The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Has Lasers, Plays Xbox Games, And is Just Massive

Samsung today unveiled two Galaxy Note 20 models -- the Note 20 (which starts at $999) and Note 20 Ultra (which starts at $1,299) -- arriving later this month on August 21. Both Note 20 smartphones come with an S Pen, but there are some major differences. Notably, the screen and the cameras are a little bit different. From a report: The smaller Note 20 has a 6.7-inch display with flat edges and the larger Note 20 Ultra has a 6.9-inch 120Hz screen with curved sides. Curved glass has long been a signature design on Samsung phones and it looks like the company is at least considering a change. But the one thing I'm most excited for is the Note 20 Ultra's 108-megapixel camera. This is the same image sensor on the S20 Ultra with one important change: a laser sensor that enables faster autofocusing. In other words: Samsung says it has fixed the S20 Ultra's autofocusing issues on the Note 20 Ultra. I'll test that out soon enough to verify the claim, but for now, here's everything else you need to know about the Note 20 phones.

Expand to a TV with DeX: In addition to plugging your Note 20 into a laptop or monitor to turn it into a desktop-like computer experience with DeX mode, Note 20 users can wirelessly connect to a TV with Miracast support. Samsung says all of its 2019 and newer smart TVs support the wireless DeX mode.
Smarter Windows integration: Samsung's growing partnership with Microsoft is yielding even tighter synergy between its devices and Windows 10. Samsung says Windows 10 will let you run multiple Note 20 apps simultaneously later this year and has better drag-and-drop support between devices.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: If you're a gamer, you'll be able to stream over 100 Xbox games directly to the Note 20 phones with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. This feature doesn't go live until September 15.
Ultra-wideband: Like the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro, the Note 20 phones have an ultra-wideband chip inside. Samsung says UWB will allow people to share files to another UWB-supported device by pointing them at each other. UWB can also be used to unlock smart locks (for homes or cars).

Frickin' laser beams

[jfdavis668]

I have one simple request, and that is to have phones with frickin' laser beams attached to their backs.

Re:

[Anne Thwacks]

Personally, I would prefer sharks with 5G support and no lasers.

Re:

[PCM2]

What are you trying to do, catch the virus? No 5G, all the lasers, and all the bleach!

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[forty-2]

Can I use the laser to cut in a headphone jack?

Samsung design flaws

[magarity]

The two things that are horrible about my S9 are the %$#@ curved edges and the dedicated Bixby button that can't be repurposed.

Re:Samsung design flaws

[itsme1234]

the dedicated Bixby button that can't be repurposed.

C'mon and you have a low-ish 6-digit Slashdot ID?! Bixby button can be remapped since very early in the S8 (I think the first phone with it) days, with a user-app (no root or custom firmware needed). It works with the S9+ which I have too, of course. And it's in the official settings for 1-2 years already, although I don't know how flexible that is.

Re:Samsung design flaws

[Guybrush_T]

For the 1000'th time no you cannot repurpose the bixby button without creating a Samsung account. Believe it or not, most people who don't want Bixby, also don't want to create a Samsung account.

Re:

[itsme1234]

First of all it's a big difference between "button that can't be repurposed" and "you cannot repurpose the bixby button without creating a Samsung account". Second I'm not convinced that's even a requirement, especially for the "app" (old) version, that existed even before you could re-purpose it officially. And third in any case, even if this is needed, even if none of the multiple ways to do it can be done without a Samsung account that REALLY isn't that much of a deal. It's the tamest and really good for

Re:

[Veretax]

WHy does having a 6 digit /. id matter? Never been a fan of bixby either way.

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[timeOday]

I have a Galaxy S8 "Active" because I didn't want any of that rounded frou-frou!

But Bixby, what a joke

"Plays Xbox games"

[EmoryM]

Streaming a cloud gaming service... c'mon clickbait, get serious.

Re:

[SlashdotOgre]

I'm confused about that being listed as a feature as well as I think it will be standard for all phones that can run the xcloud app and isn't specific to the Note. I am part of the Game Streaming Preview of xCloud, and it works well on my Pixel 3 so I'm not clear what this Note 20 is bringing to the table.

Re:

[tlhIngan]

Well, it's true, though I wouldn't exactly headline the feature unless it's a lifetime pass or something.

Simply because every Android phone has access to it (and it actually is surprisingly good - you think latency would be a huge issue but there is some major voodoo going on)

Pocket

[DogDude]

If it doesn't easily fit in a regular pants pocket, then I consider it a tablet, not a cell phone.

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[geekmux]

If it doesn't easily fit in a regular pants pocket, then I consider it a tablet, not a cell phone.

