$999. That was a lot of money for a smartphone ere the Covid-19 pandemic tanked economies the world over, and it is a lot of money today. Samsung has made a lot of controversial choices for the spec sheet of its non-Ultra Note flagship. A glass back has grown similar to flagship smartphones in the last few years, but the Galaxy Note 20 doesn’t have one.

High refresh rate screens, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 does not have one. Some of the constraints Samsung introduced with the Galaxy Note 10 last year, such as the lack of expandable storage or HD display resolution, and have also carried over to the Note 20. Samsung has even downgraded the glass slab on the front: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is protected by the older Gorilla Glass 5.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 doesn’t get the latest low latency S Pen that its Ultra sibling strives for, but it does have some flagship-grade specs. A triple camera service with up to 30x zoom, a large battery with 25W super-fast charging, and features like stereo speakers, water resistance, and wireless charging have been strengths of Samsung’s top-end phones from the last few years.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 design

The plastic back of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 should not be deemed negative. When you pay $999 for a phone, you expect glass, but the Note 20’s plastic back does not feel cheap, even if it is not as smooth and luxurious, and it offers many advantages. If you drop the phone, you will not end up breaking something on the back. The glass covering the cameras usually could get broken, but the rest of the rear side won’t. The plastic hides fingerprint spots a lot better than glass and is also less likely to scratch if you use your phones without a case.

That is the best thing about the plastic back: You don’t need to slap a case on it. Note 20 does have a metallic frame, in case you are wondering, and everything is put together amazingly well, with no fine edges or corners anywhere on the device.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 display

The Super AMOLED Plus 6.7-inch, Infinity-O display on the Galaxy Note 20 is a flat panel. Right off the bat, that makes for a crucial difference over the Note 20 Ultra: Random screen presses are not an issue. The punch hole size is the same as it was on the Note 10, but it seems more important in use because the Note 20’s display is not curved and, therefore, has less screen estate on another side of the camera cutout. This won’t hurt everyone, but it does stand out because even Samsung’s mid-range phones have more little punch holes these days.

The Note 20’s display runs at a 60Hz refresh rate, so despite the same internals, the Note 20 Ultra feels smooth and quick in use. The Note 20’s display is Full HD resolution, and it is protected by the old Gorilla Glass 5. 

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 camera

The Galaxy Note 20’s camera specifications are a lot more humble Than the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. A primary camera is a 12MP unit, and the zoom camera is a 64MP sensor that maxes out at 30x zoom, but the experience is still top-notch. 

For those admiring, if the zoom capabilities of the Note 20 are any good when pitted on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, They are asking for price at least. No Samsung flagship phone launched before 2020 comes close, and you get exceptional results at up to 10x magnification. Even 20x-30x zoom works fine if the light circumstances are right, especially if you are trying to read the far-off text.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 performance

Performance on the Galaxy Note 20 is less or more perfect. The Exynos 990 is followed by 8GB of RAM no matter if you buy the 5G or LTE variant. The display stimulates at 60Hz, the Note 20 does not feel nearly as quick as the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, but it’s not something you will notice you have not used a phone with a higher refresh rate before. The gaming exhibition was also excellent.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 didn’t heat much with indoor use, but the metal frame did get miserably hot outdoors on a few occasions. That is presumably because the plastic back makes the heated bottle up inside the device instead of letting it dissipate, and a glass ago would. 

Galaxy Note 20 software, S Pen, audio quality

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Samsung Galaxy note 20 ultra has the same software and both in general, comes with all the S Pen functionality and the same audio chops as well.

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra pen has a latency of 9ms, while Note 20’s S Pen has 26ms. How much variation does it make in usage? Well, thanks to a new and enhanced S Pen tip, Note 20’s Pen also gives you a soft pen-to-paper feel.

Analyzing the display’s refresh rate is fixed at 60Hz, the S Pen input does not seem as effective as it does with a 120Hz display.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 battery life

Note 20’s battery timing is best. Despite having the corresponding battery capacity as the Galaxy Note 10+, it remains considerably longer, no doubt because of the Full HD interpretation and the newer Exynos chip. With light to slightly intense use that involves taking pictures, browsing, sending messages over WhatsApp, and viewing a few YouTube videos, Note 20 can easily last you all day long. 

Final Verdict

There is no question the Galaxy Note 20 is priced too high. Everything from the Gorilla Glass 5 protection to 60Hz display and the plastic back panel seems like an additional step backward. The plastic back is a good thing in the exquisite design of things, but not having a high refresh rate screen is criminal for a phone that costs a thousand dollars. Still, the Galaxy Note 20 does have plenty to offer: A beautiful display, fast performance, and excellent battery life with super-fast charging, versatile cameras with great zoom up to 10 x, and an improved S Pen with a more pen-to-paper feel and useful software to match.