Samsung gives the Galaxy S20 in three fashions.
Angela Lang/CNET
The firm that sells probably the most smartphones on the planet, Samsung, goes first every year in unveiling its new flagship gadgets. This 12 months, Samsung preempted its announcement of the brand new Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra by unveiling a brand new foldable, the Galaxy Z Flip, lower than 48 hours earlier than the occasion for its new Galaxy S telephones. If standing out towards foldables wasn’t powerful sufficient, unveiling its new foldable in a industrial through the Oscars made it even harder. The Galaxy Z Flip will steal many of the headlines at Samsung Unpacked 2020, however that machine is all about taking up the reborn Motorola Razr. The new Galaxy S20 has greater competitors in thoughts — Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Pixel and Huawei’s high-end telephones — the telephones many extra folks will really purchase in 2020. And to Samsung’s credit score, the highest-end mannequin of the brand new Galaxy S20 has performed eight issues which have raised the bar for flagship telephones: 1. Introduces a 100x zoom digicam.2. Takes 108-megapixel photographs.3. Integrates two types of 5G: Sub 6 (commonplace) and millimeter-wave (tremendous quick).4. Adds a 120Hz AMOLED show for higher video and gaming.5. Offers 8K video recording.6. Increases battery capability to 5,000 mAh.7. Includes a 25-watt quick charger within the field (and helps a brand new 45-watt charger).8. Debuts “Single Take” mode to seize 10 photographs and 4 movies with the push of 1 button.That’s the thin. Now let’s dig into the main points. I went hands-on with the three new Samsung Galaxy S20 telephones earlier than Samsung Unpacked, and I’ll share my first impressions.
Now taking part in:
Watch this:
Hands-on with the Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra
3:36
Why did Samsung skip from S10 to S20? Last 12 months’s flagship Samsung telephones had been the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus, preceded by the S9 and S9 Plus in 2018. The 2020 fashions are the S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra. So why has Samsung skipped from S10 to S20 in its branding, and why are there three fashions this 12 months? The 20 in S20 refers to 2020 — Samsung determined to swap from model numbers to years. All of the phone-makers take liberties within the numbers they use to call their merchandise, however this transfer makes Samsung one of many first to tie the product identify to the 12 months, which has some sensible enchantment. It additionally does not damage that the quantity is greater than the product variety of most of its rivals, and human brains naturally are inclined to assume greater numbers are higher.
In phrases of the Galaxy S20 lineup having three gadgets this 12 months, that is technically one lower than 2019 when Samsung had the S10 and S10 Plus but additionally added the smaller S10E (a finances machine) and the marginally bigger S10 5G. This 12 months, Samsung has built-in 5G throughout your entire product line so it does not want a separate 5G mannequin. And, it has adopted Apple’s lead in giving the least costly machine within the lineup the usual branding — iPhone 11 for Apple final fall and Galaxy S20 for Samsung this 12 months. It can be vital to look at whether or not the Galaxy S20 turns into the most well-liked mannequin in Samsung’s lineup the best way the iPhone 11 has grow to be the favourite amongst Apple consumers. I count on the center mannequin, the S20 Plus, would be the one most individuals purchase. Let’s speak about why. Samsung’s Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S20.
Angela Lang/CNET
How do the three Samsung S20 fashions differ? Let’s get the fundamentals out of the best way. The Galaxy S20 fashions are three completely different display sizes and costs: Galaxy S20 (6.2-inch), which begins at $1,000 within the US, £799 within the UK and AU$1,349 in Australia Galaxy S20 Plus (6.7-inch), which begins at $1,200 (£999, AU$1,499) Galaxy S20 Ultra (6.9-inch), which begins at $1,400 (£1,199, AU$1,999)Preorders for all three fashions begin Feb. 21 and arrive in shops on March 6. (March 13 for the UK. We’ll add costs for Australia when we now have them.) The Galaxy S20 contains solely the Sub 6 model of 5G, which gives broad protection however no pace bursts over 1Gbps. The Galaxy S20 Plus and S20 Ultra provide each Sub-6 and mmWave, which incorporates these large pace bursts in choose areas. (There’s one exception right here: Verizon is planning to launch a particular model of the usual Galaxy S20 within the second quarter of the 12 months that can embrace mmWave.) Samsung redesigned its digicam system for all three telephones to enhance low-light photographs, sharpness and zoom — the three issues folks have requested for probably the most in Samsung’s analysis. The new Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus cameras have 64 megapixels and the S20 Ultra has an eye-popping 108-megapixel digicam. These excessive resolutions will probably enhance the readability of the photographs, however understand that they’re stitching collectively a number of pictures from a number of lenses to get these excessive megapixel numbers. So these megapixels are usually not instantly akin to the megapixel numbers on DSLR and mirrorless cameras, for instance.
