Samsung Galaxy S20+ Review: Stunned the iPhone fanatic in me

Samsung might be launching a number of smartphones every year, but the ones that are the most anticipated are the ones that fall in the Galaxy S and Note series. Continuing its custom of launching new members in the respective series (with the urge to produce amazing flagships), the South Korean major held its Unpacked 2020 event and gave us the Galaxy S20 series. With a change in nomenclature (a leap from 10 to 20), Samsung aimed to introduce smartphones that could possibly rock its S Galaxy with high bets on the cameras, display and a lot more.

Out of the three members of the Galaxy S20 lineup (the Galaxy S20, the Galaxy S20+ and the Galaxy S20 Ultra), I got the middle child to use. Stacked with a lot of highlighting features, the Galaxy S20+ is Samsung’s strive to remain in the high-end segment (of course, with the Note series). However, is it the perfect Samsung flagship starter for 2020? Read on my review to find out.

Samsung Galaxy S20+ Review: Design

The Galaxy S20+ speaks elite to me. On the very first look, it told me loud and clear that it belongs to the premium smartphone category. Giving me a break from the usual black tones, the Cosmic Gray pleases my eyes. Other colour options include Cosmic Black and Cloud Blue.

The design, in general, is a bit of monotony; there is the same rectangular, left-aligned camera module as the recent Samsung smartphones. However, the premium feel is quite prominent. Another thing that attracted me is the lightweight it has. A phone’s weight is the first thing I notice and the S20+ passed this test for me. The device acts an amalgamation of less weight and good looks and this is where it qualifies as the Galaxy S series’ member.

Aesthetically-speaking, the Galaxy S20+ (with a metal body) has a rectangle camera setup at the back and the ‘Samsung’ branding placed at the bottom. Minimal and classy. The front part has a notch at the top and no room for bezels. The head of the device has a SIM slot and a microphone while the chin has the USB Type-C port, speaker grille, and another microphone. The left side has nothing on it and the right side has both the power on/off button and the volume rocker.

Samsung chose not to experiment much with the high-end Galaxy S20 series and adapted the design ethos it has been following for a while now. While the same design can take you on the disappointment trip, it brings you right back to your room where you are holding the Samsung Galaxy S20+ and you somehow can’t help but feel good about it. At least, that’s what I felt when I met it for the very first time!

Samsung Galaxy S20+ Review: Display

The Galaxy S20+ has its first USP in the form of its display. The device gets a 6.7-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED display with HDR 10+. The highlighting part you ask, it supports a 120Hz refresh rate and Oh boy! it feels so good. This is the very first time I got a chance to use a display with a 120Hz high refresh rate and I could feel my fingering caressing the display. Scrolling was as smooth as butter. When anyone says high refresh rates make displays smooth, they do not lie. My scrolling was made much easier because of the 120Hz display. Of course, you get an option to switch between 120Hz and 60Hz, as you may like it. As for the various display settings, the Galaxy S20+ supports Light and Dark modes, Adaptive Brightness, Blue Light Filter, Screen mode (Vivid or Natural), Accidental Touch Protection, Touch Sensitivity, and the Easy mode for a simple home screen UI.

The display is known as the Infinity-O display due to the dot-notch in the middle. This ensures lesser bezels and more scope for convenient usage. This section doesn’t require a special mention. We know no one does displays better than Samsung and my recent time with the Samsung smartphones has made this point quite strong. It’s always eye-pleasing to view content on a Samsung phone and the Galaxy S20+ takes this experience to a different level. Be it content on YouTube or a 4K video, I loved the vivid colours produced. I compared the device with my iPhone 11 Pro and while both devices were equally good, the Samsung baby gave out brighter content, which will be liked by all.

Another aspect of the display is the in-display fingerprint scanner that is one of the attractions of the smartphone. The fingerprint is pretty easy to register and is a snappy one; something I expected. It unlocks the smartphone in less than a second; you just need to place your finger at the right spot on the screen. This can get a bit tricky in cases you need to unlock the device in a rush. For this, you get to enable the fingerprint scanner icon on the display (from the settings) by just tapping anywhere on it. This way, you know where the sensor is and you can unlock the device in a jiffy.

Samsung Galaxy S20+ Review: Cameras

This is one area I was all excited to use and Samsung has equally put its stakes in this department. If not a 108MP main camera or a 100x zoom, the S20+ provides us with a 64MP quad-camera setup, 30x zoom, 8K video recording and a bunch of camera features, which are intriguing at the very first sight. Before we dive into how all these performed, you should know that the Galaxy S20+ has five cameras in its galaxy. We get a 64MP telephoto lens, a 12MP Ultra-Wide lens, a 12MP Wide lens, a DepthVision camera, and a 10MP front-facing snapper. In terms of the various camera capabilities, there is the Night mode, Super slow-motion videos, Food mode, Time Lapse, Live Focus (for the bokeh you need), Super Steady mode, and the new Single Take mode. The Single Take mode takes a couple of videos and photos on its own with the help of AI and chooses the one that is deemed best by it.

