Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G survey: great telephone, awful processor
At the point when you're going through this much cash, you need a leader telephone to be great
Aces
OLED screen has sublime movement taking care of and burning splendor; adaptable, zero-swell camera exhibit
CONS
Too-short battery life; Exynos execution doesn't coordinate Snapdragon; gets warm under light tension
Cost
£1,179
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G is a top-end £1,179 Android telephone. You can discover the cell phones that cost more, however relatively few.
This is likely Samsung's last huge telephone of 2020 as well. Desires are, in a word, high.
This is likely Samsung's last huge telephone of 2020 as well. Desires are, in a word, high.
Furthermore, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra meets a large number of them.
It has an extraordinary arrangement of cameras, an eminent XL-size screen, and another S-Pen with close to zero idleness, for a nib-on-screen feel like an Apple Pencil. There is an issue, however.
The battery once in a while endures the day. It might hang on fine with light use, however, in case you're purchasing a Galaxy Note only for WhatsApp, we'd need to inquire as to why.
It has an extraordinary arrangement of cameras, an eminent XL-size screen, and another S-Pen with close to zero idleness, for a nib-on-screen feel like an Apple Pencil. There is an issue, however.
The battery once in a while endures the day. It might hang on fine with light use, however, in case you're purchasing a Galaxy Note only for WhatsApp, we'd need to inquire as to why.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G is a telephone for the forced swarm, whatever that implies.
What's more, for every one of its qualities the short battery life disappoints and is exacerbated by the UK form's Exynos processor.
US Galaxy Notes, which have Snapdragon CPUs, will probably last more.
What's more, for every one of its qualities the short battery life disappoints and is exacerbated by the UK form's Exynos processor.
US Galaxy Notes, which have Snapdragon CPUs, will probably last more.
The brief workhorse
We should begin rather with one charge leveled at the Note arrangement by and large, or if nothing else at its planned purchasers: barely any utilization the S-Pen all that frequently. Pen eliminated, we get to the center of this present telephone's character for a great many people.
The Note 20 Ultra is a huge, very well-furnished versatile with a colossal screen.
It's ideal for transferred video, games, and for perusing articles without the sense they are crushed awkwardly onto the showcase.
The Note 20 Ultra is a huge, very well-furnished versatile with a colossal screen.
It's ideal for transferred video, games, and for perusing articles without the sense they are crushed awkwardly onto the showcase.
Utilize the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra like this for seven days, however, and you'll locate its most concerning issue, which likely could be the core of this audit.
The telephone doesn't keep going long enough between charges. A stalwart telephone made to upgrade all the stuff telephone obsessives love doing requirements to deal with an entire day of whatever it is that discreetly works on their profitability.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra doesn't.
The telephone doesn't keep going long enough between charges. A stalwart telephone made to upgrade all the stuff telephone obsessives love doing requirements to deal with an entire day of whatever it is that discreetly works on their profitability.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra doesn't.
It is unreasonably simple to make it begin crying about its low battery before 7 pm.
Quick charging takes the sting out a touch of, taking the telephone to 67% from level shortly, however it isn't equivalent to a battery that really endures.
Quick charging takes the sting out a touch of, taking the telephone to 67% from level shortly, however it isn't equivalent to a battery that really endures.
Some portion of this can be clarified in the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra's numbers.
Its battery is a moderate 4500mAh cell, which is certainly not an extraordinary fit for a splendid 120Hz 6.9-inch screen. Furthermore, this was brought into center by the work we did on the best spending telephones bunch test before this survey, which included utilizing Samsung's own 6000mAh Galaxy M31.
Its battery is a moderate 4500mAh cell, which is certainly not an extraordinary fit for a splendid 120Hz 6.9-inch screen. Furthermore, this was brought into center by the work we did on the best spending telephones bunch test before this survey, which included utilizing Samsung's own 6000mAh Galaxy M31.
That telephone's battery life far outflanks this one's, at a fourth of the cost. The Note 20 Ultra's cousin, the Galaxy S20 Ultra, additionally has a bigger 5,000mAh battery, in all probability since it doesn't have to house an S-Pen.
An Exynos issue
The numbers don't recount the entire story, however. There's likewise the Exynos issue. Samsung has part its Note line into two streams since 2013's Galaxy Note 3.
