36 JULY2020|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE389
THEGALAXYS20+risks being the awkward
middle child ofSamsung’s 2020 flagship
phone range.Itisn’t as fully featured as the
top-of-the-range S20 Ultra (Shopper388)
and it’s more expensive than the standard
S20 (page 18), which has many of the
same features.
However,ofthe three,this is the phone
that gives you the best bang foryour buck
on paper: it’s cheaper than the S20 Ultra,
and has both alarger displayand bigger
battery than the S20, as well as 5G included
as standard. Its CPU, storage,water-
resistance and construction materials all
match those of the Ultra model, too.
The main features it lacks are the S20
Ultra’s 108-megapixel main camera sensor
and its 100x hybrid zoom. The Galaxy S20+
instead has a30x hybrid zoom (3x optical)
and a12-megapixel main camera, which
should be enough formostfolks.
LAYOFTHE BLAND
Design-wise,it’s slim and sleek enough,
measuring 7.8mm thick, 162mm tall and a
mere 74mm wide,and it’s also nice and light
at only 186g. Compared to an iPhone 11 Pro
Max it feels noticeably more lithe –taller,but
lighter and slimmer –which is quitethe
achievement given the Samsung’s 6.7in
displayis0.2in bigger.
However,there’s
nothing special about
the layout of
components and
buttons, and the
all-black model we
were sent is alittle
boring to look at.
It’s not even available
in aparticularly
alluring range of other
colours: just this,
‘cloud blue’and
‘cosmic grey’.What’s
more,while both the
rear and front are
coated with Gorilla
Glass 6, the rear glass
seems to be more
prone to picking up
unsightly fingerprints
and grease.
Perhaps the most
notable thing to pick
out is that the Bixby
button no longer sits,
SAMSUNG GalaxyS20+
★★★★★
£999•From http://www.samsung.com/uk
VERDICT
Premium displayquality,performance and batterylife
make this aviable alternative tothe Galaxy S20 Ultra
ANDROID 10 SMARTPHONE
unused, on the left
edge of the phone
–although it is now
activated by along
pressofthe power
button. Otherwise,it’s
all fairly standard stuff:
avolumerocker and
power button sit on
the right edge,the
dual-purpose SIM and
microSD card trayis
on the topedge,the
USBType-C port and
speaker grill are on the
bottom, and the selfie
camera peeks out
through aneat
hole-punch cutout
in the centre of the
displayjust like on the
Galaxy Note10+ (Shopper382). Youdon’t get
an SPen stylus here,however.
Elsewhere,the phone is equipped with
arange of suitably high-end features but,
again, nothing you wouldn’t expect from one
of 2020’s most anticipated smartphones.
There’s IP68 dust and water-resistance,which
grants submersion in 1.5m of water forupto
30 minutes. An under-screen fingerprint
reader and face
unlocking allows for
quick access without
having to tap in a
passcode.The phone’s
wireless chipset
supports 4G and 5G
connections along
with the latest flavour
of the super-fast Wi-Fi
standard, Wi-Fi 6, and
there’s Bluetooth 5as
well. There’s also
wireless charging and
reverse wireless
charging. This phone
pretty muchhas it all.
BRIGHT FUTURE
The screen is the main
thing that makes the
S20+ more expensive
than the Galaxy S20.
It’s 0.5in bigger
diagonally; that’s quite
alot in the realm of
smartphone screens.
Aside from that,
however,the
screensare similar
in specification.
Both use AMOLED
panels, ensuring
perfect black level
and contrast, and
both support HDR10+
with aclaimed 100%
coverage of the
DCI-P3 colour gamut.
Both have that
super-smooth 120Hz
refresh rate, too.
Our tests (and the
evidence of oureyes)
suggest that this is a
very good display
technically as well.
In the settings, you
have two different options: Natural, which
provides coverage of the sRGB gamut at
96.2%, and Vivid, which delivers acolour
gamut that’s closer to Rec.2020 than it is to
DCI-P3. Use this one forHDR playback.
Peak brightness is excellent, reaching
699cd/m^2 in normal use,and it’s afabulous
displayonwhich to watch your favourite
films and TV shows. Our testing also
revealed apeak brightness with HDR
material that reaches afar higher 1,209cd/m^2.
That’s beyond the spec of HDR10 and it
means HDR video material looks as it
should do,with deep,inkyblacks, subtly
distinguished darker tonesand blindingly
bright specular highlights.
As aside-by-side comparison with the
iPhone 11 Pro Max demonstrates, however,
Apple’s reproduction of HDR material is even
better.Notably,there’s amuch better balance
between dimmer parts of the onscreen image
and those bright highlights.
In day-to-dayuse this meansyou might
struggle to see what’s going on, particularly in
murkyHDR scenes, whereas that’s rarely the
case with the iPhone 11 Pro Max (and, by
extension, the iPhone 11 Pro). Awin forthe
iPhone on this count, although the Samsung
Galaxy S20’s displayisexceptionally good.
SMOOTHTHINGS OVER
As you’d expect from aflagship refresh,
the Samsung Galaxy S20+ is flush with
the very latest silicon. In the case of the UK
and European release of the phone,you’re
getting Samsung’s 7nm, 2.7GHz octa-core
