Samsung Note 20 vs Note 20 Ultra: what's the difference?

These devices are phablets rather than simple smartphones, and they're quite different in terms of size and specifications. The price is also an important consideration. While they both get an impressive range of features that we've come to expect from Samsung, it is important to decide what you really want from your Samsung Note before you buy one.

Samsung Note 20 Ultra: a high-performance phone at a great price

The Samsung Note 20 Ultra has a larger 6.9-inch screen, compared to the 6.7-inch screen of the Note 20. The screen refresh rate is 120Hz for the Note 20 Ultra, twice that of the Note 20. this makes it ideal if you like a smooth, fast response rate and can be particularly appealing if you plan to use the phablet for mobile gaming.

Photos and video on both phones benefit from 10MP front cameras and amazing triple rear cameras. The only downside is that the camera protrudes a fair amount, making it a bit bulky, but that's the case with most devices these days (and it does generally make for better quality photos and videos).

Aesthetically, the latency of the S Pen on the Note 20 Ultra is lower than that of the Note 20. This results in a true pen-on-paper feel when writing or drawing, with virtually no delay, which is a truly mesmerising feature. Another feature only the Ultra has is Wireless DeX, which allows for wireless streaming to your TV.

Samsung Note 20: a cheaper version of the Note 20 Ultra

The Note 20 is a cheaper option than the Ultra and it's smaller. It's perfect if you want a phablet that's not too big, but if you want a maximum screen size for working, gaming or watching videos, the Ultra 20 is the better choice. The back of the Note 20 is plastic, which gives it a less premium feel than the Ultra which has a drop-resistant Gorilla Glass Victus, a higher quality finish.

The Note 20 comes with either 128GB or 256GB of storage, but it doesn't have the microSD card slot or the 512GB option that the Ultra has, which is admittedly MORE than you'll ever need for most people. 

Although it's the more expensive of the two, if you're a creative person who draws, doodles, signs lots of documents or just likes to write instead of type, the Samsung Note 20 Ultra is definitely for you. Add that to the larger storage capacity and larger size and we think the Ultra is the best deal.