TESTED SAMSUNG GALAXY S2
A Galaxy (that looks) far, far away Samsung’s flagship phones remain a class apart for sheer quality, but they’re big and expensive… which is where the slightly smaller S20 comes in R17 600 / samsung.com/za Remember when a new Samsung Galaxy flagship was guaranteed to be the centre of attention in the world of smartphones? Heck, it was only a couple of years ago… Now, the Galaxy S20 finds itself the mere starting point of Samsung’s three-stage assault on the Android world. Anyone wanting the best will be skipping straight to the no-compromise S20 Ultra, right? Well, smaller can sometimes be better. This, the most compact S20, gets almost all the goodies you’ll find in the larger, pricier ones, including a high-refresh-rate screen and multiple capable cameras. And despite costing a lot less than the Ultra or even the S20+, it looks and feels like any other modern Samsung – which is to say, built to an incredibly high standard. The design team really hit its stride a year or two ago, with only tiny tweaks needed now to stay fresh. The curved screen isn’t quite so curved this time around, the colour choices (grey, pink or blue) are more conservative and the metal frame is a little less blingy; but when folding stunners like the Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Z Flip are there to grab attention, you can afford a little restraint in your mainstream models. By focusing on the things we really want from our phones, Samsung has made this every bit the modern flagship.
3
1
Growing up
As the bezels surrounding them have got skinnier, Samsung’s excellent screens have continued to expand. We’re now up to 6.2in, giving the Galaxy S20 an 89.5% screen-to-body ratio. Try the S20+ if you need to go bigger, but most people will be happy here.
2
Speeding up
4
All three S20 models get the same 3200x1440 resolution, and all can crank up the refresh rate to 120Hz. This makes a huge difference to how animations flow over the screen, and you should absolutely turn it on as soon as you get the phone out of its box.
3
Sharpening up
Multitasking is a dream thanks to a huge 12GB of RAM, which lets you pin three apps to memory so they’re never forced to reload while you look at something else. This is very handy if you have a mild Fortnite addiction. Gaming is, of course, buttery-smooth.
5
The rear camera’s main 12MP sensor has been redesigned for better image quality. It’s joined by a 64MP telephoto good for 3x optical zoom and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle. Whichever one you use, image quality is a real step forward from the S10.
Stacking up
Going big
There’s a 5G version of this phone available if you know where to look (that is, overseas) but it’s not quite ready for South Africa. First, we’ll get 5G. Then we can have the 5G phones. You can do it the other way around if you wanna but… what’s the point.
Good Meh Evil
T sm his all is a en tid ou ygh loo to ki us ng Th e o ph fa e d m e ne on ilia si -h e, a r o gn an nd ff- is de it ce har d. ’s nt dly …a re o m nd ca rig ag t m in er al ne he ab ,w t, a gla um ith s t ss he ba p… tha y a ck t Th lw is US e h a a ys fin B- ea ar ge C dp e. rp or h o rin w n ire e p t les or t s W . T ha he s g re ow ve , e re on lat ve ’s e no , s ion n s do o it c at ro ng ’s 12 llin le. 0H g t Co z. hr an lo ou d v urs gh iew ar Ins e ta ing pu is an nch a gle y , s a co re ntr ex as ce t is lle s nt up Th . er be e c b tw am ee e n l ra en ap se p m s, a an ke Im dt si as ag he t e y’ as be e p re y fo ro all to re ce gr sw – ss ea ap co in t. lou g is rs n’t ar as e m in L als owor -ye o b lig e n rh ee t at fa ur ce n i an al. m dn pr ig ov ht ed sh . o ot ing ha ve
24 hours with the Samsung Galaxy S20
1min 74
2mins 30mins
1hr
2hrs
2.5hrs
4hrs
6hrs
9hrs
