“The Galaxy S20 and S20+ boast 120Hz displays and up to 30X zoom”
It’s February, which means it’s time for Samsung to unveil its S series flagship smartphone for the year. And since the brand is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its S series, it has chosen to jump straight to the S20 moniker from the S10 series it launched last year. The Galaxy S20 series, which includes a trifecta of devices, has just gone official, and we went hands on with the new phones at the launch event. It’s time to officially (truth be told, this isn’t the first time we’re seeing these devices, thanks to the renders that have been leaking out quite regularly in the recent past) check out the phones. Let’s get right to it, and check out the Galaxy S20 and the S20+ up close.
The design language followed by the S20 and S20+ is something we’ve already seen on recent Samsung phones, including the Galaxy A51, S10 Lite and Note10 Lite. The design highlight here is the rectangular camera module at the back, whose capabilities also form one of the mainstays of these phones. The S20 and S20+ siblings share their design and most specs, so we’ll be covering them together here. 
The differences include screen sizes, battery capacities, and cameras. More specifically, the Galaxy S20 sports a 6.2-inch display in comparison to a 6.7-inch screen on the S20+, and uses a smaller 4,000mAh battery versus a 4,500mAh pack in the S20+. Also, the S20 comes with a triple camera setup, whereas the S20+ sport quad cameras (with a depth sensor being the one extra component). These differences aside, the two phone are clones of each other.
Design-wise, the front is dominated by the screens, with the centrally-aligned punch holes holding the selfie cameras. The right spine has the volume rocker and power button, while the top is home to the SIM tray. At the bottom, you’ll see the Type-C port and the phone speaker. Switch to the rear to see the rectangular camera module, and Samsung branding. The phones are IP68 rated and are impervious to water and dust.
Talking about cameras, the triple cam module on the S20 includes a 12MP f/1.8 wide-angle sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide sensor with 120-degree field of view and a 64MP telephoto as well. The S20+ also has a depth sensor in addition, making it a quad-camera offering. With 3X hybrid optical zoom and Super Resolution Zoom of up to 30X, the Galaxy S20 and S20+ boast some serious zooming in abilities. Samsung is referring to this as ‘Space Zoom’, and we can’t wait to check out what it can do.
Apart from the cameras, the other interesting spec is the display. The S20 siblings offer 120Hz screen refresh rate, with the smaller device sporting a 6.2-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED panel, and the bigger one rocking a 6.7-inch display of the same resolution. The displays have punch holes for the front cameras, which come in the form of 10MP sensors. HDR10+ support is there as usual.
For core specs, you can expect a 7nm chipset, most likely the Snapdragon 865 in units bound for the US and Exynos 990 coming to India. 5G is part of the deal, though it isn’t clear yet whether the units launching in India will have 5G or not. RAM options include 8 / 12 GB, both with 128GB storage. The S20+ it seems, will also have a 512GB option.
Coming to software, you’ll get Android 10 decked up with Samsung’s latest OneUI version 2, with all of the brand’s signature features and the expected set of apps. The 4,000mAh battery in the Galaxy S20 and the 4,500mAh pack in the S20+ both support 25W fast charging, along with wireless charging and Wireless PowerShare as well.
With camera capabilities and the 120Hz displays forming the key highlights, Samsung has upped the ante in the premium flagship segment with its Galaxy S20 and S20+. We expect these devices to land in India sometime in March, and hopefully, Samsung will price them aggressively to make them compelling buys. Stay tuned for more.
Disclosure: this writer attended the Unpacked event in San Francisco on Samsung India’s invitation
