20 JULY2020|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE
ourvideorundowntest,theGalaxyS20lasted
18h 28m before needing torecharge,which is
rather good considering this was performed
at the phone’s default WQHD+ screen
resolution –albeit only at 60Hz.
Oddly,ifyou stick with the same
refresh ratebut drop the resolution
down to FHD+, you won’t notice much
of achange. Whereyou will find a
drastic difference,however, is if you
switch on the 120Hz setting, which
negatively affected the S20’s battery
lifebyfive hours in the same test.
ZOOM IN
Finally,let’s discuss the Galaxy S20’s
new camera capabilities. As it’s the
cheapest of the three phones, the
Galaxy S20 lacks the fourth depth-
sensing sensor foundonthe S20+
and S20 Ultra, though since this is
really only forartybokeh shots, it’s
the most expendable lens of the lot.
The other three sensors are exactly
the same as those of the S20+:
there’s a12-megapixel (f/1.8) main
lens, a12-megapixel (f/2.2) ultrawide
sensor and a64-megapixel (f/3.5)
telephotozoomsensor.
As they’re attached to a£
smartphone,it’s still fair to expect
them to stack up with the best.
And, when you consider the regular
iPhone 11 has only two cameras –
lacking the telephotozoomoption of
the Samsung –then you wouldn’t be
remiss forthinking the Galaxy S
already has it beat before you even
press the shutter.
However,while the Galaxy S20’s
suiteofcameras excel in afew areas,
theydon’t quitematch the sheer excellence of
the iPhone 11’s image and video captures. The
Galaxy S20 does slightly better at suppressing
noise in outdoor shots, but our test photos
also looked overexposed and strangely
candy-coloured, especially next to the
iPhone 11’s more naturalistic shots.
Apple’s handset also has the
advantage in low light. Shots taken
with the Galaxy S20 look drab when
placed side by side with the positively
vibrant images from the iPhone 11.
The differences are more slight
when you compare the two phones’
wide-angle images, however.
Both pictures are filled with detail,
although theybothstruggle abit
when it comes to distortion in the
farcorners of the frame.
Where Samsung really comes into
its own, however,isinthe S20’s
zooming capabilities. It maynot have
the 100x zoom of the S20 Ultra, but
it’s still capable of using acombination
of opticaland AI-digital techniques to
magnify up to 30x.
The resulting images at maximum
zoom are abit mixed, but there’s no
denying that this tech is quite
impressive.Wecan’t see there being
much need forzooming that farinto
theframe –you certainly won’t be
sending these shots off to be printed
on acushion –but since the iPhone 11
doesn’t have optical zoom at all, the
win goes to Samsung here.
SHAKY GROUND
Where Samsung really begins to
falter is in video-recording features.
TheGalaxy S20 has the ability to
record in 8K resolution –afirst for
smartphones –although this isn’t stabilised in
any waywhatsoever,and you need an 8K TV
to view the footageinits original resolution
anyway. If you want to stabilise your footage,
you have to dip the resolution down to 4K at
30fps, which is ashame because the iPhone 11
can record stabilised 4K footageat60fps.
Of course,the Samsung is currently
unmatched when it comes to sheer detail
captured at 8K, but when the resulting footage
is ashakymess, it’s simply not pleasant to
watch. Atripod or gimbal is absolutely
essential to make the footageusable.
Still, even if not all of the Galaxy S20’s
innovations work out well, its breadth of
features remains impressive.All things
considered, it’s not that farbehind the Galaxy
S20 Ultra, which costs £500 more; when you
think of this as asaving, with you still getting
the same processor and slick refresh rate, it
starts looking like apretty good deal.
The iPhone 11 is still the better buy overall,
with its only noteworthy disadvantage being
less storage space,but if you’d prefertostick
with Android, then the Samsung Galaxy S
is avery good option indeed.
NathanSpendelow
Batterylife
0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100
See page 100for performancedetails
PROCESSOROcta-core2.73GHz Samsung Exynos 990•
SCREENSIZE6.2in•SCREENRESOLUTION3,200x1,440•
REARCAMERAS12 megapixels, 64 megapixels, 12 megapixels•
STORAGE128GB•WIRELESSDATA4G•NFCYes•
DIMENSIONS152x69x7.9mm•WEIGHT163g•OPERATING
SYSTEMAndroid 10•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILS
http://www.samsung.com•PARTCODESM-G980FLBDEUA
SPECIFICATIONS
18h28m
