30.5.2020

This review is for those who find comparing specs daunting and want to know what it will mean for them in the real world, what to expect from this phone, in jargon-free English.It is a rollercoaster; how do you choose one phone over the other when both are so similar?Do you go for the weight and size? Then you would prefer the S20+ which is slightly thinner and smaller and of course a bit lighter.Do you go for the fast charging? Then you would go for the S20+ because it finishes charging 2 minutes before the OP8 Pro. However, if you were to go for battery life, you would go for the OP8 Pro because it lasts much longer. You easily get 30 hours of uptime out of which at least 9 hours are screen usage whereas the S20+ only manages a fraction of that; however,if you set it at MEDIUM POWER SAVING and keep closing apps you can go 24 hours before needing to recharge. Both phones were tested with bluetooth, location services, mobile data off and at 60Hz screen refresh rate with lower screen definition. The OP8 Plus has a straight forward battery app that is easy to understand. The S20+ needs you to do some math before you figure out how much screen time you have had because it does not calculate from last charged but keeps calculating and you need to figure out which was the period you charged and which periods it was resting. You will understand if you study the attached pic. One thing is sure: the OP8 Pro has a thicker, longer and sturdier charging cable than the S20+ It is also orange, so easy to spot amongst a plethora of charging cables, but I guess you could use some coloured tape on the black lead of the Samsung and have instant recognition.Do you go for a pre-applied screen protector? Go for the S20+ as the OP8 Pro still ships without a pre-applied screen protector in some markets and some other markets even report not even getting the 2 free screen protectors in the package.Do you go for the protective case? Then OP8 Pro is your phone. You will need to pay extra to buy one for Samsung and of course the cost rises significantly if you go for a branded one whereas with the OP8 Pro the one you get was specifically made for it and it won't hide the beautiful colour. Please do not buy an S20+ without buying a silicone case! Two friends had their screens cracked shortly after buying their phones. Samsungs are notoriously slippery and have very fragile screens.Do you love watching films and taking videos? Go for the OP8 Pro as it has much more satisfying sound and a larger screen.But if you love taking photos, you may find the OP8 Pro a bit disappointing in the sense that it has a very narrow depth of field which means anything beyond the pinhole will be blurry. I tried to get nice pictures but it was impossible. Food pics were drab. Nature pics were on the yellow side. The focus was an issue. Macro pics were better as long as you could focus on one point. You cannot click to focus as in the phones of the old days. Selfies - ugh! You either ended up with ironed skin (very artificial post processing) or with missing hair.Fortunately, the S20+ is a bit better in photography. It still has the dreaded bokeh effect coming in and it does have a huge problem focusing on closeup items. Also when you blow up the pics, you can see blurry details in the background. (I thought the iPhone 11 Pro was much better in photography but it was also with its own faults and one has to carefully weigh all the pros and cons to decide which phone to stick with.) Something worth remembering: all modern phones with super-duper multiple cameras... they mess up. You won't get as nice photography as with older models. If you want better photography, go for a mid-range phone, not a flagship. Trust me.If you are buying a phone to play your favourite games, check with a friend that it works well. Neither of the two phones tested played Panda Pop well (they had hidden columns of balls making it impossible to win the game as how do you shoot something you cannot see?) Turns out the game is not optimised for Android 10 even though it has been out for so many months. (Plays well on iPhone though.)So to summarise, the S20+ is a good phone, maybe a bit more complicated than the OP8 Pro, maybe more intimidating to the inexperienced user. The OP8 Pro has a better, more intuitive format. None of the phones is amazing though. They are just adequate with the OP8 Pro losing out on photography (though other people have said their phones perform well). 5G is present, but there aren't many places you can get it assuming your mobile provider allows access to 5G. To get good battery life, you need to tone everything down, display, brightness, speed, this and that - all the things that make these phones unique. So you end up with a mid-range phone anyway! LOL Maybe something to mull over?PS: I forgot to mention the face recognition which is slow in both phones with Samsung's being the slowest (iPhone's amazingly fast, even with sideways views of your face.) Fingerprint reader is good on both phones and a double tap will wake your screen up. Samsung requires you to enter your pin or pattern more frequently than the OP phone.July 2020 - Greece. Update. The reception in the suburbs of Athens is abysmal! Indoors there is hardly any reception. Outdoors it comes and goes. Voice calls have a delay. Internet is patchy and dragging. Yet at the same exact spot, daughter's Oppo has perfect reception! I guess this has to do with the variety of bands each phone supports. Just thought you would like to know this, especially if your mobile is your only link with the world. I even bought a Greek SIM to facilitate things but the problems persist. So it has to be a band-related issue. Maybe some technically-minded person could explain this to us...

