- So this week I spent an hour and a half with the Note 20

and the Note 20 Ultra,

which we usually think of as Samsung's

most souped up, powerful devices.

But what became very clear to me

wasn't the differences between this year's models

and last year's models.

It was the differences between the two models this year,

and how in my mind, only one of these devices

really earns that, oh gee,

this is the most powerful phone, Note title.

Let's get into it.

(upbeat music)

First, these phones do share some common features.

So let's get those out of the way.

The Note 20's both have S pens, of course,

they both have a power button

and volume markers on one side,

they both have USBC ports on the bottom,

and Samsung claims that both now have 25%

brighter screens at peak brightness.

And both devices come with Snapdragon 865 Plus processors,

and they both support full 5G with both sub six

and millimeter wave.

But when it comes to pretty much every other hardware spec,

their differences start to show.

So the Note 20 comes in mystic bronze,

mystic gray, and mystic green,

while the Note 20 Ultra comes in mystic bronze,

mystic black, and mystic white, that's right.

I only saw the mystic bronze color of both of these phones,

which is the only color they share.

Now they have this great matte finish on them,

and Samsung says that's, you know,

gonna take away from all those fingerprints

that we usually get on these phones.

But I mean, for me, I film a lot of these phones,

so I'm just happy that it's not like a straight mirror

looking back at me for once.

Now, let's talk displays.

The Note 20 has a 6.7 inch FHD plus flat screen

with a slight bezel and center hole punch camera,

while the Ultra rocks a 6.9 inch WQHD plus edge screen

with almost no bezels and a smaller camera hole punch.

The Ultra also supports an adaptive 120 Hertz refresh rate,

but only at HD plus resolution.

Now personally, I'll take the 120 Hertz,

even if it means a lower resolution, because well,

a higher refresh rate is way more noticeable to me

than a screen resolution.

Am I the only one that's like disappointed

by the 60 Hertz screen on the S 20?

I mean like, 2020, this one's a thousand dollars.

Should probably have 120 Hertz refresh rate.

Maybe it's just me.

Now looking at the Note 20 and the Note 20 Ultra,

they look different.

I mean, aside from the Ultra being physically bigger

than the Note 20, the Note 20 is a bit more rounded

on its top and bottom corners,

and the rounded corners of the screen really drive

that whole more rounded design home.

And for the first time in this line,

that design really differentiates the two models.

But I mean, let me know what you think,

but I always really dug the squared off look

of the Note line.

I mean, for starters, it looked more like a notebook.

Gotcha.

But also that edge display really hides the

rails of the phone in such a nice way.

It was kind of weird to see a Note looking like it belonged

in the S line, but more on that later.

Anyhow, both devices certainly still feel bulky

with the Note 20 weighing in at 193 grams,

and the Ultra coming in at 208 grams.

Couple that weight with the size and well,

with my small hands,

it was almost impossible to do anything with just one hand,

but that's standard for the Note line and me.

Both devices, of course, support DeX,

and this year they're getting the wireless glow up.

So you'll be able to use DeX wirelessly

with anything that supports Miracast.

also Samsung Notes will sync with Outlook's One Note,

and the S pen in these devices has the same

accelerometer and gyroscope for motion controls,

but with some new gestures.

I didn't have a whole lot of time to test these out,

so you'll have to tune into our full review

in the coming weeks for more on that.

But by far the most noticeable change in the Note line

this year is it's camera array,

and dudes like, staring at that camera array staring at you

is intense, like camping.

I can't help myself!

Get it, like in tents, like camping, like tent.

Let's run this down.

Both phones have a 10 megapixel F 2.2 front facing camera.

So the Note 20, you've got a 12 megapixel F 1.8 wide,

a 64 megapixel F two tele with a hybrid 30 X zoom,

and a 12 megapixel F 2.2 ultra wide.

That's all fairly standard stuff.

Now on the Note 20 Ultra,

you've got an 108 megapixel F 1.8 wide,

a 12 megapixel F three tele with five X optical zoom

using this like sick Periscope design,

and the Samsung space zoom going 50 X,

and finally a 12 megapixel F 2.2 ultra wide.

There's also a new laser auto focus sensor

that comes as a welcomed improvement

to the slow focus issues that totally

plagued the S 20 Ultra's cameras.

I can't wait to test that 50 X zoom out though,

like, I couldn't really test it

in the first look environment I was in

because I simply wasn't far away enough from anything

to see if it actually holds up.

But overall, these cameras offer a wide variety

of lens options that at this point

we've come to expect from flagship phones.

On the video side, both phones support

four K 60 on the front facing camera,

and around back they do eight K 24.

And if you're a monster, they'll do eight K 30,

but remember, you're a monster.

I'm just so excited to put this camera to the test.

I mean, every time a new phone comes out, I'm like,

let's shoot a movie on this thing.

And I have this series called Full-Frame where we talk

anything and everything cameras.

And I legitimately built a camera in the last episode.

So if you didn't see that go watch me struggle.

But also when I'm shooting Verge videos,

I have totally taken to using phone footage in them.

So eight K is a welcomed resolution

for all the punching in I do.

Pow, pow.

Battery should hopefully not be

a problem with these devices.

Both have 45 watt fast charging that can charge up to 50% (Correction: The Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra support 25w charging)

in a half hour, with the Note 20 using

a 4,300 milliamp hour battery,

and the Ultra coming in at 4,500 milliamp hours.

The Note 20 Ultra comes with 128 gigabytes of storage

with 12 gigabytes of ram for 1,299.99,

or 512 gigabytes of storage and

12 gigabytes of ram for 1,449.99.

The Note 20 is available with 128 gigabytes of storage

and eight gigabytes of ram for 999.99,

999.99, 999.99, nine, nine, nine, nine, nine, nine, nine.

(laughs)

With pre-orders for both devices starting on August 6th,

and shipping beginning on August 21st.

So the Note 20 line,

do you remember when the Note line was

legitimately so souped up, it was fire?

- And out of that stunning recall of Samsung's

Galaxy Note seven.

- [Announcer] Some of them were overheating

and even catching fire.

- I'm sorry, I just can't talk about a Note

without thinking about the Note seven,

but it also had decent specs, and well,

that's the Note 20 Ultra, minus the fire, I hope.

Now it just seems like Samsung uses this line

to make minor fixes to the S line and add an S pen.

I mean the Note 20 is almost spec for spec an S 20 plus,

with actually a bit smaller battery and fair,

the S 20 only has a Snapdragon 865,

and not 865 Plus processor, but the Note 20 Ultra,

that feels like a Note to me.

I mean, those are the spec funds

I expect to see in this line.

So it seems like to me,

if you're looking for the most specced out,

bad-ass Samsung phone,

the word to look for now is not Note, it's Ultra.

Thanks so much for watching buds.

I appreciate you, also,

we're going to have a full review

of the Note line coming hella soon,

and we've got tons of coverage over on the site

of everything Galaxy unpacks.

So be sure to check that out.

Anyway, be well, I hope that everyone around you is well,

and that you are well,

and that the world gets well real soon, and okay,

that's it for me, bye buds.