For now, it is clear that there will be at least three Galaxy Note 20 Ultra versions, depending on whether they have 5G connectivity and the chipset they work with. The rumored Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (whatever Samsung calls it) the model without 5G connectivity is called SM-N985F.
As is typical, the numbering indicates that this is a version of Exynos for the international market, and, surprise, surprise, not all overseas operators have entered the 5G rat race like Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile. The FCC listing for SM-N985F clearly lacks 5G frequency support on all connectivity mentions, too.
On the other hand, there is a model marked SM-G986B which is an Exynos version with 5G connectivity, again for the international market. However, the US Snapdragon variant will only be available with a 5G modem activated.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G Exynos vs Snapdragon chipset performance tests
All of those reports that the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G will come with some sort of Exynos 990 chipset upgraded in its global variant, may have been premature, it seems. The Exynos version, with model number SM-G986B, just appeared on Geekbench MySmartPrice found and scored lower than the SM-G986U version with the Snapdragon chipset.
It’s actually based on the average score of a Galaxy S20 Ultra with the same amount of RAM and chipset, so it looks like there won’t be a magically earned performance from the Exynos 990 in the global version of the Note 20 Ultra.
Fortunately, the US version, for reasons related to operator networks and Qualcomm modem patents, will arrive with Snapdragon 865+, which will further widen the gap with the Exynos version.
If we have to compare to the first Snapdragon 865+ phone we tested, our The review of the ROG Phone 3 shows it scored 3369 on the Geekbench 5 multi-core benchmark, so the performance difference can be quite stark.
Of course, this may not be a retail version of the phone, and the actual numbers are less important than acceleration and warm-up under pressure, as well as graphics performance, which Samsung has allegedly addressed with additional cooling and Exynos 990 optimizations, so “we just have to wait and try for ourselves.
