Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G is a mostly gorgeous, superpremium phone filled with with high-end features. I genuinely enjoy using the …
Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G is a mostly gorgeous, superpremium phone filled with high-end features. I genuinely enjoy using the best of the bunch, including its exceptional 6.9-inch screen, sharp 5x optical zoom camera and a stylus that I never tire of using to annotate screenshots and take notes. As Samsung’s most advanced phone in terms of what it can do, the Note 20 Ultra makes small but significant enhancements over the Note 10 Plus, especially in terms of photography. The Galaxy Note line has always been one that Samsung has positioned for a rarified group of users, the Android «power users» who want top-shelf everything and the phone that has the most possible toys. This year, however, in a climate of deep global recession, steep unemployment and waves of lockdowns, the Note 20 Ultra makes sense for even fewer people than before. Unless you already know you can’t live without it, it’s hard for me to recommend the Ultra for all but the most loyal Note fans or people upgrading from older phones. Order from Amazon| Samsung| Verizon| AT&T| Xfinity Mobile| T-Mobile| US Cellular| Best Buy To begin with, the Note 20 Ultra is really expensive, starting at $1,300 (£1,179, AU$1,894) for the 128GB version (you can also buy it in 512GB). Then there’s the fact that if your active work and social lifestyle has changed at all, like mine has, you won’t truly take advantage of all the features it has to offer. Will the Note 20 Ultra still be the phone you want to use post-pandemic? Or will a better upgrade come along by then? I’ve always enjoyed using a Galaxy Note, for the stylus as well as the sleekness of the line’s design. The Ultra produces top-notch specs, checks all the boxes, and I want to love it. But for me, it doesn’t totally come together, and in terms of value, it’s a miss. If you get a good enough trade-in deal or bundled offer, I think you’ll be happy with the features and performance, even if some aspects, like the camera bump, aren’t your favorite. But if you want to reserve a little money this year and save your splurge when you have more certainty and freedom of movement, there are plenty of excellent devices well below $1,300 that will see you through until then, including the Google Pixel 4A, Samsung Galaxy A51, iPhone 11 or 11 Pro and OnePlus 8 or 8 Pro. Scroll all the way to the end for the full list of specs compared to the standard Galaxy Note 20. Samsung also has one more super-ultrapremium phone planned for the end of the year: its Galaxy Z Fold 2, which goes on preorder Sept.1. I’m in love with the mystic bronze color of my Note 20 Ultra review unit. It’s got a subtle shimmer that to me feels understated and elegant, without losing a dynamic finish. In certain lighting, it looks rose gold. The matte finish does a lot to keep fingerprints on the back to a minimum — I can barely see them. Switching to the S Pen will immediately keep the screen cleaner than typing with your fingers, but I use both input methods on the phone.
