Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Apple iPhone XS

72 out of 100

57 out of 100

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.9-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (with Exynos 990) that was released on August 5, 2020, against the Apple iPhone XS, which is powered by Apple A12 Bionic and came out 23 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Differences
Review
Specs
Benchmarks
Battery life
Camera
Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
Comes with 1842 mAh larger battery capacity: 4500 vs 2658 mAh
Has a 1.1 inches larger screen size
The rear camera has a 5x optical zoom
Modern USB Type-C port
Shows 16% longer battery life (26:27 vs 22:46 hours)
Delivers 60% higher peak brightness (1025 against 641 nits)
Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1000GB
Fingerprint scanner
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
26% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (753K versus 600K)
Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone XS

Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
Weighs 31 grams less
Better grip in hands – the body is 6.3 mm narrower
11% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1310 and 1183 points

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Apple iPhone XS crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	OLED
Size	6.9 inches	5.8 inches
Resolution	1440 x 3088 pixels	1125 x 2436 pixels
Aspect ratio	19.5:9	19.5:9
PPI	496 ppi	458 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	Yes	No
Max rated brightness	600 nits	625 nits
HDR support	Yes, HDR10+	Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass Victus	Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio	91.7%	82.9%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3

RGB color space	96.9%	98.8%
PWM	245 Hz	240 Hz
Response time	6 ms	4.4 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Height	164.8 mm (6.49 inches)	143.6 mm (5.65 inches)
Width	77.2 mm (3.04 inches)	70.9 mm (2.79 inches)
Thickness	8.1 mm (0.32 inches)	7.7 mm (0.3 inches)
Weight	208 g (7.34 oz)	177 g (6.24 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Advanced cooling	Vapor chamber	-
Rear material	Glass	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	White, Black, Brown	Silver, Gold, Gray
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	No

Chipset	Samsung Exynos 990	Apple A12 Bionic
Max clock	2730 MHz	2490 MHz
CPU cores	8 (2 + 2 + 4)	6 (2 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 2.5 GHz: Cortex-A76 - 2 cores at 2.73 GHz: Exynos M5	- 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Tempest - 2 cores at 2.49 GHz: Vortex
L3 cache	2 MB	-
Lithography process	7 nanometers	7 nanometers
Graphics	Mali-G77 MP11	Apple A12 GPU
GPU shading units	704	256
GPU clock	800 MHz	1100 MHz
FLOPS	~1126 GFLOPS	~576 GFLOPS

CPU	211637	151927
GPU	216705	141208
Memory	152008	104587
UX	169293	200467
Total score	753550	600311

Max surface temperature	37.3 °C	44.8 °C
Stability	49%	63%
Graphics test	25 FPS	34 FPS
Graphics score	4249	5700

Web score	8916	-
Video editing	6869	-
Photo editing	28845	-
Data manipulation	8839	-
Writing score	10870	-

RAM size	8, 12 GB	4 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR4X
Memory clock	2750 MHz	2133 MHz
Channels	-	2

Storage size	256, 512 GB	64, 256, 512 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.1	NVMe
Memory card	MicroSD	No
Memory card max size	Up to 1000 GB	-

Operating system	Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)	iOS 12 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
ROM	One UI 5.0	-
OS size	34.7 GB	11.8 GB

Capacity	4500 mAh	2658 mAh
Max charge power	25 W	15 W
Battery type	Li-Po	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (15 W)	Yes, Qi (10 W)
Reverse charging	Yes, (wireless)	No
Fast charging	Yes (43% in 30 min)	Yes (50% in 60 min)
Full charging time	1:20 hr	2:40 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	08:59 hr	07:30 hr
Watching video	13:52 hr	09:19 hr
Gaming	04:58 hr	04:43 hr
Standby	74 hr	80 hr

Main camera
Matrix	108 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	12000 x 9000	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Optical, 5x	Optical, 2x
Flash	LED	Quad LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K video recording	Up to 24FPS	No
4K video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording	Up to 240FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	960 FPS (720p)	240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens	120°	-
Lenses	4 (108 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP + 0.3 MP)	2 (12 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 108 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.33", Samsung Bright S5KHM1 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Laser autofocus - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Apple iSight X (CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/3.0 - Focal length: 103 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Samsung S5K3M5 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization
Ultra-wide lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Samsung S5K2L3 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus	-
Depth lens	- 0.3 MP	-
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support
Samples	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra from DxOMark	-

Selfie camera
Megapixels	10 megapixels	7 megapixels
Image resolution	3872 x 2592	3088 x 2316
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	26 mm	32 mm
Pixel size	1.22 microns	1.12 microns
Sensor type	CMOS	CMOS
Sensor size	1/3.2"	-
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS	1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)	Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version	5.1	5
Bluetooth features	PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP	SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	No
USB version	3.2	2
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, NAVIC	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC *	Yes	Yes
Infrared port	No	No

Number of SIM *	2	1
Type of SIM card	Nano	Nano
Multi SIM mode	Standby	-
eSIM support *	Yes	Yes
Hybrid slot	Yes	No
LTE Cat *	20	16
5G support	Yes	No

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
Headphone audio jack	No	No
FM radio	Yes	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	August 2020	September 2018
Release date	August 2020	September 2018
SAR (head)	0.319 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	1.557 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
Sensors	- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Apple iPhone XS

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Apple iPhone XS

Key differences

Review

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Display

Design and build

Performance

Benchmarks

Memory

Software

Battery

Camera

DxOMark camera tests

Connectivity

Sound

Other

Conclusion