LikeModern strains, matte bronze finishExceptional display screen high quality and 120Hz refresh rate5x optical zoom captures sharp photographs in ample lightS Pen creates standout alternatives for utilizing the cellphone

Don’t Like$1,300 is simply too costly proper nowA massive, heavy, awkward phoneUnsightly digicam bump that invitations breakageNote 20 Ultra rocks if you lay it down flat

If you are on the lookout for Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 20 Ultra to be a do-everything cellphone, you will not be disenchanted. Like different Note telephones that got here earlier than it, the Note 20 Ultra is geared toward a rarified group of Android “power users” who need a cellphone with all of the toys and are not afraid of a better price ticket. With the Ultra, there’s loads of each.Samsung saved its greatest options for the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, together with a extra refined design than the Galaxy S20 Ultra — a cellphone I do not advocate. You’ll discover an distinctive 6.9-inch display screen, sharp 5x optical zoom digicam and a swifter stylus for annotating screenshots and taking notes. The Note 20 Ultra additionally makes small however important enhancements over the Note 10 Plus, particularly within the digicam realm.Do these options justify the Note 20 Ultra’s value? It begins at $1,300 (£1,179, AU$1,894) for the 128GB model (you too can purchase it in 512GB). The retail value is a steep ask, particularly if you mix a local weather of deep world recession and mounting unemployment. Add that to the truth that in case your lively work and social life-style has modified in any respect, like mine has, you will not really make the most of all of the options this cellphone has to supply.  Will the Note 20 Ultra nonetheless be the cellphone you wish to use post-pandemic, or will a greater improve come alongside by then?Order from Amazon | Samsung | Verizon | AT&T | Xfinity Mobile | T-Mobile | US Cellular | Best Buy 

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Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is a do-everything system that’ll…

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I’ve at all times loved utilizing a Galaxy Note, for the stylus in addition to the sleekness of the road’s design. The Ultra produces top-notch specs, checks all of the packing containers, and I wish to adore it. But for me, it does not completely come collectively, and when it comes to worth, it is a miss. Unless you already know you’ll be able to’t reside with out it, it is arduous to advocate the Ultra for all however essentially the most loyal Note followers, or individuals upgrading from older telephones.If you get a ok trade-in deal or bundled provide, I feel you will be very happy with the options and efficiency, even when some facets, just like the protruding digicam bump, aren’t your favourite. But if you wish to reserve a bit of cash this yr and save your splurge when you will have extra certainty and freedom of motion, there are many glorious units properly beneath $1,300 that can see you thru till then, together with the Google Pixel 4A, Samsung Galaxy A51, iPhone 11 or 11 Pro and OnePlus 8 or 8 Pro. Read on to study the whole lot from display screen high quality to pattern photographs from the Note 20 Ultra’s cameras. Scroll to the top for the complete checklist of specs in comparison with the usual Galaxy Note 20. Samsung additionally has yet another super-ultrapremium cellphone deliberate for the top of the yr: its Galaxy Z Fold 2, which fits on preorder Sept. 1.
Samsung’s Note 20 Ultra 5G is placing from each angle
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Is the Note 20 Ultra’s mystic bronze colour actually all that? Can you continue to see fingerprints? I’m in love with the mystic bronze colour of my Note 20 Ultra evaluation unit. It’s received a delicate shimmer that to me feels understated and stylish, with out shedding a dynamic end. In sure lighting, it appears rose gold. The matte end does loads to maintain fingerprints on the again to a minimal — I can barely see them. Switching to the S Pen will instantly hold the display screen cleaner than typing along with your fingers, however I exploit each enter strategies on the cellphone. Mystic white and mystic black, which I’ve not seen in particular person, have shiny glass backings. How good is the display screen? The 6.9-inch show is superb: clear and sharp, with an method to the 120Hz display screen refresh charge that is far more polished and helpful than Samsung’s first try with the Galaxy S20 Plus and S20 Ultra. The default mode is “Adaptive” movement smoothness, which activates 120Hz refresh if you’re scrolling or utilizing options that may make the most of the sooner display screen. It’ll flip to the 60Hz customary when the display screen is static, saving on battery general. You can even toggle to 60Hz if you would like to protect much more. You commerce off massive digicam sensors for an enormous ol’ bump that retains the cellphone from mendacity flat if you put it down.
Angela Lang/CNET
Is the Note 20 Ultra’s curve nonetheless related in 2020? I really like the stylish, immersive look of a curved, waterfall edge. But the Note 20 Ultra’s true edge-to-edge show made it arduous to position the cursor on the edges of the display screen the place I wished it to go, and I observed — particularly when mendacity down — that gripping the cellphone whereas typing or navigating typically known as up different apps or options unintentionally, or else closed out what I wished to do. A bit extra grip buffer — or higher contact rejection alongside these edges — would go a great distance. What form of glass protects the digicam and cellphone? Samsung makes use of the brand new Gorilla Glass Victus on the Note 20 Ultra’s back and front. Corning claims the duvet materials can face up to drops as much as 2 meters (about 6.5 toes) and can be twice as scratch-resistant in comparison with Gorilla Glass 6, which is rated for a 1.6-meter (5.25-foot) fall. But the digicam module, which stands out from the again, is roofed with Gorilla Glass 6, which means that if the cellphone have been to fall on its again and hit this half first, it could be theoretically extra vulnerable to breaking than the remainder of the system. (Stay tuned for our upcoming torture check.) I’ve had cracked glass over my digicam lens earlier than and it ruined each portrait shot I attempted taking after. A case may actually assist fill within the empty house and distribute forces within the occasion of a fall.

