Comparison of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and 20 Ultra vs. iPhone 11 Pro Max, Huawei P40 Pro + and more:

We have brought you the comparison of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and 20 Ultra vs. iPhone 11 Pro Max, Huawei P40 Pro + and more. Last year Samsung presented two Note 10s and the trail has been maintained in 2020 with the new Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and 20 Ultra . Slight change in the nomenclature but not in the formula: two flagships armed to the teeth to compete with those at home and abroad, hence it is especially interesting to make a comparison of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 against its main rivals .

We have made a selection taking into account the competing phones of the main manufacturers that are closer to the profile of the Note 20, both in size and in specifications. As usual, we will treat the you to you by sections and in the end we will put them before their rivals in two tables so that it is something more distributed and enjoyable to visualize.
The mobiles that we have selected for this comparison are the following:

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
iPhone 11 Pro Max
Huawei P40 Pro +
Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro
OnePlus 8 Pro
Sony Xperia X II
Google Pixel 4 XL
Realme X50 Pro 5G

Design and display

The Galaxy Note 10 and 10+ ended up settling those holes in the front that we would end up seeing centered on all their flagship searches. We saw it in the Galaxy S20 and that Infinity-O screen is also the model chosen for the new Note 20.

It is therefore a different option to the already hackneyed notch , which is still Apple’s choice for its front-line mobiles, although it also collides with what we see in the Xperia 1 II and Pixel 4, with conventional frames. The rest has gone into the hole, although Samsung’s approach is somewhat more different than Huawei’s, more similar to what we have seen in OnePlus or the Mi 10 Pro so that the taskbar ends up taking up less.

In the resolutions we see almost the shallowest evolution with respect to the Note 10, although what stands out is that the base Note 20 is in FullHD + and in 60 Hz. The manufacturer thus differentiates its mobiles more, but unlike with the S20 it loses the opportunity to get on the same car with its last two flagships and take the opportunity to standardize a minimum of QHD + in the high range that many others also do not reach, as we see here with the Mi 10 Pro, the Realme X50 or the P40 Pro +. In resolution and density, Sony is still the queen with the 4K of the Xperia 1 II and some predecessor.
These, however, do reach the 90 Hz refresh rate , surpassed by Samsung’s Ultra but not by the base Note 20 or the iPhone 11 Pro Max. That is why the screen of the Ultra promises to be up to par and be one of the best both in the Samsung showcase and outside, but there will be differences in the experience with the small one beyond the diagonal.

Speaking of dimensions, the Note 20 are large phones, so much so that the Note 20 Ultra is the bulkiest of this selection . Despite maintaining the diagonal of the S20 Ultra it is less tall and thicker, although it weighs considerably less and is not so far from 200 grams.
Of course, both the Note 20 Ultra and the S20 Ultra weigh less than the champions of this selection with 226 grams: the Huawei P40 Pro + and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. In the absence of a contact, the grip of the base Note 20 must be very close in sensations to that of the Pixel 4 XL , whose weight is just 2 grams less and its volume is similar, in addition to the “small” screen of the Note 20 is flat.

Of course, the S20 Ultra seems to take advantage of the volume much more despite integrating a large camera module and 5G like its cousin Note. The battery that fits the S20 Ultra is 5,000 mAh, which is also the one with the highest capacity of all these mobiles , a magnitude that although it is not decisive in the experience is usually fulfilled that the greater the capacity, the greater the autonomy.

Of course, there is some improvement over last year’s Note as they integrate larger batteries (at the cost of greater weight and volume). They are more or less in the average capacity of this selection , surpassing those that fall below the 4,000 mAh border: the Pixel and the iPhone. Even the Xperia, the most compact by far (at least in grip sensation), reaches 4,000 mAh, although the consumption in iOS is somewhat different and that of milliamps / hour is not usually a fair comparison.

Power, performance and connectivity

The Note 20 keep the Exynos 990 , the processor that the Galaxy S20 released and that came to compete with the Snapdragon 865 , the A13 Bionic and the Kirin 990 until the latter are renewed this year. Tie in this sense between the twins but not in the RAM, since in the versions that arrive in Spain the Note 20 arrives with 8 GB and the Ultra with 12 GB .

