Hands-On With Samsung's New S20 Ultra: Is It Worth $1400?

[Septembersrain]

Nope. I'm waiting for LG. I still prefer my Android to have a headphone jack. The quad DAC LG gives its V and G series devices is what I like.

I'm sure my little niche will eventually disappear but I'll just buy up used devices for that purpose.

I like the 11 Pro Max for the battery life and I'm not too excited to try another 5G device after my OnePlus McLaren experience.

 

[GuruZac]

The phone is all a bit gimmicky but that’s Samsung. 108mp? 8K video recording? 16GB of RAM? Why? Samsung continues to be first to market but it seems like usual, it’s only to be first to market. Not to offer a truly great user experience.

And yet another forum with comments talking about design with no notch etc... forgetful of course that none of the ‘more elegant‘ designs vs the notch have anything close to the tech that makes up FaceID. That’s why there’s a notch. In screen fingerprint is cool, however. I would like the option of both to be honest.

 

[BritishApple]

How is it in Safari?

That patter wasn’t even funny 10 years ago.

 

[M3gatron]

The phone is all a bit gimmicky but that’s Samsung. 108mp? 8K video recording? 16GB of RAM? Why? Samsung continues to be first to market but it seems like usual, it’s only to be first to market. Not to offer a truly great user experience.

Why not?
Are you actually trying to present more/better hardware and features as negatives?
What's the problem with 16GB of RAM?
And the user experience is better in every way in comparison to previous Samsung phones.
It's even on One UI 2.1, so a newer version than the one on the Note 10 and S10.

And yet another forum with comments talking about design with no notch etc... forgetful of course that none of the ‘more elegant‘ designs vs the notch have anything close to the tech that makes up FaceID. That’s why there’s a notch. In screen fingerprint is cool, however. I would like the option of both to be honest.

I don't think anybody forgot about "the tech that makes up FaceID", it's just that for a lot of users is not very important. A lot of users prefer the choice of having a more modern and unobtrusive front screen design. That big notch is still just an ugly compromise.

 

[Abazigal]

Why not?
Are you actually trying to present more/better hardware and features as negatives?
What's the problem with 16GB of RAM?
And the user experience is better in every way in comparison to previous Samsung phones.
It's even on One UI 2.1, so a newer version than the one on the Note 10 and S10.

It’s not that more specs is inherently a bad thing in itself, but that there is often too much focus on specs in a vacuum, and not enough of the end experience.

For example, if you watch the recent MKBHD video on the S20, you see the compromises Samsung made to get a 108 mp camera in there. The 8k recording feature is slow, has poor focus tracking, with a narrow field of view. Some of this is largely due to the limitations of the processor, but it also shows the pitfalls of shoving technology in just for bragging rights rather than to offer a better experience.

Samsung’s weakness has always been their lack of a software and services ecosystem, which I feel ultimately limits the potential of their products. This is in contrast to Apple, who has a knack for taking an emerging product category with a frustrating user experience and delivering a polished product made possible by its control over both the hardware and software.

Specs do matter, but they aren’t the be-all and end all of what makes for a great user experience.

 

[M3gatron]

It’s not that more specs is inherently a bad thing in itself, but that there is often too much focus on specs in a vacuum, and not enough of the end experience.

I disagree. It doesn't look like Samsung concentrated so much on hardware and forgot about user experience.

For example, if you watch the recent MKBHD video on the S20, you see the compromises Samsung made to get a 108 mp camera in there. The 8k recording feature is slow, has poor focus tracking, with a narrow field of view. Some of this is largely due to the limitations of the processor, but it also shows the pitfalls of shoving technology in just for bragging rights rather than to offer a better experience.

Not a great example. MKBHD reviewed the phone on older software(not his fault) and the problems he presented are not the end of the world, Samsung probably already fixed them at software level.
Anyway 8k video recording is just 1 option not the only way to record videos on the S20.
For example with the S20 users now have the ability to flip from the front camera to the back camera and vice versa while recording in 4k. This is an option that improves the end experience and maybe this is why it needs to be ignored.
Also S20 hardware is much faster than the hardware of most dedicated cameras that can record in 8K so it's not a processor limitation. The problem are software/camera related.
Let's not forget that the 8K recording capable 108MP sensor is Samsungs own design. So they created their own hardware to be able to bring true 8K recording to users.

