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Content

1. Contents of delivery
2. TECH SPECS
3. Positioning
4. Design, dimensions, controls
5. Display
6. Battery
7. Communication capabilities
8. Memory, chipset, performance
9. Камеры
10. Software features
11. Impressions

Contents of delivery

• Smartphone
• Charger (fast charge 25W)
• AKG Wired Stereo Headset (USB Type C)
• Clip for SIM tray
• Instructions
• Warranty Card

TECH SPECS
Dimensions and weight	166.9 x 76 x 8.8 mm, 222 grams
Body materials	Stainless steel, Corning Gorilla Glass 6
Display	6.9 inches, 1440×3200 pixels (20: 9), Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 511 ppi, automatic brightness control, AlwaysOn Display, Corning Gorilla Glass 6, HDR10 +, 120 Hz refresh rate for FullHD + resolution
Operating system	Google Android 10.0, OneUI 2.1
Platform	Exynos 990 chipset, 8 cores (2 Exynos M5 cores up to 2.73 GHz, 2 cores ARM Cortex-A76 up to 2.6 GHz, 4 cores ARM Cortex-A55 up to 2 GHz), Mali-G77 MP11, 64 bit, 7 nm Snapdragon 865 for US market
Memory	12/128 GB (104 GB available to the user), memory cards up to 1 TB (combined slot) There are options for 12/256 GB and 16/512 GB UFS 3.0 RAM LPDDR5
Wireless Interfaces	Wi-Fi a / b / g / n / ac / ax, dual-band (Wi-Fi 6 is not officially approved by the state in Russia), Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, ANT + 5G: NSA, 5G sub-6 LTE: Enhanced 4×4 MIMO, Up to 7CA, LAA, LTE Cat.20, download speeds up to 2.0 Gb / s, downloads up to 150 Mb / s LTE Bands: B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B3 (1800), B4 (AWS), B5 (850), B7 (2600), B8 (900), B12 (700), B13 (700), B17 ( 700), B18 (800), B19 (800), B20 (800), B25 (1900), B26 (850), B28 (700), B32 (1500), B66 (AWS-3) B38(2600), B39(1900), B40(2300), B41(2500) 5G Bands: N1 (2100), N3 (1800), N5 (850), N7 (2600), N8 (900), N28 (700) N40(2300),N77(3700),N78(3500)
Сеть	Dual SIM, nanoSIM (combo slot)
Navigation	GPS / Beidou / Galileo – Dual Band GPS
Sensors and connectors	USB Type C (USB 3.2), USB OTG Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor In-screen fingerprint sensor (ultrasonic) Face unlock
Main camera	Camera with three modules – Primary: 108 MP, 0.8 μm, F1.8, PDAF, OIS – Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, 1.4 μm, F2.2, OIS – Telephoto: 48 MP, 0.8 μm, F3.5, OIS, PDAF, 1/2 inch, x4 optical zoom, x10 hybrid – Depth sensor 0.3 MP, f / 1.0 Space Zoom – Hybrid Optic Zoom 3X – Super Resolution Zoom up to 100X 8K video recording
Front-camera	40 MP (f / 2.2), bokeh effect, various additional effects, no autofocus
Battery	Li-Ion 5000 mAh, talk time up to 25 hours, video playback up to 16.5 hours, LTE battery life up to 17 hours Quick charge 25W included, 100% in 65 minutes Fast wireless charging (15W), reversible wireless charging (up to 9W) PD 3.0
Degree of protection	IP68
Colours	Cosmic Gray, Cosmic Black, Cloud White (steel, black, white)
Sound	Dolby Atmos, two speakers
Payment System	Google Pay, Samsung Pay
Features	Samsung DeX FM radio (Snapdragon models only, also market dependent)
Sales start price	99 990 rubles
SAR value	Head SAR: 0.32 W / kg Body SAR: 1.56 W / kg

Positioning

The trend of recent years has been an increase in the average price of the flagship, the process was launched by Apple when it introduced the iPhone X to the market. It suddenly turned out that some buyers willingly give $ 1 or so for the basic version of the flagship. And this opened up new opportunities for different manufacturers, since there was no upper limit, it became possible to use any components to create the most technology-rich solutions. And given that Android smartphones and their manufacturers do not seek to receive superprofits, then at the price of the iPhone, they were able to saturate their devices with modern filling, the most advanced technologies.

