Just got a Samsung Note 20 Ultra 5G - Honest Review
Just picked this up, first I ordered one from Amazon which arrived defective. A day later anything on speaker was harsh and tinny including video I recorded on the phone. Sent it back and picked up a new one from a local Samsung store for $1064.99 + tax. They give you a 14 day warranty and price match in case it drops lower by black friday with 1 year parts and labor if anything malfunctions granted you don't actually damage the phone, sounds notbad.jpeg
Here's my takeaway on the phone:
+Screen is fantastic, best screen I've ever used, the quality, the HYOOOGE real estate, I have tons of space for days, using split screen actually makes sense now. The brightness, colors, response time, refresh rate in the 120hz is mind blowing and easily noticeable switching back and forth and browsing through the browser. Did I mention watching videos on this is a breath of fresh air, they look so good, the screen is the perfect size, and the hole punch makes it immersive 10/10 on this one, mate 20x would be proud.
I really don't like the curved display though, it's a hassle to even use the edge feature with a case on and distorts text at the slight edge of the screen, especially for apps not optimized for the ultra. Should axe this feature and make the phone a bit wider.
+Tons of features, and I mean tons of features, the S Pen, the productivity features, edge lighting, taking notes and translating them, pulling in PDFs and writing notes on top of them, easily cropping pictures and screenshots, the extended screenshots its all too much, I haven't even finished learning all the features this phone has. This is the ultimate play and work phone, you can do both simultaneously and it's insane. I got rid of my iPhone 11 Pro Max to switch to this after using the pro max and a One Plus 6T as my daily drivers. This phone blows both of them out of the water and is a major step up for anyone coming from a non note background or apple.
+Camera, camera, camera. Honestly the camera is amazing, this is the first Android camera that has impressed me (not talking about using it on Snapchat and IG, just raw camera) The performance is great, the quality of the photos is next level and the video at 4k 60fps was impressive. The front camera is the weak point of the phone's camera system. I feel like they could of used a better sensor or done something to make it take better photos, it's not bad, but it's not on the same level as the rear cameras. Taking photos directly in Snapchat and IG is nowhere next to using the iPhone but that's understandable, its bad optimization so I won't knock it for that. I prefer the camera UI on the note vs iPhone and the difference in quality for me is too small to make a big difference. I don't think anyone who is serious about photography or videos will go without a DSLR so buying a phone solely because a camera is slightly better vs the whole package is a non factor for me.
+Performance has been great, the phone is silky smooth, lightening fast, gets everything done, all apps stay open and I have about 15-25 that I have on all the time and cycle through without any memory issues or lag. Haven't gamed on it since I'm not a gamer, but for work, productivity, and entertainment (youtube/movies) it's been solid. Bluetooth, wifi, mobile, location, all the built in goodies work excellently, getting 550-590Mbps on wifi down and up which is great for a phone and right up there with the current standard.
-Storage starting at 128GB for a $1300 phone is ridiculous. Come on Samsung put in at least 256GB of UFS 3.0.Tthe expandable storage is not an excuse since it's much slower and you didn't even offer any other colors in 512GB for those of us that will never buy another black phone. This is a sore spot, really should have been 256GB minimum here. Check update below you can get colors + storage options w/ SD865+ from Hong Kong.
-Battery, now this is the only part I wish Samsung didn't skimp out on besides the storage. The battery is just not enough for this big boy. 4500mhz I'm getting 4-6hours SOT max. I'm not using max brightness, in fact keeping it fairly low since mostly office setting. I'm also using adaptive brightness and the 120hz adaptive screen refresh rate. I keep most services on (GPS, bluetooth, Data, Wifi) with the optimized performance profile. This phone should have had a 6000mh battery and I find myself charging it up multiple times throughout the day. Making it a tiny bit thicker for this to include a bigger battery would of been nice, especially to match the big camera bump without a case. This is a like a 300lb bodybuilder, you have tons of power, but if you don't feed it often it will die on you.
-No headphones/accessories in the box. The box was very light, it really doesn't come with anything other than the phone, sim eject, and charger brick and cable. Samsung should of really included headphones here and an adapter dongle. Old HTC and android phones I bought came with all that and a case. This is really being cheap for no reason. Samsung don't follow in Apple's footsteps. **SEE UPDATE**
-Headphone jack, come on Samsung don't take it away. I don't want that wireless interference near my head and the audio quality is nowhere near as good as wired. There was no reason they couldn't fit in an nice headphone jack w/ DAC on this phone. For the ultimate phone experience this was an easy win to do.
Overall Summary: Is this phone worth it? Absolutely, it blows away anything else on the market, I compared it to the 12 pro max and I'm not buying my 11 pro max all over again for .2 inches more on the screen and the updates they hyped up on the camera I didn't see in store coming from an 11 pro max. This phone is the ultimate flagship right now for a productivity and entertainment powerhouse. I've loved everything about it so far, except the weak battery. I would definitely recommend if it's in your budget and while it is discounted. If you're like me you will love it. If you're like my wife, then please go buy the new iPhone and get ready to buy it next year when the screen is sold separately as well.
*****UPDATE***** +Just called up Samsung Customer Care, they sent me a link via SMS, confirmed IMEI, put in my info and they are now shipping me the USB C headphones.
+You can get the Hong Kong version of the Note 20 Ultra 5G which comes with the SD 865+ but you get all the different storage options for ALL the colors. 128, 256, and 512gb and it comes with headphones in the box. Thanks to the user in the thread who pointed it out. If you're considering buying it the pricing is roughly the same for the 256GB to 128GB here in the US.
TLDR: Note 20 Ultra 5G is a 10/10 phone with a 6/10 battery, definitely recommend, best on the market if it's in your budget and take advantage of the discounts going on this week for black friday but that battery is just too small so be ready to charge often.
submitted by
8KGigabit to
GalaxyNote20