276°
Posted 20 hours ago

Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G Android Smartphone - SIM Free Mobile Phone - Cosmic Black, 128 GB

£187£374Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

This is the case with a lot of flagship phones now, and while it may disappoint some, the feature is less of a deal-breaker with more and more of us using wireless and true-wireless headphone and earbuds – and of course Samsung has you covered with its own Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds Plus. Samsung is still offering a default resolution of Full HD+ (2220 x 1080), which looks more than sharp enough for most tasks, and saves battery; you’ll need to head into the settings to switch to the higher resolution. The telephoto lens is even better than the one on the Galaxy S10 too, allowing you to shoot high-quality 3x optical zoom shots or stretch all the way to a 30x digital zoom. The Galaxy S20 Ultra has higher camera specs overall, but most people will be more than satisfied with the shooter on this phone. This is particularly pertinent when you’re mobile gaming as it allows for a more immersive experience and could even give you the edge over an opponent, but it makes everyday things like scrolling through your social media feeds look smoother too. The Galaxy S20 is the best first chance for mainstream consumers to get 5G on their smartphone. Only 1% of smartphones that shipped in 2019 were 5G phones, and most of those were expensive variants of 4G flagships.

Galaxy S20 5G review: Top-shelf specs, but plenty of room for Galaxy S20 5G review: Top-shelf specs, but plenty of room for

It'll feel too small for some, which is the S20 Plus' main benefit. You also can't get a 512GB configuration, and most carriers "only" support the slower 5G bands known as Sub-6. ( The Galaxy S20 supports cards up to 1TB – if you need even more internal storage, you’ll want to opt for the Galaxy S20 Ultra or Galaxy S20 Plus that offer 256GB and 512GB options. Samsung Galaxy S20 battery lifeThe Galaxy S20 is powered by one of two different chipsets, and where you live will decide which version you’re getting. If you’re in the US you’ll get Qualcomm’s top-end Snapdragon 865 chipset, while those around the rest of the world get Samsung’s similarly high-end Exynos 990. New here is Single Take mode, which cycles through all three rear cameras over the course of 10 seconds to capture a variety of photos and videos. It answers the ‘Should I take photos or a video?’ dilemma with ‘Why not take both?’ However, pictures looked a touch candy-coloured for my liking, and the iPhone 11 did a better job at capturing more neutral-looking images. The S20 was also insistent on overexposing most images. The differences between the two are night and day as soon as the light begins to fade, too: the S20 looks drab when placed side-by-side with the positively vibrant images from the iPhone 11.

Samsung Galaxy S20 review | TechRadar Samsung Galaxy S20 review | TechRadar

That’s a debate to be held for another time, and I’m pretty impressed with all of the new stuff Samsung has brought to the table this year. These new phones feel like much more of an upgrade than ever before and since the Galaxy S20 is the cheapest of the bunch, it earns my recommendation more so than the rest. The arrival of the Galaxy S20 in shops ushers in the beginning of smartphone launch season, and with the Novel Coronavirus outbreak looming large across the industry, by sheer coincidence Samsung may have won big by being one of the first out of the gate. Alas, Samsung seems to have taken a pared-down approach when it comes to the Galaxy S20’s design. In an era of foldable phones, the S20 lineup looks rather utilitarian in comparison, with the usual chrome-tinted edges – which still look nice by the way – and pearlescent finishes on the rear glass panel failing to offer anything particularly new or groundbreaking. Because, as it turns out, while the Galaxy S20’s suite of cameras excel in a few areas, they don’t quite match the sheer excellence of the iPhone 11’s image and video captures. While I was self-isolating due to the ongoing coronavirus threat, I snapped a few gloomy scenes of London from my balcony and I found that the Galaxy S20 did a better job at suppressing visual noise, with slightly more contrast than its Apple rival. The resulting images at maximum zoom are a bit mixed, but there’s no denying that this tech is quite impressive. I can’t see there being many use cases for zooming that far into the frame – you certainly won’t be putting the pictures on a cushion at Snappy Snaps – but when you consider that the iPhone 11 doesn’t zoom at all, the advantage goes to Samsung here.Instead, If you directly compare with the next phone along the price spectrum – the Galaxy S20 Plus – then you might spot that the experience remains largely the same. Aside from the size and battery differences – as well as an option for 4G – the Galaxy S20 uses a near-identical combination of internal components. That’s the new Exynos 990 processor, 8GB or 12GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable storage, if you weren’t aware. Just like last year’s models, I actually prefer the smaller versions of Samsung’s handsets, as I feel they fit more comfortably in the hand. That’s not to say that the S20’s screen is small, however: 6.2in is still big enough to watch any Netflix TV show without having to push the screen up against your eyeballs. Touch-sensitivity is also upped, to 240Hz from 120Hz to make games more responsive, by sensing your finger brushes on the screen at a much higher rate than previously. This isn’t something we found noticeable when we were using the phone, but those more dedicated to their mobile gaming may find that it makes a difference. The Samsung S20 has a 6.2-inch display, offering exactly 0.1-inch more screen real estate than 2019’s 6.1-inch S10. It doesn’t dramatically change the overall size of the phone, and its max resolution remains the same as that of recent Samsung Galaxy S models at WQHD+ (3040 x 1440). The Galaxy S20’s 12MP ultra-wide camera has changed the least compared to the S10 – the f/2.2 aperture is the same, but it has a smaller sensor with larger pixels (1.4 microns over last year’s 1 micron). That makes your ultra-wide photos a touch better, even if the S10 had a 16MP ultra-wide camera.

