Samsung’s latest flagship is set to launch on the 5th of August, as always with most phone launches, especially Samsung; we already know most things about the phone through a variety of leaks.
One of the persistent rumours is what chipset will be used. It currently looks almost certain that the phone will launch with the usual two different chipsets depending on the region, with the US getting the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus while the EU gets the older Samsung Exynos 990.
Last year it was expected that the Note 10 might launch with the SD855+ alongside the new Exynos 9825, but that turned out inaccurate, so things may also play out this way this year.
The strange thing is that the Exynos 990 already underperformed the original Snapdragon 865 so if this rumour turns out to be accurate then the gap will only widen.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Exynos 990 Geekbench Result indicating improved performance
Unfortunately, the rumour appears to be true with a recent listing of the Samsung SM-N986B on GeekBench, which is expected to be the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
The device managed to achieve 928 for the single-core listing and 2721 for the multi-core.
There has been some speculation that the chipset will have the same name but be tweaked for the Note 20 series. If we look at the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Geek benchmarks, this could be true.
The official score for the Galaxy S20 Ultra Geek is 805 and 2698 which is a significant 15% difference on the single-core between the result the Note 20 result
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus Geekbench Result
Earlier in the year, a model named SM-N986U was listed on Geekbench, it was assumed that this would be the Note 20+, and this was before the announcement of the SD865+. Since then it has been all but confirmed that the Qualcomm variant would be the SD865+.
In this result, the phone achieved a score of 985 for the single-core and 3220 for the multi-core.
That gives the Qualcomm model an advantage of 6% for the single-core and 18% on the multi-core.
While there have been no phones officially benchmarked with the Snapdragon 865 Plus, multiple leaks confirm a similar performance. A phone named Asus ZF was previously listed, this is likely the ROG Phone 3, and this managed 973 and 3346 for the two tests.
Battery Life
The biggest issue most users have the Exynos chipsets is not how powerful the chipset is, but the battery performance. There is no word on this year, but it is unlikely to have improved enough to compete with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 price
Current leaks indicate that for the standard Note 20, you get 256GB storage either with 4G or 5G. The 4G model costs €999 ($1,169/£909 converted), and the 5G one €1,099 ($1,286/£1,000 converted).
As for the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, there are two 5G-compatible versions, one with 256GB and another with 512GB. Those cost €1,349 ($1,578/£1,280) and €1,449 ($1,696/£1,319) respectively.
Presumably, in the US they will have 5G only, because Qualcomm insists on using the X55 modem with their SD865 chipsets.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Series Specification
Based on the leaks/rumours:
| Galaxy Note 20 | Galaxy Note 20 Plus/Note 20 Ultra | |
| Price | € 1,099 | € 1,349 |
| Screen size | 6.42 inches (2345 x 1084) | 6.87 inches (3096 x 1444) |
| Screen refresh rate | 60Hz or 120Hz | 120Hz |
| CPU | Snapdragon 865 Plus/Exynos 990 | Snapdragon 865 Plus/Exynos 990 |
| RAM | 8GB | 12GB |
| Storage | 128GB | 256 or 512GB |
| Rear cameras | 12MP main, 64MP telephoto, 12MP ultrawide, time-of-flight sensor | 108MP main, 13MP telephoto, 12MP ultrawide, laser focus sensor |
| Battery size | 4,170mAh – 4,300 mAh | 4,500 mAh – 5,000 mAh |
| 5G | Yes | Yes |