What was not created in previous years due to cost constraints suddenly became not only possible, but quite real. Expensive? Definitely yes. More expensive than the same iPhone? Not. As a result, in 2019, the development of a device that could embody the maximum of possibilities began, the emphasis was placed on the quality of shooting both video and photos, among other features.

The S20 Ultra 5G model has no analogues in previous flagship lines, it stands alone. This is just a device that cannot become the most popular in terms of sales, the limiting factor is the cost. On the other hand, this is a device in which the company was able to realize all the possibilities available to it at the moment. A sort of extreme flagship for those who want to get a model without any compromises. Perhaps we can say that this is the most different device in the lineup, if you do not take into account the Galaxy Fold.

Often, flagships are perceived as some kind of universal devices that simply have to fit by default to any person, because they embody all the technologies that are available on the market. And if something is not needed, then you can not use it. This approach does not work in the case of the S20 Ultra (with your permission, I will fold the 5G set-top box, it is not so important, although the full name of the model is S20 Ultra 5G), since not everyone needs distinctive points regarding the same S20 +. And this is a device that will delight those who clearly understand its capabilities, why it is needed.

In the absence of an understanding of Ultra’s positioning, an interesting situation emerged. People come up with their own wishes, then they start scolding Ultra for their absence, but when you ask a question in an attempt to understand the logic, you come across emptiness. I have never experienced problems with the fact that wide-angle cameras in smartphones do not have autofocus, this camera is needed for certain scenes – interiors, nature, and so on. And the presence of autofocus is not at all important here. But several people convinced me that the Ultra should have such an autofocus module! Why? The answer will amaze you: “This is Ultra, and every part of the device should be maximal in its characteristics.” Why these same people did not demand gold-plated and metal-braided wires, I do not understand – after all, there are such accessories on the market.

And there are a lot of such quibbles about the device, starting with the tale that the Snapdragon version is better in everything than the Exynos model, and ending with fantasies that the battery is working very badly and not as it should in this case. To whom should I? Why should you? There are more questions than answers. In my opinion, it is, of course, interesting to invent problems and then cover them, but this is akin to fighting windmills.

Each product has its own audience, and there are no universal solutions, if only due to the fact that each smartphone in the line has different sizes and different ergonomics. Someone, like me, is used to large devices, someone frowns and wants to return to compact devices. To each his own, look at the fact that the S20 Ultra is the largest device in the line.

In a short video I tell you about the choice of a device in the S20 line, I hope that it will help you figure out which device will be more interesting for you.

We’ll move on to the flagship S20 Ultra and its capabilities, but we’ll start, as usual, with the design.

Design, dimensions, controls

The model is sold in black or gray, later a white version of the smartphone will appear in Russia.

In terms of ergonomics, this smartphone is very similar to Note10 +, approximately similar dimensions – 166.9 × 76 × 8.8 mm, weight – 222 grams.

The device is unambiguously masculine, large and massive. I don’t like the cases, but because of the protruding camera block in the Ultra, it is absolutely necessary here.

This is probably why it doesn’t matter what color your device is, choose the color of the cover that is closer to you. Without a cover, the protruding unit may snag on the edge of the pocket when you take out your phone.

The more visible the model, the more “problems” are found in it. One of the myths was the story that the protective glass of the camera block bursts by itself. And even corresponding pictures appeared.

Photos and messages for some reason come from one country in the world, from the United States. Nowhere in the world is there such a pattern on broken glasses, they just crack when hit hard. Immediately in the photographs you can see that the glass was hit in front of the camera module, both one and the other. It is possible that this is a shot from pneumatics at close range, I did not check it on my device, since I am sure that the result will be plus or minus the same. Basically, a nail and a hammer will give roughly the same result. Considering that in the US there are constantly stories about “breakdowns” of Samsung flagships, you should not trust this information, or you should do it with caution. In Russia, there is not a single case of breakage with such a characteristic pattern, glass cracked when falling is observed, but this is not the case. The large surface of the glass in comparison with conventional devices makes it more vulnerable, but the strength, plus or minus, is the same as in all flagships – it is difficult to break the glass.

Reluctantly, I dropped the Ultra from the height of the belt onto the stone floor, got a jam of the frame around the glass, but the glass itself and the device were not damaged. After the third time I stopped.