American purchasers get the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+. Most of us get the Samsung Exynos 990. For the most recent few years, at any rate, top-end Exynos CPUs have been less force proficient than the Snapdragon choices. This has not changed, according to the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
American purchasers get the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+. Most of us get the Samsung Exynos 990. For the most recent few years, at any rate, top-end Exynos CPUs have been less force proficient than the Snapdragon choices. This has not changed, according to the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
There are approaches to tell this past viewing the battery level drop at alarming speed as well. Generally, basic employments like downloading enormous documents appear to make the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra hotter than we'd normally anticipate.
We saw some sweltering days in Summer 2020, yet this was inside, doing minimal more than downloading Fortnite.
We saw some sweltering days in Summer 2020, yet this was inside, doing minimal more than downloading Fortnite.
Running that game likewise raised another issue. The Note 20 Ultra can't hold Fortnite at a strong 30fps.
iPhones are currently so snappy that Epic Games opened a 60fps for the most recent models (App Store disagreements in any case).
iPhones are currently so snappy that Epic Games opened a 60fps for the most recent models (App Store disagreements in any case).
Is the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra extremely just half as amazing as an iPhone SE? No, however, the Exynos 990's GPU is less ground-breaking than that of the Apple A13 Bionic, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865, or 865+. Streamlining may have a hand here as well, in spite of the fact that the Snapdragon 990 has just been utilized in a huge number of telephones sold, including Samsung's own Galaxy S20.
Engineers have had time with this SoC, however the well known Vulkan designs title ARK: Survival Evolved additionally experiences noteworthy graphical glitches not found in the Snapdragon-controlled Oppo Find X2 Pro. It's once more the case that US purchasers appear to improve telephone those in the UK.
A little more extensive setting: any exhibition hole is just observable in a little modest bunch of extremely requesting Android games.
What's more, the Note 20 Ultra ought to be an extraordinary telephone for Microsoft xCloud when it is out of beta (for which sections are at present shut), on account of its enormous screen. xCloud will let you stream Xbox Game Pass games from the cloud or your Xbox One.
What's more, the Note 20 Ultra ought to be an extraordinary telephone for Microsoft xCloud when it is out of beta (for which sections are at present shut), on account of its enormous screen. xCloud will let you stream Xbox Game Pass games from the cloud or your Xbox One.
The ideal travel camera?
There is bounty to like somewhere else, obviously. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra's camera exhibit is an enjoyment. Following a time of makers filling their telephones with totally futile tertiary cameras, Samsung's zero-fat methodology is invigorating.
On the back are a 108MP primary camera, a 12-megapixel super wide and a 12-megapixel 5x zoom. Each of the three is phenomenal.
The zoom is liable for the offensively distending camera lodging, however, it will probably sit pretty much flush on the off chance that you utilize a case.
Samsung didn't send one out to analysts, maybe to stay away from lethargic size examinations with stranded whales and 65-inch TVs. Be that as it may, you'll likely need to utilize a case. To live without one is to live in dread.
The zoom is liable for the offensively distending camera lodging, however, it will probably sit pretty much flush on the off chance that you utilize a case.
Samsung didn't send one out to analysts, maybe to stay away from lethargic size examinations with stranded whales and 65-inch TVs. Be that as it may, you'll likely need to utilize a case. To live without one is to live in dread.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra's 5x zoom camera is our most loved of the trio, regardless of whether it is in fact the most vulnerable in certain regards. You just don't get a quality zoom like this in a lot less expensive telephone.
The individuals who state you can simply draw nearer with a more extensive point focal point overlook the charmingly straightened viewpoint of a long-range focal point. What's more, that few out of every odd canine walker needs you do get very close and pap their Schnauzer. It has permitted us to take several pictures that wouldn't have been conceivable with a two-camera exhibit. Or then again the normal quad-camera one.
Indeed, the restricted opening f/3 focal point powers the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra to utilize moderately moderate screen speeds in the shade, which can bring about obscured movement.
What's more, the telephone returns to an edited primary camera picture around evening time, bringing about poor 5x low-light pictures.
Yet, this is to a lesser extent a blow when Huawei telephones, which will in general handle this better, are no longer suggested purchases. Night picture quality, by and large, is amazing as well, in both normal and wide perspectives, on account of a now-recognizable night mode that makes one picture out of a few introductions.
What's more, the telephone returns to an edited primary camera picture around evening time, bringing about poor 5x low-light pictures.
Yet, this is to a lesser extent a blow when Huawei telephones, which will in general handle this better, are no longer suggested purchases. Night picture quality, by and large, is amazing as well, in both normal and wide perspectives, on account of a now-recognizable night mode that makes one picture out of a few introductions.
