Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review: The ultimate Alpha Android smartphone
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review: If the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra was an athlete, he would be Michael Jordan – the ultimate Alpha Male – at the peak of his prowess. This superior Note 20 series smartphone is strong, powerful and most importantly, the most improved device in the last 12 months. So, here is our full review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review: If the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra was an athlete, he would be Michael Jordan – the ultimate Alpha Male – at the peak of his prowess. This superior Note 20 series smartphone is strong, powerful and most importantly, the most improved device in the last 12 months. It has built on the positives of the Galaxy Note 10+ and grown in other areas. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G was launched about two weeks back and has arrived in India at Rs 1,04,990.
This year, the South Korean electronics giant launched two smartphones as part of the series - the Galaxy Note 20 and the Note 20 Ultra – the latter getting the 5G support in the country. Over the last decade, the Note smartphones have built a legacy of their own, creating a new phablet category. This is why every smartphone user eagerly awaits the new Note line up, irrespective of the fact whether they can afford it or not!
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The smartphone has a gigantic display with 120Hz screen refresh rate, a gorgeous design, 108-megapixel camera and an improved Stylus S Pen. I have been using the smartphone for about 10 days now and it’s time to find out if it’s worth your money or not. So, here is our full review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review: Design and Display
Jordan was the king of NBA ever since his rookie year in 1984, yet he didn’t win a single title till the early 90s. It was the 1990 eastern conference finals against a bullying Detroit Pistons-side that made the Jordan realise that he needed to bulk up and evolve his physical game to stay relevant and clinch the trophy that eluded him for so long. A year later the Bulls won their first ever NBA title.
The Galaxy Note series has been one of the most innovative smartphone line-ups of the last decade. It’s biggest selling point was a larger screen that would reduce the gap between a smartphone and a tablet. However, others took a leaf of Samsung’s book, coming up with smartphones with big displays. So, a change was needed.
Enters the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G, which is the most handsome smartphone I have ever held. And, that’s when I hold a new one almost every week. It takes the design-game to a new level with Samsung’s ‘noteworthy’ choice of colours and decision to opt for matte finish at the back. The giant piece of tech has been crafted from metal and glass with the glossy rear panel on last year’s Galaxy Note 10+ replaced by a frosted glass finish.
The smartphone has been launched in three colour options - Mystic Bronze, Mystic White and Mystic Black. I got the first for review purposes and it looks absolutely gorgeous.
You get the volume controls on the right side, along with a Bixby button which can be remapped for power on/off. The hybrid SIM tray slot is on the top which can house two SIM cards at a time. You can ditch one to include a microSD card (up to 1TB).
Samsung has also managed to get eSIM support on the Note 20 Ultra 5G, which is probably the most under-rated and least-talked about feature of this phone. It allows you to replace at least one physical SIM with an eSIM. For now, the eSIM service is available with Airtel and Jio but is expected to come on Vodafone too.
At the back, the Note 20 Ultra flaunts the biggest camera module I have seen on a smartphone till date, which makes it standout from anything in the market. At the same time, it stops the phone from lying flat on the surface. Since the module is so protruding, I was scared every time I put it on a rough surface.
But Samsung tells us that all the lenses are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 6, which is reassuring.
The only thing that you need to consider in terms of design is that this is a big and slightly bulky phone. In fact, I held the Note 20 Ultra and the Apple iPhone SE in each hand to just feel the difference in form factor. The latter is BJ Armstrong to our Note 20 Ultra’s Jordan. To its credit, Armstrong single-handedly won a playoff game against Jordan and his Bulls team.
Moving on, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra features a gigantic 6.9-inch Super AMOLED display that supports 120Hz screen refresh rate and 1440p video quality. This is basically the same display that we had seen on the S20 Ultra earlier this year but had me in awe once again. Going beyond the numbers, it’s the experience of using that massive screen with impeccable smoothness for streaming, typing or simply browsing, that makes the difference.
As good as the display is, it forces you to choose between 1440p and 120Hz refresh rate. Opting for the first, takes you to 60Hz refresh rate, eventually stopping you from using the smartphone to its full potential. This is something I had major problems with both on the Galaxy S20 Plus and S20 Ultra too and a solution is yet to arrive.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review: Camera
The most improved thing about the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is its camera – both in terms of offering and performance. On this flagship, you get a triple rear camera setup that can bring any smartphone to shame.
