Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra long-term review: Is it worth buying?

Progress continues. Samsung has repeatedly shown this concept itself. Samsung has given us a new Galaxy S phone every year since 2010. In 2021, that killer device will be the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. Find out how much we liked it in our full review.

When we released the S21, we thought of Samsung’s last year’s flagship, the Galaxy S20 Ultra. It was a polarizing phone that had a fair share of fans and enemies. The S20 Ultra was, of course, Samsung’s best phone for the year with all the features stacked in its oversized frame. The large space requirement corresponded to the large price. We were wondering how the phone held up over the past year and whether or not it is worth your hard earned money today.

Let’s take a look at the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra a year later.

About this Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Long Term Report: I turned the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra on and off for about six months until August 2020. I recently spent another week on the phone for this article. The phone was running Android 11 and One UI 3.1.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra review review

Haven’t you thought about the Galaxy S20 Ultra in a long time? Not to be feared. The Samsung Galaxy S series is an annual affair, and it’s easy to confuse them. The S20 Ultra was first introduced in February 2020. You can read our original Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra review, our six-month revised review, or the video review above to refresh your memory.

Still a physical animal

Nothing about the S20 Ultra is subtle. It’s a huge device that will grab your attention whenever you hold it. With a 6.9-inch screen, it is one of the largest Samsung phones of all time. Let’s not forget that it weighs a whopping 220 grams. The glass and metal materials hold up well in terms of fit and workmanship, but the gray color scheme I tested is easy to criticize. I prefer the look of the S10, Note 20 and S21 series devices.

Samsung Phones Buying Guide: Everything you need to know

The hardware is very good. You have your fast USB-C, great sounding stereo speakers, and solid buttons. The phone supports microSD memory cards – something the S21 family doesn’t – and an IP68 rating protects the case from damage from water and dust. There’s no headphone jack, but that’s water under the bridge at this point in the premium smartphone game.

The camera module is still ugly. The Note 20 and S21 phones also have enormous camera modules, but they have a more cohesive design. I’m not the biggest fan of the oversized camera gear of modern phones, despite the good reason for the large arrays (better cameras). Samsung could have done a little better job here.

If you buy this phone, you’d better buy it for the screen.

At almost seven inches, the screen is a monster. This display is still an excellent control panel for all your smartphone needs. It offers Quad HD + resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate and HDR10 + for your video pleasure. If you buy this phone, you’d better buy it for the screen. There is no doubt that the display is the defining feature of the S20 Ultra.

Just a small drop in performance

Samsung has included the best specs available at the time of launch, and it’s no surprise to learn that the S20 Ultra holds up quite well a year later.

Let’s talk about speed. The phone was one of the first to ship with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor (at least in the US), and it included a healthy allotment of 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The Snapdragon 865 can’t be compared to the newer Snapdragon 888, but as far as 865-based phones go, the S20 Ultra holds up well. I did not notice any indolence or other indicators of problems with the phone despite its age. The games I downloaded also went very well.

See also: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Series History

I ran some benchmarks and the phone did on par with other Snapdragon 865 phones like the OnePlus 8 and the easily-surpassed Exynos variants of the S20 series. The only phones that topped it were the Snapdragon 865 Plus or the Snapdragon 888. The S20 Ultra’s processor is still a real head-turner.

As expected, the battery life is not quite as good as when it started. The phone has a solid 5,000mAh battery under the hood, which is still competitive when compared to flagships from 2021. With the out-of-the-box configuration (Full HD +, 60 Hz), it ran smoothly through a whole day. In fact, it often pushed on into a second day without breaking a sweat. Increasing the resolution and / or refresh rate will affect battery life. With these options selected, the phone will last a full day, but only barely. The phone will still charge quickly whether it’s plugged in or on a wireless charger. We saw slightly better numbers when the phone was new.

A year after its launch, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is actually a better 5G phone than it was originally.

A year after its launch, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is actually a better 5G phone than it was originally. The phone doesn’t do that; Rather, US wireless networks have expanded their support for 5G with sub-6 GHz flavor. Using a Verizon SIM card, the S20 Ultra found the Big Red 5G signal and showed some quick results – something it couldn’t the first time around. This is welcome news if you have a newer plan for Verizon. Both AT&T and T-Mobile have expanded their 5G mid-band networks. It is therefore obvious that the S20 Ultra will also achieve improved 5G performance in these networks.

The software story is better too. The phone originally shipped with One UI 2.5. It was acceptable software to manage the phone, but Samsung made great strides with its software in 2020 and through 2021. Now the device is running One UI 3.1, and it’s much cleaner and more reliable. However, the phone’s inability to set my Google feed as the far left home screen still bothers me.

The camera is surpassed by newer cell phones

Everything up to this point could indicate that the 2020 Galaxy S20 Ultra could hold its own with the latest hardware. Most of the time it can, but the camera falls short – and that doesn’t surprise me.

Samsung stumbled heavily out of the gate with the camera software of the S20 Ultra. The 108MP sensor was struggling to focus and often gave grainy / soft results. It got a little better with subsequent updates, but the phone always didn’t stay great in terms of camera setup. That is still the case today, many system updates later. It’s a good camera phone, but not a great one. The biggest problem is that focusing is still notoriously slow and the focus is an air of softness. This isn’t the end of the world, but it’s a bummer nonetheless.

Apple, Google, and Samsung themselves have outperformed the S20 Ultra with the latest devices. For example, Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max includes an excellent camera, as do Google’s Pixel 5 and Samsung’s own Note 20 Ultra and S21 Ultra. These phones all give better camera results, although each works in its own way. Most importantly, Samsung was able to correct the errors of the S20 Ultra on the Note 20 Ultra and the S21 Ultra. That’s encouraging.

The S21 Ultra is simply better in every way

Let’s not avoid the bush. Samsung has done well with the Galaxy S21 series. The fresh 2021 device is a more cohesive offering across the board. The design is just superior. While the camera module is still huge, it is at least more seamless and integrated into the design. It’s a subtle upgrade, but a welcome one. The S21’s matte colors also look cleaner and more sophisticated than the glossy S20 Ultra. The screen improvements are pretty obvious too.

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Qualcomm’s newest chip is better than the older one, but the Snapdragon 888 has other advantages beyond speed, such as: B. optimized power management, improved gaming and better image processing. That means the S21 has great battery life, is a graphics powerhouse, and takes better pictures overall.

Then there is the price. Samsung has priced the S21 Ultra at $ 1,199, which is $ 200 below the pricey S20 Ultra at $ 1,399.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra long-term review: the verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra stirred up the pot a bit when it was released. Others shared our opinion that the phone was a monstrosity, that the camera was problematic, and that the price was just too high. None of these things have really changed.

Samsung created over-the-top hardware that many felt was too big. That complaint aside, the phone provided a lot of the basics – and it still does. The performance is excellent, the battery life is still good, and the 5G and software stories have only gotten better. The camera is good, but doesn’t compare to the latest class of flagship.

There is no secret here. Don’t buy the S20 Ultra. Get the S21 Ultra instead.

The pricing is the real deal breaker here. Samsung is still selling the phone at full price through its own website, wireless carriers, and other retailers. If it’s not on a sale, it isn’t discounted at all. Samsung is still looking for the full $ 1,399. It just won’t happen. With years of hardware going on, this phone should be reduced by hundreds of dollars permanently. However, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is $ 200 cheaper. Why spend $ 1,399 on a year-long phone when you can get the latest and much better model for $ 200 less?

There is no secret here. Don’t buy the S20 Ultra. Get the S21 Ultra instead.