Samsung Galaxy Note 20 review

Our Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Note xx offers all the utility of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra without some bells and whistles to come in at a more acceptable price, making it a more practical pick for buyers primarily concerned with productivity.

For

Fantastic camera
Attractive design
Useful note-taking features
Excellent functioning

Against

Battery life just okay
Brandish only 60Hz
PC projection a bit clunky

Tom's Guide Verdict

The Samsung Milky way Note twenty offers all the utility of the Galaxy Note xx Ultra without some bells and whistles to come in at a more acceptable toll, making it a more applied choice for buyers primarily concerned with productivity.

Pros

+
Fantastic photographic camera
+
Attractive blueprint
+
Useful notation-taking features
+
Excellent performance

Cons

-
Bombardment life just okay
-
Brandish only 60Hz
-
PC project a bit clunky

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 review: Specs

Cost: $999
Bone: Android ten with One UI two.v
Display: vi.7-inch AMOLED (2400x1080; 60Hz)
CPU: Snapdragon 865 Plus
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 128GB; non expandable
Rear camera: Triple-lens: 12MP broad (ƒ/1.8); 64MP telephoto with 3x lossless zoom (ƒ/one.viii); 12MP ultrawide (ƒ/2.2)
Front camera: 10MP (ƒ/2.two)
Battery: 4,300 mAh
Size: 6.36 x 2.96 x 0.32 inches
Weight: half-dozen.77 ounces

It's like shooting fish in a barrel to forget about the Samsung Galaxy Notation twenty. Oh, sure — the $1,299 Milky way Notation xx Ultra is impossible to overlook, with its 6.9-inch adaptive 120Hz display, meticulous glass-and-metallic design and cool triple-photographic camera crash-land. Simply the regular Note xx has none of those things, leading some to dismiss it — perhaps unfairly — as a cut-rate afterthought in Samsung's roster of premium handsets.

Milky way Notation twenty vs. Galaxy Notation xx Ultra

Allow it be known I was amidst those guilty of writing off the Note xx when it was unveiled. However, while the $999 Notation 20 offers fewer of those head-turning features than its pricier sibling, information technology's appropriately less expensive as well, past $300.

That'due south non a small clamper of alter these days. And ultimately, if you're buying one of Samsung's new Notes to get things done more efficiently, the cheaper Note 20 gives upward cipher on the Ultra. You nonetheless get the aforementioned powerful Snapdragon 865 processor, versatile S Pen and Samsung's latest and greatest productivity-minded software, from the new Notes app to wireless DeX Style project.

If you absolutely demand the best camera and display in your phone, the Note xx Ultra is waiting for you. Just if you don't mind sacrificing on those fronts to get the same nifty workhorse for less, there is absolutely zero cut rate almost the regular Note 20 except its toll.

Continue on in our Samsung Galaxy Note 20 review to find out why this is one of the best phones yous tin can buy today.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 review: Release date and toll

The Galaxy Annotation 20 costs $999 and only comes in ane configuration, with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of non-expandable storage. For reference, the Annotation 20 Ultra, which packs expandable storage also as a larger display and battery, amongst other features, starts at $1,299.

The regular Annotation 20 originally appeared in three colors: Mystic Bronze, Mystic Green and Mystic Gray; at the end of November, Samsung added a new Mystic Carmine option. This device supports 5G, and yous can purchase information technology through whatever major carrier or unlocked to accept it to the network of your choice.

Samsung Milky way Notation 20 Ultra vs OnePlus 8 Pro: Which phone wins?

Samsung Milky way Notation 20 review: Blueprint

Let's go this out of the style offset: Yes, the Galaxy Annotation 20 has a plastic back instead of a drinking glass one. No, information technology doesn't affair.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 review — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Samsung has done a nifty task of emulating the fit, finish and appearance of matte glass with the Note 20's matte plastic, which the company dubs "reinforced polycarbonate." In fact, the only mode you lot'd be able to tell it isn't drinking glass is by tapping it with your fingernail — the resulting sound is softer and more than hollow, as it tends to exist with plastic.

Nevertheless, yous can rest assured that null about the material Samsung has chosen for this model looks or feels flimsy or inexpensive. In fact, information technology only benefits the Note 20's immovability, as plastic certainly won't shatter like even the finest Gorilla Glass does. Samsung likewise claims the Note xx'southward material is less prone to fingerprints than glass tends to be, which definitely held true in my experience.

