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...

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

There's no denying that the Galaxy S20 Ultra is something bold. Something special. It exists to show off its camera features. There's the 108-megapixel sensor, capturing scenes for detailed crop-ins that invariably make you say "wow!" Then there's the 100x zoom lens that reveals lettering, faces and architectural details you can't see from afar with the naked eye. And the beautiful 40-megapixel selfie camera that won't spare your feelings when you turn off beauty mode.

Excellent camera features aren't quite enough to overcome an awkward design, questionable battery performance and a sky-high price. Cheaper Galaxy S20 models will have broader appeal.

Boundary-pushing cameras; Bright, sharp, colorful photos; Strong battery life on default settings;

Feels thick and heavy; Protruding camera bump; Uneven battery performance; Overpriced for nonessential features;

“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

Unparalleled camera quality and flexibility; Stunning display ; Colossal battery life – with the right settings;

120Hz screen saps battery; No headphone jack; Eye-wateringly expensive;

Unparalleled camera quality and flexibility; Stunning display ; Colossal battery life – with the right settings;

120Hz screen saps battery; No headphone jack; Eye-wateringly expensive;

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G is not just the most capable camera phone in the Galaxy family, it is arguably the most impressive camera phone ever. Its 108MP camera proves to be more than a numbers play.

Excellent compositional versatility; Great dedicated Night mode; Big; bold screen

Disappointing battery life; 100x zoom images are very soft; Night images could be more consistent in Auto mode

A few camera niggles at launch and breathtaking price that limits mainstream appeal, but still outmuscles just about any other Android phone you care to name. One for spec junkies with deep pockets

Unparalleled camera quality and flexibility; Stunning display; Colossal battery life - with the right settings

120Hz screen saps battery; No headphone jack; Eye-wateringly expensive

As a device purpose-built to prove Samsung still rules the roost when it comes to Android handsets, the S20 Ultra certainly gets the job done. It shows you don't need a fancy folding screen to stake a claim as the most impressive phone in the world right now, too. Impressive, yes - but not perfect. The high refresh rate screen saps battery, and the 100x zoom isn't all that useful. At launch, image quality is a bit inconsistent, especially when it comes to face detection. Oh, and it's eye-wateringly expensive. Samsung's more mainstream models have identical performance, 5G connectivity and an equally gorgeous display, but cost significantly less cash. The Galaxy S20 and S20+ might arrive with reduced camera hardware, but are still sure to deliver flagship-level photo quality, and so should be more than enough phone for most people. Still, for anyone that simply has to have the best, the S20 Ultra is as good as it gets.

Unparalleled camera quality and flexibility; Stunning display ; Colossal battery life - with the right settings;

120Hz screen saps battery; No headphone jack; Eye-wateringly expensive;

The Galaxy S20 Ultra is not without potential. But the overenthusiastic marketing and the sheer size of that camera bump had us expecting the next big thing - instead, space zoom it isn't and Nonacell is nona-mazing, at least for now.

Big, bright and beautiful 120Hz AMOLED display; The great periscope telephoto cam offers versatile zoom options; The new gen chipset is a solid upgrade performance-wise; Stereo speakers are nice and loud; Charging is very fast.