Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Review: Worth It? By GadgetMatch

Let's get down to business hi, I'm Michael josh, and you're watching gadget match. We've already done a review of the Galaxy Note, 20 ultra. In my opinion, the one true successor to the Galaxy Note line that said, there's another note, a pair down more affordable model simply called the note 20 which we're zeroing in on in this video. If you're here for an exhaustive review and a deep dive into the many new features of the note 20 series, then I definitely think that you should check out my Galaxy Note: 20 ultra review video by clicking up here or in the comments section below having used both of these phones. I believe the experience is pretty similar, and I know that's a controversial statement to make in light of everything, but I promise you I will get to an explanation over the course of this video, but first, let's start by setting the stage this video is meant to discuss what sets these two phones apart, particularly the concessions made to make the Galaxy Note 20 a more affordable note. Were these cuts the right ones to make and do they make the Galaxy Note? 20 severely overpriced, as a note user, a note fan an overthinker and a champion for affordable tech that doesn't suck I'm heavily invested.

So, on the note 20s launch day, I woke up bright and early and set off to Best Buy to pick up a mystic green note 20, so that I could answer these questions myself. This channel is all about helping you find the right device to match your needs and your budget. We pour a lot of time and energy and resources into every review that we make in hopes that we can help answer your burning questions and can point you in the right direction, at least to the right device. So if this is the kind of content that you like to see, consider subscribing to our YouTube channel share this video and help us reach our next milestone. I've got a lot to say, but let's start by breaking down the differences between the note 20 and the note 20 ultra build gorillas, glass Vitus on both the front and back of the note 20 ultra polycarbonate plastic.

On the back of the note, 20 and gorilla glass, 5 up front design, sharp angular corners and Samsung's signature curved display on the ultra softer, more rounded corners and a flat display on the regular note, 20. Screen, quad HD, plus 120 hertz versus full HD, plus 60 hertz memory, 12 gigabytes versus 8, gigabytes of ram battery capacity, 4500 versus 4300, William hours, s, pen, 9, milliseconds of latency on the note 20 ultra 26 milliseconds on the note 20. Same trio of cameras, just more megapixels and more zoom on the ultra. Both phones start with 128 gigabytes of storage, but the note 20 ultra comes with a 512 gigabyte option and has a micro SD card slot and finally price. The note 20 ultra costs 300 dollars more if you're just looking, there's no denying.

These phones are from the same family, known for a more premium and refined aesthetic from their more boxy shape, sleek lines and matte finish. However, if you pick them both up, it's a difference that you can feel. I don't know if it's a little heightened right now, because the comparison is intentional, and I have one in each hand. I wouldn't say that the note 20 feels cheap. That would be unfair and incorrect.

I will, however, say that the note 20 ultra feels more premium and even if I put it down and replace it with the s20, the glass finish on the s20 gives it a more premium feel also, but that's again with context something to compare it against, but I wouldn't be surprised if others would be fooled into thinking that this phone was made of glass as well from what I've read on social media YouTube comments and reviews that have already gone out. The note 20s plastic back is one of the biggest complaints about the phone. The consensus is a one thousand dollar smartphone should not be made of plastic, but is there anything intrinsically wrong with plastic sure it's a cheaper material but is more durable or at least more shatter resistant than glass. I've been giving this a lot of thought, and I think the bigger issue here is a matter of perception. Plastic has never been associated with the word premium, and glass phones have long become the premium material of choice.

I remember when galaxy phones were plastic and the relief we collectively felt when Samsung switched to glass way back on the s6, but it's 20, 20 and plastic when done right, doesn't need to look or feel cheap. If I were to nitpick there's just a tiny bit of flex on the back of the note 20, that makes it feel like there's a hollow pocket of air underneath which I wish wasn't there. That said, is glass really the best material for premium smartphones? I think that's a conversation which is important to have. Maybe we can have it some other time, but very briefly, I'm not a hundred percent convinced after all, by its very nature, glass shatters upon impact. It costs a lot to replace, and it's one of the main reasons why a lot of us pick up a case on the first day of using a phone speaking of cases.

I conducted an informal poll on Twitter a few weeks ago and about 70 percent of you said. Yes, I use a case as a reviewer. I think I'm built in such a way that I always question myself. I worry that I rant too much about unnecessary things like the finish of a phone and build materials, especially if most of us just slap on a case on top of them anyway, out of habit. When I got my note 20, the first thing I did was order a case on Amazon, and I've got to say with a case on you forget about the material differences and Samsung makes some good ones too, like this Canada and this leather case.

But after a week I realized, I don't need a case anymore, and it's been liberating knowing that I can enjoy this pretty mint green color. I love so much. The other major point of contention has to do with the note.20S display. Don't get me wrong, true to its lineage. The note 20 has an excellent one, and those who prefer flat displays will be pleased to know that the screen doesn't curve on both sides, like the ultra.

