LATEST GALAXY S20 ULTRA NEWS
Introduction
We tend to see a lot of interest from customers in the top-tier model of a new Samsung flagship. It usually ends up being the bestselling model of the entire series. The Galaxy S20 Ultra certainly has that potential. Not only that, it appears that this particular model might just knock out every other Android flagship released in the first half of this year out of the park.
Samsung launched three models as part of the 2020 flagship family – the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ and the Galaxy 20 Ultra. This enabled the company to cater to customers at all price levels in the flagship segment of the market. Customers who want the absolute best of everything will turn towards the Ultra, which offers specs and features never seen before on a Galaxy smartphone.
Design
The Galaxy S20 Ultra is bigger and wider than any Samsung smartphone before it. The front is almost all display with slim bezels and a centered punch hole for the front camera. Since Samsung is using 2.5D curved glass for the S20 series, the curved edges are more subtle compared to previous devices that had 3D glass.
Sporting Samsung's premium metal and glass build, the Galaxy S20 Ultra measures 166.9 x 76 x 8.8mm and weighs 220g. It's well protected against the elements by virtue of IP68 water and dust resistance. Its rear camera setup instantly sets the Galaxy S20 Ultra apart even from the other Galaxy S20 models. Given the kind of hardware it's packing inside, it's understandable why the camera setup has such an imposing presence at the back. It protrudes noticeably from the back but that's not something that will bother most users. A USB Type-C port is at the bottom alongside an AKG-tuned speaker. There's no 3.5mm headphone jack. The volume and power keys are present on the right side of the frame.
Specifications
The Galaxy S20 Ultra comes with a lot of tech that you won't find in the other models. However, one department where Samsung has maintained a level playing field is that of performance. The entire series, Ultra included, will run on the same Exynos 990 processor from Samsung. Some variants for markets like the United States will have the Snapdragon 865 from Qualcomm instead. It's offered in 12/16GB RAM and 128/256GB storage configurations.
It features a chunky 5,000mAh battery, the biggest on a Galaxy S smartphone. There's support for 45W wired fast charging but it only comes with a 25W fast charger in the box. The Galaxy S20 Ultra comes with 5G support but Samsung has offered the LTE-only variant in select markets. There's support for faster wireless charging and Wireless PowerShare.
Display
The Galaxy S20 Ultra features a massive 6.9-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 20:9 aspect ratio display. It's a super smooth 120Hz panel. With a higher refresh rate, the screen is able to refresh content more dynamically. This results in smoother scrolling and animations. Fast-paced games also look much better because of the higher refresh rate. An ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor will be present as well. An ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is embedded in the display. Samsung says that the fingerprint sensor has been repositioned to allow for greater accuracy.
Camera
This is really where the Galaxy S20 Ultra comes into its own element. The camera setup on this device is unlike any other we have seen on a Samsung smartphone. The company has pulled out all the stops to ensure that the Galaxy S20 Ultra becomes the flagship camera phone we have long wanted from Samsung.
The Galaxy S20 Ultra gets a 108-megapixel f/1.8 camera with OIS 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. A Time-of-Flight sensor completes the rear camera setup. The new prism tech used in the module has allowed the Galaxy S20 Ultra to achieve higher zoom levels.
Samsung boasts 10x lossless zoom and 100x Space Zoom when both hybrid optic and digital zoom are combined. Low-light photography is improved through the use of revolutionary nona-binning technology which combines nine pixels into one super pixel. The camera setup is also capable of recording 8K videos at 30fps while the 40-megapixel front camera can record 4K video at 60fps.
Software and new features
The Galaxy S20 Ultra is powered by Android 10 and One UI 2.1, which brings several new software features. One such new feature is called Quick Share. It's essentially an AirDrop-like feature which allows for easy local file sharing with up to five Samsung device owners. A cloud-based element is present as well which enables users to quickly stream content from their local devices to connected devices like Samsung smart TVs.
With Music Share, the Galaxy S20 makes it possible to share your paired Bluetooth connection with another device. You don't have to unpair your phone from your car's stereo to let a friend pair music, they could piggyback off your device's connection to play their music on the stereo.
There are several new camera features as well. Single Take is a new mode that utilizes the entire camera setup to capture a single moment in multiple ways. There's a Pro mode for video as well, allowing for more granular control. The crop-zoom feature lets you achieve the desired crop without a loss in quality.
Android 13 is going to be the last Android OS upgrade that the Galaxy S20 Ultra receives. Samsung released the Android 12 One UI 4.0 update for the Galaxy S20 Ultra in December 2021.
Release date and price
Samsung opened up pre-orders for the Galaxy S20 Ultra on February 21, 2020 in the United States. Pre-order customers were given a $200 Samsung credit which they could use to purchase accessories like the Galaxy Buds+. Samsung confirmed March 6 as the release date for the Galaxy S20 Ultra. The handset was offered in Cosmic Gray and Cosmic Black colors.
