Galaxy S20 Thread

T4rd

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Apr 8, 2009
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Anyone picking these up? It seems I'll be getting the opportunity to pick one up for half price unlocked, so I think I'm going to be replacing my 2 XL with the Ultra despite it probably being a bit too big to me, but I'm sure I'll get used to it as I always have with getting bigger and bigger phones.

Specs ripped from Android Police's page.

S20

Display6.2-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 563 ppi, HDR10+, 120Hz
SoftwareAndroid 10
CPU7nm 64-bit Octa-Core Processor, 2.7GHz (Maximum Clock Speed) + 2.5GHz + 2GHz
RAM12GB RAM (LPDDR5)
Storage128GB internal storage + MicroSD slot (up to 1TB microSD)
Battery4,000mAh (typical), Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, Wireless PowerShare
Rear camerasUltra Wide: 12MP, 120 ̊, F2.2
Wide-angle: 12MP, 79 ̊, F1.8
Telephoto: 64 MP, 76 ̊, F2.0
Space Zoom, Hybrid Optic Zoom 3X, Super Resolution Zoom up to 30X
Front camera10MP, 80 ̊, F2.2
Connectivity5G Non-Standalone (NSA), 5G Standalone (SA), Sub-6Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS)
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax 2.4G+5GHz, HE80, MIMO, 1024-QAM Up to 1.2Gbps Download / Up to 1.2Gbps Upload
Bluetooth 5.0, ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou)
MiscellaneousSamsung Pay, Fingerprint sensor
SensorsUltrasonic Fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Hall sensor, Proximity sensor, RGB Light sensor
AudioStereo speakers and Earphones sound by AKG; Surround sound with Dolby Atmos technology
Measurements151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9mm, 163g
ColorsCosmic Gray, Cloud Blue, Cloud Pink
PriceStarting at $999.99

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S20+

Display6.7-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 525ppi, HDR10+, 120Hz
SoftwareAndroid 10
CPU7nm 64-bit Octa-Core Processor, 2.7GHz (Maximum Clock Speed) + 2.5GHz + 2GHz
RAM12GB RAM (LPDDR5)
Storage128GB/512GB internal storage+ MicroSD slot (up to 1TB microSD)
Battery4,500mAh (typical), Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, Wireless PowerShare
Rear camerasUltra Wide: 12 MP, 120 ̊, F2.2
Wide-angle: 12MP, 79 ̊, F1.8
Telephoto: 64MP, 76 ̊, F2.0
Depth Vision
Space Zoom, Hybrid Optic Zoom 3X, Super Resolution Zoom up to 30X
Front camera10MP, 80 ̊, F2.2
Connectivity5G Non-Standalone (NSA), 5G Standalone (SA), Sub-6 / mmWave
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax 2.4G+5GHz, HE80, MIMO, 1024-QAM Up to 1.2Gbps Download / Up to 1.2Gbps Upload
Bluetooth 5.0, ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou)
MiscellaneousSamsung Pay, Fingerprint sensor
SensorsUltrasonic Fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Hall sensor, Proximity sensor, RGB Light sensor
AudioStereo speakers and Earphones sound by AKG; Surround sound with Dolby Atmos technology
Measurements161.9 x 73.7 x 7.8mm, 186g
ColorsCosmic Gray, Cloud Blue, Cosmic Black
PriceStarting at $1,199.99

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S20 Ultra

Display6.9-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 511ppi, HDR10+, 120Hz
SoftwareAndroid 10
CPU7nm 64-bit Octa-Core Processor, 2.7GHz (Maximum Clock Speed) + 2.5GHz + 2GHz
RAM12GB/16GB RAM (LPDDR5)
Storage128GB/512GB internal storage+ MicroSD slot (up to 1TB microSD)
Battery5,000mAh (typical), Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, Wireless PowerShare
Rear camerasUltra Wide: 12 MP, 120 ̊, F2.2
Wide-angle: 108MP, 79 ̊, F1.8
Telephoto: 48MP, 24 ̊, F3.5
Depth Vision
Space Zoom, Hybrid Optic Zoom 10X, Super Resolution Zoom up to 100X
Front camera40MP, 80 ̊, F2.2
Connectivity5G Non-Standalone (NSA), 5G Standalone (SA), Sub-6 / mmWave
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax 2.4G+5GHz, HE80, MIMO, 1024-QAM Up to 1.2Gbps Download / Up to 1.2Gbps Upload
Bluetooth 5.0, ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou)
MiscellaneousSamsung Pay, Fingerprint sensor
SensorsUltrasonic Fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Hall sensor, Proximity sensor, RGB Light sensor
AudioStereo speakers and Earphones sound by AKG; Surround sound with Dolby Atmos technology
Measurements166.9 x 76.0 x 8.8mm, 220g
ColorsCosmic Gray, Cosmic Black
PriceStarting at $1,399.99

