Cherlynn Low/Engadget

Henry also mentioned the S20’s build quality, saying it “didn’t feel as premium as past phones” and that it “would have been nice to get a proper black color” for the handset. Jun Jie was likewise disappointed with the colors on the Ultra: “You went from Aura-ish colors on the Note10+ to Cosmic Grey on the S20 Ultra that’s more dull than my future. Why?” And both Henry and Steve wanted a headphone jack on the S20 and S20 Ultra, respectively. 

Screen

The screens on all three handsets hit big with users. Sneak said the S20’s display is amazing, Ryan found the screen on the S20+ beautiful, adding that he can use the 120Hz with no noticeable difference in resolution. However, he did say that the “screen glass is easily susceptible to scratching,” and that “after a month of careful use, there are three or four small scratches noticeable when the screen is off. The notion that Gorilla Glass is somehow impervious to scratching is clearly a myth.” 

Cherlynn Low/Engadget

When it came to the 120Hz refresh rate on her S20+, Brianna was enthusiastic, saying she “loves the buttery smooth refresh rate” and that she “never knew I needed 120Hz in my life until I saw it in person! Never going back!” Charlie called the screen on the S20 Ultra beautiful, Jun Jie found it glorious and Steve admitted the large screen was one of his “killer apps” on the Ultra, but he skips using the 120Hz mode because it drains the battery.

Camera

There was very little negative feedback about the camera features of the S20 lineup. The S20 and S20+ both have a 3x optical zoom system, while the S20 Ultra boasts a 100x Space Zoom with a 4x optical zoom. Sneak liked the camera on their S20, but Nick was disappointed that his S20+ didn’t feature a real telephoto camera and will instead crop a 64MP frame. 

Cherlynn Low/Engadget

S20 Ultra users were more detailed about their experiences. Derek called the camera cool, despite having to return his initial handset because of an issue with it. Steve said he “uses the Pro mode all the time and I love the level of control. I have used the 100x zoom, and while it’s not perfect, it’s better than not having the option at all.” And Charlie found the camera to be amazing, adding that “it has focus issues sometimes but I expect that to be fixed with software updates in the near future. The zoom capability is incredible and very helpful in my job.” 

Battery

The battery life of the phones was only briefly mentioned by the reviewers. David and Nick felt let down by the battery life of their respective S20 and a S20+. David said he was “disappointed with my phone’s battery life compared to my previous phones, and the phones of others in my family.” 

Cherlynn Low/Engadget

Meanwhile, Ryan and Jun Jie had the opposite experience. Jun Jie listed battery life as one of the many advantages of going with an S20 Ultra, and Ryan said the battery on his S20+ lasts “considerably longer than my S7, and I can use the phone all day without worrying about recharging.” 

Comparisons

Our users were fairly critical with regards to comparing their handsets to other phone models. David said “one of my biggest frustrations with the S20 is the tediously slow on-screen fingerprint unlock, to the point that I am considering switching back to an LG V series.” He felt that “overall, the S20 is a satisfactory phone but … my previous flagship, the LG V30+, gave a better ownership experience.” Ryan, who upgraded to the S20+ from an S7, said it took him a few weeks to adjust to the size of the newer phone. Nick, who also owns an S20+, felt it was a bad thing that the handset “is so similar to all other A-series Samsungs that you cannot easily tell the difference. It’s not a very shiny flagship, as previous models were. I was twice as excited when I bought my S7 Edge, which it replaced.” Steve was pragmatic about his S20 Ultra, saying “this phone is good for a while but next time I’ll probably look at the ‘A’ series. Better bang for the buck.” Derek was less matter-of-fact about his S20 Ultra: “I’ve learned my lesson and this is the last S series phone I will buy. I’m going back to the Note phones I was buying. This phone was not worth the price.” 

Cherlynn Low/Engadget

However, a few users of each handset were more pleased with their purchases. Sneak was “extremely glad that the Bixby button is gone, and I’m also glad that Samsung didn’t put the power and volume buttons on the ‘wrong’ side like they did with the Note 10 and 10+.” And Jun Jie and Charlie were both happy with their S20 Ultras, with Jun Jie stating there are “many praises to be sung about this phone,” and Charlie finding it an “incredible phone in many ways.” 

You no longer need to subscribe to AT&T’s main offerings to get a taste of its 5G service. The carrier’s Cricket Wireless prepaid brand has launched 5G service (via The Verge), providing the faster downloads and reduced lag with lower service costs. You’ll need to spend at least $60 per month for an Unlimited Plan to use a 5G phone, but that’s not surprising given how easily you can chew through data using 5G.

The update also brings 5G to Cricket’s internet-only Simply Data plans, including a new $90 per month plan that offers 100GB at 5G speeds. Service starts at $35 per month for 20GB of full-performance data.