The Galaxy S20+ brought out the best from its camera bag when I needed to shoot and take pictures. During my review period, I took a refreshment trip to Mussoorie and the S20+ came along. The scenic views in almost all the lighting conditions were aptly captured by the S20+ cameras. The images turned out bright (this time with lesser processing) and the intricate details came out well. When we talk about the picturesque views, the imagination is all about clear blue sky clubbed with every possible colour in the scene. That’s exactly what the S20+ is capable of capturing. Mountain views looked just WOW to me and Oh, the bouncy clouds you want to hop on? They were there too. The Ultra-Wide lens worked quite well without any colour-shift, much like it did for me when I used its predecessor -- the Galaxy S10+. However, the cameras couldn’t produce natural images for me. I compared it again with my iPhone 11 Pro and the Apple device was able to capture more natural colours and slightly better details. A detailed camera comparison will be out soon, so stay tuned to this space.

The Live Focus creates decent bokeh-ed images. You also get the option to adjust the bokeh effect after the image is taken and this one is a needed one since Apple also has it. Among other camera features, the Food mode makes a significant difference in the way food looks on your Instagram feed. The popping colours made my burger delicious AF and food photography can be a delight with the S20+. The Single Take feature tries to take control of what the ‘best shots’ we want to click and feels like a good addition.

However, the camera aspects that failed to make a mark for me are the night mode, the 30x zoom, and some part of the front camera. The night mode has a decent pace of taking photos but it doesn’t follow what it should be doing. It simply throws light in the picture, thus, increasing the exposure and fails to bring out the details. The 30x zoom is a good attempt to zoom in on far-away areas. But, the result is a grainy picture, which needs some improvement. As for the front camera. The 10MP snapper was fairly decent but couldn’t help but produce processed images. The Ultra-Wide mode and the Live Focus upfront worked fine too but I still expect it to not beautify much.

Among others, the videos were the highlight. 8K videos finally came to a smartphone and I wasn’t disappointed. You also get an option to shift to the Full HD resolution if you don’t intend to shoot on 8K since its slightly more data hogging. Another interesting element is the ability to take 33MP pictures from the 8K videos, that helps you take any moment in a video in a picture form. However, the images aren’t that detailed. The Super Steady mode has always been decent and the Galaxy S20+ is no different for it.

Samsung Galaxy S20+ Review: Spec Sheet

Here are the Samsung Galaxy S20+ specifications:

Samsung Galaxy S20+ Review: Performance, Battery, OS

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ packs an Exynos 990 processor for India and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor for other markets. It carries out tasks with the help of 8GB of RAM and gets 128GB of internal storage, which can be expanded by up to a massive 1TB via a memory card. 

The S20+ aims to be the perfect flagship for you this year and it is totally there. The usage is smooth and lag-free even when there are numerous apps running in the background. During my time with the device, I hardly saw it stammer. Whether it was the video-binging night or just the mood to window shop on my favourite online shopping platforms (I ended up purchasing the items though!) every task was fulfilled with great ease. Instagramming rituals, Snapchat streaks, Facebooking, clicking truckload of images, playing PUBG Mobile or any game for timepass -- all this happened quite effortlessly. Heavy game graphics were more than decent and messaging was convenient too. With a decent internal storage option of 128GB and the ability to expand, you won’t be worried about the data you have on your smartphone.

The 4,500mAh battery that fuels the S20+ had my heart. On my trip, with all the image-clicking and the 120Hz display enabled, my smartphone died after two days. I charged it at the very beginning of my trip and charged it again at the end of it. It proved to be the perfect travel partner and for the ones (much like me) who need to click away every possible scenery, this smartphone is the option for you. The cherry on the top? It charges quickly too (in less an hour), thanks to the Super Fast Charging tech. Additionally, it supports wireless charging and the wireless PoweShare that was apt for my Galaxy Watch when I was using it.

The device runs Samsung UI 2.0 based on Android 10 and as stated in my previous Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy M31 reviews, the usage is pretty smooth. I didn’t face any problems as such and it is quite clean. There are several features such as the dark mode, the Focus mode, the ability to link the device with Windows, Samsung Pay, a couple of gestures to use, and a lot more. Among others, the facial recognition was decent and the audio output (coupled with AKG USB Type-C enabled earphones) was good. However, the audio felt tinny to me. Also, we get IP68 water and dust resistance and it worked absolutely fine when it drizzled for a while. 

Samsung Galaxy S20+ Review: Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ (a jump from the Galaxy S10+) is also a jump to enable improved features for the users. With amazing battery life, smoother-than-ever display, and surprising camera performance, the S20+ stunned the iPhone fanatic in me, precisely. At Rs. 73,999, it doesn’t appear pricey to me. Yes, there is a need for some improvements; a better night mode, selfie shooter, and more natural photos, but it mostly ticks all the boxes and that’s all we need when we wish to go for a premium Android device.

For those upgrading from an existing Samsung phone or the ones trying their hands at the high-end Samsung experience, this is the right option to consider. But if you don’t want to spend a lot, going for the Galaxy S10 series isn’t a bad option after all.

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