The gap between Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 20 and the Galaxy S20 range is growing by the day. And now we have our best look yet at this stunning smartphone.
03/25 Update: 91Mobiles, which has very solid track record on Samsung leaks (1,2,3) has today given away more Galaxy Note 20 details, explaining that “The high-end model is likely to ship with 16GB LPDDR5 RAM, up to 512GB internal storage and a 5,000mAh battery capacity.” This would push the Note 20 up towards S20 Ultra specs as it was only the Ultra which received a battery this big. That does raise questions about whether the flagship Note 20 could indeed use the massive 108MP-led camera array of this phone and its crazy 100x zoom, something which appeared to be off the table. With Samsung also splitting the S20 range into three models this year and the Note 10 into two models last year, the question remains whether the Note 20 line-up needs a Note 20 Ultra model to add these specs. I suspect both production capabilities and customer demand in this most testing of years will be the deciding factor. So expect this decision to stay fluid for several months yet.
03/26 Update: popular Samsung insider Ice Universe has confirmed what many suspected today, stating that the Galaxy Note 20 lineup will use the “same” cameras as the Galaxy S20 phones. This gives fans of the S20 line-up further reason to wait for the Note 20, given its other upgrades, though it leaves the big question unanswered: does that include the S20 Ultra camera? Samsung led with the Ultra’s (on paper) remarkable specifications and it has dominated marketing campaigns for the range. That said, testing has found little real-world benefit to the Ultra’s modules over the standard S20 and S20+ camera variants so its omission wouldn’t be a big loss… unless Samsung’s marketing has worked a little too well and boxed the company into a corner
Downsides? The Note 20’s bottom edge follows all the industry leaks and consequently shows there will be no return for the headphone jack, while the punch hole means there is no under-display front camera coming to the Note line-up this year. That said, neither were ever realistic prospects and the virtually bezel-less design, in my opinion, looks even more impressive than on Galaxy S20 line-up due to the Note’s characteristically boxier angles.