Samsung took somewhat longer to get to this point than a few, however, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra offers a wonderful photography experience. You generally appear to have a heap of creative choices. The camera is the thing that we'll miss most from our time with the Note 20.
The 8K video tool stash
The telephone additionally has some extraordinary video includes, a few of which are in reality liable to affect how you shoot the things. For instance, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra lets you switch between the three central lengths on the fly, with a moderately smooth change between. It's not at all like zooming in and out with a superzoom camera.
Live Focus video can obscure out the foundation just it does instills, and will do a truly great job for aesthetic looking YouTuber b-move shots, as long as the scene isn't excessively perplexing.
The great part: this doesn't simply work for shots of individuals, however anything you like. Much the same as the Galaxy S20 Ultra, the Note 20 Ultra can shoot 8K video as well and has a super steady mode with GoPro-like smoothing.
The great part: this doesn't simply work for shots of individuals, however anything you like. Much the same as the Galaxy S20 Ultra, the Note 20 Ultra can shoot 8K video as well and has a super steady mode with GoPro-like smoothing.
Consider these incidental advantages for explicit situations. An edge examination of 4K and 8K cuts shows there is a gigantic detail distinction, yet 8K is unstabilized so just won't search useful for easygoing shooting.
Also, the super steady mode brings about a drop in picture quality, as it utilizes a trimmed perspective on the super-wide sensor.
Also, the super steady mode brings about a drop in picture quality, as it utilizes a trimmed perspective on the super-wide sensor.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra camera doesn't take immense walks forward from telephones like the Galaxy S20 Ultra or Huawei P40 Pro. However, on the off chance that you are yet to utilize a camera cluster at this level, you are in for a treat.
An OLED screen made for activity
An amazing 6.9-inch OLED screen just improves the experience, as you can generally observe a reasonable picture see. Samsung says the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G can arrive at 1500 nits, considerably more brilliant than the 1300-odd of the Galaxy S20 Ultra.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra may have the best screen we've at any point found in a telephone, yet now it's critical to pinpoint why. You can discover bright, punchy, high revive rate shows in telephones a small amount of the value, similar to the Realme X50 5G, so what makes this one unique?
Brilliance is one of two stand-outs. The other is the movement goal.
You can revive a showcase as frequently as you like, if there's haze the impact of a high invigorate rate is lessened.
Test and hold are the sort of obscure you may find in an OLED screen. This is the place the pixel "clutches" its light, causing a spreading impact when an item moves over the screen.
You can revive a showcase as frequently as you like, if there's haze the impact of a high invigorate rate is lessened.
Test and hold are the sort of obscure you may find in an OLED screen. This is the place the pixel "clutches" its light, causing a spreading impact when an item moves over the screen.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has for all intents and purposes none of this, obviously less so than the brilliant Oppo Find X2 Pro. That telephone has a 120Hz AMOLED, however not almost the movement clearness of the Samsung.
This perfect movement takes advantage of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G's to revive rate. It's an unheard-of level of cell phone show lucidity. It might be most recognizable while accomplishing something completely unglamorous, flicking through pages of application symbols, yet is great in any case.
This perfect movement takes advantage of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G's to revive rate. It's an unheard-of level of cell phone show lucidity. It might be most recognizable while accomplishing something completely unglamorous, flicking through pages of application symbols, yet is great in any case.
Other great Galaxy Note attributes, similar to consummate complexity, supportive of evaluation shading, and HDR are generally here as well.
Be that as it may, they have been around so long in Samsung telephones they scarcely appear to merit referencing.
Be that as it may, they have been around so long in Samsung telephones they scarcely appear to merit referencing.
Tech know-it-alls will pester about how the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G can't utilize its 120Hz revive rate and local 1440p goal simultaneously when others can.
Notwithstanding, we return to the straightforward truth the Note 20 Ultra screen glances more amazing in the tissue than the Oppo Find X20 Pro at 1440p, 120Hz. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra's pinnacle brilliance and movement dealing with is in another association.
Notwithstanding, we return to the straightforward truth the Note 20 Ultra screen glances more amazing in the tissue than the Oppo Find X20 Pro at 1440p, 120Hz. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra's pinnacle brilliance and movement dealing with is in another association.
A quicker responding S-Pen
Samsung's S-Pen is the other champion element to consider. It openings into the base of the telephone with a superb snap, and has an amazing number of highlights when out of its gap.
Like last time, the S-Pen is a thin, plastic Bluetooth pointer with a catch and movement sensors.
Different presses and wand-like waves can be utilized as a distant camera screen, a transitory substitution for the delicate key activities, and an approach to stack applications you determine.
