**** The Official Samsung Galaxy Note 20/Ultra Thread ****

Caporegime
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A little of my Note history and mini ramble....

Currently on my 3rd Note series phone (4, 8 and currently the 9). The Note 4 was and still is an excellent phone, I had to resurrect one to help a friend out at the weekend and forgot how feature packed it was for a nearly 6 year old phone; wireless charging (optional), 1440p Super AMOLED, 16MP camera that could do 4k/30 HDR, headphone jack and a 3200 mAH removable battery. I also had a lot of fun, and struggle, installing different ROMs on it.

My Note 8 was also excellent though my main gripe was standby time, the SoT was pretty decent (4-6 hours average, up to 8 on a e.g. stay at home on a Saturday using WiFi).

Unfortunately I would say my Note 9 has been the weakest of the three. It's a very solid phone but a number of others phones have caught up and my particular phone has been a bit of bad apple (charging port broke, weird bugs, Samsung lag and possibly the worst SoT* I can remember especially for a phone like this).

*3-4 hours, standby time is good though as it will last until bed time but on the flip side, the battery has degraded quite badly.

I haven't ruled out getting a Note 20 but after 2 years with the N9 and Samsung's recent S20 release (I rate the base S20 as my wife has one but it does get quite warm, couple of issues with the camera and I don't have much hope for the battery @ 120Hz) - I worry it's going to be the epitome of an incremental update at an exorbitant price. Plus knowing Samsung, they will release god knows how many iterations of the phone and we'll get lumped with the Exynos version.

Any way, with that over I still enjoy speculating :D. Assumed specs are....
  • A more refined 120Hz display - likely allowing it to run at full resolution
  • I would imagine a >4,500 mAH battery
  • >45W fast charging (what is provided in the box may differ)
  • Fast wireless charging and reverse wireless charging
  • 8K @ 24p, 4K 120 would be lovely
  • Exynos 990 or SD 865
  • Supposedly they will improve the S-Pen features a lot to help differentiate it
GSMArena have just done a piece with a supposed leaked case...



I may still get one but I am keeping an eye on the OP8/Pro as likely much cheaper alternative. So anyone else considering the Note 20?



Galaxy Note20 Specs (4G/5G)
  • Body: Glass front, plastic back, aluminium frame, 161.6 x 75.2 x 8.3 mm, IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins), Mystic Green, Mystic Bronze, Mystic Gray colour options.
  • Display: Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 6.7 inches (~89.2% screen-to-body ratio), 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~393 ppi density), HDR10+, 60Hz@FHD refresh rate.
  • Primary cameras: 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS & OIS. (1) - 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.76", 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, (2) - 64 MP, f/2.0, (telephoto), 1/1.72", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom, 30x hybrid zoom, (3) - 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, PDAF, Super Steady video.
  • Selfie camera: 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.2", 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Dual video call, Auto-HDR, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps.
  • OS/Software: Android 10, One UI 2.1.
  • Chipsets: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ (US): Octa-core (2x2.73 GHz Mongoose M5 & 2x2.50 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55), Adreno 650 GPU. Exynos 990 (Global): Octa-core (1x3.09 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 585), Mali-G77 MP11 GPU.
  • Memory: 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, no card slot, UFS 3.1.
  • Battery: 4,300mAh Li-Po (sealed), fast charging 45W, 50% in 30 min, USB Power Delivery 3.0, Fast Qi/PMA wireless charging 15W, Reverse wireless charging 9W.
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth
    5.1, A2DP, LE, aptX, Yes, with A-GPS, Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, NFC, USB 3.2 Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go
  • Sound: Stereo speakers, almost certainly no 3.5mm jack.
  • S-Pen: 9ms latency (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro).
  • Misc: Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support), Bixby natural language commands and dictation.
  • Price: ~€1,000 (256GB).

