Phone Comparisons: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy Note 10+

Samsungintroduced its new Galaxy Note 20 flagships quite recently. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is the most powerful handset that the company introduced, and we’re here to compare it to another ‘Note’ device. In this article, we’ll compare the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Galaxy Note 10+.

Needless to say, these devices are extremely powerful. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is the most powerful this year, while the Galaxy Note 10+ was the most powerful ‘Note’ in 2019. That phone still has a lot to offer, no doubt, and we’re here to see how it compares to its brand new sibling.

As per usual, we’ll compare the two phones across a number of categories. We’ll take a look at their design and display first, and then more to performance, battery, cameras, and audio. If you’d like to know whether the brand new Note 20 Ultra is worth all the extra cash, read on.

Specs

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: Design

When it comes to the design, they’re quite similar, from the front, at least. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has sharper edges, but not by much. Both have extremely thin bezels, and a centered display camera hole. That camera hole hosts a single camera, by the way. A curved display is also a part of both devices.

On the back, you’ll notice that the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra’s camera module is a lot larger than the Galaxy Note 10+’s. There’s a good reason for that, as this phone has a 108-megapixel main camera, and that’s a huge sensor. Its camera module also protrudes more on the back, than the one on the Galaxy Note 10+.

The physical buttons are all placed on the right-hand side of both devices. Both devices are made out of metal and glass, and they’re quite slippery. Considering that they’re also large, using a case may be a good idea. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is a bit taller than its sibling, while it’s also a bit thicker. They’re equally wide, though. They have a lot in common in this regard, while they both look really sleek.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: Display

When it comes to the display, both have fairly large panels. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra features a 6.9-inch display, while the Note 10+ includes a 6.8-inch one. Both of those panels are QHD+, though the one on the Note 20 Ultra is a bit higher in resolution due to a taller display aspect ratio (20:9 vs 19:9).

Both of those are Dynamic AMOLED displays, though the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra’s comes with a much higher refresh rate. It offers a 120Hz refresh rate, compared to the Galaxy Note 10+’s 60Hz refresh rate. On top of that, the Gorilla Glass 7 is placed on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, vs the Gorilla Glass 6 on the Note 10+. Both phones support HDR10+ content, however.

In terms of quality, both of these are high-end panels. They offer great viewing angles, great contrast, punchy colors, and deep blacks. Not many people will have complaints here. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra’s display does support a higher refresh rate, which results in a smoother experience overall. That’s why it technically has an edge in this comparison, that’s the main reason. You can’t go wrong with either, though.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: Performance

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is a more powerful handset than the Note 10+, on paper, of course. It delivers a more powerful processor, and faster storage, first and foremost. Now, does that equal a faster performance in real-life usage? Well, yes, but the difference is not that big, as the Galaxy Note 10+ still runs like a champ.

The Galaxy Note 10+ still delivers in pretty much every way when it comes to performance. That is not surprising considering its extremely powerful specs. Both of these phones can run the most demanding games without a problem. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra will load them a bit faster, but the performance won’t be that much different.

The same can be said for everything else you can run on your device. Apps will load a bit faster on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, and the usage will seem smoother due to that high refresh rate display (if you don’t set it to 60Hz). Multitasking is great on both devices, and that goes for pretty much everything else. These two are great performers, without a doubt.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: Battery

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra does come with a slightly larger battery pack than its sibling. It includes a 4,500mAh battery, compared to a 4,300mAh battery in the Galaxy Note 10+. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra does have a much higher refresh rate, though, but also a more battery-friendly SoC.

It is worth noting that you can’t force the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra to use QHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate at the same time, and that helps battery life. You can ask the device to auto-adjust, of course, so you’ll be using fullHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate most of the time. With those settings, you’ll get similar battery life to the Galaxy Note 10+, well, at least you should. That will depend on your usage, of course.

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Note 10+ can deliver 6+ hours of screen on time without a problem, for most users, at least. Running high-end games, and something similar to it will deplete the battery quicker, of course. Speaking of which, both devices support fast charging, both wired and wireless.

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra offers 25W wired fast charging, along with 15W wireless fast charging. 4.5W PowerShare (reverse wireless charging) is also included. The Note 10+, on the other hand, supports 45W fast wired charging, 15W fast wireless charging, and 9W reverse wireless charging.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: Cameras

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Galaxy Note 10+ have considerably different camera setups. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra boasts a 108-megapixel main camera, which is backed by a telephoto camera capable of providing 5x optical zoom, and much higher zoom using periscope tech. It also has an ultrawide camera, by the way.

The Galaxy Note 10+, on the other hand, comes with a more standard setup. It includes a 12-megapixel main camera, 12-megapixel telephoto camera (2x optical zoom), 16-megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 0.3-megapixel depth unit. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is capable of capturing more detail in its shots, and that is especially apparent in good lighting situations.

It is also quite noticeably better in low light. Both devices tend to offer more eye-catching images, they’re a bit heavy on the processing, but that’s something we’re used to seeing from Samsung. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra does have an edge in the camera department, but the Galaxy Note 10+ is no slouch. Focus is extremely fast on both devices, and they both produce great dynamic range, and well-balanced photos.

Audio

Both of these phones feature stereo speakers. Those speakers provide similar sound, to be quite honest. That’s not a bad thing, though, not at all, as the sound they produce is great. These speakers get pretty loud, and they’re not tiny at all. The distortion is basically not noticeable, even at high volumes.

Neither of the two devices has a headphone jack, but you can utilize their Type-C USB port, or hook up Bluetooth earphones. If you do that, you’ll notice that the sound is well-balanced on both. Both devices are good across the spectrum, though lows and mids are especially pronounced.