Like last time, the S-Pen is a thin, plastic Bluetooth pointer with a catch and movement sensors.
Different presses and wand-like waves can be utilized as a distant camera screen, a transitory substitution for the delicate key activities, and an approach to stack applications you determine.
A camera distant is the best remote use for the Note 20 Ultra's S-Pen.
You could burrow profound and search for an intriguing and openness drove use for it, yet it's probably going to self-destruct when you consider the smoothness required to deal with such a humble bit of plastic, also fitting it again into the telephone itself.
You could burrow profound and search for an intriguing and openness drove use for it, yet it's probably going to self-destruct when you consider the smoothness required to deal with such a humble bit of plastic, also fitting it again into the telephone itself.
Let S-Pen really meet screen and it tends to be utilized for full framework route, as a substitution for the virtual console utilizing Samsung's fantastic OCR.
Furthermore, obviously, for doodling. Here we locate the most significant changes to the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G's S-Pen.
Samsung has followed Apple, giving a valiant effort to kill even a tiny smidgen of perceptible slack.
Your pen stroke doesn't follow the nib like a volatile pup, as it does in the Motorola Moto G8 Pro.
It sticks in that spot with it, as though the S-Pen can drop advanced ink through the telephone's Gorilla Glass.
Furthermore, obviously, for doodling. Here we locate the most significant changes to the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G's S-Pen.
Samsung has followed Apple, giving a valiant effort to kill even a tiny smidgen of perceptible slack.
Your pen stroke doesn't follow the nib like a volatile pup, as it does in the Motorola Moto G8 Pro.
It sticks in that spot with it, as though the S-Pen can drop advanced ink through the telephone's Gorilla Glass.
Weight affectability levels haven't changed, at 4096, yet the Note S-Pen feels more normal than any other time in recent memory.
All things considered, we had a good time drawing on the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.
It displays minor pointer slack, however, its S-Pen is more agreeable, bigger, and a tablet screen is a substantially more persuading computerized canvas than a phone's.
All things considered, we had a good time drawing on the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.
It displays minor pointer slack, however, its S-Pen is more agreeable, bigger, and a tablet screen is a substantially more persuading computerized canvas than a phone's.
Anyway, will you utilize the S-Pen? What's more, will you really value the immense screen and its standout movement dealing with? They matter when you have to gauge these advantages against the effectiveness expenses of Samsung's Exynos 990 processor.
There's a portion of this "win a few, lose a few" impact on the plan as well.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has a dazzling matt glass back, flanked by treated steel instead of the standard aluminum. You lose these tasteful contacts in the standard £849 Galaxy Note 20, which has a plastic back. You read that right: Samsung made a telephone at very nearly a thousand pounds with a plastic backboard.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has a dazzling matt glass back, flanked by treated steel instead of the standard aluminum. You lose these tasteful contacts in the standard £849 Galaxy Note 20, which has a plastic back. You read that right: Samsung made a telephone at very nearly a thousand pounds with a plastic backboard.
On the Ultra, this glass is silkier, smoother, than gleaming Gorilla Glass, yet the board has an empty ring, coming up short on a portion of the strength of an iPhone 11 Pro Max. Furthermore, when you put a silicone case on the Note 20 Ultra, many will discover it restrictively huge.
Samsung's ultrasonic in-screen unique mark tech keeps on justifying minimal in excess of a shrug as well. It functions as long as your finger is moderately dry. However, being outpaced by the £299 Realme X50 5G, which has a side-stacked scanner, is definitely not a decent look.
Win a few, lose a few
The genuine Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G issue is it strangely makes us miss utilizing one of Samsung's less expensive telephones. You need to truly attempt to deplete the best sub-£300 Android telephones in a day, and there are a ton of them. Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, and Motorola all make enormous screen workhorse telephones that perform well and outlive the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra by a wide edge.
They don't have the Note's splendid zoom camera, it's S-Pen or its standard-setting show splendor and movement. Be that as it may, for the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G to turn into "a definitive" telephone Samsung focuses on, it ought not to be conceivable to utilize 150% of the battery in about a typical day.
This implies you have to think even more cautiously about the amount you need or need the S-Pen. Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra from prior in 2020 has a significant number of similar highlights, bar the S-Pen, a far and away superior zoom camera, and a greater battery. It won't most recent two days between charges either, yet the additional limit makes it a less high upkeep telephone. The option is, obviously, to chase down the US Snapdragon 865+ adaptation.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G is marked down for £1,179 on Amazon, Samsung, and Carphone Warehouse.