Samsung Galaxy S20 vs S20+ vs S20 Ultra: Everything You Need To Know

Credit: Samsung

Samsung’s latest set of shiny premium handsets are here: say hello to the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Here’s a quick run-down on the biggest differences that you’ll want to know about before you choose which one to throw your money at. 

Display

As far as display size is concerned, the Galaxy S20 represents the bottom-end of the range at 6.2-inches. When it comes to the other display specs, the S20’s Dynamic AMOLED screen features an impressive WQHD+ resolution with a 120Hz refresh-rate similar to that offered by last year’s Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. 

By comparison, the Galaxy S20+ offers up a larger canvas at 6.7-inches. This is a notable bump in display size compared to the 6.4-inch S10+ released last year. Still, that size difference aside, the resolution and refresh rate here are the same as the mainline S20. 

Credit: Samsung

Finally, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is the largest premium smartphone in the range at a whopping 6.9-inches. For the record, that’s larger than even the largest of last year’s Note devices. As with the S20+, you still get a 120Hz refresh-rate. You still get the nicest dynamic AMOLED screen Samsung are capable of making right now. 

The Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra all feature center-oriented holepunch notches similar to that found in the Note 10+. For more on smartphone notches, check out our guide here. 

Storage

When it comes to ROM, both the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ come with 128GB of on-board memory. This is less than what was offered with the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 10+ - which both shipped with 256GB of on-board storage as standard. 

The Galaxy S20 Ultra then ups this to a possible 512GB. A 128GB size is also available. Unlike last year’s Note series devices, all three Galaxy S20 smartphones feature expandable storage via MicroSD of up to 1TB. 

Battery

This year’s Galaxy S-series smartphones aren’t messing around when it comes to battery life. 

The Galaxy S20 features a 4000mAh battery, which is an improvement on the S10’s 3400mAh battery.

The Galaxy S20+ features a 4500mAh battery, which is an improvement on the S10+’s 4000mAh battery. 

The Galaxy S20 Ultra features a 5000mAh battery, which puts it firmly ahead of even the S10 5G’s 4500mAh battery.

5G

Rather than have a single dedicated 5G phone as an alternative to the S10 and S10+ as they did with last year's Galaxy S lineup, Samsung are offering straightforward 5G-enabled versions of this year's Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S20 Ultra comes with 5G as standard in Australia.

Software

As far as unique killer features go, the S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra are a little lightweight. Spotify now integrates with Bixby and Bixby Routines. YouTube will support 8K video content uploads directly from the S20 over 5G. There's a Forza game coming to the Galaxy store and the Netflix app now integrates better with Samsung devices.

None of these are as eye-rolling as something like AR emojis might be. However, all the same, they don't really make that strong of an argument for why you should choose Samsung over other Android manufacturers on their own.

Durability

All three new Samsung devices - the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra - feature the IP68 water resistance found in last year’s S-series flagships.

Credit: Samsung

Camera

While Samsung have made improvements to their smartphone camera proposition with each passing year, the triple-lens cameras found on the S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra stand out as a significant upgrade for the brand that might well see them steal the photography crown back from Huawei and Apple.

According to Garry McGregor, Vice President for Mobile at Samsung Electronics Australia, "Single Take, Bright Night and much more, the Galaxy S20 will be the most compelling smartphone on the market."

The Galaxy S20 is equipped with a 12-megapixel main (wide) lens, a 64-megapixel telephoto lens and a 16-megapixel ultra wide lens on the back. A time-of-flight sensor rounds out the arrray.The Galaxy S20+ comes armed with the same lens configuration. 

Samsung says this new setup is capable of not just filming in up to 8K quality at 30FPS but also offering 3x optical zoom and up to 30x digital zoom. There’s also a 10-megapixel front-facing camera. 

Credit: Samsung

The Galaxy S20 Ultra features a triple-lens rear camera that combines a 108-megapixel main (wide) lens, a 48-megapixel telephoto lens and a 12-megapixel ultra wide lens to push these capabilities even further. As with the S20, there's also a Time-of-Flight sensor in the mix.

Samsung claims the S20 Ultra can deliver up to 10x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom. 

The front-facing camera on the S20 Ultra has also been bumped up from 10-megapixels to 40-megapixels. 

In Australia, the Samsung Galaxy S20 comes with a starting recommended retail price of AU$1349. The Galaxy S20 5G is also available for AU$1499.

Then, pricing for the Samsung Galaxy S20+ starts at $1499. Like the S20, there's also a 5G variant - which is priced at AU$1649 - and another model with 512GB of storage - which is available for AU$1899.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra tops out the range at an RRP of $1999 for the 128GB size and AU$2249 for the 512GB size.

All three devices are available for preorder now ahead of a March 6 launch date.

Click here for the best Telstra plans for the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Click here for the best Optus plans for the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Click here for the best Vodafone plans for the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra.

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Tags samsungSamsung Galaxy S20Samsung Galaxy S20+

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