Samsung Galaxy S20 5G - 128GB | Studio Samsung Galaxy S20 5G - 128GB | Studio

This is the phone to get if you want to try out the 2020 tech that Samsung has to offer, but you don’t want a large phone, or a large dent in your wallet. You could go for the Ultra if you want more storage or a 108MP camera, and can stretch to the price tag, but for day-to-day use the S20 is going to be the best choice in the range for most people. The S20 is scoring far higher than the S10 5G from 2019, which returned an average result of 2197, and the OnePlus 7T Pro, which scored 2584. These scores won’t mean a lot for the average user, but it’s a positive result for the Galaxy S20, and we found that it was reflected in day to day use.

Galaxy S20 camera is nearly as good as the S20 Ultra

Both phones also benefit from the new 120Hz screen – which is a first for Samsung – and have an identical camera arrangement. This means you have a 12MP (f/1.8) main camera at your disposal, along with a 12MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide and 64MP (f/3.5) telephoto sensor. All of the phones are capable of 8K video recording, although the keen-eyed might have noticed that the S20 and S20 Plus don’t use the S20 Ultra’s 108MP camera, and neither are capable of 100x zoom – instead ‘only’ zooming up to 30x. Samsung Galaxy S20 review: Price and competition It’s a positive result overall, allowing for 3x lossless zoom that’s the best we’ve seen on a smartphone so far. There’s also 30x digital zoom if you need it, and while this isn’t lossless we found it to be useful in some scenarios. There are pros and cons to both methods, but if you care about connecting to the fastest 5G on a carrier outside of Verizon, then the S20 Plus will get you there. Your real-world results depend entirely on the network quality where you live. It’s worth pointing out that there aren’t any bold color choices here, and these are all relatively subdued options compared to the Galaxy S10 color range. The Aura Red is perhaps the boldest color choice, but that's one of the harder to find versions of the handset. The S20 range also breaks new ground with the introduction of 8K video recording, and anti-roll correction (up to 60 degrees) as part of Samsung’s Super Steady stabilization feature.

Samsung Galaxy S20 review: Cheapest and the best - Expert Reviews Samsung Galaxy S20 review: Cheapest and the best - Expert Reviews

All phones go down in price over time though, and the Samsung Galaxy S20 is no exception - while Samsung still charges full price, other retailers often sell it at a discount. Where Samsung really begins to falter is in video recording features. The Samsung Galaxy S20 has the ability to record in 8K resolution – a first for smartphones – although this isn’t stabilised in any way whatsoever, and you need an 8K TV to view the footage in its original resolution anyway. If you want to stabilise your footage, you have to dip the resolution down to 4K at 30fps, which is a shame because the iPhone 11 can record at 60fps at 4K fully-stabilised, which I much prefer.The S20 Ultra also has a 40-megapixel front-facing camera, but for me, image quality isn't especially better than the S20's 10-megapixel selfie shooter. There's a limit to how much detail I really want to see of my own face.

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment