Samsung Galaxy S20 4G

The Samsung Galaxy S20 is the successor to the Galaxy S10 and should bring Samsung into the new decade. On paper, however, it strongly resembles its predecessor, altho there are substantial differences, both externally and internally. Which exactly and if you should go for this S20 version we are going to find out for you here.

Moderate upgrade

On February 11 of 2020 Samsung announced the S20 series containing of many different models. Models with and without 5G, with and without Plus and even an Ultra. To put it bluntly, this is the entry-level version with 4G. This also makes it the cheapest S20 model you can get. And it's also the most colourful, because in addition to grey, there is now a choice of blue and pink, but more on that later. All in all the S20 is a modest but important update. Modest because many specifications have remained the same, think of a triple camera system with wide angle and zoom, 10 megapixel selfie camera, waterproof housing with a lot of glass and wireless charging. The updates are mainly found in the display and camera functions.

More fluid display

The screen has slightly thinner edges and the cut-out for the selfie camera is also a bit smaller. Moreover, it is now exactly in the middle, which is actually a much more logical place. This results in a slightly larger screen size of 6.2 inches with a higher resolution of 3200 by 1440 pixels. In technical terms this is called Quad HD+. So far nothing has changed much. It does come in the form of a higher refresh rate. Normally it's at 60 Hz, but with the S20 it's doubled to 120 Hz. This results in smoother images and it seems as if it responds faster. You will have to turn on the function after unboxing it because it is standard at 60Hz and at Quad HD+. Unfortunately, this smoother image only works on the lower 1080p resolution.

Main Samsung Galaxy S20 4G specifications

• Bigger Infinity-O Display with Quad HD+ resolution or 120Hz refresh rate
• 64 + 12 + 12 MP rear camera with 30x zoom and 8K-video
• Selfiecam of 10 megapixel with autofocus
• Memory card slot to add up to 1TB extra storage
• Support for fast 4G internet
• Dual SIM functionality

Get closer

There are also numerous improvements in the camera area. There are still three cameras; a main camera, a wide-angle camera and a zoom camera. The latter can now zoom in up to 3x instead of 2x. This is done optically with lenses, which results in sharper images. If you want to get even closer, you can zoom in digitally up to 30x. Do you want to go even further then you have to be at the Galaxy S20 Ultra that can zoom in up to 100x. The biggest difference in camera with the S20+ is that the latter has a separate depth camera which is used for better portrait photography. By distinguishing foreground from background you can make certain things sharp and other parts out of focus. Videos can be shot up to 8K. That's enough that a single image is also sharp enough to be used as a photo. At the front is a 10 megapixel camera. A familiar one as it turns out, because we also saw it on the S10. It is equipped with autofocus (AF) so that you can even get sharp images up close.

No headphone port, 4G instead of 5G

All in all nice improvements but as always there are some caveats. For example, a headphone jack is missing this year. For many, this is no longer disappointing. They listen music wirelessly or using an adaptor. Samsung also supplies AKG earplugs with a USB-C plug. You plug it into the bottom of the Galaxy S20 so that you can always listen to music on the go. With a battery of 4000 mAh, you should definitely get thru the day. Wired charging is extra fast with the included 25 Watt quick charger. Wireless charging can be a little slower. A 5G version of the Samsung Galaxy S20 is also available if you wish. At the time of writing, its usefulness is limited; 5G has not yet been rolled out and is not available nationwide.