Amidst the concerns over the employ of plastic, it's worth confirming that the Note 20's frame is still fabricated of chromed metallic, trimmed with brushed edges forth the pinnacle and lesser that add even so more class to the whole affair. That keeps this phablet's rigidity in bank check, while likewise complementing the frosted sheen of the dorsum very well. Truth be told I expected to be underwhelmed by this phone'south design; I'm pleased to report that hasn't been the case.

As for the rest of the Galaxy Note 20, the bezels encircling the screen are scant as can exist, nevertheless the glass shrouding the panel is flat. That might sound less luxurious than the Note xx Ultra's curved brandish, just it actually diminishes the likelihood of unintentional taps.

Despite the Notation 20'due south large vi.4-inch screen, this phone doesn't feel whatsoever heavier than the 5.eight-inch iPhone 11 Pro I ordinarily carry around, fifty-fifty if the spec sheet tells me it'due south a tenth of an ounce heavier than Apple tree's flagship. I tend to gravitate toward smaller phones, and at 2.ix inches tall — a hair taller than the Milky way S20 Plus — the Notation twenty about reaches the limit of what I could conceivably live with.

Like all Samsung'southward recent loftier-end phones, the Milky way Notation 20 is rated IP68 water resistant. That's ever impressive to me, considering the massive openings these phones have to house the S Pen.

Samsung Galaxy Note xx review: Display

Information technology's difficult not to be a piffling underwhelmed by the Milky way Notation 20'due south display, at least on paper. This half dozen.7-inch 2400 x 1080 panel has merely a conventional 60Hz refresh rate, which is disappointing considering you lot can notice 90Hz screens in devices that cost as little as one-half what the Annotation 20 does, like the OnePlus Nord.

Alas, the cheaper of Samsung's new phablets can nonetheless dazzle with impressive color, contrast and brightness, even if the animations aren't as smooth as you'd expect from a modern $999 device.

The trailer for the bleak new Batman picture show presented a brilliant showcase for the Note 20'due south impressive dynamic range, every bit explosions, gunfire and street lights shone through a desolate and dim Gotham City. Say what you want nearly Robert Pattinson's "emo" have on the caped crusader, just something tells me Batman's new look will pair excellently with the perfectly-inky blacks of the Note 20's AMOLED panel.

This display might non move every bit swiftly as others, but it does react quicker to Due south Pen inputs than the Galaxy Notation x did. Samsung has shortened up latency between the screen and stylus to 26ms, which makes for a twoscore% improvement over the approachable model. Unfortunately it's even so a means off from the Annotation twenty Ultra's well-nigh instantaneous 9ms response rate, though.

Nether our low-cal meter, the Note twenty was able to return 122.eight% of the sRGB colour space in its Natural configuration, equally well equally a Delta-E colour accuracy score of 0.22. That's damn about identical to the Note 20 Ultra, which achieved 121.five% and 0.24 in both tests, respectively — indicating the quality of onscreen hues will exist more than or less the same even if you opt for the less expensive device.

Sadly, we can't say the same rings true for brightness. The Notation 20 topped out at merely 587 nits in our full-screen brightness test, compared to the 662 nits of the Annotation 20 Ultra and 752 nits of the iPhone xi Pro Max. These days, the finest OLED panels can routinely superlative 700 nits, so the regular Note 20 unfortunately presents a slight step backward in this regard.

Samsung Milky way Annotation 20 review: Camera

While the Galaxy Note xx lacks the 108-megapixel chief sensor and 50x Space Zoom capability of the pricier Note twenty Ultra, its triple-lens camera stack nevertheless produces excellent results all around.

Well-nigh of the time, you'll be shooting with the Note 20's ƒ/1.8, 12MP principal lens. That camera is flanked past a 64MP telephoto with 3x lossless zoom (not optical zoom, mind yous — it'southward but a sensor crop) equally well every bit another 12MP optic for ultrawide shots.

Even despite the Note 20'southward deficiencies on newspaper compared to the Ultra, this is still a supremely capable mobile photographic camera that routinely equals — if not betters — the iPhone eleven Pro in several side-by-side comparisons. Looking at this beginning instance, showing off an idyllic river scene, it'south honestly hard for me to choose a favorite. The contrast and verdant greens in the Notation 20'south shot are more captivating, but the iPhone handles the color of the sky meliorate. The perfect photo would comprise elements of both.