Galaxy Note20 Ultra Specs (4G/5G)
  • Body: Glass front (Gorilla Glass 7), glass back (Gorilla Glass 7), aluminium frame, 164.8 x 77.2 x 8.1 mm, IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins), Mystic Bronze, Mystic Black, Mystic White colour options.
  • Display: Dynamic AMOLED 2X capacitive touchscreen, 6.9 inches (~90.7% screen-to-body ratio), 1440 x 3200 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~508 ppi density), HDR10+, 120Hz@FHD/60Hz@QHD refresh rate.
  • Primary cameras: 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS & OIS. (1) - 1108 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.33", 0.8µm, PDAF, Laser AF, OIS, (2) - 12 MP, f/3.0, 103mm (periscope telephoto), 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom, 50x hybrid zoom, (3) - 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, PDAF, Super Steady video.
  • Selfie camera: 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.2", 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Dual video call, Auto-HDR, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps.
  • OS/Software: Android 10, One UI 2.1.
  • Chipsets: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ (US): Octa-core (2x2.73 GHz Mongoose M5 & 2x2.50 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55), Adreno 650 GPU. Exynos 990 (Global): Octa-core (1x3.09 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 585), Mali-G77 MP11 GPU.
  • Memory: 12GB of RAM, 256/512GB of storage, microSDXC slot, UFS 3.1.
  • Battery: 4,500mAh Li-Po (sealed), fast charging 45W, 50% in 30 min, USB Power Delivery 3.0, Fast Qi/PMA wireless charging 15W, Reverse wireless charging 9W.
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth
    5.1, A2DP, LE, aptX, Yes, with A-GPS, Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, NFC, USB 3.2 Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go
  • Sound: Stereo speakers, almost certainly no 3.5mm jack.
  • S-Pen: 9ms latency (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro).
  • Misc: Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support), Bixby natural language commands and dictation.
  • Price: ~€1,350 (256GB).
Source - GSMArena

Previews


Note20 Ultra Reviews


Note20 Reviews

 
Last edited:
Soldato
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I really like my Note 10+, but the whole line up isn't what it used to be. Samsung now save the good stuff for the S-range and iterate with the Notes. So I'm expecting the Note 20 to be exactly that - it'll have a tweaked Ultra camera, a tweaked screen and so on. The price will take another leap upwards - maybe to £1399.

The S-Pen is great, except that I don't use it much. If there were no sacrifices to be made for the pen, it would be perfect. The trouble is, the battery probably suffers to the tune of 300+ mAh because of the space taken by the pen and I ask myself if it's worth the trade off. Like you, I'll be watching the OP8 series and I can't see myself buying a Note 20 - it's more likely to be an iPhone 12 if I'm still holding onto my Note 10 at that time.
 
Soldato
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Wish they'd make a decision and keep to it which side to put the buttons instead of swapping .

I really cant see myself splashing out £1.4k on the Note20+/Ultra . Might be 1st time in 5 years I'll doing the 2 year cycle change (money vs need/want)
 
Caporegime
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I love my Note 8 and loved my Note 4. I use the s-pen all the time for taking notes in meetings (I'm sure everyone thinks I'm a bell end for this :D).

This is honestly all the phone I can ever see me needing and just like with the Note 4, I'll only upgrade because it'll eventually break.
 
Associate
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Having owned a note (original), note 9 and now a note 10+ I must say I’m really disappointed with camera, battery is also so so.

Also have a one plus 7 pro which is amazing apart from the bugs and the camera if not using gcam.

My plan was to look at the note 20 when it comes out but I got hacked off how bad the camera is on the Note 10+ in anything but perfect lighting. the amount of grainy and poor pictures of my kids I captured were frustrating and I don’t want to carry an SLR everywhere

Preordered the Ultra but heard lots of early reviews stating the camera and battery was woeful.

In the end I went to my local Apple store and picked up an iPhone 11 Pro Max, camera and battery are absolutely amazing in comparison.

the Note is a better phone technicality and I still prefer Android but Apple have nailed the camera in all conditions and battery, I compare it side by side with my Note 10 and it’s seems like a step backwards but they’ve got all the key features working brilliantly.


I will no doubt check out the Note 20 but until Samsung sort their camera image processing out it will be a no go.
 
Soldato
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I'm interested in what the Note 20 will bring to the table, and its going to have to bring quite a lot to pry me away from my Note 9!
For me the Note 9 has been the best phone to date, its still super fast, super battery life and just does everything so competently. Never locks/crashes/slows, I want to do something and it just does it.
Its been interesting reading the other thread about what features you require in a phone, as the Note 9 ticks nearly all the boxes people mentioned. I use the S-pen more now, the camera is good enough for what I use, the battery lasts most of the day, and charges pretty fast with a quick charger. I do use the headphone socket from time to time, theres a 128Gb memory card in the slot, and Ive got it bluetoothed to various things and they all work with no issues. It casts to the TV with no issue either! Oh and no punch hole screen :D If it had an IR blaster and removable battery then it would be perfect.

