Samsung Galaxy Note 20 certification just indicated we'll get a 4G version too

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus (Image credit: Future)

Samsung’s Unpacked event has been the talk of the town ever since the company confirmed August 5 as the date, and we're now closer than ever to the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 reveal.

Two recent certifications for the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra have revealed some key specs, including the fact there are likely to be both 4G and 5G versions of both phones.

That has been heavily rumored in the past few months, but these new FCC (Federal Communications Commission in the US) and NBTC (Thailand's similar regulatory body) certifications show us there will be 4G-only devices, as well as revealing the dimensions of the Note 20.

The FCC certification carries a model number SM-981B and reveals the dimensions to be 161 x 75.2mm. This is understandable considering the 8.5mm thickness that the device is rumored to sport, and Samsung might have made the device taller to improve the ergonomics.

While the FCC listing doesn’t reveal much about the Note 20, Thailand’s NBTC certification confirms there will be LTE variants of both the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra. 

This appears to be in-line with the earlier listing on FCC with model number SM-985F, which had almost confirmed the presence of an LTE variant of the Note 20 Ultra.

(Image credit: FCC)

What's unclear is where you're able to buy the 4G version. The Samsung Galaxy S20 series had 4G-only versions of some of its devices, but those in the US were unable to buy them while other markets were limited to certain devices.

Samsung may follow suit here for the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra, so don't expect to be able to buy a 4G version just because the company is making one.

What else is rumored?

Samsung is seemingly taking a conventional route with the Note 20 series. The device, according to tipsters, will ditch the curved-screen and have flat-screen with a single punch-hole for selfies at the centre.

However, reports suggests the device is said to retain the Exynos 990 chipset for certain markets. The device is rumored to come with a dynamic refresh rate screen that automatically switches between 60Hz and 120Hz, but a feature to allow for QHD resolution at 120Hz looks to be missing. 

As for the camera, the Note 20 series is expected to have a uniform setup on both the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra and retain the 108MP shooter from the S20 Ultra

The digital zoom is expected to go up to 50x, but we will have to wait for more details directly from Samsung to learn more. August 5 is the big launch, so we'll hear far more about the device then.

James Peckham

James is Managing Editor for Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.