Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G: the world's first smartphone with 8K video recording

Here, a few lines should be dedicated to accessories, as Samsung pays attention to the production of its high-tech cases like no one else. For the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, several different series of cases are also provided for all occasions and tastes, from the Smart LED View Cover with LED event indication to the robust protective off-road Protective Standing Cover.

The side buttons are installed on one side, large buttons, comfortable, with a pleasant springy travel. They only lack a distinguishing surface, but with such a "polished" design, the ribbing of the buttons might indeed look out of place.

The front camera is successfully located in a small cutout right in the screen, which is probably one of the best "notch-less" options. Unfortunately, the smartphone does not have an LED event indicator, and the indication using the Always On screen is not as noticeable from a distance as a blinking LED.

The fingerprint scanner here is under-display, ultrasonic. It works very quickly, almost like a classic one, but the test for a simple finger touch still does not pass: you need to hold your finger on it for at least a little, otherwise an authentication error occurs.

The card slot is designed for two Nano-SIM cards; a microSD memory card can only be inserted by removing one of them. Hot swapping of cards is supported.

At the bottom edge, most of the interface elements are installed. Here is the main speaker, the conversation microphone, and the USB Type-C port. Unfortunately, the 3.5mm audio output for headphones has been eliminated, and that is sad.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G smartphone is released only in two color options - black and gray. Moreover, this is a solid gray, not some frivolous silver. Overall, the designers have tried to give the device a maximum serious look - even in that they do not offer a variety of colors. The body of the new product has protection against water and dust according to the IP68 standard (submersion for 30 minutes at a depth of up to 1.5 m), which remains one of the few bastions of true flagships today.

Screen

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G is equipped with an AMOLED display (Dynamic AMOLED 2X) with a diagonal of 6.9 inches and a resolution of 3200×1440, covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 6. The physical dimensions of the screen are 71×155 mm, with a pixel density of 511 ppi. The width of the bezel around the screen is less than 2 mm on the sides, 3 mm on the top, and 4 mm on the bottom. The bezel is indeed minimal. The screen supports a refresh rate of 120 Hz, but not at QHD resolution. That is, either 120 Hz at Full HD or 60 Hz at Quad HD.

The front surface of the screen is made of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-reflective properties of the screen are better than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo where a white surface is reflected on the turned-off screens (left - Nexus 7, right - Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, which can be distinguished by size):

The screen on the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G is noticeably darker (brightness in the photos 102 against 110 in the Nexus 7) and has no pronounced tint. The two reflected objects on the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G screen are very weak, indicating that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. By having fewer boundaries (like glass/air) with significantly different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of intense external illumination, but their repair in case of cracked outer glass is much more expensive, as the entire screen has to be replaced. On the outer surface of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G screen, there is a special oleophobic (oil-repellent) coating (very effective, much better than in the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much easier and appear at a slower rate than with regular glass.

When displaying a white field on the entire screen and manually controlling the brightness, its maximum value was only 330 cd/m² under normal conditions, but in very bright light, it increases to 715 cd/m². It should also be noted that in this case, the smaller the area of white on the screen, the brighter it is, meaning the actual maximum brightness of white areas will almost always be higher than the stated value. For example, if the area of the white field is only about 2% of the screen area, and the rest is filled with black, then in bright light, the brightness of white reaches 1280 cd/m². As a result, reading the screen during the day in sunlight should be at an excellent level, and the dark theme not only saves battery charge but also contributes to better readability of information on the screen in high lighting conditions. The minimum brightness value is 1.5 cd/m², meaning the reduced brightness level allows the device to be used even in darkness without problems. Automatic brightness adjustment works based on a light sensor (located under the screen near the top edge and to the right of the center). The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider: the user can try to set the desired brightness level in the current conditions. If everything is left at default, then in complete darkness, the auto-brightness function reduces brightness to 8 cd/m² (a bit dark), in conditions of illuminated artificial light in an office (about 550 lx) sets it to 95-115 cd/m² (normal), and conditionally under direct sunlight increases it to 695 cd/m² (almost to the maximum, which is needed). The result did not completely satisfy us, so in the dark, we slightly increased the brightness, resulting in the following values for the three conditions mentioned above: 15, 130, and 695 cd/m² (an ideal combination). It turns out that the auto-brightness adjustment function works adequately and allows the user to adjust the operation to individual requirements. At any brightness level, there is significant modulation at a frequency of 240 Hz.