Samsung teased the arrival of their newest flagships, dubbing it the “Hubble” after NASA’s famous telescope. Presenting camera prowess like nothing we’ve ever seen before, it beats the race for 30x and even 50x zoom. There’s a lot of whoah going on with these phones and dare I say that the S20 series may be one of, if not the ultimate creator and entertainment tool as far as smartphones go as of the moment.
First off, instead of an ‘e’ version (or the lighter version of the series), the S20 gets an upgrade with an ‘ultra’ version. That’s right, it’s called the S20 ultra and it flaunts out-of-this-world specs (I meant that it can see to the galaxies…okay that may be exaggerating a bit but it gets pretty close) and we’ll go deeper into that in a bit.
Let’s talk looks
For the S20, Samsung completely ditches what we called Cyclop’s X-men visor camera layout back in the S10 but instead goes with the rounded vertical box on the left side that we typically see. It also kept its screen notch-less and stuck to its Infinity-O display with the punch-hole front camera.
The three siblings flaunt Dynamic AMOLED 2.0 displays and vary in size with the smallest S20 sporting a 6.2” screen—a tiny bit larger from the S10’s—while the S20+ flaunts a 6.7” of screen (from the S10+’s 6.4”) and the S20 Ultra gets the largest real estate at 6.9”.
On the back, they sport metallic shades: cloud pink and cosmic gray for the S20 and cosmic gray and cosmic black for the S20+ and S20 Ultra. There’s also a cloud blue pre-order exclusive shade for the S20+ up for grabs. I got to lay my hands on the cosmic gray and cosmic black colors and while the black is your typical shiny black, the cosmic gray channels futuristic vibes in a cloudy gray shade that is halfway between matte and metallic.
So why is it called ‘The Hubble’?
I’ll tell you why, it’s because Samsung outfitted the S20 Ultra with a crazy camera set-up comprising of a 108 MP wide lens, 12 MP ultrawide lens, 48 MP telephoto lens, and ToF lens lending a whopping 100x zoom.
In the product demo, Samsung showed a picture taken from their office in McKinley Hills, Bonifacio Global City in Metro Manila and then zooming into the Pililia Windmills in Pililia, Rizal—that’s about 3 hours away by car and 73 kilometers of land to cover. While obviously not a clear view, you could clearly see the windmills standing proudly in the distance. Keep that jaw closed, I’m not done yet.
Let me jump back to the S20 and S20+’s cameras for a while now. Both sport a 64 MP telephoto lens, 12 MP Ultra-Wide lens, and 12 MP Wide lens. There’s also a ToF camera here, but only for the S20+.
The S20 series gets AI upgrades. For example, you can customize your own filters and what Samsung calls ‘Single Take’ which lets you take a short video clip and then with AI-tech automatically renders photos and gifs for one to fully capture the moment without losing a shot.
Think: your home videos projected on the silver screen. Capture dynamic video as all three can shoot in crystal clear 8K resolution. There’s also a cool feature called the 8K video snap where you can snap a frame from your video and get a 33 MP photo that oozes detail.
Maxed-Out Specs
Aside from the cameras, the S20 series still holds a few tricks up its sleeves. The three come powered with thee same Octa-Core Exynos 990 processor and is coupled with 8GB RAM + 128 GB ROM on the S20 and S20+ while the S20 Ultra rivals gaming phones with its 12 GB RAM + 128 GB ROM.
Battery-life is staggered at 4,000 mAh for the S20, 4,500 mAh for the S20+, and 5,000 mAh for the S20 ultra. All three support super-fast charging (wired and wireless) with the S20 Ultra going up to 45W while the S20 and S20+ go up to 25W.
The S20 series are all on Android 10 and operate on Samsung’s Q OS. The screen’s a dream to watch and game on with 120 Hz refresh rate for all three models. Additionally, they all have in-screen ultrasonic fingerprint scanners and are equipped with a USB type-C port. There’s no 3.5mm port to be seen here, too.
Here’s a Bonus
The S20 Ultra is 5G ready. But unfortunately, there’s a little catch—it’s not yet enabled in the Philippines just yet.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 can be pre-ordered starting today till February 25. Pre-orders of the S20+ and S20 Ultra variants also get a free pair of the newly launched Galaxy Buds+.
