1. Samsung Galaxy S20

Out of the S20 lineup of Samsung, although the Galaxy S20 isn’t as cutting-edge as the Galaxy S20 Ultra, it is still a powerful smartphone with an attractive and. Equipped with new features including the 120Hz display, 5G, and upgraded rear cameras, the Galaxy S20 is an outstanding handset.

Launched on March 6 for the US market and March 13 for Europe, this is the smartphone to buy if you want to try out Samsung’s new tech but are not interested in large smartphones and don’t want to hurt your wallet.

If you have more money to spend and want to have a 108MP camera or more storage, you can go for the Ultra.

2. Display

The Samsung S20 comes with a 6.2-inch display and offers 0.1-inch more screen real estate than the 6.1-inch S10 launched back in 2019. The phone’s overall size isn’t drastically changed. Its max resolution is still the same as that of the Samsung Galaxy S models (3040 x 1440).

A Full HD+ default resolution of 2220 x 1080 is still being offered. And for most tasks, it is more than enough and saves battery as well. If you want to use a higher resolution, you can change the settings.

A big upgrade that Samsung made to the Galaxy S20 is a 120HZ refresh-rate display. On most phones which include previous Samsung devices, the rate is 60Hz. The higher refresh rate means you will experience smoother animations and scrolling.

This is particularly applicable to mobile gaming as you will have a more immersive experience. It could give you an advantage over an opponent. Not only that, scrolling through social media feeds will become smoother too.

The S20 isn’t the first smartphone to have this higher-refresh-rate display since the Razer Phone 2 and Asus ROG Phone 2 also have this similar tech. But the S20 is definitely the first mainstream device to have this feature.

However, the 120Hz refresh rate is not WQHD+ compatible. This means you will have to pick whether it is faster loading picture or a higher resolution display is what you want.

Samsung also ups the touch-sensitivity, from 120Hz to 240Hz, making games more responsive through sensing your finger at a much higher rate than before. For normal users, it may not be noticeable. But for those who are gamers, it may make a difference.

The S20, with an aspect ration of 20:9, is a little narrower and taller than the S10. The bad news is there isn’t a smaller version for those with smaller hands.

The front-facing camera punchhole of the S20 is smaller. With the return of HD10+, the display is punchier with more detailed images, which is good news for those who like movie-streaming and gaming. The screen of the S20 is one of the best available right now.

3. Chip

The Galaxy S20 comes with two different chipsets, depending on where you live. If you are in the US, you will get the top-end Snapdragon 865 chipset from Qualcomm. While those living outside of the US will get the similarly high-end Exynos 990 from Samsung.

With the S20 powered by the Exynos 990, the performance is outstanding. The smartphone is powerful enough to do anything, whether it is loading apps quickly or playing games.

On Geekbeng 5, the S20 with the Exynos 990 chipset got 2699 as its multi-core score. Meanwhile, the Exynos 990 Galaxy S20 Plus score 3034. The Snapdragon 865 S20 Ultra scored 3286.

The S20 scored a lot higher than the 2019 S10 5G and the OnePlus 7T Pro. For the average user, the scores probably won’t mean a lot.  

4. RAM – Internal storage

The 4G version of the phone only has 8GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage. But there are a lot of flagships that still offer 8GB. The 5G version has 12GB of RAM with 128GB 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

The Galaxy S20 is equipped with a 4,000mAh battery, a notable increase compared to the 3,400mAh battery.

The Galaxy S20 offers solid battery life. The smartphone can easily handle a full day of typical use. When used at a high brightness or with the 120Hz refresh rate,  the battery life is drained quickly.

The fast-charging feature of Samsung works well. With the right charger setup, the phone can go from 0 to 100% in less than an hour. 15W wireless charging is also supported. Although it isn’t as fast as wired charging option, it is still a useful option.

The S20 range also comes with the reverse wireless charging feature of Samsung. 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

Compared to the Galaxy S10, Samsung has added some important changes in terms of the camera setup with the Galaxy S20. The main camera is 12MP with an aperture of f/1.8. There is also a 64Mp telephoto camera, a huge upgrade over the 12MP telephoto camera from last year. The 12MP ultra-wide camera of the Galaxy S20 saw the least change, compared to the 2019 S10. They have the same aperture, however, the S20 has a smaller sersor but with larger pixels, making your ultra-wide photos somewhat better.

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.

24fps is the limit for 8K recording. But you can crop and edit the videos while not worrying about the quality being lowered.

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.