In such powerful processors it is difficult to notice a difference in the experience . The numbers in benchmarks are not an exact science either, taking into account that we are talking about two or three different apps (Play Store, App Store and App Gallery), so it is not entirely extrapolated, in addition to the fact that tests from different are usually reflected components that are not the same in all, such as RAM.
In this type of memory, we could notice some difference in handling and fluency, especially without activating high refresh rates and taking into account how demanding apps and multitasking are opened. However, from 8 GB of RAM the difference can be much smaller , and perhaps this does not mark any abyss between one Note and another, nor between the mobiles of this selection that remain in that range.

There are, on the other hand, the iPhone 11 Pro Max with its 4 GB and the Google Pixel 4 XL with 6 GB , but just as it happens with the mAhs in the RAM there is also no you to you just with numbers between Android and iOS. The 6 GB of the Pixel 4 XL seemed more than enough in our analysis, to which we add that there is no layer of customization. Something that does affect the experience more clearly, but that in the case of the Note we do not believe that there is much change compared to the previous Galaxy S.

Those of Samsung also get on the 5G train, a car in which neither the Xperia 1 II, nor the iPhone, nor the Pixel are. In fast charging it is where they are in those that do not reach 30W that are almost a minimum for brands like OnePlus, although there the Realme wins in this case and its 65W of fast charging with cable. Of course, wireless charging and the reverse are an incentive that as we see they do not have enough of their rivals.
The S Pen is obviously an added value with respect to a large majority of mobiles, although this year we have seen Motorola and LG’s proposals with a pointer. Of course, on paper the Samsung stylus seems much more versatile and useful, it will be necessary to see if it convinces us as much as last year with that new gesture function.

Photography

One of the key differences between the two new Samsung phones is the number of cameras, as we saw in the previous Note. But we have also seen that only the Ultra has the 108 megapixel sensor and a 5x optical zoom , although both have double optical stabilization.
Of course, although on paper (as seen in the S20) it is a hardware that probably gives good results, the rivals come especially armed to the teeth in this regard , seeing the 10x optical zoom of the P40 Pro + (which even integrates two telephoto lenses) or the treatment of colors achieved by the Pixel software. A mobile that is not yet close to competing in terms of versatility and zoom, yes, since it is the only one in this selection that does not have a wide-angle lens.
Samsung has spoken at its event about the low light potential of the Note 20 cameras. There, you will also have to deal with some Huawei that already automatically achieve high-level results in night photography, and astrophotography seems to be making a name for itself. mobile photography beyond the Pixels, seeing very good results in the Realme X3 SuperZoom .
Of course, they are those that have a lens with a maximum maximum aperture of this selection with f / 1.8, the same value as the main one of the S20 Ultra, although the Sony wins with an aperture of f / 1.7 in its main lens. If you are among those who opt for higher resolution sensors, in all probability integrating the same sensor as the Mi 10 Pro and that we have tested both in this mobile and in the S20 Ultra, although something to note is that the main sensors are among the larger at 1 / 1.33 inches. They do not break records and the largest of these is carried by the P40 Pro + (1 / 1.28 inches), but the correct evolution is to achieve larger sensors and here they are not bad.

As for the front camera , we see that they have been more conservative and less ambitious than with the S20 Ultra, integrating the 10-megapixel sensor camera of the Galaxy S20 + . Therefore, we expect similar results and above all a good video since the 4K recording is maintained, which is not usual in the subjective camera.
We see that neither in the S20 nor in the new Note 20 there is a double front camera as we saw in the Samsung Galaxy S10 + . We have tested many phones with a subjective dual camera and different approaches, especially for greater angles and trying to improve the bokeh in portraits, but for now there is no clear superiority with a dual front lens . However, in this case it is the P40 Pro + and the Realme X50 Pro that do have two front panels (an IR sensor and a wide angle respectively), which are also the ones that have a higher resolution sensor (there the Note are more or less on average with his 10 megapixel).

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra, comparison tables