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This article will be regularly updated with new information on the Samsung Galaxy S20 series (this is a preview article) — both official teasers and credible leaks, rumors, and insider claims — as it becomes available in the run-up to the release of the upcoming Android smartphone. The last update was made on February 3.
Samsung is expected to announce its new flagship smartphones on February 11. The company had already scheduled that press conference in San Francisco. Samsung did not confirm the name of its smartphones just yet, but everything points to the ‘Galaxy S20’ naming for the series. It seems like the company will jump from the Galaxy S10 straight to the Galaxy S20, skipping everything in between.
This Korea-based company is expected to introduce three different phones as part of this series. The expected devices are the Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra. That is still not set in stone, as all of this information is based on rumors and leaks, but that is what’s expected to happen. Samsung seems to have great plans for the Galaxy S20 series, and in this preview, we’ll shed out the details. We’ll try to be as informative as possible, and include all major information that surfaced thus far, and continue updating the article as well, until the launch.
All three Galaxy S20 phones are expected to offer similar designs
The Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra are all expected to offer similar designs. All three phones will probably be made out of metal and glass. The Galaxy S20 and S20+ will combine aluminum with glass, while the S20 Ultra will utilize stainless steel and glass. They will include a display camera hole at the top of the display, and that hole will be centered. Bezels will be minimal on all three devices. The bottom bezel will be the thickest one, and it will be only a hair thicker than the rest of them.
The camera module will be located in the top-left corner of the back side on all three phones. A headphone jack will not be included in the package, nor will the Bixby button. The physical keys will be placed on the right-hand side, as the volume up and down buttons will sit above the power / lock key. The back side of all three phones will be curved on the sides, and you’ll notice Samsung’s logo on the back.
Speaking of curves, don’t expect the Galaxy S20 series displays to be as curved as they were on the Galaxy S10 and S10+. One of the latest leaks suggests that Samsung plans to use a 2.5D curved glass panel on top of Galaxy S20 displays. Those displays may be ever so slightly curved, but not by much.
The Galaxy S20 Ultra is expected to be the largest of all three Galaxy S20 units. The Galaxy S20 will be the smallest, it seems. All three phones are expected to be larger than their predecessors, the Galaxy S10e, S10, and S10+. They will offer a taller aspect ratio as well, in case you were wondering.
Displays on all three phones will be curved, but the curvature won’t be the same. The Galaxy S20 Ultra’s display will be most curved, while the Galaxy S20’s will be least curved. It’s also worth noting that while the S20 Ultra’s display will be most curved, it will be less curved than the panel on the Galaxy S10.
Both renders and real-life images already leaked
The Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra already appeared in renders. First such renders leaked back in November last year, and at that point, the phones were still considered to be called the Galaxy S11e, S11, and S11+. That obviously changed up to this point, but the design did not, at least not by much, only camera setups look a bit different. Those renders came from @OnLeaks, a fairly trusted source. Those renders reaffirm what we talked about in the last chapter, all three phones will offer similar design, which was to be expected.
The second set of renders appeared in January, and these are basically showing off the final design of the Galaxy S20 series. You can see the phones in Cosmic Black, Cosmic Blue, Cosmic Gray, and Cosmic Pink color variants. Do note that not all Galaxy S20 variants will be available in this color options. The regular Galaxy S20 will not ship in Cosmic Black, for example, at least according to rumors. We’ll see once Samsung announces them, until then, check out the gallery below.
Now, in terms of real-life images, only the Galaxy S20+ showed its face thus far. These live images got shared by Max Weinbach, and they somewhat reaffirm leaked renders, and give us a good preview of what the Galaxy S20+ will look like. The camera module on the back will have a slightly different sensor alignment than what renders suggested. Other than that, everything is comparable. This seems to be the final design of the phone, and the rest of the lineup will not look much different.
The official Galaxy S20 accessories also surfaced
Samsung’s official Galaxy S20 series accessories also surfaced. The Protective Standing Cover, LED View Cover, and Clear View Cover appeared. You can see all three of those accessories in the gallery below. Those cases may seem familiar to you if you’ve used them with the Galaxy S10, or something of the sort. The Protective Standing Cover offers the most protection, and comes with a kickstand. The other two are flip covers, and offer more utility. You can read more about those by clicking here.
Top-of-the-line specifications in tow
All three Galaxy S20 smartphones will be powerful devices, needless to say. The Galaxy S20 Ultra will stand above the other two in terms of specs, though, at least according to rumors and leaks. Let’s talk about what they all three will have in common, when it comes to specifications, shall we.
All three Galaxy S20 smartphones will be fueled by the Snapdragon 865 SoC. That is the latest offering from Qualcomm, and it seems like Samsung’s Exynos 990 SoC may not even be used this time around. If Samsung ends up utilizing it for the Galaxy S20, it will be in less markets than it did before. The Snapdragon 865 is rumored to be included in Europe, the US, and Chinese variants of the Galaxy S20… amongst others.