The setup comprises of a 108-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 12-megapixel telephoto camera. It offers 3x optical zoom and 50x space zoom as well as supports 8K video recording.
Samsung has done a great job of fixing the camera issues witnessed on its recent smartphones. I noticed that auto-focus has improved a lot and the camera now locks on to the subject fairly quicker. The image processing is strong too, which helped me click some really good images, that didn’t need any edits.
The colours are largely true, edge detection is fairly impressive and the ultra-wide angle has a great field of view as well.
The most impressive part about the camera is its lowlight capabilities. This is something that the Note 10+ had struggled with but Note 20 Ultra takes steps in the right direction. Trust me when I say it, the Note 20 Ultra refuses to believe that it’s Night. The images I managed to click at 12 in the night were as good as what other cameras would give you in evening.
On top of the display, you get a beautifully placed 10-megapixel camera in hole punch design. But, it needs improvement in terms of performance. The selfies are soft and clearly lack crispness.
No matter how great a player Jordan was, even he had some shortcomings and so does the Note 20 Ultra. There is Single Take feature within the camera app that captures multiple media formats at the same time. You just need to click once and it captures images, videos, boomerang etc at the same time.
The problem is you can easily get about 100 to 150MB of media files, most of which you may want to manually delete later. So, the work is actually increased.
The camera also gets support for 50x Space Zoom, a downgrade from the 100x option you get on the S20 Ultra, and for the good. Let’s be honest, nobody wants to zoom in so much and spy on others' lives. Also, it had some serious issues – the phone would get warm or the camera app would hang – both of which have somewhat been resolved on the Note 20 Ultra.
Yet, the phone continues to heat up at times, and that can be attributed to a below par processor used by Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review: Performance and Battery
That brings us to the performance of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and all I have to say is that – it could have been better. The Exynos 990 SoC used on the Note 20 Ultra (for the Indian market) makes the smartphone look like the ‘Number 45’ jersey wearing Jordan who, on his return from 18-month hiatus in 1995, made 7-of-28 shots on the way to 19 points against Reggie Miller’s Indiana Pacers.
While Samsung has defended its choice, the processor does have some problems and fails to take the increased workload. The lags are missing, but the phone tends to warm during longer usage or while clicking images via Space Zoom.
I also noticed some drops in frame rates while running heavy gaming titles like Call of Duty: Mobile. To compensate for this, you get 12GB of RAM which somewhat saves the day.
Also, you get a big enough 4500 mAh battery which comes with a 25W fast charger inside the box. A lot of people might complain that Samsung has downgraded from the 45W fast charging on Galaxy S20 Ultra but personally, I think 25W is more than enough. It helps company cut the cost and the adaptor is relatively compact too.
What I didn’t like though is that Samsung has also ditched the protective case from the retail box – for cost cutting or otherwise.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review: S Pen
S Pen has always been a treat on the Note devices and it has received some major upgrades too. You get five new gestures this year and the latency has been brought down from 42ms to 9ms. You can clearly see the difference while using the S Pen. It has become super smooth and takes no time to register whatever you are writing or drawing.
This will be appreciated by those who use the Note series smartphones to sketch or to frequently take notes. Samsung has also added a sound to the S Pen which makes you feel as if you are actually writing on paper.
And, if you believe that a S Pen is only useful for working professionals, just give this phone to a kid for 15 minutes and you will be surprised. They know how to make the best use of it.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review: Final Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G has got most things right. It’s a gorgeous looking smartphone that you can flaunt among friends, features one of the smoothest displays on a device and has exceptional camera capabilities. The screen size is perfect for streaming content, playing games or to sketch using the S Pen.
Things you need consider is that this smartphone is definitely not for a one-hand use. You will get decent gaming performance but if that’s your priority, probably opt for the Asus ROG Phone 3. Also, at Rs 1,04,990, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is one of the most expensive Android smartphones out there and could have been priced slightly more aggressively.
While I totally understand that they don’t sell art in colony shops on wholesale rates, this is a piece that deserved to reach more users.
For years, the S Pen was probably the biggest reason to spend on a Note. But, that has changed with the Note 20 Ultra, just like the Jordan of the 90s who adapted to Phil Jackson’s triangle offense to emerge as a complete player, adding more value to his game. What I am trying to say is that you have more than one reason to spend on the Note 20 Ultra, making it worth a buy, even at that outrageous price point.
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