Samsung Galaxy S20 Smartphones: Everything You Need To Know

Introducing the Galaxy S20 Family

Samsung has officially unveiled its new Galaxy S20 family of smartphones, and there is a lot to decompress from this release. It's not just a single phone but three members of the Galaxy S20 family -- also joined by the new foldable Galaxy Z Flip smartphone. I thought it was worthy of an entire deep dive into the smartphones, so let's get right to it.

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Samsung unveiled three new members of the Galaxy S20 family of smartphones today, with the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and the flagship Galaxy S20 Ultra. Each of them have their place in the smartphone world, and each of them kick some serious iPhone ass... I don't think Apple will catch up to this generation of Galaxy smartphones with the new 2020 iPhone, at all.

Each of Samsung's new Galaxy S20 smartphones rocks out with a 120Hz display and 8K video shooting abilities, which is a huge bragging point for the company. Each of the smartphones has microSD expandability which massively boosts up the internal storage capabilities of the Galaxy S20 smartphones, too. They're gaming powerhouses, entertainment powerhouses, everything powerhouses.

Meet the Galaxy S20 Family

Samsung released some great info graphics on the new Galaxy S20 smartphones that I thought I would share below. This gives us a quick rundown on everything going on under the hood of the new phones... and there is a lot going on.

The Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ are both great phones, but holy balls is the Galaxy S20 Ultra a beast. Each of the new smartphones rocks a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, where in overseas markets it will pack Samsung's in-house Exynos 990 processor. Both of these chips are 7nm and boast 5G connectivity.

Display: 120Hz Infinity-O

Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display

I would like to say the gorgeous new 120Hz-capable Infinity-O display was the crown jewel of the new Galaxy S20 line up, but there are so many parts of the phone that stand out. It is definitely one of the major highlights, considering it is large (and in charge), and boasting a slick 120Hz refresh rate.

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Samsung's new Galaxy S20 range of smartphones all rock 120Hz refresh rates, but 60Hz out of the box. We're looking at a native resolution of 3200 x 1440 out of the box, at the slower 60Hz refresh rate -- but if you want 120Hz you'll have to forgo some of that resolution, as it'll drop down to 2400 x 1080.

Samsung includes HDR10+ support, scratch-resistant glass thanks to Gorilla Glass protection, an ambient light sensor, and a proximity sensor unde teh display. We have a 20:9 aspect ratio, too.

They're split into varying sizes and PPI, which I'll detail below:

• Galaxy S20: 6.2-inch / 563 PPI / HDR10+ / 120Hz
• Galaxy S20+: 6.7-inch / 525 PPI / HDR10+ / 120Hz
• Galaxy S20 Ultra: 6.9-inch / 511 PPI / HDR10+ / 120Hz

Processor / RAM / Storage

Processor: Snapdragon 865 / Exynos 990

It wouldn't be a new flagship smartphone series without a new flagship processor powering it inside, where US variants of the Galaxy S20 smartphones will pack Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 865 while UK and European users will receive Samsung's own in-house Exynos 990 processor.

There's not too much difference between the two processors, with both of them being an 8-core chip pm the 7nm node, but I'll break it down:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 865

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• 1 x Cortex-A77 @ 2.84GHz
• 3 x Cortex-A77 @ 2.42GHz
• 4 x Cortex-A55 @ 1.80GHz

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Samsung Exynos 990

• 2 x Exynos M5 @ 2.73GHz
• 2 x Cortex-A76 @ 2.50GHz
• 4 x Cortex-A55 @ 2.00GHz

We don't know too much about the performance of Samsung's new Exynos 990 processor, but it should be pretty damn blazing fast and close to Qualcomm's new flagship Snapdragon 865 processor. Samsung used its own Exynos 9825 inside of the Galaxy Note 10 in select markets, a chip made on the 8nm node but the new Exynos 990 is on the 7nm node and should have some excellent performance for the new Galaxy S20 smartphones.

Samsung is claiming that the performance of its new Exynos 990 is around 20% better than the Exynos 9820, so we should expect performance very similar to the Snapdragon 865 if that's the case. We'll see in the coming weeks as proper benchmarks arrive that will see the two variants of the Galaxy S20 smartphones tested in full.

RAM & Storage

Samsung is offering up a few different combinations of hardware depending on which phone you buy, but they each rock 12GB of RAM and a minimum of 128GB of storage with a microSD slot that supports up to 1TB. The 4G/LTE versions of the phone come with just 8GB of RAM, with Samsung making the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ with 4G/LTE models while the Galaxy S20 Ultra is a 5G exclusive beast.

• Galaxy S20 LTE: 8GB RAM + 128GB storage
• Galaxy S20+ LTE: 8GB RAM + 128GB storage
• Galaxy S20 5G: 12GB RAM /+ 128GB storage
• Galaxy S20+ 5G: 12GB RAM + 128/256/512GB storage
• Galaxy S20 Ultra: 12/16GB RAM + 128/256/512GB storage

Cameras: 8K Video Support, Too

Best Smartphone Camera, Ever?!

Another crown jewel of Samsung's new Galaxy S20 range of smartphones is the camera, where Samsung made some gigantic changes -- especially in the flagship Galaxy S20 Ultra. It's the largest upgrade to the camera on a Samsung smartphone ever, and something I truly can't wait to test out in the wild.

Samsung has equipped its new Galaxy S20 smartphones with a main 12-megapixel sensor -- but it rocks a new pixel pitch that provides a 65% larger area and allows for better light capture. All of Samsung's new Galaxy S20 smartphones can record 8K video at up to 30FPS, which is another gigantic win for Samsung above its competitors -- especially Apple.

