If you await the next generation of stylus flagship phones, you’ve got two options to choose from. Samsung Galaxy Note20 & Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, both are being poised to be the best ones of the year (probably the only good thing happened this year, after IPL). It’s good that Samsung launched both of its flagship mobiles at once, but this makes it difficult for us to choose one from them, perhaps the best one from them. Both of them offer advanced features, stunning design, and powerful specifications, but the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, here, would offer you more of everything as compared to the Galaxy note 20.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, both, were announced on 5th August 2020 and were launched across the globe on 21st August 2020.
Comparison- 3D Design, Display, and Durability
Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra do look a lot similar, but they vary in the material quality. For instance, the base Galaxy Note 20 has a flat front display with its back cover made up of polycarbonate, thus making Galaxy Note 20 the first flagship in years that lacks a glass rear. The material has, as Samsung calls it, a “Glasstic” effect (brushed effect), which gives it a ceramic feel. Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has glass, front-and-black, with curves “Infinity” display, characteristics of Samsung flagships.
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is larger of the two by just a few millimeters in length and width, almost similar to the older Note 10 Plus concerning the size. Note 20 Ultra also has a 6.9 inch of colossal display, whereas the Note 20 offers 6.7-inch of the display. Note 20 features a Full HD (2400×1080) display with the screen furnishing a maximum of 60Hz refresh rate, only given by the iPhone 11 Pro series.
Samsung has saved the prestige touches for Note 20 Ultra, though they are essentially similar to the ones on Note 10 plus, save for a 0.1-inch increase for a WQHD Plus resolution (3088×1440). This makes it a marginally odd 19.3:9 ratio, unlike its predecessor’s 19:9 format. Note 20 Ultra packs a refresh rate display of 120 Hz.
The S Pen in bot the models has been shifted to the left side of the bottom edge, popping out in the usual manner. The S Pen now offers an improved latency of 26ms in the Galaxy Note 20, whereas the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra would give a latency of 9ms. In the center bottom edge of both smartphones is located a USB-C port accompanied by a microphone on the right and a speaker on the left side. The posterior side of both mobiles features a rectangular camera bump, somewhat protruding from the back of the smartphones.
Performance
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, both offer Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus processor in the U.S or an Exynos 990 processor elsewhere.
Both the mobiles differentiate in RAM and storage. Galaxy Note 20 offers 8GB of RAM and comes in a single storage configuration per region, and most importantly, its storage is not expandable. Galaxy Note 20 Ultra features a whopping 128GB of RAM with a similar region-different baseline storage level, with an expandable storage via microSD. Note 20 Ultra also comes with a 512GB of larger RAM option at a higher price.
Battery Life and Charging
Another distinction between the smartphones is the battery, but thankfully, it doesn’t vary much. Galaxy Note 20 packs 4,300mAh capacity while Galaxy Note 20 Ultra bags 4,500mAh capacity. Both the mobiles charge up in a myriad of ways, including 25W of fast charging, wireless charging of 15W, and a wireless power share of 4.5W.
Camera
After size, camera is the main difference between the two smartphones. Let’s compare the cameras of the two smartphones sensor by sensor.
The main sensor on Galaxy Note 20 comes in at 12 megapixels, while that on Galaxy Note 20 Ultra houses 108 megapixels. Both smartphones feature optical image stabilization and an f/1.8 aperture; however, the 108-megapixel resolution on Note 20 Ultra enables features like Samsung’s Space Zoom, which in return supports 50x zoom on this device.
The telephoto lens on Samsung Galaxy Note 20 offers 64 megapixels, followed by an f/2.0 aperture and a hybrid zoom of up to 3x. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra bags a12-megapixel of telephoto lens; it, however, supports 5x optical zoom despite of offering f/3.0 aperture.
The ultrawide lens on both the smartphones sits at 10 megapixels with an f/2.2 aperture.
There’s a front-facing camera located in a centered-punch hole at the top end of the display, which offers 10 megapixels along with an f/2.2 aperture.
Both smartphones shoot 8K videos at 24fps, which the S20 line did as well, but now the smartphones can shoot it in 16:9 or a more cinematic 21:9 format as well.
Software and Updates
Both smartphones run on Android 10 and Samsung’s One UI, which is expected to get an upgrade alongside Android 11, later this year. In most of the regions, only the 5G-capable models are on sale, and gratefully, they connect to various 5G frequencies, including mmWave and sub-6.
One UI offers a very Samsung-y design along with colorful logos and a heap of customization options. A few debate that it’s a little difficult to use than more stock Android approaches and that the device may come with some apps that aren’t required.
When it comes to Android updates, Samsung doesn’t hold the best track record, but considering it is a flagship phone, it’s likely to obtain updates for at least a few years, though there’s no guarantee that they’ll be that timely.
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Special Features
Samsung Galaxy Note series has long offered few features that other mobiles don’t offer. Perhaps, the most notable one of them is the S Pen, which would slide into the bottom of the mobile when not in use, and can come in-handy for note-taking and other important stuff. Samsung has made some serious improvements in the S Pen, which are mentioned earlier.
A quick menu would also show up when you take the S Pen out of the mobile, allowing you quick access to features that you may want to use with the S Pen. Both mobiles offer compatibility with Samsung DeX, thus, allowing y to use the mobiles in desktop mode, by plugging it into a monitor. You can even use the mobile in a wireless mode with a compatible smart TV.
Pricing
Samsung Galaxy Note 20, 5G, in the baseline version, which gets you 128 GB storage would cost $999 in the U.S. In Australia and UK, 5G Note 20 consisting of 256 GB of storage would cost euros949/AU$1,649. The Galaxy Note 20 version is also available in 4G but would only be sold in UK and Australia for euros849/AU$1,499.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G is notably expensive, its baseline model starting at $1,299/ euro1,179/ AU$1,849, which offers 128GB storage in the U.S followed 256GB of storage in Australia and UK along with 12GB RAM in all regions. Further increasing the storage to 512GB would bring a hike in the price too, costing $1,449/ euro1,279/ AU$2,199. Lastly, Australians get an option of purchasing a cheaper 4G-only option for AU$1,849, but this model is available ONLY in Australia and nowhere else.
In Samsung Galaxy Note 20 & Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Comparison, Which One To Go For?
Galaxy Note 20 & Galaxy Note 20 Ultra are different enough in their features and offering to appeal to distinct consumer niches.
Those willing to forgo a few flagship creature comforts can opt for Galaxy Note 20. While the mobile is more affordable in its 5G model that Note 20 Ultra, Samsung, to get the cost down, has cut down some surprising corners.
Consumers craving the absolute best and willing to pay for it, will get a hand full of premium touches like extra RAM, waterfall display, and other perks.
In a nutshell, your decision would probably come down to cost rather than the feature set that the mobiles offer, and thankfully, the supreme perks of Note 20 Ultra are conserved in Note 20. So, the decision depends on you, whether to go for extra features with Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra or to settle for a few less of them with Samsung Galaxy Note 20.
