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Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Galaxy S20

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Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Galaxy S20

53 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy S9
VS
68 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Galaxy S9
Samsung Galaxy S20

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 5.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S9 (with Exynos 9 Octa 9810) that was released on February 25, 2018, against the Samsung Galaxy S20, which is powered by Exynos 9 Octa 990 and came out 24 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S9
  • Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S20
  • Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
  • Comes with 1000 mAh larger battery capacity: 4000 vs 3000 mAh
  • Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
  • Shows 19% longer battery life (24:28 vs 20:36 hours)
  • 43% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (652K versus 457K)
  • The rear camera has a 1.1x optical zoom
  • Has a 0.4 inch larger screen size
  • More recent OS version: Android 13 versus 10
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
  • Delivers 24% higher peak brightness (821 against 663 nits)
  • Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
  • Thinner bezels – 5.9% more screen real estate

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S20 crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
Galaxy S9
vs
Galaxy S20

Display

Type Super AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 5.8 inches 6.2 inches
Resolution 1440 x 2960 pixels 1440 x 3200 pixels
Aspect ratio 18.5:9 20:9
PPI 568 ppi 563 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 658 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10 Yes, HDR10+
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Corning Gorilla Glass 6
Screen-to-body ratio 83.6% 89.5%
Display features - Always-On Display - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space - 99.8%
PWM 240 Hz 242 Hz
Response time 7 ms 8.5 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
Galaxy S9
663 nits
Galaxy S20 +24%
821 nits

Design and build

Height 147.7 mm (5.81 inches) 151.7 mm (5.97 inches)
Width 68.7 mm (2.7 inches) 69.1 mm (2.72 inches)
Thickness 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) 7.9 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight 163 g (5.75 oz) 163 g (5.75 oz)
Waterproof IP68 IP68
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors Black, Gold, Gray, Blue, Purple Gray, Blue, Red
Fingerprint scanner Yes, rear Yes, in-display
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Tests of Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S20 in the benchmarks
SoC
Chipset Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810 Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 990
Max clock 2700 MHz 2700 MHz
CPU cores 8 (4 + 4) 8 (2 + 2 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.9 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 4 cores at 2.9 GHz: Exynos M3 		- 4 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 2 cores at 2.5 GHz: Cortex-A76
- 2 cores at 2.73 GHz: Exynos M5
L3 cache - 2 MB
Lithography process 10 nanometers 7 nanometers
Graphics Mali-G72 MP18 Mali-G77 MP11
GPU shading units 324 704
GPU clock 572 MHz 550 MHz
FLOPS ~370.6 GFLOPS ~1126 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
Galaxy S9
457170
Galaxy S20 +43%
652761
CPU 141516 185116
GPU 136666 195014
Memory 82698 144113
UX 92188 126679
Total score 457170 652761
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Max surface temperature 39.2 °C 49.7 °C
Stability 93% 51%
Graphics test 13 FPS 25 FPS
Graphics score 2272 4221
PCMark 3.0
Web score 5108 8843
Video editing 5490 6024
Photo editing 9516 30239
Data manipulation 5720 8544
Writing score 6311 11877

Memory

RAM
RAM size 4 GB 8 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR5
Memory clock 1794 MHz 3200 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 64 GB 128 GB
Storage type UFS 2.1 UFS 3.0
Memory card MicroSD MicroSD
Memory card max size Up to 400 GB Up to 1000 GB

Software

Operating system Android 8.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 10) Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)
ROM One UI 2,1 One UI 4.1
OS size 14 GB 20.1 GB

Battery

Capacity 3000 mAh 4000 mAh
Max charge power 15 W 25 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes, Qi/PMA (10 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse charging No Yes, (wireless)
Fast charging Yes (40% in 30 min) Yes (100% in 75 min)
Full charging time 1:35 hr 1:15 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 06:04 hr 08:40 hr
Watching video 10:57 hr 10:04 hr
Gaming 02:42 hr 04:15 hr
Standby 70 hr 83 hr
General battery life
Galaxy S9
20:36 hr
Galaxy S20 +19%
24:28 hr

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera
Matrix 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4000 x 3000 4000 x 3000
Zoom Digital Optical, 1.1x
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No Up to 24FPS
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 240FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 960 FPS (720p) 960 FPS (720p)
Angle of widest lens - 120°
Lenses 1 (12 MP) 3 (12 MP + 64 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens - 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.5 - 2.4
- Focal length: 26 mm
- Pixel size: 1.4 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.55", Samsung SAK2L3 (ISOCELL CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- Optical stabilization
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Focal length: 26 mm
- Pixel size: 1.8 micron
- Sensor: 1/1.76", Samsung S5K2LD (ISOCELL CMOS)
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
- Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens - - 64 MP
- Aperture: f/2.0
- Pixel size: 0.8 micron
- Sensor: 1/1.72", Samsung Bright S5KGW2 (ISOCELL 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 S5K2LA (ISOCELL CMOS)
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode 		- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Selfie camera
Megapixels 8 megapixels 10 megapixels
Image resolution 3264 x 2448 2592 x 3872
Aperture f/1.7 f/2.2
Focal length 25 mm 26 mm
Pixel size 1.22 microns 1.22 microns
Sensor type ISOCELL CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.6" 1/3.2"
Video resolution 1440p at 30 FPS 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

DxOMark camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot 		- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.1 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG 		- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC * Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM * 2 2
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby Standby
eSIM support * No Yes
Hybrid slot Yes Yes
LTE Cat * 18 22
5G support No No

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack Yes No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness

Other

Category Flagship Flagship
Announced February 2018 February 2020
Release date March 2018 March 2020
SAR (head) 0.362 W/kg 0.28 W/kg
SAR (body) 1.18 W/kg 1.52 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint 		- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Compass
- Fingerprint
* Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Samsung Galaxy S20 is definitely a better buy.

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