How does this large-screen, productivity-focused flagship smartphone stand out in a crowded market, photography wise? Andy Westlake finds out

Useful set of lenses ultra-wide, wide and telephoto, Huge, beautiful 6.9in screen, Straightforward, intuitive camera app, Images look attractive on social media, Handy S-Pen stylus can be used as a remote release

DNG raw files can only be recorded from main camera, May be too large for some users, Pricey

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is the higher variant of the Galaxy Note20 . There are five pronounced differences between the standard version and the Ultra version. First, the Note 20 ultra has a larger 6.9-inches Dynamic AMOLED display with 1440 x 3088 pixels resolution and up to 120Hz refresh...

A premium phone through and through

It's a really nice phone, feels nice to hold, is very fast and responsive, and has a very good battery life. I like the fact that you can use the s pen to capture photos if you're unable to reach the camera shutter button.

I'm not a fan of the fingerprint sensor being built into the screen, because once you put a glass screen protector on the phone, it's unusable. A fingerprint sensor on the side would have been better. Aside from that, and the phone being a little bit heavy, I have no complaints.

After big marketing fanfare around the new photographic capabilities of the S20 Ultra, the end results were slightly disappointing. For the Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G, Samsung engineers have tweaked the camera setup again, opting for a different sensor and lens configuration for the tele-camera and...

Vivid and pleasant color; Accurate target exposure and wide dynamic range; Acceptable level of detail; Good detail in long-range zoom shots; Accurate exposure and white balance in ultra-wide shots; Good exposure and color in very low light night scenes; High detail in flash portraits; Accurate...

Visible noise; especially in low light; Inaccurate white balance measurements under some lab conditions; Autofocus instabilities under benchmark lab conditions; Strong fusion artifacts in medium- and close-range zoom shots; Visible noise and artifacts in ultra-wide shots; Autofocus instabilities in...

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is the complete package. No other phone is so well-equipped for work, gaming, shooting video, and taking pics at the highest levels.

Stunning display; Stylus functionality improvements; Camera produces fantastic images

Still weak against drops; Phone prices are getting a little crazy; right?

Since Samsung is trying to push the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra as an ultimate all-rounder for productivity, we think the phone delivers on that. Aside from its elegant design, the high-level camera performance and convenient Link to Windows (our favourite) fit perfectly for content creators.

Go big or go home. That’s always been Samsung’s motto with the Galaxy Note series, and the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is its biggest effort yet. The screen is even larger than last year’s Galaxy Note 10 Plus, and there’s also more power, more features, and more technology — all aimed at improving productivity and increasing its media capabilities. Your wallet had better be bigger too, as the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra starts at $1,299. Samsung’s approach to outdoing the competition is simple: Beat them into submission by offering everything a phone buyer could possibly want, in a phone that will last for years. Pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable in terms of device size and price, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra claims the top Android option among the best smartphones this year, even outdoing the Galaxy Note 10 Plus — a phone we called the best Android phone of 2019. Updated on September 23, 2020: After several software updates following release, I used the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra for another week. ...

Massive 120Hz screen looks great; S Pen is unique and handy; Versatile camera; Future-proofed hardware and software; Full-day battery even with heavy use;

Big and heavy; Security features are finicky;

Holding up the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, you get a sense of deja vu that’s hard to shake off. Have I seen this large phone that is packed with everything but the kitchen sink before?

Features like the 120Hz display are fantastic and with Adaptive mode, you can enjoy it on the Note 20 Ultra without sabotaging your battery life, which is exactly the sort of refinement Note fans have waited for.

Versatile camera with excellent video; Vibrant 6.9-inch 120Hz display; Solid battery life; Improved S Pen; Most powerful Android processor

Pricey; Huge camera bump; Facial recognition fails at times