As dusk ready in, I captured this pair of images near an overpass. Samsung'southward algorithms are conspicuously more than ambitious in brightening darker hues in scenes, yet the Notation 20'southward attempt has more obvious dissimilarity too, particularly within the shadows of the tall grass at the bottom left. Ultimately, I prefer everything most the Galaxy'south endeavor, once more save for the sky and cloud in a higher place, which the iPhone once over again captures with more depth, realism and nuance.

This comparison, taken from within a covered bridge on a sunny solar day, was particularly challenging for both devices. It requires each device to expose for the dim atmospheric condition within the span, without blowing out the intense sunlight at the opening. Comparing both, it's clear to see the Note twenty handled this task better — you can suss out some of the trees past the threshold, and pick out more particular in the wooden floorboards all the way to the span's cease. The iPhone is unable to navigate this photographic minefield too.

Using both phones' telephoto lenses, I snapped a pair of images of a flower. It may be hard to see in the slider above, but the iPhone retains more sharpness and detail than the Annotation xx here, and also is less susceptible to blowing out the highlights on the petals. Each image is very, very good, but Apple'due south rendition is a hair better.

On the flip side, the Note twenty becomes the vastly meliorate photographic camera when zooming in from afar. Apple's digital zoom however doesn't incorporate demosaicing algorithms, like you see in many Android devices today, including Samsung'southward latest flagships. (This is the same technique that gives Google'due south Pixels their Super Res Zoom.) Using clever software, the Note twenty is able to reconstruct images in a way that makes digital zoom far sharper than it would exist unremarkably, assuasive information technology to capture a cleaner, crisper and less noisy motion-picture show of this flag amid a body of water of cornfields at 10x ability. In fact, the Note 20 can get all the manner up to 30x if y'all let it.

Apple'south Night Mode is typically our favorite of all modern telephone makers' depression-light shooting modes, simply the Notation 20 surprisingly topped the iPhone's best efforts here. The epitome from Samsung's phablet is sharper and less grainy, with more gradation in colour, especially looking at the tree to the right and the lawn below. Apple tree's software glosses over everything in sepia tones, producing a roundly blurrier and less precise effect.

To test out how these phones handle shallow depth-of-field portraits, I captured a couple of selfies — only to find that I'm non going to be posting my mug to social media from the Note 20's 10MP front-facing camera anytime soon. Samsung however hasn't totally figured out how to properly render people's peel tones without producing ghostly consequences, even when I turned off all the face beautifying and smoothing features. It's the Annotation 20's only glaring photography-related drawback.

Samsung Milky way Note 20 review: S Pen

While the S Pen itself hasn't inverse much since final year's Notation, what you can practise with it has. That's thanks to the new One UI 2.5 update to Samsung's Android front end end.

The well-nigh obvious addition in Ane UI 2.5 is Air Activity navigation. While holding the S Pen out in front end of the Note 20, yous can press downward the button on the stylus while moving in an upside down V-shaped motion to return domicile. Exercise this in a left or right movement, and you'll call up recent apps or move backward. Zig zag downward to capture a screenshot.

I suspect Air Actions won't exist all that useful to users who choose to stick with classic three-button navigation, only information technology is user-friendly if yous have your Note xx prepare to Android'southward gestural bar organisation, and you've got the South Pen in hand.

One of the Note twenty's best and newest South Pen-related features is the ability to append sound recordings to written or typed notes. Granted, this feature tin can exist a little difficult to figure out how to use the beginning fourth dimension out — you lot have to tap the paperclip icon in the upper right corner, tap voice recordings and then start capturing audio as you jot down a note, rather than earlier or after. So, when you go to play that sound back, the Note 20 will highlight aspects of the text in real fourth dimension that were added during that particular point of recording. It's a neat and evidently useful feature for anyone taking notes in a meeting or during a lecture, though similar virtually of the clever Southward Pen features, I wish Samsung made it a scrap easier for newcomers to find.

Samsung says information technology's punched up its handwriting-to-text transcription in the Note 20 serial. To me, this was never an expanse of bang-up business concern — I plant the transcription in previous Annotation devices to be just fine, and the aforementioned is truthful in the Notation twenty'due south case. Personally, I prefer transcription as opposed to handwriting directly within pages, as it keeps things more organized and allows you lot to fit more than on screen, so I appreciate the effort Samsung continues to put into this aspect of the Note experience.

One more update to discuss related to the Notes app — it is at present built to sync to the cloud and exist accessible from any device, whether that's another Samsung telephone or tablet, or your PC. Unfortunately however, the desktop Samsung Notes app is but bachelor for Samsung PCs, which certainly limits its impact. Syncing to Microsoft OneNote is also supported, though only in one direction, from Samsung Notes to OneNote.

