The Federal Communications Commission is the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to the upcoming Galaxy S20 family of phones from Samsung. After logging the US versions of the S20 (SM-981) and S20+ (SM-986) with 5G connectivity, now the S20 Ultra (SM-988) appears for the first time, as well as the 4G models - SM-980 and SM-985 - of its smaller brethren.
Does that mean that the Ultra will only be available as a 5G handset? Most likely, as that has been the speculation all along, and is what the leaked $1299 price would also infer. Without further ado, what new can we learn about the S20 family from the new filings?
Well, there will be dual SIM versions of the phones, which should come as no surprise, but also the complete battery and charging set of the Galaxy S20+ is now officially confirmed by the FCC when listing its EUT (Equipment Under Testing) specifications.
This report covers the Samsung models SM-G986B/DS and SM-G986B. These models are identical in hardware except SM-G986B has single SIM tray. The EUT is a bar type Mobile Phone which can operate on GSM 850/900/1800/1900,WCDMA FDD1/2/4/5/8, TD-SCDMA B34/B39, LTE FDD1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/32/66, LTE TDD38/39/40/41, NR n1/3/7/8/28/40/77/78 and incorporate Bluetooth, ANT+,Wi-Fi, GNSS, NFC,MST, OTG, DP, Wireless Charging, Camera, Audio and Video.
Galaxy S20 Plus and Ultra battery life, wired and wireless charging speeds
Long story short, the Galaxy S20+ (SM-G986) will indeed sport a battery pack with a model number EB-BG985ABY which leaked not long ago with a 17.37 Wh mark that at the 3.86 V current of Samsung batteries returns 4500 mAh nominal value.
The Galaxy S20 Ultra, in its turn, will have the longest battery life that Samsung has ever managed out of a flagship, what with its massive 5000mAh battery pack that the FCC confirmed with the following listing.
If you remember, that battery model number already leaked not long ago, and with a picture of it at that, but at the time we weren't quite sure if it will end up in the S20 Ultra. Well, now we can vouch with near certainty that the S20 Ultra will be backed up by a veritable power bank inside.
The FCC confirms that this 5000mAh unit is indeed the Galaxy S20 Ultra battery pack
In addition, the EP-TA800 25W wall charger, Samsung's first with USB-C Power Delivery (PD) standard, that shipped with the Note 10 family, will be the upgrade from the 15W chargers of the Galaxy S10 trio, just as rumored before. As for the reverse wireless charging that Samsung debuted on the S10 to top up accessories or even other phones is also here, and with the same 9W output, as per the FCC:
The EUT has WPT (Wireless Power Transfer) feature which has inductive charging coil to charge phone or watch. The charging frequency is between 110 kHz to 148 kHz, and the maximum power consumption is 9.0W in charging status.
Oh, lest we forget, the FCC filings also confirm the presence of a time-of-flight 3D-sensing camera on the back of the S20+ and Ultra models, but we already knew that, now the ball is in Samsung's court as to what will it do with the ToF sensor.
Unfortunately, we can't yet vouch what the newly-appeared "B" or "F" letters after the model numbers stand for, as Samsung may be changing its typical nomenclature, but historically "F" has denoted a global or unlocked model with Exynos chipset.
The S20+ (SM-G986B) is listed at Geekbench with an Exynos 990 processor, though, so maybe both these models are of the type where the Exynos 5123 modem is integrated in the chipset.
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That would explain the lack of mmWave frequencies that, say, Verizon or AT&T's 5G networks cover, as the 5123 only has sub-6GHz and mmWave bands when tacked on as a separate modem, not integrated within a chipset.
Galaxy S20+ Exynos 990 vs Snapdragon 865 version benchmark scores
Thus, those phones are just passing through the FCC, probably on their way to somewhere else than major US carrier shelves. Nevertheless, we couldn't resist pitting the two benchmark scores - for the Exynos 990 and Snapdragon 865 versions of the S20+ - against each other for the first time.
Galaxy S20+ Exynos 990 vs Snapdragon 865 version benchmarks
The scores are tad in favor of the Snapdragon in multi-core performance, and probably single core as well, considering that the Exynos is clocked higher. When it comes to camera speeds and AI components like machine learning speeds, the Exynos has the upper hand, both in single-, and in multi-core scores.
That would explain the dearth of info save for the tested frequency bands, but we still got to have a glimpse at the faster wired charging that awaits the larger batteries of the S20 family, compared to their predecessors.
At 4000mAh for the S20, 4500mAh for the S20+. and the record 5000mAh for a Samsung flagship on the S20 Ultra, these will be the largest battery packs that Samsung has ever put in its Galaxy S high-end series of phones.
Granted, the increase will be needed to offset the power-hungry new features like 120Hz displays or 5G connectivity, but if those are not a priority, we'll be getting quite a boost in the battery life we've come to expect from a Samsung flagship.
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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.
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