The months seem to have flown by and I have been exceptionally happy with the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. Recent updates have introduced a number of fixes and optimisations. Some may have an issue with image stabilisation technology but I personally have not had much to complain about since using the phone. Productivity, speed and great battery life has made the S20 Ultra a great upgrade. With a Snapdragon 865+ steam rolling ahead efficiently, emulation and intensive apps have not seen issues with heat or throttling. This is of course a superior experience in comparison to the Exynos version of the handset. As the Note 20 is gearing for release this month, it’s time to touch on this issue once more.
Friends of mine approached me, asking if the new Note 20 would be a viable choice for a summer upgrade. There are a number of upcoming releases that have caught my eye but this month, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 will be an immediate choice for many users wishing to upgrade. Just a few days ago I explained that the Note 20 will be a great handset but I would steer clear of the Exynos variant. Geekbench released/leaked benchmarks of the Note 20 Ultra in its Exynos 990 flavour, a handset that is proposed to be improved over the Galaxy S20 Ultra. With great pressure on the new team in place to steer the failing chip to success, it’s a crucial time to get things right. Performance of the Note 20 Ultra have been seen to be in a similar bracket to the S20 Ultra. New and improved, without heat issues and with some performance gains. It’s an active push from Samsung to rectify their failure but the benchmarks speak for themselves. This is still behind Snapdragon performance and its indicating that the Exynos variant will once again set itself up for disappointment.
The question of whether you will really notice a difference in using the Exynos version for the average user sometimes irks me. If one is willing to spend premium on a device, why settle for less? Especially when the Korean based company are using the superior Snapdragon chip at home in Korea yet again as other parts of the world are stuck with the Exynos offering. I foreshadow yet more disappointment and uproar against the Exynos and nothing is really improved. It is probably the end of the line for Exynos 990 and Samsung are trying their best to make use of their existing chips before things are truly renovated and improved. I hope the Exynos fiasco eventually irons out and offer superior quality to the Snapdragon but until I see it, I cannot recommend, nor support Samsung’s choice to push their in house chip in a premium flagship handset.