Announced at this year’s Galaxy Unpacked event , the Samsung S20 Ultra is an important marker in the sand in the evolution of smartphones. With Samsung and Apple continually trading punches in the smartphone arena, it’s likely that we’ll see an Apple contender to the S20 Ultra announced and released before the year is done .

A Little Bit More on The S20 Ultra

The S20 Ultra was announced alongside the S20 and S20+ at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event in February. The S20 line is the direct successor to the S10 range , as the company marks ‘a new decade of innovation’.

At the time of writing, the S20 standard edition , with 4G connectivity and 128GB of internal memory (the lowest available in this model) is retailing for £799 on Samsung’s website. The S20+ , only available with 5G connectivity and 128GB, retails for £999 and the S20 Ultra , with 5G and either 128GB or 512GB internal memory retails for £1,199 or £1,399 respectively. Pretty pricey.

For comparison, the iPhone 11 Pro Max retails for £1,499 with the highest memory setting of 512GB, which makes Samsung’s recent flagship release look a little less expensive considering the iPhone 11 Pro Max is now half a year old, having been launched in September 2019 . After all, time moves fast in the tech world.

Image Source: Unbox Therapy

What You Need to Know About the S20 Ultra

Perhaps the most glaring and obvious difference between this phone and everything else in the Galaxy range of handsets is the sheer size of the device . The screen is huge, measuring a whopping 6.9” from corner to corner . Let’s not forget that the smallest devices in Samsung’s tablet range have a screen that measures 7.0”, making the S20 Ultra almost in tablet territory .

The Importance of Samsung’s One UI

This size could be offputting for some , especially for users with smaller hands that may not be able to navigate the screen as easily as those with a larger reach across the screen. However, Samsung has made significant changes to its Android overlay , known as One UI , to make navigating the large display more achievable for all users.

One UI essentially makes changes to the way the Android user interface works and customises the experience for ease of use . There are various swipes and gestures that can be done on-screen to assist with navigating the device, especially for one-handed users. For example, you can switch between the home screen and the app drawer by swiping down from anywhere on the screen. Additionally, when accessing the settings menu, you can swipe down to bring the top options closer to your hand, meaning you don’t have to adjust your grip.

One of the Best Camera Phones Ever

Turning to the back of the phone, you’ll be greeted by a pretty menacing camera notch, housing three camera lenses along with a DepthVision lens for measuring light signal and adding depth quality to your photos. Also included in the notch is the LED flash.

Unpacking the Camera Lenses

One of the standout features of the S20 Ultra is the array of lenses on offer and the quality of video and photos taken. Leading the charge is the primary 108Mp wide-angle shooter , perfect for getting both lots of detail and lots of imagery into your photo. This is ideal for group photos or for shooting while on your travels.

The secondary 48Mp telephoto lens is the one that has caused a lot of fuss within the community, mostly driven by Samsung’s zoom claims. Telephoto lenses are produced with zoom in mind, and being able to capture photos at a distance. The lens offers a 10x hybrid optical zoom and when making use of its ‘Super Resolution Zoom’, it can achieve a massive 100x magnification . That being said, the result will likely not be insta-worthy material.

In addition to these two powerhouses, there is a third camera lens on the back which offers 12Mp ultra wide-angle shots. Although the ultra-wide lens isn’t quite as good as the S10 5G model’s, the upgrades to the screen resolution and brightness will still make these photos look and feel great.

Finally, there is the front-facing lens, more commonly known as the selfie camera. Designed with a small hole punch style space cut out from the screen, this 40Mp shooter offers great quality for capturing those unmissable moments. The S10 5G did come with a camera and a depth sensor, but the upgraded resolution of the Ultra’s lens should account for the difference.

It’s also worth noting that the video mode on this phone has taken drastic steps in improved quality. The phone itself can record in 8K quality which can then be uploaded to YouTube and enjoyed on an 8K-ready TV. For those of you who enjoy taking videos during day to day life, this could be a huge selling point.

How Does The S20 Ultra Perform?

Typically, we see small trends happening every six to twelve months within the smartphone market place. Most recently, we’ve seen the multi-lens camera become a huge discussion point, with very few mid-range or even budget range devices offering just one camera on the back of the device. Even devices that are hovering around the £150-£200 mark brand new are coming with multiple rear-mounted cameras, allowing just about everyone to upgrade their home-photography.

Display

However, one of the most recent specifications that manufacturers are battling over is the display refresh rate, measured in Hz . Almost all devices nowadays will come with a 60Hz display as standard, which means that the screen refreshes itself 60 times each second. This may seem pretty fast already, but the S20 Ultra has taken this to a whole new level by offering a 120Hz option for its users.

The display already packs a serious punch, measuring 1440 x 3200 pixels with a density of 511 ppi , but the upgraded refresh rate of 120Hz makes the experience an even snappier and smoother one. For the more battery conscious users, this feature can be a real drain, which is why Samsung has incorporated the ability to switch back to the 60Hz setting if desired.

The device also comes with an IP68 rating making it dust and water-resistant, along with being fitted with Corning Gorilla Glass 6 , for added protection on knocks and bumps.

Memory and Performance

The handset is one of the first to feature Snapdragon’s brand new 865 chipset which will make browsing through the new Android 10 package a breeze. Couple this with the choice of either 12GB or 16GB of RAM and you have a device that has a lot of computing power.

Internal memory comes with the option of 128GB or 512GB , along with being expandable up to a total of 1.5 terabytes . As you’d expect, this kind of device needs a lot of power to keep things running, which is why Samsung has included a whopping 5,000 mAh battery , something that they are calling their ‘All Day Battery’ .

None of the S20 range come with a headphone jack , which could be a deal-breaker for some traditionalists that still make use of corded headphones. Additionally, there is an under-display fingerprint sensor , fast charging capability of 45W and wireless charging of 15W .

If you’re looking for an upgrade , but don’t have the budget to afford a brand new device, why not check out our range of reconditioned Samsung phones ? We also stock a range of second-hand Huawei , Apple and  Google phones, all under the retail value!