It is possible that you can make more progress here, but nothing bad happened to me in a couple of months with this device, I accidentally dropped it several times on different surfaces, it did not receive any damage from this. But in any case, mechanical damage is not a warranty case, on the other hand, there is VIP insurance for this device, so you can change the display during the first year if you break it (the price is very low, a penny against the background of the cost of the device – but for gray models, this does not work).

The device is not very fragile, there is a standard metal chassis (stainless steel, not aluminum, as in junior models), rounded edges, which makes ergonomics more interesting, it is easier to hold the model in your hands. But there is a weak point in the design, which for some reason no one talks about, this is the camera module. Falls do not break the case, often do not harm the display, but if we talk about a periscope camera, then the elements in it can shift. Often this is not visible to the naked eye, when shooting it is felt when autofocus may not be immediately fixed on the subject. It is easy to find out that after a fall you are not all right, just shake the device and you will hear something click in the camera unit. It is impossible to confuse the sound with something, this is a weak point of the design. Alas, this is a non-warranty case, so if you have hook hands, then you shouldn’t let this happen.

I do not like fictional or contrived problems, they cannot be solved in practice. At the same time, for some reason, real things fall out of sight of many people, they do not attach importance.

The body design is familiar, as is the arrangement of the individual elements. There are microphones at the ends, there is also a microphone on the rear panel, noise cancellation is excellent, the device works well in different conditions.

On the right side there is a volume rocker, an on / off button (although it is rather a dedicated key for your functions). The SIM card slot is on the top end, it is combined with a microSD card slot. At the bottom there is a speaker output, as well as a USB Type C slot.

The second speaker is hidden under the screen, it works in speakerphone mode when watching movies, and if my initial feeling was that it was inferior to conventional speakers, then after a couple of months I can say that it is not. The device plays video and music perfectly, both speakers reproduce sounds perfectly. The smartphone is loud and there is nothing to complain about, you will get a great experience with how it reproduces sound.

Protection from water has not gone anywhere, it is IP68. It is definitely not necessary to heat the device on purpose, it is unnecessary. But if you accidentally drop it into water, nothing will happen.

The bezels are minimal, the thickest bezel is at the bottom, but you don’t pay any attention to that. The front camera is embedded in the screen itself.

The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor does not differ in any way from the previous models, the hardware is exactly the same. On Chinese smartphones, the sensors work much faster than here, and this will be a disadvantage for some. But the question is, Samsung has consistently improved the sensor’s security levels so that it cannot be fooled, and have succeeded. Changing the hardware would require changing the algorithms, which is difficult. Samsung’s new-generation sensors will appear later this year, they didn’t install one in Ultra, which is a pity.

It is important to note that the use of soft screen protectors can make your fingerprint universal when registering. Initially, the device has a protective film, it comes from the factory. For the first month, she came to me in relative disrepair, after that I use the device without it. And in general, I think that if you install something, then high-quality, expensive protective glass. There can be no half measures.

Display

The diagonal of the screen is 6.9 inches, the maximum resolution is QHD, but the default is FullHD +. This is Dynamic AMOLED 2X, excellent color reproduction, maximum brightness is adjustable over a wide range, in FullHD + resolution, which is the default, the screen operates at 120 Hz (240 Hz sensor). Scrolling becomes smoother, but battery consumption increases by 10-15%.

The presence of 120 Hz was initially perceived by me as a kind of marketing. When switching on one device, you don’t feel any special difference, you don’t feel this moment. Therefore, I decided to put on another experiment, turned on 20 Hz on the S120, and left 20 Hz on the S60 +, which I used in parallel. After a few days I realized that I was used to the smooth screen on the S20. I turned off 120 Hz and tried to use the device as usual, the difference immediately began to catch my eye, it was much better before. You don’t even pay much attention to this, it seems that this is a trifle. But it is the 120Hz sweep that gives the most smoothness, and it is pleasant.

120Hz operation is only guaranteed in interface, standard applications. For example, in games 120Hz may not be supported, it depends on the applications themselves (they must be adapted for such screens). I don’t see a big problem in this, since the quality of both games and pictures still remains at the maximum level.

By default, the screen is set to color gamut “Saturated colors” (there is also “Natural colors”). In this mode, the brightness and contrast of the picture are maximized, and the colors hit the eyes. If the sky is not just blue, but blue. It upset me at some point, because it is impossible to navigate what you are photographing, the screen distorts the picture too much, but everything is fine on the computer. As a result, I turned on “Natural colors”, although they are muted on the menu.

