Breaking down rumours about Samsung’s new phones
RUMOURS about specifications of upcoming mobile devices by Samsung Electronics usually turn out to be true at the firm’s annual unveiling event in February.
The same may be true for the debut of the Samsung Galaxy S20 and the special foldable device Galaxy Z Flip, slated to be unveiled on February 11 in San Francisco, as rumours have been rampant among tech aficionados for weeks.
Samsung will unveil four devices at its Galaxy Unpacked event held on the turf of US archrival Apple.
Three of the four new devices will belong to the flagship Galaxy S20 series, the successor of the Galaxy S10 series.
The S20 marks a new chapter for the Samsung Galaxy smartphone line-up, as the company has chosen to forego the number 11.
The new Galaxy series is likely to be presented by the new head of the company’s mobile business, president
Roh Tae-moon, according to industry watchers.
The S20 models are reportedly named S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra, according to reports on allegedly leaked information.
While all three models are expected to support 5G, the
Galaxy S20 Ultra is presumed to be the largest and most advanced of the three.
According to rumoured specs, the standard S20 will feature a 6.2-inch AMOLED screen, a camera module including 12megapixel main, 64-megapixel telephoto with 3x optical zoom and 12-megapixel ultra-wide cameras on the rear and a 10megapixel single punch-hole front-facing camera.
The S20 Plus version is expected to look slightly bigger, as it will sport a 6.7-inch screen and a slightly more advanced camera module featuring a 64-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x digital zoom and a time-of-flight sensor.
While the two models will offer the same 128-gigabyte storage and be supported by Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processors, the battery size in the two models will differ – 4,000 milliampere hour for the standard and 4,500 for the Plus.
Grabbing attention before the unveiling is the S20 Ultra 5G, rumoured to sport the largest 6.9-inch screen – bigger than the Galaxy Note 10 Plus – and camera specifications including a 108-megapixel main, 48-megapixel telephoto with 10x optical zoom, 12-megapixel ultra-wide and time-of-flight sensor. Its frontfacing camera is expected to be 40-megapixel wide.
The Ultra version will offer 128, 256 and 512 gigabytes of internal storage, supported by a 5,000-mAh battery with an optional 45-watt fast-charger.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung’s second foldable device, is highly anticipated to steal the show.
A 19-second hands-on video clip of the Galaxy Z Flip was released by a Twitter user on Monday, proving the circulating rumours.
The vertically in-folding device is rumoured to sport a 6.7-inch screen when unfolded and a 1.06-inch cover display.
As the clamshell-type foldable device will be apparently smaller than Samsung’s first foldable Galaxy Fold, it will offer fewer multitasking features.
The user interface is expected to support running up to three different apps at the same time.
Besides the new folding design, other specs of the Galaxy Z Flip are lower than the S20 series phones.
The device will come with a 12-megapixel triple camera module and a 10-megapixel selfie-camera, supported by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ and a 3,300-mAh battery.