Samsung Galaxy S20 rumors: Everything we know so far [Video]

Damien Wilde | Jan 17 2020 - 3:00 pm PT

The rumors surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S20 are rife and we’ve sifted through the noise to filter out everything that you need to know ahead of the official launch event — Unpacked 2020.

Considering that less than six months ago we were gearing up to see just what the Galaxy Note 10 series brought to the table, it will be interesting to see just what Samsung plans on doing to differentiate the two series — that have converged steadily over the previous two years.

There are few smartphone launches that mean as much as the Samsung Galaxy line. The most popular Android flagship almost demands the attention of the entire industry — as Samsung sets the bar for the 2020 smartphone scene. Whether you agree or not, Galaxy is synonymous with Android and that means that people take notice.

This is every rumor or tidbit we know about the Samsung Galaxy S20 series so far, and it looks as though we might see some serious hardware introductions this time around.

Design and device features

If you are expecting a major overhaul in the design department for the Galaxy S20, then, unfortunately, you are going to end up disappointed. That said, there will be some tweaks here and there that will separate the S20 from the Note 10 and the S10 released in 2019.

For starters, we are expecting another Infinity-O display. The punch-hole notch will move from the upper right of the display — as seen on the Galaxy S10 — to a central position. Unlike the Note 10 and Note 10+, the Galaxy S20 will have far rounder corners and edges than it’s boxy brethren. According to previous hands-on leaks, the display will have a far softer curve this time around. It still isn’t flat but the 2.5D glass should be less prone to accidental touches and play nicely with cases.

We have some bad news though, as none of the upcoming Galaxy S20 models will come with a headphone port. That means wired headphones are essentially dead on high-end phones as of 2020 — RIP. Dongles and Bluetooth audio are going to be essential if you pick up the S20 this year.

High refresh rates are very slowly starting to come to Android smartphones and the Samsung Galaxy S20 series will come with 120Hz display options for all three of the models. You’ll have the ability to adjust the refresh rate from 60 to 120Hz. All models are set to come with the 3200×1440 resolution AMOLED display or WQHD+ displays in a 20:9 aspect ratio.

Samsung has ditched the physical fingerprint reader on many of its flagship lines and the Galaxy S20 series will come with an ultra-sonic under-display fingerprint reader. Let’s hope it doesn’t encounter the same issues with cheap screen-protectors that the Galaxy S10 did late last year.

As you would probably expect, the entire Galaxy S20 series will come with IP68 water and dust resistance and is shipping with Android 10 with One UI 2.0 pre-installed.

Models

The Galaxy S20 is set to come in at least three flavors: 6.4-inch, 6.7-inch, and 6.9-inch variants. We’ll see a standard Galaxy S20, an S20+, and a huge Galaxy S20 Ultra. All models will include a 5G variant on top of that for five distinct options to choose from.

Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Galaxy S20 5G
Samsung Galaxy S20+
Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G

— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) January 12, 2020

Samsung is dropping the “e” variant of the Galaxy series this time around. This definitely saves some confusion and makes it far easier to distinguish between the three models. On top of that, being able to choose 5G connectivity makes it simple for people to choose which smartphone is right for them.

Galaxy S20 specs rumors

It is expected that all of the Galaxy S20 series will come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset in North America, but we have confirmation that we’ll see the Exynos 990 in global markets. The S20 and 20+ are expected to come with at least 12GB of RAM, whereas the S20 Ultra will have a whopping 16GB RAM option.

The Galaxy S20 and S20+ with have a solitary128GB base storage option and SD card support up to 1TB. The good news is that this will be superfast UFS 3.0 storage. This should ensure that the Samsung Galaxy S20 is just as snappy on day 365 as it would be on day one. For those thirsty for information on the Ultra, it will come in 128GB base storage with a 512GB version and micro SD card support up to 1TB also.

A big point of contention is always the battery size, with the Galaxy S20 series set to go big in the battery stakes this year. The Galaxy S20+ will come with a 4,500mAh cell and support for 25W fast charging. Expect to see a massive 5,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support on the mammoth Galaxy S20 Ultra. We don’t actually know what size Samsung is packing in the smaller S20 model but if it’s above 4,000mAh then we’re sure fans will be happy.

Camera

The rumors suggest that Samsung is planning one heck of a shake-up of the Galaxy S20 camera setup over previous generations. That’s not to say the S10 had a bad camera, far from it. It’s obvious to state but this will likely be the best camera system on a Galaxy smartphone to date.

Every S20 relies on the Sony IMX 555 sensor, with some core differences between each model. Notorious Samsung leaker @IceUniverse suggests that the base models will come with a 12-megapixel main wide lens, 64-megapixel telephoto lens, and 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens. The Galaxy S20+ will also include a Time-of-Flight sensor. That 64-megapixel secondary sensor is rumored to be capable of 3x optical zoom with a potential 30x digital zoom.

S20：12MP+64MP+12MP
S20+：12MP+64MP+12MP+ToF
S20U：108MP+48MP+12MP+ToF

— ICE UNIVERSE (@UniverseIce) January 14, 2020

Now the Galaxy S20 Ultra will come with a mouthwatering 108-megapixel main sensor, 48-megapixel telephoto, 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, and Time-of-Flight sensor for one of the most comprehensive camera setups ever placed in a smartphone. Rumors suggest that the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G may be capable of 100x hybrid zoom.

At the front, the selfie camera we thought it would be the same 10-megapixel Sony IMX 374 sensor as found on the Samsung Galaxy S10. Instead, we are going to see a 40-megapixel front-facing camera with support for 4K 60fps video recording for those that want high-frame-rate video recording options for their selfie camera.

The rear camera should be capable of recording video at up to 8K quality at 30fps, or 4K at 60fps, and there’s mention of several camera modes, some of which we’ve seen before including a dedicated night mode, several live focus video modes, plus tons more.

Colors

The only confirmation of color we have is from the leaked hands-on images and video of a glossy black Galaxy S20+ 5G model. It wouldn’t be a great leap to assume that we’ll see at least a white option which is in keeping with the recent Galaxy S series releases.

Beyond that, we hope that Samsung puts out another Aura Glow option to mimic the Note 10 and Note 10+. The rest of the potential S20 colors, unfortunately, remain a bit of a mystery at this stage.

Galaxy S20 series pricing rumors

Your guess is as good as ours but we would expect the Galaxy S20 series to start at a similar range to what the Galaxy S10 was originally sold for. That means the all-action Galaxy S20 Ultra is likely to come with an eye-watering $1,000+ price-tag, with the standard S20 starting at a similar level to the S10e. However, the Galaxy S20+ may be close to the $1,000 price radius.

Release date and availability

Unpacked 2020 is set for February 11, 2020. That means we’ll likely see the Galaxy S20 series and Galaxy Z Flip unveiled together alongside some other accessories before a launch date within the weeks proceeding.

Stay tuned!

We’ll keep this post updated with all the rumors as we near the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S20 series at Unpacked 2020, but until then, keep it locked to the 9to5Google home page for all the latest Samsung Galaxy developments!