Samsung Galaxy Note 20 leak reveals under-display camera to beat iPhone 12

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 mockup
(Image credit: SamMobile and Giuseppe)

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 could be set for a reveal soon, as possible teaser images for the upcoming phone have popped up on the company’s Galaxy Store. 

An eagle-eyed reader of SamMobile flagged a featured image in the Galaxy Store’s "Samsung Rewards" section, which included a theme for an unreleased Samsung phone. Going by its proportion, it looks like it could be the Galaxy Note 20. 

The image isn’t very clear and we are unable to corroborate it on our own Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus, though our unit is set up for the UK. There’s also a good chance that Samsung has pulled the theme from its store. 

But from what we can see, the theme for the unknown phone in the middle of the image shows the handset has an expansive display with no cutout hole for the front-facing camera. That could mean Samsung has found some way to embed a selfie camera under the display, or it could be using a pop-up camera, such as the one found in the OnePlus 7T Pro. That phone has now been succeeded by the OnePlus 8 Pro, which has a punch-hole front-facing camera. 

However, this theme is potentially just a mockup designed to stand in for the Note 20 until it’s actually announced later this year. There’s a noticeable lack of buttons on the phone’s side, and dropping the Infinity-O display doesn’t track with other leaks and rumours. Most sources currently suggest it’ll have more of a spec and camera upgrade than a major overhaul over the Samsung Galaxy Note 10

Given the mystery phone has its left side obscured by the Galaxy S10 Plus in the image, it could be that Samsung has decided to move the punch-hole camera to the top left-hand side of the Note 20. Again, this would seem odd as the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Plus, and Galaxy S20 Ultra all have their cutouts centred in the display’s top edge, continuing the design set by the Note 10. 

This mockup might just be that: a mockup with no solid grounding in final product design for the Galaxy Note 20. But we would like to see Samsung push things further with its smartphone design, and a nearly button-less handset with an under-display selfie camera could help the Note 20 in its upcoming battle against the iPhone 12

Roland Moore-Colyer

Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.