Samsung Note 20 Singapore Price, Specs and Reviews

Consumer Electronics manufacturer giant – Samsung, has announced the launch of its latest Note series flagship on Wednesday ( 5/8/2020 ). The Note series is the second flagship Samsung launched this year after the S20 series. Let us take a look at what the phone is like and how much it would cost you.

The new Note lineup introduces us with two devices – Samsung Note 20 and Samsung Note 20 Ultra 5G. There is no middle child or the rumored Note 20 Plus as to what we see in the S20 lineup. Although it is uncertain whether a Note 20 Lite is going to appear down the road. However, you can get your Samsung Note 20 in either a 4G LTE variant or a 5G variant where both come at a different price point.

During the Samsung Unpacked 2020, a new generation Galaxy Watch, a new Galaxy Z Fold 2 ( Yes, Samsung seems to have decided that its foldable phones will use “Galaxy Z” as the moniker ), and a new Galaxy Tab S7 was introduced alongside the new Samsung Note lineup.

Samsung Note 20 Release Date

Samsung announced the phone during their Unpacked event on 5th August, Wednesday but the phone is looking to be available for purchase on 21 August if no further delay happens.

How much does Samsung Note 20 cost in Singapore?

Initially, we expected the Galaxy Note 20 would likely be seen at around $1300 SGD and the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra would be seen around $1500 SGD. Although we land quite near the mark for the entry-level device, we are way off for the Ultra variant by a whopping S$300++.

The price of the Note 20 is as below:

The entry-level Samsung Note 20 is significantly cheaper compared to its premium big brother. While Note 20 is a cheaper choice of the two, it still has a steep price point and is by no means a cheap device. The price starts at S$1398 for the Note 20 4G variant, all the way up to S$1898 for the premium Note 20 Ultra.

Samsung Note 20 Starhub price

Samsung Note 20 Singtel price

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Design and Display

First, let us talk about the design. Samsung Note 20 is huge – as per it is for all the Note lineup during their prime. The phone comes with a 6.7 inches screen and a Full HD display. The position of the S pen stylus is also changed from the bottom right to the bottom left. Some may find this strange as muscle memory kicks in when you reach for the S pen on the right.

The entry-level Note 20 is coming with a flat-screen display which is a strange downgrade considering the previous vanilla Note 10 actually comes with a curved screen. The sides are metal edges and the side is also flatter than previous models which some users will like.

Another surprising downgrade is the refresh rates. Strangely, Samsung decided to go with only a 60Hz refresh rate on the display coupled with a Full HD instead of a QHD display. Many flagships are moving to a 120Hz refresh rate – even the Samsung S20 vanilla variant has a 120Hz refresh rate option – which is ominous as to why would Samsung even think of limiting the Note 20 with only 60Hz. Not to mention the absence of a QHD display on a device supposedly designed for power users. Despite the downgrades, the device is still great for watching videos and playing games.

The material on the back of the Galaxy Note 20 is also changed. Instead of using a glass back, Samsung used a polycarbonate material – what Samsung referred to as “Glasstic”. In other words, the back of the Note 20 will not strictly made up of glass, instead, it is a new word made up of Glass + Plastic = “Glasstic”.

You will get to see the Samsung Note 20 in Mystic Bronze, Mystic Green, and Mystic Gray. Mystic Bronze is a new experimental color pallet introduced by Samsung. Samsung might churn out new color pallets for the Note 20 if the demand for the current color is low, which has happened before.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Design and Display

The Samsung Note 20 Ultra has 2 jobs. The first is to allow Samsung to push the “Ultra” moniker with top-tier specs for the upcoming devices, which in a way allow Samsung also cut out heavily on the hardware of vanilla models to apply a lower price tag. The second is to right the wrongs of the Samsung S20 Ultra. To be honest, the Samsung S20 Ultra is more of a younger sibling to the Samsung Note 20 Ultra as compared to the Samsung Note 20 which is too far behind as a lower specced device.

On the Samsung Note 20 Ultra, you will get a gargantuan 6.9-inch device which is definitely not one-hand friendly. The Samsung Note 20 Ultra is a huge leap in both price and hardware compared to the Samsung Note 20. The ultra variant is equipped with flagship-level 120Hz refresh rate capable and QHD screen display, curved sides, 5G ready, and a whopping S$1898 price tag via Samsung online store.

With the 120Hz refresh rate, you will get a smoother scrolling experience when you deep dive into your social media feeds and gives you a heads up when you are on your gaming session. Samsung also included a feature called the “Dynamic screen refresh” which automatically adjusts the refresh rate on your device depending on what you are doing and the process of switching refresh rate is unnoticeable.

The back of the Samsung Note 20 Ultra is made of glass – a better and more premium material, gives it feel and look compared to the “Glasstic” on the Samsung Note 20. If you are a seasoned Note user, you will notice that the sides of the Note 20 Ultra is squarer, making the device near box-shaped.