5.6.2020

My S20+ arrived on Monday, as I write this using the device itself it is Friday and at last, I believe that I've begun to get my head round how far ahead Samsung's flagship S20 range is compared to any of the doubtlessly perfectly competent alternative choices on the market today.The device not only satisfies in every single aspect of its incredible build quality, its ease of use and of course the amazing battery life that's beginning to settle into a routine of intense daily duty and provides a very consistent day and a half of usage from 85% down to 30% of full charge which includes its role as my sole source of Internet access which, since there is no home broadband option available here at sensible cost,is provided by the S20's hotspot, which typically finds itself being connected to at least one laptop, my Galaxy Tab S6 - itself very capable of hotspot provision to an equally solid standard - and the smart TV, network printer (a Brother device that cooperates so much more effectively with my Galaxies than it has ever done with previous gizmos used to provide WiFi from 4G) and the Kenwood in car entertainment device that now performs to its full potential when I'm out & about using Spotify or Internet radio.At no time during this labour intensive first week in my demanding life has the S20+ ever given me cause for concern. Oh, and for anyone else contemplating a completely "superfast fibre" (Aye that'll be a big fib then.. ) free life, I say the S20 is the solidly dependable way to do this as its connection is more than twice as quick as the paltry 40ish Mb/second down and 7Mb/s up that's accepted by those who pay at least the same as my unlimited data contract sim costs me each month. This is, at last, a mobile phone that can compete with standalone 4g devices that provide most round here with their domestic connectivity! I knew its radio performance would be good, but just how good and with such efficient use of battery has been a revelation. And it's a very fine camera too, which not only meets its manufacturer's claims relating to its abilities, but also counts as a very real competitor for a good bridge camera or standalone compact. This is the first phone cam about which I can say that without hesitation!So is it any good as a telephone then? Yes, but make sure that your fingers aren't obscuring the microphones, which obviously impacts negatively upon its sound quality as heard by the other party in a call. Learn to be careful about this and clarity, reception quality and consistency are superb, as should be expected in a device at this end of the market. That might appear to be an obvious point, but I have chubby fingers and managed to muffle my voice during my first call using the S20+.?Can I recommend that others should choose an S20+ over a oneplus 8 pro, for example? That was the only other handset that was on my list at the "coin toss" stage of the decision making process, but having chosen Samsung, I've definitely made the right choice for myself. Even if they don't offer a pretty shade of sparkly green on the S20 range! It really was that close, but the fact that I chose an S20+ in spite of its being more costly should speak for itself. I'm not fond of spending more than is necessary but in this case and given how much work my handset must do, yes, I recommend one of these wholeheartedly..One final point relates to the handset's dual sim abilities. I use my EE contract sim in slot one and had placed my O2 pay as you go sim in slot two, which worked just fine but it gets better.. By setting the O2 sim up as an e-sim, the handset can then be equipped with a micro SD card in slot 2 and in this configuration can have much more storage space. I added 512GB but more might work just as seamlessly.Perfect! Now go and buy one. For those, like me, who are new to Samsung, it's worth mentioning that Samsung's customer care team is made up of the loveliest people and even at this challenging time, they're endlessly patient when being bombarded with questions, as well as being genuinely knowledgeable about their product. Many of my questions were answered by people who didn't even need to take their eyes off the camera to look up the answers in a manual so owning one of these exceptional handsets is in fact stress free.That's me, thanks for ploughing through the words.Stay Safe,J. xxThis review is written by a satisfied purchaser, I am not related to or otherwise in any way involved personally with Samsung, its staff or its retail outlets.