Now taking part in:
Watch this:
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra’s 100x zoom makes snooping simpler
5:02
The different massive improve to the cameras is with the optical zoom, the place Samsung has gone farther than its rivals. The Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus get a 30x zoom and the S20 Ultra will get a 100x “hybrid optic zoom” — which doubles the 50x digital zoom on the Huawei P30 Pro. The S20 Ultra makes use of what Samsung calls a “folded zoom lens” and firm representatives defined that it folds sideways to the best of the lens on the again digicam bump. That sounds fairly revolutionary and I’m wanting ahead to studying extra about how they pulled this off. Look for my colleague Andy Hoyle’s deep dive on the brand new S20 cameras quickly. Samsung has additionally expanded battery capability and here is how the three fashions measure up: Galaxy S20: 4,000 mAhGalaxy S20 Plus: 4,500 mAhGalaxy S20 Ultra: 5,000 mAhSpeaking of energy, all Galaxy S20 fashions include a 25-watt quick charger within the field and the S20 Ultra additionally has an elective 45-watt tremendous quick charger you’ll purchase individually. By comparability, the iPhone 11 Pro fashions pack an 18-watt quick charger. All the S20 fashions are probably going to wish that additional battery and quick charging to assist energy the brand new 120Hz AMOLED show, which makes video and gaming a lot smoother when there’s movement on the display. It additionally makes pictures extra crisp. Most of at the moment’s telephones have 60Hz screens, whereas the OnePlus 7 Pro and the Google Pixel 4 have 90Hz. Apple’s iPad Pro gives 120Hz. Another technique to make the most of the 120Hz AMOLED display is that every one three S20 fashions provide 8K video recording at 24 frames per second, so the brand new show makes an amazing viewfinder. Once recorded, these 8K movies can be forged to a Samsung 8K QLED or exported to YouTube, which helps 8K video. With the brand new digicam system within the S20, Samsung has additionally launched a brand new “Night Hyperlapse” mode that may make mild streaks out of automobiles in movement, for instance. This is without doubt one of the options I’m most wanting ahead to making an attempt out. All three telephones come outfitted with 12GB of RAM. The commonplace Galaxy S20 comes with 128GB of storage, whereas the S20 Plus and the S20 Ultra provide 128GB and 256GB choices. For the remainder of the specs on the three S20 fashions, see this chart: Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra specs
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Display dimension, decision
6.2-inch AMOLED
6.7-inch AMOLED
6.9-inch AMOLED
Pixel density
563ppi
525ppi
511ppi
Dimensions (Inches)
2.72 x 5.97 x 0.311 in
2.9 x 6.37 x 0.30 in
2.99 x 6.57 x 0.35 in
Dimensions (Millimeters)
69.1 x 151.7 x 7.9 mm
73.7 x 161.9 x 7.8mm
76.0 x 166.9 x 8.8mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams)
5.75 oz; 163g
6.56 oz; 186g
7.76 oz; 220g
Mobile software program
Android 10
Android 10
Android 10
Camera
12-megapixel (wide-angle), 64-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide)
12-megapixel (wide-angle), 64-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), time-of-flight digicam
108-megapixel (wide-angle), 48-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), time-of-flight digicam
Front-facing digicam
10-megapixel
10-megapixel
40-megapixel
Video seize
8K
8K
8K
Processor
64-bit octa-core processor (Max 2.7GHz + 2.5 GHz + 2.0 GHz)
64-bit octa-core processor (Max 2.7GHz + 2.5 GHz + 2.0 GHz)
64-bit octa-core processor (Max 2.7GHz + 2.5 GHz + 2.0 GHz)
Storage
128GB
128GB, 512GB
128GB, 512GB
RAM
12GB
12GB
12GB, 16GB
Expandable storage
Up to 1TB
Up to 1TB
Up to 1TB
Battery
4,000mAh
4,500mAh
5,000mAh
Fingerprint sensor
In-screen
In-screen
In-screen
Connector
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C
Headphone jack
No
No
No
Special options
5G enabled; 120Hz refresh fee; water-proof (IP68)
5G enabled; 120Hz refresh fee; water-proof (IP68)
5G enabled; 120Hz refresh fee; 100X zoom; water-proof (IP68)
Price off-contract (USD)
$999
$1,199
$1,399
Price (GBP)
£799, £899 (5G)
£999 (5G)
£1,199 (128GB), £1,399 (512GB)
Price (AUD)
AU$1,349
AU$1,499
AU$1,999 (128GB), AU$2,249 (512GB)