Performance

The cameras are perhaps the biggest difference between the S20 Ultra and the S20 and S20+. All three phones pack the same Snapdragon 865 processor with 12GB of RAM. There is an upgraded Ultra with 16GB, but that’s kinda overkill when laptops usually come with between 8 and 16GB of RAM.

As I jumped among editing a picture, playing a game and chatting with some friends, the S20 and S20 Plus didn’t so much as hiccup. The S20 also kept up as I shot 8K video while downloading a 1.4GB app over LTE, though it did get quite warm in the process.

I even found the in-screen fingerprint sensors surprisingly fast. Samsung uses ultrasound scanners as opposed to the optical reader in the OnePlus 7T Pro, which some reviewers have complained is slow and frustrating. But I haven’t noticed a significant difference in speed. My main issue has been in trying to get my finger in the right spot to unlock the phone when its screen is off. You’ll find a visual guide showing where to place your finger when the screen turns on, but it’s an extra step in the way of unlocking your phone. I was able to correctly guess where this sensor was sometimes, but more often than not, I missed. I wish Samsung had used Qualcomm’s new fingerprint sensor that’s about twice the size of a thumb and would be much easier to find.

5G today

One of the things Samsung is calling attention to on the S20 lineup is 5G support across all three devices. It’s a signal that the next-gen networking standard is getting ready to go mainstream. That’s a nice story to tell the public, but it’s incomplete. Yes, 5G is here, but coverage isn’t comprehensive yet. It’s also confusing as to what the different types of networking technologies mean, and not everyone knows that mmWave is much faster or that 600MHz covers larger areas. There are too many caveats about mmWave’s limited range or the less impressive speed boost from 600MHz at this point that will confuse the average consumer.

I used the S20 Ultra on Verizon’s 5G network: It’s fast, but coverage is limited. Our S20, meanwhile, came with T-Mobile service (technically, anyway — more on that later). While Verizon only supports mmWave right now, T-Mobile offers both sub-6 and mmWave 5G in New York. Spots with the much faster mmWave are few and far between though. That’s not to mention that the S20 doesn’t support them; only the Plus and Ultra model do.

T-Mobile claims that while 600 MHz 5G will be noticeably faster than LTE, “customers won’t see a dramatic difference” in others. On average though the carrier said there should be a 20 percent download speed boost over its LTE network. Unfortunately, there was an issue with my S20’s SIM card, and I never got to connect to 5G at all. T-Mobile hasn’t been able to provide a solution.

Battery life

What was noticeable on the S20 and S20+ was their long-lasting batteries. Thanks to their large 4,000mAh and 4,500mAh cells, the two phones lasted surprisingly long despite power-draining features like high-refresh rate screens and 5G. I set the displays to 120Hz and consistently got close to two full days out of both flagships. On our battery test, which involves looping a full HD video, the S20 clocked a little more than 12 hours while the Plus hit 15 hours. That’s longer than the Ultra’s eleven-and-a-half-hour mark, and the Plus ties with the Pixel 4 XL.

S20 vs S20+

The S20 and S20+ are basically the same phone, aside from their differences in size, battery and mmWave support. The Plus also has an additional depth sensor on its back for slightly better portrait mode and AR effects. Are those features worth the extra $200 for the larger phone? Only if you really want a bigger screen, extra long battery life and super fast 5G on T-Mobile (at least, when the network is more mature). Verizon offers a mmWave-compatible S20, so your decision will also depend on what carrier you use. For most people though, the base S20 is plenty of phone.

Wrap-up

In the case of this year’s S20 trio, smaller is so much better. I felt like the Ultra was overkill when it came to size, camera features and, most important, price. At $1,000, the S20 costs the same as the iPhone 11 Pro but more than the Pixel 4 while the S20+ is more expensive than the iPhone 11 Pro Max and Pixel 4 XL. But the S20s are also the best-looking Android flagships around with speedy performance and long battery life. For that money, you’ll also be getting excellent displays and blazing 5G speeds where available. If $1,000 is too much for you, you might want to wait for other options like the rumored Pixel 4a or consider the S10 ($749), which offers most of what you need for hundreds less. Right now though the S20 and S20+ are among the best Android phones money can buy.

On iOS, the Galaxy Buds+ don’t sync with notifications and Samsung’s Gaming Mode for the earbuds isn’t available. It may seem like using these new buds with an iOS device is limited, but trust me, it’s a lot better than it used to be. Just having a dedicated app is a huge improvement. It’s not surprising that Samsung would make some features exclusive to Android devices, and thankfully, they’re things you can probably live without. One-touch access to Spotify is enticing, for example, but I’m not going to give up on-board volume controls for it.

As far as the EQ presets go, they’re mostly the same. You can choose from Normal (the default), Bass boost, Soft, Dynamic, Clear and Treble boost. In my tests, Dynamic offered the best all-around results across a range of genres. This was also true of the Galaxy Buds. There’s ample bass, but it’s not muddy or overpowering. The preset has a lot of presence, and details cut through more clearly than on most of the other options. That default Normal setting is also solid, but Dynamic gives things a little more oomph. If you’re hoping for more detailed EQ tweaks, Samsung doesn’t plan to add anything beyond presets. This means no equalizer curve for you to manipulate to your liking.

