5 things you should know before buying the Samsung Galaxy Note 20

30/8/2020

This year’s Samsung Galaxy Note-series lineup include Galaxy Note20 and Note20 Ultra smartphones. While the Note20 Ultra (first impressions) is among the most compelling smartphones of the year, boasting top-notch specs and pretty much every feature you could have asked for on a high-end phone, the vanilla Galaxy Note20 is a flagship that comes with a few trade-offs in order to target a comparatively lower price point. Here’s 5 things you should know about the regular Samsung Galaxy Note20 before you buy it.

5 things you need to know about Samsung Galaxy Note20

1. Samsung Galaxy Note20 gets a standard 60Hz display

While the Galaxy Note20 Ultra packs an impressive 120Hz refresh rate for ultra-smooth scrolling and animations, the vanilla Samsung Galaxy Note20 features a standard 60Hz screen, which is quite a downgrade. This puts the handset out of step with most 2020 flagship phones. That’s not all, the Samsung Galaxy Note20 gets a FHD+ resolution whereas the Note20 Ultra offers a better QHD+ screen.

2. Samsung Galaxy Note20 gets new S Pen features

The S Pen that defines Galaxy Note series has further been improved with Samsung Galaxy Note20. For starters, the stylus’ latency has been reduced to 26ms for smoother and more instantaneous input when you’re drawing or taking notes. However, the Galaxy Note20 Ultra has an even better 9ms latency rate. Additionally, Samsung lets you convert your handwritten notes into a Word or PowerPoint file and added five new Anywhere Actions, such as capture screenshot, return to home screen, etc., to make remote navigation with the S Pen easier.

3. Samsung Galaxy Note20 comes with Exynos 990 SoC

Talking about the performance, the Samsung Galaxy Note20 is powered by Exynos 990 chipset instead of the latest Snapdragon 865+ SoC. The Exynos 990 SoC is a flagship chipset, but it’s not as powerful as the Snapdragon 865+ chipset, which crosses the 3.0GHz CPU speed, at least on paper. The Exynos chipset is paired with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, which is non-expandable as the handset lacks microSD card. The Note20 Ultra however, comes with a hybrid SIM slot, so you do have the option of adding more storage.

4. Samsung Galaxy Note20 does not come with 5G support

If you’re looking for a future-ready smartphone, then the Samsung Galaxy Note20 is definitely not the one. The handset, unlike its elder sibling, lacks 5G support, which should not be an issue at least for the next few months. But with Singapore on track to roll out 5G by 2025, consumers could be looking for a 5G-ready phone to invest in right now.

5. Samsung Galaxy Note20 gets triple rear cameras

While both the Samsung Galaxy Note20 and Note20 Ultra ship with triple rear cameras, the setup is slightly different. The Galaxy Note20 Ultra touts a 108MP primary sensor, which is paired with a 12MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide sensor, a 12MP (f/3.0) periscope sensor for 3x optical zoom and 50x Space Zoom, and a laser-based autofocus system for fast focusing. The handset also supports 8K video recording.

The Galaxy Note20, in contrast, gets a 12MP (f/1.8) primary sensor, a 12MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide sensor, and 64MP (f/2.0) telephoto sensor for 3x optical zoom and 30x Space Zoom. Up front, both handsets pack 10MP shooters for selfies and video chats, so they’re similar in that sense.