Content
- Contents of delivery
- TECH SPECS
- Positioning
- Design, dimensions, controls
- Display
- Battery
- Communication capabilities
- Memory, chipset, performance
- Камеры
- A few words about the S Pen
- Software features
- Impressions
Contents of delivery
- Smartphone
- S Pen
- 25w charger
- USB Type C cable
- AKG Wired Stereo Headset (USB Type C)
- Instructions
TECH SPECS
| Note20 | Note20 Ultra | |
| Dimensions and weight | 161.6 x 75.2 x 8.3 mm, 195 grams | 164.8 x 77.2 x 8.1 mm, 208 grams |
| Body materials | Stainless steel, Glastic | Stainless steel, Corning Gorilla Glass 7 |
| Display | 6.7-inch, FHD + (20: 9), SuperAMOLED Plus, auto-dimming, AlwaysOn Display, Corning Gorilla Glass 6, HDR10 + | 6.9 inches, 1440×3200 pixels (20: 9), Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 511 ppi, automatic brightness control, AlwaysOn Display, Corning Gorilla Glass 7, HDR10 +, 120 Hz refresh rate for FullHD + resolution |
| Operating system | Google Android 10.0, OneUI 2.5 | Google Android 10.0, OneUI 2.5 |
| Platform | Exynos 990 chipset, 8 cores (2 Exynos M5 cores up to 2.73 GHz, 2 ARM Cortex-A76 cores up to 2.6 GHz, 4 ARM Cortex-A55 cores up to 2 GHz), Mali-G77 MP11, 64 bit, 7 nm
Snapdragon 865 for US market |
Exynos 990 chipset, 8 cores (2 Exynos M5 cores up to 2.73 GHz, 2 ARM Cortex-A76 cores up to 2.6 GHz, 4 ARM Cortex-A55 cores up to 2 GHz), Mali-G77 MP11, 64 bit, 7 nm
Snapdragon 865 for US market |
| Memory | 8/256 GB (224 GB available to the user) No memory cards UFS 3.0 RAM LPDDR5 |
8/256 GB (224 GB available to the user), memory cards up to 1 TB (combined slot) There are 12/512 GB options (5G version) UFS 3.0 RAM LPDDR5 |
| Wireless Interfaces | Wi-Fi a / b / g / n / ac / ax, dual-band (WiFi 6 is not officially allowed in Russia by the state), Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, ANT + 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) |
Wi-Fi a / b / g / n / ac / ax, dual-band (WiFi 6 is not officially allowed in Russia by the state), 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) |
| Сеть | Dual SIM, nanoSIM eSIM |
Dual SIM, nanoSIM (combo slot) eSIM |
| Navigation | GPS / Beidou / Galileo – Dual Band GPS | 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 |
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 | Main: camera with three modules – Primary: 12 MP, 1.8 μm, F1.8, 2PD, OIS – Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, 1.4 μm, F2.2, OIS – Telephoto: 64 MP, 0.8 μm, F2.0, OIS, PDAF, 1/1.72 inch, x3 optical zoom, x10 hybrid Space Zoom 8K video recording |
Main: 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: 12 MP, 1.0 μm, F3.0, OIS, PDAF, 1 / 3.6 inches, x4 optical zoom x5, x10 hybrid Space Zoom 8K video recording |
| Front-camera | 10 MP (f / 2.2), 2PD, 1 / 3.4 inches, 1.22 μm bokeh effect, various additional effects, autofocus |
10 MP (f / 2.2), 2PD, 1 / 3.4 inches, 1.22 μm bokeh effect, various additional effects, autofocus |
| Battery | Li-Ion 4300 mAh Quick charge 25W included, 100% in 65 minutes Fast wireless charging (15W), reversible wireless charging (up to 9W) PD 3.0 |
Li-Ion 4500 mAh 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 | IP68 |
| Colours | mint, bronze, black | white, black, bronze |
| Sound | Dolby Atmos, two speakers | Dolby Atmos, two speakers |
| Payment System | Google Pay, Samsung Pay | Google Pay, Samsung Pay |
| Features | Samsung DeX S Pen |
Samsung DeX S Pen |
Positioning
Samsung usually presents two lines of top-end devices, in the spring these are the flagships of the Galaxy, at the end of summer – the update of the Note line. Formally, Note series models can be considered intermediate flagships, they appear shortly before the release of a new line from Apple, update the characteristics of the flagship from Samsung, refresh it. But the most important thing is, of course, the S Pen and its capabilities, which no one has been able to replicate in smartphones. Among Note lovers, there are those who think that the S Pen is pampering, never use a pen, ignore it. And there are quite a few such people, but buying Note simply because of the characteristics, the cost makes no sense, this device is fully revealed precisely due to the S Pen and has no analogues on the market. It’s good to judge the capabilities of the S Pen in absentia, but it’s still worth trying and understand that it is convenient and your capabilities are expanded due to this tool. It is possible that it was the presence of the S Pen that formed such an army of fans around the Note line, those who do not recognize anything else, choose this particular series. And if initially the Note line was distinguished by the most technological solutions (camera, processor, and so on), today they were reserved for the Galaxy S line, but the Note was left with the S Pen, this is its distinctive feature.
