Galaxy Note 20 release date, price, features and news
Samsung's Note series are always among the hotly-anticipated phones for the second half of the year. Packed to the brim with hardware, featuring a new magical gizmo or two from Samsung's R&D labs, and holding one of the best styluses for a smartphone — the S Pen — right in their body.
Just like last year, we expect two variations of the phone — Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 or Ultra. Quite probably, both will have 5G connectivity, no matter whether you have the Snapdragon or Exynos variant.
Rumors on price have been scarce. Speculations go between a $1,099 starting price for the Galaxy Note 20 and all the way up to $1,499 starting price for the Note 20 Ultra. The newest and freshest rumor says $999 for the Note 20, $1,299 for the Note20 Ultra. But that latter one sounds... too good to be true.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 camera
The Galaxy S and Galaxy Note cameras have been pretty great for some years now. But Samsung has essentially been using the same sensor since the Galaxy S7 age. Improvements to the whole camera module, like aperture size and lenses, as well as extreme software post-production algorithms have helped it keep up with the times. But since we are back in the megapixel wars with hybrid zoom being used as a new weapon, it seems it’s high time for Samsung to come up with something new.
As we already saw, the Galaxy S20's camera is be an enormous leap forward. The S20 Ultra has up to 100x hybrid zoom, an enhanced Night Mode, and the insane 8K video.
As per the most recent rumors, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra will also have a 108 MP main sensor — supposedly a modified version of the previous one. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra suffered from some auto-focus issues, which it wasn't capable of fully shaking off after multiple software updates. The rumor mill suggests that the Note 20's 108 MP sensor would be improved in that regard. As for the "smaller" Galaxy Note 20, it's rumored to have a 50 MP camera.
We've also heard mixed reports about the zoom feature of the Galaxy Note 20. Again, we can speculate here that the regular Note 20 would have 50x zoom, while the Note 20 Ultra would have the same 100x Space Zoom as the Galaxy S20 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 design and display
As we come close to the Galaxy Note 20 unveiling, we've caught glimpses of what are alleged official Samsung promo images for the device as well as real-life photos of a working prototype. Now... remember — "alleged".
Early — and optimistic — rumors suggested that the Galaxy Note 20 might be the first Samsung phone with a hidden selfie camera. That would mean "no notch".
Render based on early rumors
A purported leak that came from Samsung's own official web pages kept that rumor alive for quite a while — it showed an image of a supposed Galaxy Note 20 sandwiched between a Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy S20. The Note appeared to have no punch hole and no notch.
Purported Samsung leak
But, as of late, the rumor mill has been churning images and CAD drawings that show the Note 20 sporting a single hole on the top center of the display for the selfie camera. It seems that 2020 is not the year we will see under-display cameras, at least not from Samsung.
As far as design goes, we expect a natural evolution of the Galaxy Note 10 mixed with Galaxy S20 vibes. The Note line has been leaning towards a more stern, rectangular look as of late, and we fully expect the Note 20 to keep that trend going. It will also have a crazy camera module on the back — bulky and packed with sharp sensors — that's a given. Especially since latest rumors seem to reaffirm it.
That camera module is going wild
Note that all the latest leaks are showing the S Pen dock has been moved to the left side of the phone, instead of the bottom-right. So has the bottom-firing speaker. Interesting choice there, we wonder if there will be any reasoning behind it.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 vs Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra
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The Samsung Galaxy Note 20's display might have no curve, or a very tiny curve. Samsung has stuck to the Edge Screen design ever since it introduced it with the Galaxy S6 Edge. But... the community hasn't been a huge fan of it. Yeah, it looks futuristic and sleek, but it also distorts your content towards the edges of the screen and it makes ghost touches a common occurance.
On the Galaxy S20 line, the edge arch is extremely subtle, giving you that curved display look with the least amount of interference when using the device. Rumors say that the Galaxy Note 20 will do the same or even go back to a completely flat screen. Possibly, the standard Note 20 could have a flat screen, and the Note 20 Ultra would have the edge design.
What about refresh rate? The Galaxy S20 line brought us the first 120 Hz Samsung displays. Presumably, the Note 20 will follow, but there may be a small tweak. According to rumors, only the "big" Note 20 Ultra will go up to 120 Hz. Does this mean that the Note 20 would be locked to 60 Hz? Well... either that, or it's possible that it will be the one that goes up to 90 Hz. This sounds like the most probable scenario to us.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 hardware
Another year, another chipset — of course, the 2020 Galaxy Notes will be powered by 2020 processors. Units sold in the US will likely be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Earlier, we expected it to be the Snapdragon 865, but a curious rumor says it might be an "unannounced Snapdragon chip" — the Snapdragon 865+. Presumably it would be a slightly upgraded version of the 865, just like the 855+ was to the Snapdragon 855.
International versions might get a slightly upgraded Exynos — the Exynos 992. Slightly faster than the 990 in the Galaxy S20 series and even, reports say, 1-3% faster than the Snapdragon 865. Now, how's that for a happy international market?
In any case, if Samsung insists on making 5G phones, then it will need to find a way to integrate 5G modems into chipsets. And, judging by the Galaxy S20, it seems the Note 20 in the US will be fully decked out for 5G as well.
Last but not least — we should expect even faster multitasking, as reports say the next generation of chips will support LPDDR5X RAM and Samsung will be outfitting its Note 20 series with 16 GB modules as a starting point. Nice.
The Galaxy Note 20 battery will also be a beastly cell — rumors suggest a minimum of 4,300 mAh capacity.
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