Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra review: 120Hz screen is nice and battery life is good but the main camera often acts like a first-gen product with first-gen problems
Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 Ultra as its new no-compromises flagship, and Dieter Bohn's verdict splits the pitch in half: the 120Hz display and battery life deliver, while the main camera behaves like what it literally is — a first-generation product with first-generation problems. That matters because the camera was the Ultra's reason to exist above the standard S20 tier.
The surrounding reviews trace how Samsung handled that gap: the cheaper Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus shipped with excellent screens and hardware but their own compromises, an mid-cycle Note20 Ultra followed within months, and by the Galaxy S22 Ultra two years later the cameras were judged genuinely improved alongside S Pen support.
First-order effects
Launch-window buyers paying Ultra-tier prices get a flagship whose headline feature — the main camera — is the weakest part of the package, undercutting the premium the device commands over the standard S20.
Samsung's own launch coverage hands rivals and reviewers a ready-made critique: the Ultra's camera ambition outran its execution at ship date.
Second-order effects
Samsung's fix-it-fast cadence kicks in inside the same product year, with the Note20 Ultra arriving as the de facto corrected hardware revision rather than waiting for the next numbered generation.
The $699 Galaxy S20 FE later ships the same standout 120Hz screen at a fraction of the price, squeezing the value case for the expensive Ultra from below.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds, Samsung's Ultra tier functions as a first-gen proving ground — ship aggressive new hardware early, absorb the 'first-gen problems' criticism, then mature the technology across follow-on models until reviews confirm parity, as they eventually did on the S22 Ultra's cameras.
The trend: Samsung is using its Ultra flagships as year-one testbeds for unproven camera hardware, accepting rocky launches as the cost of leading the spec race and repairing credibility through rapid iteration.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is a phone that's close to perfect. It has a 6.9-inch screen and a camera with a large, 108-megapixel image sensor. But at $1,400 it's laughably expensive. It's also too damn big. @JulianChokkattu's review: https://www.wired.com/... https://twitter.co…
My Galaxy S20 Ultra review is in! This has everything you need to know about the 108MP and 100x zoom cameras, 120Hz screen, battery life, and more https://www.cnet.com/...
https://www.theverge.com/... This is why I think it's important to hold back reviews until the phone ships. report issues, but don't do reviews. There is *always* an update pushed out before the phone is out, or the day of that addresses issues. As always, I give it 30 days.
-Its disappointing that Samsung has released a Flagship that wasnt ready. Unfortunately we are seeing this across the Flagship market. The consumers are becoming unknowing beta testers. https://www.theverge.com/...
Just to be clear: the software on the S20 Ultra @backlon reviewed was final, provided to us to *review*. Samsung rushed out this statement promising unspecified improvements on an indefinite timeline after other good reviewers found issues. It's messy! https://www.theverge.com/..…
@chrisjawnmazza @averyleighwhite Been offline (hate doing that after publishing a review), but here's another set of examples from the main rear camera. 1. iPhone 11 Pro 2. Pixel 4 XL 3. S20 Ultra https://twitter.com/...
If you're going to print SPACE ZOOM 100X on the back of your phone, maybe make sure the zoom photos are worth taking https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
My review (for now) of the Samsung #GalaxyS20Ultra - amazing hardware, but pre-launch camera focus and 5G problems cause me to be unable to recommend for now. https://www.pcmag.com/...
Samsung sent me this statement saying an update for the S20 Ultra camera is coming. Doesn't specifically address the autofocus, but 🤞https://www.inputmag.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
I can attest autofocus on video is an issue on the #s20ultra. Shot a ton of video on it at the toy fair yesterday and had to manually focus almost all of it https://twitter.com/...
.@evanrodgers and I shot A LOT w/ the Galaxy S20 Ultra. I wanted the 108MP, 8K video, and 100x zoom to be worth $1,400 Unfortunately, it's not. iPhone 11 Pro still beats it on dynamic range, video stabilization, skin/hair Also: the autofocus is SO BAD! https://www.inputmag.com/..…
Here's my Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra review. Love the screen, the battery life, the speed, the zoom (up to 10x, anyway). But there's an autofocus bug and too much face smoothing Video by @chrisjawnmazza and Alix Diaconis. Photography by @averyleighwhite https://www.theverge.com/...…
I will say, however, that the S20 Ultra is capable of taking some EXTREMELY great shots... maybe they can fix the issues in software? https://www.inputmag.com/... https://twitter.com/...