So after the disappointing Samsung S21 FE and Samsung S22 ultra announcements (no sd card), I will be probably moving from my note8 to a Samsung 20 or Sony Xperia but I have a couple of questions for users that are using these phones.
What I look for:
-
a 5000mah battery. - Note20 has only 4500mah IIRC but I think it should be ok for a day of use with BT/GPS/LTE connected and 4-6 SOT?
-
Great soft support (for security purposes and customization options) - Question: Can you record calls?
-
a great Selfie camera - Question: How's the selfie? I take a lot of pictures with my SO when we are traveling and the crispness and important to me.
-
a great camera - Check
-
Video 4k/60 - Check I read that the s20 ultra camera is worse than the Note20, is it true?
-
3,5mm - ** This hurts but they won**
-
Sd card slot - Check
-
a 90hz+ 1440p screen - Check Can you use 1440p with 120hz?
-
stereo speakers - Check
-
(optional) a led notification and IR blaster: I don't know?
Thank you
I've had my N20U for 3 years now and it's been a fantastic phone. The glass by the camera and on the front screen has been cracked for some time but the phone works otherwise. My question is whether they manufacture phones with all these features anymore? Removable SD storage, stylus, 120hz refresh, giant ass screen. It looks like you can get most of these things on new phones but nobody's including sd card slots anymore. What do you guys think? I'm leaning towards getting another N20U even though it's old, it's gold.
Videos
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.
Hey yall! Just wanted to gather the general consensus (disregarding price) on the differences between these phones, pros and cons for each, which ones are most worthwhile, that kinda stuff
I was just curious... As someone who also has a Note 20U, why is the device so popular, to this day, even with its shortcomings? There are obviously devices out there that do a lot of things better.
But, I'm just curious to why it's so popular still? Is it because it's the last actual "official" Note branded device, and the last major flagship Samsung device that holds SD card support? I mean, I know technically the S20 FE also had SD card support, but I wouldn't call it a major flagship model like the Note 20U was.
And honestly, if you compare the Note 20U with the Note 10+, I actually liked my Note 10+ a lot more. But, I'm just curious to what others have to say.
So I've finally after so many years of owning phones am getting the latest version of a phone in a series relatively close to when it was released.
I'm upgrading from the Note 8 and I wanna know what other peoples experiences have been so far with the Note 20 e.g.
-
whats the aerial connection like - wifi and 4g/5g
-
hows the phone audio and microphone quality
-
lifespan (has it been started to run slow for any reason - full memory, any overheating etc).
-
what about battery? i use a lot of high battery usage apps like youtube and google maps, and just general high internet usage on 5g so i am aware batteries will reach zero quicker because of it.
-
usability? i have tiny hands and while i dont usually need to use my phone one handed, i do struggle with it.
-
and durability. like does it feel flimsy, is the material of it good quality. if i had it in my back pocket and i sat down would i accidentally bend it?
TLDR: whats been some pros and cons with your experience?
Here's my thoughts that I posted a few weeks ago. I've had my Note 20 (US Snapdragon) since it's launch in August.
I went with the regular one for the following reasons
-
Flat screen - This was one of the biggest reasons. I hate the curved displays. They add nothing to the actual functionality of the phone and make screen protectors a huge pain in the ass to install.
-
Size - 6.7" is the ideal size for me. 6.9", while not that much bigger, is big enough that it won't fit in some of my pockets (even more so with a case), especially when winter comes and I have to bust out my coats.
-
Cost - I got my phone from T-Mobile and even with the 50% trade in promo, my down-payment on an Ultra would have been over $600 after taxes.
My battery life has been excellent. I'm averaging being around 50% when I get home from work, I got nowhere close to that with my Note 8 or 10. Having the 4500mah battery has been amazing.
I'm well aware that the Ultra, from a spec perspective, is the better phone, but it's not the better phone for some people. I wouldn't recommend the Note 20 if you don't (or can't) get it on a trade in promotion, as I agree that it's overpriced. However, if you can get it on a trade-in (and aren't super concerned about specs), it's a fantastic device.
