Samsung Galaxy S20 FE vs Samsung Galaxy Note 9

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S20 FE Manufactured in October, 2020, with display 6.5 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 990, vs Samsung Galaxy Note 9, Manufactured in August, 2018 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
  • Larger display: 6.5in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 190g vs 201g
  • Higher battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 3.1
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy Note 9
  • Higher pixel density: 514ppi

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 6/128 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S20 FE and Samsung Galaxy Note 9
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 Super AMOLED Super AMOLED
Size 6.5 in 6.4 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1440x2960 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 18.5:9
Pixel density 407 ppi 514 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 740 nits 520 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10
Screen-to-body ratio 85.8 % 84 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
n/a
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
657 nits
sRGB gamutn/a144.6 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a227 Hz
Response timen/a8 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 159.8 mm (6.29 in) 161.9 mm (6.37 in)
Width 74.5 mm (2.93 in) 76.4 mm (3.01 in)
Thickness 8.4 mm (0.33 in) 8.8 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 190 g (6.7 oz) 201 g (7.09 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Blue
- Green
- Red
- Orange
- Purple
- Black
- Blue
- Brown
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
85.8 %
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
84 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S20 FE and Samsung Galaxy Note 9 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 990 Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810
Max Frequency 2730 MHz 2700 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 2 + 4) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2.5 (Cortex-A76)
- 2/2.73 (Exynos M5)
- 4/1.9 (Cortex-A55)
- 4/2.9 (Exynos M3)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 7 nm 10 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G77 MP11 Mali-G72 MP18
GPU Cores 704 324
GPU Frequency 800 MHz 572 MHz
FLOPS 1126 GFLOPS 370.6 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
1243
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
828
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
3430
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
2026
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1243828
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)34302026
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
713203
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
457443
CPU212654147238
GPU215469137906
Memory13737386902
UX14770785397
NanoReview Score713203457443
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
3784
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
2333
Max Surface Temp.n/a48.7 °C
Stability60 %95 %
Graphics Test22 fps13 fps
Graphics Score37842333
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
11015
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
6325
Writing score105766182
Web score93605312
Video editing69505462
Data manipulation90035867
NanoReview Score110156325

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 6 GB
- 8 GB
- 6 GB
- 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz 1794 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 2.1
Memory CardMicroSDMicroSD

Software

OS Android 10 (Upgradeable to Android 13) Android 8.1 (Upgradeable to Android 10)
OS Size 24 GB 19 GB
UI Skin One UI 5.0 One UI 2.5

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes Qi/PMA (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 45 min) Yes Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (50% in 35 min)
Full Charge Time 1:35 h 1:40 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
n/a
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
19:26
Web Browsingn/a07:31 h
Video Playbackn/a11:36 h
Gamesn/a05:01 h
Standby Moden/a96 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 2x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.5 - 2.4
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung S5K2LDSamsung SAK2L3
Sensor size1/1.761/2.55
Pixel size1.8 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix8 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.4
Focal length76 mm52 mm
SensorHynix HI-847Samsung
Sensor size1/4.51/3.4
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
Sensor size1/3.0n/a
Pixel size1.12 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
119
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
107
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
101
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
94
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
115
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
103

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution 6528x4896 pixels 3264x2448 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/1.7
Focal length 26 mm 25 mm
Sensor CMOS Samsung S5K3H1
Sensor size 1/2.74 1/3.6
Pixel size 0.8 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1440p at 30 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 MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5 5
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 3.2 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoNo
Hybrid SlotYesYes
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsWCDMA B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8 (900)HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)
LTE category1918
5G SupportNoNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
n/a
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
71.6 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2020 yr August, 2018 yr
Release Date October, 2020 yr August, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 700 1000
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included Yes 15 W n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S20 FE the clear winner in this comparison.

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