11.3.2020

I preordered the phone on the 13th of Febuary and got it yesterday. Rather than review it after 5 minutes of use I am wrting this after 24 hours so can get a real idea of the phone not some fanboi review. Out of the box the first thing is its a big phone but I bought it knowing it was going to be tablet sized in length. Transfering all my data from my S8+ was simple with samsungs smart switch and took no more than 10 minutes. This has been the easiet transfer of all my data and contacts plus apps Ive ever had well done to Samsung for making this easy as I always worry about that. The built in charger although not the 45w charger does chare the phone quickly its a shame the Ultra didnt come

23.7.2020

I'll try to keep this short and to the point, for the simple reason that my phone came with the following defects:• Permanent Overheating (even with all applications closed and a minimum number of active processes - it heats up to the point where you cannot even hold it)• Bootloop• Stuck on boot screen• Autofocus problemsSo, this device will be returned in the next few days.However, I had the opportunity to test an S20 Ultra 5G (kindly offered by a local store) and I can say that I was impressed by the:? DisplayApart from the fact that the quality of the display is excellent: Do I really need to say the 120Hz is fantastic?!YES! The animations and transition from one page to the other is buttery smooth - and I suspect that after this experience,

17.5.2020

Like many I purchased mine through my network on contract and not directly from Amazon. But that doesn't stop me from reviewing a great product.I did a lot of research when deciding between the Samsung Galaxy S20+ and the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. Samsung will always self promote the flagship of flagships as the best Galaxy out there and even the specs will make you lean towards the ultra. Better camera, better battery etc etc etc. But don't let Samsung put them beer goggles on you.The only major difference between for Plus and Ultra is the camera. Believe me the massive jump in price doesn't justify the difference. Infact the Ultra camera is having major issues with its camera in the auto focus area.

23.6.2020

So I've had the S20 plus for a few weeks now. Although I've not pushed it to anywhere near its max I've found that it does need a charge boost towards the end of the day. Thankfully with super fast charging a few minutes is enough to see me through to the end of the day, I do run the phone at 120hz so that will impact the battery.I upgraded from an S9 plus, a phone I loved & was dubious about upgrading. I'm really happy with this phone with the exception of the fingerprint scanner. For me it's very hit & miss. Face recognition is pretty good but I found the S9+ was ahead in this area. Screen is fantastic, although it isn't as bright as the S9+,

5.6.2020

I LOVE the wide angle lens on the camera, which takes amazing photos! The phone's very fast. I like being able to double click the right hand button to access the camera while the phone's locked. Good idea to remove the Bixby button. I don't use Samsung pay so the tab at the bottom of the screen doesn't serve any purpose for me, however, it's not once proved a problem (I've never opened it by accident). I think the phone's a little too big to manage in one hand as you accidentally touch the screen when you don't mean to. There is aone hand keyboard for writing messages etc but it's a bit too small. It bascially has all the features of the S9, happily.

