Review | Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra full review: 108-megapixel camera and a stunning screen to compete with Chinese brands

Samsung has pushed the specs of its Galaxy S20 Ultra to the max as it looks to go head to head with Chinese brands’ premium phones; power users will love it

Its ‘periscope’ zoom lens is best in class, but its main camera has focusing issues; handset’s less curvy feel, and raised camera housing, may put buyers off

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The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra houses a 108-megapixel camera, the largest image sensor ever seen in a smartphone and a market-best screen – but focusing problems, a less-than-elegant design and a high price tag may put some buyers off. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 2:15pm, 11 Mar 2020Updated: 7:19pm, 12 Mar 2020

Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Ultra might just look like another update to the South Korean company’s long-running flagship handset series, but take a closer look and you will discover the latest release breaks with a number of Samsung conventions. It is a development that some would see as a gamble, especially given the stiff competition from Chinese smartphone makers.

Hardware and design

The screen edges on the S20 Ultra are noticeably less curved and the visual effect of the screen spilling off the sides is gone. There is still a rounding of edges for a smoother grip, but for the most part this 6.9-inch OLED display is a flat panel.

The flush camera module of years past has been replaced with an unsightly large bump on the back – needed to house a whopping 108-megapixel main lens, a “periscope” zoom lens that was first seen in Huawei and Oppo handsets, and the usual wide-angle and depth sensors. This camera array represents Samsung’s other departure from tradition.

The S20 Ultra is a giant phone with a bulky camera module housing four lenses. Photo: Ben Sin

Over the past few years, most Chinese brands have been chasing ever-higher-megapixel cameras. While a higher megapixel count on a traditional camera is a good thing, it is risky on a thin mobile device because the more pixels there are in an image, the more light is needed to fill them, and smartphone bodies have limited space to house light-absorbing image sensors.

This explains why legacy brands such as Apple, Google, LG, and even Huawei have opted not to jump on the bandwagon and launch 48-, 64-, and 108-megapixel sensors, while upstarts like OnePlus, Xiaomi and Vivo are gunning for them. Samsung has joined the Chinese upstarts and gone for a headline-grabbing high pixel count on the S20 Ultra.