Samsung Galaxy S20 initial review: A new breed
There are three models in the new Samsung Galaxy S20 family - the regular model we're looking at here, the Galaxy S20+ a larger version of this phone that's - for the most part - that same as this model, and finally the Galaxy S20 Ultra, Samsung's spec-busting handset.
It's perhaps easy to overlook the Galaxy S20 because it doesn't shout specs like the S20 Ultra, but equipped as this is, the regular S20 could prove to be a popular device.
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Samsung's new look
- 151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9mm, 163g
- Grey, Blue and Pink colours
- IP68 protection
The Samsung Galaxy S20's most distinctive design element if the camera housing on the rear of the phones. All the devices get this pronounced black block on the rear containing all the camera gubbins. Some will say that it follow's Apple's lead, but it's closer to the move we saw on the Google Pixel 4.
It's not first device in Samsung's line-up to showcase this new vision for phones: the Galaxy 10 Lite and the Galaxy Note 10 Lite have similar looks. Long gone is any notion of hiding the camera: it's now about showcasing how much camera your phone has.
In the case of the Galaxy S20, there's a slight feeling you get when you get into a car that's entry-level. Not all of that camera housing is filled - there's a blank space - a little like the blank buttons you sometimes get in cars.
The Galaxy S20 will come in grey, blue and pink colours, with grey likely to be the big seller as the most conservative; the blue and pink colours are likely to be more of an acquired taste, but they are a lovely finish, with a pearlescent effect, causing a shimmer of colours when the light hits them.
The grey, by contrast, shimmers with fingerprints, as it's a glossy finish as per Samsung's previous phones. In reality, with the raised camera bump and glossy finish, this is a phone that looks better in a case - and there are some great cases on offer for it.
You get IP68 protection from dust and water ingress and the only connection is a USB Type-C for charging: there's no 3.5mm headphone socket.
Overall, however, there's a quality feel to the Galaxy S20: it looks great and feels great, packs a reasonably large 6.2-inch display into that frame with minimal bezel - and thanks to the single central punch hole camera, there's minimal disturbance to the display layout.
A great display
- 6.2-inch, Quad HD+, Infinity-O AMOLED
- HDR10+ support
- 120Hz at 1080p, 60Hz at 1440p
Samsung is often lauded for having the best displays in the market and at first impression, the same is true of the Galaxy S20. This is a 6.2-inch display with a Quad HD+ resolution, as per Samsung's previous Galaxy S devices.
It has a 120Hz refresh rates, with Samsung jumping on the bandwagon and promising smooth visuals, stepping up over the 60Hz that has been typical up to now. There's a catch with the faster refresh rate however: it's only available at Full HD+ resolutions, the default for the device.
For those who don't know, although Samsung offers 1440p resolutions on its top devices, it runs at 1080p by default, designed to save battery. The default on the S20 will be 1080/120Hz - if you step-up to 1440p, you'll have to accept that it's running at 60Hz.
Does this matter? Some rivals - OnePlus - are claiming to offer 120Hz at all resolutions, but this isn't a huge deal. Most people will run a 6.2-inch device at 120Hz 1080p without feeling like they are missing out on detail - and Samsung's aim here will be to save battery.
The other element here is the touch sensor, which is now 240Hz, aiming to make sure that your touches are quickly registered. First impressions are great, and as per previous Samsung devices, there's richness to the visuals, plenty of colour and deep blacks. We've not had time to fully assess it, but Samsung has a long history of great displays and we don't think this will be any different.
As for that single, central punch hole selfie camera, we feel this is the right choice. Having used the corner-based punch hole devices, we've found that the centre is a better position, not only for symmetry, but it's less likely to interfere with any on-screen elements like menu options in games.
A new set of cameras
- 12MP, 1.8µm, f/1.8 OIS main camera
- 12MP, 1.4µm, f.2.2 ultra wide
- 64MP, 0.8µm, f/2.0 OIS telephoto camera, 3x optical, 30x digital
- 10MP, 1.22µm, f/22 front camera
The Samsung Galaxy S20 has a triple camera, one less than the Galaxy S20+ which gains a "DepthVision" camera which isn't much of an omission. That accounts for the blank space on the rear that we mentioned.
