SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 ULTRA:THE BEAST

The most talked about smartphone in the market at this moment is the SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 ULTRA coz it has everything you dream of a device can have.I call it the Beast simply because it is huge in all aspects including the price tag.

There are two other members of the family the Galaxy S20 and the Galaxy S20+ which are pretty similar but the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is a different device altogether though it shares the same name.It has literally every top end spec available now and some new just Samsung things.

The price to be honest is simply out of reach for the mass.Launched at around 1500 US dollars it has surpassed any mobile phone leaving those foldables.So the question arises is it worth so much?That is a thing I leave for you to decide.

DESIGN AND BODY

Design wise there’s nothing very extravagant except for the huge camera module bump at the back of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.The display does not curve over the edges like previous Samsung phones and thus almost nullifies any accidental touches.Bezels have been pushed way back as the company says and its very true.There is minimum bezels and a very tiny punch hole front camera on the display.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra measures 166.9mmx76mmx8.8mm(length x breadth x thickness).It weighs 222g.It has a glass front and back with an aluminium frame.The phone is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 6 and is IP68 certified water and dust resistant.

DISPLAY

The display is perhaps the best out there.It is a giant 6.9″Amoled 2x capacitive touchscreen which Samsung calls the Infinity O display with QHD(1440×3200) resolution and~ 511ppi.The screen to body ratio is 89.9% and aspect ratio is 20:9.

The HDR10+ certified Dynamic Amoled display also comes with 120Hz refresh rate which makes it the best display at this moment.Yes the normal 60Hz mode is also present turning on which will save a considerable amount of battery.Samsung surprisingly has not allowed QHD resolution to be played along with the 120Hz refresh rate.You have to put the phone in FHD +mode.The option should have been there and probably it has been done for battery saving purposes.

Anyways video watching on such a display is a visual treat.It also has SGS Eye Care Certification for its ability to reduce harmful blue light.

OS,PROCESSOR AND STORAGE

The Galaxy S20 Ultra runs the Samsung’s OneUI 2 based on Android 10.

S20 Ultra comes with two variants of chipset:Samsung’s own Exynos990 globally a matter of complaint for many users and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865(USA).Both are extremely fast but Snapdragon is definitely better.The Exynos SoC has an octa core processor with 2×2.73GHz,2×2.50GHz and 4×2.0GHz cores and Mali-G77 MP11 G.P.U while the Snapdragon’s processor has 1×2.84Ghz,3×2.42GHz and 4×1.8GHz cores with Adreno 650 G.P.U.Both run on the 7nm+ technology.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra has 12 gigs of RAM with 128/256 GB internal storage variants powered by UFS3.0.Another variant of 16GB RAM and 512GB internal storage is also present.It supports hybrid dual sim (nano) and supports micro sd xc card with external storage upto 1 TB via shared card slot.

REAR CAMERA

Not only are the specs huge but the camera along with the rectangular bump on the back is also huge.It supports a quad camera setup with a primary 108MP wide sensor,f/1.8.The rest are 48MP periscope telephoto lens,f/3.5, a 12 MP ultrawide sensor,f/2.2 and a TOF(timeof flight)3D depth sensor.

Another highlight besides the 108MP camera is the 10X Hybrid Optic Zoom which enhanced by AI reaches upto 100X Super Resolution Zoom or Space Zoom as they call it.HDR,Night Mode and other usual features are also present.The big sensor size of the main camera allows good portraits and low light images without the Night Mode on.

VIDEOS

We can shoot 8K videos on the Ultra.Just imagine 8K(4320p) videos at24fps with 120Hz refresh rate.Another unique feature is that you can pull out 33MP still photos out of 8K video.The Super Steady mode powered by AI allows really super steady videos.The slow motion and the ultra slow motion video capturing is easier and better.Video editing has also been made easier and with lots of extra features.

FRONT CAMERA

The front camera is a 40MP wide sensor,f/2.2 punch hole module.You can shoot 4K videos with the front camera at 30/60 fps.The camera switches to 10MP for night mode and good low light images.

For detailed knowledge on camera performance you can watch the following-

OTHER FEATURES

The fingerprint sensor is an under display ultrasonic sensor.Face unlock is obviously present.Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is different from the optical one and you will realise it on touching.No light will be emitted and it should be slightly faster.

3.5mm audio jack is not present.Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos is present.Bluetooth,WiFi 6 ,NFC and USB 3.2 Type C are all present.

The Samsung OneUI feature of DEX mode for desktop mode adds to the highlights of the phone.

BATTERY

The big spec sheet,high screen refresh rate ,8K video shooting all demand a big battery. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra has a non removable 5000mAH battery supporting 45W fast charging and 15W fast wireless charging.Reverse wireless charging of 9W is also supported i.e you can use the phone as a powerbank for other devices with wireless charging support.

There are 2 colour variants the Cosmic Black and Grey.

CONCLUSION

The price aside this is a revolutionary phone at least in terms of specs.How it performs time will tell but there are some uncompetable features.The display being the first.Nobody can question Samsung on that.The GAlaxy S20 Ultra’s Dynamic Amoled display is no exception.Then there is the 108MP main camera.Phones with same mega pixel count camera have been launched but Samsung showed the way to better it with the 100X Space zoom.

Talking about the 100X space zoom that has been a topic of debate among tech experts.Taking a photo with say 50x or 60x zoom and then zooming in on the image will perhaps be better than zooming in 100x times.Still providing such a count ia appreciable.The price though remains a concern for many.

For those who can afford this is a must buy and for those who prefer high end devices and think the price tag of the Ultra(approx. 1,00,000INR) is a little too much can go for the S20(~67,000INR) or the S20+(~74,000INR).