First impressions of the Samsung Galaxy S20 trio: 8K, cameras up to 108 megapixels, 100x zoom and more.
The next generation of expensive smartphones from Samsung is called Galaxy S20 and brings many highlights in cameras. The Galaxy S20 Ultra is the brand new. Top of the line with the main sensor of 108 megapixels, up to 100x zoom. 8K recording and a large battery to handle the huge 6.9-inch screen.
Already the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20 + are the updates of the phones of 2019. This also offers relevant news: the screens are more fluid for gamers on duty. The cameras almost take pictures alone and the devices are already prepared for the 5G.
Galaxy S20 and S20 + have bigger batteries and 120 Hz screen
Starting with the most familiar smartphones, we have the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20 +. Which are incremental updates compared to the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 +. The differences between the two are due to the screen size, battery capacity and set of rear cameras. The larger model has a fourth sensor, of flight time, to measure the distance of the objects photographed.
At first, both the Samsung Galaxy S20 and the Samsung Galaxy S20 + surprised me by the lightness. Samsung increased the screens to 6.2 and 6.7 inches, while the batteries are with 4,000 mAh and 4,500 mAh. Only the weight remains in the range of 160 to 180 grams. I had been using a 226-gram iPhone 11 Pro Max for the past few weeks, and the difference was noticeable. Unfortunately, those who prefer smaller phones have lost an option. As this time Samsung has not announced a compact version like the Galaxy S10e.
AMOLED screens are still among the best, with impeccable definition, perfect black, and very strong shine. That coped very well with the Californian sun. But what caught the eye was the 120 Hz refresh rate. This increases the feeling of fluidity, as everything glides on as if the butter has been applied to the screen. It remains to be seen how long the battery will last with this folded work of the graphics chip. Probably not long, so much so that the display, in standard mode, works at 60 Hz.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 will have versions with 128 or 256 GB of storage and 8 or 12 GB of RAM. Samsung Exynos 990 octa-core. Only four countries, including the United States, will have the Galaxy S20 with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865
Camera
The main camera of the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20 + continues with a resolution of 12 megapixels. But the lens has a fixed aperture of f / 1.8 – the variable aperture of previous generations has been left out in the new models. We continue with an ultrawide sensor of 12 megapixels and a telephoto to capture photos with zoom. Now with a resolution of 64 megapixels. In numbers, the big news is the possibility of shooting at 8K at 30 frames per second.
But Samsung paid more attention to the software. The most interesting is the Single Shot mode. Which has a very simple concept: you open the camera and press a button. From there, the Samsung Galaxy S20 takes an ultrawide photo, another with a blurred background, another with a different frame, indicates the best and even records some videos with different styles, all at the same time. Then, you choose what content you want to use. In practice, it can help you register right away and think about the details later
Galaxy S20 Ultra takes pictures with 100x zoom
The smartphone with more news is the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which has the best specifications and the most powerful cameras of the trio. The internal storage reaches 512 GB, the RAM is up to 16 GB and the battery has a capacity of 5,000 mAh. And the screen is overly large: it’s 6.9 inches, even bigger than the Galaxy Note 10+. It is also the only one that has no color version: only gray and black.
The most expensive model is expected to attract users by cameras. Even the front camera, which sits in a central hole on the screen, is technically better. It has a 40-megapixel resolution on the Galaxy S20 Ultra, against 10 megapixels on the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20 +. Also capable of shooting in 4K at 60 frames per second. And the rear cameras, which form a sizable bump, can take pictures with up to 100x zoom – a feature that Samsung called Space Zoom.
In numbers, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra has the main camera of 108 megapixels, an ultrawide of 12 megapixels and a telephoto of 48 megapixels, in addition to a 3D depth sensor. The zoom camera is periscopic, like the Huawei P30 Pro: the lenses are positioned perpendicular to the image sensor, and a prism does the job of directing the light correctly. This allows you to get to a larger optical zoom without making your phone so thick, but it does limit the aperture of the lens, which is f / 3.5.
Telephoto lens
I need to test the telephoto lens better, especially in dark scenarios. which must be quite challenging for this lens. but the fact is that I couldn’t stop playing with the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra zoom. The hybrid zoom, which is a combination of optical zoom and an artificial intelligence algorithm, reaches 10x, which already allows framing very distant objects with a good definition. But it is fun to test the 100x zoom: the sharpness is terrible, but it feels like having a microscope or telescope in hand: you can see the weaves of a tissue, or see a person’s face from a distance.
