Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Vs. Galaxy Note 20 Ultra — What Are The Differences?

Want a refurbished Samsung phone with a massive display and a camera that competes with the iPhone? Consider the S22 Ultra and the Galaxy phablet Note 20 Ultra. Both have similar camera specs, dimensions, and a built-in S-pen.

So where do they differ, and which accounts for a better investment? Discover that and a lot more as we compare the specs of Note 20 Ultra vs S22 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Vs. Galaxy Note 20 Ultra: Specs

Samsung has been the top seller when it comes to powerful Android phones. It has been rolling out phones with huge display panels and cameras that exceed 100MPs.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra and Note 20 Ultra are two such Samsung phones. They both have seemingly similar designs and features. But pitting Note 20 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra brings forth many differences.

The differences between the two phones range from display and CPU to RAM and storage capacity. Both phones have varying camera specifications, battery capacity, and color options.

Dive in and discover how the key features differ as we compare Note 20 Ultra vs S22 Ultra.

Note 20 Ultra vs S22 Ultra: Design & Display

At first, you may not notice how the design differs in Note 20 Ultra vs S22 Ultra since both are large phones with seemingly similar bodies.

Both phones have edge-to-edge curved displays with a slight difference in screen size. The Note 20 Ultra has a bigger screen measuring 174.5mm (6.9"), as opposed to S22 Ultra's 173.1mm (6.8") screen.

As for the display technology, both phones use Dynamic AMOLED QHD+ with the same refresh rate of 120Hz. The display panel of S22 Ultra also leads in the brightness department having a max units count of up to 1300+. Note 20 Ultra, in contrast, has roughly 650+ nits.

Both phones come with a built-in S-pen neatly placed inside the lower socket. Real differences show up when you turn over the phones. The Note 20 Ultra is a triple-camera phone, whereas S22 Ultra has a Quad-camera arrangement.

The rear cameras of Note 20, along with the flash and Laser AF sensor, are set up on a raised platform. On the S22 Ultra, there's no such setup. Instead, the Quad-cameras protrude directly from the phone body.

Samsung also chose a different finish for the Galaxy Note and for the S Series. The Note 20 Ultra comes in three glossy colors, namely Mystic Black, Mystic Bronze, and Mystic White.

On the other hand, S22 Ultra has Green, Burgundy, Phantom White, and Phantom Black as the four matte options.

Note 20 Ultra compared to S22 Ultra: Cameras

Although the 108MP camera is the biggest lens in both smartphones, S22 Ultra adds a 4th camera to its camera system.

The Quad setup on S22 houses a 108MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and two 10MP telephoto lenses giving the phone 10x and 3x zoom options.

The Note 20 Ultra has triple cameras: a 108MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 12MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom.

Speaking of selfie cameras, the S22 Ultra has the bigger 40MP camera featured as a dot on display. The Note 20 Ultra features a much smaller 10MP selfie camera.

The S22 Ultra also leads regarding the tricks you can do with the camera. Aside from superior zoom options, it takes better night-mode photos and has more photography capabilities.

With all these features, the S22 Ultra makes it to the list of best Android camera phones. However, if you're looking for the best mobile phone camera in Australia having over 100MP, the Note 20 is not a small contender either.

S22 Ultra vs Note 20 Ultra: Performance & S-Pen

Under the hood, the Note 20 Ultra has the Snapdragon 865+ chipset as the mobile SoC. With this Octa Core processor and 12GB RAM, the Note 20 Ultra promises a smooth gaming experience.

In contrast, S22 Ultra packs the newer Qualcomm chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. This processor is Qualcomm's most powerful chipset, next to only Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 used in the Samsung S23. Read more on how S22 Ultra compares to S23 Ultra.

Having the newer Qualcomm processor, expect S22 Ultra to have better power consumption, AI capabilities, and smoother gameplay.

On top of that, S22 Ultra has 8GB, 12 GB, and 16GB as the RAM options. Regarding the S-pen, both smartphones have built-in. However, the S22 Ultra responds 70% faster to the S-pen than the Note 20. It also has better handwriting-to-text translation.

Note 20 Ultra compared to S22 Ultra: Battery Life And Charging

The Galaxy S22 Ultra features a long-lasting 5000 mAh battery supporting a 45-watt charger. In comparison, the Note 20 Ultra has a 4500 mAh battery that can support an adapter up to 25-watt.

Both phones can provide an even longer battery life if the screen refresh rate is set to adaptive. That way, the phone keeps adjusting the refresh rate based on the content on the screen.

Samsung S22 Ultra vs Note 20 Ultra: Processor

S22 packs the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, while the Note 20 Ultra has the Snapdragon 865+.

The Snapdragon 865+ is an Octa-core processor having 2x2.73 GHz Mongoose M5 & 2x2.50 GHz Cortex-A76, and 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55.

The superior Octa-core processor of S22 Ultra has 1x3.00 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3x2.50 GHz Cortex-A710, and 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A510.

With such a processor S22 Ultra easily makes its place among the best gaming phones. It's important to mention that Samsung ships the Note 20 Ultra in Australia with an Exynos chipset. Read more about how Snapdragon chips compare against Exynos processors.

Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Galaxy S22 Ultra: Software

Being the older of the two, the Note 20 Ultra comes with Android 10 and Samsung's older One UI 2.0. So far, it has received updates for Android 13.

If Samsung sticks to its tradition of 4 years of Android updates, the Note 20 Ultra is to see more updates moving forward.

In terms of S22 Ultra, it comes built-in with the newer Android 12 and One UI 4. The phone will soon see the latest One UI 5 update when Samsung pushes that in Australia.

Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Galaxy S22 Ultra: Price

Comparing Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Galaxy S22 Ultra in terms of price, you'll notice that these flagship phones are at the higher end, which is one of the main reasons people prefer refurbished vs. new phones.

The S22 Ultra price starts from AUD A$1059, and the Samsung Note 20 Ultra price starts at AUD A$739. Because of the Note 20 Ultra price, it has an upper hand over Samsung S22 Ultra, which could be a deal breaker for many people as it is the most considered metric.

FAQs

Does the S22 Ultra replace the Note 20 Ultra?

S22 Ultra easily replaces the Note 20 Ultra with a more advanced processor, camera system, display, and battery life. Moreover, since Note 20 came two years ago, software updates will soon stop for it.

What screen is bigger, the Note 20 Ultra or S22 Ultra?

The Note 20 Ultra has a bigger screen measuring 174.5mm (6.9") versus 173.1mm (6.8") of the S22 Ultra.