The Samsung Galaxy S20 is more than an evolution of the Galaxy S10. The big jump in the name is therefore absolutely justified. Samsung basically touched everything that is important. The 120 Hertz display is a dream. The display on the 6.2-inch diagonal screen is excellent and for the first time you have the feeling that you have an absolutely smooth Samsung phone in your hand. The Exynos 990, which is supported by 8 GB RAM, works very quickly.

It may not be the best choice with regard to the Snapdragon 865, but the disadvantages in performance were not noticed in normal use. I particularly liked the camera. Photos are almost always successful in automatic mode and the 30x zoom offers new possibilities. Samsung also does not allow itself to be gross mistakes in the software – some problems have now been fixed by an update.

Battery Life

The battery life of the Samsung Galaxy S20 gives an ambiguous result – and that should have two reasons. First of all, the Exynos 990 should not work as efficiently as the Snapdragon 865 from Qualcomm, which is installed in the USA, for example. In addition, the 120-Hertz display sucks on the battery, which has grown larger at 4,000 mAh compared to the Galaxy S10, but still only has a satisfactory runtime. You can get through the day well, but not much more. Display-on times from 4 to 4.5 hours are realistic.

With intensive use while playing, of course, less. After all, the battery is quickly recharged by the quick charger. Of course, you could also use the Galaxy S20 at 60 Hertz and thus increase the runtime a bit – but then one of the greatest advantages of the new generation would be eliminated and you could simply grab the cheaper Galaxy S10. A bit of a shame is the limitation to 128 GB of internal storage. There is more with the S20 Plus or Ultra.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S20 convinced in the test and left a very good impression. In particular, the relatively compact external dimensions and the improvements in the display, performance and camera are clearly visible and noticeable. If you want to strike, you should wait for the first drop in prices. At a slightly cheaper price, the Galaxy S20 is an absolute recommendation. The suggested retail price of 899 euros, on the other hand, is set a little too high.

Display

The display of the Samsung Galaxy S20 measures 6.2 inches diagonally and resolves in QHD (3,200 x 1,440 pixels). The pixel density is very high at 564 ppi, the display is sharp and detailed. Thanks to the 20: 9 format, the smartphone is also easy to grip. One of the innovations in the S20 series is the optional refresh rate of 120 Hertz. This makes the device even more responsive – moving elements such as text are even sharper and easier to read when scrolling. We find the mode very nice, but the higher Hz rate can only be used in the Full HD Plus resolution activated as standard – and the battery life is noticeably reduced, more about that in a moment.

When it comes to color representation, buyers do not have to make any compromises. Thanks to OLED technology, colors appear strong and contrasts strong. In our test, the Samsung Galaxy S20 covers around 153 percent of the standard RGB color space. The screen fully maps the DCI-P3 color space, which is important for HDR videos. The contrast value of 153: 1 is also at an upper level.

Last but not least, the display brightness in the test is excellent: If the external lighting conditions require it, the S20 automatically increases the maximum brightness to a phenomenal 1,004 cd / m². This ensures good readability even under direct sunlight. When you play an HDR video, the screen also turns up fully. In short: the presentation leaves nothing to be desired.

Great photos – under all lighting conditions

Galaxy S20 users have to make minimal cuts compared to the Plus and Ultra variants only in terms of camera equipment. In contrast to the other two S20 models, the Galaxy S20 only comes with three instead of four camera lenses on the back. The manufacturer has saved the time-of-flight sensor (ToF sensor) for a better bokeh effect on the smallest model. Very few users should really miss it.

Also on board are the 12-megapixel main camera with an f / 1.8 aperture, the 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens with an f / 2.2 aperture and the 64-megapixel telephoto camera with an f / 2.0 aperture. The latter disappointed on paper with its meager optical zoom factor of just 1.1, but the results of the 3x hybrid standard zoom are still impressive. In a direct comparison, the zoom images look better than those of the Galaxy S10 even at twice the magnification, although the latter has a real double zoom. In order to obtain this impressive result, Samsung relies on a combination of optical zoom and clever cropping of the high-resolution zoom photos – so that you ultimately also get 12 megapixel pictures. Both the main camera and the zoom lens are optically stabilized.

We are very impressed by the photo quality: under good lighting conditions there is hardly any reason for criticism, but even under difficult lighting conditions the flagship shows hardly any weaknesses: You can get recognizable details, good color rendering and a pleasantly brightened picture even when you take pictures in dim light. Only the image noise increases here.

Also welcome features are the so-called single-take mode (more on this in the Galaxy S20 Plus test) and the option to record videos with a resolution of up to 8K at 24 frames per second. The latter is only recommended if you have an 8K TV at home.

In addition, selfie friends will get their money’s worth with the S20. The 10-megapixel front camera with f / 2.2 aperture has an auto focus. Unfortunately, such a feature is still missing in most other smartphones, regardless of the price range. The S20 thus ensures a constantly sharp image with the front camera. And whoever deactivates the preset beauty mode even looks natural.

Advantages:

• Excellent 120 Hertz display
• High performance
• Very good build quality
• Contemporary camera with many options
• Well thought out software and quick updates
• Relatively light and compact

Disadvantage:

• Satisfactory battery life
• Fingerprint sensor in the display hardly improved
• No 3.5 mm jack socket
• Price
• Only available with 128 GB