It's now official, Samsung has a trio of new devices: the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra. With three devices on offer and even more variants, actually picking a phone can be a little tricky. To help, we're taking a look at how the three compare.
Before we start, here's a look at how the three phones stack up in terms of hardware:
| Galaxy S20 | Galaxy S20+ | Galaxy S20 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.2-inch OLED | 6.7-inch OLED | 6.9-inch OLED |
| Resolution | Quad HD | Quad HD | Quad HD |
| Rear Cameras | 12MP + 64MP + 12MP | 12MP + 64MP + 12MP + ToF | 108MP+ 48MP + 12MP + ToF |
| Front Camera | 10MP | 10MP | 40MP |
| Processor | Exynos 990 | Exynos 990 | Exynos 990 |
| RAM | 8GB or 12GB | 8GB or 12GB | 12GB or 16GB |
| Storage | 128GB | 128GB or 512GB | 128GB or 512GB |
| Battery | 4,000mAh | 4,500mAh | 5,000mAh |
| Water-Resistance | IP68 | IP68 | IP68 |
| 5G | Optional | Optional | Yes |
| Price | From $1,349 | From $1,499 | From $1,999 |
Samsung Galaxy S20 Price
As always, price is a major differentiator between the models in the Galaxy S20 family. The 4G-only Galaxy S20 is the cheapest option in the range, while the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G is the most expensive model around.
Outright pricing for the Galaxy S20 devices available in Australia is as follows:
- Samsung Galaxy S20 (128GB): $1,349
- Samsung Galaxy S20 5G (128GB): $1,499
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- Samsung Galaxy S20+ (128GB): $1,499
- Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G (128GB): $1,649
- Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G (512GB): $1,899
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- Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (128GB): $1,999
- Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (512GB): $2,249
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This pricing is also reflected in phone plans. When you buy a phone on a plan, the outright price of the device is simply divided by 12, 24, or 36 (depending on how many months you'd like to pay your phone off over) and added on to the price of your base plan.
In some cases, telcos will offer a slight saving, such as a discount of $150 across the course of your contract, but in short, the more expensive the outright price, the more expensive your phone plan will be. There's no sneaky way to get a Galaxy S20 Ultra for the same price as Galaxy S20.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Camera
Camera configuration is one of the key differences between the three devices. The Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ ostensibly have the same camera setup, featuring a 12MP primary senor, a 64MP telephoto lens capable of 3x hybrid-optical zoom, and a 12MP ultra-wide angle lens. The Galaxy S20+ also has a Time-of-Flight sensor for sensing depth. While this is meant to help with portrait mode, photos from the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ are essentially identical.
The Galaxy S20 Ultra is a different story, however. The phone touts a massive 108MP primary camera, a 48MP periscope lens with 10x hybrid-optical zoom and 100x digital zoom (similar to what we saw in the Huawei P30 Pro and OPPO Reno 5G), a 12MP ultra-wide angle lens and a Time-of-Flight sensor.
The 100x zoom is the Galaxy S20 Ultra's defining feature, and the biggest difference between it and the standard S20 models. The difference between the zoom quality on the Ultra and less-Ultra phones is pretty evident; for example, at 10x zoom, you'll definitely get a photo on the Galaxy S20 Ultra.
Zoom aside, there isn't a huge difference in photo quality when comparing the S20 and the S20 Ultra. The pair have identical ultra-wide angle lenses, and while the primary lenses are different, they both take great images.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Design
The Galaxy S20 trio all look pretty similar, especially from the front. Once again, all three have somewhat curved displays, hole-punch selfie cameras, and a strikingly minimal amount of bezel. The main difference between the family is size: the Galaxy S20 measures in at 6.2-inches, the Galaxy S20+ at 6.7-inches, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra at a massive 6.9-inches.
Notably, all three phones have 120Hz displays. A conventional smartphone has a 60Hz refresh rate. This means the panel on your average handset can display 60 images per second, versus 120 images per second on a Galaxy S20 device. This makes motion on the phone look smoother - something that is especially noticeable when it comes to animations and scrolling through apps.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Performance
There isn't any real difference in performance between the three Galaxy S20 models. All three are powered by Samsung's new top-end processor - the Exynos 990 - and are kitted out with a minimum of 8GB of RAM. The Galaxy S20 Ultra is available with as much as 16GB of RAM, but for most, the difference in performance won't be perceptible.
There's a little bit of variance when it comes to 5G. The entry-level Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ models are 4G-only; upgrading to a 5G variant will cost extra. On the other hand, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is only available with 5G.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Battery
The Galaxy S20 Ultra has the biggest battery out of the trio, with a capacity of 5,000mAh. For comparison, there's a 4,000mAh battery in the Galaxy S20, and a 4,500mAh battery in the Galaxy S20+.
While a 5,000mAh battery is massive, you shouldn't judge battery life from a spec sheet. After all, the Galaxy S20 Ultra also has has the biggest screen out of the trio, which in turn demands more power than the displays in the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+.
For the most part, you should be able to expect a full day of charge from any phone in the Galaxy S20 family, so you don't really need to factor in battery-life to your decision making process.
If you want to get a bit more charge out of your S20, there are plenty of features you can disable. You can turn off the 120Hz refresh rate on the display, drop your screen resolution, and deactivate 5G.
Which Galaxy S20 should I buy?
If you haven't made up your mind yet, we think the 4G Galaxy S20 is the best option for most. It's the most affordable phone out of the trio, but it makes very few compromises in keeping costs down. The only major feature you're missing out on is the Galaxy S20 Ultra's 100x Space Zoom. While it certainly is cool tech, it's not necessarily worth the $650 premium, for most.
There is of course also a 5G Galaxy S20 option, which will set you back $150 more compared to the standard Galaxy S20. While 5G is very exciting technology, coverage isn't widely available right now. 5G will certainly become more common over the next year or two, so it becomes a question of how futureproof you want to be. If you're only planning on keeping your S20 two or so years, the 4G model will be fine for most. If you'd prefer to be on the bleeding edge, or are planning on keeping your S20 a little bit longer, it might be worth splashing for the 5G model.
Alternatively, compare Galaxy S20+ plans here and Galaxy S20 Ultra plans here.
Alex Choros
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