The Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus is the most expensive Plus smartphone ever. Launched on March 6, 2020, it is a powerhouse that comes with all the best features of its siblings with the perfect balance.

Compared to the Samsung Galaxy S20, the Galaxy S20 Plus has a bigger display as well as more battery life. But is smaller and isn’t as pricey as the Galaxy S20 Ultra. If affordability is what you want, go with the Galaxy S20. If you want the best of the best, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is your best bet.

2. Display 

Samsung equipped the Galaxy S20 Plus with a sharp and vibrant 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a WQHD+ resolution of 3200 x 1440. It is a shade taller than the QHD+ of the S10 Plus at 3040 x 1440. This is probably due to the previous model having less bezel at both the top and the bottom. But considering how similar the two smartphones are, you won’t notice a difference, until you get to the display’s refresh rate.

The S20 lineup joins the bandwagon of smartphones with a higher refresh rate. Most phones have a refresh rate of 60Hz, which means for every second, the screen refreshes 60 times. But with the S20 phones, the rate is amped up to 120Hz.

The ROG Phone 2 from ASUS also offers 120Hz. With this, the flagship line of Samsung is the first non-gaming phones equipped with the cutting-edge tech.

Technically, the tech enables games supporting 120Hz to have smoother action. The effect is more detectable in online games like PUBG instead of adventure/action games like Alto’s Odyssey. The 120Hz refresh rate also means silky-smooth animations, like flipping through menus or between apps. You will experience the same effect scrolling through Twitter or Instagram.

However, it is not possible for you to go full-throttle on display resolution as well as refresh rate. If you prefer 1440p visuals, the screen is limited to 60Hz. But if you want to go for 120Hz refresh rate, you will need to go for 1080p.

As for the general properties of the display, the S20 Plus offers a very detailed and clear picture when viewing content at a maximum resolution of 1440p.

3. Chip

The S-series phones of Samsung always have top-tier specs. The S20 Plus is of no exception. The smartphone comes in two different chipsets, depending on where you live. US users can buy the S20 Plus powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset. While consumers who live outside the US will get the Exynos 990 S20 Plus.

The S20 Plus, according to Geekbench 5, is one of the market’s most powerful phones. With the Snapdragon 865 chipset, the smartphone scored 3,034 for a multi-core CPU score while the Exynos 990 version got 2774. Meanwhile, the S20 Ultra score 3286 and the iPhone 11 Pro Max scored 3,424. But in terms of day-to-day performance, it is unlikely that you will notice significant differences.  

The phone can handle basically everything, from editing photos in Lightroom or Photoshop to playing heavy games like PUBG. Even when the resolution is pumped up to 1440p or when the refresh rate is pushed to 120Hz, the phone did not heat up.

4. RAM – Internal storage

The 4G version of the phone only has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. But there are a lot of flagships that still offer 8GB. The 5G version has 12GB of RAM with 128GB of internal storage. For the average user, 128GB internal storage is more than enough. But if you plan to shoot a lot of 4K videos, you will want to use the microSD card slot that supports up to 1TB.

5. Battery Life

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus comes with a 4,500mAh battery. With typical use including watching video streaming, taking photos, scrolling through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and playing a few games, the phone can last more than a day.

That isn’t especially remarkable. You can save the battery by using the 60Hz refresh rate or reducing the display resolution. In contrast, the battery will drained quickly if you want to use the new screen tech.

There is a standard 25W USB-C charger in the box. The phone supports Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 as well.

The S20 range also offers the reverse wireless charging feature of Samsung called Wireless PowerShare. This allows you to charge other gadgets supporting Qi charging with the S20.

For instance, if you own a pair of Galaxy Buds Plus, you can put these on the back of the phone, and they will be charged.

6. Camera

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus has three rear cameras (one wide 12MP lens, one 64MP telephoto lens, and one 12Mp ultra-wide lens) and a time-of-flight depth sensor. Samsung didn’t make a lot of changes to the smartphone’s main and ultra-wide lenses, the telephoto lens has been ramped up to deliver fantastic results.

While the S10 Plus has a 12MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom which extended to 10x digital zoom, the S20 Plus has a 3x optical 64MP sensor, extending to 30x digital zoom.

The Galaxy S20 Plus can also produce 8K videos at 24fps. But you can capture videos at 4K n 60fps, FHD, or regular HD if you want to.

The S20 lineup breaks new ground with 8K video recording as well as anti-roll correction, as part of the Super Steady stabilization feature of Samsung.

On the front, you ave a single 10MP shooter, unlike its predecessor’s dual-lens camera. The depth-sensing of the S20 Plus is a bit off. Again, it can’t be compared to the 40MP front-facing camera of the S20 Ultra. However, it can get the job done.

Samsung has always been known for its robust yet easy to use camera app. You can basically swipe anywhere to flip between the front and the back cameras, launch the camera app by double-press the physical lock button, trigger the timer the selfie camera with a hand gesture.