The Galaxy S20 Ultra is definitely the perfect cellphone Samsung has ever made. It’s loaded with the specs and options that Android lovers and Note loyalists need and want and may tackle any and all contenders, together with the upcoming iPhone 12 Pro Max. There actually isn’t a factor I’d change about it—even the $1,300 price ticket is considerably extra palatable than the $1,400 Samsung fees for the Galaxy S20 Ultra.
And but, I’m discovering a tough time justifying its existence. As the designs, efficiency, and options for Samsungs two flagship strains proceed to blur, the distinction between the flagship Galaxy Note and Galaxy S telephones has change into little greater than the S Pen. Take a take a look at the specs for the 2 telephones:
Galaxy S20 Ultra
- Dimensions: 166.9 x 76.0 x 8.8mm
- Display: 6.9-inch WQHD, 3200×1440, 120Hz, 496ppi
- Processor: Snapdragon 865
- RAM: 12GB LPDDR5
- Storage: 128GB/512GB
- Front digital camera: 40MP, f/2.2
- Rear digital camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2 + 108MP huge, f/1.8, OIS, + 48MP telephoto, f/3.5
- Battery: 5,000mAh
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
- Dimensions: 164.8 x 77.2 x 8.1mm
- Display: 6.9-inch WQHD, 3088×1440, 120Hz, 511 ppi
- Processor: Snapdragon 865+
- RAM: 12GB LPDDR5
- Storage: 128GB/512GB
- Front digital camera: 10MP, f/2.2
- Rear digital camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2 + 108MP huge, f/1.8, OIS, + 12MP telephoto, f/3.0
- Battery: 4,500mAh
Those are extraordinarily related telephones. So a lot so, in reality, that I don’t even perceive why the Galaxy S20 Ultra prices $100 greater than the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. You’re getting a higher-resolution telephoto lens with twice as a lot Space Zoom (100X vs 50X), a bit extra battery, and some extra pixels, however mainly the telephones are an identical except for their form. Inadvertent or not, Samsung pitted them as direct rivals and made the choice to purchase one over the opposite extraordinarily troublesome within the course of.
The notice Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (proper) seems improbable, but it surely’s considerably redundant at this level.
So why does the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra have to exist? Purists will level to the S Pen, after all, and Samsung has actually leaned into its mighty stylus because the Note has matured. After gaining Bluetooth final yr and Air Actions for distant management of apps, this yr’s S Pen doubles down on its capabilities with navigation controls and gestures for widespread duties similar to again, ahead, house, and recents. More importantly, the S Pen’s latency has additionally been dramatically diminished to 9ms, which matches the outstanding Apple Pencil.
True to its title, Samsung’s Notes app has gotten an overdue improve as effectively to benefit from the brand new cellphone’s capabilities, lastly including reside sync in addition to improved handwriting recognition, and the flexibility to annotate notes with recorded audio. You may import and mark up PDFs, and there’s additionally a brand new folder construction to make it simpler to seek out and manage issues. And DeX customers can wirelessly connect with an exterior monitor so that you don’t want a USB-C-to-HDMI cable anymore.
SamsungWireless DeX is cool but it surely needs to be an S20 characteristic too.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra additionally has a brand new extremely wideband (UWB) chip to spice up the capabilities of Nearby Share. All you may have to do to share a file is level your Note 20 Ultra at “other UWB equipped Galaxy devices” to mechanically get an inventory of recipients. It might additionally someday perform as a digital key like Apple’s U1 chip within the iPhone 11.
Don’t get me flawed, these are some actually wonderful options. But persevering with to separate its two costliest telephones primarily on the idea of a stylus is foolish. Where’s wi-fi DeX within the Galaxy S20? Or the UWB chip? And why not let Galaxy S house owners benefit from the S Pen too? Even if it’s an optionally available accent just like the Apple Pencil, I’m positive loads of Galaxy S20 customers would soar on the likelihood to purchase an S Pen—which Samsung sells for a very reasonable $30—even when they wanted to hold it individually or purchase a particular case to connect it.
Feature drop, Samsung type
Two separate strains simply aren’t mandatory anymore. There’s an excessive amount of redundancy, an excessive amount of confusion, and an excessive amount of of a sense that Samsung is purposefully elevating some options and holding again others to maintain the strains as separate as doable. But even with out an S Pen, the Galaxy S20 is as a lot of a productiveness cellphone because the Galaxy Note 20, and there’s nothing the S20 can try this the Note 20 can’t.
SamsungThe Note 20 Ultra has loads of nice options, however there isn’t any purpose they cannot come to the Galaxy S—pen and all.
At this level, the Galaxy Note 20 seems like a throwback to a special period. There’s a purpose why barely every other telephones have styli—they’re simply not all that helpful. As screens have gotten greater and quicker, the necessity for superb management has change into much less mandatory. Seriously, who is definitely utilizing their S Pen as a distant management greater than very sometimes, if that?
Samsung has an opportunity to actually break not simply its personal smartphone mildew but in addition set a brand new tone for premium smartphones. Instead of forcing two launches yearly, Samsung might launch one cellphone with the perfect elements of each and concentrate on bettering it because the yr goes on. Google has began doing quarterly characteristic drops to maintain its Pixel telephones recent, and Samsung might simply do the identical to spur gross sales main into the vacations.
Maybe the Galaxy S20 even will get a greater processor after six months, some new options, a lower cost—something to maintain it recent. Samsung might maintain an Unpacked and all the things to drum up hype and headlines, whereas concurrently extending the lifetime of the Galaxy S and maintaining its most loyal followers completely satisfied. And it’d simply take away its greatest competitor within the course of.