Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G Phone Test
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra was already available for a short time with the brother model Samsung Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20 Plus. We had used this phone for one month and then provided this test report. First, let’s have a review of the Galaxy S20 Ultra specifications
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Specifications:
- Manufacturer:Samsung
- Model name:Galaxy S20 Ultra
- Price:from 1349 euros
- Available:March 13, 2020
- Size:9 x 76 x 8.8 mm
- Weight including battery:220 g
- Operating system:Android 10
- Battery:5000 mAh
- Display:9 ″ OLED display (QHD +, 120 Hz)
- Camera:Quad camera (108 + 48 + 12 MP + ToF)
- Storage:128 GB
- CPU:Exynos 990
- RAM:12 GB
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Display
The display is the highlight with this model, because the OLED panel is not only of good quality, bright and has great viewing angles, it is also very fluid thanks to 120 Hz. For many latest phones, 90+Hz is the standard configuration and Samsung 5G phones are at the top. 120 Hz can currently only be used with FHD+, if you want QHD+, you have to live with 60 Hz. However, we hardly see a difference between FHD and QHD and therefore mostly used FHD+ with 120 Hz. However, an update will soon enable QHD+ with 120 Hz, only as a side note.
The display is now less bent on the sides. A small hole in the top middle is our preferred type on a display. The disadvantage is that only one camera fits in there and you cannot install a 3D sensor, but we even wonder why the hole in the Galaxy S10 was on the right.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Design
The S20 Ultra model would have looked good, and the Galaxy S20 and S20 plus better, especially with the colors. The camera hump is extremely large and ventures very far out of the body, which is definitely not a nice element. On this point, the models like a Huawei Mate 30 Pro or Apple iPhone 11 Pro look a bit more elegant The edges of the hump are also somewhat "sharp".
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is not ugly, especially the front looks modern, but the back can't keep up.
Another thing is the size due to the 6.9 inch display and the weight of over 200 grams, which would be far too big. It's just a shame that the large Ultra model has in some cases significantly better configuration than the S20 models.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Camera
The highlight of the 5G cell phone in marketing is the camera with 108 megapixels. The number is irrelevant these days, but the camera is really a highlight.
The photos are extremely sharp and even with 10x or even 20x zoom you get acceptable results. The 100x zoom is a pure gimmick that you try out and then never use again because the photos look too washed out. When it comes to night shots, the S20 Ultra can't quite keep up with Huawei, Apple and Google, but it does very well. In bad light, the images are a bit noisier than those of competing models, but they are not bad.
Basically, we was very satisfied with the camera in the test, it is fast, takes good and sharp photos, shows its strength when zooming, the large sensor lets in a lot of light.
The front camera also takes very good pictures and video recordings are acceptable. Not as good as Apple, but close to it in good light and better than, for example, Huawei P40.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Battery
If you use the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra with the 5000 mAh battery with a medium display brightness and 60 Hz, you can get by very long. But even with a higher brightness of over 80 percent and 120 Hz, the battery life is still acceptable.
Sometimes there was almost 20 percent less battery in the S20 Ultra overnight. Sometimes in the morning it was just on the table in the WLAN and you could watch the battery lose at percentage points.
The battery life is one of the worst on the market, especially with this size and weight. The S20 Ultra has a large display with 120 Hz, but that was not the problem, it was the standby mode. Maybe Samsung can optimize this with software. Since I heard a lot of positive feedback from the USA, it should be due to the Exynos chip in Europe.
Apart from that, the flagship offers everything you could wish for: fast charging with up to 45 watts, wireless charging and reverse charging are available.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Software
The performance of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is great and especially with 120 Hz it looks extremely fluid. The basis is Android 10 with One UI 2.1. We like the pure Android phones more like OnePlus and Motorola, but the surface of Samsung is better than that of Huawei, LG or Xiaomi. And it is quite well optimized for this incredibly large smartphone, since a lot of content has been packed into the lower half of the display.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: Other features
- A good vibration engine is something that was once underestimated and is still underestimated to this day. Samsung's sensor isn't as fine as Apple's haptic engine, but it comes close. It’s one of the best sensors in the field of Android smartphones.
- Face detection is solid. Not particularly fast and it weakens in bad light, but it is enough.
- Nothing seems to have changed in the fingerprint sensor under the display since the S10. The error rate was already relatively high in 2019, it stayed the same with the Samsung Note 10 Plus and it is no better with the S20 Ultra. Perhaps Samsung should then say goodbye to ultrasound technology.
- Many people will surely use their smartphone for several years and that will prepare them for the future.
- In our opinion, 128 GB are a bit too little in the basic version of the Ultra model, at a price of 1499USD it should have been 256 GB.
- The lower speaker of the S20 Ultra is very good, but the upper one in the area of the earpiece is very bad. Sometimes that sounds a bit unbalanced and as if the second speaker was not available.
- The jack connection is now also missing on the Galaxy S model, which we expected, since Samsung already parted with it in 2019. Two years ago, people were still making fun of Apple, and now you are there.
- Samsung has preinstalled a bit of software, such as the apps from Microsoft, Facebook or Netflix. You take advantage of the high market share to earn a few euros, but sometimes you cannot delete apps, you can only deactivate them.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Conclusion
It is difficult to find major criticisms in the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. It would be too big personally and somehow you still have to get to grips with the battery life (or simply separate yourself from the Exynos chips in the future), but in principle we can recommend the new flagship.
The S20 Ultra price is still at high end. But everyone has to know for themselves if they are willing to spend so much money. We cannot judge over this. But what can be said at Samsung: The prices drop quite quickly, so it is sometimes worthwhile to wait 3-4 weeks.
But we also have to say: The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra offers everything you can imagine and currently more than the competition, but that's only really getting started. And since Samsung sells its highlight (the display) to others, very similar models will soon follow for less money.
By the way, Samsung itself advertises the camera and especially the good zoom. It is a highlight and can still convince with the 10x zoom, but the 100x zoom is then pure marketing.