Galaxy Note 20 Ultra — will shoppers buy Samsung's $1,300 phone in a pandemic?

Milky way Annotation 20 Ultra — will shoppers buy Samsung's $1,300 phone in a pandemic?

(Image credit: Futurity)

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is packed with features, from a dynamic 120Hz brandish and more responsive S Pen to a 50x Infinite Zoom camera. But is the phone actually worth $1,299 — and is Samsung nuts for releasing such an ultra-premium handset in the midst of a global pandemic and economic recession?

In that location'due south no question that the Galaxy Note 20 offers high-cease features to help justify the premium. But Samsung has already run into trouble this year with its Galaxy S20 series, which starts at $999 for the regular S20 and goes all the style up to $1,399 for the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

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Co-ordinate to information from M Science supplied to PC Mag, Galaxy S20 sales were virtually 50% lower than the Galaxy S10 series when you compare the get-go seven weeks. It would seem that shoppers just don't have a big appetite for loftier-priced flagships right now.

I spoke with 3 analysts about whether the pricing for the Galaxy Note 20 lineup is fair, and Samsung itself about its value proposition.

Milky way Note 20 Ultra: What you get for $1,300

Merely analysts do believe in that location is a market place for the Galaxy Note twenty Ultra despite the high price tag. And that's considering it simply offers a lot more than than cheaper handsets, such equally the $349 Google Pixel 4a and even moderately priced flagships like the $899 OnePlus viii Pro.

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is undeniably expensive, but you practise get what you pay for.

Avi Greengart, Techsponential

"The Galaxy Note20 Ultra is undeniably expensive, but y'all do get what you pay for, said Avi Greengart, atomic number 82 analyst at Techsponential. This includes "features institute rarely or non at all on other flagships" including 5x optical zoom, a 108MP camera with light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation focus system, 120 Hz variable refresh charge per unit display and an S Pen with a faster nine ms response rate.

In our own Galaxy Notation 20 Ultra review we found the Space Zoom camera to be the nearly impressive feature. The regular Note 20 is limited to a 3x hybrid optic zoom and 30x digital zoom. In add-on, the Note xx has a plastic design, which has some calling its $999 cost into question.

Samsung covering multiple prices

In an interview, Samsung stood behind the toll of the Milky way Note 20 Ultra while likewise reinforcing that the company offers a broad range of options at unlike prices for those who don't want to spend $1,000 or more on a phone.

"The [Milky way Note 20 Ultra] itself in terms of staying connected and video chatting and being productive, it's a really relevant value proposition," said Caleb Slavin, senior manager of product management at Samsung Electronics America. "On the value side we only rolled out our $499 A51 5G device. Then we're trying to products out at that place across the value spectrum for a diversity of different consumers."

"On the value side we just rolled out our $499 A51 5G device. So nosotros're trying to products out there across the value spectrum for a diversity of different consumers.

Caleb Slavin, Samsung

The Galaxy A51 5G has decent specs for the money, including a big 6.five-inch OLED display, 5G capability, a quad-camera organisation with a main 48MP lens and a big 4,500 mAh battery. However, the Exynos 980 scrap that powers the device is slower than the A13 Bionic processor in the cheaper iPhone SE, and some early on A51 5G reviews take complained about its functioning.

Galaxy Annotation twenty Ultra vs Galaxy Notation 20

So is the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra really worth $300 more the regular Milky way Note 20? Information technology certainly has several advantages, just perhaps but the near enervating power users will appreciate them.

"The Ultra offers a mix of benefits that vary from premium materials (the Ultra'due south new Gorilla Glass back) to spec advantages that may be lost on many," said Ross Rubin, principle analyst at Reticle Research. These include the college-resolution 108MP camera, microSD, faster refresh rate and support ultra wideband communications for sharing files.

For Samsung, it makes more sense to compare the Galaxy Note 20 to the Galaxy Note 9 from 2018, especially since many Note 9 owners are wondering if information technology'south worth the upgrade.

"The most Notes out in the wild right now are the Note 9," said Slavin. "And then if you lot're a Notation ix owner, y'all spent $999 for that device. So for the same price y'all go a bigger screen, the latest processor, full 5G capabilities and the Due south Pen latency is still one-half what it was on that device. So there's a whole number of improvements to the device at that same price indicate compared to what we had two years ago."

Pandemic pricing is not a thing

Samsung is taking a run a risk by selling the Milky way Note 20 Ultra for $ane,299 and the Milky way Annotation 20 for $999. Rumor has it that the iPhone 12 Pro will start at $999 and the iPhone 12 Pro Max will cost $1,099, fifty-fifty with the improver of 5G. So is Samsung not reading the room well enough in terms of what people are willing to pay in the electric current surround?

"I really don't recall the prices have anything to do with the pandemic," said Carolina Milanesi, a principal analyst at Creative Strategies. "There is a [beak of materials] cost and a margin that got the prices where they are and I really don't think Samsung is making more coin on these than they would in normal times."

Considering that the Notation 20 Ultra has 5G, S pen support, a huge 6.9-inch screen, DeX support and UWB, Milanesi says that "the toll is appropriate." For her, deciding whether the premium is worth information technology comes down to your income, the phone you're currently using, if y'all're in a 5G coverage surface area and if you like to take lots of photos.

While it might seem a little tone deaf to sell a $1,300 phone in this environment, shoppers will ultimately determine whether Samsung is right to charge what information technology is for the Milky way Note xx and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Now cheque out the best Milky way Note 20 alternatives that are cheaper

Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in main of Tom's Guide and has covered engineering science for nearly 20 years. In addition to overseeing the direction of Tom's Guide, Mark specializes in roofing all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on Goggle box to discuss the latest trends. Mark was previously editor in chief of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Pop Scientific discipline and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.