Overall, I’m impressed with the improvements Samsung made to the audio on the Galaxy Buds+. The sound quality on the last-gen model was just okay, with bass-heavy genres lacking the punch they have on the best-sounding earbuds I’ve tested. I could’ve used a little more volume, too. I’m happy to report that Samsung addressed both of those shortcomings. Once again it enlisted its subsidiary AKG to help with the audio, and this time there’s a two-way speaker with both a tweeter and a woofer inside. The company claims this offers a 38 percent increase in sound dimension over the Galaxy Buds. Whatever the exact increase, I could tell the difference immediately.

The Galaxy Buds did just fine with things like clarity and tone, but the Galaxy Buds+ add the extra low-end the first model lacks. The results across genres are much more consistent. Again, I primarily used the Dynamic setting, and with the exception of Normal mode, I don’t think the others were as well rounded. Electronic, hip-hop and metal tracks with booming bass and a massive depth of sound are open and big. They don’t seem compressed, nor do they lack the energy captured in those songs. A track like Purity Ring’s electrodance-y “stardew” has bombastic bass, but the synths, hi-hats and vocals cut through clearly. There’s plenty of space for things to work, so the sound envelopes you rather than feeling like noise simply blasted into your head. I can’t overstate how much better these than the first Galaxy Buds in terms of audio. It’s night and day.

One big feature I haven’t mentioned is active noise cancellation (ANC). And that’s because… the Galaxy Buds+ don’t have it. They do let you hear what’s going on around you with an ambient sound mode, but in terms of countering any noise, you’re left with passive noise isolation (i.e., having something in your ear holes). The Galaxy Buds+ actually do a decent job here, especially at around 75 or 80 percent volume. I wasn’t able to test these on a flight, but they did well at blocking out a noisy TV during my Kindergartener’s afternoon binge. Of course, if the Galaxy Buds+ did have ANC, they’d probably cost around $200 or more, so I’m fine with the feature set here.

When Samsung introduced the Galaxy Buds, it hyped the call quality. Unfortunately, those claims didn’t hold up. Those earbuds picked up a lot of ambient noise, so they basically sounded like you were on speakerphone. That’s not ideal when you need to take an important call. With the Galaxy Buds+, the company added an additional exterior microphone on each side in an effort to improve the sound of your voice when you’re on a call. Indeed, the new buds do a better job of focusing on your voice and they pick up less background noise than the Galaxy Buds. According to people I called, there was noticeably less “speakerphone” chaos during our conversations.

Galaxy Buds vs. Galaxy Buds+

Samsung also improved battery life on the Galaxy Buds+. The company says they’ll last for up to 11 hours on a charge. That’s almost double the six-hour rating from the previous version. During my tests, the Galaxy Buds+ lasted just shy of 11 hours, but only by about 10 minutes. And that’s with ambient sound on medium or high for most of that time. The case still only holds one additional charge, but this time that’s an additional 11 hours of use. There’s still a quick charge option that gives you an hour of use in just three minutes. And yes, you can charge these on the back of a Samsung phone with the company’s PowerShare technology.

At $150, the Galaxy Buds+ are situated directly in the mid range. Apple’s AirPods with a wireless charging case cost $199, unless you can catch a sale. Sure, there are other features there — like hands-free Siri — but if you have to pay full retail, that’s still $49 more than Samsung’s latest earbuds. Jabra’s Elite 75t ($180) is a very good option too, but they’ll cost you an extra $30. For what it’s worth, Jabra is working on a wireless charging case, but it’s not ready yet. Even when it is, it will most likely require an additional investment. While it may not be able to keep the top spot much longer, Sony’s WF-1000XM3 ($228) is still our top pick. Of course, they’re nearly double the price of the Galaxy Buds+. Lastly, the original Galaxy Buds are still available for $130, although Amazon currently has them listed for $105. I wouldn’t recommend going that route, but it is an option.

From the moment I first popped the Galaxy Buds+ in my ears , it was obvious Samsung paid attention to criticism of the Galaxy Buds. This new version sounds better, lasts longer and, perhaps most importantly, brings some key features to the iOS app. The Galaxy Buds+ are more expensive than the 2019 model, but I’d argue all of the improvements are worth the extra $20. Sure, the touch controls aren’t perfect and some things are only available on Android, but Samsung has given its latest earbuds universal appeal.

Last week Samsung announced and almost immediately released its foldable Galaxy Z Flip, but only in “limited” quantities that dried up almost as soon as they appeared, unless you spot one in a store somewhere. Now Samsung says that tomorrow, on February 21st it will make more of the $1,380 devices available online, coincidentally around the same time pre-orders will begin for its flagship lineup of phones that includes higher specs and 5G across the Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra.