Galaxy S20 Ultra

Galaxy S20 layout

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Galaxy S20 layoutYou need to know the Galaxy S20 layout if you want to use Galaxy S20, S20+, or S20 Ultra properly.

This Galaxy S20 guide shows each part of Galaxy S20 layout and explains to you the functions of these parts on Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra.

The layout of Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra is almost identical, although the 3 models differ significantly in size and camera features (as explained in this page).

So, this guide applies to the layout of Galaxy S10, S20+, and S20 Ultra. In the text, we use the Galaxy S20 layout refers to all of these 3 models.

Why do you need to know about Galaxy S20 layout?

After unboxing Galaxy S20, the first thing you want to do is powering on the phone.

But where is the power button? If you are an owner of  Galaxy Note 10  (or Note 10+), then you may find the power button (side key) is not relocated back to the right.

If you want to record an audio clip (especially in the interview mode), you probably need to know the location of the two microphones.

If you want to use NFC, use wireless charging, or use wireless PowerShare, you need to know the location of antennas and coils.

If you are new to the in-display fingerprint sensor, you need to know where to put your fingers on.

Anyway, all Galaxy S20  owners need to know the layout of Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra so that you can use the phone effectively.

Galaxy S20 layout

In the picture below, 15 items of the Galaxy S20 layout are illustrated.

Front view

On the front of Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra, you can find the main display (screen), in-display fingerprint reader, and the front camera.

#1. The screen

About 90% of the front part of Galaxy S20 is what Samsung called “Dynamic AMOLED 2X” screen.

It is actually just a new iteration of Samsung’s  Super AMOLED. By default, the colour is vivid and sharp, but oversaturated.

Of course, you can change the default Vivid screen mode to Natural mode with more accurate colours.

Please note, the only screen difference of Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra is the size. The technology, resolution and features are identical.

The Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures were explained in this page.

Galaxy S20 navigation buttons… Read the rest

Unbox Galaxy S20: Understand Items in Galaxy S20 Box

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Unbox Galaxy S20: items in Galaxy S20 boxOnce you unbox Galaxy S20, you need to understand the items in the Galaxy S20  box and know how to use them.

This Galaxy S20 guide illustrates the contents in Galaxy S20 box and explains to you how to use them (including the phone, wall charger, clear back cover, USB cable, USB-C headset with additional ear tips, and  SIM card tray ejection pin).

The contents (items) in Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra are almost identical except the phone, although there are significant differences among these 3 models.

So, in this guide, Galaxy S20 refers to all of these 3 models: Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra.

What is included in the Galaxy S20 box?

As shown in the picture below, after unboxing Galaxy S20, there are at least following 7 items in the Galaxy S20 box:

  1. The phone.
  2. Clear cover.
  3. USB-C cable.
  4. Wall charger.
  5. USB-C (AKG) headset.
  6. Additional ear tips (small and large).
  7. SIM card tray ejection pin.

Of course, you can also find some leaflets and inserts depending on the region/distributor.

Among the leaflets, you can find the quick start guide and safety information sheet.

In a few regions, a USB adapter may be included in the box.

Unbox Galaxy S20: Understand Items in Galaxy S20 Box

Understand the contents in Galaxy S20 box

Now, let’s go through the items in the Galaxy S20 box one by one.

#1. The phone: Galaxy S20, S20+, or Galaxy S20 Ultra

Of course, this is the main and the most expensive item in the box. Others are just “accessories”.

In many regions, Samsung does not offer a one-for-one exchange. If you find any problems after leaving the counter, you need to claim the warranty.

So, you should check the phone on the spot. If there are any issues, you can choose not to accept the item.

Because of the ultrasonic in-display fingerprint reader which is one of the worst “innovations”, some tempered glass screen protectors will not work with the fingerprint sensor.

In most regions, Samsung pasted (pre-installed) a plastic screen protector on the screen already. The quality of the screen protector is actually quite good. And most importantly, it works nicely with the in-display fingerprint reader.

If you need a screen protector, you should not remove it before you get a new one. If you try to re-apply the screen protector, very likely, you will get many bubbles.

You … Read the rest

What is Galaxy S20 Hybrid Optic Zoom and Super Resolution Zoom?

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Galaxy S20 Hybrid Optic Zoom and Super Resolution ZoomOne of the most useful new features of Galaxy S20 is the camera zoom: up to 10x hybrid optical zoom, and 100x Super Resolution zoom. Samsung called it Space Zoom and registered a trademark for it.

Actually, the camera in S20 Ultra probably is the only reason for you to migrate to Galaxy S20 as explained in this post.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the details of Galaxy S20 hybrid optic zoom and super-resolution zoom, the differences between these two zooms, and their relationships with the optical zoom and digital zoom.

Please note, Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra have different camera configurations as explained in this page. 10x hybrid optical zoom and 100x Super Resolution zoon can only be found on Galaxy S20 Ultra. Galaxy S20 and S20+ only have 3x hybrid zoom and 30x super-resolution zoom.

You may check this guide to learn to use the new Galaxy S20 camera app and this guide (coming soon) on how to use the hybrid optical zoom and super-resolution zoom.

What is the optical zoom and digital zoom?

When taking photos or shooting videos, you may want to change the focal length of the photo. Sometimes you want to take a “close-up” (zoom-in) photo or wide ones (zoom-out).