Size comparison:

galaxy-s20-54.jpg


I really wanted to get a 4 XL when it launched, but Google made too many compromises for me to get it regardless of price, which at MSRP is an even worse value than these overpriced phones still IMO, since at least you're getting top tier hardware here and Samsung has been pretty decent actually at software support the past couple years (maybe due to Project Treble) with the S7 still getting quarterly security updates and the S10/Note 10 getting Android 10 within a few months or so of the Pixels.

If I wasn't getting this at half price though, no way I would consider these at MSRP as well, esp. considering the reason these are so expensive this year are because of the separate 5G radios they need and that's going to be useless for me here in Europe where I live at the moment anyways, so I would totally prefer these not have 5G to not have to pay for it. Hopefully you can disable the 5G radios as well just to save on battery life a bit at least.

Anyways, feel free to discuss thoughts, impressions, and experiences with your S20 if you're picking one up.
 
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I want evidence of this supposed “Samsung has been pretty decent actually at software support”...

Samsung is still the worst major OEM offender right now.

Nah, that's definitely LG and Moto at the moment. Samsung had Android 10 on the S10/Note 10 in December-January and got out out on the S9/Note 9 about a month later. They're also rolling out security updates for all of their flagships from the last 2 generations/years every month or two from what I've seen on my wife's Note 9 and on tech blogs at least. So that's "pretty decent" in my book.
 
The Android 10 update for S9 has currently been paused by T-Mobile after release 2 days ago

Ok, still sounds good to me compared to any other OEM besides Google and maybe OP which I've seen them having issues getting 10 out to their older 6/6T lately too and aren't sure if it even has it yet either.

Regardless, they're hardly the "worst major OEM offender" right now, esp. considering they're still updating their 3 year old S7 with quarterly security updates right now. Not sure what other major OEM still supports their phones after 2 years now besides Google and OP.
 
Because Google and OP still exists, I will not consider a Samsung for an Android phone. If either one of them stop making phones or if Samsung has proven themselves not to have a laggy phone over time and support their phones with major android updates, then I will welcome Samsung back with open arms. I want them to be another option, but today is clearly not that day.

Essential’s exit has left a room for Samsung to release a “pure” or close to pure device that they can quickly update with camera and other Samsung experience apps including Launcher that you can install from the Play Store. Do that, Samsung!
 
Because Google and OP still exists, I will not consider a Samsung for an Android phone. If either one of them stop making phones or if Samsung has proven themselves not to have a laggy phone over time and support their phones with major android updates, then I will welcome Samsung back with open arms. I want them to be another option, but today is clearly not that day.

Essential’s exit has left a room for Samsung to release a “pure” or close to pure device that they can quickly update with camera and other Samsung experience apps including Launcher that you can install from the Play Store. Do that, Samsung!

It's funny you cherry pick the T-Mobile S9 only getting Android 10 a couple days ago too, because looking at that update calendar you linked to, it looks like T-Mobile delayed the 10 update for the 7 Pro until December 30th, which is the same time it started rolling out for the T-Mobile version of the Note 10 and some of the Note 9 phones, and a week after they had already rolled it out for the unlocked S10 and severlal Note 10 variants. The T-Mobile 6T just got Android 10 a couple weeks ago too on Feb 14th. So obviously T-Mo has an issue delaying updates for their variants of the phones compared to the unlocked variants and aren't really worth bringing up from an overall OEM update status standpoint.

My wife's Note 9 still performs as good as new and it got the Android 10 update about a month ago, so I think the old Touchwiz lag over time deal is pretty much dead at this point. I don't think OP releases more than 2 major updates for their phones either and their update speed doesn't really seem to be that much faster than Samsungs given that they only release security updates every other month for all of their current flagships (similar to Samsung) and the 7/7 Pro got Android 10 around the same time that the S10/Note 10 got it.

