The Samsung Galaxy M20 is the first mid-range Samsung smartphone to offer a large 6.3-inch Infinity-V display, a large 5,000 mAh battery and dual rear cameras at an incredibly affordable price.

Find out if this is the smartphone for you in our in-depth review!

 

The Samsung Galaxy M20 First Impressions + Specifications

The Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) is designed to be an affordable mid-range smartphone that offers dual rear cameras and a long battery life.

It comes in two variants – a base model with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, and a higher-end model with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage.

Specifications	Samsung Galaxy M20
Display	6.3-inch Infinity-V display -1080 x 2340 pixels (409 ppi) - 19.5:9 aspect ratio, >90% screen-to-body ratio
Operating System	Android 9.0 Pie
System Platform	Samsung Exynos 7904
Processor	2 x ARM Cortex-A73 (1.8 GHz) 6 x ARM Cortex-A53 (1.6 GHz)
Graphics Processor	ARM Mali-G71 MP2
Memory	3 GB / 4 GB
Storage	32 GB / 64 GB microSD card (up to 512 GB)
Front Camera	8 MP sensor with f/2.0 lens
Rear Camera	Dual Camera System - 13 MP main camera with f/1.9 lens - 5 MP ultra-wide angle camera with f/2.2 lens
Connectivity	WiFi : 802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz only) Bluetooth : BT 5.0 USB : USB 2.0 Type C
Battery	5,000 mAh lithium-ion battery (non-removable) - supports 15 W fast charging
Fingerprint Sensor	Yes, Rear-mounted
Other Sensors	Accelerometer, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Virtual Light Sensor
NFC / Samsung Pay	No / No
Dimensions	74.5 mm wide 156.4 mm tall 8.8 mm thick
Weight	186 grams
Colour Options	Charcoal Black / Ocean Blue

 

Samsung Galaxy M20 Price + Availability

The Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) has two colour options – Charcoal Black and Ocean Blue. Which do YOU prefer? The Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) was originally launched in India on 5 February 2019, in two variants :

• 3 GB + 32 GB : ₹10,990 / ~RM 652 / ~US$ 159 / ~£120
• 4 GB + 64 GB : ₹12,990 / ~RM 771 / ~US$ 188 / ~£141

Here is the official Galaxy M20 price for Malaysia :

• 4 GB + 64 GB : RM 799 / ~US$ 195 / ~£147

Here are some direct purchase links :

• Malaysia
• United States

Next Page > Samsung Galaxy M20 Up Close + Key Features

 

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The Samsung Galaxy M20 Up Close!

The Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) is designed around a large 6.3-inch Infinity-V display, and a large 5,000 mAh battery.

This display has a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels, with more than 90% screen-to-body ratio!

Let’s take an up close look at the Samsung Galaxy M20, and its key features!

The SIM tray is located on the left side, with the Power and Volume control buttons on the right. The 3.5 mm audio port is located at the bottom, next to the USB Type C port.

 

Samsung Exynos 7904

The Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) runs on the new Samsung Exynos 7904 mobile SoC.

With a 2+6 architecture, the Exynos 7904 has two fast Cortex-A73 cores running at 1.8 GHz, and six low-power Cortex-A53 cores running at 1.6 GHz.

It also has a dual-core ARM Mali-G71 GPU to accelerate graphics and games.

 

Memory + Storage

The Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) has two variants – a base model with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, and a higher-end model with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage.

There is considerable bloat though. Out of the 4 GB memory capacity, 1.9 GB or just under half is available for use. We definitely recommend going with 4 GB of RAM.

The operating system and built-in apps take up just under 13 GB, which leaves you about 51 GB of free space. In the base model which has 32 GB of storage, you will only have about 19 GB of free space to use.

 

Triple Card Tray

Don’t worry about running out of storage space though. The Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) comes with a triple card tray.

This allows you to use two nano SIM cards, and a microSD of up to 512 GB in capacity.

