Leaks no more! Just today, the Samsung Galaxy S20 series is officially announced during today’s Unpacked event at Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California!
The new Galaxy S20 ushers new technologies to more consumers wordwide: 5G technology and improved camera performance with features that remedy the usual pain points of taking photos and videos. While the world braces for 5G technology, all variants of Galaxy S20 series have 5G models. In the Philippines, however, Galaxy S20 series will not have 5G variants until telcos have rolled out the necessary infrastructure to make the network stable for consumers to use.
Focus on Camera Performance
During the launch the S10 series in 2019, Samsung experimented on adding software enhancements to supposedly give better consumer user experience. Since then, OneUI matured and the experience carried over to A and Note series.
This year, Samsung felt the necessity to moving to focus on the pain points in mobile photography and improving the overall content creation experience using pro-grade camera specs. This, Samsung believes, changes the way we capture thereby changing the way we use our smartphones.
Both S20 and S20+ are packed with 64MP camera set. You can zoom up to 30x on the S20 and S20+. S20 Ultra, being the most premium in the series, features 108MP camera that allows is to shoot up to 100x zoom using two image processing techniques called nona-binning and remosaic. Nona-binning combines 9 pixels (of various exposure levels) to produce a pixel with high dynamic range. In theory, according to Ubergizmo, “Pixel binning is a great solution to have high megapixel count in bright photo conditions, and great low-light sensitivity. In reality, it does bring some benefits, but not a crushing blow to those that don’t use it. What we know, is that more mobile cameras will include this technique in their photo toolbox.”
There’s a lot of things to understand, but to make this easier to understand, these new technologies found in S20 Ultra happens down to the sensor level, unlike other smartphones with the same number of megapixel count. To help users appreciate this further, there is a feature on S20 Utra called Quick Crop, which allows you to – as the name suggests – quickly crop a specific section of a photo you too using its 108MP sensor and have it processed. It’s unbelievable, and I can’t wait to see people using it more once it officially becomes available in the Philippines.
8K video recording, streaming and uploading to YouTube
For the first time ever, you can now shoot 8K videos from your smartphone. This brings a whole new level of shooting videos and creating content for consumers. If you’re rich enough to own a Samsung QLED 8K TV, there’s a native function on the smartphone that lets you stream your 8K content to it without a hassle.
If you don’t own an 8K TV, you can now simply share your 8K content to your friends by uploading it to YouTube. The popular video platform supports 8K, and for the first time ever, you can shoot, edit and upload your videos on your smartphones to YouTube without a PC.
More ways to enjoy the new Galaxy S20 Series
Apart from improving the content creation experience on Galaxy S20, Samsung also introduced new ways to enjoy the new smartphones.
Samsung collaborated with Spotify and Google to bring native features to the phones’ music and phone applications. You can now share your music and playlist with friends via Spotify thru Bixby. Google Duo is now deeply integrated in the phone application, and for the first time ever, you can now do native HD video calling or talk up to 8 friends at once. According to Samsung, AR Emoji and the phone’s wide angle lens may be used for calls.
Samsung and Netflix also collaborated for the Galaxy S20 series. Users of the new series should expect new exclusive content for them, which are made and curated by world renowned directors and producers.
Gaming at 120Hz, Specs Highlights
You can play supported games Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra up to 120fps, thanks to its 120hz display. This function may easily be toggled back to 60Hz if you wish to save on battery.
Being the powerhouse in the series, Galaxy S20 Ultra delivers the best specification in a smartphone in market. This also makes the smartphone the fastest and most powerful in the market to date.
Full Specifications
| Galaxy S20 | Galaxy S20+ | Galaxy S20 Ultra | |
| Display | 6.2-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X | 6.7-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X | 6.9-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X |
| 563 ppi | 525 ppi | 511 ppi | |
| HDR10+ certified | HDR10+ certified | HDR10+ certified | |
| 120Hz display support | 120Hz display support | 120Hz display support | |
| Camera | |||
| Rear | Triple Camera | Quad Camera | Quad Camera |
| Ultra Wide: 12MP, 120°, f2.2 | Ultra Wide: 12MP, 120°, f2.2 | Ultra Wide: 12MP, 120°, f2.2 | |
|  Wide: 12MP, 79°, f1.8 |  Wide: 12MP, 79°, f1.8 |  Wide: 108MP, 79°, f1.8 | |
| Telephoto: 48MP, 76°, f2.0 | Telephoto: 64MP, 76°, f2.0 | Telephoto: 64MP, 24°, f3.5 | |
| Space Zoom | Depth Vision | Depth Vision | |
| Hybrid Optic Zoom 3x | Space Zoom | Space Zoom | |
| Super Resolution Zoom up to 30X | Hybrid Optic Zoom 3x | Hybrid Optic Zoom 10z | |
| Super Resolution Zoom up to 30X | Super Resolution Zoom up to 100X | ||
| Front | Selfie: 10MP, 80°, f2.2 | Selfie: 10MP, 80°, f2.2 | Selfie: 40MP, 80°, f2.2 |
| Dimension | 151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9mm, 163g | 161.9 x 73.7 x 7.8mm, 186g | 166.9 x 76.0 x 8.8mm, 220g |
| Processor | Octa-Core Exynos 990 | ||
| Memory | 8GB RAM (LPDDR5) | 8GB RAM (LPDDR5) | 12GB RAM (LPDDR5) |
| 128GB internal storage | 128GB internal storage | 128GB internal storage | |
| Micro SD Slot (up to 1TB microSD) | Micro SD Slot (up to 1TB microSD) | Micro SD Slot (up to 1TB microSD) | |
| Battery | 4,000mAh | 4,500mAh | 5,000mAh |
| 5G | Non Standard (NSA), Sub6, for PH – S20 Ultra is 5G-Ready, but the feature is disabled for the time being. S20 and S20+ are 4G/LTE Only | ||
| LTE | Enhance 4×4 MIMO, Up to 7CA, LTE Cat. 20 – Up to 2.0Gbps Download / Up to 150Mbps Upload | ||
| Charging | Improved wireless charging speeds with Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, Wireless PowerShare, Super Fast-Charging – Up to 25W for S20 and S20+, up to 45W for S20 Ultra | ||
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Barometer, Ultrasonic Fingerprint sensor, Gyro sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Hall sensor, Proximity sensor, RGB Light Sensor | ||
| Authentication | Lock types: pattern, PIN, password; Biometric lock types: Fingerprint, Face recognition | ||
| Others | IP68 certified Dust and Water resistant | ||
GALAXY S20 AVAILABILITY
The Galaxy S20 series will be available on March 6, 2020 in various, classic colors.
- Galaxy S20: Cosmic Grey (and Cloud Pink via local telcos)
- Galaxy S20+: Cosmic Grey, Cosmic Black, Cloud Blue (Pre-Order Exclusive)
- Galaxy S20 Ultra: Cosmic Grey, Cosmic Black
Colors and models may vary by markets, carriers, and retailers.
PRE-ORDER
Galaxy S20 series is available for pre-order from February 12 to 25, 2020. Those who will pre-order a Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra will also receive a Galaxy Buds+.
PRICING
- Samsung Galaxy S20 (Operator and Online Exclusive Model) – PhP49,990
- Samsung Galaxy S20+ – PhP55,990
- Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra – PhP69,990
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