Traditionally, there is a blue filter, a dark theme, including the ability to set work on a schedule. Adaptive screen brightness adjusts to your preferences. In manual mode, you can set the brightness to 400 nits, in automatic mode it reaches 900 nits. This allows you to read your phone screen even under the brightest sun.

As always, there is the AlwaysOn Display mode, it allows you to display the clock, calendar, picture in standby mode. At the same time, the screen does not consume much power, and this makes the look of the phone diversified.

All flagships of the world use OLED screens from Samsung, there is simply no alternative to them. Apple buys previous generations of screens and cannot provide the same level of integration with hardware. As a result, for many years now, each generation of Samsung flagships has had the best screens in terms of capabilities and characteristics. And nothing has changed in the S20, this is the best thing on the market today. The 6.2-inch diagonal will prove to be universal for many, it is sufficient for movies, social networks or reading something.

Battery

The built-in Li-Ion battery has a capacity of 5000mAh and supports USB Power Delivery 3.0. This allows you to get rid of a simple problem – a long charging of the smartphone. So, in the S20 Ultra in 65 minutes you can charge the battery up to 100% (charging time depends on the ambient temperature). In half an hour, you get about 55% of the charge. A 25W charger is included and should be enough for most behind-the-eyes use scenarios. There is no point in buying a 45 W charger, since the charge speed increases by the first 50%, but the total time remains plus or minus the same.

In the settings, you can turn off fast charging if it seems to you that it is wearing out the battery (in practice it is not).

Wireless charging supports up to 15W of power, which allows you to charge your smartphone in 100 minutes. It’s also very fast and extremely comfortable. For several years I have forgotten what charging at night is, I always charge my devices on the go, in between. And I never have problems with the fact that they were discharged at some inopportune moment. It takes 10 minutes to get a charge for several hours of non-stop operation. And this convenience, which is difficult to overestimate.

Reverse reverse charging allows you to recharge accessories or another smartphone, the power has also increased – now it is a maximum of 9 watts.

Now is the time to talk about how long a smartphone lasts on a single charge. Here the data will vary greatly depending on the settings that you set for the screen. When using 120 Hz, the battery consumption rate increases by 10-15% minimum.

I will give such data. Playing video non-stop at 60 Hz gives 16.5 hours of screen operation, at 120 Hz (which is de facto not needed here, as you understand), you can watch video for 12.5 hours. The more you use the screen, the faster the 120Hz battery will drain.

For example, at 60Hz, you can easily reach 6-7 hours of screen time during the day, with about 20% of the battery remaining. At 120 Hz, it will already be 4-5 hours. I will repeat a simple thing – the minimum difference in power consumption is from 10 percent, but the maximum can reach 30%, it depends on your application usage profile and on how often you work with the screen.

In any scenario, a full day on this smartphone is easily achievable even for “heavy” users who are constantly looking at the screen of their smartphone. Here are my typical results on an LTE network, with adaptive backlighting at 50% brightness, with adaptive power saving mode (normal light theme) and, of course, 120 Hz.

But the result that is achievable when you just turn on the maximum brightness of the screen, turn off any restrictions.

A little more than two hours of screen work, and that’s it! At the same time, you do not see or feel any difference in using the device, everything works exactly the same. But he eats energy as if not into himself. The minimal settings, on which you will spend about a minute, will allow you to avoid such problems. In a separate article I will tell you how you can and should set up an Android smartphone so that it works for a long time from each charge, and you do not experience problems anywhere and in anything.

Communication capabilities

Here, what can be called “full stuffing” is a flagship, in which there are no restrictions and flaws, a 5G module is available (in Russia, it is disabled, just like eSIM on most operators, it will appear later), support for Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax , will be available with licensing from the regulator), as well as maximum aggregation of LTE frequencies.

Support for payment systems Samsung Pay, Google Pay, the work does not raise any questions. There is, of course, full NFC for everything imaginable.

Bluetooth version 5.0, there is support for sending an audio stream to multiple devices. A proprietary QuickShare feature has appeared, which allows you to quickly send large files to other devices from Samsung (a sort of combed Wi-Fi Direct).

In terms of communication capabilities, the S20 Ultra has incorporated almost all the technologies on the market.

