The Galaxy S20 Ultra is too big, too heavy, too expensive, and its camera struggles with focus issues.

Only super-zoom phone in the US market; Handles all three types of US 5G; Gorgeous 120Hz screen; Long battery life

Expensive; Massive; Camera focus problems; 100X zoom is a useless gimmick

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is a true groundbreaker that defines what we'll be doing with our phones, and with 5G, for the next few years. But after looking at all three Samsung Galaxy S20 models, I've decided the Ultra is just too much. It's too expensive, it's too heavy, and its vaunted "100x" camera takes up to four seconds to lock in focus. It's my third choice in the S20 lineup after the all-around champ that is Galaxy S20+ and the friendly, portable Galaxy S20. Design: It's A Huge Deal The Galaxy S20 Ultra is massive, at 6.57 by 2.99 by 0.35 inches and 7.76 ounces. It's actually slightly narrower than the Galaxy Note 10+ and the iPhone 11 Pro Max, and lighter than the iPhone. But its edges are less tapered than the Note 10+ or the Galaxy S10+, making it feel thicker in your hand, and it has a giant camera patch on the back. Available in black or gray and made of shiny yet surprisingly fingerprint-resistant glass, it's quite slippery, and trying to take pictures with it is a...

The Galaxy S20 Ultra is too big, too heavy, too expensive, and its camera struggles with focus issues.

Only super-zoom phone in the US market; Handles all three types of US 5G; Gorgeous 120Hz screen; Long battery life

Expensive; Massive; Camera focus problems; 100X zoom is a useless gimmick

Consistently good exposure, color, and detail make the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra a good all-rounder for smartphone photography. Its ultra-wide camera and bokeh effects in Portrait mode are particularly impressive; and with good video performance in 4K mode, together with a host of other resolution...

Nice colors; Wide dynamic range; Well-controlled noise; Excellent exposure and color in ultra-wide shots; Good exposure and high detail using flash; Accurate target exposure down to low light; Very low noise in most conditions; Vivid and pleasant color outdoors; Good stabilization in handheld static...

Slow autofocus in low light; Occasional white balance casts indoors and outdoors; Strong fusion artifacts in zoom shots; Highlight clipping; low detail; and noticeable artifacts in ultra-wide shots; Underexposure and color quantization using Night mode; Limited dynamic range in high-contrast...

The Galaxy S20 Ultra is top-spec in almost every respect, but design, battery & camera flaws hold it back

$1,400 is a huge amount of money for a phone, but the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G gives you a lot in return – figuratively and literally. Siping the rarified air at the very top of Samsung’s 2020 phone line-up, the biggest of the S20 trio has the most excessive camera, the largest screen, and the...

Incredible 120Hz display; 10x lossless zoom is great; Performance can't be faulted; Huge battery

Some camera focus issues; 100x Space Zoom is more gimmick than useful; Very expensive

The Galaxy S20 Ultra is a technically superior phone with an incredible camera, but its size, price, and overkill make it hard to recommend.

Incredible processor; battery; and RAM; Absolutely gorgeous display; One UI has become one of Android's best overlays

Big; heavy; and awkward to hold; Extremely expensive; Camera is excellent but has some annoying bugs; 100X Space Zoom is impressive but not very...

That’s the most obvious feeling you get when using the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which will be available in March starting at $1,399.99. If there ever was an embodiment of the chip on a tech company’s shoulder, this behemoth of a phone is it.

Huge; 120Hz screen; Great battery life; Quality zoom photos at 10x; Very good selfie camera

Main camera softens faces too much; Main camera hunts for autofocus; 100X zoom and 108-megapixel photos are mostly gimmicks; Expensive for the value

“You might've thought the camera would be the best feature. Right now, it's not.”

Big; gorgeous screen with 120Hz refresh rate; Zoom lens frames up nice shots; Battery life that breezes through a day; Top notch internals with 5G for every major carrier

Expensive; Inconsistent; sometimes glitchy photo and video performance

The gimmicks are back

4x to 20x zoom is impressive; 120Hz display looks great; Battery life is exemplary

100x zoom is a gimmick; 8K video is not useful; Design is a step back from the S10

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra goes big in every way imaginable, with 108MP photos, a 100x camera zoom, 40MP selfies, and a 6.9-inch 120Hz display. With over-the-top internal specs on a par with some laptops, you'll pay more for this phone than any non-foldable phone before it, but that's not surprising. What is surprising are some of the bugs we've encountered that keep the Ultra from reaching its full potential.

Impressive camera zoom range; Samsung’s best display yet; Fast 5G speeds confirmed;

Camera quality is inconsistent; Price is a new kind of ridiculous; You’re going to need a bigger hand