Samsung’s weakness has always been their lack of a software and services ecosystem, which I feel ultimately limits the potential of their products. This is in contrast to Apple, who has a knack for taking an emerging product category with a frustrating user experience and delivering a polished product made possible by its control over both the hardware and software.

You are exaggerating.
Samsung's software has improved greatly in recent years. Apart for needing a few camera optimizations I haven't seen complains regarding Samsung's software on the S20.
Apples phones don't really feel more polished at software level. Sorry.

Specs do matter, but they aren’t the be-all and end all of what makes for a great user experience.

Then point out to user experience problems, don't just criticize specs for the sake of criticizing specs.
"Oh Samsung just put 16GB on their new phone, that's so bad, I pity them".

 

[Don't buy s20 series]

I got mine today, Ultra, don't go near the phone. Any photo with human in it is terrible, blurred, lack of detail. My old note 8 took much better photos. I returned mine 4 hours later. The technician at Samsung could not believe how bad they were and wrote a report to send to HQ in Korea.
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I disagree. It doesn't look like Samsung concentrated so much on hardware and forgot about user experience.



Not a great example. MKBHD reviewed the phone on older software(not his fault) and the problems he presented are not the end of the world, Samsung probably already fixed them at software level.
Anyway 8k video recording is just 1 option not the only way to record videos on the S20.
For example with the S20 users now have the ability to flip from the front camera to the back camera and vice versa while recording in 4k. This is an option that improves the end experience and maybe this is why it needs to be ignored.
Also S20 hardware is much faster than the hardware of most dedicated cameras that can record in 8K so it's not a processor limitation. The problem are software/camera related.
Let's not forget that the 8K recording capable 108MP sensor is Samsungs own design. So they created their own hardware to be able to bring true 8K recording to users.



You are exaggerating.
Samsung's software has improved greatly in recent years. Apart for needing a few camera optimizations I haven't seen complains regarding Samsung's software on the S20.
Apples phones don't really feel more polished at software level. Sorry.



Then point out to user experience problems, don't just criticize specs for the sake of criticizing specs.
"Oh Samsung just put 16GB on their new phone, that's so bad, I pity them".

I got mine today, don't go near the phone. Any photo with human in it is terrible, blurred, lack of detail. My old note 8 took much better photos. I returned mine 4 hours later. The technician at Samsung could not believe how bad they were and wrote a report to send to HQ in Korea. Was the same on s20plus.

 

[subi257]

Agree, but there are lots of computer/camera smartphones that sell for well less than $1400, for both iOS and Android.

That is so true....and they are all good. However if the cost of being top of the line is too steep, those people can buy lower end. Just like cars Mercedes makes a lot of choices with some going up into the the mid 6 figures, a car does not need to cost that much but there will always be those that want them AND can afford them. It's all personal choice.
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"100x" doesn't mean that much. Focal length is more meaningful. And these are multiple primes, not a zoom, so there are only a few actual focal lengths that don't result in image degradation.

Yes, that is true, I'm with you there. Zoom factor is just the range that the lens will cover, focal length is where that range is placed. Yes they are primes and you...the user are given preselected choices based on the designer's opinions.

 

[Abazigal]

I disagree. It doesn't look like Samsung concentrated so much on hardware and forgot about user experience.

There's a reason why the iPhone XR was the best selling phone for 2019. Yes, it has compromised specs, and this is Apple innovation at its finest - by focusing on areas that matter to the end user, while "neglecting" areas that don't matter as much so Apple can keep the price affordable to the customer.

Conversely, 120hz refresh rate might make the phone technically better on paper, but I bet this won't resonate with the majority of users. They are not going to see the point and it's not going to justify the hefty price tag for them.

The S20's main selling points are 5g and cameras. As it stands, companies seem to be in a rush to be the first to release a 5g mobile device that they seem to have completely forgotten to market the merits of said feature to consumers. Instead, 5g has simply become a gimmick for carriers to justify selling more costly data plans and last I checked, 5g service is still practically nonexistent. But it's a feature they are still going to have to pay for nonetheless.

