Long before rumors about the Galaxy S20 lineup started coming in, we highlighted the need for Samsung to ensure that its next flagship needed to be a camera powerhouse. Some of its rivals have been able to steal its thunder in this department over the past few years even though Samsung’s devices have been considerably better overall.
Samsung is marking the beginning of this new decade with three Galaxy S flagship models, one of which is a proclamation of its intention to dominate the landscape. It’s the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Samsung has unveiled its Galaxy S20 series ahead of the Mobile World Congress 2020 in Barcelona. This gives its new flagship a couple of weeks in the spotlight by itself. By the time its rivals unveil their new flagships, Samsung would have picked up many customers who are willing to spend top dollar on the best that money can buy.
Galaxy S20 Ultra is the first smartphone with 100x zoom
Touting the largest display yet on a Galaxy S flagship, the Ultra features a 6.9-inch Quad HD+ HDR10+ certified Infinity-O display with a super smooth 120Hz refresh rate. The centered punch hole at the top contains a 40-megapixel f/2.2 selfie camera.
An Exynos 990 processor beats under the hood while units in some markets will be equipped with the Snapdragon 865. There’s 12GB of RAM on the base model with an option to increase that to 16GB. 128GB storage is standard with a 512GB option being offered as well. The Galaxy S20 Ultra is 5G ready but some markets will receive an LTE-only variant.
It’s the quad camera system at the back that really takes the cake. Samsung’s much awaited 108-megapixel f/1.8 camera with OIS makes its first appearance on the Galaxy S20 Ultra as its primary sensor. It’s coupled with a 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide and a new 48-megapixel f/3.5 telephoto sensor with OIS. Low-light performance has been improved as the primary camera uses cutting-edge technology to combine nine pixels into one, a process called nona binning.
But that's not what you'll be hearing about when Samsung starts its marketing blitz for this device. It's going to be 100x zoom. Samsung's Space Zoom feature uses the 10x hybrid optic zoom in conjunction with AI-powered digital zoom to allow for 100x zoom on the Ultra model. This is unheard of for smartphones and Samsung is making sure it lays claim to this before anyone else. The Galaxy S20 Ultra is also equipped with a new 40 megapixel front camera.
All of this is packed inside a 166.9 x 76.0 x 8.8mm body that’s characteristically Samsung with its premium metal and glass build. There’s a 5,000mAh battery inside which will be more than enough to get you through the day. We've detailed many of the new software features that the device will launch with in our Galaxy S20 Ultra hands-on review.
The Galaxy S20 Ultra is truly a device for Samsung fans, those who have been waiting for the company to make one that doesn’t seem to be playing catch up but rather setting the bar for others. However, it remains to be seen how well the Galaxy S20 Ultra will do with customers when it hits the market on March 6 in Cosmic Grey and Cosmic Black colors with its rather crazy price tag.
