Is the S20 Ultra a failure?

[cknobman]

The best way to judge if this phone is a failure is to see if Samsung keeps this model and/or strategy for next year.

 

[donm527]

They Kept the Bixby button for two years

The best way to judge if this phone is a failure is to see if Samsung keeps this model and/or strategy for next year.

 

[Mike Dee]

The best way to judge if this phone is a failure is to see if Samsung keeps this model and/or strategy for next year.

The Ultra sold more than expected compared to to the regular and plus models.

 

[rdrive41071]

The best way to judge if this phone is a failure is to see if Samsung keeps this model and/or strategy for next year.

I don't think the galaxy series is going anywhere. If anything, the note series will be the one to fall into the abyss - unless Samsung has gone back to the drawing board, and will surprise us all with a new flagship model that will incorporate the best of the galaxy and note to make a brand new (improved) flagship phone. I don't see the Z-flip being the new model Samsung. No way. Going to be interesting to see Samsung's next step - in 2021

 

[Mike Dee]

I don't think the galaxy series is going anywhere. If anything, the note series will be the one to fall into the abyss - unless Samsung has gone back to the drawing board, and will surprise us all with a new flagship model that will incorporate the best of the galaxy and note to make a brand new (improved) flagship phone. I don't see the Z-flip being the new model Samsung. No way. Going to be interesting to see Samsung's next step - in 2021

I think they were referring to the Ultra specifically

 

[daswooski]

I think they were referring to the Ultra specifically

Agree with Mike ... again. I went with the S20+ and am very happy. I bought a Smartphone...not a Camera ...

 

[rdrive41071]

Agree with Mike ... again. I went with the S20+ and am very happy. I bought a Smartphone...not a Camera ...

People are putting so much emphasis on the Ultra's camera - but that is mainly because Samsung made such a huge commitment to marketing the ultra as the new camera that would be such a big game changer. It was no where near what they hyped it up to be. That is on Samsung. The good thing is, the phone is still very strong in other areas. Hopefully even better with more updates.

Edit: There is another camera update being pushed out now with (supposedly) a bunch of fixes.

https://9to5google.com/2020/04/02/galaxy-s20-april-update/

 

[MoreDef]

This may be oversimplifying things, but if the 865 is about 20% more efficient than the 855, and the latest Snapdragon is that much better than the latest Exynos, then does that mean that the Exynos Ultra is basically last year's flagship phone a year later?

If it is, then could we maybe say the Exynos Ultra is a failure, at least for being dated and gimped when compared to it's more efficient Snapdragon counterpart?

 

[mustang7757]

This may be oversimplifying things, but if the 865 is about 20% more efficient than the 855, and the latest Snapdragon is that much better than the latest Exynos, then does that mean that the Exynos Ultra is basically last year's flagship phone a year later?

If it is, then could we maybe say the Exynos Ultra is a failure, at least for being dated and gimped when compared to it's more efficient Snapdragon counterpart?

Yeah , Exynos variant been lacking for awhile vs snapdragon , it was once far superior to snapdragon.

 

[BlackZeppelin]

Yeah , Exynos variant been lacking for awhile vs snapdragon , it was once far superior to snapdragon.

There an interesting rumour article about Samsung's intentions for next years S21. This rumour is claiming that Samsung wants to implement Huawei's Kirin chips instead. I don't know how credible this is.

But what is really interesting is how the S20 range in South Korea itself was released with the Qualcomm chip. A major blow and embarrassment to Exynos. Apparently this is a first so maybe this is a sign that changes are happening and Samsung is taking notice with their customer's dissatisfaction between the disparity of Qualcomm and their own Exynos chips. I personally believe we'll see an improved situation when the S21 rolls around. If nothing else, we should see major improvements to the new Exynos chips so that they'll be comparable to the new Qualcomm ones.

 

[bhatech]

This rumour is claiming that Samsung wants to implement Huawei's Kirin chips instead. I don't know how credible this is.

They are not foolish to use or have any relationship with Huawei and risk sanctions in one of biggest market for their flagship phones which is US. Even if sanctions was out of the picture, I can't see that making sense for Samsung given how shameful it'll be to use that and it's not like there aren't options with Qualcomm and their own. You can argue all you want about performance but Samsung isn't going to go down on that route.

Here is another rumor I want to start which I heard from a credible source, I heard Samsung is actually planning to use Apple's A series chips from next year

 

[BlackZeppelin]

Lol. Well regardless, I think Sammy is starting to take notice of people's dissatisfaction with Exynos evident by releasing Qualcomm chip phones even in their home turf in South Korea. And at a recent shareholders'meeting this issue was raised also. So I do believe this will all mean increased performance for the S21 even if it's still Exynos for the rest of the world as it is now.

I think Sammy will double down on their Exynos chips for next year so that it's comparable to Qualcomm so that there will be no more extensive negative press about the performance disparities as there has been for the S20 series.

Especially considering the enormous prices for the flagship series, with the most premium even topping out Apple's iPhone.

 

[mustang7757]

There an interesting rumour article about Samsung's intentions for next years S21. This rumour is claiming that Samsung wants to implement Huawei's Kirin chips instead. I don't know how credible this is.

But what is really interesting is how the S20 range in South Korea itself was released with the Qualcomm chip. A major blow and embarrassment to Exynos. Apparently this is a first so maybe this is a sign that changes are happening and Samsung is taking notice with their customer's dissatisfaction between the disparity of Qualcomm and their own Exynos chips. I personally believe we'll see an improved situation when the S21 rolls around. If nothing else, we should see major improvements to the new Exynos chips so that they'll be comparable to the new Qualcomm ones.

