Google Pixel 5 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra: Which Is Better?

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Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Luis Silva (December 2020, updated: February 2021)

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Introduction

While Samsung's Galaxy Note 20 Ultra hit stores in August of 2020, Google's Pixel 5 went on sale in October of 2020.

In this article, we see how the Pixel 5 and the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra compare to each other to help you decide and see which one of these is the right one for you.

If you have the time, click here to skip the spoilers and continue to the full comparison.

These two have a considerable price difference between them. That's something to consider when making a comparison between the two.

While scrolling down, you'll see a "Tek-Score" for each phone in every section. We even assessed the worth of all specifications to make it easier for you to perceive the difference between them. We'll also provide a global score for comparison if you're willing to consider other phone suggestions.  ? 

That score is research-based. It's from Globalwebindex.com on what buyers are looking for when purchasing a smartphone.

For additional information regarding our smartphone comparisons, check this FAQ.

There's a colored progress bar next to some items. It's for you to know how well they fare against other smartphones at the same price range.  ? 

By clicking here:  i  you'll see which ones we've analyzed, but we've only included smartphones within a 40% price range.

Some features are also shortcuts to the best 10 phones on that for all budgets.

Price*			vs.
Device	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Release Date	2020, October	2020, August	0y.
OS Updates	3 years	3 years	0y.
Security Updates	3 years	3 years	0y.

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Performance

What about their chipsets? The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra features the past generation's Exynos 990 processor and the Google Pixel 5, the Snapdragon 765 processor.

If you play heavy games on your phone, you should know that the former has the past year's Mali-G77 MP11, while the latter has an Adreno 620.

As for performance, Geekbench 5 scores the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 55% ahead of its competitor on the multi-core rankings. This should be noticeable when opening apps or games.  ? 

Unfortunately, both smartphones are underperforming when compared against similarly priced phones.

By the way, you can define the Pixel 5 as mid-range and the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra as a lower high-end.

At least you'll get the Android 11 on the Pixel 5, while the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra comes with Android 10 and OneUI.

PS: The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ (with the Adreno 650 GPU) and the Exynos 990 (with the Mali-G77) are market-dependent.

There's a considerable performance increase of about 20% on the 865+ for the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Performance*			vs.
Features	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
SoC	Snapdragon 765	Exynos 990
Graphics	Adreno 620	Mali-G77 MP11
Geekbench 5 Score	1647	2561	914
OS	Android 11	Android 10 and OneUI
Tek-Score	4.7	6.3	1.5

*Reference: Apple iPhone 12.

Display

The Pixel 5 offers a sharp, 6.0-inch AMOLED display that is considerably smaller than the 6.9-inch AMOLED panel on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. It all comes down to personal preferences for both the display type and size. AMOLED has perfect contrast and viewing angles, but its whites do hurt the battery life.

Are you looking for small screens? Then, the Pixel 5 is the one. Other similarly priced smartphones just aren't that short.

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra adopts a 1440x3088 Quad HD resolution. The Pixel 5 features a more modest resolution of 1080x2340 (Full HD) pixels.

Just a small drop may shatter your phone, so you need to know about their glass protection. The Pixel 5 has a previous generation Gorilla Glass 6 protection, while the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra display has the latest Gorilla Glass Victus.

There's an Always-On display on both phones. That's a must-have feature for me.

If you don't manually set the screen brightness, you can count on the Pixel 5 to go up to 699 nits, while the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra goes up to 1024 nits.  ? 

Both phones support HDR10+ media.

If you value a smooth display, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra can go up to 120hz and the Pixel 5 up to 90hz.

As you can see, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is the winner here.

Given the Pixel 5, just know that 88% of its rivals can play HDR content and have an Always-On display, and 92% of them have an AMOLED screen.

For the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, as a reference, all of its rivals can play HDR content and have an AMOLED screen, 77% have an Always-On display, and 85% of them have Gorilla Glass 6 or better.

Display Density (DPIs)*			vs.
Features	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Size	6.0	6.9	0.9
Screen Type	AMOLED	AMOLED
Resolution (px)	1080x2340	1440x3088	1919520
Refresh Rate	90hz	120hz	30
Dots per Inch	429.53	493.80	64.27
Always-On-Display	Yes	Yes
Notch	Hole	Hole
Peak Brightness	699 nits	1024 nits	325
HDR	HDR10+	HDR10+
Sub Tek-Score	8.7	9.8	1.0
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 6	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
Tek-Score	7.9	9.9	2.0

*Reference: Sony Xperia 1.

Cameras

Things are different when it comes to lenses. The Pixel 5's primary camera has a 12 MP sensor, with an aperture of f/1.7, a 27mm wide-angle lens, one flash LED, HDR abilities, and Optical Image Stabilization. Videos on its shooter have a maximum resolution of 2160p.

It also has a secondary 16 MP camera with an aperture of f/2.2 plus a 17mm ultra-wide-angle lens.

There's also an 8 MP selfie camera with an aperture of f/2.0 and a 24 mm wide-angle lens.

