Computer Shopper - UK (2020-07)

ISSUE389|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JULY2020 37

Exynos 990 processor,and it’s backed by
12GB of RAM, just as the S20 Ultra is.
Performance is very swift as aresult.
The S20+ scored 793 in Geekbench 5’s
single-core test and 2,738 in the multicore
test, ensuring snappyresponsiveness in any
task. It’s not as fast as the iPhone 11 Pro,
however,and it’s weird that the single-core
result is lower than that of the standard S20.
Forgaming, it’s clearly among the best.
Among the benefits of that 120Hz displayis
that, in games that support it, the onscreen
frame ratecan reach much higher than the
usual 60fps you get with phones that have
60Hz screens. In the onscreen Manhattan
GFXBench test, the S20+ achieved an average
frame rateof105fps, which is among the
highest we’ve ever seen in this test.
There’s more good news, too:
alongsidesuperb performance,battery
lifeistop notch. In our video rundown
test, with the displayset to 170cd/m^2
brightness and flight mode enabled,
the Samsung Galaxy S20+ lasted an
impressive 20h 12m. That’s nearly two
hours more than the Galaxy S20.
Bear in mind, however,thatthisresult
was obtained with the phone in its default
settings; that is, with the resolution set to
FHD+ and the refresh rateatthe more
standard 60Hz. Bump the settings up to
120Hz and you can expect that figure to
nose-dive by at least acouple of hours,
which is fine but not quiteasexcellent.

TEAM OF FOUR

There are three conventional camera
sensors on the rear of the Samsung
Galaxy S20+: azoom lens, astandard
wide-angle lens and an ultrawide-angle
lens. You’re notgetting the same
spectacular 100x Space Zoom as on the
S20 Ultra; instead, the zoom camera is
an f/1.8 64-megapixel 3x optical unit that
can digitally zoom to 30x. You’ll mostly
be using the main camera, however,and
that’s amuch more standard-looking
12-megapixel f/1.8 shooter,while the
ultrawide-angle camera captures at
12-megapixels and has an aperture of f/2.2.
The fourth andfinal sensor,which
sits just below the LED flash, is a

0.3-megapixel time of flightmodule that’s

used primarily formeasuring depth in a

scene so you can more accurately apply

background blur when editing.

In terms of performance,thiscamera

setup is good, if not quiteasfantastic as

the S20 Ultra’s or the iPhone 11 Pro’s. In a

side-by-side comparison of daylight shots

captured with the iPhone 11 Pro’s

12-megapixel camera ,wesaw alittle more

contrast and lower noise levels on the Galaxy

S20+, while the iPhone images looked a

touch more natural and neutral overall.

In low light, it’s adifferent story.This is

where the iPhone 11 Pro’s images come to

life; they’re more colourful, vivid and true

to lifeand, although the Samsung

smartphone’s shots look sharp and full of

detail, theyare duller and darker.

The ultrawide photographs, in good

light, are very good. There’s atouch more

stretched-out distortion in the corners

than on the iPhone 11 Pro but the image is,

overall, alittle cleaner and crisper with,

again, less noise.

RANGE FINDER

It’s the zoom where the S20+ begins to

claw back alead. You’re getting more

optical magnification with the S20+ than

the iPhone 11 Pro and, thus, more detail.

That said, neither handset’s photos

are particularly pleasant to look at when

using extreme zoom. Even if you zoom

in only by afactor of 10, photos look

mushy and lacking in detail.

Video recording is asimilar story.

Just like the S20 Ultra, the Samsung

Galaxy S20+ gives you the ability to

record in 8K resolution at 30fps, which

looks great if you use atripod or a

gimbal (stabilisation isn’t available at this

resolution). However,viewing this footage

is only practical if you own an 8K TV.

Again, you’re better off shooting in 4K,

which is also packed with detail, but even

here there are limitations. While you can

shoot at asmooth 60fps, you’re limited to

30fpsifyou want astabilised shot. The

iPhone 11 Pro,bycomparison, can shoot at

4K in 60fps fully stabilised.

Elsewhere,there are some nice features

to playaround with in the camera app,

notably the Single Take function, which

captures aseriesofvideo clips and still

images from aquick panofthe camera, then

presents them all in atiled view.

Overall, the camera arrangement is abit of

amixed bag. Photos are better than those of

rivals like the OnePlus 7T Pro foroverall image

quality but, if you’re buying aphone purely

forthe camera anddon’t have apreference

foreither Apple or Android, we’d recommend

the iPhone 11 Pro as the superior option.

VALUED MEMBER

If you do want to stick with Android, however,

the Samsung Galaxy S20+ still makes afine

choice.The display, features,battery lifeand

performance are all suitably high quality and,

although the camera isn’t the best in the

business, it’s still capable of taking very nice

shots if you stick to optical zoom. You’ll be

happywith the results, either way.

Ultimately,you’ll be choosing the

Samsung Galaxy S20+ because you want

the best an Android phone has to offer but

can’t quitejustify the £200 extra forthe Ultra.

If you do that, you won’t be disappointed.

Just don’t expect to be blown away.

JonathanBray

Battery life

0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100

See page 100for performancedetails

PROCESSOROcta-core2.73GHz Samsung Exynos 990•

SCREENSIZE6.7in•SCREENRESOLUTION3,200x1,440•

REARCAMERAS12 megapixels, 64 megapixels, 12 megapixels,

0.2megapixels•STORAGE128GB•WIRELESSDATA5G•

NFCYes•DIMENSIONS162x74x7.8mm•WEIGHT186g•

OPERATINGSYSTEMAndroid 10•WARRANTYOneyear

RTB•DETAILSwww.samsung.com•PARTCODE

SM-G986BZKDEUA

SPECIFICATIONS

20h12m

Thedisplay,features,

batterylifeandperformance

areallsuitablyhigh

qualityand,althoughthe

cameraisn’tthebestinthe

business,it’sstillcapableof

takingveryniceshots