Galaxy S20 Ultra review: a behemoth of all categories

At the start of 2020, Samsung launches no less than 3 new smartphones in the range Galaxy S. Unsurprisingly, there is a Galaxy S20, worthy successor to the S10 released last year, a Galaxy S20 + which very logically replaces the S10 + … But it is especially the new kid, Galaxy S20 Ultra, A model very large and very high end, which really gets attention. Never before has Samsung produced such a device in the S range, nor displayed such a price. This is the device on which we rushed as soon as we received the 3 new S20s, the one that is so much talked about for its extraordinary photo module on the back. And so this is the S20 Ultra that we are going to test here. But rest assured, you can also find the Galaxy S20 + test in this article.

Our video tutorial of the Galaxy S20, S20 + and S20 Ultra

Technical information sheet of Galaxy S20 Ultra

A new size for a Galaxy

Let’s start by talking about one of the most “sensitive” points of this new model: with its 6.9 ″ screen, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is a large smartphone. Very large, even. Rarely have we had in our hands a device offering such dimensions: 16.69 x 7.6 x 0.88 cm. Especially since these dimensions do not take into account the height of the rear photo sensor, which measures almost 0.25 cm. In reality, we end up with a device thicker than a centimeter.Is this size really embarrassing: certainly, everything will depend on the tastes and uses of each. For our part, we found the device relatively bulky on a daily basis.

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Admittedly, it does not adopt the size or size of a tablet, even if it is still very similar to small 7 ″ tablets. If you tend to take public transport regularly, you will be forced to regularly use the one-hand mode (but this was already the case on the Note 10+ and S10 +, unless you have very large hands) . And unless you have huge pockets, the device tends to protrude from the one in front of the pants. The advantage is that you will hardly lose it at the bottom of your bag or that you will find it immediately if it gets caught between the two cushions of the sofa. In short…

A question of design

On the back of the smartphone, there is a black block dedicated to shooting, block located at the top left of the device. This module measures 3.25 x 4.65 cm by 0.25 cm thick, as mentioned above. No need to hide how bulky it is, therefore. Placed on a flat surface, the phone is a bit wobbly on its upper part, which does not make its use most comfortable on a desk, for example. But it’s for a good reason, since Samsung has worked a lot on the photo part by developing this model of S20. There is therefore a sensor capable of zooming in 100x, to which we will quickly return. The rest of the back of the device is pleasant to the touch and rather classy, the model that we received for test taking advantage of a most successful gray-mirror effect.

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Like any self-respecting Galaxy S (except the S10e released last year), the S20 Ultra benefits from curved edges at the back and front. But because of its large size, the inclination of these edges seems lower than that of the S20 S20 +, while it is identical in all respects. Clearly, the edges of the screen of the S20 Ultra appear less curved than those of other models (but this is only an impression), which strengthens the “juggernaut” side of the device. Especially since it weighs its weight, with its 222 grams on the scale.

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The edges of the S20 Ultra also benefit from a small mirror effect, but remain very classic. On the right side, we have the two traditional volume control buttons, as well as the one dedicated to power up. By keeping the pressure on it, we can call Bixby, the voice assistant from Samsung. Note that the Korean manufacturer seems to have definitely drawn a line under the button dedicated exclusively to this same voice assistant and previously located on the left side of the device (but who actually uses it? Discussions are open at the bottom of this article , you can go).

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We take advantage, on the top edge of the device, of the housing intended to accommodate SIM and microSD cards, and on the lower edge of the port USB-C as well as loud speaker. But where did the Jack plug ? There just isn’t. After having resisted for years against competitors who all more or less ended up removing it from their flagship store, Samsung finally gave in. To listen to your music, you will now either have to use headphones or a wireless headset, or turn to the side of the USB-C port and an adapter (not supplied).

