Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 13 Pro
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.9-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (with Exynos 990) that was released on August 5, 2020, against the Apple iPhone 13 Pro, which is powered by Apple A15 Bionic and came out 13 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the gadgets.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
- Comes with 1405 mAh larger battery capacity: 4500 vs 3095 mAh
- Has a 0.8 inch larger screen size
- The rear camera has a 5x optical zoom
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1000GB
- Fingerprint scanner
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- Thinner bezels – 5.7% more screen real estate
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 13 Pro
- Shows 40% longer battery life (36:56 vs 26:27 hours)
- 44% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (798K versus 556K)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
- The phone is 1-year and 1-month newer
- More energy-efficient CPU – Apple A15 Bionic
- 80% faster in single-core GeekBench 5 test: 1715 and 952 points
- Better grip in hands – the body is 5.7 mm narrower
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Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation
Value for money
You can enter your local price of these phones (in USD or any other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.9 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3088 pixels | 1170 x 2532 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 496 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Max rated brightness | 600 nits | 1000 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 1200 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Ceramic Shield |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 91.7% | 86% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 96.9% | 99.8% |
| PWM | 245 Hz | 510 Hz |
| Response time | 6 ms | 4.8 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 164.8 mm (6.49 inches) | 146.7 mm (5.78 inches) |
| Width | 77.2 mm (3.04 inches) | 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.1 mm (0.32 inches) | 7.65 mm (0.3 inches) |
| Weight | 208 g (7.34 oz) | 204 g (7.2 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black | Black, Silver, Gold, Blue, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 990 | Apple A15 Bionic |
| Max. clock | 2730 MHz | 3200 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 2.5 GHz: Cortex-A76 - 2 cores at 2.73 GHz: Exynos M5 |
- 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Blizzard - 2 cores at 3.24 GHz: Avalanche |
| L3 cache | 2 MB | - |
| Lithography process | 7 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G77 MP11 | Apple GPU |
| GPU clock | 800 MHz | 1200 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1196 GFLOPS | - |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 92406 | 216602 |
| GPU | 216567 | 336667 |
| Memory | 125152 | 112950 |
| UX | 116586 | 131916 |
| Total score | 556105 | 798315 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Stability | 44% | 78% |
| Graphics test | 25 FPS | 56 FPS |
| Graphics score | 4243 | 9510 |
| PCMark 3.0 score | 10848 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 8, 12 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | - | 2 |
| Storage size | 256, 512 GB | 128, 256, 512, 1024 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | NVMe |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max. size | Up to 1000 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | iOS 15 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.2) |
| ROM | One UI 5.0 | - |
| OS size | 34.7 GB | 15.2 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4500 mAh | 3095 mAh |
| Charge power | 25 W | 23 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (43% in 30 min) | Yes (60% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:20 hr | 1:38 hr |
| Web browsing | 08:59 hr | 13:06 hr |
| Watching video | 13:52 hr | 16:46 hr |
| Gaming | 04:58 hr | 05:51 hr |
| Standby | 74 hr | 117 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 108 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 12000 x 9000 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Optical, 5x | Optical, 3x |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 24FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 240FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 4 (108 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP + 0.3 MP) | 4 (12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 108 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.33", Samsung Bright S5KHM1 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Laser autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.5 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.9 micron - Sensor: 1/1.66", Sony IMX703 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/3.0 - Focal length: 103 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Samsung S5K3M5 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.8 - Focal length: 77 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Samsung S5K2L3 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Phase autofocus |
| Depth lens | - 0.3 MP |
Yes |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 13 Pro from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3872 x 2592 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 23 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.22 microns | - |
| Sensor type | CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.2" | 1/3.6" |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.1 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | - |
| USB version | 3.2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, NAVIC | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | Yes | No |
| LTE Cat* | 20 | 18 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | Yes | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max. loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | August 2020 | September 2021 |
| Release date | August 2020 | September 2021 |
| SAR (head) | 0.319 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.557 W/kg | 0.98 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 13 Pro is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 344