The Galaxy S20 (operator and online exclusive model) will retail at P49,990 while the Galaxy S20+ will retail at P55,990 and the Galaxy S20 Ultra will retail at P69,990.
The Galaxy S20 will officially be launched in the country on March 6, 2020. Stay Tuned.
Full Specs:
| MODEL | Galaxy S20 Ultra | Galaxy S20+ | Galaxy S20 | |
| Display | Size | 6.9″ (20:9) | 6.7″ (20:9) | 6.2″ (20″9) |
| Resolution | 3200 x 1440 Quad HD+ (511ppi) | 3200 x 1440 Quad HD+ (525ppi) | 3200 x 1440 Quad HD+ (563ppi) | |
| Screen | Dynamic AMOLED 2.0 | Dynamic AMOLED 2.0 | Dynamic AMOLED 2.0 | |
| Camera | Rear |
12MP f/2.2 (Ultra Wide) 108MP f/1.8 (Wide) 48MP f/3.5 (Telephoto) DepthVision AF: Dual Pixel (Wide) Dual OIS (Wide/Tele) |
12MP f/2.2 (Ultra Wide) 12MP f/1.8 (Wide) 64MP f/2.0 (Telephoto) DepthVision AF: Dual Pixel (Wide) Dual OIS (Wide/Tele) |
12MP f/2.2 (Ultra Wide) 12MP f/1.8 (Wide) 64MP f/2.0 (Telephoto) AF: Dual Pixel (Wide) Dual OIS (Wide/Tele) |
| Front |
40MP f/2.2 AF: Dual Pixel |
10MP f/2.2 AF: Dual Pixel |
10MP f/2.2 AF: Dual Pixel | |
| Memory | RAM | 12GB | 8GB | 8GB |
| ROM | 128GB | 128GB | 128GB | |
| mSD | up to 1TB | up to 1TB | up to 1TB | |
| Processor | Octa-Core Exynos 990 | Octa-Core Exynos 990 | Octa-Core Exynos 990 | |
| Battery | 5,000mAh | 4,500mAh | 4,000mAh | |
| Charging | Super Fast Charging up to 45W | Super Fast Charging up to 25W | Super Fast Charging up to 25W | |
| Security | Ultrasonic Fingerprint | Ultrasonic Fingerprint | Ultrasonic Fingerprint | |
| Dimensions | 76.0 x 166.9 x 8.8mm | 73.7 x 161.9 x 7.8mm | 69.1 x 151.7 x 7.9mm | |
| Weight | 220g | 186g | 163g | |
| Water & Dust Resistance | IP68 (1.5m & 30min) | IP68 (1.5m & 30min) | IP68 (1.5m & 30min) | |
| OS | Android 10 (Q OS) | Android 10 (Q OS) | Android 10 (Q OS) | |
| Network | 5G-ready (not yet enabled for PH devices) | 4G / LTE | 4G / LTE | |
| Color | Cosmic Gray | Cosmic Gray | Cosmic Gray | |
| Cosmic Black | Cosmic Black | Cloud Pink | ||
| Cloud Blue – Pre-Order Exclusive | ||||
| Others | Live Focus Video, Super Steady, USB Type-C, Wireless PowerShare, Super Fast Charging, Faster Wireless Charging, Samsung DeX for PC/TV/Monitor, Stereo Speakers sound by AKG, Dolby Atmos | Live Focus Video, Super Steady, USB Type-C, Wireless PowerShare, Super Fast Charging, Fast Wireless Charging, Samsung DeX for PC/TV/Monitor, Stereo Speakers sound by AKG, Dolby Atmos | Live Focus Video, Super Steady, USB Type-C, Wireless PowerShare, Super Fast Charging, Fast Wireless Charging, Samsung DeX for PC/TV/Monitor, Stereo Speakers sound by AKG, Dolby Atmos | |
| SIM Type | LTE Hybrid Dual SIM | LTE Hybrid Dual SIM | LTE Hybrid Dual SIM |
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