When the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra came out earlier this year; it pretty much disappointed a lot of people. Ugly design paired up with gimmicky camera features and a very high price. But, seems like Samsung was taking note of all the things people liked and disliked about the S20 Ultra. Few months later, Note20 Ultra arrives as the remastered version of the S20 Ultra.
The Galaxy Note20 Ultra unlike its peers comes in a pristine design, which can be seen as a complete turn around from what we tradition spot on current generation of flagships. A boxier shape compared to the S20 Ultra, a bit slimmer as well; but one thing that noticeably sticks out is the camera bump. A unique design feature which some fell in love with, while some didn’t.
Display
There was a time, when a 5.5-inch display was considered big; fast forward to present time, 5.5-inch displays are extinct. In the last couple of years, the average smartphone display size has increased every single year, expect until now. The biggest smartphone display size you can find right on this planet would be 6.9-inch and apparently this might be the point where most smartphone makers settle down. At the same time, it begs the question have we finally reached the pinnacle of smartphone display size?
THE BIGGEST AND BEST DISPLAY YOU CAN FIND RIGHT NOW
The Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra has a massive 6.9-inch AMOLED display with a buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Samsung AMOLED displays are one of the best displays you can find on smartphones and the experience on these devices don’t disappoint. Compared to the S20 Ultra, the Note20 Ultra has a lower resolution. But at the same has even smaller bezels and higher body to screen ratio; making the viewing experience on Note20 Ultra even better.
Camera
The new camera bump design of the Note20 Ultra is one of those distinctive features which helps it stand out of the rest of the crowd. However, the Note20 Ultra only packs 3 camera lens on the back compared to the quad setup we see on the S20 Ultra. But, don’t let this fool you; as the Note20 Ultra’s tri-camera setup is much better and polished than the S20 Ultra in every aspect.
3 GOOD CAMERAS ARE BETTER THAN 4
The Note20 Ultra has a primary 108 MP (f/1.8) camera on the back just like the S20 with PDAF and OIS; however, Laser AutoFocus is a new addition to solve the focusing issue many complained on the S20 Ultra. Other than that, there is a 12 MP (f/2.2) ultrawide camera and the 12 MP(f/3.0) periscope telephoto with PDAF and OIS; the telephoto lens has a 5x optical zoom and dumps the gimmickry 100x zoom for a more usable 50x hybrid zoom. The Note20 Ultra drops the rather useless depth sensor found on the S20 Ultra and in exchange for that fixes all the issues found on the S20 Ultra. Making the Note20 Ultra an even better smartphone for capturing pictures. Its not that far behind on capturing videos as well, it is one of the only smartphones which can capture true 8k videos at 24fps at a very good stability; which very rare on any flagship. On the front, 10 MP (f/2.2) selfie shooter with Dual Pixel PDAF is available, although there is massive MP drop from the 40MP present on the S20 Ultra; but you will not notice any quality drop regardless of the shift in numbers.
Performance
One issue which has bother a lot of buyers is the chipset version the Note20 Ultra ships with. For global buyers, it’s the Exynos 990. While for buyers in the USA, it’s the Snapdragon 865+. Although, both chipsets are top of the line and offer flagship tier performance. But, if one had to nitpick, the Snapdragon 865+ does come way ahead of the Exynos 990. Something which has made a lot of global buyers a bit disappointed as they will be buying a Note20 Ultra with pretty much same price for a slightly slower chipset. But if one overlooks that fact; the Note20 Ultra can meet most of your demands with ease.
Tidbits
What makes the Samsung Galaxy Note series one of a kind is the stylus that comes with it, each iteration of the Note lineup just keeps making the stylus even better. With the Note20 the stylus response rate has been increased to 9ms, meaning you would not see any lag between writing something on your Note and it being displayed on it. Alongside that, the Samsung DeX which allowed users to have a desktop experience when they connect to a monitor, can now be used wirelessly.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra fixes all the flaws of the S20 Ultra and adds on plenty of extra features of its own. If you are looking for top of the line premium flagship and smartphone which can help you boost your productivity with a stylus and an option to give you desktop experience when hooked up with a monitor, then look no further.