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What in regards to the Ultra’s massive digicam bump? When I first received the evaluation unit from Samsung, I described the design as siren-meets-cyclops. It’s truly properly styled, nevertheless it’s nonetheless simply too massive. The most important downside is that if you place the Note 20 Ultra on a flat floor, like your desk, and begin writing or navigating with the S Pen, the cellphone truly rocks. This has occurred on all of CNET’s evaluation models. Is the fingerprint reader higher than on different Galaxy telephones? Yes. Fingerprint scanning errors nonetheless occur, however few and much between, and I often get in on the second strive. This makes cellular funds loads simpler. My professional tip because the S10 is that this: Enroll your dominant thumb twice, your different thumb as soon as and your dominant index finger as soon as. You have a complete of 4 fingerprint profiles to work with. The Note 20 Ultra has a crisp, vibrant display screen.
Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
How is the Note 20 Ultra’s zoom high quality? The cellphone’s 5x optical zoom is basically sharp and produces glorious photographs when there’s ample lighting. I appreciated how a tip popped up on display screen as I took a photograph of a buttery, multilayered croissant, suggesting I shoot at 2x and pull again. Much higher photograph. Samsung pulled again from 100x Space Zoom on the S20 Ultra and I’m glad. The 50x zoom on the Note 20 Ultra is sufficient for many makes use of, and far improved with the upper optical zoom output to start out with. Use it to seize scenes you may ordinarily be too far-off to get, like a cute canine with its head out the window, a hawk circling overhead or capturing a humorous avenue signal. I took this image utilizing auto mode on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Here we’re at 50x zoom, the very best the Note 20 Ultra will go.
Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
What about the remainder of the cameras? Taking photographs with the Note 20 Ultra cellphone was lots of enjoyable. I used to be a bit of restricted by the current circumstances with the vary of photographs I naturally wished to take, however I nonetheless discovered photographs I beloved: purple clouds rippling in an impossibly pink summer time sky, a scrumptious picnic lunch and a glowing candle at an outside restaurant at night time. Shot in auto mode on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra — no filter.
Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
The Note 20 Ultra has a 108-megapixel digicam characteristic, which helps you to take an in depth shot and crop photographs after the very fact. My outcomes have been uneven, with a blown out photograph of a flower that fully lacked element, to a reasonably profitable shot of a bug that had landed on my shirt. Night mode and selfie high quality have been stable, and I particularly like the brand new selfie filter that permits you to heat up or quiet down the tone earlier than you’re taking a shot.

