A MOBILE phone offering a similar gaming experience to a gaming console is the focus of Samsung’s 2020 product launch, with the electronics manufacturer unveiling their range of new products – including a tablet, smartwatch and earbuds – in a special livestreamed event.
The star of the show is the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra, which are Samsung’s flagship smartphones and set for an Australian launch on August 21.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G is the very top of the range and will feature a 6.9″ edge Quad HD+ Dynamic HDR10+ AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display (3088×1440) with a certified 120Hz refresh rate, a 10MP Selfie Camera and three rear cameras including a 108MP wide-angle camera.
There is a 64-bit 3.0GHz Octa-Core Processor in there too, along with 12GB of RAM and either 512, 256 or 128GB of storage. As the name suggests, it is also 5G enabled too.
The phone also has a 4500mAh battery as well as an IP68 rating, meaning it can handle being exposed to dust, dirt and sand, and is resistant to submersion up to a maximum depth of 1.5m underwater for up to thirty minutes.
As per Samsung’s official announcement:
“The Galaxy Note20 series is built with the fastest processor of all Galaxy devices. It features cutting-edge technology and best-in-class mobile experiences, without sacrificing the iconic design.
Both Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra introduce new Mystic colours – soft neutral tones that transcend changing trends with a brand new, textured haze effect that cuts down on fingerprints and smudges.
For the first time in the Note series, Galaxy Note20 Ultra offers a vivid and bright Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and 120Hz refresh rate delivering buttery smooth visuals on our best screen yet, which automatically adjusts to the content you are viewing to optimise battery life.
Sporting an all-day intelligent battery and Super Fast Charging capabilities, you can get more than 50% charge in just 30 minutes.”
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G is of particular interest to gamers, given its capabilities – something Samsung are keen to highlight.
Samsung Electronics Australia mobile division vice president Garry McGregor said given Australians expected their devices to do multiple roles, they wanted to provide a phone offering a seamless experience for work and play.
“In Note 20 we are giving Australian customers a device that is truly so powerful it works like a computer and plays like a gaming console,” he said.
The device will be fully compatible with the Microsoft Xbox Game Pass, which launches overseas on September 15.
The service will allow gamers access to more than 100 games via streaming over the internet from the cloud, and Samsung have said the Galaxy Note 20 series is the most powerful gaming experience they have engineered into a smartphone and will allow users to “game like a pro from your couch, backyard, or wherever the day may take you”.
The announcement further goes on to note “the Galaxy Note 20 series gaming experience is further up-leveled with its AI game booster and Bluetooth audio response optimisation, and 240Hz touch latency on the Galaxy Note20 Ultra. Plus, with a large and mmersive display with smooth gaming experience thanks to the fastest processor in a Galaxy yet, the Galaxy Note 20 series is a pro-gaming set-up that fits in your pocket.”
Mr McGregor said the Note range had an extremely loyal fan base, with their fondness for the S Pen peripheral featuring prominently.
“Note 20 brings with it Samsung’s most innovative and intuitive S Pen to date, for the first time featuring AI annotation, remote control functionality and presenter mode,” he said.
“Loyal Note customers have come to view the range as the pinnacle of Samsung’s latest
innovations. We are incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to achieve in Note20 – a future
proofed device with ultra-wide band width, intelligent S Pen, 5G gaming experience and our best
ever display, 8K cinema grade video and a 108 mega-pixel camera.
“Samsung isn’t about a walled garden, we encourage collaboration with our partners – Google,
Microsoft, Spotify and Netflix – to create meaningful and seamless experience that give our
customers the power to work and to play.”
Traditionally at a launch like this I’d get the chance to play with the units in person while juggling a fancy canapé and foreign beer, but the Coronavirus has put a stop to that for the foreseeable future so in its stead, Samsung staff provided a video demonstration of how some of the key features would work.
From a professional perspective the enhanced S pen features look particularly appealing, and I’ll be interested to see if we start to see it being incorporated into games too. The unit looks genuinely impressive, although I didn’t see a lot of information about how the user experience might differ between the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra models.
Samsung have confirmed the Australian RRP prices for the Note 20 range as follows:
- Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G 512GB – AUD$2,199
- Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G 256GB – AUD$1,999
- Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 256GB – AUD$1,849
And for the Galaxy Note 20:
- Galaxy Note 20 5G 256GB – AUD$1,649
- Galaxy Note 20 256GB – AUD$1,499
