Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs. Galaxy S20 Ultra: Which should you buy?

S Pen power

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

$1,300 at Amazon

Pros

• Dynamic refresh rate display
• S Pen features
• Less expensive
• Laser auto focus camera

Cons

• Smaller battery
• Lower resolution selfie camera

The Note 20 Ultra is arguably a better overall phone than the S20 Ultra thanks to its camera improvements, dynamic refresh rate display, smaller size, and lower price tag. That it also has an S Pen is just icing on the cake.

Tougher sell

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

$1,400 at Amazon

Pros

• 10% larger battery
• 40MP selfie camera
• Higher-resolution zoom camera

Cons

• More expensive
• No camera laser auto focus
• No S Pen in box

The S20 Ultra is a tough sell because it's now several months old yet more expensive (at retail price) than the Note 20 Ultra. Its one redeeming quality is a larger battery, which only offers a small improvement in day-to-day usage.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs. Galaxy S20 Ultra Size, display and specs

As the "Ultra" names would suggest, there's a whole lot shared between these two phones. They're built with the same main components and features, with only small differences. You get the same RAM and storage, SD card slot, fingerprint sensor, speakers, connectivity, IP68 resistance, and more. The Note 20 Ultra's display is a small step ahead with its dynamic refresh rate, but that should help get a little better longevity out of its 10% smaller 4,500 mAh battery.

Category	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra	Galaxy S20 Ultra
Operating System	Android 10 One UI 2.5	Android 10 One UI 2.5
Display	6.9-inch AMOLED 3088 x 1440 120Hz refresh rate	6.9-inch AMOLED 3200 x 1440 120Hz refresh rate
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
Memory	12GB LPDDR5	12GB LPDDR5 16GB
Storage	128GB 512GB	128GB 512GB
Expandable Storage	Yes	Yes
Rear Camera 1	108MP primary f/1.8 OIS	108MP primary f/1.8 OIS
Rear Camera 2	12MP telephoto f/3.0 5X optical zoom	48MP telephoto f/3.5 4X optical zoom
Rear Camera 3	12MP ultra-wide f/2.2	12MP ultra-wide f/2.2
Front Camera	10MP f/2.2	40MP f/2.2
Security	In-screen ultrasonic fingerprint sensor	In-screen ultrasonic fingerprint sensor
Audio	Stereo speakers USB-C	Stereo speakers USB-C
Battery	4500 mAh	5000 mAh
Charging	25W wired 15W wireless	45W wired 15W wireless
Water Resistance	IP68	IP68
Dimensions	77.2 x 164.8 x 8.1 mm	76.0 x 166.9 x 8.8 mm
Weight	208 g	220 g

The differences are subtle, but the Note 20 Ultra has the upper hand.

There are subtle differences in the design, but you can see they were cut from the same cloth. The Note 20 Ultra is considerably more squared-off, whereas the S20 Ultra is more rounded. The Note's back glass is a matte texture as well, which makes it look nicer but is a bit more slippery than the glossy back on the S20. Otherwise, all of the ports and buttons are the same, leading to a very familiar layout. There are subtle differences in size, though, and surprisingly the Note 20 Ultra is the smaller of the two — only by a few millimeters, and about 5% in weight, but it's smaller.

Where there used to be a slight difference in software as well, the S20 Ultra recently received an update from One UI 2.1 to 2.5, bringing it up to speed with the Note 20 Ultra. With the update comes welcome additions like Wireless DeX, allowing you to cast either phone's display to a Miracast-compatible TV with a few simple taps.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs. Galaxy S20 Ultra Cameras

The cameras are mostly the same, but with two notable changes. The S20 Ultra has been criticized for its weak auto focus, and the Note 20 Ultra aims to address that with a new laser auto focusing system. The Note also has an entirely different telephoto camera, with a 5X optical zoom to the S20's 4X, and a wider aperture paired with larger pixels to ideally take better photos at 5-15X. The only potential downside is those long zoom shots, where the S20 Ultra's 48MP sensor will do better; but "better" is relative, as the camera's not shown to be very effective beyond 25X anyway.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs. Galaxy S20 Ultra Which should you buy?

Samsung set itself up for a weird situation when it priced the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra under the S20 Ultra because, frankly, at the full retail price there's little reason to buy the S20 Ultra. The Note 20 Ultra introduces improved auto focus for the camera, and a better zoom camera, which addresses the main concerns about the S20 Ultra. It's also subtly smaller, and a bit lighter, than the S20 Ultra. You also get the S Pen — for free! — which brings its own value to the equation.

The Note 20 Ultra is the better buy ... unless you want to save more and go with the S20+.

The only concern when choosing the Note 20 Ultra is the battery, which is 10% smaller than the S20 Ultra. However, the S20 Ultra already gets great battery life, and the hope is that the Note 20 Ultra's dynamic refresh rate display will allow it to be a bit more conservative on the power front. If that works out as expected, it makes the Note 20 Ultra the better buy, hands-down.

The question you need to ask yourself is whether you should be looking at the Galaxy S20+ instead. It's a little smaller than the Note 20 Ultra, but it's also less expensive — so if you don't need the S Pen, you can save even more money and get the same core Galaxy experience.

S Pen power

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

• $1,300 at Amazon
• $1,300 at Best Buy
• $1,300 at B&H

A better overall phone, even if you don't care about the S Pen

The Note 20 Ultra is just an evolution of the S20 Ultra, but if you were considering the latter then that's perfect. It's less expensive and includes an S Pen as a bonus.

Tougher sell

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

• $1,400 at Amazon
• $1,400 at Best Buy
• $1,400 at B&H

Hard to recommend at its full retail price

Unless the S20 Ultra takes a price cut, it's going to be tough to consider over the Note 20 Ultra. Yes, it has a larger battery, but that's the only place it wins over the new Note.