But I get it; I was right there with you with only wanting a Google or OP phone and up until I got this opportunity to get an S20 variant for half off, I was on the same boat. But given how well my wife's Note 9 has been for her after a year and a half, I'm happy with how it has held up and can consider them for my next phone given that (to me at least), their software support is definitely acceptable to be and their hardware is far and above what Google and OP are putting out still. It doesn't make much sense for me to wait for an OP phone to pay around the same price for considerably less hardware and features even if I only have to wait a month or two more for a Android update, esp. considering how negligible the last couple major Android updates have been in terms of bringing new features while even regressing in UI layout for me (esp. from Oreo to Pie). Also considering that 1/3 of the Pixel updates still seem to bring some feature or UI breaking bug with them and you get to wait another month or two for Google to fix that. I haven't been seeing Samsung put nearly as many bugs in their udpates as Google have been for the past couple years I've been on my 2 XL. Fortunately none of them were really phone-breaking bugs, but some of them were quite annoying like face-unlocking being completely broken on my 2 XL for 3-4 months at one point.
 
Google is close to losing me as a customer. If the 4XL doesn't grab me, I'll move on. I haven't used a Samsung since the S7 Edge, which I despised. I'm willing to try the new S20, but it'll have to be pretty damned impressive to get me to jump ship. If the new iPhone brings back Touch ID, I might return to team Apple.
 
First I didn’t cherry pick that. It’s just the one I remember recently as it had happened recently.

Second, Note 10 come out right before OP 7T and OP7/7T updated to android 10 more than 2 months prior to Note 10. And between OP6T and Note 9, even with the extra delay is still 2 months ahead (without a delay 4 months). While OP 5T will get an update soon, is the Note 8 getting updated? Nope.

You may also argue that major updates aren’t important because 9 to 10 didn’t bring much improvements. Well, why cherry pick that? Every other update has brought important new features. Right now there’s a huge security feature in 11 that I definitely want phones to have: one time permissions. I dunno about the other new features Google is adding. But I at least know for a fact that OP6 will get this major security update from this major OS update. Can you guarantee that the Note 9 will get it too?

Look. I know I’m not going to talk you out of getting this ridiculously expensive phone. How are you getting it 50% off BTW? All I know is that I need a full 2 or 3 years of Samsung not being crappy. I had a Galaxy S9 regular that I can’t even use to answer phone calls.The lag was so bad that answering the phone was impossible. Supposedly, the S9+ with more RAM didn’t have that issue. But Samsung did release the S9 that had terrible lag issues. Luckily with the S10, Samsung gave a good amount of RAM for all models. Now that RAM is cheaper, I don’t expect this problem to arise again. So my question why Samsung over Google, OP, or Apple? Right now, Pixel 4 is terrible. But what about the Pixel 4a or the upcoming Pixel 5? Google had one dud in so many years that I still trust Google. OP has pretty much gained my trust over their quick response to privacy issues, excellent update speed, and price - sure some of the hardware is to be desired, but that price... And Apple with the iPhone 11 made themselves somehow the flagship value leader, especially when you calculate in the years of support. Not only has Samsung proved themselves to have crappy software over the years, though incredible hardware, Samsung also still has planned obsolescence working against them. They need to build a trust. I may not speak for all enthusiasts, but when we know the phones enough to compare phones, service, and support in depth, Samsung seriously need to earn the trust. I’m not going “woo shiny” and buy this phone for $1000 right now when history tells me that this phone will likely be $500 new in 2-3 months. If the S10 proved to still be decent by next year, I may welcome Samsung back into the fold.

And seriously though, Samsung wants to charge Apple prices without giving the Apple level of support. No wonder why the S20 isn’t selling in South Korea...
 
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Google is close to losing me as a customer. If the 4XL doesn't grab me, I'll move on. I haven't used a Samsung since the S7 Edge, which I despised. I'm willing to try the new S20, but it'll have to be pretty damned impressive to get me to jump ship. If the new iPhone brings back Touch ID, I might return to team Apple.

Wow I thought I was the only one that prefer touch id.
 
First I didn’t cherry pick that. It’s just the one I remember recently as it had happened recently.

Second, Note 10 come out right before OP 7T and OP7/7T updated to android 10 more than 2 months prior to Note 10. And between OP6T and Note 9, even with the extra delay is still 2 months ahead (without a delay 4 months). While OP 5T will get an update soon, is the Note 8 getting updated? Nope.

You may also argue that major updates aren’t important because 9 to 10 didn’t bring much improvements. Well, why cherry pick that? Every other update has brought important new features. Right now there’s a huge security feature in 11 that I definitely want phones to have: one time permissions. I dunno about the other new features Google is adding. But I at least know for a fact that OP6 will get this major security update from this major OS update. Can you guarantee that the Note 9 will get it too?

