Samsung Galaxy Note 8 vs Note 20
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (with Exynos 9 Octa 8895) that was released on August 22, 2017, against the Samsung Galaxy Note 20, which is powered by Exynos 990 and came out 36 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 8
- 33% higher pixel density (522 vs 393 PPI)
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 256GB
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Note 20
- 83% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (544K versus 297K)
- Comes with 1000 mAh larger battery capacity: 4300 vs 3300 mAh
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Compatible with the latest Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
- Has a 0.4 inch larger screen size
- More recent OS version: Android 13 versus 9
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2400 MHz
- Stereo speakers
- Delivers 16% higher peak brightness (616 against 533 nits)
- Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
- Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
We may receive a commission from Amazon for purchases made using the links below, but this has no bearing on our assessment methodology.
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 | Super AMOLED | Super AMOLED |
| Size | 6.3 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 2960 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 18.5:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 522 ppi | 393 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Max rated brightness | - | 600 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 83.14% | 89.2% |
| Display features | - Always-On Display | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | - | 99.9% |
| PWM | 257 Hz | 250 Hz |
| Response time | 4.4 ms | 6.4 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 162.5 mm (6.4 inches) | 161.6 mm (6.36 inches) |
| Width | 74.8 mm (2.94 inches) | 75.2 mm (2.96 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.6 mm (0.34 inches) | 8.3 mm (0.33 inches) |
| Weight | 195 g (6.88 oz) | 192 g (6.77 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Plastic |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Gold, Gray, Blue | Black, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, rear | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 8895 | Samsung Exynos 990 |
| Max. clock | 2300 MHz | 2730 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (2 + 2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.7 GHz: Cortex-A53 - 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Exynos M2 |
- 4 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 2.5 GHz: Cortex-A76 - 2 cores at 2.73 GHz: Exynos M5 |
| L3 cache | - | 2 MB |
| Lithography process | 10 nanometers | 7 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G71 MP20 | Mali-G77 MP11 |
| GPU clock | 546 MHz | 550 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~349 GFLOPS | ~1196 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 82412 | 147614 |
| GPU | 103071 | 195295 |
| Memory | 45749 | 97621 |
| UX | 66915 | 108092 |
| Total score | 297931 | 544343 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Stability | - | 88% |
| Graphics test | - | 25 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 4309 |
| PCMark 3.0 score | - | 10571 |
Memory
| RAM size | 6 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 1794 MHz | 2400 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 64, 128, 256 GB | 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 2.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max. size | Up to 256 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 7.1.1 (Can be upgraded to Android 9.0) | Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | One UI | One UI 5.0 |
| OS size | 13 GB | 35 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 3300 mAh | 4300 mAh |
| Charge power | 15 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes, Qi/PMA (10 W) | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | Yes, (wireless) |
| Fast charging | Yes, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (42% in 30 min) | Yes (50% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:50 hr | 1:05 hr |
| Web browsing | 06:42 hr | - |
| Watching video | 10:42 hr | - |
| Gaming | 04:24 hr | - |
| Standby | 68 hr | - |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Zoom | Optical, 2x | Optical, 3x |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | Up to 24FPS |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 240FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | - | 120° |
| Lenses | 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) | 3 (12 MP + 64 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.7 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.76", Sony IMX555 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.6" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 64 MP - Aperture: f/2.0 - Focal length: 27 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.72", Samsung Bright S5KGW2 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens | - | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Samsung S5K2LA (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy Note 8 from DxOMark | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy Note 20 from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 10 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 3872 x 2592 |
| Aperture | f/1.7 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 25 mm | 26 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.22 microns | 1.22 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.6" | 1/3.2" |
| Video resolution | 1440p at 30 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, NAVIC |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | No | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | Yes | No |
| LTE Cat* | 16 | 20 |
| 5G support | No | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Mono | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max. loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | August 2017 | August 2020 |
| Release date | September 2017 | August 2020 |
| SAR (head) | 0.173 W/kg | 0.359 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.29 W/kg | 1.366 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
*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 Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 48