The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra are Samsung’s most refined phones yet. Here’s everything you need to know about the new flagships.
Update, August 6,2020 (05:45 PM ET): Pre-orders are now open for the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra! Click one of the buttons below to grab yours. Original article, August 5,2020 (10:00 AM ET): Samsung announces its flagship Note devices each August, and this year these phones are the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Galaxy Note 20. Together, the Galaxy Note 20 series offers refined hardware, more productive software, and powerful specs. Is the new Note the phone for you? Android Authority is here to tell you everything you need to know in this Galaxy Note 20 buyer’s guide. Editor’s note: We’ll regularly update this Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra guide with more tips, resources, and details, so stay tuned. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Note 20 were announced on August 5,2020, and represent Samsung’s best efforts in terms of design and performance. These phones are an excellent choice if you’re looking for: The Note 20 Ultra comes in three colors — Mystic Black, Mystic Bronze, and Mystic White — and costs $1,299. The Note 20 comes in Mystic Black, Mystic Bronze, and Mystic Green and costs a slightly more affordable $999. These phones compete with themselves more than anything else, but you might compare them to the Apple iPhone XS Max, LG V60, OnePlus 8 Pro, Huawei Mate series, Samsung Galaxy S20, and other top-of-the-line flagships. The Note 20 Ultra and Note 20 are not for those: See also: How Note series pricing has changed over the years The Galaxy Note 20 series carries forward the DNA of one of history’s most storied phone lines. The original Note was derided as an aberration, a too-huge phone bound to fail. Surprisingly, consumers loved it. Once it caught on, every phone maker jumped aboard the giganto-phone train. Not too long ago, the Note 7 was a burning disaster — literally. Samsung came roaring back a year later with the Note 8 and it has been on a the steady ever since. So where does that leave us in 2020? The Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra are the pinnacle of a smartphone family that’s been about upping the ante. Is the ante sufficiently upped? Samsung is clearly responding to a competitive market. Other phone makers have pushed boundaries with massive batteries, fast displays, high-megapixel cameras, and leading processors. Not every manufacturer has found the right formula. On the surface, the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra take all these characteristics and combine them successfully in one product. Both phones sport an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass on the front. The Note 20 Ultra has the brand new Gorilla Glass Victus, while the cheaper Note 20 features Gorilla Glass 6. The Ultra has Gorilla Glass on the rear as well, but the Note 20 drops to “glasstic,” which is Samsung’s name for glossy plastic. Both are svelte with measurements of 8.1mm and 8.3mm thick, respectively. The displays have been upped to 6.9- and 6.7-inches for the Ultra and the Note 20, respectively, which makes them larger than their predecessors. The Ultra gets a sharper and faster screen with WQHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Super AMOLED 2 tech ensures high contrast and lush colors on both phones. Under the hood you’ll find the absolute latest processor in the Snapdragon 865 Plus, which is an enhanced version of the 865 with higher clock speeds. Memory and storage configurations are about the same as last year, with 8GB/128GB available to the Note 20, and 12GB of RAM and 128 or 512GB of storage available to the Note 20 Ultra, with microSD expansion to boot. Samsung ported over the camera system from this year’s S20 family, and that makes us sort of nervous. (The S20 Ultra’s camera had focusing problems.) The Note 20 Ultra’s main sensor is 108MP and it’s aided by an IR focusing array. It has a 12MP telephoto camera capable of 5x optical zoom and a 12MP wide-angle camera. Samsung mixed things up a bit in the Note 20 with a 12MP main camera,64MP telephoto camera, and a 12MP wide-angle camera. Both phones share the same 10MP selfie camera. What’s new with the S Pen? Samsung says the stylus has “more lifelike precision” that recognizes greater levels of pressure. This means it feels even more like writing on a piece of paper. The Samsung Notes app is also improved with seamless syncing across phones, tablets, and PCs. Samsung Notes is able to more easily and accurately straighten out messy text. Further, it has more power over PDFs, making actions such as highlighting text more natural and simple. There are four new gestures you can make with the S Pen in order to interact with various apps and content on the Note 20. For example, skipping a music track or jumping to the next PowerPoint slide. Samsung phones can record audio and jot notes at the same time. Tapping a written note takes you to that spot in the associated audio. DeX, Samsung’s productivity user interface, is now wirelessly enabled, allowing you to cast your screen to a TV or monitor. Any opportunity to get rid of wires is a good one.