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On the front, the single photo sensor is housed in a very small punch similar to that of Galaxy A51. This small “hole” is located in the middle of the screen, is quickly forgotten and allows you to enjoy a larger display area. To unlock the device, like the S10 and S10 + released last year, we have the choice: use the PIN code, the diagram, the facial recognition or the sonic fingerprint sensor located under the screen. Nothing changes on this last point, it is still the same technology.

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performances

In terms of display capacities, the S20 Ultra benefits from the same definition as the other models in the range, namely the 3200 x 1440 pixels on an AMOLED 20: 9 panel. The display is superb, contrast and brightness levels perfectly mastered by the manufacturer. The 6.9 ″ screen provides a remarkable cinematic experience: watching a movie or TV series on the Galaxy S20 Ultra is second to noneis one of the highlights of this smartphone.

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At the SoC level, we are entitled to a home processor, a Exynos 990 engraved in 7nm, which was unveiled last October by Samsung. Note that this choice of processor mainly concerns Europe, most of the other regions of the world benefit from a Snapdragon 865. It is still hoped that the South Korean manufacturer will one day stop this incomprehensible distinction and that all world markets will benefit from a single processor, a Snapdragon in this case. However, that does not prevent the S20 Ultra from being cut for the future, since it is already 5G compatible. It is also the only model in the S20 range to be marketed only in 5G version, the other devices (S20 and S20 +) being sold with a chipset sometimes 4G, sometimes 5G.

So, what about the benchmarks that we performed using this Exynos 990 (screenshots above and below)? Whatever the application used, tests show a SoC that keeps pace. The Exynos is more powerful than a Snapdragon 855 or Snadragon 855+, which is pretty good. Its performance is even better than that of Huawei’s Kirin 990, which notably equips the Mate 30 Pro we tested as soon as it was put on the French market. On the other hand, and in view of the first benchmarks that have been published on the Web, the Samsung processor is a chouïa less efficient than the brand new Snapdragon 865. Nothing really surprising to that, it is the same thing every year. This did not stop us from playing the most demanding titles on Android, even pushing the level of detail as it should. The processor is in shock, that’s undeniable.

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In terms of capacity, the device has 12 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage space. If you feel comfortable with such a large memory capacity, you would still have preferred Samsung to be a little more generous in terms of storage. Of course, there is always a way to add a microSD card and increase the space of the smartphone by 1 TB. But it is a bit of a shame that the device is ultimately confined to the same capacity as that of the S20 or S20 +, while the S20 Ultra is supposed to represent the most premium model in the range.

Longevity side, we take advantage of an overpowered 5000 mAh battery. In theory, it should offer an autonomy of intensive use of at least 2 days, without blinking. It is still too early to say. The firmware we currently have is not final and Samsung has assured us that the final version will achieve even better performance. Judging by our first tests, the device should deliver on all of its promises: after 24 hours of intensive use, the smartphone is 46% discharged. After 48 hours, he still has 12% autonomy. We are now waiting for the firmware update to make a final judgment, but it’s pretty good.

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Good audio quality, but …

The audio reproduction without headphones is satisfactory, even if we can blame the S20 Ultra for a sound that is sometimes a bit muffled. Nothing really annoying, the whole is perfectly audible. However, do not push the volume to its maximum: not that the device saturates, but the treble becomes too pronounced. If we often criticize the lack of bass, this is all the more true with the S20 Ultra. When you connect headphones to it, you still face a little lack of bass. Again, nothing really unacceptable, unlike the S20 + that we also put to the test, but we hope that the problem will be solved during a next firmware update, even if it is not listed corrections to be made soon to the device firmware.

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An excellent photo part, but perfectible

Before attacking the photo tests, it is advisable to specify again an important element: the firmware we currently have for this test is not final. Samsung has provided us with a list of all the updates that are scheduled to take place before the S20 Ultra is released. In particular, there is an improvement in Single Take mode, night mode, sharpness of zoom, stabilization of 8K videos or even autofocus. In short, the first evaluations that we have been able to make of the device have nothing definitive and we will not fail to update this test very very quickly, in order to give you more details on the photo part.