I haven't had any performance issues, unlike with my Note 10, which would get random lockups on Chrome and Edge.
My only complaints with are the Note 20 are these
-
128GB downgrade - This applies to both phones. The fact that they dropped from 256GB to 128GB on the US Snapdragon models sucks ass.
-
No microSD card - It sucks that there's no microSD as it really could use one (and we all know it was removed to use as a marketing point for the Ultra).
1080p60hz honestly doesn't bother me.
The fact that it has a plastic back is another thing that doesn't both me, either.
The regular Note 20 is a fantastic phone that's a bit overpriced.
Phenomenal. Sure, the plastic back and flat screen feels less premium, but this is a fantastic phone. I don't have a 5G plan so I can't comment on that, but 4G connectivity is good. Audio is great with the dual speakers, microphone is nothing special but does the job.
I've had it close to 2 months and battery life is amazing, and I have the Exynos variant. I easily get through a whole day, sometimes even 2 with moderate usage. No slow downs, no app crashes, nothing.
I have big hands so I can one hand this phone easy, but I avoid big bulky cases. S pen is on the left hand side which people like to moan about but really isn't a problem for me at all.
I also upgraded from the Note 8 and have no regrets. Go for it mate. £949 for this phone is a lot though, I got it for £200 off on an online deal
I'm on an iPhone 6 I've been researching Android phones for a while to switch. I'm now hooked on the idea of the Note phones. I've seen a lot of reviews on the three but no good comparisons. I don't like how Note 9 isn't getting any updates anymore and the thumbprint sensor location is shit coming from the iPhone. I like the Note 20s performances, 5g, and they're longer update period, but they're expensive as hell even refurbished. So, value for money wise, what should I go with?
If it's an option, I have been using the Note 10+ for a year and it's been a great phone. No real issues with fingerprint scanning and I get more than a day of battery life. Good size and I've had no issues.
Depends on your budget, if you want the best deal possible a used Note 9 will probably still so you for another year or two at a stretch.
I am a long time note 9 user. My note 9 runs well but is getting old. I replaced the battery twice and everything functions like day one. The note 9 lacks 5G and lags just a lil on new apps. I have the CPU on maximum. I was thinking of buying a Note 20 Ultra because It has good specs and I like the note series. Is it worth buying in 2024? Thanks for your input.
It's a gorgeous phone and I plan to upgrade if they get more 512gb phones in stock in time to pre-order. If not, I'll wait for next year. I'm mostly focused on the Ultra because the regular Note makes no sense for anyone to buy. Do no buy that phone. It's a mid-range device at flagship prices.
I saw they made the Note 20 bigger than the Note 10+ and was worried because the 10+ is already too tall so I wanted to actually hold it before buying.
Here's some thoughts:
The 20U phone is taller than the Note 10+ by a smidge. I was worried it would be dramatically bigger but it's basically the same size. That said, I would kill for it to be shorter and thicker.
The camera bump is ridiculous. The phone is too thin. Why didn't they just make the phone as thick as the camera bump and add some storage, a headphone jack, and more battery or something? Without a case that bump is going to get bashed.
Feels great in the hand and super premium as usual. It's just too freaking tall. I'm 6'7" and giant. It is taller than the front pocket of my jeans. How do shorter people use this device?
Thoughts unrelated to the shape.
Camera is fine. Telephoto is decent. I think with the Google Camera app sideloaded it will again be the best Android camera. As a photographer/videographer it was still pretty obvious that the Samsung camera app is still behind Google's. Why can't they catch up?
128GB is a joke in 2020 on a $1000 phone. It's too small. Especially when the base last year was 256gb. I tried cleaning all the photos and videos off of my phone and all the apps I don't need and I'm basically at 128gb leaving no room for photos and videos I take or downloads. Yes, there's an SD card but things like the aforementioned Google Camera app won't use the SD card because Google hates expandable storage.
Why are the colors straight up awful? Why can you only get black in 512gb? That's the only model that's sold out completely right now and is the most expensive one and it's only available in black?