It's a good thing if, like me, you're a note taker or, if you're the type that's prone to accidental taps. That said, without those curves, you lose the appeal that the illusion of a borderless display provides. Of course, what bothers the spec obsessed among us is the fact that the note 20 only has a full HD plus display and only a 60 hertz refresh rate. I will argue last year's similarly priced note.10 also had a full HD plus display the more pricey note 10 plus while it had a quad HD display, was set to full HD plus by default, and while this year's note 20 ultra also has a quad HD display, if you want to enjoy its 120 hertz refresh rate, then you're stuck with full HD plus also. Finally, my iPhone 11 Pro max also has a full HD display.

So what I'm saying here is that when it comes to the resolution of a smartphone as long as its full HD, I don't care as much, and neither should you, on the other hand, faster refresh rates are nice to have and are slowly becoming the norm. Anything above 60, usually 90, 120 or even 144 hertz, faster refresh rates, make a phone feel snappier, animations, look more buttery smooth and when playing games that support it, graphics are more fluid. Also, it's not quite a quality of life improvement, and it's definitely not one. That's on my list of nonnegotiable, but it definitely makes the experience better, and I can see why this is a justified expectation for a phone that costs a thousand dollars. The sub 500 dollar OnePlus.

Word, for example, rocks a 90 hertz display and Samsung kind of shot themselves on the foot by making a 120 hertz displays a standard across the entire s20 lineup. All that considered it should have been on the regular note 20. Also, I think, where the 120 hertz display would have really made a difference is with regard to the latency on the s pen, that split second delay between you're drawing a stroke and that stroke appearing on the display. You can see it better via the slow motion capture on my note, 20 and then on my note, 20 ultra partially thanks to its 120 hertz, refresh rate Samsung was able to cut down the latency of the s pen to 9 milliseconds. They weren't able to achieve that on the note 20, despite managing a 45 improvement, as this is supposed to be a note-taking or sketching device, then that nine millisecond latency would have been nice to have.

Perhaps only because I use my iPad Pro for work almost daily and the Apple Pencil 2 also has a 9 millisecond latency. I can tell the difference between the latencies on the note, 20 and note 20 ultra, for what I use my s pen for like taking notes, signing and annotating documents. I don't think it matters as much. Perhaps it might make a difference, though, for artists who use this device for sketching and illustrating other than that, it's the same s, pen. It can do the same things, and you also get the same updates to Samsung notes like cloud syncing, voice, notes and editing the colors of your scribbles.

After the fact. If you take a look at the back of the note, 20 you'll notice, the camera hump isn't as pronounced as the one on the ultra. That's because it doesn't have the 50x space zoom, so it doesn't require as big as a footprint for the periscope mechanism that enables the phone to zoom in that far. Instead, it has the same exact cameras that are on the galaxy s20 and s20, plus a 12 megapixel ultra-wide angle, camera with a 120 degree field of view same one. That's on the note, 20 ultra also a 12 megapixel wide camera and a telephoto camera tldr.

Despite those differences, I can't really say that the note 20 ultra takes significantly better photos. So during lockdown I've been learning how to bake sourdough breads, as you can see in this first shot a good test of depth of field and indoor performance during the day. By the way. I've listened to your comment, so the note 20s photo is always going to be on the left so making it easier for you to follow along and now take a look at the s20 note.20 ultra and note 10, plus all four photos. Look very similar in this next shot.

An ultra-wide angle, shot of this brick church in Williamsburg you'll find that the 2020 galaxies expose the skies very similarly, while the note 10 plus gives the building a halo, perhaps almost fitting of the subject, the church had an outdoor garden, so I walked in and took this shot, not sure why the s20 has the most contrast. Otherwise, all 2020 galaxies have super shallow depth of field so much so that the outer edges of the flower aren't even in focus, I kind of like the less shallow shot of the note 10 plus. What do you think? Here's another indoor shot with both natural and neon light to manage very similar photos all around and then outside sweatshop caf? in Williamsburg. I have a print of that timothy Goodman mural in my kitchen. By the way, the note 20 ultra has the blurriest both of the bunch, but all great photos all around wasn't sure how this next photo would turn out cause.

It was so bright out that day, but I'm impressed that all four phones exposed the hydrant, maintain the color of the wall and kept the sky blue and not washed out here's another church. This one you've seen many times in comparison videos before it's a beautiful summer's day here in New York, I love how vibrant all of these photos came out and how similar they are. But let's zoom in the s20 and note 20 have three times optical zoom. It's 5x on the ultra and 2x on the plus, so I zoomed in digitally definitely more detail on the ultra. But if you're looking for zoom, the note 20 does a great job.

Finally, some low light shots. This first one is of my wooden Lego, minifig, with dim lights at home, very similar photos from all four phones and last, but not the least night mode, to see how far Samsung has come in a year. All 20 20 galaxies did a great job. Picking up the details in all my products in a dark bathroom, with light coming only from my living room, while the note 20 packs a smaller battery than on the ultra battery life was pretty much comparable, sometimes even better, and that's thanks to the less power hungry display in my week of use, I always got through a whole day of average use without needing to charge. Oftentimes I'd get through a second full day about 7 hours of screen on time on average charging times were comparable too, with the bundled 25 watt charger close to 50 in 30 minutes 93 in an hour and 72 minutes for a full charge.