 

Fingerprint Sensor

The Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) comes with a rear fingerprint sensor, aligned centrally.

 

V-Notch

Covering most of the front is a large 6.3-inch IPS display, which Samsung calls an Infinity-V display because of its V-shaped notch.

The smaller V-notch allows for a larger display area, specifically space for more notifications. Barring the complete removal of the notch, this is about as good as it gets!

Next Page > Samsung Galaxy M20 Cameras, Battery Life + Recharging Speed

 

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Samsung Galaxy M20 Cameras

Concealed within the teardrop notch of the Samsung Galaxy M20’s Infinity-V display is an 8 MP selfie camera with f/2.0 lens.

The front camera does not have a dedicated LED flash, but is supported by screen flash instead.

In the back, it has a 13 MP main camera with f/1.9 lens, and a secondary 5 MP ultra-wide angle camera with f/2.2 lens.

The ultra-wide angle camera is really useful for certain shots. Let’s show you what the difference between the main camera (with a 76° angle) and the ultra-wide angle camera (120°)

 

Battery Life

We tested the Samsung Galaxy M20’s battery performance using PCMark. It basically ran the PCMark work tests until its battery capacity dropped to 20%.

Work 2.0	Samsung Galaxy M20	Xiaomi Redmi Note 7	OPPO R17 Pro	Realme 3
Battery Capacity	5,000 mAh	4,000 mAh	3,700 mAh	4,230 mAh
Battery Life	12 hours 49 mins	12 hours 19 mins	11 hours 54 mins	10 hours 35 mins
Battery Utilisation	5.20 mAh / min.	4.33 mAh / min.	4.15 mAh / min.	5.33 mAh / min.
Review Links		Redmi Note 7 Review	OPPO R17 Pro Review	Realme 3 Review
Price Check	MY | US	MY	MY | US	MY

Thanks to its large 5,000 mAh battery, the Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) lasted almost 13 hours! This is not just screen-on time. It’s running the Work 2.0 benchmark over, and over again, for over 12.75 hours!

 

Battery Recharging Performance

The Samsung Galaxy M20 supports 15 watt fast charging. Let’s see how fast it recharges its 5,000 mAh battery!

Recharging Speed	OPPO R17 Pro	Samsung Galaxy M20	Xiaomi Redmi Note 7	Realme 3
Battery Capacity	3,700 mAh	5,000 mAh	4,000 mAh	4,230 mAh
Charger Output	50 Watts	15 Watts	10 Watts	10 Watts
Recharging Time	33 Minutes	123.5 minutes	133 mins	190 minutes
Recharging Speed	90 mAh / minute	32.4 mAh / minute	24.0 mAh / minute	17.8 mAh / minute
Review Links	OPPO R17 Pro Review		Redmi Note 7 Review	Realme 3 Review
Price Check	MY | US	MY | US	MY	MY

The Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) took 2 hours and 3.5 minutes (123.5 minutes) to recharge its battery from 20% to 100%.

This gives it a good battery life : recharging ratio of 6.2 : 1. A rule of thumb – for one hour of battery life, you will need to charge it for 9.5 minutes.

Next Page > Samsung Galaxy M20 Photo + Video Samples

 

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Samsung Galaxy M20 Photo Samples

Here are eight full-sized unedited photo samples taken using the Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US).

At the full 13 MP resolution, the photos are 4128 x 3096 pixels in size, with file sizes between 3 MB and 4 MB.

Click on them to expand – you can also download them to “peek” at the pixels!

The Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) produced very good pictures, particularly when you consider its price point. However, you need to be aware of two issues.

Its wide aperture is great for low-light photography, but introduces a narrow depth-of-field. That means you may need to “help” it focus on your subject, or it will turn out blur – out of focus.

The other thing is that it requires some distance to focus properly. So macro shots will be a challenge.