This has been easily implemented on the cameras using a lens with controllable focal length. Even most sub-$300 point-and-shoot cameras are equipped with a lens which can offer 10x to 30x optical zoom.

But for smartphones, these traditional lenses cannot be used due to thinness fo the smartphone. The higher zoom levels usually mean a longer (thicker) lens.

So, up to now, the flagship smartphones usually stop at 3x optical room simply because of the thickness limitations fo the phone.

The zoom achieved through changing the focal length in the optical system is called “optical zoom”.

You should not be confused the optical zoom with the digital zoom, which can be found in almost all smartphones.

Digital zoom does not special hardware. In plain terms, it works in two stages:

  1. Crop the centre part of the photo.
  2. Resize the cropped photo to the size of the photo.

So, basically, the digital zoom is just an image editing.

When resizing the cropped photo, the actual “pixels” captured by the camera sensor cannot be increased. The software has to “create” some pixels to fill the space.

Of course, some vendors may use … Read the rest

5 worst features of Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra

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top 5 worst features of Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 UltraGalaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra will be one of the best selling flagship phones in 2020, although there are some missing features and poorly implemented features.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the top 5 worst features of Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra: in-display fingerprint scanner, curved screen, no headphone jack, no QC 3.0-, and the price.

In-display fingerprint scanner: the worst of the worst features of Galaxy S20

Samsung introduced the ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor in Galaxy S10.

It’s probably one of the worst features in S10 and S10+. Luckily, you can still choose Galaxy S10e if you need a better fingerprint reader.

The in-display fingerprint reader in most cases is less accurate, slower, and inconvenient. It is an example of meaningless innovation for smartphones.

Samsung since then added this not-ready features to all of their “flagship” smartphones to differentiate them from other Android phones (because only a few Chinese brands used similar or even worse in-display fingerprint read).

If you skip the fingerprint reader, then you have only the less secure face recognition for biometric authentications.  The default behaviour of face recognition in Galaxy S20 is that you have to swipe on the lock screen after the phone is unlocked. You need to follow this guide to disable the stay on the Lock screen.

All of the three Galaxy S20 models (Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra) use the same in-display fingerprint sensor.

If you need a normal fingerprint reader, you should eliminate Galaxy S20 from your list.

Although Samsung claimed they improved the fingerprint sensor, for example, a larger touch area (see Galaxy S20 layout) and faster recognition, it is still inferior to most of the capacitative fingerprint readers found in many middle-range smartphones.

You will feel the pain sooner or later. Especially, in the dry winter, it is almost impossible to use the in-display fingerprint reader.

So, we consider the in-display ultrasonic fingerprint scanner is the worst of the worst features of Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and S20 Ultra.

Curved screen

Samsung “invented” the curved screen in Galaxy Note Edge (Note 4 Edge) with a separated curved edge screen, which nobody likes.

Samsung is so proud of their curved screens that they want to make it a signature feature of their top-tier smartphones, although it reduces the usability of the phone.

Since Galaxy S6,  the curved screen became an option: you … Read the rest

Top 5 new features of Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra

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new features of Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 UltraAs the 11th generation of the Galaxy S phone, Galaxy S20 sets the bar for flagship Android phones in 2020.  As expected, there are numerous new features in Galaxy S20 (including S20+ and S20 Ultra).

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the top 5 new features of Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra: better cameras,  larger battery, Less curved screens, 120Hz refresh rate, and faster CPU. We did not include some new features that are available only in some regions, like eSIM support.

Please note, although Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra differs in some aspects as explained in this guide. They share many common features. So,  in this guide, Galaxy S20 usually refers to all three Galaxy S20 models (Galaxy S20, S20+, Galaxy S20 Ultra) by default.

Better cameras: the most appealing new features of Galaxy S20

The No.1 reason you may consider to choose or upgrade to Galaxy S20 is the camera.

If you are happy with the camera on your current phone, there is NO reason to change or upgrade to Galaxy S20. Period.

As explained in the differences among Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra, the cameras in Galaxy S20 and S20+ are similar. What differs Galaxy S20 camera from competitors is the camera on Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Front camera

For the front camera, Galaxy S20 and S20+ share the identical 10MP camera sensor with last year’s Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+.  They are only slightly better than the front cameras on Galaxy S10+, Galaxy S10, and Galaxy S10e.

But S20 Ultra is a different story.

The 40MP front camera on Galaxy S20 Ultra is a significant improvement compared to previous models. In low-light conditions, Galaxy S20 Ultra can combine 4 pixels into one and delivers better quality 10MP photos.

Please note, all 3 models of Galaxy S20 only have single front camera sensor. There is no secondary front camera as in Galaxy S10+.

Rear cameras

Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ share similar wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle camera sensors as in last year’s Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10.  The increase of the pixel size on Galaxy S20 and S20+ will definitely improve the photo quality when the lighting condition is not ideal.

The 64MP telephoto camera sensor in Galaxy S20 and S20+ is a big improvement from the 12MP telephoto sensor in Galaxy S10, S10+, Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+. … Read the rest

Top 10 differences among Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra

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differences among Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 UltraSamsung released 3 models of Galaxy S20. So what are the major differences among Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra?

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.

Screen Size

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:

  • Galaxy S20: 6.2″
  • Galaxy S20+: 6.7″
  • Galaxy S20 Ultra: 6.9″

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).

Price

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.  … Read the rest