Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G Android Smartphone - SIM Free Mobile Phone - Cosmic Black, 128 GB

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This does, of course, depend on 5G being available in your area from your provider, but even if it isn’t yet, Samsung is baking in the future-proofed connectivity. If you live in the US, you'll only be able to get a 5G variant unless you're willing to import the device. We've used the 5G variant for the purpose of this review, but if you wanted to opt for the cheaper 4G version (if it's available where you live) the specs are largely the same aside from connectivity. The Galaxy S20 is powered by one of two different chipsets, and where you live will decide which version you’re getting. If you’re in the US you’ll get Qualcomm’s top-end Snapdragon 865 chipset, while those around the rest of the world get Samsung’s similarly high-end Exynos 990.

Galaxy S20 5G review: Top-shelf specs, but plenty of room for Galaxy S20 5G review: Top-shelf specs, but plenty of room for

You’re limited to just 128GB of storage on the Galaxy S20 – there isn’t a more capacious option. This should be more than enough space for the average user, but if you’re planning to shoot lots of 4K video you’ll likely want to make use of the microSD card slot. Like last year’s S10 handsets, the S20 range features Samsung’s reverse wireless charging feature, which enables you to use your S20 to charge other gadgets that support Qi charging. It’s a positive result overall, allowing for 3x lossless zoom that’s the best we’ve seen on a smartphone so far. There’s also 30x digital zoom if you need it, and while this isn’t lossless we found it to be useful in some scenarios. Under the hood is a powerful chipset, either a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 or Exynos 990 (where you live will determine which you’ll get) as well as either 8GB or 12GB of RAM, depending on whether you buy the 4G or 5G phone. And some people will only be able to buy the 5G phone – you can read on below to find out which versions are available in your region. The Galaxy S20 also gets things right when it comes to battery life, provided you make sure to choose the right settings. Fully draining the 4,000mAh battery from full in our video rundown test, I found that the Galaxy S20 lasted 18hrs 28mins before needing to recharge, which is rather good considering this was performed at the phone’s default WQHD+ screen resolution – although only at 60Hz.

Galaxy S20 camera is nearly as good as the S20 Ultra

So while the S20 is fast (although we’ve not yet been able to hook up to a 5G connection while testing the phone, so we’ve not been able to run our own speed tests), its bigger siblings will be faster if your carrier supports mmWave.

Samsung Galaxy S20 5G - 128GB | Studio Samsung Galaxy S20 5G - 128GB | Studio

Apple's rival to the Galaxy S20 is the iPhone 12 which is better in some ways, like its performance, but has a more utilitarian design and lesser display. Both phones also benefit from the new 120Hz screen – which is a first for Samsung – and have an identical camera arrangement. This means you have a 12MP (f/1.8) main camera at your disposal, along with a 12MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide and 64MP (f/3.5) telephoto sensor. All of the phones are capable of 8K video recording, although the keen-eyed might have noticed that the S20 and S20 Plus don’t use the S20 Ultra’s 108MP camera, and neither are capable of 100x zoom – instead ‘only’ zooming up to 30x. Samsung Galaxy S20 review: Price and competition However, pictures looked a touch candy-coloured for my liking, and the iPhone 11 did a better job at capturing more neutral-looking images. The S20 was also insistent on overexposing most images. The differences between the two are night and day as soon as the light begins to fade, too: the S20 looks drab when placed side-by-side with the positively vibrant images from the iPhone 11.

5G, a 120Hz display and more debut on the Galaxy S20

Samsung is still offering a default resolution of Full HD+ (2220 x 1080), which looks more than sharp enough for most tasks, and saves battery; you’ll need to head into the settings to switch to the higher resolution. If you do decide to shoot in 8K, you can hit the camera button when you're recording to take a 33MP still image. This should be useful if you want a high-quality snap while you're already filming video.

Samsung Galaxy S20 5G review - Which? Samsung Galaxy S20 5G review - Which?

Samsung’s fast-charging feature works well – if you have the right charger setup you can get from zero to 100% in under an hour. There’s also 15W wireless charging on offer, and while it’s not as fast as the wired variety it’s always a useful option to have. With the predictability of the setting sun, the changing tides and the ongoing Fast and the Furious movie franchise, Samsung’s new S-series family of smartphones have arrived in shops as the new year begins to find its footing. The S20 Ultra also has a 40-megapixel front-facing camera, but for me, image quality isn't especially better than the S20's 10-megapixel selfie shooter. There's a limit to how much detail I really want to see of my own face. New here is Single Take mode, which cycles through all three rear cameras over the course of 10 seconds to capture a variety of photos and videos. It answers the ‘Should I take photos or a video?’ dilemma with ‘Why not take both?’

Galaxy S20 vs. S20 Plus: What's the difference?

This is the phone to get if you want to try out the 2020 tech that Samsung has to offer, but you don’t want a large phone, or a large dent in your wallet. You could go for the Ultra if you want more storage or a 108MP camera, and can stretch to the price tag, but for day-to-day use the S20 is going to be the best choice in the range for most people. We found all the cameras to work brilliantly well, and if you’re shooting in the automatic mode you’re sure to be impressed with the results. You can see some of the shots we’ve taken below: The 5G variant of the phone we tested comes with 12GB of RAM. It may be that some tasks will run a little slower on the 4G version, as that only has 8GB of RAM, but plenty of flagships ‘only’ offer 8GB, and we’d still expect strong performance from that phone.

Samsung Galaxy S20 review | TechRadar Samsung Galaxy S20 review | TechRadar

We haven’t encountered any issues with the power on tap in the Galaxy S20, but when we’re able to properly test the Snapdragon 865 version of the device we’ll be sure to update this review with our findings.

You can’t, however, use both this higher resolution and Samsung’s advanced stabilization tech at the same time – Super Steady is still strictly a 1080p affair (it doesn’t even work in 4K). Camera: The S20 Plus has a time-of-flight sensor that's meant to help with clearer low-light shots. It doesn't make a meaningful difference in feature set. The rest of the Samsung Galaxy S20 sports a familiar look, with two pieces of glass sandwiching an aluminum frame. There’s still a curve to the right and left edges of the screen, but it’s not as pronounced as on the S10, which will hopefully mean fewer accidental presses along the edges of the display. It'll feel too small for some, which is the S20 Plus' main benefit. You also can't get a 512GB configuration, and most carriers "only" support the slower 5G bands known as Sub-6. ( On Geekbench 5, the Exynos 990 version of the phone averaged a multi-core score of 2699. That’s quite a bit below the Exynos 990 Galaxy S20 Plus, which scored 3034, and the Snapdragon 865-powered S20 Ultra, which scored 3286.