 

Samsung Galaxy M20 Video Samples

Despite sporting a 13 MP camera, the Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) only supports 1080p video recording. Here are two video samples :

Video Sample #1 : Live Performance

The image quality was excellent, but it was painfully obvious that it was not even electronically-stabilised.

There were also some exposure issues – sometimes it was overly dark, and when we tapped on the subject to correct – the background got overblown.

But on the bright side, the audio quality was very good. It was richer, with a markedly widerly range, than most smartphones at the same price range.

Video Sample #2 : Auto Show

This walk around of a small auto show demonstrates just how important stabilisation is when you record a video.

We can understand the lack of optical image stabilisation, but why didn’t Samsung throw in electronic image stabilisation?

This is a real shame, because the image quality was good, even though there were some exposure issues.

Next Page > Samsung Galaxy M20 Performance, Our Verdict

 

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Work Performance – PCMark

We tested the Samsung Galaxy M20’s performance using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.

Work 2.0	Realme 3	OPPO R17 Pro	Xiaomi Redmi Note 7	Samsung Galaxy M20
Performance Score	7309	6475	6145	5359
Web Browsing	7779	6572	5684	5348
Video Editing	5292	5387	5099	4702
Writing	7479	5617	6433	4982
Photo Editing	13871	10740	11091	7554
Data Manipulation	4921	5331	5255	4673
Review Links	Realme 3 Review	OPPO R17 Pro Review	Redmi Note 7 Review
Price Check	MY	MY | US	MY	MY | US

Samsung Exynos processors have never been particularly strong at work performance, and the Samsung Exynos 7904 is no exception. It was 13% slower than the Redmi Note 7 which uses the 2-year old Qualcomm Snapdragon 660.

 

Gaming Performance – 3DMark

We then tested the Samsung Galaxy M20’s gaming performance using 3DMark, using the Ice Storm Unlimited test.

Ice Storm Unlimited	Xiaomi Redmi Note 7	Realme 3	OPPO R17 Pro	Samsung Galaxy M20
Gaming Score	26746	20205	15354	13358
Graphics	29525	19444	15788	13499
Physics	20118	23414	14005	12885
Graphics Test 1	164.1 fps	119.9 fps	136.5 fps	112.0 fps
Graphics Test 2	105.4 fps	65.3 fps	45.8 fps	39.8 fps
Physics Test	63.9 fps	74.3 fps	44.5 fps	40.9 fps
Review Links	Redmi Note 7 Review	Realme 3 Review	OPPO R17 Pro Review
Price Check	MY	MY	MY | US	MY | US

The Samsung Exynos 7904 was not fast at games either, with its dual-core ARM Mali-G71 GPU.

It was actually half as fast as the Redmi Note 7 which uses the 2-year old Qualcomm Snapdragon 660. It was closest in performance to the OPPO R17 Pro, which uses the MediaTek Helio P60.

 

Our Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) is an interesting mid-range contender. It comes with a large 6.3-inch Full HD+ display and a large 5,000 mAh battery to keep it going for hours and hours…

It also comes with a nice complement of cameras. Its 8 MP front camera boasts a fast, bright f/2.0 lens. In the back, it has an excellent 13 MP main camera, with a very useful secondary ultra-wide angle 5 MP camera.

However, its muted colour makes its chassis look like a budget device, a far cry from the premium look of the cheaper Realme 3!

We also wish Samsung added electronic image stabilisation to their camera. It would have made the Galaxy M20 (MY | US) a more compelling device. After all, the Redmi Note 7 offers electronically-stabilised video recording at the same price point!

The Samsung Galaxy M20 (MY | US) is a good effort by Samsung to defend its lower mid-range market share. However, it will find strong headwinds from Chinese smartphones like the Redmi Note 7 and the Realme 3.

 

Recommended Reading

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• Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Review : 48MP Photography At A Steal!
• The Realme Nightscape Guide For Awesome Night Shots!
• The Realme 3 (RMX1821) Review – An Incredible Bargain!
• The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (SM-G975) In-Depth Review!

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