- Samsung unveiled this Tuesday in San Francisco its new Galaxy S20 smartphones, available in 4G and 5G.
- Available in three references called S20, S20 + and S20 Ultra, the terminals will be marketed in France from March 13.
- Sold from 909 euros to 1,359 euros, they want to impose themselves on the field of photography and give the coup de grace to Huawei.
2020, the year of the S20! A year after its Galaxy S10 and S10 +, Samsung has just lifted the veil on its new premium smartphones, the Galaxy S20, S20 +, but also S20 Ultra. Available in 4G or even 5G, they will be marketed in France from March 13 and sold from 909 euros.
A more sober design
Immediate observation: the South Korean manufacturer visibly finished with its curved screens which characterized its S10. Pity. The S20s feature a more conventional design and are advanced with QHD + screens in 20: 9 format of 6.2 '' / 15.74 cm; 6.7 '' / 17.01 cm and 6.9 '' / 17.52 cm.
These screens are called Dynamic Amoled : under their surface is hidden a fingerprint reader. And they also have a blue light filter. Common to the three smartphones, the 10-megapixel front photo sensor is incorporated in a very discreet punch. Exit the famous "notch" which other high-end smartphones, such as Apple's iPhone 11, have still not got rid of.
New: the S20 have a display at 60 Hz (default) or 120 Hz. This is a characteristic that gamers will appreciate, since it implies more fluid images. OnePlus had made an argument for its OnePlus 7T Pro launched in October 2019: the Chinese smartphone offered a refresh of its screen up to 90 Hz. A new step is therefore taken by Samsung.
64 megapixel on the counter
The Galaxy S20 which will be the most sold will also be the most accessible: 909 euros. It's the same price as the Galaxy S10 launched a year ago. A sign that the permanent rise in prices for premium smartphones is marking time… As with the other S20s, Samsung first boasts of flawless photo quality, a speech that we often hear but that the manufacturer wants to justify with a few innovations.
To keep its promises in photos, the S20 is thus equipped with three rear modules. These are brought together in a somewhat prominent block, some of which already deplore the lack of integration. Thus come a 64-megapixel module dedicated to zoom and to what Samsung calls "sharp photos". Also: a 12-megapixel wide-angle module (like on the S10) and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle module. These features are shared by the Galaxy S20 + which, in addition, has a depth of field sensor.
Four pixels in one to bring in the light
For the famous "sharp photos" hammered by Samsung, it is once again the pixel binning technology that is called. Many smartphones, like Xiaomi's Mi 9 SE, have already adopted it. Here, the idea is not to take photos in 64 megapixels to make posters for printing. The goal is to use each of the four photosites (or sub-pixels) composing each pixel of the sensor to obtain brighter images in 16 megapixels (64/4). Now a classic technique.
It is by taking advantage of this trick that Samsung also evokes a 3x zoom "without loss of sharpness" (even if the optical zoom of the Galaxy S20 is "only" 2x). The S20 and S20 + finally claim a Night photo mode combining 30 photos to form only one which would be excellent. What we haven't been able to verify yet.
Single Take : photo and video lottery
On the other hand, we were able to briefly test a shooting mode called "Single Take". When triggered, the S20 shoots continuously for 10 seconds. No need to stay with your smartphone in your hand without moving, you can even sweep in front of your field of vision.
From then on, the S20 puts its processor to work and generates up to 13 photos and 7 videos by using artificial intelligence, color, black and white, filters, etc. Surprisingly, this allows for sometimes unexpected images. But we will take care to quickly sort it out so as not to unnecessarily clutter the memory of the smartphone with a plethora of useless images.
The 8K photo for hyper defined images
More relevant: the S20 and its little comrades offer video capture in 8K. It might sound like a complete manufacturer's delusion knowing that 8K televisions are only just starting to be marketed.
Here, the 8K is a new trick for capturing excellent quality photos. The idea? Take advantage of hyper-defined video images (7,680 x 4,320 pixels) to extract views with confusing clarity. We will come back to this in a future article.
The S20 Ultra and its 108 megapixels
For its part, the Galaxy S20 Ultra wants to go much further. 5G, it has four photo modules **. With its 108 megapixel sensor, the S20 Ultra will merge 9 sub-pixels into one to obtain brighter 12-megapixel (108/9) photos.
After Xiaomi's Mi Note 10, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is the second smartphone equipped with such a sensor. On the front, Samsung places a 40-megapixel sensor for selfies! But the idea is again to use the pixel binning technique to obtain extra photos, at night, in 10 megapixels (40/4).
Rising autonomy
There remains the question of the autonomy of the new Galaxy S20. Samsung is supporting its move upmarket for more and more efficient batteries: 4,000 mAh on the S20; 4,500 mAh on the S20 + and 5,000 mAh on the S20 Ultra. All models will be supplied with a 25 W fast charger supposed to provide up to 60% autonomy to smartphones in 30 minutes and a full charge in just over an hour. An optional 45W charger will be offered on the S20 Ultra. Note that Samsung which was still resisting with its S10 gives up for good the mini-jack 3.5 in favor of a single USB-C socket.
Huawei in the viewfinder
Pending further testing, the overall impression of the Galaxy S20 is positive. Samsung is working hard to boost the photo possibilities of its smartphones and perhaps take the place of Huawei smartphone champion in this field.
Indelicately with the United States, his rival is now forced to market his new smartphones, like the Mate 30 Pro without Google's services. And in fact, to reach a much smaller audience.
* S20 4G (909 euros) and S20 5G (1,009 euros) in gray, blue or pink. S20 + 4G (1,009 euros) and S20 + 5G (1,109 euros) in gray, black or blue. S20 Ultra 5G (1,359 euros) in gray or black.
** 108 megapixels; 48 megapixels (acting as 10x zoom without loss of sharpness, with the possibility of digital zoom up to 100x); 12 megapixel (ultra wide angle); + depth of field sensor.
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