Samsung Galaxy Note 20 will steal a lot from Galaxy S20

Samsung Galaxy Note 20
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus. (Image credit: Future)

We're very excited for the Samsung Galaxy Note 20, and we really liked the Galaxy S20 series phones that Samsung unveiled in February. However, there may not be that big a difference between these two phones after all.

A recent tweet made by Ice Universe, a respected leaker of Samsung phones and others, says that the S20 will share much in common with the Note 20, including cameras.

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In a second tweet replying to a commenter, Ice Universe reiterates his point fairly bluntly. The addition of an S-Pen does change a lot of things about the way you use a Galaxy Note-series phone, but "S20 Pen Edition" is not a generous description.

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Perhaps it doesn't matter if the Note 20 is kind of similar to the S20. The Galaxy S20 Plus and Galaxy S20 Ultra in particular are very good phones, with excellent displays, cameras, batteries and futureproof 5G compatibility. At 6.7 and 6.9 inches respectively, the S20 Plus and S20 Ultra have large enough displays to make any Note user happy, so maybe adding a stylus with a few associated new features would be all Samsung needs to do for its next flagship launch.

However, some users might expect more from their Note 20. As well as typically being larger than even the biggest Galaxy S-series phone and adding the stylus, there are usually new features that make the increased price of the Note series worth it. For example, last year's Galaxy Note 10 was Samsung's first phone with 25W (and optionally 45W) fast charging, Live Focus for video, a Zoom-in Mic and Samsung's DeX desktop link software.

We'll have to see what further rumors, and the eventual launch event have to tell us about the Note 20. Considering the problems that the coronavirus pandemic is currently causing, the August release we're expecting may end up delayed, but hopefully we'll still hear something concrete by the end of the year.

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.