I dont think they will use the kirin chip , Samsung is also a chip company and they know how to make chips , I think they will start making them better soon.

 

[Mike Dee]

I dont think they will use the kirin chip , Samsung is also a chip company and they know how to make chips , I think they will start making them better soon.

I think the Sapporo chip is better than the Kirin

 

[mustang7757]

I think the Sapporo chip is better than the Kirin

You would say that

 

[TheBf666]

Ultra is an over-hyped phone that under-delivers and the price is not right.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Ultra is an over-hyped phone that under-delivers and the price is not right.

Why do you say that? What features are lacking for the price?

 

[MoreDef]

https://youtu.be/K37gF3xqAs0

Man, it's harsh, and I hate hate hate hate hate HATE agreeing with him because he acts so entitled, but Linus is on the money with a few of his points.

But the silver lining is that software updates can change almost all of those gripes, along with the unmentioned ones we've spent 11 pages talking about.

 

[BlackZeppelin]

Is the S20 Ultra a failure? This is easy to answer. From a commercial viewpoint, the answer is a definate "no". The S20 Ultra is making up half of all S20 series sales, exceeding Samsung's expectations. I've read that stock in some countries has run out and that camera components unique to the S20 Ultra are being ramped up in production.

As I said before, this is really good news for those waiting for the S21. Samsung knows there's a big market for the all the bells and whistles expensive flagship. Even in in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. Plus other competitors are ramping up features so Samsung cannot stand still. Apple will significantly increase their camera resolutions for the iPhone 12 plus introduce 5G. Huawei outdoes the S20 Ultra on their P40 Pro+ with 10x optical zoom vs Samsung's 4x optical zoom. One Plus will introduce 30W wireless charging that features controlled output that does not overheat the battery. And lastly, Samsung has heard loud and clear about dissatisfaction with Exynos, evident by the fact that the S20 series in South Korea is released with the Snapdragon version.

With the combination of better than expected sales of the S20 Ultra, new innovations from competitors and protests over Exynos, Samsung will double down on all fronts for their next S series.

Specifically for the next Ultra series, I would imagine a significant increase in wired and wireless charging speeds, camera focusing, optical zoom level and Exynos performance comparable to the next Qualcomm one.

 

[MoreDef]

Is the S20 Ultra a failure? This is easy to answer. From a commercial viewpoint, the answer is a definate "no". The S20 Ultra is making up half of all S20 series sales, exceeding Samsung's expectations. I've read that stock in some countries has run out and that camera components unique to the S20 Ultra are being ramped up in production.

As I said before, this is really good news for those waiting for the S21. Samsung knows there's a big market for the all the bells and whistles expensive flagship. Even in in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. Plus other competitors are ramping up features so Samsung cannot stand still. Apple will significantly increase their camera resolutions for the iPhone 12 plus introduce 5G. Huawei outdoes the S20 Ultra on their P40 Pro+ with 10x optical zoom vs Samsung's 4x optical zoom. One Plus will introduce 30W wireless charging that features controlled output that does not overheat the battery. And lastly, Samsung has heard loud and clear about dissatisfaction with Exynos, evident by the fact that the S20 series in South Korea is released with the Snapdragon version.

With the combination of better than expected sales of the S20 Ultra, new innovations from competitors and protests over Exynos, Samsung will double down on all fronts for their next S series.

Specifically for the next Ultra series, I would imagine a significant increase in wired and wireless charging speeds, camera focusing, optical zoom level and Exynos performance comparable to the next Qualcomm one.

I'm going to preface my response by saying that i bought the most expensive version of the Ultra and it's going to be my daily driver for at least a year. With that being said...

While it may have been labeled a "commercial success", I'm wondering the ratio of sales to upgrades. I mean, buying the phone outright makes it a lot easier to return, rather than upgrading on JoD or similar programs. That MIGHT be a factor that determines the number of how many are sold...the fact that for upgrades, it's probably more difficult (not impossible, but a definite hassle) to return the product. I know that for JoD, there's no trial period, so when you jump, it's one way.

In addition, all the rebates and promotions basically get you locked in and committed for the sheer fact that people traded in devices, and because they were already shipped out and the process was already begun, it would again be near-impossible to reverse it upon learning that the key features were nothing but parlor tricks.

Finally, and speaking of price, the high value given to devices that were relatively old (I traded my N9 and got $500 in total rebates plus $200 from Samsung) meant that it was easier for people to rationalize keeping the phone, because in my case, it wasn't $1600, it was $900 after all the incentives.

So short answer, yes, it "sold" well. Long answer, there's a lot of caveats to that oversimplified statement.

What I'm hoping for is that this phone causes a tech epiphany, making that people see the specs, realize that they didn't match the performance, and start looking at things besides stats and numbers. In addition, I'm hoping that reviewers do a better job of taking the phone through it's paces before putting out a glowing review. It's really a shame that absolutely no one reviewed the phone and talked about how my much it sucked under low light conditions when taking pictures of moving objects. I mean, do none of these reviewers live Indoors? Do none of them have kids? Do they always have lighting crews to optimize the scenes they're shooting? I don't get how do many things were glazed over.

I personally bought the phone, and, once I realized I was locked in, turned right around and used part of the rebate money to buy a Pixel 3XL...a phone with way less impressive specs, but honestly, a phone that I'm finding more and more should have been a phone I bought while keeping my Note 9.