Samsung Galaxy Note 20 leak reveals specs and images — and one nasty surprise

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
(Image credit: Roland Quant/WinFuture)
  • The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 specs and features have leaked, including a 6.7-inch full HD display with a 60Hz refresh rate and a cheaper version without 5G.
  • Perhaps to achieve a lower price, WinFuture says that the Galaxy Note 20 will have a plastic back. Most premium Galaxy phones have glass backs.
  • Other specs include a triple camera array, a relatively large 4,300 mAh battery, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

The latest Samsung Galaxy Note 20 leak reveals some promising new features and upgrades, but it also looks like a big step back in design. 

A host of new and confirmed details have been revealed by German site WinFuture, with the renders coming from Evan Blass on Twitter help paint a more detailed picture of the Galaxy Note 20. WinFuture is the same source that leaked the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra specs, which reveal a whole suite of details about the larger Note 20 phone.

Unfortunately, WinFuture has no pricing details for the Note 20, beyond it being cheaper than the Note 20 Ultra. Given that the Galaxy Note 10 sells for $950, the Note 20 will likely cost something similar.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

(Image credit: Evan Blass)

The three colors for the Galaxy Note 20, which you can see in these renders, are Mystic Bronze, Mystic Gray and Mystic Green. The bronze is also available on the Note 20 Ultra, but the gray and green options are unique to this model.

Also unique to this model is a plastic back, rather than the glass back on the Note 20 Ultra. A plastic back on a phone of this price is pretty unusual, so we hope it doesn't make the standard Note 20 feel cheap and poorly made as a result.

The precise dimensions for the Note 20 are 161.6 x 75.2 x 8.3 mm, which converts to 6.36 x 2.96 x 0.3 inches. That's significantly larger than the Note 10, which may be good or bad depending on how large you like your phones to be.

For cameras, you'll find a 12MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a 64MP 3x hybrid zoom (30x max) camera on the back of the Note 20. There's no sign of the rumored time-of-flight sensor though, meaning the phone could struggle when it comes to special photo effects like bokeh.

The Note 20's single front camera is a 10MP sensor, which is located in the center in a punch-hole notch. The Note 20 will also be capable of recording 8K video, with the maximum frame rate thought to be 30FPS.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

(Image credit: Evan Blass)

The Galaxy Note 20's Super AMOLED display is pretty large, measuring 6.7 inches across. However, the FHD (2400 x 1080) resolution and 60Hz refresh rate are not as exciting as the QHD resolution and 120Hz refresh rate that the Note 20 Ultra is predicted to get. The Note 20 Ultra is also expected to come with an LTPO display, which can dynamically adjust the refresh rate to help better preserve battery life. 

For European buyers, WinFuture confirms the Note 20 will use an Exynos 990 chipset. Samsung usually gives the US versions of its phones a Qualcomm-made chip, so we're expecting the Snapdragon 865 Plus to power the Note 20 for American customers.

There's just one choice when it comes to memory and storage: 8GB RAM and 256GB respectively. That should be enough for everyday tasks, but if you run out of space there's no option for MicroSD card expansion; that's a feature exclusive to the Note 20 Ultra.

Unlike the Note 20 Ultra, there will be a 4G variant of the Note 20 as well as a 5G version. Hopefully, that means an even lower starting price, great for potential buyers with a tight budget. But the trade-off will be that the 4G Note 20 will feel obsolete sooner than the other models once countries around the world get their 5G networks up and running.

To provide power, the Note 20 is fitted with a 4,300 mAh battery, which can fill to 50% in 30 minutes on a wired charge. It has support for wireless and reverse wireless charging too, allowing you to take power from charging pads and give it back out to compatible accessories like the Galaxy Buds

The capacity is a particularly noteworthy upgrade here, as the Note 20 Ultra packs a 4,500 mAh battery over the Note 10's 3,500 mAh pack.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

(Image credit: Evan Blass)

The S Pen for the standard Note 20 is advertised as having a 26-millisecond latency. That's not as quick as the Note 20 Ultra's expected 9ms latency, but it should still write and draw without a notable delay between an action and its detection.

You also get an optimized experience for Xbox's xCloud. The first partnership of its kind, Note 20 users will be able to play more than 90 games via the Microsoft cloud game streaming service. This promises to improve the phone's value as an entertainment or gaming device.

There's the new wireless version of DeX available too, DeX being Samsung's desktop-style interface for the Galaxy Note series. Being able to use this without a cable will make it much easier to connect the Note 20 to a display or projector.

Samsung will be showing off the Note 20 at an event on August 5. This event will also see the reveal of the Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Watch 3 and Galaxy Tab S7 according to other rumors, which could make it one of Samsung's most exciting events yet. We'll be covering all of the Samsung Unpacked news as it happens live, so check back to Tom's Guide for more.

Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.

  • cadman869
    WOW, why is everyone like that concerning the back being plastic, using glass on the back was never a good thing even if it was Gorilla glass 1,000,000! The old Galaxy 4 had a polycarbonate back; polycarbonate is a much better choice... it won't crack or shatter. I'm so tired of seeing the bending tests on Gorilla glass, that is not what breaks it, sharp impact breaks it.

    Using a plastic back is not a step back!
    Reply