Sony Xperia 1 III vs Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
57
out of 100
VS
59
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.5-inch Sony Xperia 1 III (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888) that was released on April 14, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, which is powered by Exynos 990 and came out 8 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
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Key differences
Reasons to consider the Sony Xperia 1 III
- Has 2x more RAM: 12GB versus 6GB
- 30% higher pixel density (643 vs 496 PPI)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
- 34% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1232K versus 918K)
- More energy-efficient CPU – Snapdragon 888
- 25% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1528 and 1222 points
- Better grip in hands – the body is 6.2 mm narrower
- Weighs 22 grams less
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
- The phone is 8 months newer
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
- Delivers 83% higher peak brightness (1025 against 560 nits)
- Shows 20% longer battery life (18:32 vs 15:23 hours)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- The rear camera has a 5x optical zoom
- Has a 0.4 inch larger screen size
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Thinner bezels – 7.6% more screen real estate
- The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
- Ready for eSIM technology
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
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Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | Dynamic AMOLED |
| Size | 6.5 inches | 6.9 inches |
| Resolution | 1644 x 3840 pixels | 1440 x 3088 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 21:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 643 ppi | 496 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | Yes (10-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 385 nits | 600 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 620 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Touch sampling rate | 120 Hz | - |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 84.2% | 91.8% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.9% | 96.9% |
| PWM | 476 Hz | 245 Hz |
| Response time | 7.5 ms | 6 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Screen space comparison
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
6.9″ (19.5:9 ratio) = 18.1 in2
Xperia 1 III
6.5″ (21:9 ratio) = 15.3 in2
~18% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 165 mm (6.5 inches) | 164.8 mm (6.49 inches) |
| Width | 71 mm (2.8 inches) | 77.2 mm (3.04 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) | 8.1 mm (0.32 inches) |
| Weight | 186 g (6.56 oz) | 208 g (7.34 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Advanced cooling | - | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Gray, Purple | White, Black, Brown |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 | Samsung Exynos 990 |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 2730 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (2 + 2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55) - 3 cores at 2.42 GHz: Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78) - 1 core at 2.84 GHz: Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1) |
- 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 | 4 MB | 2 MB |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 7 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon 780 | Yes |
| Graphics | Adreno 660 | Mali-G77 MP11 |
| GPU shading units | 768 | 352 |
| GPU clock | 840 MHz | 832 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1290.2 GFLOPS | ~585.7 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 4494 | 5261 |
| Single-core score | 1528 | 1222 |
| Multi-core score | 3917 | 3060 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 435324 | 368930 |
| GPU | 228692 | 162695 |
| Memory | 219361 | 168589 |
| UX | 348823 | 218294 |
| Total score | 1232200 | 918508 |
| Samples | [4 tests] | [6 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 77% | 74% |
| Graphics test | 4 FPS | 2 FPS |
| Graphics score | 505 | 307 |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | 70% | 71% |
| Graphics test | 8 FPS | 8 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1485 | 1407 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 12641 | 10705 |
| Video editing | 7747 | 6884 |
| Photo editing | 31867 | 30928 |
| Data manipulation | 11659 | 8823 |
| Writing score | 17464 | 11422 |
Recent User Tests
Sony Xperia 1 III
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-02-22 (semga) | AnTuTu 11 | 1245240 |
| 📘 2025-10-10 (desomorphine) | Geekbench 6 GPU | 4494 |
| 📘 2025-10-10 (desomorphine) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1528 / 3917 |
| 📘 2025-10-10 (desomorphine) | AnTuTu 11 | 1232200 |
| 📘 2025-09-30 (desomorphine) | AnTuTu 11 | 1179636 |
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-07-16 (Vinny) | AnTuTu 11 | 746630 |
| 📘 2026-03-02 (Amir) | AnTuTu 11 | 529407 |
| 📘 2026-01-09 (WP69) | AnTuTu 11 | 944395 |
| 📘 2025-11-28 (K7) | AnTuTu 11 | 918508 |
| 📘 2025-11-15 (K7) | AnTuTu 11 | 699444 |
Memory
| RAM size | 12 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 2750 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | - |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1024 GB | Up to 1000 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | - | One UI 5.0 |
| OS size | 16 GB | 34.7 GB |
| OS updates | - | 2 years |
| Security updates | - | 4 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 4500 mAh | 4500 mAh |
| Max charge power | 30 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes | Yes, (wireless) |
| Fast charging | Yes (50% in 30 min) | Yes (43% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:50 hr | 1:20 hr |
| Web browsing | 05:20 hr | 07:27 hr |
| Watching video | 08:56 hr | 12:33 hr |
| Gaming | 04:04 hr | 05:16 hr |
| Standby | 82 hr | 81 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 108 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 12000 x 9000 |
| Zoom | Optical, 4.4x | Optical, 5x |
| Flash | Dual LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | Up to 24FPS |
| 4K video recording | Up to 120FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 240FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 960 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 124° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 12 MP 3) Ultrawide: 12 MP 4) Depth: 0.3 MP |
1) Standard: 108 MP 2) Telephoto: 12 MP 3) Ultrawide: 12 MP 4) Depth: 0.3 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 108 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.7 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 24 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX557 | Samsung Bright S5KHM1 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.7" (≈ 0.59 inch) | 1/1.33" (≈ 0.75 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.8 micron | 0.8 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Laser autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.3 | f/3.0 |
| Focal length | 70 mm | 103 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX663 | Samsung S5K3M5 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.9" (≈ 0.34 inch) | 1/3.4" (≈ 0.29 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1 micron | 1 micron |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 16 mm | 13 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX363 | Samsung S5K2L3 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.4 micron | 1.4 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 60 | - |
| Preview | 57 | - |
| Zoom | 104 | - |
| Samples | Photo samples of Sony Xperia 1 III from DxOMark | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 10 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 3872 x 2592 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 24 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5K4H7 | Sony IMX374 |
| Sensor size | 1/4" (≈ 0.25 inch) | 1/3.2" (≈ 0.31 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | 1.22 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.2 | 5.1 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, 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 - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | 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 | Yes |
| LTE Cat* | 20 | 20 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | No | Yes |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | April 2021 | August 2020 |
| Release date | June 2021 | August 2020 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1200 | $1299 |
| Successor | - Sony Xperia 1 VII | - |
| SAR (head) | - | 0.319 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | - | 1.557 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 |
| Bundled charger | Yes, 30 W | - |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the camera, battery life, software, and design are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. But if the performance and gaming are more of a priority – go for the Sony Xperia 1 III.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 59