the Ultra, it’s a shame not to see it on the standard Note 20, too. That said, it’s likely to be gaming that most benefits from this feature so if that isn’t a key feature for you, it may well not be an issue.
The new Galaxy Note 20 phones come in Mystic Green, Mystic Bronze or Mystic Grey, while the Note 20 Ultra is available in Mystic Bronze, Mystic Black and Mystic White.
The Note 20 Ultra cameras don’t offer much of a leap over the Galaxy S20 Ultra. There’s a 108MP wide lens, as seen on the S20 Ultra, as well as a 12MP telephoto, with 5x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultra-wide.
Step down to the Note 20 and you have a 12MP 2PD dual pixel wide lens, a 64MP telephoto lens with a Hybrid 3x zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide. Both feature 10MP 2PD front lenses. All that for a point and click picture of your dinner…
Clearly for serious smartphone photographers there’s plenty to pore over there but with the flagship Note 20 Ultra featuring the same cameras as the S20 Ultra, it’s not a game-changer.
Under the hood, in terms of RAM, ROM and removable storage, it’s the same as the previous generation. So you have 12GB and 8GB RAM respectively, the option of 512 or 256GB memory on the Ultra, plus a microSD card slot, while the Note 20 sticks with just 256GB.
With the choice of processor, comes some controversy. The Note range gets a processor upgrade, but it’s the same as Exynos 990 chip as on the S20 in the UK and Asia, to many peoples’ disappointment who see Samsung’s Exynos offering as inferior to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips.
However, Note 20 Ultra models in the US will get the Snapdragon 865+ chip, due to Samsung’s preference of diversifying the supply of parts
The S Pen has had an upgrade and there are some clever new Air Gesture features, which allow you to do your best Yoda impression and control the phone without any physical contact with the screen – a feature for our times, if ever we heard one.
Both models get a battery boost, up to 4500mAh and 4300mAh respectively, and there’s USB-C wired and wireless charging on offer. Samsung promises more than 5
Elsewhere, there’s no headphone jack, as per the previous generation but there are Dolby Atmos stereo speakers, tuned by AKG. And the phones are dust and water-resistant to the IP68 rating as before.
Samsung is heavily leaning on Microsoft for software tricks, which it hopes will help it against Apple and its extensive integration between iPhones, iPads and Macs. Debuting with the Note20 series will be greater integration with Windows 10, allowing full screen mirroring, the use of up to six apps at once and multi-window drag and drop between phone and PC.
It will also be one of the first smartphones to support Xbox game streaming through Microsoft’s popular Game Pass Ultimate subscription, allowing users to play full Xbox games on their phone with an optional Xbox controller.
Game Pass Ultimate offers instant access to a curated library of more than 100 popular Xbox games from the cloud including Minecraft Dungeons, Forza Horizon 4, and Gears of War 5: Ultimate Edition later this year.
You can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 from Samsung in the UK and Australia right now, while US pre-orders go live at midnight on Thursday, 6th August. The phones go on sale on 21st August.
The Galaxy Note 20 price starts from £849 (4G) and £949 (5G), while the Note 20 Ultra 5G is from £1179.
Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra Specs
| Samsung Galaxy Note 20 | Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G | |
|---|---|---|
| Display size, resolution | 6.7-inch; 2,400×1,080 pixels | 6.9-inch AMOLED; 3,088×1,440 pixels |
| Dimensions (Inches) | 6.36×2.96×0.33 inches | 6.48×3.03×0.31 inches |
| Dimensions (Millimeters) | 161.6×75.2×8.3 mm | 164.8×77.2×8.1 mm |
| Weight (Ounces, Grams) | 6.84 oz, 194g | 7.33 oz, 208g |
| Mobile software | Android 10 | Android 10 |
| Camera | 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 64-megapixel (telephoto) | 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 108-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (telephoto) |
| Front-facing camera | 10-megapixel | 10-megapixel |
| Video capture | 8K | 8K |
| Processor | Snapdragon 865 Plus | Snapdragon 865 Plus |
| Storage | 128GB | 128GB, 512GB |
| RAM | 8GB | 12GB |
| Expandable storage | No | Up to 1TB |
| Battery | 4,300 mAh | 4,500 mAh |
| Fingerprint sensor | In-screen | In-screen |
| Connector | USB-C | USB-C |
| Headphone jack | No | No |
| Special features | S Pen stylus; 5G enabled, Wireless PowerShare, water resistant (IP68) | S Pen stylus, water resistant (IP68), stereo speakers, 5G enabled, PowerShare, 5x optical zoom, UWB Sharing |
| Price at launch (USD) | $999 | $1,300 (128GB), $1,450 (512GB) |
| Price at launch (GBP) | £849 (4G); £949 (5G) | £1,179 |
