I have been able to test the Galaxy S20 Ultra for more than a month, and I am going to tell you why the highest model within the Samsung S range is not the most recommended phone that you can find in the brand’s catalog.
Galaxy S20 Ultra, video analysis
The Galaxy S20 Ultra is a large and very heavy phone. Starting this analysis by describing the phone with these two words is so obvious that it probably doesn’t even need to be said. But yes, it must be said, because they are basically two factors that condition the terminal. But we go in parts. Samsung has returned to make a sleek, perfectly finished phone that feels like a luxury piece in hand. But there is no point in having a huge gemstone if you can’t wear it on your hand.
Seriously, it weighs horrors. To be exact, it is 220 grams that you hold when you have the phone in hand, and compared to other phones, the difference is important. This is basically due to its chassis, the two Gorilla Glass 6 that it mounts and the 5,000 mAh battery, which is large, but insufficient for what you might expect.
Fast, powerful and fast
Much has been said about the different processors that Samsung uses according to the market, but we will not go into that aspect. The reality is that the S20 Ultra works like a charm, it is fast, loads applications with ease and is capable of handling multiple tasks at the same time without flinching. That is the reality, so we have no fault to indicate in this regard.
Large, but insufficient battery
And is that those 5,000 mAh probably make you think of an endless use with which to last hours and hours with the screen on. Nothing could be further from the truth. It has so many things to give life, that in the end the battery performs just like others. Maintaining a screen with a rate of 120 Hz consumes (although you do not think that much is gained by lowering it to 60 Hz), and, in addition, the large inches, the 5G connectivity, the cameras and the processor, because they end up adding to the complicated balance of the energy consumption of a large mobile phone.
I liked the fingerprint reader on the screen, which is quite fast as it is an ultrasonic type, and also the facial recognition system, although out of mania, I prefer the first one. You know, a camera-based facial recognition system doesn’t inspire great confidence, which is why I prefer to use the fingerprint reader, which, being fast, is also safer.
A movie screen
And since we talk about the screen, we can not stop praising the incredible screen that Samsung has. This AMOLED panel looks incredibly good, with an open-mouthed contrast and brightness, though once again the more purists might reject too much color saturation. You know, all because of the wow effect.
As you can see, the list of specifications is very long, to such an extent that it does not lack a last-generation detail. So with the cameras it was not going to be less, and for that reason it presents a total of 5 cameras.
Too many cameras?
The first of them is hidden behind a hole in the screen, since it will be there where a 40-megapixel sensor is hidden. Yes, 40 megapixel selfies. Beyond being able to see the pores of the skin in optimal light conditions, in general the photos are very good, with loss of quality when light is scarce, and the only thing that attracts attention is the total size of the photo that we can reach. Little more.
If we go to the back the interesting thing comes, and that is that there are 4 cameras that we can find in the rear module. On the one hand, we have the main camera, a 108 megapixel wide angle , a 12 megapixel ultra wide angle , and lastly, the 48 megapixel telephoto lens . Oh, and don’t forget the ToF depth camera, which is the fourth camera, although without much repercussion.
With such an arsenal of cameras, we might think that we will not miss any detail, but quite the opposite. Using the cameras has caused me great headaches, since the interface has not allowed me to clearly understand the proper handling of all the lenses. There are so many cameras and so many modes, that a user without too much knowledge could get dizzy among so many options. To this we must add the large amount of zoom that we have available, reaching up to a surprising 100 magnifications that, unfortunately, we must tell you that they are not good for much. If you have to zoom, let it be the 30x hybrid , which works great.
I also did not like that the default zoom option leads us to 5x, since the telescopic zoom included in the S20 Ultra is 4x , so we would be obtaining an image that, although good, is the result of a hybrid zoom. To get the true optical zoom image, you have to manually zoom down to 4x.
The 108 megapixels that are advertised so much on the official website of the product, work by default at 12 megapixels, which is great because of the Pixel Binning , but it may be something that misses users who are looking for the numbers. In the end, yet another option to sink into among the camera menus.
Do you have before you a juicy plate, a striking texture or a flower to photograph? Well, don’t get too close because you’re not going to focus anything. Among so many cameras there is no macro type , and the minimum focus distance of the present ones is quite excessive, so you will have that macro problem (although the system recognizes the scene and tries to calibrate the image to highlight the Photography).
In the end, the impression we have is that although the set of cameras is very interesting, the interface does not help to get the most out of it without too many complications.
Too much phone
When you take the Galaxy S20 Ultra you know that you are in front of an important phone. It has a size that is not easy to digest, the screen is tremendously large and it shows in the pocket and in the hand, so it may not be comfortable for all users to carry it with them. All its benefits complete a list of very comprehensive benefits, but we feel that many of them are placed to enlarge the file, so we do not see it necessary to pay the extra that involves reaching the top of the table. And is that the official price of this phone is 1,249 euros (today it can be found for just over 1,000).
That said, we may be facing the most decompensated Galaxy S20 in the family, so the most recommended option would be to opt for the S20 and S20 +, more balanced and specific terminals that do not seek extravagances with which to make noise.