Look. I know I’m not going to talk you out of getting this ridiculously expensive phone. How are you getting it 50% off BTW? All I know is that I need a full 2 or 3 years of Samsung not being crappy. I had a Galaxy S9 regular that I can’t even use to answer phone calls.The lag was so bad that answering the phone was impossible. Supposedly, the S9+ with more RAM didn’t have that issue. But Samsung did release the S9 that had terrible lag issues. Luckily with the S10, Samsung gave a good amount of RAM for all models. Now that RAM is cheaper, I don’t expect this problem to arise again. So my question why Samsung over Google, OP, or Apple? Right now, Pixel 4 is terrible. But what about the Pixel 4a or the upcoming Pixel 5? Google had one dud in so many years that I still trust Google. OP has pretty much gained my trust over their quick response to privacy issues, excellent update speed, and price - sure some of the hardware is to be desired, but that price... And Apple with the iPhone 11 made themselves somehow the flagship value leader, especially when you calculate in the years of support. Not only has Samsung proved themselves to have crappy software over the years, though incredible hardware, Samsung also still has planned obsolescence working against them. They need to build a trust. I may not speak for all enthusiasts, but when we know the phones enough to compare phones, service, and support in depth, Samsung seriously need to earn the trust. I’m not going “woo shiny” and buy this phone for $1000 right now when history tells me that this phone will likely be $500 new in 2-3 months. If the S10 proved to still be decent by next year, I may welcome Samsung back into the fold.

And seriously though, Samsung wants to charge Apple prices without giving the Apple level of support. No wonder why the S20 isn’t selling in South Korea...

Pointing out that Android updates are negligibly different isn't cherry picking compared to pointing out that the one carrier variant of a phone took a lot longer to get an update out the same way as it did for other OEM's phones as well. If you think than an Android 11 feature is a big deal for you, then that's cool, I just don't mind waiting 2-3 months afterwards to get the same feature(s) since I didn't miss it before for the last 11 years I've been on Android. Same thing with any potential bugs that Google may push out to their Pixel phones along with that fresh Android 11 update like they have for pretty much all other Pixel phones when a new major revision is pushed out to them.

I'm getting it through the Samsung Mobile Insights program, the same way I got my wife's Note 9 for half off and Note 5 for free before when they first launched. I haven't been selected yet, but I got the survey for it a few days ago and I've been selected to participate the last couple times I got a survey, so that's a pretty good indicator. But if I'm not, then I'm good on passing on the S20 and maybe picking up the OP 8/8 Pro when it comes out if OP doesn't ruin their phone too badly like it seems they may be doing with the stupid hole punch cutout in the display. I know Samsung phones have that now too, but it's not a deal breaker for me, I just much prefer the OP 7/7 Pro design over pretty much anything else out at the moment. I wish Samsung would have just stuck with the S9/Note 9 design with super slim bezels at the top and bottom instead of the dumb hole punch in the display.

Why Samsung though? Pretty much because they're one of the few OEMs not cutting corners on hardware still and from what I've seen on my wife's Note 9 for the past 18 months, the software has been solid in terms of UI and performance since she's had it and its still getting software/security updates every month or two. While not as fast or consistant as I've got on my 2 XL, I have also not really seen any tangable UI improvements on Android since I got my 2 XL.. in fact the UI has regressed in some areas since I was on Oreo originally IMO. The Pixel 3 was just as disappointing as the Pixel 4 to me too, so it wasn't just one dud; they shrank the battery on the Pixel 3 XL and went with a much worse design with the worst/largest notch ever put into any phone put into production, then they pretty much kept all of the specs the same in terms of storage and RAM and only upgraded the SoC and display since they sourced a Samsung panel instead of LG's (which I really have no complaints with my 2 XL's display still - I got it a few months after launch on a deal after a supposed revision and I have minimal blue shift and image retention). At least with the 4 XL they finally upgraded the RAM to a still-noncompetitive 6 GBs and the battery to a still-noncompetitive 3700 mAh (which from what I've seen still performs well enough, but they skimped on it regardless at MSRP price point).