Starting with the regular Galaxy S20 we have a triple-camera array with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide snapper, 12-megapixel wide-angle camera, and a 64-megapixel telephoto lens. Not bad for the regular Galaxy S20 at all, and remember we also have 8K 30FPS video shooting abilities.

Next up we have the middle sibling of the new Galaxy S20 family with the Galaxy S20+ which has a quad-camera setup, where it rocks the same 12-megapixel ultra-wide, 12-megapixel wide-angle, and 64-megapixel snappers of the regular Galaxy S20 but its joined by a DepthVision sensor.

Samsung ramps things up to 11 with its Galaxy S20 Ultra and its quad-camera system, offering a 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, but a hugely-advanced 108-megapixel wide-angle lens, that is then joined by a slightly-smaller 48-megapixel telephoto lens, and like the Galaxy S20+ it retains its DepthVision sensor.

What you'll be able to do with that 108-megapixel camera is going to be amazing, as Samsung has somehow crammed in a sensor that is capable of driving a 10x zoom/crop while keeping its 12-megapixel resolution. This means you'll get ridiculous image quality when zooming, or cropping your picture. Awesome sauce.

Battery + Charging

Samsung has increased every single part of the Galaxy S20/S20+/S20 Ultra over the previous-gen Galaxy S10 family of smartphones, and that includes the battery and charging support. We have some larger batteries on offer, and much faster fast-charging tech that will get you up and running and ready to run out the door faster than ever before.

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We're looking at 4000/4500/5000mAh batteries inside of the Galaxy S20/S20+/S20 Ultra, respectively. You're going to need much bigger batteries to drive those larger displays, higher 120Hz refresh rates, the latest games, 8K video shooting abilities, and 5G connectivity. All of these things will annihilate your battery faster than ever before.

This is why Samsung also provides faster fast-charging tech inside of the new Galaxy S20 series, with the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ both supporting 25W charging. The flagship Galaxy S20 Ultra supports 45W fast charging, which is as good as the flagship Galaxy Note 10+ which supports 45W wired fast charging.

All three of Samsung's new Galaxy S20 smartphones also support 15W wireless charging. Samsung won't be shipping a 45W charger in the box for the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which I really don't like -- I personally own the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G smartphone and it too didn't come with the fast 45W charger in the box and it sucks. 25W charging is great (you'll get that in the box) but why sell a totally new flagship smartphone without the fastest charger out of the box?

OS: Android 10 + One UI 2.0

Samsung will be rolling out its new Galaxy S20 smartphone with Android 10 out of the box, and sliding on its own in-house One UI 2.0 over the top. Samsung made its One UI visual overlay for Android simplified, and "designed for clarity".

This was done to keep consistency between Galaxy devices, from the older-gen Galaxy S10 through to the new Galaxy S20, and even the foldable Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Fold smartphones. It means you can go between devices and not have a huge change in the UI -- which will make for a better Galaxy experience going forward with newer Samsung devices.

Samsung has designed its One UI 2.0 with a "streamlined design" that keeps you up to date, without distracting you -- with notifications taking up less space. This is a nice touch that I actually dig with One UI 2.0 -- but I still use my own launcher on top (of both my Galaxy Note 10+ 5G and Galaxy Fold smartphones).

One UI 2.0 includes Dark Mode, something I personally adore -- with an "enhanced Dark Mode" on offer here with One UI 2.0 that gives you improved battery life, too. Samsung has darkened the menus and features across the entire of One UI 2.0 for a more streamlined, darker, battery-saving look.

One UI 2.0 also packs customized color preferences and even high contrast elements, for the ultimate in tweaking -- and like custom keyboards like SwiftKey, Samsung's new One UI 2.0 also packs a new keyboard that is "fine-tuned with increase visibility and definition".

Pricing + Availability + Final Thoughts

Pricing & Availability

Samsung kicks off pricing on the Galaxy S20 at $999, while maxing it out at $1499 for the flagship Galaxy S20 Ultra 512GB model. You'll be able to chuck in a microSD card into these phones with up to 1TB, which adds in a ridiculous amount of storage in your hands -- and once again, something Apple simply doesn't offer, period.

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The new Galaxy S20 smartphones will be available starting March 6, while pre-orders are open now for most countries and carriers.

• Galaxy S20 128GB: $999
• Galaxy S20+ 5G 128GB: $1199
• Galaxy S20+ 5G 512GB: $1299
• Galaxy S20 Ultra 128GB: $1399
• Galaxy S20 Ultra 512GB: $1499

Final Thoughts

All in all, Samsung has knocked it out of the park with the Galaxy S20 smartphones. Industry leading specs with insane cameras, 45W charging support, 8K video shooting abilities, 5G connectivity, microSD card slots, and so much more. Samsung has once again shown why it is an industry leader, and has set the stage for 2020 smartphones with the Galaxy S20.

I'm a personal owner of the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G and Galaxy Fold and I still want a Galaxy S20 Ultra, so I'm finding it hard to not want to go out with triple phones. The 6.9-inch 120Hz display on Samsung's new Galaxy S20 Ultra is really making the hair on my neck stand up, with all my tech senses tingling right now.

It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out with Samsung's competitors, especially Apple, which lags behind in virtually every single area now. Samsung will also have to one-up itself with the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20+ later this year, as well as the new Galaxy Fold 2 later in 2020.

Samsung has now set a new bar, and that bar is very, very high with the new Galaxy S20 family of smartphones.