One model in Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note 20 lineup could have a big battery problem. The Galaxy Note 20 Plus will reportedly run on a smaller battery than the top-of-the-line Galaxy S20 Ultra.
If true, it's a disappointing development. But we're hoping that another new feature Samsung is working on for the Note 20 will mean battery size won't be too big a problem.
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GalaxyClub, which previously revealed the battery capacity of the standard Note 20 as 4,000 mAh, has now claimed that the Note 20 Plus will have a 4,500 mAh battery. This is the same size as the Galaxy S20 Plus, but 500 mAh smaller than the 5,000 mAh battery found in the Galaxy S20 Ultra.
4,500 mAh is an improvement on the previous generation of Samsung phablets, as the Galaxy Note 10 Plus had a 4,300 mAh battery. On our web surfing battery test, the Galaxy S20 Ultra lasted an excellent 11 hours and 58 minutes. You need at least 11 hours to make our best phone battery life list. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Note 10 Plus lasted 10:47 on average.
So it's a little unfortunate that Galaxy Note users looking to upgrade won't be able to match the S20 Ultra's battery size with their new handset. While they could always buy the S20 Ultra instead, they would have to give up the S Pen stylus that defines the Galaxy Note experience and draws many users to Samsung's Note devices.
However, this lower number on paper may not wind up mattering in real-life usage. Previous rumors have said that the Note 20 will feature an LTPO OLED display. A Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide display allows the screen to dynamically change its refresh rate, rather than having to stick to a couple of presets like most 90Hz or 120Hz phones offer. The bottom line is that with this ability and smart software management, the Note 20 could squeeze more run time out of its smaller battery than the S20 Ultra can with its larger battery.
We'll see the final version of the Galaxy Note 20 launch in a couple of months, likely in August, alongside the Galaxy Fold 2. The Fold 2 will share stylus compatibility, with both phones sharing hardware like cameras and chipsets with the Galaxy S20 series. The Fold 2 is expected to feature a futuristic flexible chassis, but will lack the LTPO display of the Note 20.