For the first time in the 2020 lineup, the S20 Ultra model appears, the prefix clearly says that from a technical point of view, this is the best you can get from Samsung. Maximum cost, availability of all technologies that can be imagined. And for the first time this prefix appears in the Note line, the older model was named Note20 Ultra, that is, the Galaxy family device becomes the prototype. In fact, we can safely say that the S20 Ultra was taken to create the Note20 Ultra, these models are similar in almost everything – in the radio part, processor, chassis. If not twin brothers, then they are very close. And then there is a collision of what buyers will choose if the devices are as close as they will be bred on the market. The past years have proven that Samsung is pushing the cost, making the Note line more expensive. But there is another point, the basic versions of the smartphone are only 4G, while the S20 Ultra is always with 5G. This is a reduction in cost, and it is justified, since not everywhere there are 5G networks, a change imposed by the pandemic and common sense.
Who is the Note20 Ultra for? Certainly for those who are ready to buy the most expensive Android smartphone and need an S Pen. For the rest, there is a regular S20 Ultra or lower models, there is no reason to buy the Note20 Ultra.
Design, dimensions, controls
Almost complete coincidence of dimensions with S20 Ultra, the devices are perceived as very close relatives. The only difference is the S Pen connector and the body color. In Russia there will be such colors – bronze, white and black.
Please note that only in bronze color, the case is matte (satin), but white and black easily collect prints. Corning Gorilla Glass 7 is used everywhere, this is the first device with this glass – it is more resistant to both drops and scratches. But this needs to be experienced in life, while in absentia we believe that Corning is right in asserting this.
Alas, you still need a case, as the protruding camera block is inconvenient without it. You will be hitting the pocket of your trousers or other clothing with this block.
The device is definitely masculine in terms of size and weight, although the example of the S20 Ultra shows that women can handle such models with ease.
From the usual moments – there is protection against water (IP68), a standard USB Type C connector and the absence of 3.5 mm, which, in my taste, is bad. But this is how fate developed for this connector, alas and ah.
The memory card slot supports two nanoSIM cards, as well as a memory card (there are no memory cards in the younger Note20). There is also eSIM support.
I will not describe the standard things, since they are typical and there are no peculiarities here.
Display
Let me quote a review of the S20 Ultra, as the screens are the same and no different. There are changes in the software aspect (OneUI 2.5 brings dynamic frequency control, it can change depending on the application). But by and large, that’s all that has changed. Although more certificates have appeared, energy consumption has changed, but you will not see all this in everyday life, so there is no point in talking about it yet. One of the fundamental differences – the frequency of 120 Hz is available only in adaptive mode (that is, the smartphone itself chooses when to turn it on).
So, to quote the display section from the S20 Ultra review:
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%.
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 AlwaysOn Display mode, it allows you to display the clock, calendar, picture in standby mode. At the same time, the screen does not consume a lot of energy, and it diversifies the look of the phone (there are small changes here, hello OneUI 2.5 again!).