This doesn't feel like a bad phone but it certainly feels like Samsung has absolutely no clue what people would love out of this phone. The regular Note 10 is probably the ideal shape and it's a bummer it isn't simply the exact same specs in a slighty smaller and thicker package. If the Ultra were maybe .25" shorter and .15" thicker with a bigger battery or headphone jack or 256gb of storage it would be an absolute home run. I wish I didn't love the pen so much or I would just get a regular S20.
As it stands it's just kind of a ho-hum weird update to the 10 that's hard to care about.
Yeah I was about to pre-order the Note 20 as a flat screen seemed like i'd want to use the stylus more which I really really wanted to use a lot but I haven't got comfortable it on a screen where my pen is encouraged to fall off if I get too close to the sides.
Then I saw it's way bigger than my Note 10 and had the curvy screens which honestly my favorite thing about the note was the square screen. And I chose the Note 10 specifically because a phone I can hold in one hand made more sense to me than a phone that had more features, though I feel like I'd have used the 3d scanner significantly more than the stylus.
Do you have small hands? The phone fits perfectly in my hands though.
My trusted phone for the last 4 years. It's still working just fine, still snappy and not even a tiny bit lagging. But the camera auto focus is getting bad, and it's on the last year of support from Samsung. Time to move on to Fold 6. I'm keeping this Note 20 ultra. Just the same as I keep my S8+.
Hey all. I know the Note 20 Ultra is due to be done with security updates. It would technically be at the EOL in that manner. However, I personally am not a believer that just because a phone is at the end of its security updates. Would I recommend using it three years from now? No.
That said, it still has a relatively recent Android OS, as well as Google Play services and apps still being updated. If one isn't too crazy, you shouldn't really have any problems with security. I think Samsung is known to send out a security patch after EOL if it is something that makes the device particular vulnerable.
I have honestly only begun using this Note 20 Ultra I got in May. I swapped my SIM card I got that was in my S21 Ultra and have been using it frequently lately as my main device. Nice to have a bit of a change of pace, as I have been using the S21 Ultra for two years. Also nice having a device again that supports expandable memory. Even though I will never use all of it, it is awesome being able to toss in my 512gb SD card.
Is there anyone else sticking with their Note 20 Ultra? I am also not having any issues currently. I know people who use devices older than this that aren't supported any more. My buddy is still using the Note 10 plus.
Back when I had this phone the gps had a lot of issues, the wifi would disconnect and of course I had the screen issues. How are those things now? Also heat management was a real problem for the Note 20U.
Hi! I'm upgrading from a cracked Samsung S7 Edge. I know these are very different phones, but I can choose one through my job, so money's not a factor.
S20 Plus Pros: Size, rounded corners Cons: specs are older
Note20 Ultra Pros: specs, afaik better camera, dynamic refresh rate Cons: size - it's huge!, corners are sharp and can jab you Neutral: stylus. Don't even know if I'd use it.
Which would you choose?
I'm looking to upgrade, Im coming from a galaxy s10, the reason im looking at the note 20 ultra is I really like the form factor, really want the s pen functionality, and it appears to be one of the last flag ship level phones to feature a micro Sd card slot (i currently have a 500gb in my s10 with a 1tb I couldn't use). and if so best place buy one today?
I currently have a Note 20 Ultra 5G (12GB ram + 256GB storage) Exynos version and have been rocking it since 2020. Changed the screen and battery twice over the span of 4 years.
It has been a gem of a phone but is it time for me to finally make the upgrade? Or shall I stretch it out and wait for the S26 next year? 😝
I really like the high resolution of the S20 but every website I see says the Note 20 is straight up better. Is this true? Is the difference huge? Screen res matters to me (I play small cute gacha games, I want the prettiest screen I can get for those), and I dunno specifics about processors and battery life differences. Can anyone explain the two to me?
im wandering to change my A34 for a note 20 ultra due to my carreer because the note 20 ultra is the last flagship with expandable storage and also it has an spen (i study animation) so its better for drawing, im wondering if it still worth it i dont really care that much about updates i just want to know for how many years more it could last like 4 years more taking in consideration that it is a 2020 phone, also can you recomend me stores/sellers to get it refurbished?