One UI 2.5 is launching on the Galaxy Notation 20 and Annotation 20 Ultra, though it won't remain sectional to Samsung'due south latest phablets for long. You lot can look many of these features to driblet on the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S10 and Note 10 serial equally well, where applicative, once Ane UI ii.5 rolls out to them. That's neat news for existing Samsung owners, though it inappreciably makes a adept instance for upgrading to the Notation xx if you already have one of those recent handsets.

Samsung Galaxy Note twenty review: Performance

Armed with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 Plus, the Galaxy Annotation 20 tears through any and all tasks, from running enervating games to taking notes while streaming YouTube or music from Spotify. It'll surely cease as ane of 2020's almost powerful Android phones when all is said and done, even if 2021 is already starting off strong.

Playing arcade racer Cobblestone ix on the Note 20 was a somewhat middle-opening experience. I'k accustomed to encountering some dropped frames and stuttering here and there with this championship, even on the most powerful Android phones. However, the 865 Plus' overclocked GPU delivers buttery-smooth gameplay, making the Note twenty a suitable device for gaming (and so long every bit y'all're not dismayed past the ordinary refresh rate.)

There take been reports of some Galaxy Note xx Ultra models getting as well hot, besides speedily, due to differences in the heat management system on a per-device basis. I am not sure what'southward inside our particular Note 20 (for what information technology'south worth, we bought information technology ourselves rather than use a Samsung-provided review unit), just information technology didn't get unreasonably toasty in my experience. Using turn-by-turn navigation, streaming a YouTube video and running Live Explanation meantime at full effulgence did cause the back to warm up a bit, though that's true of pretty much whatever phone.

Turning to benchmarks, the Note 20 totaled 3,182 points on the multi-core portion of the system-wide Geekbench 5 assessment — a shade behind the Note 20 Ultra's iii,294 outcome, likely explained past the regular Notation 20'southward 8GB of RAM to the pricier model's 12GB. This is very good, though it's worth pointing out the year-old iPhone eleven Pro Max still beats all Android phones, striking 3,500 points cheers to Apple tree's blazing-fast A13 Bionic silicon. And we did our Note xx testing before the iPhone 12 came out — the A14 Bionic iPhone 12 Pro Max expands the performance gap even further by posting a multi-core score of 4,111 on Geekbench 5.

In terms of graphical performance, the Annotation 20 accomplished 22 frames per second and 1,446 frames in full in GFXBench's Vulkan-based Aztec Ruins test for high-tier devices. That's slightly faster than the OnePlus 8 Pro (20 fps; one,313 frames) but a shade behind the iPhone 11 Pro Max once once more (25 fps; 1,657 frames).

The Note xx is about as fast as phones get these days, though there is one frustrating sticking indicate apropos its specs. This device just comes with 128GB of built-in storage, and in that location's no microSD slot for expandability. That's a biting compromise for buyers of the cheaper Note, and certainly a reason to consider the Ultra variant, which offers more than optional storage equally well as microSD back up.

Finally, a give-and-take on the Note 20'southward 5G connectivity. This phone is compatible with long-range sub-6GHz 5G networks likewise equally faster but more range-limited millimeter-wave (mmWave) infrastructure. That certainly bodes well for the Note 20 in terms of time to come-proofing, though, nosotros weren't able to track down either point during our fourth dimension with the device. And even if we had, we wouldn't conceptualize impressive results, as sub-6GHz 5G continues to underperform based on the latest nationwide testing, while mmWave 5G is very fast but strictly limited to densely-packed cities and line-of-sight access.

Samsung Milky way Note 20 review: Link to Windows and wireless DeX Mode

The Galaxy Notation twenty is one of a small-scale number of phones — one of the but others being the upcoming Microsoft Surface Duo — capable of connecting to Windows PCs, allowing you to view and act upon notifications, respond to text messages and even run across and interact with your Note's screen from your computer.

The Your Phone app is rich with features that iPhone and Mac users take been enjoying for years, like the power to make and receive calls without leaving your desktop. The integration is solid and easy to become up and running once you've accepted the flurry of notifications Windows requires to dig its hooks into your Notation 20.

It's generally impressive, though Your Phone begins to fall short when you try to collaborate directly with your Notation'south display via Windows. I'll acknowledge that "swiping" around Android on your PC's monitor with your mouse is a somewhat bewildering experience the very start fourth dimension yous do it, though that amazement quickly comes crashing down to Earth once you lot have stock of the blemishes.