Battery
The built-in Li-Ion battery has a capacity of 4500 mAh 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 Note20 Ultra, you can charge the battery up to 60% in 100 minutes (charging time depends on the ambient temperature). In half an hour, you will receive approximately 58% 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.
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, power up to 9W.
In practice, you can expect the Note20 Ultra to handle a day of work with ease, with moderate use up to two days.
Communication capabilities
There is 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).
Memory, chipset, performance
There are several memory options, two will be presented in Russia, the basic 8/256 (4G) and 12/512 GB (in the S20 Ultra, the basic 12/128 GB).
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).
Камеры
The block of cameras is somewhat similar to that in Ultra, but the cameras themselves, their modules are different.
To begin with, the ToF camera has disappeared, but the laser light has appeared. As well as dual-pixel focusing appeared in the main module, which speeds up the system and allows you to quickly capture the scene. In the review of the S20 Ultra and the description of the camera, I argued that the new module appears for several years and will be consistently improved, we see the first such changes in the new model, when the algorithms are reworked and the device is pulled up to the level of the previous flagships of the company. It is the Note20 Ultra that becomes fast, problem-free in the camera area, and this will be noticeable in everyday shooting (in the S20 Ultra there are no problems as such, but this is a new system, and you need to retrain it, here they tried to smooth out sharp corners). For example, shooting in macro mode becomes easier, but such modes are being updated with an update on the S20 Ultra. The work of the main module of 108 megapixels is important, which is optimized – faster focusing, less blur during sequential shooting, the camera has been pulled to a new level. The changes, as always for the Note line, are not overwhelming, just another step towards improvement.
Ultra stated the digital zoom of x100, but in practice everything above x50 could not be used, I called the x100 mode digital binoculars, you look at something on the screen in the distance, but you don’t take the photo. It is possible that common sense prevailed, since this opportunity was simply abandoned and limited to x50 digital zoom.
At the same time, the module with the periscope provides x5 optical zoom, and the hybrid one – x10. The picture quality should improve in comparison with the S20 Ultra, but I will check this point already in the full review, now it’s too early to talk about it.
The Single Take option can now work for up to 15 seconds (today the video is being written up to 5 seconds), but I don’t think that many will appreciate this moment.
In general, the quality of shooting on the Note20 Ultra will correspond to that of any Samsung flagship, the details in the 108-megapixel module have been improved, the algorithms have been slightly changed. In the latest generations, the company has been consistently improving the quality of video shooting, here, in addition to the already familiar 20K video recording for the S8 family, a 21: 9 frame geometry appears. A kind of cinematic picture borrowed from Sony and their flagships. In the place of Samsung, during the presentation, I would show some short video from a famous director and demonstrate my admiration for this mode, the move is banal, but it always works with a bang.
Just like in Ultra, there is a system of several microphones, there is a Zoom-In for sound when you point the camera at the subject and the sound is amplified. But for the first time in my memory, it becomes possible to choose when recording a video on which microphones the sound will be recorded! That is, you can select pairs of microphones located on the device itself. Not only that, you can plug in an external microphone (including the Galaxy Buds Live wireless headphones!) And record audio from it. This option looks very interesting and dramatically expands the capabilities of the smartphone (I crossed my fingers so that they would not cut it out before the official announcement, as has already happened with new chips in the past).
A flagship with good quality photos, noticeably redesigned video algorithms. All this needs to be twisted and watched in real life in order to assess the quality of shooting and the capabilities of the device. But I will say in absentia that it is slightly better than in the S20 Ultra in terms of photos, and noticeably better in terms of video.
Take a look at the sample photos taken with the S20 Ultra to get an idea of what level the main module is in the new model.
A few words about the S Pen
The S Pen is the same, the color is always in the body of the smartphone.
The speed of recording and response is now such that it seems that in front of you is paper, not a smartphone screen. The Note10 had 42ms, the Note20 was 26ms, and the Note20 Ultra was 9ms! In numbers, it looks, of course, overwhelming, but in life you need to be an adherent of the pentail sect to see a significant difference. On the other hand, I’m used to a screen frequency of 120 Hz, although I still can’t feel the difference and distinguish at what frequency the screen works. But it’s more pleasant when it’s 120 Hz, maybe it’s a psychological kunshtuk, I don’t know. The S Pen in the Note20 Ultra is a little nicer, but it’s impossible to say that the differences are striking. Therefore, this is definitely not worth focusing on when choosing.