All three phones will ship with 120Hz displays. However, 120Hz refresh rate will not be available if your phone is set to QHD+ resolution. You will only be able use 120Hz refresh rate with fullHD+ resolution, and possibly lower. That’s not all, though. The Galaxy S20 handsets will be set to 60Hz refresh rate out of the box. It remains to be seen if their resolution will be maxed out at first, though.
Three 4G variants, and two 5G models
Do note that the Snapdragon 865G will fuel 5G variants of the Galaxy S20. Speaking of which, Samsung is rumored to release three 5G models, and two 4G variants. The Galaxy S20 and S20+ will, allegedly, arrive in both 4G and 5G flavors. The Galaxy S20 Ultra, on the other hand, will be offered in a 5G model only.
4G LTE variants of both the Galaxy S20 and S20+ have surfaced. Model numbers of both devices popped up on Samsung’s support page in Latin America. The listing has been removed soon after it popped up, but it pretty much confirms 4G LTE variants. The S20 Ultra LTE variant did not surface anywhere, and everything points in the direction of a sole 5G model.
Android 10 will be included in all Galaxy S20 units, along with Samsung’s custom UI. An ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner will also be a part of the package, in case you were wondering. Stereo speakers are expected, as is your standard facial scanning via the front-facing camera.
12GB of RAM will be the standard in Galaxy S20 handsets
The Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra are all rumored to include at least 12GB of RAM. That will be the standard configuration for all three phones, it seems. The Galaxy S20 Ultra is expected to launch in a 16GB RAM iteration as well, though. The Galaxy S20 and S20+ will be available in a 12GB RAM version only, it seems. By the way, this is LPDDR5 RAM that we’re talking about here. All three phones are also expected to utilize UFS 3.0 flash storage.
Rumors are also claiming that the Galaxy S20 Ultra will include an SD card slot (up to 1TB). The device will be offered in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options. A 5,000mAh battery has also been mentioned, along with 45W fast wired charging (0-100-percent in 74 minutes).
Camera setups look promising
A detailed look at the Galaxy S20 series cameras has been provided by Ice Universe, a well-known tipster. He actually shared camera info for all three Galaxy S20 phones, and that goes for both front-facing and rear-facing cameras, and allow us all to preview what to expect. We’ll talk about the front side first, as all three Galaxy S20 handsets will include the very same camera on the front.
You can expect to get a 10-megapixel camera here. We’re looking at Sony’s IMX375 sensor with 1.22um pixel size. Now, in terms of rear-facing cameras, the regular Galaxy S20 will have the least amount of cameras. It will include three cameras on the back. The phone will sport a 12-megapixel (Sony’s IMX555 sensor, 1.8um pixel size) main camera. In addition to that, you’ll get a 64-megapixel (ISOCELL S5KGW) zoom camera, and a 12-megapixel (ISOCELL S5K2LA) ultra-wide camera.
The Galaxy S20+, on the other hand, will include those three cameras on the back as well. In addition to them, however, this phone will also sport a ToF (Time-of-Flight) camera as well. That camera will pack in Sony’s IMX516 sensor.
The Galaxy S20 Ultra will have the most powerful setup, at least on paper. It will include a 108-megapixel (ISOCELL S5KHM1) main camera. That is a sensor that Samsung made especially for this phone. A 48-megapixel (Sony’s IMX586 sensor, 0.8um pixel size) will be used as a dedicated zoom camera. A 44-megapixel (ISOCELL S5KGH1, 0.7um pixel size) ultrawide camera will also be included. On top of all that, the company will implement a ToF camera, using Sony’s IMX518 sensor. Do note that the Galaxy S20 Ultra is said to include a periscope-style camera, so that 48-megapixel sensor will probably be utilized for that, but we’ll see.
The S20 Ultra’s rear camera module actually leaked as well. You can check it out in the image provided down below. You can see that the company will combine black and gray colors for this camera setup, and you can also see the 100x zoom branding. The periscope camera will be located in the bottom-left corner, it seems. The LED flash will be located in the top-right corner. Samsung also trademarked something called ‘Super ISO’, to that feature may also be included. Read more about it here.
Pricing & availability
So, many of you are probably wondering how much will the Galaxy S20 series cost. Well, Max Weinbach actually shared “basically confirmed” price tags for the devices. Those price tags are applicable for the 5G variants of the three devices.
He claims that the Galaxy S20 5G will cost $1,000, while the ‘Plus’ model will set you back $1,100 in the US. The Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G will be the most expensive of them all, of course. That handset will start at $1,300, though the 16GB RAM variant will be even more expensive.
The Galaxy S20 series will become official on February 11 in San Francisco. Those devices are expected to go on sale on March 6. That info has been revealed by the reservation site for the upcoming device. It applies for the US, at least.
That is pretty much all the relevant info that we could include in this Galaxy S20 preview. Do note that some smaller details may have been missed, as there’s been a ton of information circulating the Internet.