For starters, the stream from the Annotation 20 tin can be remarkably low resolution — so much then that it's hard to read elements on screen to click on. Animations often play back at less than half speed, and the entire matter was so irksome and muddy when I tried it that I can't imagine returning to information technology anytime soon. The culprit could exist my local connection of grade, though I suspect at that place'south a reason Apple doesn't fuss with phone-to-PC wireless mirroring — it's simply too laggy and prone to hiccups besides much of the time.

The Note 20 tin likewise cast its desktop-class DeX Mode wirelessly to Miracast-supported displays. That's a new characteristic for DeX; previously, you needed a cable to either project it via a TV or PC.

Unfortunately, I couldn't become wireless DeX Mode up and running on my Samsung Q-series Television set. (This seemed to be more of a problem with the Telly than the Note, which refused to let me let the phone to connect to it.) Nevertheless, my colleague Mark noted in his Milky way Annotation twenty Ultra review that DeX works well enough over Miracast, even if the overall experience isn't quite equally smooth and instantaneous as using the Note directly.

Gamers will capeesh that the Annotation xx is supported as function of Microsoft's $15-per-calendar month Xbox Game Pass Beta plan, assuasive you to stream Xbox and PC titles to your phone. More 100 titles are included in the initial run, from Gears five to Forza Horizon 4 and Halo: The Chief Main Collection. Eventually, Microsoft volition surely extend support to other phones, though the Notation 20 models volition get in on the basis floor on September xv, when Microsoft flips the switch on Game Pass streaming.

Samsung Milky way Notation 20 review: Battery life and charging

While the Galaxy Note 20 concedes more than a few desirable features to the Note 20 Ultra, bombardment chapters thankfully isn't one of them. This device comes with a 4,300mAh unit, which isn't far off the Ultra's iv,500mAh capacity. The Note 20's battery besides charges every bit equally fast, with the included 25W adapter.

The Note twenty lasted an average of 9 hours and 38 minutes in Tom'south Guide's custom battery test, where the device cycled through an endless listing of web pages while connected to AT&T's LTE network and ready to 150 nits of screen brightness.

Compare that to the Note 20 Ultra — which lasted 10:26 on its 60Hz mode, yet simply 7:59 on its 120Hz style — and the regular Note 20 falls unsurprisingly between those extremes. 9:38 is hardly epic though, especially considering the Milky way S20 Plus notched 10:31 when set to 60Hz, and 2019's Galaxy Note x Plus delivered 10:47.

Longevity on a accuse should take been the one upside to the regular Notation xx'south 60 Hz display, though it hasn't seemed to help much. Still, at to the lowest degree the phone recharges apace plenty, taking 30 minutes to attain 55% from completely expressionless. Additionally, the Note 20 supports 15-watt fast wireless charging also as the power to wirelessly charge other devices with Samsung's PowerShare characteristic. That'south something iPhones however can't claim.

Samsung Milky way Note 20 review: Verdict

The all-time thing about the Galaxy Note 20 is that it does pretty much everything well. It's very powerful, excels at productivity and annotation taking, and sports a pretty (if non entirely cutting-edge) brandish and design. It's the complete package.

What information technology's missing is that wow factor — something Note twenty Ultra has in spades, betwixt its 120Hz screen, crazy cameras and daunting size. However, I'm non and so sure that'south such a bad thing. Tech aficionados and early adopters tin empty their pockets for the Ultra, and I doubtable they won't be disappointed. However, other buyers drawn to the Note primarily because of the value of the Due south Pen equally a practical tool can get exactly what they want, less some arguably frivolous bells and whistles in the regular Note xx, and save $300 in the procedure. The only things they stand to lose are storage and a bit of battery life.

Before embarking on this Galaxy Note xx review, I struggled to pin downwardly who the Note 20 was for, but now I've figured it out. If you want to be dazzled with the absolute pinnacle of mobile technology, buy the Annotation 20 Ultra. But if all you really intendance nearly is getting stuff done, the regular Note 20 is here to the rescue.

Adam Ismail is a staff writer at Jalopnik and previously worked on Tom's Guide covering smartphones, car tech and gaming. His beloved for all things mobile began with the original Motorola Droid; since then he'south endemic a diverseness of Android and iOS-powered handsets, refusing to stay loyal to ane platform. His work has also appeared on Digital Trends and GTPlanet. When he'southward not little with the latest devices, he'south at an indie popular show, recording a podcast or playing Sega Dreamcast.