Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Review: A Capable Phone With A Big Price Tag

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is by far the Korean tech giant’s largest Android phone and also one of its biggest bets – a 5G-supported handset with impressive photography ability. And as you may have guessed, the price tag is eye-watering.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Price And Availability

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra was launched on March 6, 2020, in Australia and the U.S for AU$1,999 and $1,399 respectively. The UK launch was set for March 13 with a retail price of £1,199.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra price in India starts from ₹ 86,999.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Display And Overall Size

The 6.9-inch display of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra will make you think twice before getting it if you prefer a one-handed smartphone. However, since the phone is more tall than wide with an aspect ratio of 20:9, you can still hold it firmly in your palm.

It comes as no surprise that the Super AMOLED is bright and pixel-dense, making for an enjoyable viewing experience even if the phone is at Full HD+ resolution. Plus, the lower resolution allows you to experience the phone’s staggering 120Hz refresh rate.

On the front, there is a small hole-punch notch from which the selfie camera pokes. Samsung has given up on the dual-camera setup on the S10 Plus but can still make selfies look better.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Design

The phone is made of aluminum and glass. The left and right edges of the phone are still subtly curved but they are not as pronounced as those on the S series. This means palm creep is a serious problem as Samsung hasn’t perfected its palm rejection software yet.

The rear camera module looks quite prominent on the back of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and yet the handset still looks chic.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Camera

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is the phone for you if you want something different and fresh with camera phones. But if you desire a consistent quality in every shoot, you shoot look elsewhere.

The 108MP camera mode looks good on papers but in reality, the photos it yields don’t look much different from the ones captured by the 12MP camera. The only advantage is that pictures are larger so you can feel free to crop them in any way you want with very little quality loss.

The most significant downside here is that the 108MP mode tends to overexpose photos and smooth out faces too much.

The price tag of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra exaggerates the issue as when people shell out that much money, they have the right to expect much less trouble.

The camera app is the star of the show, striking a great balance between user-friendliness and robustness. Swiping anywhere on the screen and you will be able to switch between the front and the back camera. When it comes to ease of use, even Apple’s camera app can’t beat Samsung’s.

The single-take mode is fun to use. What it does is to choose the best pictures among the photos and videos taken in 10 seconds.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Specs

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra combines the sub-6 and mmWave technology for the widest range and fastest download speed.

The specs sheet is, as you may have guessed, is impressive. Under the hood, the phone runs on either Exynos 990 or Snapdragon 865. Users have the choice to acquire the phone in 12GB or 16GB of RAM, and 128GB or 512GB of onboard storage.

The phone is powered by One UI 2.0 on Android 10 and the software makes it easier for users to navigate the phone with one hand as the majority of items you need to touch are at the bottom of the phone.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Battery Life

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra draws power from a 5,000mAh battery and if you don’t connect it to a 5G network, it can sustain the phone for more than a day. The 120Hz refresh rate is another power hog. So if you do something like gaming, you might want to sacrifice the fluidity to save battery life.

There is a 25W charger included in the box with the phone. Users can opt for a 45W variant if they want.

Although Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra has a massive battery, the 25W charger is able to fill in 31% of it in 15 minutes and if you plug it in for half an hour, you will have around 60%.

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