Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G, often called the Note20, is the real successor to the Note 10 announced in August 2020. Just like previous years, Samsung is releasing several versions of the Note; this year a regular Note and a Note Ultra. Still, this year there are more differences than just the size. Which exactly is something we are we going to explain here.

Same idea, but simpler

You know the Note-series of large Samsung smartphones that you can control with a pen. Essentially, the Note 20 is exactly that; a large Android smartphone with built-in S Pen and all the functionality that comes with it. And yet there is something different this year. At the unveiling of this Galaxy Note 20, for example, no Note20+ was announced. There was a Note 20 Ultra with much more extensive specifications. And therefore this Note 20 looks fairly simple. Here no telescope camera, smooth Quad HD screen or S Pen with only 9ms latency. Even the housing is much simpler with a plastic back. Not very chic for a device in this price range.

Faster S Pen gets new features

Comparing the Note20 to its predecessor we see a much larger 6.7 inch Infinity-O screen which uses Super AMOLED Plus. That's a lot of jargon for a flat screen with punch-hole for a single selfie camera and a high screen brightness and contrast. The screen edges are also nice and thin so everything looks nice and modern. Just like last year, Samsung applies Full HD+ resolution, but due to the increased screen diagonal, the device drops thru the 400 PPI (Pixels Per Inch) border. It is also a pity for a device with a recommended retail price of over a thousand euros. The increased screen diagonal comes in handy in combination with the S Pen. This is faster so there is less delay between the touch and a line on the screen. This makes it feel more natural and more like a real pen. Thanks to Anywhere Actions, you can assign self-selected scribbles to an action such as 'back', 'home' or 'recent apps'. There is room for 5 such actions and it works in all apps. Other innovations are that handwritten notes are automatically saved (auto-safe) and synchronised to other devices such as a Windows 10 PC via Microsoft 365.

Main Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G specifications

• 6.7 inch flat Infinity-O Display with HDR10+ support
• 12+12+64MP camera system with 30x Space Zoom, optical image stabilisation and ultra-wide-angle lens
• S Pen with significantly lower latency gives a more natural feel
• 7nm 64-bit octacore processor with 8GB of RAM and 128 or 256GB of non-extendible storage
• 4300 mAh large battery with fast wireless charging and Wireless PowerShare

The usual specifications, just a little bit different

Samsung has equipped the Galaxy Note20 with a triple camera system consisting of a 12 MP main camera with f/1.8 wide angle lens, 12 MP camera with 120° ultra-wide-angle lens and a 64 MP telephoto lens with 3x hybrid optical zoom or 30x digital zoom. Usually you see that manufacturers use most megapixels for their main camera, in this case it goes to the zoom camera. That's nice because it delivers much sharper images when you want to get a little closer. All cameras are housed in a newly designed housing that still protrudes considerably and has relatively sharp edges. The selfie camera is an old acquaintance; it is the 10 MP Dual Pixel camera with autofocus from the Note 10. Samsung has spooned a 4300 mAh large battery into the camera. Fast charging can be done on a maximum of 25Watt, which means that after half an hour you are back on a half full battery. Fast wireless charging is also possible thanks to Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 and wireless power (Wireless PowerShare). Handy to charge other phones or of course your Galaxy Buds Live earplugs.

Also consider the Note10+

So is this Galaxy Note 20 a good choice? Apart from a few improvements, it's better to go for the Note10+ from a year earlier in terms of price. It is now much cheaper, the same size and can also be expanded with a memory card. Finally, a 4G version of the Note20 is also available. For more information and prices go to the Note 20 4G page.