The 108-megapixel main camera is also noteworthy for its ninth-binning technology, which combines nine pixels into one to improve definition. As a rule, the larger the pixel size, the more efficient the light capture. The sensor of the Galaxy S20 Ultra has 108 million pixels of 0.8 micrometers, which is equivalent to 12 million pixels of 2.4 micrometers – this is three times the pixel size of the Galaxy S10 +, and can help improve the definition of photos mainly in the dark.
For the rest, everything continues as expected in a top of the line Samsung. The speakers are stereo, with Dolby Atmos technology to improve immersion; the design has protection against water and dust (IP68); and Android is the latest, in version 10, with the One UI interface. The 3.5 mm headphone jack. which still existed on the Galaxy S10, was retired on the Galaxy Note 10 and has not returned.
Samsung Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, Galaxy S20 Ultra price in India, pre-booking offers
Samsung Galaxy S20 – specs, ₹ 66,999
- Display: 6.2 inch Dynamic AMOLED, 3200×1440 pixels, 563 PPI, 20: 9 aspect ratio, 120 Hz refresh rate, 240 Hz touch sensor, Infinity-O notch
- Processor: Samsung Exynos 990 with 7 nanometers and frequency of 2.7 GHz (Brazil) or Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 (United States)
- Storage: 128 GB or 256 GB, microSD up to 1 TB
- RAM: 8 GB or 12 GB
- Back camera:
- 12 megapixels (main, f / 1.8) + 64 megapixels (telephoto, f / 2.0) + 12 megapixels (ultrawide, f / 2.2)
- 3x optical zoom, 30x digital zoom
- 8K video recording at 30 fps
- Front camera: 10 megapixel (f / 2.2), 4K video recording at 60 fps
- Battery: 4,000 mAh, fast recharge
- Operating system: Android 10 with One UI 2.0
- Plus: IP68 water and dust resistance, AKG Dolby Atmos stereo speaker
- Dimensions: 152 x 68 x 7.9 mm, 164 g
Samsung Galaxy S20 + – specs, ₹ 73,999
- Screen: AMOLED Dynamic 6.7 inch, 3200×1440 pixels, 525 PPI, 20: 9 aspect ratio, 120 Hz refresh rate, 240 Hz touch sensor, Infinity-O notch
- Processor: Samsung Exynos 990 with 7 nanometers and frequency of 2.7 GHz (Brazil) or Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 (United States)
- Storage: 128 GB or 256 GB, microSD up to 1 TB
- RAM: 8 GB or 12 GB
- Back camera:
- 12 megapixels (main, f / 1.8) + 64 megapixels (telephoto, f / 2.0) + 12 megapixels (ultrawide, f / 2.2) + 3D depth (ToF)
- 3x hybrid optical zoom, 30x digital zoom
- 8K video recording at 30 fps
- Front camera: 10 megapixel (f / 2.2), 4K video recording at 60 fps
- Battery: 4,500 mAh, fast recharge
- Operating system: Android 10 with One UI 2.0
- Plus: IP68 water and dust resistance, AKG Dolby Atmos stereo speaker
- Dimensions: 162 x 74 x 7.8 mm, 188 g
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra – specs ₹ 92,999
- Screen: AMOLED Dynamic 6.9 inches, 3200×1440 pixels, 511 PPI, 20: 9 aspect ratio, 120 Hz refresh rate, 240 Hz touch sensor, Infinity-O notch
- Processor: Samsung Exynos 990 with 7 nanometers and frequency of 2.7 GHz (Brazil) or Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 (United States)
- Storage: 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB, microSD up to 1 TB
- RAM: 12 GB or 16 GB
- Back camera:
- 108 megapixels (main, f / 1.8) + 48 megapixels (telephoto, f / 3.5) + 12 megapixels (ultrawide, f / 2.2) + 3D depth (ToF)
- 10x hybrid optical zoom, 100x digital zoom
- 8K video recording at 30 fps
- Front camera: 40 megapixel (f / 2.2), 4K video recording at 60 fps
- Battery: 5,000 mAh, fast recharge
- Operating system: Android 10 with One UI 2.0
- Plus: IP68 water and dust resistance, AKG Dolby Atmos stereo speaker
- Dimensions: 167 x 76 x 8.8 mm, 221 g