I'm with you on the iPhone 11 becoming the flagship value leader as well; at least when you drop 1k+ on their hardware, you know it will last you up to 5 years easily with software support and a relatively easy to replace battery if need be (I've replaced all my previous phone's battery at some point even if it wasn't "replacable" - I don't mind opening a phone up and have all the proper tools for it). As I mentioned above with the general UI and feature regression in (at least vanilla) Android, I've been tempted now more than ever to switch to iPhone, esp. seeing that battery champ performance on the 11 Pro Max and its camera has pretty much caught up to the Pixels and definitely surpassed it for video (same with Samsung too though). But longevity is something Android needs to improve on significantly as well if their OEMs are going to justify these absurd prices now for their flagship phones. I'm curious as to why Samsung doesn't just run their own Exynos chips all of their phones specifically so they can support them longer if Qualcomm is indeed to blame for OEM's not updating their phones past 2-3 years, which I'm not sure is still even relevant now with Project Treble in any phone that shipped with Android 8.0 or later. So I fully agree with you that Samsung needs to build more trust with their customers by supporting their hardware longer and even faster despite their improvements in that the past few years, but the same goes for pretty much all other Android OEMs including Google and OP, because I think they need to support their hardware for 4 years minimum if they're going to start charging $900+ for their products and not even put competitive hardware in them to begin with.

So I'm not here to defend Samsung or anyone else; I think all OEMs need improvement in software support across the board. The only reason I'm considering Samsung right now is because I may be able to get 50% off of an S20 phone through that program right now and also because my wife's Note 9 has been solid for her since she got it at launch and has received (what I perceive as) decent software support since she got it. If I don't end up being selected for this deal though, then I'm totally fine with holding onto my 2 XL for the rest of the year to see what OP brings and maaayybe the Pixel 5, but after 2 garbage successors to the Pixel 2, I'm not holding my breath for it and actually may be a lot more interested in the 4a when it comes out if it has enough hardware in it for me (I really want a wide-angle lens in my next phone though).

Whenever I look at the S20 Ultra's key features, I look at my ROG2 and just smile.

ROG 2 phone has definitely tempted me since it came out too and is pretty much the hardware champ on the market until the S20 phones come out. But it also MSRP'd for not much less than the base S20 at $900 and has a considerably worse camera and software support from what I've seen. From what I see on a quick Google, it's still even on Android 9 unless you want to opt into a beta for Android 10 (which you can do on Samsung too to get updates much faster if you don't mind potentially less stability on a beta). I know Asus as commited to much better software support before, but think it really only applied to their newer Zenphones with close to stock Android and not their ROG phones with a highly modified version of Android for all of its gaming features. The S20 also has a bit better hardware overall as well; higher res and much brighter display @ 120hz, better/more cameras, faster RAM (DDR4X vs DDR5X), and it's also a bit larger and heavier than even the S20 Ultra. But it's still a beast of a phone and one that I would definitely like to have, but only if they at least get on Samsung's level of software support in terms of faster updates and longer support as well.
 
Yes, I did make the trade-off in still photo quality and software update speed. It's odd that Asus has done almost 10 betas for Android 10 but still hasn't opted to release the stable, probably all the customizations for the ROG.

However, keep in mind the S20 Ultra will likely be slower than the ROG2 in any sustained performance scenario and the S20 is still limited to 1080p when going at 120Hz. In the other aspects, including brightness, it's on par with the 2019 flagships anyway. Ultimately it came out long before the S20 so it's not a terrible look.
 
Yes, I did make the trade-off in still photo quality and software update speed. It's odd that Asus has done almost 10 betas for Android 10 but still hasn't opted to release the stable, probably all the customizations for the ROG.

However, keep in mind the S20 Ultra will likely be slower than the ROG2 in any sustained performance scenario and the S20 is still limited to 1080p when going at 120Hz. In the other aspects, including brightness, it's on par with the 2019 flagships anyway. Ultimately it came out long before the S20 so it's not a terrible look.

Samsung has announced that they're bringing 120 Hz to their 1440p res in an upcoming update. Though I'm sure they initially left it out because that will probably impact battery life considerably worse than 120 Hz at 1080p. In fact, they probably left it out initially just so reviewers didn't ding it too much in reviews for just that. Reviewers are already claiming a 20-30% battery hit while using 120 Hz @ 1080p over 60 Hz @ 1440p. I'm not sure which mode I'll prefer when/if I get the phone, but it's nice to have the toggle available regardless for when I know I'm going to be away from a charger for the day.

Considering the jump from the SD855 to the 865 in the S20 too, I'm going to say the S20 will still outperform it even with throttling after sustained loads, but I don't think that's really even a significant factor for most people outside of heavy gaming on their phone either.
 
Well we'll see but in 3D loads the ROG2 matches the ballpark of the iPhone 11's sustained performance. I'm fairly confident when I stated it'll beat the S20.
 
