Samsung is amping up their midrange offerings here in the Philippines as they launch the Samsung Galaxy M20 locally. And before we bring you our final verdict of this device, we would like to share first our initial impressions with it, in case you’re already eager to get one.
The company is introducing a slightly new design language with its midrange and other budget-oriented offerings. Here with the Samsung Galaxy M20 we’re getting the small Infinity-V notch on the screen, which provides an impressive 90% screen-to-body ratio.
The Galaxy M20 doesn’t use a Super AMOLED screen like what most Samsung’s more expensive devices have. Instead, what we have here is a 6.3-inch FHD+ PLS TFT display, which can still provide great colors and sharpness.
Thanks to its slim bezels, the Galaxy M20 doesn’t feel as large as what most 6.3-inch devices are. Also, thanks to its plastic-like material, the device is relatively light, despite having an enormous 5,000mAh battery.
Speaking of which, having an enormous 5,000mAh battery is a great treat for a device at this price. We’ll see how long it actually last on a single charge in our full review, but considering how large it is, you can expect to get at least a full day or two of charge on this thing.
UPDATE: Samsung Galaxy M20 Review Philippines
We’re also curious to see how its Exynos 7904 octa-core processor, with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, performs in day-to-day tasks and gaming. That’s something we’ll have to figure out as we conduct our full review.
But, when we spent our short time with it, the Samsung Galaxy M20 felt fast and snappy. Swiping through the interface was fast, opening applications are instantaneous, and snapping photos and switching between cameras are quick.
Probably one of the reasons behind its responsive performance is its streamlined interface. The device runs on a slightly outdated Android 8.1 Oreo, but with the company’s Samsung Experience 9.5 interface on top, which is similar to the Samsung One UI that’s running on their more expensive offerings like the latest Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus.
Besides its large display and enormous battery, one of the highly-anticipated features of the Samsung Galaxy M20 is its cameras. This thing boasts a 13-megapixel primary camera, with an extra 5-megapixel sensor that has a 120-degree ultra wide-angle lens.
The 13-megapixel primary camera takes acceptable photos at good-lighting, even indoors. The colors are saturated enough and the dynamic range is acceptable. However, you might want to adjust the exposure a little to set the contrast better.
On the other hand, the 5-megapixel ultra-wide sensor provides expected results. The wide field-of-view allows you to cram in more subject in a single frame. Instead of walking farther from the subject to put everything in the frame, you can just switch to the ultra-wide angle instead.
However, since it only has a 5-megapixel sensor. You can definitely notice the poor sharpness and details. On the upside, the colors and contrast are still acceptable.
Moreover, we also have the 8-megapixel selfie camera on the front. I have no complaints about the quality. As you can see, it takes well-detailed selfies. You can also enable its face beauty features, which does a decent job of removing blemishes and what not, but it does make the overall image look softer.
The Live Focus feature also works well on this camera, despite the absence of a secondary sensor.
Well, basically that’s it. If you want to really know more about this device before pulling the trigger, you might want to wait for our full review.
But if you can’t wait already, then you can now get the device as it’s now available as an online-exclusive device for Php10,990. You can purchase it at Lazada, Shopee, Argomall, Abenson, and MemoXpress starting March 6, 2019.