Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra are the two Note devices launched by Samsung on 5th August,2020.S-Pen which is the essence of any Note device and is unparalleled yet in the smartphone industry retains all the performances in both.
For starters the difference is in the price.The Galaxy Note 20 costs Rs.77999(1000$) whereas the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is priced at Rs.104999(1400$).It is evident from the pricing that some specs have been compromised in the Samsung Galaxy Note 20.
You can have a detailed look at the Note 20 Ultra.Here we will have a look at what Note 20 has to offer and the key differences with its higher priced brother.
DESIGN (1000$ for plastic??)
Yes you read it right.Samsung Galaxy Note 20 has a plastic back whereas the Note 20 Ultra features Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.Whatever be the reason this move is unjustified.You don’t pay 1000$ for a plastic back in a flagship product.
Well rest features have been retained.The Galaxy Note 20 is IP68 certified water and dust resistant.Like the Ultra the S-Pen has moved its position to the left bottom.The signature Mystic Bronze colour variant is also present.
The dimensions of the Galaxy Note 20 is 161.6mm×75.2mm×8.3mm.It weighs 192g.The Note 20 Ultra weighs 204g and the difference is due to the plastic in Note 20.
DISPLAY
Besides the display on Galaxy Note being 6.7″, just 0.2″ smaller than the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra,no compromises have been made in the display type.The Note 20 also boasts of the Dynamic Amoled Infinity O display.In terms of colour representation this is the best in the world.
Compromises have been made in the resolution part.The Galaxy Note 20 supports Full HD resolution only whereas the Note 20 Ultra has a maximum QHD resolution.Even with the FHD resolution for reasons inexplicable the refresh rate is only 60Hz.While the Ultra model has 120Hz refresh rate the Galaxy Note 20 should have had atleast 90Hz if not the full 120.
Another huge difference is the flat display of the Note 20.Many of you may love flat screen.For those guys the Galaxy Note 20 is perfect and for the rest the curved edged display of the Note 20 Ultra is the better one.
RAM AND STORAGE
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 offers 8gigs of RAM with 128GB of onboard UFS3.1 storage.256 GB is available for certain regions I believe.It is common that the base model of any phone has the lower storage options.But in this case the Note 20 Ultra not only has 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage but also has a micro SD card slot which is again surprisingly absent in the Note 20.
OS AND PROCESSOR
The only section where there is no big difference.Both the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra run One UI based on Android 10. The chipsets are also the same being the Exynos 990 globally and the Snapdragon 865+ for the US.
This implies that the US customers are going to get same phones with radically better performance than the rest of the world.Such a shame.
CAMERAS
REAR CAMERA (No 108MP)
The rear camera module on the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 houses a 12MP f/1.8 wide lens,a 64MP f/2.0 telephoto zoom lens and a 12MP f/2.2 ultra wide lens with 120° field of view.The main sensor and the telephoto lens has OIS and the latter features 3X optical zoom and upto 30X hybrid zoom or as they call super resolution zoom.
The Note 20 Ultra has a 108MP primary camera and a 12MP periscope telephoto lens.It supports 5X optical zoom and upto 50X hybrid zoom.No camera features or modes have been compromised with.Both the Notes can capture 8K videos at 24fps along with 4K at 30/60 fps and [email protected]/60/240fps.Super Slow motion videos of [email protected] can also be shot on both.
HDR10+ is supported and image processing is excellent.
FRONT CAMERA
The same 10MP f/2.2 punch hole selfie shooter is present in both the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra.4K videos can be shot at 30/60fps.
OTHER FEATURES
S-Pen
Well functionality of the S-Pen has not been compromised with.All the gestures support is there but there is an underlying difference.The latency of the S-Pen innthe Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is 26ms(milliseconds) which is better than the previous year’s 42ms but lower than that of the Note 20 Ultra which has latency of 9ms.
This means that the response time after touching will be slightly more.
DeX, Nearby Share
DeX is known to most of you.Samsung’s flagships have this feature for quite a long time.Through this you can easily connect to any desktop and use the monitor as a second screen for your phone.The unique ness in Samsung devices is that you can use the smartphone and your PC together.
Casting a video on your TV monitor has also been made easy.
Nearby Share is like Samsung’s answer to Apple’s Air Drop.This new feature is present in the Galaxy Note 20 as well as the Ultra and you can easily transfer photos or documents, copy on one device and paste on another.Sharing can be done by a simple swiping gesture.This feature is compatible for Samsung Notes and Tabs.
USUAL THINGS
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,NFC and USB Type C cables is supported.
No 3.5mm jack is present.Stereo speakers are present though with Dolby Atmos support.
BATTERY AND COLOURS
The battery on the Galaxy Note 20 is 4300mAH slightly lower than that of the Note 20 Ultra which houses 4500mAH battery.25W fast charging is present in both.This may not be the fastest charging speed but is good enough to fully charge your phone in an hour.
Mystic Bronze is this year’s Samsung signature colour.The Galaxy Note 20 comes in the Mystic Bronze, Mystic Green and Mystic Gray variants.
CONCLUSION
The yearly stylus (S-Pen) powered Samsung Note devices are eagerly waited for by many.Seldom have they been disheartened.This year too is not an exception.But for those who were hoping for a price drop we’ll go for some other device.
But the Galaxy Note 20 could have been launched at a lower price.Yes you get the revolutionary S-Pen more powerful this year,but that plastic back is annoying me.1000$(Rs.77999) for a plastic backed phone is too much.The display also has just 60Hz refresh rate.You get 90Hz refresh rate in phones of one-third the price.
I am not saying that you I had hoped for the Galaxy Note 20 to be priced so lower.Camera, display quality,the S-Pen,DeX and so many only Samsung features are present that you cannot expect low price.What I wished was either a little lower than the launch price or somethings more.
Again the Note 20 Ultra has covered all the above mentioned glitches except the 120Hz for FHD resolution.Anyways what are your opinion on the Galaxy Note 20? Are you willing to buy it or would you go for the Ultra model? Please let me know in comments.