Smartphone giant Samsung recently launched its latest flagship smartphone lineup, the Galaxy Note 20 series on the global stage. The company revealed the details around the much anticipated Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and the Note 20 Ultra. Right after the launch, the company opened up pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 lineup. Samsung has teamed up with Amazon India and Flipkart to make the pre-booking process easier. In addition, interested buyers can also head to Samsung.com or offline retail stores to reserve their device.
As previously reported, the company has priced the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 at Rs 77,999 with 256GB storage. The Note 20 Ultra 5G is priced at Rs 104,990 with 256GB storage. The company also shared details around multiple bank offers and discounts on additional services to offer additional perks. You can head to the Samsung website to check details regarding multiple offers including EMI, vouchers, Samsung Care+, cashback, and more. One can also use the exchange offers to push the price further down for the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G.
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Samsung is also offering Note 20 in the Mystic Bronze, Mystic Green, and Mystic Blue color options. Moving to the Ultra, we will only get the device in Mystic Bronze and Mystic Black options. We got the chance to use to Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G over the weekend. Here are our initial thoughts regarding the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G.
Top-notch design on the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G
This is the first thing that you will notice after taking the device out of the box. Samsung has managed to improve its game from the Note 10 lineup in terms of design and build quality. The metal frames around the device along with the glass back and front scream premium while setting it a class apart. It is also interesting to note that the smartphone maker has also made small tweaks on the Note 20 Ultra. For instance, the S Pen housing has shifted from the right side to the left on the bottom.
Looking at the rear of the device along with the triple camera setup, it is evident that the Note 20 Ultra 5G means business. Ultra is not wildly different from previous Note devices in looks. But, the level of distinction that the company managed to bake in each successive flagship smartphone is unparalleled. In fact, the device has evolved from its business-focused target group to compete with the Galaxy S lineup.
Hardware and specifications
Ultra features a massive 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with 2K resolution. Samsung has also added Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, HDR10+, and up to 120Hz refresh rate on the panel. Our unit runs on Exynos 990 SoC with 12GB RAM and 256GB UFS 3.0 storage. Samsung has added a 108-megapixel primary camera with a 12-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens. Beyond this, we also get 8K recording, 50x Hybrid zoom, stereo sound recording, and gyroscope based EIS with OIS. Switching to the front, we get a 10-megapixel selfie camera with 4K video.
The flagship device is powered by a 4,500mAh battery with 25W fast charging and 9W reverse wireless charging. On the software side, Samsung has added Android 10-based One UI 2.5 to run the device. The company also noted that it will offer three major Android version upgrades to the Ultra at the launch. Other features include an under-display fingerprint scanner, Wireless DeX, 5G, IP68 rating, and a hybrid SIM slot for storage expansion. We also get stereo speakers, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, and NFC features to make it a comprehensive package.
The S factor
Beyond the design and cameras, one key feature that makes Note 20 Ultra 5G different is obviously the included S Pen. The new S pen comes with a number of new gestures to make it more useful across the board. These range from navigation around the UI to launching apps and more. In addition, the company also claims to have improved the latency on the unit to make things more competitive. This is the primary feature that is keeping the differences between the S20 Ultra and the Note 20 Ultra 5G somewhat significant.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G: First impressions
It is extremely hard to not get impressed by the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G. The amount of work that Samsung puts in the Note 20 series (at least the Ultra 5G this time) is evident. The build quality more than makes up for the extensive leaks around the Note 20 series. Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G features incredible looks with intimidating camera setup and impressive software. However, we still have to see the number of improvements that Samsung has made in the second Ultra for 2020. Stay tuned for our full review in the coming days where we put the device through its paces.