Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Apple iPhone XR

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Manufactured in August, 2020, with display 6.9 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 990, vs Apple iPhone XR, Manufactured in October, 2018 with chipsetApple A12 Bionic. 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 refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 2942mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.1 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone XR
  • Lighter design: 194g vs 208g

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/256 GB
- 12/128 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 3/64 GB
- 3/128 GB
- 3/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Apple iPhone XR
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 IPS LCD
Size 6.9 in 6.1 in
Resolution 1440x3088 pixels 828x1792 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 496 ppi 326 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (10-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 600 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 91.8 % 79.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
n/a
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
1020 nits
Apple iPhone XR
635 nits
sRGB gamut96.9 %100 %
PWM (Flicker)245 Hzn/a
Response time6 ms32.8 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite1920:1

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 164.8 mm (6.49 in) 150.9 mm (5.94 in)
Width 77.2 mm (3.04 in) 75.7 mm (2.98 in)
Thickness 8.1 mm (0.32 in) 8.3 mm (0.33 in)
Weight 208 g (7.34 oz) 194 g (6.84 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP67
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Brown
- White
- Black
- Blue
- Red
- Orange
- Yellow
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
91.8 %
Apple iPhone XR
79.9 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Apple iPhone XR In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 990 Apple A12 Bionic
Max Frequency 2730 MHz 2490 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)
- 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 7 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Yes Neural Engine
Graphics Mali-G77 MP11 Apple A12 GPU
GPU Cores 704 256
GPU Frequency 800 MHz 1100 MHz
FLOPS 1126 GFLOPS 576 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
1173
Apple iPhone XR
1167
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
3168
Apple iPhone XR
3020
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)11731167
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)31683020
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
765381
Apple iPhone XR
656253
CPU207699203013
GPU247886155478
Memory144292134836
UX165504162926
NanoReview Score765381656253
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
4250
Apple iPhone XR
5205
Max Surface Temp.37.3 °C42.6 °C
Stability49 %69 %
Graphics Test25 fps31 fps
Graphics Score42505205
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
10807
Apple iPhone XR
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
3 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels n/a 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 64 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1NVMe
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 10 (Upgradeable to Android 13) iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size 34.7 GB 11.1 GB
UI Skin One UI 5.0 n/a

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 2942 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes Qi (10 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (43% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:20 h 1:43 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
18:32
Apple iPhone XR
20:45
Web Browsing07:27 h08:01 h
Video Playback12:33 h11:59 h
Games05:16 h04:34 h
Standby Mode81 h106 h

Main camera

Matrix 108 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 12000x9000 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Optical, 5x Digital
Flash LED Quad LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Up to 24FPS No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 240 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 108 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Depth: 0.3 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix108 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung Bright S5KHM1Apple iSight X
Sensor size1/1.331/2.55
Pixel size0.8 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/3.0n/a
Focal length103 mmn/a
SensorSamsung S5K3M5n/a
Sensor size1/3.4n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
SensorSamsung S5K2L3n/a
Sensor size1/2.55n/a
Pixel size1.4 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
122
Apple iPhone XR
103
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
106
Apple iPhone XR
96
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
120
Apple iPhone XR
101

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 7 MP
Photo resolution 3872x2592 pixels 3088x2316 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 32 mm
Sensor Sony IMX374 CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.2 n/a
Pixel size 1.22 μm n/a
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5.1 5
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C No
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- NAVIC
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotYesNo
2G BandsGSM 700 / 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 / 2000 / 2300 / 2500GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsUMTS 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2000/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)
LTE category2012
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
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 XR
87.3 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced August, 2020 yr September, 2018 yr
Release Date August, 2020 yr October, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 1299 750
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
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

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