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All camera samples from the main camera have been incredibly underwhelming. Poor even. Poor black detail, sky looks way too dark blue. Processing is horrible.
S20 Ultra:
kuva.jpg

^^Massive fail. Looks like some kind of oil painting filter applied to photo. High frequency detail looks pants.

Huawei Mate 30 Pro:
h.jpg

Both are 1:1 crops from GSMArena.

Even my ancient Nokia N80 had more natural image processing:
08062009463.jpg
 
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All camera samples from the main camera have been incredibly underwhelming. Poor even. Poor black detail, sky looks way too dark blue. Processing is horrible.
S20 Ultra:
View attachment 227022
^^Massive fail. Looks like some kind of oil painting filter applied to photo. High frequency detail looks pants.

Huawei Mate 30 Pro:
View attachment 227021
Both are 1:1 crops from GSMArena.

Even my ancient Nokia N80 had more natural image processing:
View attachment 227024

Yeah, they're definitely not up to the level they should be from what I've seen too. But they're good enough for me still and Samsung apparently just pushed an update to improve image processing as well. I'm not holding my breath for a huge difference, but I'm sure they'll be continually updating the camera software throughout the year as well, esp. given you can expect the next Note to have the same or similar camera setup.

I watched this yesterday on the camera too:



I hope they can fix the overexposure as well in bright scenes. But I wonder what HDR mode he has it in as well. I typically put my Pixel in HDR+ mode in brighter scenes just for that reason since they're usually still scenes and I don't mind the extra second it takes to take more exposure shots for the complete HDR image. In general, this will still be a considerable upgrade from my Pixel 2 in some areas at least, esp. wide angle shots that I've been missing out on a lot of lately.
 
All camera samples from the main camera have been incredibly underwhelming. Poor even. Poor black detail, sky looks way too dark blue. Processing is horrible.
S20 Ultra:
View attachment 227022
^^Massive fail. Looks like some kind of oil painting filter applied to photo. High frequency detail looks pants.

Huawei Mate 30 Pro:
View attachment 227021
Both are 1:1 crops from GSMArena.

Even my ancient Nokia N80 had more natural image processing:
View attachment 227024
Their camera has sucked for quite some time now. More megapixels isn’t going to help.
 
I want evidence of this supposed “Samsung has been pretty decent actually at software support”...

Samsung is still the worst major OEM offender right now. Just 2 days ago Samsung finally updated the Galaxy S9 to Android 10.

Hmm, mine has been on Android 10 for 2 months. Galaxy S9 plus AT&T. Blame your carrier.
 
First I didn’t cherry pick that. It’s just the one I remember recently as it had happened recently.

Second, Note 10 come out right before OP 7T and OP7/7T updated to android 10 more than 2 months prior to Note 10. And between OP6T and Note 9, even with the extra delay is still 2 months ahead (without a delay 4 months). While OP 5T will get an update soon, is the Note 8 getting updated? Nope.

You may also argue that major updates aren’t important because 9 to 10 didn’t bring much improvements. Well, why cherry pick that? Every other update has brought important new features. Right now there’s a huge security feature in 11 that I definitely want phones to have: one time permissions. I dunno about the other new features Google is adding. But I at least know for a fact that OP6 will get this major security update from this major OS update. Can you guarantee that the Note 9 will get it too?

Look. I know I’m not going to talk you out of getting this ridiculously expensive phone. How are you getting it 50% off BTW? All I know is that I need a full 2 or 3 years of Samsung not being crappy. I had a Galaxy S9 regular that I can’t even use to answer phone calls.The lag was so bad that answering the phone was impossible. Supposedly, the S9+ with more RAM didn’t have that issue. But Samsung did release the S9 that had terrible lag issues. Luckily with the S10, Samsung gave a good amount of RAM for all models. Now that RAM is cheaper, I don’t expect this problem to arise again. So my question why Samsung over Google, OP, or Apple? Right now, Pixel 4 is terrible. But what about the Pixel 4a or the upcoming Pixel 5? Google had one dud in so many years that I still trust Google. OP has pretty much gained my trust over their quick response to privacy issues, excellent update speed, and price - sure some of the hardware is to be desired, but that price... And Apple with the iPhone 11 made themselves somehow the flagship value leader, especially when you calculate in the years of support. Not only has Samsung proved themselves to have crappy software over the years, though incredible hardware, Samsung also still has planned obsolescence working against them. They need to build a trust. I may not speak for all enthusiasts, but when we know the phones enough to compare phones, service, and support in depth, Samsung seriously need to earn the trust. I’m not going “woo shiny” and buy this phone for $1000 right now when history tells me that this phone will likely be $500 new in 2-3 months. If the S10 proved to still be decent by next year, I may welcome Samsung back into the fold.