It's ironic really. I feel like we have moved backwards in terms of the market being ready for 5G. Last year, many people in the tech community thought having a 5G smartphone in 2019 was a necessity. Based on how things have been trending, it’s conceivable that Apple just might launch a flagship smartphone in 2020 without 5G and actually be OK.

 

[M3gatron]

There's a reason why the iPhone XR was the best selling phone for 2019. Yes, it has compromised specs, and this is Apple innovation at its finest - by focusing on areas that matter to the end user, while "neglecting" areas that don't matter as much so Apple can keep the price affordable to the customer.

Yeah it's because it's the cheapest "new" iPhone not because they concentrated on anything.
Also from what I remember the 11 Pro Max didn't sell better than the Xs Max and this is more relevant as comparison with the Galaxy Ultra.

Conversely, 120hz refresh rate might make the phone technically better on paper, but I bet this won't resonate with the majority of users. They are not going to see the point and it's not going to justify the hefty price tag for them.

Oh let's not exagerate again it's technically better not just on paper, I tested it yesterday in a store. The option is also very visible in the Display Settings under it's own category: screen smoothness.
It's way easier to find than auto brightness toggle in iOS for example.

The S20's main selling points are 5g and cameras. As it stands, companies seem to be in a rush to be the first to release a 5g mobile device that they seem to have completely forgotten to market the merits of said feature to consumers. Instead, 5g has simply become a gimmick for carriers to justify selling more costly data plans and last I checked, 5g service is still practically nonexistent. But it's a feature they are still going to have to pay for nonetheless.

The hole package is the selling point.
And nobody is rushing anything, Samsung launched 3 phones with 5G before the Galaxy S20 line. The hardware is available and has been available for quite some time. 5G adoption has to start from somewhere, if everybody just waits nothing will happen.

It's ironic really. I feel like we have moved backwards in terms of the market being ready for 5G. Last year, many people in the tech community thought having a 5G smartphone in 2019 was a necessity. Based on how things have been trending, it’s conceivable that Apple just might launch a flagship smartphone in 2020 without 5G and actually be OK.

We actually haven't moved backwards.
And most people in the tech community didn't think having a 5G smartphone in 2019 was a necessity.
Taking in consideration the efforts made by apple to be able to launch 5G phones in 2020 I really doubt we won't see at least 1 model with 5G, it would be a fail.
And as for Apple being OK, maybe only if you look at the cheaper models. Hey maybe they can launch the iPhone 12 with the same exact design of the previous models and slash the price by another 50$. It will sell great.

 

[grkm3]

Just pre ordered a s20+ and got 600 trade in for my old phone and 150 dollar store credit.

So the phone came out to 450 after trade in and store credit.

 

[GuruZac]

Why not?
Are you actually trying to present more/better hardware and features as negatives?
What's the problem with 16GB of RAM?
And the user experience is better in every way in comparison to previous Samsung phones.
It's even on One UI 2.1, so a newer version than the one on the Note 10 and S10.



I don't think anybody forgot about "the tech that makes up FaceID", it's just that for a lot of users is not very important. A lot of users prefer the choice of having a more modern and unobtrusive front screen design. That big notch is still just an ugly compromise.

Fair points. I question 8K video recording. Just how many people who actually utilize 8K will do their work on the S20 Ultra? 16 GB of RAM? What’s the point? The iPhones have literally 1/4th the RAM and accomplish the same things, with equal or greater performance in many areas of daily usage. 108mp camera sensor? It just seems that in typical Samsung fashion, it is more important to be first to market than offering the most polished experience. Based on YouTube comments and forum comments, Samsung and Android fans seem to obsess over specs, when those specs are a bit meaningless without context. I think the new Samsung phones are impressive from a purely hardware point of view, but the Ultra just feels a bit gimmicky. Have a look at the 120Hz refresh rate implementation vs how Apple does it on the iPad Pros.

