I've been thinking about picking up a refurbished Note 20 Ultra from BackMarket to replace my current phone. Any thoughts?
I'm looking at the S22 Ultra from BackMarket as well, but the price is a little on the steeper end, so I'm not sure if you know what I mean.
I'm loving mine so far. Just grabbed a refurb one from Amazon for $400 at the beginning of November.
Blazing fast, great camera, S pen does all the things you need it to. Micro SD support, Dex, etc. Last truly great Samsung phone to me. Battery could last a tad longer if I'm nit picking but it'll get you through the day with moderate use. Also the fast charging will have you topped up in like 20-30 min or so.
If you're worried about getting Android 14 or One UI 6 you might save some pennies for a bit and get the newer S22, but for my taste, and usage, this thing is perfect.
Just do it! You'll love it
Here's mine
Videos
Hi. My Phone is getting very old and im looking new phone. Im artist thats because i want phone with stylus pen. Does the Note 20 Ultra's pen have pressure sensitivity? And still worth it in 2023?
I have been heavily invested into the Apple ecosystem (Mac, iPhone, iPad) for many many years, but recently I started relying less and less on my mac as I transitioned to Linux Fedora for researching in machine learning. Thus, for the first time, I am seriously considering an Android as my smartphone next.
One thing that I really would like to have is expandable storage and as such I am oriented towards a slightly old device, but that should still be quite capable today, the Samsung Note 20 Ultra. It can be bought brand new today for 450 USD (US snapdragon version) which seems to me a great deal.
What are your opinions in buying that in 2023?
Thanks!
Using Snapdragon model since release. It's still the best phone to me. I don't see any truly better phones out there. Ours is one of the very last models to still support MST for Samsung Pay (to pay at card machines without NFC), and the expandable storage to boot.
It just got its last major Android upgrade to 13 (OneUI5.1), and will now live out the year on security updates and then that's it though. It's been both discontinued in manufacturing and shelved for software EOL (end of life).
Still, I absolutely am in love with it. I keep shopping for new phones to take its place but all the newer phones have less hardware features and they add gimmicky software features that either don't work half the time or will be released "in the near future". Newer phones have faster processors and better battery efficiency due to the new chipsets though.
If you don't live in the U.S. or use Samsung Pay, I think in 2023, there are other choices for certain people that may be better than the Note20Ultra. Also make sure the Note20Ultra you're considering is not used or the aged battery will make it not worth it.
Im using it, its pretty good. Tho battery may be problem but snapdragon is better, im using exynos.we have android 13 oneui 5.1 and feb security patch which is latest samsung releases, and probably we will see android 14 too
Got S21 Ultra a few months ago for 500€, its great but I honestly miss S pen (No, I dont want any more weight and bulk with that s pen case, it doesnt look quite good) and 128gb of unexpandable storage is bummer. I found used black Note 20 Ultra 256gb (expamdable storage is also amazing) in great confition for 250€ and was thinking about getting it and selling S21U for 500€ to other guy. Also I've always been a huge fan of Note series, and when it comes to updates, if those were really necessary, I would just install One UI roms. Worth it or nah?
I'm planning on buying it because it is a former flagship & a cheaper S-ultra. Is it worth it or no?
For those who know a lot about the Note 20 Ultra, im looking at upgrading sometime this month or Early 2024 to the Note 20 Ultra. At the moment i have 2 defective (green tint and messed up brightness) S9+. I recently dropped my phone and broke the screen, with half of the screen being black most of the time. I can not afford a s22u or s22u and i have heard and done much research on the Note 20u. Is this phone worth buying in Dec 2023/ new year 2024?
How has your experience been in terms of battery and how long does it last? Is it worth it in 2023? I am considering upgrading my S9+. But the S23U is going to be really expensive, and I'm having second thoughts due to cost. Will a refurbished device have similar battery life as a new device? I'm sure a used one totally depends on the first user.
I'm still using a note 9 and need to upgrade to something. Is this phone still a good buy?
Depends on the price and what shape the phone is in. Haven't looked lately, but I would imagine with the release of s23, they would have come down. I'd do some shopping.
Mine is still going strong and doing everything I want it to. There's nothing in the s23 feature set that I'm interesed in (or that makes it a better phone for me) so I'm going to be hanging on to mine for the foreseeable future.
I've had an unlocked version for about 2 and a half years. It's been a great phone. If there wasn't a 1k trade in offer for the S23U (expired now possibly) I would probably kept it for another year and see what the s24 line looks like.
I would say if you can find new for less than 400 that would be a good deal.
Used 250-350 depending on condition, whether it is unlocked or not, etc
Worth buying though depends. It will not get any more Android updates but it just got the One UI 5.1 (Android 13) that all the newer Galaxy phones will get. After that I believe Samsung is on the hook to deliver another year of security updates and that's about it.
