Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra hands-on review: Pure dominance

Information technology's non oft that one model in a new flagship series from Samsung stands so far apart from the rest that it really becomes necessary to talk about it separately. Simply that's admittedly the case with the Milky way S20 Ultra. Samsung has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at this device and it really is a strong statement from the company that information technology means business.

So let's dive correct into this Galaxy S20 Ultra easily-on review and run into what kind of a first impression Samsung'south most expensive and near feature-packed flagship ever leaves. For our easily-on review of the Milky way S20 and S20+, check out this commodity.

Design and experience

You can pick the Galaxy S20 Ultra out of a lineup pretty easily. It has an imposing personality considering of its sheer dimensions and larger display; in fact, the largest withal on a Samsung flagship. Yet, information technology never feels like a smartphone that you couldn't possibly use as a daily driver. Information technology volition fit in your pocket easily, isn't too heavy and maintains a thin profile despite all of the crazy tech that it's packing inside.

It has all of the aforementioned new design elements as its siblings which we have detailed in our Milky way S20 and Galaxy S20+ hands-on review. The Ultra does stand out considering of its massive rear camera module. It's vertically aligned and dominates the back. Given that in that location'south a decent amount of advanced tech inside, the module does noticeably beetle from the back. Yes, we did the wobble test on a flat surface, and it has bang-up wobbling potential, a consequence of that protrusion.

There's no mistaking the fact that this is a Samsung flagship. It has the very familiar look and feel that nosotros've come to wait from the visitor'due south loftier-end devices. The subtle curves at the back allow for a comfortable grip while the metal and glass build feels premium in the hand. There are absolutely no complaints hither.

Display

The display size of the Galaxy S20 Ultra is stretching the limits of what could feasibly exist called a smartphone and not merely a small-scale tablet. The 6.nine-inch Quad HD+ AMOLED brandish is accompanied by slim bezels and subtle curved edges. Given how we apply our phones these days with content consumption being our biggest priority, at that place'due south a reasonable take chances that most customers who tin beat out the extra dollars for the largest model volition go for the Ultra partly because of the brandish, the other amazing tech nonetheless.

Samsung has equipped the entire Galaxy S20 lineup with a 120Hz refresh charge per unit panel. The fluidity and smoothness that it allows in animations and games is difficult to miss. It'southward not bad that Samsung has finally shifted to 120Hz panels for its flagship – it's a welcome addition to the lineup. The panel's quality is zippo short of infrequent. Samsung'southward AMOLED displays rarely give an opportunity to mutter and that doesn't change with the Ultra.

An ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is present also. Samsung isn't saying that a second-generation sensor has been installed but information technology does say that were will be noticeable improvements in speed and reliability compared to the Galaxy S10. That's partly because the sensor has been repositioned and additional enhancements accept been made. We'll compare its performance to the Galaxy S10'due south sensor in our full review.

Software

This is a new Milky way flagship and so you already know that it's coming with the latest version of Google's Android Os and Samsung's custom skin. The Galaxy S20 Ultra ships with Android ten and Ane UI 2.1, a pocket-size upgrade of Samsung's UX which brings a handful of new software features to the lineup.

These new features include Single Take, an AI-based photographic camera style that uses the total diverseness of cameras on the device to automatically capture different versions of a scene so that you can decide which one y'all'd keep. There's native integration with Google Duo for Full HD video calls with upward to 8 people and the ability to share 8K videos direct to YouTube.

Camera

This is what yous're actually here for, the camera, the ane thing that makes the Galaxy S20 Ultra a certifiable creature. Its quad camera system consists of a 108-megapixel f/1.viii OIS main sensor with a 12-megapixel f/2.ii ultra broad sensor and 48-megapixel f/iii.5 OIS telephoto sensor. In that location's a ToF sensor as well for AR experiences.