Improvements in the S Pen, besides this, as such, there are no, as before, you can use the pen to remotely control the smartphone (camera, video recording or screen), gestures in the air are supported, you can assign your own. But the biggest change is the updated Samsung Notes app. Now there are folders with categories where you can insert notes. Synchronization of notes with OneNote from Microsoft, as well as a to-do list (you need a Microsoft account, as you understand, this is the “Link to Windows” function).
The toolkit itself in notes has become much prettier, the application has turned into an advanced text editor with handwriting recognition. You can correct crooked text, you can change its size and color. But one of the functions pleasantly surprised me, this is the recording of audio in notes. For example, you are listening to a lecture, court session or meeting, come up with something important for you yourself. And you record audio, at the same time make notes in important places. Now a note with such audio shows you the comments made, you can quickly jump to the places where you noted something important. The thing is simple, but in life it will be useful to many people.
Recognition of geometric shapes, when an uneven circle turns into a perfect one, as well as other shapes. And there is also the ability to edit PDF, and do it with any of the available tools.
I’m not talking about the already standard features of the S Pen: handwriting recognition in any language, translation anywhere on the smartphone of words, recognition of texts in pictures and their translation into files. All this is familiar.
Another feature, which at first glance seemed to me nonsense, but then I liked it, is the ability to draw in a regular calendar on top of the schedule. That is, you can circle dates, add something by hand. No need to enter notes or events, you can just draw what you need. For example, a mug or highlight some days.
It’s fantastic to work with the S Pen, and no other company has implemented similar capabilities over the years. It’s good that Apple consistently copies what Samsung does in the S Pen, however, they do it in almost everything, just look at their watches and smartphones.
To explore the capabilities of the S Pen, I’m sending you to the Note10 + review, where they are described in as much detail as possible, this is the basis for the stylus.
Software features
I will not describe the changes in OneUI 2.5, since it is a little too early for this. This is an intermediate version, but useful features have appeared in it, and there are a lot of them.
For the first time on Note20 Ultra, a wireless mode for DeX will appear, that is, you can connect a smartphone to a TV, also connect a keyboard and mouse to a TV set, your work computer is ready! No wires required. The question remains open whether this feature will be added to the previous models (I bet, most likely not, damn marketing).
Impressions
It’s impossible to say that the device is head and shoulders above the S20 Ultra, the same chassis, comparable capabilities, but there is the S Pen, and that changes everything. Comparison with the previous Note10 + will show that this is a device of a different generation – cameras, screen and everything else. There are already a lot of changes, after all, there is a whole year between them.
The device turned out to be very pleasant: improved work with the S Pen, an updated note application from Samsung – all this is a plus for those who love the stylus and know how to work with it. The 108 megapixel camera has improved compared to the S20 Ultra, autofocus began to work almost instantly, and errors were corrected (thanks to the laser illumination).
Samsung said in its presentation that Note users are more productive than regular people (up to 60%). I think that to some extent this is so, since flagships are often bought in order to squeeze the maximum out of them. The audience of flagships is very diverse, but here the maximum percentage of those who know how to get the most from devices, those who are called advanced users.
I definitely liked the Galaxy Note20 Ultra, the excellent S Pen and the new features, albeit not the sea. Those who love the Note line should pay attention to this device, it is for loyal users. For everyone else and those looking to try something like this, there is the S20 line or the regular Note20.
The Note20 Ultra model in the basic version starts at 99990 rubles, the older model with 512 GB costs 119990 rubles. As expected, this is the price of the S20 Ultra, but with a different memory size. The prices are quite competitive, especially since these devices do not yet have direct competitors, and given the presence of the S Pen, they will not. For a loyal audience, this is a good value, while the older model in sales will take 10% of the volume, this is a niche offer.
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