Memory, chipset, performance

There are several memory options, two will be presented in Russia, the basic 12/128 and 16/512 GB. They will choose both the basic model and the improved one, here everyone has their own tasks and solutions.

The model is built on the Exynos 990 chipset (7 nm) and has no shortcomings in the speed of both the interface and third-party applications. This is a very fast chipset, it has a margin of safety for several years to come. In the US, the model is supplied with Snapdragon 865, there are simply no special differences in performance, battery life and quality. The myths that Snapdragon is better have no foundation. In some ways the chipset from Samsung wins, in something from Qualcomm. The question of understanding this difference and what exactly you need from the device. If you like playing heavy games, then Qualcomm. If you love taking pictures and filming videos, then Exynos. Although the difference in any case will be minimal and in practice almost imperceptible.

RAM LPDDR5, it is fast, and tests prove it (the test cannot even fully assess how fast the memory is, modern tests lag behind the development of technologies).

Performance in synthetic tests is as follows.

Камеры

Since this model is very interesting in terms of its capabilities in the field of photo and video, we have come out with a separate, large review related to these moments.

Software features

Everything here is quite simple and ordinary, there are pre-installed applications that expand the capabilities of the device, Samsung users know them well. Version OneUI 2.1, and we have a video about the differences from 2.0.

For those who want to fully familiarize themselves with the shell and its capabilities, I advise you to read the detailed review.

Impressions

There are no complaints about the quality of speech transmission during a conversation, you can be heard clearly in any conditions. The vibration alert is average, but here you can choose the scheme according to which it works, but the voice alert is very bright, noticeable and above average for most devices.

The S20 Ultra costs 99 rubles, while the device is almost devoid of an image component. For girls, there is the Galaxy Z Flip, which offers a clamshell form factor. Technically, the Z Flip is weaker in all aspects.

Men can also look at the Galaxy Fold, this device is more expensive and more interesting in terms of fashion.

It turns out that the S20 Ultra is partially devoid of the fashion component, it is not very important in this device, it stands aside a little. Outwardly the same, only more than the congeners in the S20 line. The question is in the filling of the device, the screen size. And here the competition with Note10 +, comparison of these models is inevitable. With a difference in cost, Note10 + looks interesting, but not so simple.

There is practically no competition in this price category, people choose either the iPhone (and this is an image, not at all technical characteristics), or Samsung (there are simply no competitors in terms of price at the moment). The purchase of the iPhone 11 Pro Max is possible for everyone who loves Apple and believes that it is the best brand, no arguments play a role here. For the rest in terms of features, saturation of the device with what you can do, there are no alternatives to the S20 Ultra. This is a very expensive device, there should be no illusions here. Perhaps too expensive for most. The only question is how much you need all the functions that have been put into it.

In my review of the camera, I said that the S20 Ultra users will have to retrain themselves, they will have a different experience (the same macro shooting). And there is no getting away from it. This may be annoying to many. But you need to understand this even before buying, the device is very different in how you can and should shoot with it. And about the same can be said about other aspects. Do you need 120Hz for your display? I do not know. It’s nice to have this opportunity, I have it turned on, and somehow got used to it. But in certain modes, this leads to an accelerated discharge of the battery, which is unpleasant. I would like to have an adaptive mode, when 120 Hz is turned on where it is needed, and does not try to work everywhere. Interestingly, in Google Meet video conferencing, the device switches to 60 Hz itself, which is good, since 120 Hz is definitely not needed in this application. Some beginnings of separation of programs and their rational use are still present here.

Of the minuses in relation to devices from other manufacturers of Android smartphones, I note the operation of the optical fingerprint sensor, it lags behind the market, it is not so fast. Otherwise, the S20 Ultra outperforms the existing models in almost every aspect. But for 99 rubles, this device is clearly not for everyone. And it is impossible to call it universal, affordable. In my opinion, it is worth taking a close look at the S990 + or the Note20 +, they are capable of providing a comparable experience and level of comfort at a lower cost. Of course, if the camera is not so important to you, its resolution and additional features.

All in all, the S20 Ultra is an interesting flagship, it is clearly not suitable for everyone, and at the same time it does not have obvious design flaws that may prevent you from using it comfortably. Not an ideal machine, but none of them exist. An excellent and large screen, good cameras, long battery life with proper software settings – all this is the S20 Ultra.

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