5 Reasons to Wait for the Galaxy S20 Ultra & 3 Reasons Not To

Wait for the Best Cameras

You can expect Samsung to make significant improvements to the Galaxy S20 camera, with the most notable changes being saved for the most expensive Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G.

In a tweet last year, Ice Universe claims that the Galaxy Note 10 will be Samsung's last device with 1/2.55-inch 1.4um CMOS camera sensor. He claims the Galaxy S11/20 "will adopt a new large-size large-pixel CMOS" and that it will be a "whole new beginning" for Samsung's cameras. 

Samsung has since confirmed a new 108MP sensor, the "first mobile image sensor in the industry to go beyond 100 million pixels." The company says the sensor entered mass production in August 2019, which means it should be ready in time for the Galaxy S20 series. That said, now we're hearing that only the S20 Ultra will get the 108MP chip, but that's yet to be confirmed. 

A report from the Korean site The Elec outlines some other potential details. Their sources claim the Galaxy S11/20 will feature 5x optical zoom, up from 2x. In response to the report, Ice Universe says "the S11 doesn't just have a normal 5x optical zoom."

Furthermore, the tweet in January by @MaxWeinbach says the Galaxy S20 Ultra will actually ditch the 12MP 5x lens for a 48MP 10x telephoto zoom lens. Meaning the S20 Plus will have an upgraded 5x zoom lens, but the bigger S20 Ultra will take things a step further in the camera department. 

A recent report from Galaxy Club claims the Galaxy S camera is codenamed "Hubble" which likely refers to the Hubble Space Telescope. This appears to hint at 5 & 10x optical zoom. Samsung even recently filed a trademark for the name "Space Zoom" which might be a hint of the stunning S20 camera and a new space mode similar to the Pixel 4's Astrophotography mode.  

A report from Bloomberg backs up these rumors and all but confirms Samsung's plans to include a 108MP camera sensor and 5X optical zoom. It also looks like the Galaxy S11's 5x zoom camera will have Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and the ability to shoot video in 8K quality. Although only the main two cameras will have OIS, and if they do leave 8K recording as an option, it'll be locked to 30 FPS. 

In the image at the top of this page, we can see the device's ultra-wide-angle lens, the main camera, and the periscope zoom lens. These should be accompanied by an LED flash and the rumored 3D ToF or depth-of-field camera sensor. Technically, you'll have three main cameras on the back, and the 4th one is simply gathering data for improved photography and processing. 

Ice Universe claims the 108MP main camera will be accompanied by a 48MP telephoto camera. He says both the S20 Plus and Ultra will have it, while a few other reports in January claim only the Ultra will get those. We'll have to wait and see. Either way, these will be the best cameras around and absolutely worth waiting for.