Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra hands-on: It's a new beginning

Nosotros've covered the launch for every flagship Samsung smartphone for the better office of a decade. We go to go hands-on with the devices to provide readers with our first impressions of the new products. The experience has been completely unlike this fourth dimension around due to the pandemic. It was long confirmed earlier the upshot was scheduled for August 5 that information technology's going to be an entirely virtual thing this year.

At ane point, it wasn't even certain if we'd fifty-fifty go the chance to check out the devices in person before the launch, due to the enhanced safety protocols in place. Fortunately, we were able to become hands-on with the Galaxy Note 20 and Annotation twenty Ultra, but our time was extremely limited. Nevertheless, we are now in a position to give you our offset impressions of the new flagship, even though we might not be able to get in as much particular as yous'd expect us to.

Milky way Annotation 20/Note 20 Ultra easily-on: Blueprint and experience

Samsung has switched up the design philosophy for the Galaxy Notation 20 series. Yes, the build quality remains every bit solid as you'd wait, just the conclusion to split the materials used for either handset may not exist welcomed by many.

Let'due south showtime with the Galaxy Notation 20 Ultra. You lot get a familiar feeling when y'all hold it in your easily the start time. There'southward a stainless steel frame and gorgeous slabs of drinking glass on the front and back. Information technology's actually Gorilla Glass Victus, the latest and greatest iteration of the protective panel. The rear camera housing gets a new design likewise with circular cutouts for the sensors. Information technology does protrude from the back noticeably just that was to be expected.

It's a different story for the Galaxy Annotation twenty. Samsung has fabricated the rather interesting choice of going with a plastic back for this device. Even the protective glass on the front end is Gorilla Drinking glass 5, the same iteration that was showtime used on the Galaxy Annotation 7. It doesn't feel as premium or high-cease, but the matte finish on the plastic does look great. We also quite similar the new photographic camera housing, information technology looks sleek and modern.

For someone who has been using the Milky way S20 Ultra for nigh six months at present, the most refreshing aspect of the Galaxy Annotation 20 duo is that it doesn't feel equally bulky or hefty compared to the monstrosity that is the S20 Ultra. That's certainly a plus betoken for these devices. The Galaxy Note twenty Ultra gets a 6.9-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED curved display while the Note 20 has a half dozen.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED flat display.

There are even so many who prefer flat panels and they will likely be fatigued to the Galaxy Note 20. Granted, the brandish tech isn't equally advanced as it is on the Ultra, since at that place'southward no support for 120Hz or a college resolution, just that might be of little concern to the target demographic for this handset. Both panels have an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, though.

The S Pen has now been repositioned to the left of the charging port. This is going to take some getting used to, particularly for those who take been using Galaxy Note flagships for the past few years. Expect musculus memory to have you pressing down on the right side for the first few days before you get used to the new position.

Nosotros quite like the sense of familiarity that the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra evokes. In that location are no surprises hither. Information technology'due south a well-built device with all of the signature characteristics of a Samsung flagship. The Milky way Annotation 20 is a bit of an outlier and maybe fifty-fifty a gamble, given information technology'due south a 1000 euro smartphone with plastic on the back.

Productivity improvements

In the limited time we had with these devices, we were only able to exam out a few of the new productivity features that Samsung has built for the Galaxy Note 20 lineup. The S Pen has reduced latency, downward to just 9ms on the Galaxy Note twenty Ultra, and yous actually do feel the difference. The Milky way Annotation 10+ users among united states of america were surprised with just how smooth and fluid writing and cartoon with the S Pen now feels.

The expanded Air actions work well, you lot can now use the S Pen for mutual actions like going back, going to the home screen, firing up the Smart Select tool. There are new productivity features besides but we didn't take enough time with the devices to test them all out. We'd like to give wireless DeX a shoutout, it'south a characteristic that we had long been wishing for and the Note xx lineup has finally brought it.

Camera

It was important for Samsung to address some of the shortcomings that were highlighted with the Milky way S20 Ultra's cameras. For that reason, it threw in a light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation autofocus module for the Galaxy Annotation 20 Ultra. The 108-megapixel chief sensor is paired with a 12-megapixel ultra-broad and 12-megapixel telephoto camera. There'due south 5x optical zoom and Infinite Zoom of up to 50x. Samsung has decided to ditch the 100x gimmick and that'south probably for the all-time.

We were keen to meet if the Ultra's camera would struggle with focusing on the subject field and in our limited tests, it didn't appear to. The Galaxy Notation 20'due south setup consists of a 12-megapixel primary, 12-megapixel ultra-wide and a 64-megapixel telephoto camera. It supports 3x hybrid optic zoom and upwards to 30x Space Zoom. Both come with new camera functionality like an enhanced Pro video mode and ability to select audio source input that nosotros're excited to try out in our total review.

To new beginnings for the Galaxy Note lineup

It was only concluding twelvemonth that Samsung launched two dissimilar models of a Milky way Note flagship. However, the Galaxy Notation ten and Note 10+ didn't take such significant differences as the Milky way Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra. Is this going to exist a new beginning for the Milky way Note series?

Samsung conspicuously says that the Milky way Note 20 Ultra is intended for those who need the accented best out of their device. It's positioned equally the smartphone of choice for professionals, influencers, vloggers and just almost every other busy bee. On the other hand, the Milky way Note 20 is for those who don't need an all-out premium device and tin can compromise on certain elements that they feel they accept no need for.

This sounds expert on paper, but the fact remains that despite all of its compromises, the Galaxy Note 20 nonetheless commands a flagship-level price at most one thousand euro for the base LTE variant. Information technology might plough out to be a difficult sell at this price tag and that might push some customers to but throw down the extra euros and get the Galaxy Note xx Ultra instead, making information technology all come full circumvolve in a bizarre way.

We're excited to review both of these devices in the coming weeks. Our detailed Galaxy Note xx and Galaxy Note twenty Ultra reviews are going to be up presently so do cheque back in. The new flagships continue sale starting Baronial 21.