Samsung Galaxy S20 FE vs Samsung Galaxy S9

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S20 FE Manufactured in October, 2020, with display 6.5 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 990, vs Samsung Galaxy S9, Manufactured in March, 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
  • Higher battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 3000mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 3.1
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S9
  • Higher pixel density: 568ppi
  • Lighter design: 163g vs 190g

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB
- 4/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S20 FE and Samsung Galaxy S9
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 5.8 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1440x2960 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 18.5:9
Pixel density 407 ppi 568 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 740 nits 658 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10
Screen-to-body ratio 85.8 % 84.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S9
657 nits
PWM (Flicker)n/a240 Hz
Response timen/a7 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 159.8 mm (6.29 in) 147.7 mm (5.81 in)
Width 74.5 mm (2.93 in) 68.7 mm (2.7 in)
Thickness 8.4 mm (0.33 in) 8.5 mm (0.33 in)
Weight 190 g (6.7 oz) 163 g (5.75 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Blue
- Green
- Red
- Orange
- Purple
- Black
- Gold
- Gray
- Blue
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
85.8 %
Samsung Galaxy S9
84.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S20 FE and Samsung Galaxy S9 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 990 Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810
Max Frequency 2730 MHz 2900 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 S9
734
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
3430
Samsung Galaxy S9
1894
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1243734
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)34301894
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
713203
Samsung Galaxy S9
470496
CPU212654137633
GPU215469168155
Memory13737386184
UX14770778524
NanoReview Score713203470496
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
3784
Samsung Galaxy S9
2272
Max Surface Temp.n/a39.2 °C
Stability60 %93 %
Graphics Test22 fps13 fps
Graphics Score37842272
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
11015
Samsung Galaxy S9
6347
Writing score105766325
Web score93605265
Video editing69505496
Data manipulation90035694
NanoReview Score110156347

Memory

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

Software

OS Android 10 (Upgradeable to Android 13) Android 8.0 (Upgradeable to Android 10)
OS Size 24 GB 14 GB
UI Skin One UI 5.0 One UI 2.5

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 3000 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 (10 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 45 min) Yes (40% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:35 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S9
15:09
Web Browsingn/a05:32 h
Video Playbackn/a09:42 h
Gamesn/a03:45 h
Standby Moden/a75 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Digital
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 240 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
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
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
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix8 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.4n/a
Focal length76 mmn/a
SensorHynix HI-847n/a
Sensor size1/4.5n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
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 S9
104
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
101
Samsung Galaxy S9
91
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
115
Samsung Galaxy S9
99

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 S9
86 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2020 yr February, 2018 yr
Release Date October, 2020 yr March, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 700 720
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint 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.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
0 (0%)
0 (0%)
Total Votes: 0

User comments

Share your opinion or ask questions below