Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra review: Expectation – Iron Man, Reality – The Hulk
Its image capture is cool, but not too sharp; packs quite a punch, but won’t zip-sap-zoom
Chennai: Come March 6 and plenty gents are scheduled for a gadget enhancement - the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. Holding the 6.9 inch Hulk in your hand, it’s what you’ve always wanted. Or is it?
First of all, you’ll probably need hands as big as The Hulk or you might end up pushing some wrong buttons.
The 6.9 inch display apart, the S20 Ultra can do a Hulk leap of 100X zoom with its three rear cameras, that have a primary, 108-megapixel sensor and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide option that captures a 123-degree field of view. Sounds impressive huh? But here’s where you wished you had Iron Man instead.
Like the Hulk, the S20 Ultra can leap far but is unable to focus clearly once there and gets quite thick-headed. Anything beyond 10X zoom is blurred. Perhaps, if Samsung’s image processing software were as smart as Iron Man’s Jarvis (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System), you could get a good bang for all 6.9 inches and your Rs 92,999 bucks.
What you’re essentially shooting with is a 12-megapixel camera using technology that combines 9 pixels into one to give you a 108-MP image. Ideally that would mean brighter and sharper pictures, but what you get are an algorithmically modified softer-edged output.
Besides, those mega pix take up mega storage space, making the Hulk run out if you’re snapping up one too many shots. The front 40MP selfie camera would stretch out the storage space too. Unless you prefer to keep the resolution low enough not to show off every spot on your face.
Where the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra shines is in capturing moving images. The S20 Ultra’s 8K video capture is stunningly clear and the 120 Hz screen ensures fluid motion display. For a Hulk, the S20 Ultra is quite stable. Videos shakily shot are smoothened out by the image stabilizer.
But don’t anger the hulk with too many 8K clips at a go or it’s going to get too hot to handle. Beyond a minute of shooting, the Snapdragon 865 processor-enabled phone feels a bit warm.
Also, you’ll need an 8K TV to cast the video too, to get the best viewing experience. And while the phone is 5G enabled, you’ll have to wait for that telecom tech to roll out in India.
So, all other features being equal, such as reverse wireless charging, in-display fingerprint sensor and so on, and the Samsung Galaxy S20 being priced even higher than the game-changing folding display Galaxy Z Flip, you may be better off with the less macho Samsung Galaxy S20+ or S20.