Samsung has officially announced 2020’s Galaxy Note lineup. There are two models this year the regular Galaxy Note 20 and the high-end Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Both feature the main thing that differentiates the Note line an included S Pen stylus but the new Notes are more different from each other than you might expect.
As it did with the Galaxy S20 earlier this year, Samsung is explicitly trying to make the “Ultra” moniker push the top-tier specs ever higher, which apparently allows the regular model to skimp on a few features. It’s a tale of two Notes.
The regular Galaxy Note 20 lacks important features like a high refresh rate screen, microSD storage expansion, and periscope zoom lens, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t expensive. It’s $999.99 for a model with 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM.
The Note 20 Ultra, meanwhile, has everything Samsung knows how to throw at a phone and the price to match those specs: $1,299.99 for the 128GB storage / 12GB RAM model and $1,449.99 to bump that storage up to 512GB.
Both phones do share some key specs. The one you’re most likely to be told about (because it’s what carriers are pushing) is their support for both types of 5G networks. Samsung has improved latency on the S Pen and added a few more ways you can wave it about to control your phone remotely. They support fast charging, wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging. And Samsung is also using the brand new version of Gorilla Glass that’s supposedly more resistant to scratches.
They’ve got stereo speakers with some Dolby technology, IP68 water resistance, and ship with Android 10. Both can record video at 8K and support external microphone options. Dex now works wirelessly and both phones have some important new Microsoft software tie-ins.
Both still feature Bixby, at best the fourth-place digital assistant behind Google, Alexa, and even Siri.
The Note 20s also have a new kind of finish, which Samsung calls “Mystic.” It amounts to a textured finish on the glass that should hopefully do a better job of repelling or at least hiding fingerprints. The Note 20 Ultra will come in bronze, black, and white. The Note 20 will come in bronze, gray, and green
Key specs:
The Note 20 has a 6.7-inch screen so it’s technically smaller, but honestly the difference in size is barely noticeable. Unlike the standard Note 10, the Note 20 is not a phone for people with small hands. It runs at a lower, 2400×1080 resolution and only refreshes at 60Hz. The Note 20’s S Pen doesn’t have the same, super-low latency that the Ultra’s does, either. Granted, the S Pen still feels smoother and faster to respond here than it would on the Note 10, but Samsung’s choice of screen means Note 20 Ultra users still get the best experience.
The Note 20 also only comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and there’s no expandable memory; that’s only available on the Ultra. Granted, it still has a Snapdragon 865+ so sheer horsepower shouldn’t be an issue, but the list of little downgrades just continues. Its back is made of what Samsung calls “glasstic,” which we’ve seen before on the company’s mid-range A-series phones. It’s plastic that looks nearly indistinguishable from the Note 20 Ultra’s rear glass, but feels more hollow and on the whole less durable. Not exactly what one likes to see on a phone with a four-figure price tag.
Samsung has insisted for years that the Note series represented the peak of smartphone-making prowess. With the Note 20, the company is muddying that message. Maybe I’m wrong maybe the regular Note 20 will become the kind of mass-market hit Samsung really wants. For now, though, it largely comes off like a watered-down version of the Ultra with an asking price that makes it hard to overlook some notable compromises. To find out if that’s really the case, I’d suggest you stick around for our continuing coverage (and eventual review) before you decide to drop upwards of $1,000 on either one of these phones, but if you absolutely can’t wait, pre-orders for both Notes kick off at midnight on August 6, 2020.
