Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Review.

No matter how you look at it, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is a monster. Please don't get me wrong... I realise the term "beast" has been overused in the context of cellphones, but I can't think of a better way to describe this device. Prefixes like ‘Pro,' ‘Plus,' ‘Max,' and so on have been adorning the monikers of beefed-up smartphone versions for a while, but when a manufacturer like Samsung uses “Ultra” as a suffix for a model in its premium S series line, one has to sit up and take notice. The Galaxy S20 Ultra is Samsung's current smartphone torchbearer, and it will remain such until the next Note series flagship arrives.

The Galaxy S20 series includes the fantastic Galaxy S20+, which the S20 Ultra is essentially a supersized version of. These brothers share a lot of specs and features, and as I've already covered the S20+ in depth, I won't go into too much into here.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is large, powerful, and packed with features in every aspect. Because of its huge size and expensive price, it may be a bit of an overkill for some, and its own sibling, the Galaxy S20+, may be a more practical option. The Galaxy S20 Ultra, on the other hand, checks all the requirements for a very premium flagship smartphone.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 ULTRA FULL SPECIFICATIONS

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Review: Design and display

The sheer size of this phone is the first and biggest reason why I refer to it as a beast. The S20 Ultra isn't designed for one-handed use, with a tablet-like 6.9-inch display and a weight of 220 grammes. The phone is also pretty thick, at about 9mm, and if you're used to carrying your phone in your pocket, you'll notice that it drags your trousers down quite a bit. With a screen that large, the S20 Ultra would have been bulky, but thanks to the central punch hole that houses the selfie camera, it still appears to be manageable in terms of size. When you look at the back of the phone, the first thing you'll notice is the huge camera module, which holds four sensors.

The camera module takes up a substantial chunk of the device's top half, and its glass window appears to be more sensitive to scratches than on other smartphones. The 108MP sensor is the main attraction here, and I'll get to it in a minute. Overall, I wouldn't describe the S20 Ultra as subtle or sleek in terms of appearance.

Simply said, the display is stunning. Samsung's Super AMOLED panels are renowned for their performance, and the one on the S20 Ultra is no exception. It not only has QHD+ resolution, but it also has a 120Hz screen refresh rate, which is in line with current trends and what is anticipated of a premium smartphone flagship. The screen has a 20:9 aspect ratio and supports HDR10+ and is protected by Gorilla Glass 6.

Please keep in mind that when the refresh rate is set to 120Hz, the screen resolution is limited to FHD+. The fast refresh rate not only improves the game experience, but it also improves navigation and scrolling. And, as I previously stated, the screen is excellent, garnering an A+ rating from DisplayMate for its capabilities. Everything is a joy on the top-of-the-line screen, from normal use to gaming and video watching.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Review: Cameras

The Galaxy S20 Ultra's cameras are one of its most important features, with the 108MP sensor taking centre stage. That, and the massive 100x zoom, or Space Zoom, as Samsung likes to call it. The quad camera combination includes a 108MP f/1.8 sensor with OIS, a 48MP f/3.5 telephoto lens with OIS, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide lens with OIS, and a 0.3MP TOF sensor for depth. A 40MP selfie camera is hidden inside the punch hole on the front.

While you can take full-resolution 108MP photos, the S20 Ultra defaults to pixel binning, which merges nine pixels into one, resulting in clean 12MP photos. The Galaxy S20 Ultra can do Live Focus video (video bokeh), pro video, and even shoot in HDR10+ or 8K, in addition to the typical techniques like super slow-mo and hyperlapse.

Single Take is a shooting mode that shoots a whole bouquet of photographs and short films utilising various cameras and filters / effects, giving you a wide range of alternatives in your gallery with a single swipe, ready to share. This is useful in situations where you're not sure whether to shoot an image or a video, such as while cutting a birthday cake or pushing someone into the pool.

On paper, these camera capabilities sound fantastic, and they deliver in practise as well. Regardless of the lighting circumstances, the Galaxy S20 Ultra can take excellent images. Even in challenging situations, you can expect stunning shots, and the wide angle and telephoto settings are really useful. The bokeh images are beautiful, and you can adjust the blur level and add filters after the fact. Low-light photographs come out well, and you can utilise the dedicated night mode to create useable images even in the darkest of settings.

After all is said and done, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is a highly good camera phone that will satisfy virtually everyone with its photographic abilities. The 40MP front camera, which is buried below the display's punch hole, shoots fantastic photos as well, but it has a tendency to smooth out skin textures on occasion.

When it comes to zooming, the 4X optical zoom works well, and you can get fairly close to remote things and obtain good images of them utilising hybrid zoom up to 10X. The 100X Space Zoom, on the other hand, isn't really useful because you'll almost always end up with unsatisfactory images. When shooting handheld, it's also challenging to keep the camera steady and get the subject into the frame. Aside from that, the Galaxy S20 Ultra's cameras should perform admirably.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Review: Software, performance and battery

Samsung's OneUI has matured into a mature, smooth Android platform, which you'll discover on the Galaxy S20 Ultra – version 2.1 with Android 10 as the foundation. It's simple to use, has a lot of features, and has a lot of customization choices. Samsung's ecosystem, which includes features and services such as Samsung Cloud, Samsung Pay, Knox security, Game Booster, and others, is rather extensive and valuable.

It's no surprise that the Galaxy S20 Ultra runs swiftly and handles things effectively, thanks to the 7nm Exynos 990 processor and 12GB of RAM (combined with 128GB of storage). Games with a lot of graphics also perform well, which is to be expected. It's worth noting that the Galaxy S20 units sold in India do not include 5G and are instead LTE smartphones, but that shouldn't be a problem given that commercial 5G availability is still a long way off.

While we're on the subject of performance, the in-display fingerprint scanner is a little shaky. While the face unlock method is really fast, it requires light to function, which means you'll have to fall back on the old PIN if other modes fail to unlock your phone.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra performs admirably, and its 5,000mAh battery will keep you going for a whole day on a single charge. The huge screen drains the battery quickly, especially if the refresh rate is set to 120Hz. The S20 Ultra logged 11 hours and 11 minutes in the PCMark battery test, which isn't bad. The phone supports 45W rapid charging, and the included 25W charger can fully charge it in just over an hour. Wireless charging and reverse wireless charging are also supported.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Review: Verdict

In India, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra starts at 69,800 rupees. As of Sep 24, 2021, it is available for the lowest price on Flipkart in India.

You may call yourself the proud owner of a brand new Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra if you have approximately a lakh to spend on a phone, Rs 97,999 to be exact. That isn't a cheap sum, but even if you can afford it and are looking for a premium flagship smartphone, you should consider whether the S20 Ultra is right for you. The Galaxy S20+ (review) could suffice for many of these potential consumers, as the specs and features aren't too dissimilar. When you take the S20 Ultra's 100X Space Zoom out of the equation, the cameras are nearly identical. Not only is the S20+ somewhat smaller and simpler to handle, but it's also less expensive.

In India, the premium flagship sector, particularly on the Android side, is currently underserved. The S20 Ultra was released a while ago, and since then, a few opponents have appeared, with the Motorola Edge+ being the most likely competitor. Then there's the OnePlus 8 Pro and the Xiaomi Mi 10 to consider. All of these handsets are Snapdragon 865-powered and support 5G, with the Motorola and Xiaomi rivals both featuring 108MP main sensors. We haven't had the opportunity to review them yet, but they appear to be decent value on paper. When you add all the Galaxy S20 Ultra has to offer, it's still the most feature-packed Android smartphone money can buy, and that won't alter until its own sibling, the Note 20+, is out.