19.3.2020

The S20 Ultra is amazing - as was the S10+ that preceded it. Howver, I did resent having to pay for the S20 Ultra, with it's larger size, aimply because I really wanted the 512Gb memory I had had on the S10+. The 100X "Space Zoom" is a gimmick pure and simple as it is impossible to hand-hold that kind of focal length in normal light without undue camera shake. The S20 Ultra really is a bit of a brick, and I have yet to note that the battery life is in any way superior to the S10+, although it always takes some fine tuning of apps and software to fully optimise this. I am unhappy about the loss of the old headphone socket,

29.7.2020

Screen and camera are exceptional, however after having a OnePlus 5 for 3 years I expected a little extra battery life and superior performance...it's not really either. I'd class myself a very heavy user and the battery doesnt last as long or charge as quixk as my three year old OnePlus 5.Another major let down is the fingerprint sensor, how did they get it so wrong ? it feels like it takes an age to unlock (when it reads) and you really have to push hard in the screen to make it work right, again comparing to my old OnePlus 5, the fingerprint reader was a physical button and is still the fastest and most user friendly I've seen, with a physical button there is never any guessing am I on the right spot,

20.5.2020

Before I purchased this phone I was in two minds on either getting an iPhone or the Galaxy S20 as I was on a budget and looking for the just the right amount of everything and I decided to go for the S20. I love everything about this phone and I hold no regrets on deciding now. I Highly recommend anyone who's deciding to upgrade or buying a new phone to consider this phone, as you get a beautiful triple camera that can shoot up to 8K , great battery life that Samsung has increased and will survive for a whole day possibly two if you turn on power saving mode and everything I do runs smoothly and fast! Just about everything I need and the super fast charger is super helpful unlike others who hasn't included that .

3.8.2020

Bought this as a present for my son so the following words are his :-)"The Samsung Galaxy s20 plus is a truly remarkable mobile phone. It should be viewed as a comprehensive entertainment platform rather than just a smart phone. Moving up from the s8 to the s20 highlights some major differences from the start. The first being processor speed, which gives seamless switching from app to app, much like a round at the pub after four months of lockdown. The second is the picture quality when watching video's, which I do a lot, clearer than a Haynes manual. The third is the battery life, I think Samsung has created something that will finally leave the Duracell bunny in the dust.

7.4.2020

Ok...let's be honest...if you are in UK or Europe we won't be getting the Snapdragon and that's a downside. However, the exynos chip does a good enough job. The software patches have resolved some of the camera issues and more are due to come. If you are a gamer you might be disappointed as the UK version won't handle it well but who really plays games on phones?? This is a great phone and if you can get for a lower price (monthly tariff) then it's worth it.PROS - Screen is excellent (especially on 120) camera at times is stunning, quickish loading times, front camera easily better than other Samsungs & battery good on normal optimised (2 days JUST).

7.6.2020

I have received, it is definitely one of the best phones that I have bought. I have upgraded from s9plus, so I was fairly familiar with the system.Its a great design, its fast, great for gaming, also due to my job being surrounded by computer work, I tend to use the S20 Ultra when I am outside work to update some files, or even connect it to a external screen and use Samsug Dex, which is a fast system, and its just great as you can have a desktop experience with just the phone.Using this phone could easily replace a camera, it has some fantastic quality for both photography and video recording. With this phone you can take some stunning pictures,

16.3.2020

I'm disappointed that my order was mixed up and instead of receiving my s20 I received 2 bottles of shower gel! With no explanation which had annoyed me.But it was resolved quickly and I had my phone the next day so I thank you amazon for helping with that.I haven't used the facial recognition as of yet as only had it for 2 days now and haven't fully used it.but I absolutely love the camera setting, picture quality is amazing super.super easy to use the fingerprint login :)My only concern is the sound seems to be coming and going on video chats but I'm unsure if thats my phone or the Internet or the other persons phone ect...

29.6.2020

Upgraded from an S8 which I'd had no problems with, so I was a bit nervous after reading some of the reviews on the S20. I have had absolutely no problems with it so far, all of my settings and data transferred using smart switch so it's very familiar to use. Just has a few more extra whippy bits. I have not noticed any problems with the handset getting warm or overheating. I can accidentally fall asleep with it under my pillow without having to worry, which I never dreamed about doing with the S7 because it got awfully hot. I only noticed the S20 get slightly warm when it transferred all of the files and data from my S8. It's doesn't get hot when charging or when I've used it otherwise.

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