You can get the Samsung Note 20 Ultra in Mystic Black, Mystic White, and Mystic Bronze. Typically the Mystic Black is what we would like to recommend but we cannot ignore the bronze hue which gives a mysterious and elegant look. If you are going for a full Samsung setup, the Galaxy Watch 3 and the Galaxy Buds Live also comes in the new Mystic bronze color selection which pairs the phone quite well.

Samsung Note 20 Camera

The Samsung Note 20 has a triple camera setup which consists of a 12MP f/1.8 main, 64MP telephoto, and a 12MP ultra-wide cameras. The camera is considerably at a flagship level and is as impressive as those of the Samsung S20 series’s camera.

On the front is a 10MP selfie camera which is similar to that on the S20. The front-facing camera is a pinhole style camera that is located at the center of the screen. 

Samsung Note 20 Ultra Camera

The Ultra variant also comes with a triple camera setup. Instead of a 64MP telephoto, you will get a 108MP wide shooter on this big brother. The camera array consists of a 108MP f/1.8 main camera, a 12MP f/3.0 telephoto, and a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide.

The Note 20 Ultra carries a 108MP wide camera which differentiates it from the entry-level Note 20. This is where Samsung is looking to make up for the mistakes found in the Samsung S20 Ultra. The Samsung S20 Ultra is by no means bad, it is a powerful phone with a few minor setbacks especially when it comes to the camera.

Upon the Samsung S20 Ultra’s release, many users reported that the S20 Ultra has a slow focus compared to many other phones, and Space Zoooooooooom technology is also not practical in everyday use due to the heavily pixelated image it takes when using the Zoom. The 108MP wide camera on the Note 20 Ultra is paired with a Laser Autofocus System to tackle the focusing issue and the software enhancement which was released to fix focusing issues on the Samsung S20 Ultra is also included by default. The Space Zoom 100X is also out the window with the Samsung Note 20 Ultra. The Space Zoom is now capped at 50X optical zoom which is expected to bring better results than the 100X.

The front camera on the Samsung Note 20 Ultra is a tiny pinhole at the center of the huge screen. Looking at the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra side by side, the diameter of the selfie camera of the Note 20 Ultra is a bit smaller than that on the Note 20 which gives it a bigger display to screen size ratio.

Samsung Note 20 Specs and Hardware

The chipset used in the new Samsung Notes are top notched. In the US you will get the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ whereas you will get an Exynos 990 in Singapore. Both type of chipset is coupled with 8GB RAM for the Samsung Note 20 while the Samsung Note 20 Ultra will get a 12GB RAM.

For the vanilla Note 20, you will get a 256GB internal storage with no expandable memory card slots. You also get to choose whether you want a 4G LTE enabled variant or the 5G ready variant. According to the Samsung online store, the 4G variant will cost you about S$150 cheaper compared to the 5G ready variant. There’s a 4300mAh battery on the Note 20 which should allow you to use it a full day in day to day usage. Do note that the Note 20 only comes with a 25W wired charging capability and 15W wireless charging capability.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra will get a 256GB internal storage AND if somehow you finished the 256GB, it also comes with a Memory card slot that supports up to 1TB MicroSD memory cards. The premium big brother will also be 5G ready in Singapore only so there are no cheaper variants if you opt for the Ultra. The Note 20 Ultra packs a 4500mAh battery which is not huge considering it being a power-user oriented device. One oddity here is that Samsung decided not to pack the Note 20 Premium with 45W charging capability but instead capped it at only 25W. Considering the price tag and the introduction as Samsung’s most premium device, we can’t seem to find any good reasoning as to why Samsung decides to cap the charging capability at only 25W but the previous Samsung S20 Ultra and Note 10 Plus has this capability. Wireless charging is also available at 15W charging capability.

Both the Notes are running Samsung’s own One UI 2.5 on top of Google’s Android 10 operating system, which will look similar to current Samsung devices. Both the Notes will also get the upgraded S pen stylus. This is could be the one and only similarities you can find between the two. As per all Note series, S Pen works best especially when you are using the Notes App. However, Samsung also brought a few upgrades for the S pen, one of the features including multiple new gestures for controlling particular functions, as well as an improved latency and a nib which should help you write more accurately. If you ever use the Samsung’s DeX mode, you’ll be able to connect your phone to your desktop wirelessly via Miracast.

Samsung Note 20 lineup final verdict

It’s still too soon to give a final verdict on this phablet. But it ticks many boxes for what most people want from a Note series lineup and it is not going to disappoint Note fans.

Where to buy Samsung Note 20 in Singapore?

Look no further, get your Samsung Note 20 Singapore with Mister Mobile! Our devices are all local sets and come with a local warranty!

• Samsung Galaxy Note 20
• Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

Meanwhile, check out our Samsung Note 10 Singapore products here:

• Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Singapore
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus Singapore

If you are looking for other Samsung devices, take a look at our Samsung collections here:

• New Samsung Phones.