Samsung presented the new Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy S20 during some special events organized in San Francisco (United States) and other parts of the world on Tuesday 11 February. The presentation of the new smartphones was particularly awaited because, as every year in this period, it will affect the market trend at least until the summer and on sales for Samsung, the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. The new Galaxy Z Flip will be available starting February 14 (in limited quantities in Italy), while for the various Galaxy S20 models it will have to wait mid-March (but they can already be pre-ordered).
Samsung Galaxy S20
To mark a certain discontinuity with the previous “S10” models, or to try to get noticed as much as possible, Samsung has called the new version of its most important smartphones “S20”. There are three different models, with characteristics in common, starting with the design which is quite similar to that of the previous edition, and with the presence of systems for receiving 5G, the new standard for high-speed data transmission on mobile networks.
The three new models are called: Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Plus and Galaxy S20 Ultra. Taken in that order, they range from the one with good specs to the one with the most options imaginable, including a flashy set of cameras.
Screen
The Galaxy S20 has a 6.2-inch screen and less powerful cameras, the Galaxy S20 Plus has a 6.7-inch screen and a better system for taking pictures; finally, the Galaxy S20 Ultra has a 6.9-inch screen and a very elaborate camera system. All three smartphones use OLED HDR + type displays, for more accurate color rendering, and have an image refresh rate of up to 120Hz, which is useful when watching videos or playing games.
Cameras
Describing the features of the cameras of the three new S20s is rather complicated, as the diagram below demonstrates.
Unlike Apple and Google, which for their phones lately have mainly focused on improving software to take pictures, Samsung has continued to develop new hardware solutions to make better lenses and sensors of its cameras. The sensors reach 108 megapixels in the Ultra, and remain at quite high values for the other two models as well.
Sometimes the indication of so many megapixels is viewed with suspicion, because it is often a sign that the manufacturer is trying to impress users with large numbers, perhaps to hide some other flaw in the camera software. Samsung says this is not the case with its new Galaxy S20, which come with dedicated software and processors to take care of image rendering (given the previous ones, there's no reason to doubt it).
In the case of the Galaxy S20 Ultra, the telephoto lens can shoot at 100x magnification, a feature Samsung is focusing heavily on to promote the new smartphone. All three phones can shoot 8K video.
All three models have a selfie camera on the front, located at the top of the screen. In the Ultra it has a resolution of 40 megapixels, while in the other two models it is 10 megapixels.
What's inside
The new Galaxy S20 use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor and have 12 GB of RAM available. The starter models all have 128 GB of memory, which can be expanded through an additional memory card (microSD). There is also the option to purchase 512GB models, and in the case of the Ultra version you get an increase in RAM to 16GB.
Given screen size, camera sensitivity, and several other factors, Samsung has beefed up the batteries to offer a full day of use (according to its claims). The basic model has a 4 thousand mAh battery, the intermediate one with 4.500 mAh and the Ultra with 5 thousand mAh.
Pricing and availability
The new Galaxy S20 will be available starting March 13th and can already be pre-ordered. The basic model will have a starting price of 929 euros for the 4G version and 1,029 euros for the 5G one. The Galaxy S20 Plus will cost € 1,029 in the 4G version and € 1,129 in the 5G version. The Galaxy S20 Ultra will cost € 1,379.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
The new Galaxy Z Flip is Samsung's second attempt to produce a folding screen smartphone, following the false start last year with the Galaxy Fold. Presented as a great novelty that would reinvent the smartphone sector, the Fold in its first version proved to be not very resistant, and subject to rapid wear of the screen: a few specks of dust in the opening and closing mechanism of the smartphone were enough to totally ruin the display, making the phone unusable. In the months after the presentation, Samsung had intervened to fix the problem and relaunch the Galaxy Fold, but in the meantime it had continued the development work of its heir, finally presented yesterday.
Closed, the Galaxy Z Flip looks like a cross between the classic clamshell cell phones of the past and the old metal cigarette cases. On the outside it has only a small 1.1-inch screen, which can be used to check notifications or as a viewfinder for the smartphone's external camera. Opening it reveals a 6.7-inch screen (OLED) and can be used like a normal smartphone: the screen seems more flexible than that of the Galaxy Fold, but if you look closely you will still notice a slight line where you folds on itself.
During the presentation, Samsung explained that it used a special “ultra-thin” glass, capable of withstanding at least 200 thousand open / close. It is a company patent and derives from a development of its “Ultra Thin Glass” (UTG), an extremely thin flexible glass.
The opening and closing mechanism allows you to open the smartphone completely or open it halfway, as if it were a mini laptop. In this way you can use half of the screen vertically and half horizontally, for example to watch videos, or to take a selfie without having to hold the phone.
There are three cameras on the Galaxy Z Flip: above the screen is a 10-megapixel one for selfies, while on the outside there is a system of two 12-megapixel cameras, for taking normal and wide-angle images.
The new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will be available starting February 14 and will cost 1,520 euros. It will compete with Motorola's new RAZR, a foldable phone that incorporates the company's famous flip phone that had a great success fifteen years ago.
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