The main camera is a new 12-megapixel sensor with large 1.8µm pixels. The larger the pixels the better they are at capturing light, in theory, and these are larger than average - which could be a good thing. That's paired with an f/1.8 aperture. This time it is fixed, with Samsung dumping the Dual Aperture system it's been pushing for the past few years and we can't say that's a bad thing: it was an added complication that didn't really deliver.
The ultra wide camera also gets a 12-megapixel sensor, but with smaller pixels and a narrower aperture, while on the zoom Samsung goes for resolution, with a 64-megapixel sensor.
The zoom is a little more complicated than previous devices and here you're getting what Samsung calls "Hybrid Optic Zoom" out to 3x, with Super Resolution Zoom taking you out to 30x. This latter option is basically zoom with AI to try and clean things up. Within the camera viewfinder you can tap through wide-normal-3x zoom options, or you can pinch zoom.
We've had the chance to play with all these things, but with the chance to take the images away to closer examination we can't pass any judgement on the camera at this stage, except to say that it appears to be a little more competitive in its offering than some of Samsung's previous cameras.
There's a couple of fun modes added to the camera too, and Single Take is one that stands one. This will let you capture from all the cameras at the same time. You basically press the shutter button and it will start capturing video and stills - you can move the camera around or be watching something full of movement and the camera captures what's going on - before presenting you with the best photo, and access to a range of other shots, including a video. It's sort of a way to cheat and use all the cameras without having to choose and then picking what you want afterwards.
We also like that Single Take works on the front camera too, meaning you can get a range of selfies and pick the one you like the best, with very little effort.
There's a lot more to explore on the camera, because, ultimately, the Samsung Galaxy S20 will be judged by this camera's performance and we'll be updating once we've had time to test it in detail.
Samsung has also boosted the video options, now offering capture up to 8K, with the ability to downscale this to 4K or 1080p for sharing. There are not many people out there with an 8K TV, but you can share 8K video to YouTube.
Galaxy S20 core hardware specs
- Samsung Exynos 990 (UK and Europe)
- 8/12GB RAM
- 128GB storage + microSD
- 4000mAh battery
- 4G or 5G options
For the UK and Europe - and some other regions) you'll be getting the Exynos 990 version of this phone. It will come with 8 or 12GB RAM, although there will be variations in different regions. Some will likely have a different core loadout with Qualcomm hardware.
It's impossible to judge the performance of the Galaxy S20 from the brief time we've spent with it, but everything seemed fast and responsive during the time we had the phone.
Equally, it's difficult to judge the battery life. With a 4000mAh battery it's actually pretty big - the Galaxy S10 in 2019 only had a 3400mAh battery, so this is a decent upgrade: it could be that Samsung will escape the situation it's had in the past few years where its smaller phones had below average battery life - we're hopeful, at least.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 will come with a fast charger in the box and Samsung also says there's improvements to the wireless charging speeds - it continues to support reverse wireless charging as previous devices, so you can use it to charge your Samsung Galaxy Buds+.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 will also be available both as a 4G and a 5G handset, supporting all formats of 5G. This will give you the option (and likely a decent price saving) to choose 4G if you have no desire to move up to 5G. Perhaps you know your network won't have it in your area for your expected ownership of the phone.
But adding 5G in means that you can be prepared for the latest mobile connectivity once it does become available to you.
There's also an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner under the display, but we didn't have an opportunity to test this.
Software
- Android 10
- Samsung One UI 2
We're not dwell on software too much, except to say that it's the latest from Samsung's One UI sitting on top of Android 10. There's not a huge difference that we could spot from other Samsung devices running on One UI, but this is something we'll dig into once we have the phone in for a full review.
At least it's offering the latest version of Android, although again, that's not hugely different, as much of what you spend you time looking at is Samsung's software customisation.
First impressions are of a slick and responsive user interface and over the past years we've maintained that Samsung really is the best at making Android its own - we can't see that being any different this time around.
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