Now, while I and many others have talked about the concessions that can be made in order to bring phone prices down, let's also talk about. What's driving these prices up, if I were to surmise it's not just taking into consideration inflation, it's also the cost of 5g. Did you know that any vendor who wants to use snapdragon, 865 or 865, plus on their smartphones, is required to include Qualcomm's x55 5g modem? Also, let's see what this means in terms of pricing, by taking a look at the 512 gigabyte, Galaxy Note, 10 plus note, 10, plus 5g and note 20, ultra 5g, one could say the addition of 5g added 200 to the note 10 plus, and that price has only gone up on the note 20 ultra to keep prices low Samsung, at least in the US, has had to make concessions all across the board. Now all phones start with 128 gigabytes of storage. Last year's note 10 series started at 256 gigabytes and on the note, 20 series headphones are no longer included in the box.

All of that said back to the crux of it. All is a thousand dollars too much to ask for the Galaxy Note 20? Is it terribly overpriced? Well, if you ask me smartphones, these days are really getting too expensive, and it hurts that we've gotten to a point where the best phones from your favorite brand are almost all at a thousand dollars and above and as I alluded to in the previous chapter, with 5g chips significantly adding to that cost in 2020, but, alas, for many brands. Samsung included, a thousand dollars seems to be that baseline, and it's a price point that Samsung has cornered itself into the note.8 was 930. The note 9 was 999.99. The note 10 was 950.

, the s25g starts at 999.99. Also, Apple's iPhone 11 Pro is 9.99 as well and in this price range converted from their euro pricing, so are the Huawei p40 pro and the Xiaomi mi 10 pro. Now, let's set aside the iPhone, considering it's getting an update pretty soon, but compared to everything else, it's really hard for the note 20 to win based on specs for all the same reasons that hardcore techies have raised, but I hope, if you've learned anything from my previous videos, it's that it shouldn't only just be about specs. It should be about other things as well. The experience value add and intangibles more on this when I wrap up, but first it's time for some buying advice, note 20 versus s20, as both of these phones cost the same.

My recommendation depends on what you value more get the note 20 for its larger screen, more elegant design, better battery life, faster, more powerful processor and, of course, its s, pen get the s20 for its more premium, feel thanks to its glass back, its quad HD display and its micro SD card slot. Note 20 versus note, 10, plus last time I checked. The note 10 plus is still on sale on samsung. com and other retailers like Best Buy at its 1 100 launch price one bay. It's about 850.

If you do get the note, 10, plus you get the glass back and quad HD display sure, but still no fast, refresh rate you're, also stuck with last year's top-of-the-line processor, slightly less superior cameras, no 5g and an s pen with a higher latency all for a hundred dollars more. So why bother? I recommend the note 20. Finally, for those of you who care more about bang for buck, then I agree. A thousand dollars is still too much to pay for any smartphone. There are other options out there that offer a top of the line.

Experience for less top of mind right now are the iPhone 11 OnePlus word, and maybe, if you're, really on a pinch, the Pixel 4a so to bring it all home. Is the Galaxy Note 20 your gadget match if you're a note fan, but still believe that thirteen hundred dollars is too much to pay. Even for a note, then, the note 20 is a solid choice, a phone that still merits the gadget match seal of approval. It's a device that delivers on what people love most about their notes, an s pen, a bigger screen and a long, lasting battery. Sure Samsung has had to make concessions in order to bring the price down, but to answer that last remaining question: were these the right cuts to make? Personally, it doesn't bother me, but considering how loud that uproar over these cuts, then perhaps not if I were the one calling the shots, then maybe snapdragon 865 versus 865 plus, would have saved some money and would a faux leather back, be as cost-effective as polycarbonate faux leather, even if it looks more premium, is still plastic.

That said, in my mind, these cuts don't get in the way of the experience, and I speak from personal experience. I've used the note 20 for a week following two weeks with the note 20 ultra apart from the obvious difference and premium feel when you pick both phones up where it matters, I never felt that I was getting less of a device so much so that I wouldn't mind continuing to use this phone and knowing that I saved three hundred dollars in the process, it's pretty nice too. Finally, let's revisit experience, value-add and intangibles the experience using a Samsung device is great thanks to well-thought-out hardware and software design plus extras like DEX and the s pen. The value adds a better resale value on the note line, especially three years of guaranteed android updates and a growing ecosystem of products that work together seamlessly, whether that be the new Galaxy Buds live that pair instantly or the new tab, s7 plus, or maybe even one of their wearables. Although I have to admit I haven't reviewed any of them lately and finally intangibles that only a few android manufacturers can boast of if at all- and that was our Samsung Galaxy- note 20 review.

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Source : GadgetMatch