This Galaxy S20 guide explains the top 10 differences of these 3 models to help you choose the correct Galaxy S20 model for your needs. The major differences among Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 ultra include screen size, price, rear camera system, front camera, battery capacity, RAM, storage, colour options, weight and charging speed.
Please note, in some regions, the configuration options (RAM, storage, colour, 5G, LTE) may be limited. But software features are all identical in these three Galaxy S20 phones.
All of the three phones share the same screen resolution (WQHD+, 3200×1440) and display technology (Dynamic AMOLED 2X).
And all of the three phones support 120Hz refresh rate (at 1080p resolution) as explained in this page. FYI, most of the mainstream TVs, smartphones, PC monitors, laptop screens have a refresh rate of 60Hz.
But the size of the screen differs on these 3 phones:
The size difference between Galaxy S20 and the other two big brothers is obvious. Between Galaxy S20+ and S20 Ultra, the difference is not so obvious.
In addition to the size, the curvature of the edge of the screen also differs noticeably among these 3 phones. Galaxy S20 screen is the flattest. Galaxy S20 Ultra has the sharpest curvature.
Please note, the aspect ratio of the screen on Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra is 20:9. So, Galaxy S20 looks narrower than Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 (19:9), and therefore the 6.9″ Galaxy S20 Ultra is narrower than the 6.8″ Galaxy Note 10+ (76mm vs 77.2mm in width).
What is common in the price of the Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra is expensive.
Among these 3 expensive Galaxy S20 models, Galaxy S20 Ultra is the most expensive starting at $1399 (with the base configuration).
Galaxy S20 starts at $999, and S20+ at $1199. These are for base (aka, minimum) configurations only, again.
This is a huge jump from the Galaxy S10 series.
It seems Samsung cannot make the best Android phone. But they can make the most expensive mainstream Android phones.
Actually, Galaxy S20 is more expensive than the latest iPhone 11 Pro, which starts at $999 only.
Surely, this price is not sustainable. If you feel Galaxy S20 is expensive now, do NOT buy. The price will drop, drop, and drop within a few months.
iPhone 11 and overpriced-now-heavily-discounted Pixel 4 give you more value for your money and better performance.
Samsung priced the S20 phones aggressively partially due to the new cameras (and partially due to miscalculation).
But most of the outstanding camera features are in Galaxy S20 ultra only. You should not be misled by the advertisement and NOT assume all three models have identical or similar cameras.
The rear cameras are substantially different among Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra. In fact, the major differences among Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 ultra are in the camera system.
In short, the rear cameras in Galaxy S20 are similar to those on last year's Galaxy S10, with some minor updates. Only Galaxy S20 Ultra has the features mentioned in the advertisement you read or watched.
The rear camera systems on these 3 phones all have tracking AF and OIS (optical imaging stabilization). Please note, OIS is not available for the ultra-wide-angle camera sensors on all of these three phones.
Galaxy S20 has a triple camera system:
Compared to Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ only adds one additional camera on the back:
So, Galaxy S20+ rear camera is close to those on last year's Galaxy Note 10+.
Galaxy S20 Ultra also has a quad-camera system. But the camera sensors are substantially different:
In theory, Galaxy S20 Ultra offers a 4X optical zoom. By combing with other camera sensor data, Samsung claims up to 10x lossless “hybrid” zoom. Zoom levels higher than 10x (up to100x) are achieved by algorithms and combing camera sensor data.
So, on Galaxy S20 and S20+, you will get up to 3x lossless hybrid zoom and 3x-30x super-resolution zoom.
But on Galaxy S20 Ultra, you can get up to 4x optical zoom, 4x-10x hybrid zoom, and 10x-100x super-resolution zoom.
Please note, Samsung dropped the dual-aperture technology (which can be found on Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S10, and Galaxy Note 10) on all of the Galaxy S20 phones.
You may check this guide on the difference between the hybrid optical zoom and super-resolution zoom on Galaxy S20. This guide shows you how to use the Galaxy S20 camera lenses to zoom in and zoom out properly.
Galaxy S20 and S20+ have the identical front (selfie) camera: 10MP, f/2.2, Dual Pixel AF.
Actually, the front camera sensor on Galaxy S20 and S20+ is identical to that on Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+.
Galaxy S20 ultra has an f/2.2 40MP front camera. The most impressive feature of the Galaxy S20 Ultra front camera is the Phase-Detection Autofocus (PDAF).
This means you can get better selfies in low-light conditions with Galaxy S20 Ultra.
The differences among Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra also include the battery capacity.
Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra have a battery capacity of 4000, 4500, and 5000mAh respectively.
The charging time for these 3 phones is very close.
The common colours of all 3 Galaxy S20 phones are Cosmic Grey and Cosmic Black.
Currently, Galaxy S20 Ultra only has these two colour options.
Galaxy S20 has one additional colour option of Cloud Pink, and Galaxy S20+ has Cloud Blue.
Undoubtedly, Samsung will bring more colour options in the future to get your attention when sales slump.
The memory (RAM) configuration is very confusing on Galaxy S20 models.
Galaxy S20 and S20+ have two RAM configurations depending on 5G or LTE version:
Galaxy S20 Ultra also has two RAM configurations depending on the storage size:
Anyway, the RAM size is not an issue for 99.99% owners. But Samsung made the simple thing complicated.
Galaxy S20 (both LTE and 5G version) has only one storage option:128GB.
The LTE version of Galaxy S20+ also only has the 128GB option. But the 5G version of Galaxy S20+ has 3 options: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB.
Galaxy S20 Ultra has 3 storage options: 128GB (with 12GB RAM), 256GB (12GB RAM), and 512GB (with 16GB RAM).
Due to dimensions and battery capacity, the weight differences among Galaxy S10, S20+, and S20 Ultra are significant.
The weight of Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra is163g, 186g, and 220g, respectively.
All of the 3 Galaxy S20 models support super-fast charging and fast wireless charging 2.0. All come with a 25W USB-C wall charger in the box.
But Galaxy S20 Ultra can charge faster up to 45W. Of course, the actual charging speed is always lower than this.
For example, Galaxy Note 10+ also supports 45W super-fast charging. But based on our test, the charging time (using the official Samsung 45W charger) is similar (only 10 min faster) to using the 25W charger, as reported in this page.
If you have any questions on the differences among Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra, please let us know in the comment box below.
You can also share your thoughts on the Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra in the comments as well.
Have questions on new features of Galaxy S20? Check Galaxy S20 new feature guides page.
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