That's a 20th Century problem.

21st Century smartphone addicts just glue the device to their hand.

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[DogDude]

21st Century smartphone addicts just glue the device to their hand.

You're absolutely correct. I don't know what I was thinking.

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[ranton]

If it doesn't easily fit in a regular pants pocket, then I consider it a tablet, not a cell phone.

Stop wearing skinny jeans, and it will fit just fine in your pocket. I have the same rule as you, but could see the phones getting in the 7.5" range before it became a problem.

Re:

[DogDude]

I would posit that changing one's dress in order to own a particular data collection device may be grounds for taking time to deeply examine ones' priorities.

Utility

[SuperKendall]

I would posit that changing one's dress in order to own a particular data collection device

I would posit that caring more about fashion than function is the height of foolishness.

A "data collection device" with a larger screen, brings a much greater amount of utility than wearing tighter pants.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Dressing like a clown in order to use a large data collection device may indicate mental illness.

Re:

[timeOday]

I dunno, I think that logic works better the other way around.

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[PCM2]

I would posit that changing one's dress in order to own a particular data collection device may be grounds for taking time to deeply examine ones' priorities.

Really? Only one of my dresses has pockets.

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[Fly Swatter]

There is fitting, and then there is fitting with the ability to sit or ascend stairs without it digging in where it shouldn't and not feeling like you might stress the phone's screen since it obviously is too big for the (well my) intended purpose. And if you put your phone in your seat pocket, well that is just waiting for an accident that cracks something.

Phones are going to get so big they will need to include an arm gun-holster like contraption to carry them around with you.

Re:

[thegarbz]

If it doesn't easily fit in a regular pants pocket, then I consider it a tablet, not a cell phone.

If it's bigger than a laptop then it's a mainframe because I also fail to consider definitions like phablet [wikipedia.org] or "computer" to be legitimate.

To bad Nokia Failed.

[jellomizer]

Nokia a while back had a phone where you had modular ports, where you can hook in features you wanted vs getting a phone filled with teck that you never need or will use.

I have an S20 and I upgraded from an iPhone X (kinda, my wife got the iPhone replacing her old 6) Now I wanted the faster CPU that the S20 offers, as well available to removable SD Cards, and access to Google Play Apps which allow me to do more techy things with my phone, that Apple never allows on the Apple store.
But even for the low end S

Re:

[samwichse]

Well, the good news is Samsung phones support HDMI from the USB-C port:
https://www.amazon.com/Doitby-... [amazon.com]

Although if you want to charge, too, you need a USB charging source:
https://www.amazon.com/QCEs-Ad... [amazon.com]

Sam

Phones with frigging lasers

[Carrier Lifetime]

Phones with frigging lasers aren't exactly a new thing. Phones used Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers for a long time now in proximity sensors and autofocus. They just didn't brag about it.

Fuck DeX and fuck Samsung trying to suck its own d

[stevenm86]

Yes, I said it. Samsung is under so much pressure to differentiate its products that the result is a gargantuan mess of notifications and calls to action. Aside from the fact that the curved screen is a gimmick, they DO make solid hardware. But the software is bloated garbage. Sure, DeX would be a wonderful feature, if it didn't pop up a notification to install it's stupid desktop software, EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. YOU. PLUG. IN. YOUR. PHONE. But to give them credit, when you try to disable these notifications, at least Samsung is nice enough to outright display a message telling you that dex notifications cannot be turned off, so you may as well stop trying. And while we're in the subject of trying, stop trying to make bixby happen. It's not going to happen. Siri was a gimmick, Assistant is largely a gimmick, and bixby is no different. But the calls to action to force bixby into your life are far more aggressive. It truly is a shame; in largely a fan of their hardware (minus the curved edges, undoubtedly the result of a pissing contest with sremming from bezelphobia). But the software is truly, truly a deal breaker. It's almost as if someone took a page out of Facebook's playbook and is evaluating it's engineers solely by the number of user-facing features they create.

Re:

[Anne Thwacks]

evaluating it's engineers solely by the number of user-facing features they screw up

FTFY

Re:

[ITShaman]

Amen brother. My Samsung TV has great hardware, but the TVOS and the apps suck rocks, like so much so I have to hard reset (pull the plug) once a week so Netflix and Weather App and Amazon and Crave work. I was so peeved I went and bought a Roku, and have not regretted that. Samsung even forces ads on my TV home page now I can't get rid of (and I've tried blocking the samsung URLs from my firewall). My Galaxy S8 is constantly resetting notifications and screen display settings without my knowledge or co

Who is the target buyer?

