Every year, Samsung stuffs more and more tech into its phones—this year it’s touting 8K video recording, 5G, and 100X digital zoom on the Galaxy S20 range. But the added features give those phones staggeringly high price tags. The Galaxy S20 starts at an eyebrow-raising $1,000, and it is the most affordable phone of the lot. Compare that to the cheapest phone in last year’s Galaxy S10 range, the S10e, which started at $750. Yikes. What a jump.
In no way does it mean you need to spend $1,000 on a new phone. There are plenty of good alternatives that won’t make your wallet want to sew itself shut. But if you must have the greatest from Samsung this year, we’ve laid out everything you need to know about the Galaxy S20, S20 Plus, S20 Ultra, and even the new foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Flip. Below, you’ll also find every notable Galaxy S20 deal and order page we’ve found so far. For more details on the phones, check out our full recap of Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event.
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The Right Galaxy for You
The differences between all three Galaxy S20 phones aren’t as great as you might think. Samsung has a handy comparison that breaks it down here.
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The whole Galaxy S20 line is a spectacle: I haven’t spent much time with the entire range just yet, but expect excellent performance in all of these phones thanks to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 processor. The hardware is top-notch, perhaps a bit excessive with specs like 12 GB of RAM, but the 120-Hz screen refresh rate is a highlight, as it makes scrolling and gaming on the phones look a whole lot smoother. They all have in-display fingerprint sensors, 8K video recording, 5G connectivity, and the usual flourishes like a MicroSD card slot and IP68 water resistance.
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Galaxy S20 ($1,000+) is the smallest of the lot: If you want Samsung’s best but don’t want to carry around a phablet, get the S20. It has a reasonable 6.2-inch screen, though that still might be too big for some folks. It has all the same specs as the S20 Plus, except for a slightly smaller 4,000-mAh battery, only one storage option, and no time-of-flight camera, which is used for improved depth with Samsung’s portrait mode and better augmented-reality effects. But it is the only phone in the lineup to come in pink, if that’s worth anything.
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Galaxy S20 Plus ($1,200+) is for big-screen lovers: The only reason to buy the Galaxy S20 Plus is if you want its sprawling 6.7-inch screen (the smaller S20 still has a sharper screen, because of its higher pixel density). The slightly bigger battery doesn’t necessarily mean it will last longer since it needs to power more screen, but the extra time-of-flight camera might mean the phone could capture marginally better portrait mode photos. Like the S20, the 64-megapixel telephoto camera maxes out at 30x digital zoom, which is probably as high as you’ll want to go anyway before your results start looking like a blotchy mess.
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Galaxy S20 Ultra ($1,400+) is for shutterbugs: The standard camera on the previous two phones opts for 12 megapixels and a 1/1.76-inch image sensor, but the S20 Ultra goes the extra mile with a larger 1/1.33-inch sensor and an absurd 108 megapixels. That larger sensor should mean better photos at night, and the giant megapixel count will net more details in your shots (and larger file sizes). But wait, there’s more! The 48-megapixel telephoto camera goes up to 100X digital zoom, which is absolutely overkill, but the 10X hybrid zoom is what makes it shine—the other two S20 phones only offer 3X hybrid zoom. Did I mention it also has a 40-MP selfie camera and a gargantuan 6.9-inch screen? Naturally, there’s an even bigger battery, too.
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Galaxy Z Flip ($1,380+) is for early adopters: I spent 24 hours with Samsung’s newest foldable phone, and I didn’t want to give it up. The clamshell style has grown on me, but it’s not going to make you more productive or anything like that. It purely saves a little more space in your pocket, but it’s damn fun to flip it open (or snap it shut to end a call). It’s the most polished foldable phone I’ve used so far, but despite a glass screen, there are multiple reports of it scratching or cracking at the crease. Buy it at your own risk if you want something different and have the money to spend, but in a year or so, expect foldable devices to be cheaper and look and feel even more mature.
Word to the Wise
Here’s some friendly advice before you drop four figures on a new phone.