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So, at the moment, what is the performance of this S20 Ultra worth in terms of photography? It should first of all be recalled that the device has 4 sensors at the rear: there is a 108 MP module (0.8 µm, f / 1.8), another 48 MP (telephot, 0.8 µm, f / 3.5) and a final 12 MP for the ultra wide angle part (1.4 µm, f / 2.2). A time-of-flight camera (ToF) is also added to all this little world.

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We tested these different photo sensors under various conditions, in good weather as in gloomy weather or in rainy weather. Whatever the conditions, the resulting grain in the photo is relatively small (which is a very good thing). Each shot is sharp and precise, Samsung does not derogate from the quality to which it has accustomed us for at least 2 generations of smartphone. However, and again we hope that this is a firmware problem, the colors are not always true to reality. Leaving all the default settings, a clear sky, but a little gray, will come out blue, really very blue, as demonstrated by the photos below. A little too bright colors, a high contrast … We have often been confronted with the problem, even if it does not appear systematically.

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It is possible to switch the sensor from 48 to 108 MP at any time, the adjustment being made from the side menu, where we also find the icons 3: 4, 9:16, 1: 1, etc. Obviously, this results in pictures with larger dimensions: we go from a classic definition of 4000 x 3000 pixels to 12000 x 9000 pixels. The weight of an image is also affected. There a JPEG image in 48 MP weighs in 4 MB, that in 108 MP is more than 25 MB. A datum that will have to be taken into account if you are the type to store everything on the Cloud. Are the shots more successful? The answer is clearly positive. The 108 MP will allow you to zoom more easily in your photos without having to rework them later in Photoshop.

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The device also offers a 10x optical hybrid zoom and a digital mode of up to 100x. And there is something to be truly amazed at. This is without a doubt one of the main features of this camera: the quality of a 10x shot remains fully exploitable. The smartphone’s sensor does its job wonderfully, with the photo suffering from no blurring or pixel blurring.

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Beyond the 10x, things go bad however, as you might expect. digital processing fails to compensate for the absence of an optical sensor and by pushing the zoom to its maximum, in 100x, the subject becomes difficult to recognize, as shown in the photos below:

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In low light, the S20 Ultra also offers great photos as long as you use night mode. The trouble is, this one isn’t really the fastest. Depending on the ambient light detected by the camera, the shooting can take 8 or … 30 seconds! It’s long. Admittedly, it is possible to do without this mode and obtain despite a satisfactory photo quality, but a certain blur is felt. In short, the low light mode works wonderfully and offers a better color level than that of a Huawei P30 Pro, but you have to be extremely patient.

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The portrait mode of the device is revealed as for the height: the subject is perfectly cropped, only a few small strands of hair not being detected by the algorithm of Samsung. Again, Samsung does not deviate an inch from the photo quality that the South Korean manufacturer has accustomed us to.

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Finally, one of the big new features of the device is to offer 8K recording. As with our very first handling, the smartphone offers no stabilization in this capture mode, which causes a lot of jolts on the video during a tracking shot. A problem that should be corrected during the famous firmware update mentioned above and which deserves to be addressed as soon as possible.

Price and availability

The Galaxy S20 Ultra, like the S20 and S20 +, is already available for pre-order and will be delivered from March 10, 2020 (only for pre-orders). Commercially, the device will go on sale March 13. Two colors are also possible: Grey (our test model) or black.

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But if there is one point on which we have not yet focused, it is the price of the device. In its edition in 12 GB RAM and 128 GB of storage, the device is displayed at the price of … 1359 euros ! Note also that Samsung also plans to market in France an edition in 16 GB / 512 GB, but that the price of it has not yet been determined.

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So yes, the S20 Ultra is an expensive smartphone. It is even more expensive than a Galaxy Note10 + with 512 GB of RAM. It is even the most expensive of all the phones currently marketed by Samsung, with the exception of the Fold and Z Flip, which do not compete in the same category and are anyway more exceptional phones or “proofs” of concept is according to.

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