[OneHundredAndTen]

Your average NBA player? The rest of us don't have pockets that big, and will anyway look like jerks with one of those things to the ear. It would seem that Samsung is about to invent a new product: the tablet.

Re:

[CastrTroy]

I have a Samsung A8. It has a 5.6 inch screen. Without the case it measures 149.2mm x 70.6mm and with the case I have on I measured it at 153mm x 75mm. GSM Arena [gsmarena.com] has the Note 20 6.7 inch is speced at 75.2mm x 161.6mm. That's the same width less than 1 cm longer than my current phone, and I have no problem fitting it in my pocket. Even if you add a few mm in each dimension to accomodate a case you are only slightly larger than my old phone from 2-3 years ago. The screen to body ratio on these new phones ar

Powerful lasers!

[Joe2020]

These lasers are so powerful they burned right through my Disable Advertising settings. Any stronger and you'll see a "Buy Now" button under the article.

Nope

[Improbus]

We are at the start of a Depression. Thousand dollar plus phones aren't going to sell well. My current 2+ year old phones are working great and one of them has a *gasp* replaceable battery, why upgrade?

Samsung software needs to go...

[spagthorpe]

They build some wonderful hardware, but then load it down with the worst user experience. Samsung apps forced down your throat. Forced advertising built into the apps now. Notifications for Samsung shit you don't want. User agreements for all the apps you don't want. They've actually made it worse over time, even though I haven't changed phones. When I do change, it sadly won't be to a another Samsung. Obviously enough other people don't care though, and they'll continue down this path. Just waiting

Oh look

[DarkRookie2]

Yet another shitty phone that thinks it a laptop.
Dear Phone Makers, I care way more about battery life than any other spec. If I am paying $1000 for a phone, it best last a week.

everything else you need to know about the Note 20

[drinkypoo]

How do I load a third party ROM without fucking up the camera functionality?

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[timeOday]

Kind of an interesting question. These cameras are pretty complex, combining imagines from multiple sensors through multiple lenses to make an image aren't they? (Or did my mind just make that up?)

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[drinkypoo]

I don't know about that, but I do know that with some devices it's at least difficult if not impossible to retain full camera functionality if you reflash.

Ultra-wideband is important

[swillden]

Ultira-wideband (UWB) solves a very important problem for digital keys to unlock physical objects. If you're using your phone to unlock your car, house, etc., you want to be sure that the signal can't be relayed. Imagine a pair of attackers see you get out of your car and walk into a store. One follows you in while the other stays near your car, and their phones are set up to relay the unlock signal your phone sends to your car.

To prevent that sort of relay attack, ideally we need to ensure that your pho

Enables precise location tracking

[rapjr]

Note that UWB will also enable precise 10cm tracking of you and your phone. Will you now get ads tailored to the room you are in inside your home?

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[swillden]

Note that UWB will also enable precise 10cm tracking of you and your phone. Will you now get ads tailored to the room you are in inside your home?

I suppose if you had UWB "beacons" of some sort scattered around your home it could enable precise tracking. But it's not GPS. It can only estimate distance to another device.

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[rapjr]

UWB beacons are precisely what Apple intendeds to use their UWB radio for, attached to keys for example. Perhaps access points will include UWB beacons as well? In order to be useful for tracking activities for medical purposes deploying beacons may be required. Just 3 or 4 beacons is all that would be required to track all the people in a house and also extending some way out into the yard. If 3 people in the house have phones with UWB radios, that's 3 beacons. They don't necessarily have to be statio

Can you put Linux on it?

[minorityreport]

Aug 2014 [theregister.com]: “Microsoft filed a lawsuit against Samsung in a US court on Friday, claiming the Korean firm was in breach of an earlier cross-licensing agreement relating to Android technology patents.“

and my Mi Max 3 costs about $250

[ed65love]

I can't imagine ever going back. Why pay 5x, just for a lots of pixels? Give me some decent optical zoom, and I might pay 2x. Perhaps.

Re: and my Mi Max 3 costs about $250

[BAReFO0t]

Optical zoom, repaceable battery, headhone jack, ruggedness, sturdy charging port ... all cut due to batshit insane phone anorexia.

And justified by Stockholm syndrome 'tards everywhere.

Now let me smoke some Tarrlions and get my electrolytes...

Useless.

[BAReFO0t]

Due to being locked-down. With lock-in.

If these would be features on an open device with open software, they would be quite nice.

But this deliberalte locking down and locking in, instead of standard protocols, open standards, and open software/hardware means it's entirely uselss except as a gimmick between that one device and that one OS and the few use cases the manufacturer has added a fixed-function module for.

Aka it is not a computer, and more like a blingy ring to bind you.