Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Manufactured in August, 2020, with display 6.9 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 990, vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro, Manufactured in September, 2025 with chipsetApple A19 Pro. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher pixel density: 496ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 4252mAh
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17 Pro
  • Lighter design: 206g vs 208g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.1
  • Supports DisplayPort

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/256 GB
- 12/128 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Apple iPhone 17 Pro
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED OLED
Size 6.9 in 6.3 in
Resolution 1440x3088 pixels 1206x2622 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 496 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (10-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 600 nits 3000 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 91.8 % 90.4 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
1020 nits
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a
sRGB gamut96.9 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)245 Hzn/a
Response time6 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 164.8 mm (6.49 in) 150 mm (5.91 in)
Width 77.2 mm (3.04 in) 71.9 mm (2.83 in)
Thickness 8.1 mm (0.32 in) 8.75 mm (0.34 in)
Weight 208 g (7.34 oz) 206 g (7.27 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Brown
- Silver
- Blue
- Orange
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
91.8 %
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
90.4 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Apple iPhone 17 Pro In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 990 Apple A19 Pro
Max Frequency 2730 MHz 4300 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2.5 (Cortex-A76)
- 2/2.73 (Exynos M5)
4/2.51 ()
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 7 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Yes Neural Engine
Graphics Mali-G77 MP11 n/a
GPU Cores 704 n/a
GPU Frequency 800 MHz n/a
FLOPS 1126 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
1173
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
3720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
3168
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
10805
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)11733720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)316810805
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
765381
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
2146722
CPU207699519980
GPU247886787998
Memory144292391721
UX165504447023
NanoReview Score7653812146722
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
4250
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a
Max Surface Temp.37.3 °Cn/a
Stability49 %n/a
Graphics Test25 fpsn/a
Graphics Score4250n/a
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
10807
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a
Writing score12145n/a
Web score8848n/a
Video editing6906n/a
Data manipulation8762n/a
NanoReview Score10807n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 8 GB
- 12 GB
12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz n/a
Channels n/a 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB
256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1NVMe
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 10 (Upgradeable to Android 13) iOS 26
OS Size 34.7 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 5.0 n/a

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4252 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 40 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes
Fast Charging Yes (43% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 20 min)
Full Charge Time 1:20 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
18:32
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a
Web Browsing07:27 hn/a
Video Playback12:33 hn/a
Games05:16 hn/a
Standby Mode81 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 108 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 12000x9000 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 5x Optical, 4x
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Up to 24FPS No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 240 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 108 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Depth: 0.3 MP
Standard: 48 MP
Telephoto: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Depth
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix108 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length26 mm24 mm
SensorSamsung Bright S5KHM1n/a
Sensor size1/1.331/1.28
Pixel size0.8 μm1.22 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/3.0f/2.8
Focal length103 mm120 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3M5n/a
Sensor size1/3.41/2.55
Pixel size1 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSamsung S5K2L3n/a
Sensor size1/2.551/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
122
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
106
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
120
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 24 MP
Photo resolution 3872x2592 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length 26 mm 23 mm
Sensor Sony IMX374 n/a
Sensor size 1/3.2 n/a
Pixel size 1.22 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Optical
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No Yes

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
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 6.0
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- NAVIC
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*2n/a
SIM TypeNanoeSIM
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotYesNo
2G BandsGSM 700 / 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 / 2000 / 2300 / 2500n/a
3G BandsUMTS 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2000/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)
LTE category20n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio Yes No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
88.8 dB
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced August, 2020 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date August, 2020 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1299 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 1099
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included n/a No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 17 Pro the clear winner in this comparison.

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