Samsung won't exactly say what the optical magnification level of the actual hardware is, but it'southward boasting 10x lossless zoom. Lossless zoom by definition ways that the image will not suffer from a quality loss when it's scaled up. It features revolutionary prism tech to allow the handset to achieve such levels of optical magnification. Samsung is putting on-device AI to great utilise with its cameras. By combining the hybrid optic zoom and digital zoom, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is able to hit 100x Space Zoom. There will obviously be a loss of quality at that level since the device is essentially cropping an image from the 108MP camera to emulate 100x zoom.

However, having seen some examples of the feature in activeness, it really does permit for an unprecedented level of optical magnification on a smartphone. Just how useful this will testify to be in daily use is something we'll test in our full Galaxy S20 Ultra review. Information technology utilizes nona-binning applied science to combine nine pixels into ane super pixel, which lets more light in and allows for improved quality in low-light atmospheric condition. That's also something we'll be testing thoroughly in the review. The Ultra is as well the only model in the new lineup to feature a xl-megapixel f/2.ii selfie camera.

Samsung is really clear about the client that it wants to target with the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Information technology's going after pro photographers, at least the ones who shoot with smartphones and not swear by their full frame cameras. To add to the camera setup's capabilities, Samsung has adult several new photographic camera features to enable users to do more with their device. At that place's a Pro video mode which allows for adjustments to exposure and aperture when capturing videos. A new Single Take mode uses AI to capture multiple varieties of a scene using all of the cameras on the device to provide easily shareable options that include photos and videos. Nosotros also liked the crop-zoom characteristic, which lets you easily achieve the desired crop without considerably altering the paradigm quality. It's these lilliputian common sense features that really go a long way in making our lives easier with the phones we apply equally our daily driver.

It's also possible to capture 8K video on the device and even share information technology to YouTube direct. We played around with all of these new features during our time with the Galaxy S20 Ultra and they seem to be much more useful than some of the features that Samsung has previously built into the camera app simply for the sake of announcing something new. Single Have is something that particularly has a lot of potential to be a hot favorite during social gatherings.

Bombardment and charging

The Milky way S20 Ultra gets the largest bombardment of the bunch, v,000mAh to be precise. This is the largest battery yet on a Galaxy S flagship. For those with a calorie-free human foot, it will easily terminal them two days, and will comfortably see even the most demanding of users through an entire day.

Samsung does offer 45W super fast charging support on the Milky way S20 Ultra only at that place'south some bad news. Information technology's not shipping the charger with the telephone. Much like information technology did with the Galaxy Notation 10+, customers will have to purchase the 45W charger separately if they desire to juice upwardly their device at those speeds. All Galaxy S20 models come up with a 25W charger in the box.

Determination

As far as its specs are concerned, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is in a league of its own right at present, thanks to its advanced camera tech and impressive internals. It's definitely the phone to beat for Android manufacturers in the first one-half of this year.

Does it work, though, beyond the distinction of beingness the globe's first 100x zoom phone? At that place's no denying the fact that this level of camera tech will come up in handy. There are high expectations from the 108MP camera'south low calorie-free functioning likewise and Samsung says that depression-calorie-free photography is one of the pain points that information technology has addressed with this device.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra does 2 things for Samsung. It's a symbol of Samsung'southward technological dominance. The Korean behemothic has worked very difficult to come out from the shadows and establish itself as a leader instead of a follower. If anything could signal to its competitors that it means business organization in 2020, it'south this, the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

It'southward also an ode to Samsung's fans. Long before the rumors began, our founder Danny wrote an opinion highlighting the fact that Samsung's adjacent flagship needs to be a true camera powerhouse every bit the company had seemingly been slipping in this section and would rapidly be bested by its rivals. That was ever difficult for fans to meet. The Galaxy S20 Ultra is something that will make them experience proud. It's usually these fans who are waiting with wallets in manus for the acme-tier flagship from Samsung every twelvemonth. We're pretty sure they're already throwing money at their monitors, and subsequently playing around with information technology for a few hours, so are we.