 

[torana355]

?16 GB of RAM? What’s the point? The iPhones have literally 1/4th the RAM and accomplish the same things, with equal or greater performance in many areas of daily usage.

That's not true at all, iPhones have to constantly refresh apps due to the small amount of RAM available. Have you actually used a phone with 12gb of RAM? All my apps can be kept in ram with no refreshing, it also means they are available instantly.

 

[cmaier]

That's not true at all, iPhones have to constantly refresh apps due to the small amount of RAM available. Have you actually used a phone with 12gb of RAM? All my apps can be kept in ram with no refreshing, it also means they are available instantly.

That RAM has to be powered, in the mean time. Nothing is free.

 

[falainber]

The phone is all a bit gimmicky but that’s Samsung. 108mp? 8K video recording? 16GB of RAM? Why? Samsung continues to be first to market but it seems like usual, it’s only to be first to market. Not to offer a truly great user experience.

And yet another forum with comments talking about design with no notch etc... forgetful of course that none of the ‘more elegant‘ designs vs the notch have anything close to the tech that makes up FaceID. That’s why there’s a notch. In screen fingerprint is cool, however. I would like the option of both to be honest.

108Mp is to facilitate computational photography

8K recording is in step with Samsung ecosystem development. They are releasing 8K TVs, they will work nicely with 8K video recording in new smartphones.

16GB is for DeX. Samsung devices support desktop-like GUI when connected to the monitors (the tablets do it natively too). DeX is compatible with MS Office and many other premium applications. This might be a better option than iPad for many people.

 

[M3gatron]

Fair points. I question 8K video recording. Just how many people who actually utilize 8K will do their work on the S20 Ultra?

Why does it matter? It's just an additional video recording feature, it's nice to have and they are after all making 8K TV's. Samsung also improved 4K video recording and stabilization for the S20 series.
You question it just for the sake of questioning it.

16 GB of RAM? What’s the point? The iPhones have literally 1/4th the RAM and accomplish the same things, with equal or greater performance in many areas of daily usage.

When it comes to RAM the iphones definitely can't accomplish the same things the S20 Ultra can, especially from a OS perspective.
Also all those camera features need a lot of RAM to work smooth and without affecting the rest of the apps that were opened previously. For example changing between the selfie camera and the back main camera when recording a video at 4K60fps.
Dex Mode is also a nice feature to take advantage of the extra hardware resources, turn the phone into a game console by connecting it to a screen or into a desktop computer.

108mp camera sensor? It just seems that in typical Samsung fashion, it is more important to be first to market than offering the most polished experience.

The 1080mp sensor takes 12MP pictures by default with 3x3 pixel binning. It allows for better dynamic range and better low light performance. Samsung also implemented the Sony IMX555 in their S20 and S20+ as the main wide camera which has a 1/1.76" sensor size and 1.80 µm pixel size. They obviously had to choose between using those two sensors for the Ultra and the 108MP won and I think Samsung knows best why( I doubt it was so they could brag about having an 108MP sensor).

Based on YouTube comments and forum comments, Samsung and Android fans seem to obsess over specs, when those specs are a bit meaningless without context. I think the new Samsung phones are impressive from a purely hardware point of view, but the Ultra just feels a bit gimmicky. Have a look at the 120Hz refresh rate implementation vs how Apple does it on the iPad Pros.

Criticizing specs for the sake of criticizing specs is worse in my opinion, or calling something gimmicky for the sake of calling it gimmicky.
And why should I look at how Samsung implemented 120hz vs the ipad pro? Why does it matter? We are talking about different screen technologies and different hardware/software anyway. Samsung's hardware is efficient enough that they felt comfortable simply locking the refresh rate at 120hz so you don't get that constant up and down ramping that's happening with the ipad pro, it's not up to 120Hz on the S20s. If you use the S20 with the 120hz activated its impossible to not notice it, even if somebody is using the phone next to you and you aren't even touching it.

 

[falainber]

That RAM has to be powered, in the mean time. Nothing is free.

That should not be a problem. I believe these are the first (or some of the first) smartphone models that are going to use LPDDR5. Also, Samsung never skimps on battery size.

 

[M3gatron]

That RAM has to be powered, in the mean time. Nothing is free.

