Samsung Galaxy S20+ 4G

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ is the successor to the Galaxy S11+ and therefore part of the S20 family for 2020. The Plus version was always the largest Galaxy S model you could get, but this year that is not the case. There is also a S20 Ultra available this year. Here we are going to explain which model you should buy and why.

Middle child of the S20 family

Fair is fair; Samsung hasn't made it any easier. There is a Galaxy S20, a S20+ and a S20 Ultra. And of those first two, you can choose between a 4G and 5G version. For the sake of clarity; we are talking about the middle model, the S20 Plus with 4G. If you necessarily want 5G then you have to be at the Galaxy S20+ 5G. 5G is not really useful at this moment. That can change when telecom providers upgrade their network. That makes the S20+ 5G a bit more future proof, for now you just pay more without having anything in return.

Fluid 120Hz screen but with a but

Samsung has placed a larger screen of 6.7 inches without using a much larger housing. This was achieved by making the screen edges even smaller. The double selfie camera that occupied a large part of the screen was changed by a single 10 megapixel shooter. That's still roomy enough for razor sharp selfies. The camera sits nicely in the middle. New on the screen is the higher refresh rate. Instead of 60, images are now refreshed 120 times per second. This makes the screen look a lot smoother during animations such as scrolling. It also makes it feel faster. Please note that the unit is standard on the lower 60 Hz. Only then you can use the maximum screen resolution of Quad HD+. If you want the faster 120Hz, the S20+ switches to a slightly lower resolution of Full HD+. Despite that, images are still sharp.

Main Samsung Galaxy S20+ 4G specifications

• 6.7 inch Infinity-O screen with smaller screen hole for selfiecam
• 64 + 12 + 12 megapixel camera with depth sensor, 8K video and 3 to 30x zoom
• Sharp 10 MP selfiecam with autofocus (AF)
• Slot to easily insert memory (up to max 1 TB)
• Fast mobile internet via 4G
• Place multiple SIM cards thanks to Dual SIM support

Depth camera, 3x zoom and 8K video

On the camera front, an extra sensor has been added; a depth sensor. This depth information allows you to shoot even more beautiful portrait pictures with a blurred background. Also new is the possibility to zoom in further without loss of quality. Samsung has increased the resolution of the telephoto camera to 64 megapixels. This makes it possible to bring images 3 times closer without sacrificing quality. Hybrid Optic Zoom is what Samsung calls it. You can zoom in even further, up to 30x, but that is done digitally. Pixels are then made up, which results in blurier images. So only use it if there is no other way. This year, you can shoot video in 8K. That sounds handy but in practise you won't need it any time soon. Especially because 1 minute of recording takes 600 MB of storage. Moreover, you can only shoot up to 5 minutes in 8K movies. But if you're one of the few lucky with an 8K TV at home, you can't go wrong with the S20+.

Useful improvements

Samsung also did not fail to increase the battery capacity from 4100 to 4500 mAh. Fast charging is possible this year with a maximum of 25 Watt and wireless charging is also available again. Of course, the latest and newest processor has been chosen with 8 GB of RAM memory. Adding memory is still possible, up to 512 GB. However, the headphone jack has disappeared. In order to use your own favourite headphones, you will need to use an adaptor. You plug it into the USB-C input at the bottom. To make up for this inconvenience, Samsung does supply AKG earplugs with a USB-C connexion.

Pro and cons Galaxy S20+ 4G

• Fourth camera sensor added
• Video in 8K shooting
• Subtler selfie camera in small hole punch
• Faster, smoother screen

• Pretty conservative update