Review: Samsung Galaxy S20+

Ashwin Rajagopalan

It’s a tight rope ride; especially in 2020. Discerning customers for flagships want a large screen and also seek devices that are not too unwieldy. It’s a game that Samsung seems to understand. Almost a decade since the first Samsung Galaxy device debuted in 2010, Samsung’s flagships have led the way in the display department. The S20 is no exception. The brand released a trio of their flagship S20 series. It’s the middle sibling – the S20+, that might just be the brand’s talisman in the first half of this year. And it’s largely because style meets function.

The S20+ is probably our favourite display out there. The 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED display (1440 x 3200 pixels / 525 PPI) now adds a 120Hz refresh rate that makes gaming, binging on Netflix or just scrolling webpages sheer joy.

A tiny punch-hole is easy to ignore and conceals the 10MP selfie cam. This is the best we’ve seen on a Samsung device thus far and captures slightly more realistic selfies (you could maximise the beauty mode though). Samsung has rejigged the rear cam too. There’s a 12MP primary sensor (dual pixel with an f/1.8 aperture), a 12MP ultra-wide lens, a depth sensor and the new 64MP telephoto lens that is the highlight.

While you can shoot up to 30X zoom (hybrid zoom), results are quite impressive at 10X. Samsung’s flagships have been ahead of the curve in the camera sweepstakes, this one pushes it to the next level with its improved lowlight and zoom photography options. You can now shoot 8K videos too. We wish Samsung had opted for a more distinctive design approach for the rear cam; it looks quite similar to some of the brand’s mid-market devices.

The S20+ is propelled by an Exynos 990 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128 GB of Internal memory (expandable with support for Micro SD Cards). The device is lightning quick and won’t let heavy duty users down. The S20+ blazed through our AnTuTu benchmark tests Battery life (4500 mAh battery) is quite dependable too. We wish the in-display fingerprint sensor was faster and kept up with the rest of the device. The device features the newest version of Samsung’s One UI (2.1), that is one of the best spins on Android with its minimalist interface. This is an area where Samsung has really upped its game over the last two years.

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ ticks all the right boxes – camera, display, performance. But it’s the form factor that is its biggest draw. The S20+ feels great in your hands and every inch premium. It’s why the S20+ might just be the Android flagship to beat right now.

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ costs Rs 73,999 and is available in Cosmic Grey, Cosmic Black and Cloud Blue colour options.