Yeah but the RAM is one of the most efficient components we can find in a smartphone. And LPDDR5 RAM is even more efficient than LPDDR4X RAM.
In my experience the difference in RAM capacity has an unnoticeable impact on battery life between phones with the same exact hardware so a 4GB Android phone vs the same model with 6GB or the 6GB model vs the 8GB model etc.

 

[torana355]

That RAM has to be powered, in the mean time. Nothing is free.

Small price to pay considering my phone is an easy all day phone battery wise. It's beside the point anyway as the person I replied to was trying to make out like the iPhone is equally capable with 1/4 the RAM which was clearly wrong.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Fair points. I question 8K video recording. Just how many people who actually utilize 8K will do their work on the S20 Ultra? 16 GB of RAM? What’s the point? The iPhones have literally 1/4th the RAM and accomplish the same things, with equal or greater performance in many areas of daily usage. 108mp camera sensor? It just seems that in typical Samsung fashion, it is more important to be first to market than offering the most polished experience. Based on YouTube comments and forum comments, Samsung and Android fans seem to obsess over specs, when those specs are a bit meaningless without context. I think the new Samsung phones are impressive from a purely hardware point of view, but the Ultra just feels a bit gimmicky. Have a look at the 120Hz refresh rate implementation vs how Apple does it on the iPad Pros.

iPhones can’t run two apps on the same screen. They refresh apps more frequently and they don’t have an equivalent of DeX.

You say android fans obsess over specs. Maybe specs are important to them. Clearly android and iOS users want different things in a phone and that’s fine.
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That's not true at all, iPhones have to constantly refresh apps due to the small amount of RAM available. Have you actually used a phone with 12gb of RAM? All my apps can be kept in ram with no refreshing, it also means they are available instantly.

I learnt you can even lock certain apps so when you come back to the app it will be in the exact same place.

 

[MacModMachine]

It’s not that more specs is inherently a bad thing in itself, but that there is often too much focus on specs in a vacuum, and not enough of the end experience.

For example, if you watch the recent MKBHD video on the S20, you see the compromises Samsung made to get a 108 mp camera in there. The 8k recording feature is slow, has poor focus tracking, with a narrow field of view. Some of this is largely due to the limitations of the processor, but it also shows the pitfalls of shoving technology in just for bragging rights rather than to offer a better experience.

Samsung’s weakness has always been their lack of a software and services ecosystem, which I feel ultimately limits the potential of their products. This is in contrast to Apple, who has a knack for taking an emerging product category with a frustrating user experience and delivering a polished product made possible by its control over both the hardware and software.

Specs do matter, but they aren’t the be-all and end all of what makes for a great user experience.

your living in some other world.

apple software has been nothing but hot garbage over the last few years. HOT GARBAGE.

iOS and Mac OS have been going downhill for a long time. back to linux for me.

 

[cmaier]

apple software has been nothing but hot garbage over the last few years. HOT GARBAGE.

to be fair, if you're going to consume garbage, you might as well heat it up

 

[PickUrPoison]

Just pre ordered a s20+ and got 600 trade in for my old phone and 150 dollar store credit.

So the phone came out to 450 after trade in and store credit.

So that’s what it takes for Samsung to move an S20? Cutting the price by 2/3? Usually that doesn’t happen until month 3 or 4.

I kid, I kid 🙂
(Or at least exaggerate a bit...)

 

[FixAppleMail]

The bezels on my 2019 16" MacBook Pro are just as thin as the ones on anything by Dell or ASUS.

Dell XPS has thinner bezels. Take a look!

iMac has the thickest bezels in all modern all-in-one from any vendor.

 

[The Game 161]

iPhones can’t run two apps on the same screen. They refresh apps more frequently and they don’t have an equivalent of DeX.

You say android fans obsess over specs. Maybe specs are important to them. Clearly android and iOS users want different things in a phone and that’s fine.
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I learnt you can even lock certain apps so when you come back to the app it will be in the exact same place.

Ram is certainly an issue on iPhones. It’s why I’m glad 6GB of ram is on the way for the 12 pro max