And seriously though, Samsung wants to charge Apple prices without giving the Apple level of support. No wonder why the S20 isn’t selling in South Korea...

My S9 plus has zero lag, zero issues. You probably had a app on it causing that issue and blaming the phone. Samsung hasn't had lag issues for several years on devices, and they update security patches every month. I had the Pixel 3 XL and it was boring, had nothing custom on it like the Samsungs do. If you want all the custom stuff that Samsung has, you have to develop it on the operating system which takes time when it's released and is why Samsung doesn't release it as fast as Google.

Everything you pretty much said is untrue.
 
My S9 plus has zero lag, zero issues. You probably had a app on it causing that issue and blaming the phone. Samsung hasn't had lag issues for several years on devices, and they update security patches every month. I had the Pixel 3 XL and it was boring, had nothing custom on it like the Samsungs do. If you want all the custom stuff that Samsung has, you have to develop it on the operating system which takes time when it's released and is why Samsung doesn't release it as fast as Google.

Everything you pretty much said is untrue.
I documented this in the past. I even factory reset the phone. So I’m sorry that this blows your mind how big a difference a few more GB of RAM makes for Samsung shit.
 
I bit on the S20+. My Pixel 2's battery took a nose-dive recently and I'm in need of a bigger screen.
With the pre-order bonus I took the earbuds and a case for it. It shipped yesterday and supposedly it's going to arrive this Tuesday.
The Ultra is simply too big for my needs (aka. my pocket) and this one has the stuff I want on it. I can't stand Samsung's garbage software, but I guess you can install a Pixel-like launcher and Google's apps now to lessen the blow. I find myself mostly using 3rd party apps (like FB messenger and PowerAmp) anyway. Plus, the hardware seems like it'll be unmatched for a little while.

EDIT: FWIW, I bought the unlocked one. Waiting on carrier updates has burned me in the past, plus the last thing I want is more forced software from my cell provider.
 
I documented this in the past. I even factory reset the phone. So I’m sorry that this blows your mind how big a difference a few more GB of RAM makes for Samsung shit.

Sorry, it doesn't blow my mind. I know for a fact you are incorrect.
 
I'm pretty impressed by 5G support

I'm hoping to test that out. My area (Denver) is a 5G test market. We have those 5G poles all over the place on the southern half of town. A buddy of mine has one of those early 5G LG phones it pulls gigabit speeds near my old office. The pole was roughly 100 yards away, so I'm curious what my speeds will be like in my neighborhood with a slightly longer distance.
 
Just to add further evidence and credence to Samsung's "decent" software support (CHANG3D), Droid Life just made a post with their evidence showing how well Samsung supports their phones.

They pretty much hit on what I did earlier as well:

Verizon’s Galaxy S7 picked up an update on February 13 and the Galaxy S8 grabbed one in February, as well as in January and December. Their patch level might not be as current as we’d like (S7 got December’s), but this is a 4 year old phone still getting updates at the carrier level.

You know who isn’t updating their phones that long? Google. Google provides Pixel phones with Android version and security updates for a full 3 years. The original Google Pixel was announced in October of 2016 and was just cut off at the end of 2019. It’s done. The original Google Pixel will no longer see updates.

So yeah, I maintain that Samsung is still "decent at software support."
 
Just to add further evidence and credence to Samsung's "decent" software support (CHANG3D), Droid Life just made a post with their evidence showing how well Samsung supports their phones.

They pretty much hit on what I did earlier as well:



So yeah, I maintain that Samsung is still "decent at software support."
While it’s fantastic that Samsung is still doing security updates, albeit very slowly on the older devices, the problem is still the lack of major updates and the tardiness of getting them in the first place. For a phone currently at iPhone Pro prices, that’s a bad investment. It’s one thing if the prices are cut by 50% or even 30%, but at $1000 for the base model, it’s ridiculous to just be getting 2 major updates.

https://9to5google.com/2020/03/03/samsung-galaxy-s20-android-updates/
 
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While it’s fantastic that Samsung is still doing security updates, albeit very slowly on the older devices, the problem is still the lack of major updates and the tardiness of getting them in the first place. For a phone currently at iPhone Pro prices, that’s a bad investment. It’s one thing if the prices are cut by 50% or even 30%, but at $1000 for the base model, it’s ridiculous to just be getting 2 major updates.