Pro video mode is a Note 20 Ultra unique, and is full of settings which might be frankly over my head as a result of I’m not knowledgeable videographer. I did like having the ability to change the microphone route, and easily zooming in was a pleasant characteristic, however high quality throughout night time shoots was poor. Keep a watch out for our in-depth Note 20 Ultra versus iPhone 11 Pro Max digicam comparability. A nighttime photograph taken with out night time mode from the Note 20 Ultra.
Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Note 20 vs. Note 20 Ultra digicam

Galaxy Note 20

Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

Main digicam

12-megapixel (F1.8, Dual Pixel AF, OIS, 1.8μm, 79-degree FOV, 1/1.76 inch picture sensor)

108-megapixel (F1.8, OIS, 0.8μm, 79-degree FOV, 1/1.33 inch picture sensor)

Ultrawide angle

12-megapixel (F2.2, 1.4μm, 120-degree FOV)

12-megapixel (F2.2, 1.4μm, 120-degree FOV)

Telephoto

64-megapixel (F2.0, 0.8μm, 76-degree FOV)

12-megapixel (F3.0, 1.0μm, 20-degree FOV)

Front-facing digicam

10-megapixel (F2.2, 1.22μm, 80-degree FOV)

10-megapixel (F2.2, 1.22μm, 80-degree FOV)

Zoom

3x hybrid

5x optical

Super Zoom

30x

50x

Laser auto-focus sensor

No

Yes

Video seize

8K

8K

How’s battery life? The Note 20 Ultra’s 4,500-mAh battery is smaller than the S20 Ultra’s 5,000-mAh battery, however lasted for much longer throughout my testing interval. I’m not hotspotting for hours throughout a commute today or going out from early morning till late night time, which makes it more durable to match anecdotally. However, I’d name battery life good, not superb, and it will actually take you thru a typical day.  On my heaviest use days, I navigated with Google Maps for about an hour and a half and spoke on the cellphone for over an hour with no important drain. I routinely take two hours of conferences calls whereas on a stroll, with out challenge. I’ll replace this evaluation as soon as I’ve outcomes from our extra formal lab checks in New York.  Are there any standout S Pen options within the Note 20 Ultra?  Because of the 120Ghz refresh charge, the S Pen writes noticeably sooner. There’s additionally decrease latency general (underneath 9 milliseconds, in keeping with Samsung). I additionally really feel my writing is neater. Samsung introduces new options, like handwriting auto-straighten and PDF importing, which I like. The S Pen writes higher and sooner on the Note 20 Ultra.
Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
Then there are the 5 new air gestures, which felt gimmicky. They’re customizable — a great factor, however I by no means found out how you can naturally incorporate them into days spent at house, and your actions must be gradual and consider to get the gestures proper. My favourite S Pen tips are oldies-but-goodies: Using the S Pen to sketch a conceptMagnifying tiny font on a pageAnnotating something and the whole lotTaking exact screenshots and highlighting simply the precise textual content I wish to copy and pasteTaking a selfie by urgent the S Pen button What’s the Note 20 Ultra’s processor like? The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus processor on my Note 20 Ultra evaluation unit is, in a phrase, snappy. Extremely quick, completely competent, nothing received in its approach. Benchmarking scores have been additionally top-notch. However, some areas use Samsung’s house-made Exynos 990 chipset, which is similar because the Galaxy S20 line. (The Note 20 Ultra with Exynos additionally has 256GB storage versus the 128GB of my configuration.) I have never had an opportunity to check the Exynos model, however will replace this with perception from my colleague within the UK. Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra specs Galaxy Note 20 vs. Note 20 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

Display dimension, decision

6.7 inches; 2,400×1,080 pixels

6.9 inches; 3,088×1,440 pixels

Pixel density

393 ppi

496 ppi

Dimensions (inches)

6.36×2.96×0.33 in

6.49×3.04×0.31 in

Dimensions (millimeters)

161.6×75.2×8.3mm

164.8×77.2×8.1mm

Weight (ounces, grams)

6.84 oz, 194g

7.33 oz, 208g

Mobile software program

Android 10

Android 10

Camera

12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 64-megapixel (telephoto)

12-megapixel (ultrawide), 108-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (telephoto)

Front-facing digicam

10-megapixel

10-megapixel

Video seize

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 options

S Pen stylus; 5G connectivity; Wireless PowerShare; water resistant (IP68)

5x optical zoom, UWB sharing, S Pen stylus; 5G connectivity; Wireless PowerShare; water resistant (IP68)

Price off-contract (USD)

$1,000

$1,300 (128GB); $1,450 (512GB)

Price (GBP)

£849

£1,179

Price (AUD)

AU$1,499

AU$1,849