150-photo Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra test: 100x zoom, 108MP camera, 40MP selfies

By David Lumb, Matt Swider
published

With 150 photos, we determine how impressive the Galaxy S20 Ultra is compared to other phones in our official camera test

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The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra camera is excellent when zoomed in, even if the 100x 'Space Zoom' won't exactly be your next prized Instagram photo. But what happens when shadows creep in? At 30x and 100x zoom, things do get blurrier, but so do the 10x zoom ranges of Samsung's top phone competitors.

Note: You can set most of the photos sets to 10x zoom and scroll down to see the differences, though both the Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 3a max out at an 8x zoom. Every other phone maxes out at 10x zoom, except for the S20 Ultra that goes to 100x and also has a 30x preset in the UI.

The comparison photos (those photos with the slider bar tool) are set to compare shots at the 1x (meaning no zoom) level.

Galaxy S20 Ultra 100x 'Space Zoom' at night

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Grand Central Station building clock photo
(Image credit: Future)

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra camera – 1x (no zoom)


Galaxy S20 chief competitors at night

iPhone 11 Pro Max

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Grand Central Station building clock photo
(Image credit: Future)

iPhone 11 Pro Max camera – 1x (no zoom)

Google Pixel 4

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Grand Central Station building clock photo
(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 4 camera – 1x (no zoom)

S20 Ultra vs last year's big Samsung phones 

Galaxy S10

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Grand Central Station building clock photo
(Image credit: Future)

Samsung Galaxy S10 camera – 1x (no zoom)

Galaxy Note 10 Plus

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Grand Central Station building clock photo
(Image credit: Future)

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 camera – 1x (no zoom)

S20 Ultra vs much cheaper phones

OnePlus 7 Pro

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Grand Central Station building clock photo
(Image credit: Future)

OnePlus 7 Pro camera – 1x (no zoom)

Google Pixel 3a

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Grand Central Station building clock photo
(Image credit: Future)

Google Pixel 3a camera – 1x (no zoom)

Now onto the Galaxy S20 Ultra 'Live Focus' mode, which is Samsung calls its portrait mode, and more comparisons to tell how Samsung's new phone stacks up to its competitors.

David Lumb
David Lumb

David is now a mobile reporter at Cnet. Formerly Mobile Editor, US for TechRadar, he covered phones, tablets, and wearables. He still thinks the iPhone 4 is the best-looking smartphone ever made. He's most interested in technology, gaming and culture – and where they overlap and change our lives. His current beat explores how our on-the-go existence is affected by new gadgets, carrier coverage expansions, and corporate strategy shifts.

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