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There is no doubt that the Galaxy S20 Ultra it’s a great phone. But starting at around $ 1,200, it’s high priced (at least when not on sale – see our roundup of the the best phone deals on Black Friday for the most up-to-date pricing on Samsung’s Galaxy lineup). That said, it’s not Samsung’s only option if you want a premium phone with reliable performance, strong cameras, and a battery that will last you all day (and a bit more). There is, for example, the Galaxy S10 Plus, which came out last year. (And don’t forget the newest, $ 700 Galaxy S20 FE. That’s how S20 Fan Edition compares to S20 Ultra and the rest of the S20 lineup).
To determine if I should pay more for the S20 Ultra or less for the S10 Plus, I used both phones for a week and compared them side by side in terms of camera quality, overall design, and performance as my daily driver. . Watch the video at the top of the article to see my full impressions or read on for the shortened version.
Angela Lang / CNET
Samsung’s flagship phone for 2020 has all the bells and whistles you want: a 108-megapixel camera, a huge 6.9-inch screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, and 5G connectivity. While some of the camera’s features, like the 100x zoom, fall short of expectations, it’s still a great all-around phone that feels future-proof for now. But remember, it’s only worth considering as long as you have the cash. Read the review of the S20 Ultra.
Angela Lang / CNET
The Galaxy S10 Plus doesn’t miss out on much and shouldn’t be seen as a “compromise”, despite being last year’s model. The camera produces great photos while the 6.4-inch screen looks fantastic. Although it does not record 8K videos or have 5G connectivity, it is still an excellent phone. Plus, it has a headphone jack, which we think will be the last high-end Galaxy phone to have it. Read the S10 Plus review.
The incredible camera and 100x zoom of the Galaxy S20 Ultra
By now, you probably know or have read about the fact that the S20 Ultra’s camera is its real ace up its sleeve. There are four rear cameras: a wide-angle that can take 108-megapixel photos, an ultra-wide angle, a telephoto periscope, and a depth sensor.
The S10 Plus, meanwhile, has three rear cameras but no depth sensor.
For most photos, especially those taken in bright outdoor lighting, I found the cameras difficult to differentiate when taking photos with the wide lens. They both take brilliant photos with nice exposures, sharpness, and good dynamic range at the default settings (if anything, the S20 Ultra saturates colors a bit more than the S10 Plus). If I needed more to work, the S20 Ultra’s 108-megapixel sensor on its normal wide camera allowed me to go into town to crop photos and reframe after taking the photo.
Lexy Savvides / CNET
Speaking of zoom, the other difference between the two phones is that the S20 Ultra uses a hybrid optical zoom (its true optical zoom is 4x) to get to 10x, and the shots look great. The S10 Plus, on the other hand, is a purely digital zoom once you get past the 2x optical range. In parallel with the S20 Ultra at the same magnification, there is no competition: the 10x zoom photo of the S20 Ultra looks clear, while the shot of the S10 Plus looks like mush. But that’s all I would take with the S20 Ultra’s zoom. I took a correct photo at 30x using digital zoom, but once I zoomed in to 100x, things became very dirty.
The S20 Ultra can shoot 8K video, but unless I want to future-proof my videos for the benefit of a new 8K TV (or I want to be able to reframe to 4K for video editing purposes), I imagined filming at this resolution such once or twice. At the time of writing, the unlocked S20 Ultra that I have been using exhibits some autofocus issues, particularly noticeable when shooting video at all resolutions.
You can learn more about the differences in the quality of photos, cameras, and many samples in the embedded video above.
Does the S20 Ultra prove that bigger is better?
There’s no getting around it – the S20 Ultra is a big phone. With a 6.9-inch screen, its weight is 220 g (7.76 oz). For me, it is too large to be used comfortably with one hand. It fits well in my pockets, but the S10 Plus feels like a better size overall at 175g (6.17oz). Your mileage will definitely vary based on your preference for the size and weight of these phones!
When it comes to display quality, both phones are great, but the S20’s Ultra 120Hz refresh rate I was more impressed. It’s not on by default (you have to turn it on through settings), but after I turned it on, it made scrolling through screens and games such a seamless experience.
Angela Lang / CNET
However, if you want a headphone jack, get the S10 Plus. Or get a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter for the S20 Ultra. However, truth be told, dongles are annoying and easy to forget. There are also USB-C headphones in the box with the S20 Ultra. Both phones have reverse wireless charging and an in-display fingerprint reader.
Battery life and performance are too close to call
Both phones are absolute performance beasts. You can find the full summary of the performance results in our reviews. In real-world situations, I didn’t find any noticeable difference between the two when performing a number of resource-intensive tasks, such as recording 4K (or 8K on the S20 Ultra), browsing the internet, or gaming. Note that I have been using an S20 Ultra with 12GB of RAM instead of the 16GB variant that is available, which may present a more noticeable performance boost compared to the previous phone.
As for battery life, when I used the S20 Ultra with 120Hz on, the battery drained noticeably at a faster rate. I was starting the day with a 100% charge, but my battery had dropped to 70% at around 1pm with about an hour of screen time. That said, I can get through a full day of use with enough power to spare on both phones. The S20 Ultra has a higher capacity battery and the option of a 45W charger for even faster charging (which costs more). However, keep in mind that your experience will vary depending on how you use your phone.
However, the biggest question about performance is around 5G. If you want 5G, you’ll have to get the S20 Ultra. The S10 Plus is 4G LTE only. (Note that an S10 5G edition was available, although it is a different size and has different specs than the S10 Plus.) While the 5G rollout in the US is only available in a few major hubs at the time of writing, the S20 Ultra will give you the assurance of future use of the phone on major carriers as you go. increases coverage. The S20 Ultra is compatible with the 5G millimeter wave networks used by Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, in addition to the mid and low band used by AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile.