Again it's a great phone if you can find new or great condition and if you're not concerned with the latest and greatest imo you can't go wrong.
Samsung has taken the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra off of the quarterly security updates list, which means that these two phones are now discontinued and will forever be stuck on One UI 5.1 with the August 2025 security update. This marks the end of the Galaxy Note series.
Planning to get some good Galaxy flagship I can use for at least 3-4 years, since my A50 broke. Found refurbished S22 for 300€, Note 20 Ultra for 450€ and S21 Ultra for around 500€. A solid camera matters to me the most. I also kinda liked the S pen and it's features, it's really cool and useful, tho I probably won't use it on daily basis. Also I've personally haven't been a fan of heavier phones but if the specs, features are good and the deal is worth it I won't complain. I really like all of them, but can't decide which one should I get.
Between the Note 20 that is starting to get a little too old, and the S22 lineup which is not energy efficient, I would recommend the S21 ultra. This is when Samsung got the "ultra" formula right and the S22 ultra, besides integrating the S-Pen in a slot in the body, has almost no major improvement. You can buy an S-Pen for the S21 ultra for occasional use and you will get the 10x optical telephoto that the S21 ultra is the only one to have in these 3 choices.
S21 Ultra.
I will be upgrading from the a23 5g and I want to know if it'd worth it. For about the same price you can get a base model s21 or s22 if you're lucky. I just really want that ultra feel without paying 1,000 dollars plus for it. Do you think it will hold up for about 2-3 more years?
Is the Note 20 Ultra worth getting still? Or should I just get the S22 Ultra? The reason why I'm even considering Note 20 Ultra is because of the external storage support.
If SD card support is important to you, get the N20U. The S22U is a minimal upgrade and in some ways a downgrade. The N20U isnt even two years old yet.
Dont worry about updates as it will get Android 13 and I think at least two more years of security patches. I got one recently, coming from a Note 10 plus.
Absolutely is
Over the past 10 years, I've had the privilege of using every Samsung flagship phone (except for the S20). So, I was pretty excited to get my hands on the Note 20 Ultra and see how it compared to my Pixel 4XL and iPhone 11 Pro.
Here are some of my thoughts after using it for 3 weeks. I also made a video review (it's my first time making a tech video).
The good
The screen is beautiful and the 120Hz refresh rate is an amazing addition this year to the note 20
Performance is top notch and the 12GB RAM ensures you won't have to reload apps much
Cameras are amazing. The main sensor has improved a lot and the low light performance is a big step up. The 50x zoom camera on the note 20 is really good in bright conditions, but it's not amazing in low light. Also, 50x is more of a gimmick. For best results, treat the 50x zoom lens as a 5x lens
Build quality is great and the in-hand feel is amazing. The note 20 is a beautiful looking device and arguably one of the best phones Samsung has ever made
The S-pen on the Note 20 Ultra is ultra smooth. The low latency really makes it feel like you're writing on paper (without the paper feel)
The level of customization Samsung offers is really good! I LOVE Good Lock and I wish it was available on more devices
Samsung Dex is a very underrated feature of the phone. Love the ability to connect it to a monitor and access my stuff that way. Due to lockdowns, there hasn't been a bigger need to use Dex, but I expect to use it a lot more while traveling
The not(e) so good
The resolution of the screen must be dropped to 1080 in order to use 120Hz refresh rate on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, which can be noticeable while reading a lot of text. I did get used to it after a couple days, but every time I went back to my Pixel 4XL or iPhone, I could tell the screens were sharper on those phones. I wish Samsung included a 90Hz option with full resolution
The battery is good enough for one day, but would be nice to have a bit more buffer there
The 50x zoom camera could use a bigger sensor. The low light performance is not great, which limits the use case. I'd recommend only using when there's plenty of light available
The phone requires you to use both hands to use comfortably. Depending on your preference, the large size of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra can be a bit much
Software is a bit buggy. The gestures aren't as smooth as you'd find on a Pixel device. Sometimes, the navigation gestures stop working all-together, which can be a bit frustrating
Overall, it's pretty incremental upgrade over last year's note. It's still worth the $1300 USD if you want the latest and greatest, but you can definitely get similar features for a lot less (minus the S-pen).
My usage of phone varies but it's usually 8 hours a day, would battery survive this much time a day?
Yes the note 20 ultra does last long and at the time of release it was even beating the iPhone 11 Pro Max. I would suggest it.
You could just buy the N20U now and wait till you're really big on cash, no matter when that is. I'm pretty certain the Note is future proof. For at least another 4 years. All that hardware isn't tapping out soon.