https://9to5google.com/2020/03/03/samsung-galaxy-s20-android-updates/

Oh, I agree with that as well, but also still maintain that Android support should be better across the board, including Google's devices for what they're charging for their mediocre hardware. I'll bet they'll be putting their base XL phone at $1,000 or more this year as well and be surprised if it has more than 6GB of RAM and/or 64 GBs base storage still. But if Samsung can still support their 4 year old phone with security updates, Google should at least extend their support to add an extra year of security updates and bug patches to the Pixel devices as well, but ideally I would like 4 years minimum of OS updates across the board from all major OEMs.

So going from Google to Samsung, you're basically just trading an extra major OS update and slightly slower updates for considerably better hardware, but still getting security updates for just as long, if not longer than what Google provides. Some could argue that with all the additional features (that commonly get ported to Pixels afterwards) Samsung and other OEMs provide on top of Google's Android (not stock), you're not missing much from the additional update. Then others argue that's still not worth it because Samsung's software is too bloated and laggy over time, which I'm sure happens on plenty of Samsung phones, but also definitely happens on Pixel phones as well because a lot of reviewers have complained about Pixels lagging over time, esp. compared to OP phones. From my own experience of owning several various Android devices over the last decade from Google, HTC, Moto, and Samsung, performance consistency is an ongoing systemic issue with Android in general though.
 
I think my major problem with Samsung and their major updates for older phones is the lack of testing and often makes them rather unusable.

It has happened to me and has been mentioned in this thread. It’s almost better to just not update the phone, except for the mandatory security updates.
 
im hoping to pick up my pre-order on the 6th but seems they only have the 12gb ram model even with the 512gb storage option is this true or should i tell em to send it back untill they get the 16gb model?
 
I think my major problem with Samsung and their major updates for older phones is the lack of testing and often makes them rather unusable.

It has happened to me and has been mentioned in this thread. It’s almost better to just not update the phone, except for the mandatory security updates.

That happens on almost all phones too though. If you follow many tech/phone blogs, you see that probably 1/4 of the Pixel's updates come with some kind of feature or performance impacting bug on at least one of their supported model phones. I have been bit by it a few times on my 2 XL as well.
 
im hoping to pick up my pre-order on the 6th but seems they only have the 12gb ram model even with the 512gb storage option is this true or should i tell em to send it back untill they get the 16gb model?

Only the Ultra has the option for 16GBs of RAM with the 512GB storage option. The S20/S20+ come with 12 GB of RAM regardless of storage configuration.

Honestly though, I know it's been said before on previous models with less RAM, but I really don't know WTF you'd be doing on a phone to even begin to utilize 16GB of RAM. The only useful scenario I can think of if you're using the Dex dock or something and using your phone as a desktop with a shit-ton of Chrome tabs open or something. I can't see how you would run out of RAM with 12GB at this point running anything in a normal phone environment (outside of Dex - where 12GB would still be more than adequate).
 
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lol id be using the dex option plus they told me they only have 12gb version i thought i heard there was a 16gb option with 512gb of storage, plus ill have this phone for next 2+yrs wanted make sure i dont get jipped on lower vram then i could get,
 
lol id be using the dex option plus they told me they only have 12gb version i thought i heard there was a 16gb option with 512gb of storage, plus ill have this phone for next 2+yrs wanted make sure i dont get jipped on lower vram then i could get,

Even with Dex, I don't see how you'd exceed 12GB of RAM usage really unless you're intentionally trying to. Keep in mind that they've been offering Dex since the S8 on 4GBs of RAM and their last Note 10+ topped out at 12GBs of RAM as well and came with 8GB standard.

I know people just like to max their hardware out just because they can; I'm sure if they offered a 32GB RAM version, plenty of people would take that just because it's there. But really, there's no way to rationalize that other than "because I can."

But no, there's no 16GB S20 phones outside of the Ultra at $1600 and if you actually pay that, you're definitely getting "jipped" still (sic - it's Gypped).
 
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aye the S20 ultra iv pre-ordered is $2300 Cad, why i was asking for that id want to make sure im getttin most i can,
 
Finally got my Android 10 update this morning on my TMobile S9.

I'm happy, but yeah Samsung updates are snail-pace.
 
hope they dont discontinue after android 11-12 these should be capable of more then os updates.
 
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