First impressions of the Galaxy S20 Ultra On paper, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is a beast — and even the 2 smaller fashions nonetheless maintain their very own amongst at the moment’s flagship telephones. But the most effective telephone experiences aren’t made on paper, they’re made with gadgets in our fingers. The most noticeable factor once you put any of the three Galaxy S20 gadgets in your hand is that Samsung has gently decreased the curves on the perimeters of the display that had been first launched with the Galaxy S7 Edge. That will hearten some customers who complained that they typically mistakenly brushed the curved edges of the display and barely used the sting options. I used to be by no means a kind of, however I additionally not often used the sting options. Still, the curved edges gave Samsung telephones the phantasm of being even thinner than they already had been, and so the curves had been a robust design function. That stated, the marginally much less curved S20 fashions preserve that really feel however are additionally a bit of simpler to carry. Speaking of holding the S20 Ultra, I’ve been a long-time fan of phablets. Since the start of 2010, I’ve carried two telephones — a piece telephone and a private telephone, one Android and one iPhone. And for the previous three to 4 years that has virtually all the time meant carrying two phablets. But even for me, the 6.9-inch S20 Ultra feels a bit of outsized, cumbersome and troublesome to get into my pocket. With the 100x zoom on the S20 Ultra, there is not any means round the truth that the digicam bump has instantly gotten a lot greater. When you run your finger alongside the again of the machine with out a case on it, brushing that digicam bump is unquestionably jarring. When you slip the S20 Ultra into any of the Samsung-branded instances for the machine, nevertheless, the bump sits flush with all of them. And since 75% to 80% of smartphone customers put their telephones in instances, it isn’t one thing that bothers me very a lot. However, my colleague Lynn La had a powerful adverse response to the bump, and others would possibly really feel the identical — particularly if they do not use a case. The massive digicam bump on the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is the trade-off for the 100x zoom.
Sarah Tew/CNET
In phrases of utilizing the 100x zoom, once I zoomed all the best way in and took some photographs the pictures had been fairly pixelated and the perimeters of issues had been fairly jagged. It appeared lots just like the photographs when the 10x digital zoom is maxed out on most different cameras — it simply goes lots farther. But once you gear down that 100x zoom to 30x or 50x, you get some glorious high quality pictures and nonetheless have spectacular vary for a telephone digicam. Finally, I’d like to speak about my favourite new function of the Galaxy S20. It does not should do with any of the gaudy specs or {hardware}. It’s a software program function — and that is shocking contemplating software program has by no means been a power of Samsung gadgets. The new function is named “Single Take” mode and it makes use of the completely different lenses on the S20 fashions together with machine studying that can assist you get the most effective photograph or video of a scenario with out having to consider it. When there’s instantly one thing attention-grabbing occurring, simply faucet the shutter button in Single Take mode and the telephone will seize quite a lot of pictures and movies and you’ll kind out afterward which of them you need to preserve. At max, one faucet of the button in Single Take mode can seize 10 photographs and 4 movies. For instance, the photographs might be “AI best moment,” ultrawide, dwell focus, AI filter and sensible crop, whereas the movies might be ahead/backward, quick ahead and authentic video.
Now taking part in:
Watch this:
Samsung’s Galaxy S20 telephones get 8K video and insane ‘area…
4:19
Single Take was the function I examined probably the most in my hands-on time with the Galaxy S20 Ultra. I had quite a lot of enjoyable with it and I favored what I noticed, however it’s going to take much more utilization to resolve if it is one thing I’d use typically and if it might assist me absolutely seize moments I’d have in any other case missed. But I like what Samsung’s making an attempt to do right here, as a result of it may make telephone pictures extra enjoyable and simpler on the similar time. Keep a watch out for CNET’s full overview of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra from Jessica Dolcourt later this month.