I really hope the Note 20 is a back to form 'do it all' phone.
 
Man of Honour
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Big let down for me with the Note 9 is the bevelled edges to the screen - hate not having a rectangular screen and the lack of a removable battery is a big downside as well as I had to replace the battery in my Note 1 (bulging - common issue) and Note 4 (after about 18 months stock one wasn't holding its charge well) and I also tend to keep a spare battery charged for my Note 4 as it fits with my usage.

I feel they've increasingly moved away from what made the Note 1 such a great device.
 
Associate
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Pretty much the same here camera problems with the Note 10+ as SW2000 stated. it is really annoying for a £1k phone as the s pen is handy when you need it and they nailed the battery compared to the Note 8. Maybe if I hadn't picked up a Huawei mate 20 pro for a year, then I might not have moaned about the camera s much.
Although looking back at poor family pictures for this year is annoying and you only notice it when they print or viewed on a PC when there is no Samsung viewing magic about. Its that annoying that ive taken a chance and ordered a P40 pro to try the camera and see how much can be sideloaded onto the device...fingers crossed.
 
Man of Honour
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Disappointed with the camera on my Note 4 a bit as well - my original Note while lacking some features and resolution the camera/video was natural looking with good sharpness without much in the way of compression artefacts, etc. on the 4 photos have a chalkiness to them under a lot of lighting conditions and in some situations you can see artefacts from software processing/compression.
 
Associate
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Well the p40pro turned up and the camera is excellent.
And for not having Google services I'd say 80-90% of apps work even if they say its not, and generally the part that is broke is GPS related so if like me you are always disable the GPS requests then :).

Only major down side at the moment no nfc payment option which could be the deal breaker or save me money hhmm?
 
Soldato
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Well the p40pro turned up and the camera is excellent.
And for not having Google services I'd say 80-90% of apps work even if they say its not, and generally the part that is broke is GPS related so if like me you are always disable the GPS requests then :).

Only major down side at the moment no nfc payment option which could be the deal breaker or save me money hhmm?

No way of getting Google apps installed via hack?
 
Caporegime
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Well the p40pro turned up and the camera is excellent.
And for not having Google services I'd say 80-90% of apps work even if they say its not, and generally the part that is broke is GPS related so if like me you are always disable the GPS requests then :).

Only major down side at the moment no nfc payment option which could be the deal breaker or save me money hhmm?
Aaron has just done a 2 week later video. I must admit - not having Google Services looks less of a pain that I thought it would. Probably still a deal breaker for me but kudos. Don't suppose you side load any of your apps? I know YouTube doesn't work, dumb question alert, would YouTube Vanced also not work?

 
Associate
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most apps sideload even is they say they won't the broken part of the apps seem to be gps related. I have heard (read /watched ) you can hack load gms..... but not sure how secure it is

Vanced works. but to be honest I didn't realise the youtube web option was so good.

Revoult and paypal work

have high jacked the thread best stop.
 
Caporegime
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Rumours suggesting the battery will start at 4,000 mAh - the same as my (approaching) 2 year old Note 9, though up from last years Note 10. Hardly exciting lol.
 
Associate
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Has anyone else noticed that the latest update(I have received 2 updates this month) has fixed the camera quality?
One oddities now thought the camera see colours that aren't there in real life.... White cloudy sky shows up as blue sky? :confused:

It's not helping with deciding whether to swap over to the p40pro 14day returns is counting down
 
Soldato
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This might change the future of the Note series in a couple of years

The Galaxy Fold 2 will have S Pen support, according to the leak, but the source doesn’t exactly specify whether this will be true for the cover or foldable display (or both). It apparently enhances the tablet experience, so the source does suggest that pen input will be available particularly for the interior display.


https://www.sammobile.com/news/massive-galaxy-fold-2-specs-leak-s-pen-120hz-foldable-panel/
 
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