DxOMark tested this camera and gave it a rate of 129. If you add its wide-angle lens, it'll get 138 points. For a thorough review, click here.

To put things in perspective: keep in mind that all of its rivals can record videos in 4K or more, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. Yet, only 21% of them feature a macro lens.

Adding to its whopping 108 MP shooter, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra's leading camera has an aperture of f/1.8 and a 26mm, wide-angle lens. You'll be getting one flash LED, HDR capabilities, and Optical Image Stabilization too. You can record videos at 4320p. You'll also get two additional sensors, one with 12 MP, an aperture of f/3.0 and an astounding 120mm telephoto lens, and another with 12 MP (f/2.2) with a 13mm ultra-wide-angle lens.

For your information: If you zoom in and crop a 108 Megapixels photo, you can get the same shot you'd get on a 27 Megapixels shooter with 2x optical zoom.

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is also known for its impressive 50x hybrid Space Zoom. In theory, that's a step down from the S20 Ultra 100x, but since it's an "AI-powered" zoom, it shouldn't matter much.

You can get selfies with 10 MP Megapixels. It has a lens with f/2.2 of aperture and a 26 mm wide-angle lens.

The guys over at the DxOMark labs rated this camera with 122 points. And by adding the telephoto and wide-angle lenses, we end up with a rate of 136 points. If you want to know more about it, click here.

Winding it up, just so you know, just like the other device, all of its rivals can record videos in 4 or 8K, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization, and 92% of them feature a telephoto lens. Moreover, none of them feature a macro lens.

You should note that the Pixel 5 is in the neighborhood of 57% above other competitors in its class. However, none of these stand out.

One can place these two as high-end.

Picture Quality*			vs.
Primary Camera	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Megapixels	12	108	96
Aperture	1.7	1.8	0.1
Lens	27mm	26mm	-1
Lens Type	Wide-Angle	Wide-Angle
Flash	1	1	0
HDR	Yes	Yes
OIS	Yes	Yes
Video	2160	4320	2160
Score	138	136	-2

*Reference: Huawei Mate 40 Pro.

Extra Camera(s)	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra	vs.
Megapixels	16	12	-4
Aperture	2.2	3.0	0.8
Lens	17mm	120mm (4.6x zoom)	103
Lens Type	Wide-Angle	Telephoto lens
Megapixels	-	12
Aperture	-	2.2
Lens	-	13mm
Lens Type	-	Ultra-wide-Angle
Score	9	14	5

Selfie Camera	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra	vs.
Megapixels	8	10	2
Aperture	2.0	2.2	0.2
Lens	24mm	26mm	2

	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra	vs.
Tek-Score	8.1	8.0	-0.1

Body

The Pixel 5 is 5.67 inches (144 mm) tall and 2.76 inches (70 mm) long. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, on the other hand, is 20 mm taller and 7 mm larger (about 0.79 inches by 0.28 inches).

When it comes to thickness, there's no difference here: 8 mm (0.32 inches). In addition to that, the Pixel 5 is indeed small. About 12% smaller when compared to other phones at nearly the same price.

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra also has a glass back, and it looks gorgeous. The Pixel 5 weighs 151 g. (5.33 oz), while the other is 57 g. (2.25 oz) heavier. If you're looking for a lightweight device, I've created an adapted score for a "weight to display size" ratio. The Pixel 5 got 8.4, meaning it's one of the lightest phones for its display size. In the meantime, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has 4.4, so nothing to state here.  ? 

We do like having some color options. You get Just Black and Sorta Sage in the Pixel 5. But you can get Mystic Bronze, Mystic White, and Mystic Black with the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

If you like having a big phone, you should consider the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Otherwise, the other is the one.

Does a fingerprint scanner matter to you? Both phones include one.

The Pixel 5 is resistant to water up to 1 to 3 meters, and the same goes for the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. It should be for less than 30 minutes, and it's standby mode only. So don't take photos underwater.

Looks*			vs.
Body	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Size	144 x 70 x 8 mm (5.08 x 2.47 x 0.28 in)	164 x 77 x 8 mm (5.78 x 2.72 x 0.28 in)	20384
Weight	151 g. (5.33 oz)	208 g. (7.34 oz)	57
Build	Front glass and aluminum back	Front and back glass
Colors	Just Black and Sorta Sage	Mystic Bronze, Mystic White, and Mystic Black
Screen To Body Ratio	87.67%	93.17%	5.50
Disp.Size To Weight Score	8.4	4.4	-4.0
Looks	9.1/10	9.1/10	0.0
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Biometrics	Fingerprint	Under Display Fingerprint
Tek-Score	9.1	6.8	-2.3

*100% = 4+ colors + front and back glass + S2BR: 86+%.

Battery

When it comes to battery life, in theory, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, with its 4500 mAh of battery capacity, wins over the Google Pixel 5, with only 4080 mAh of battery capacity. But is that so? This is asking for a thorough test after a full charge. And that's how the Pixel 5 performs:  ? 

• By talking for 1 hour, browsing the web for 1 hour, and playing videos for 1 hour, you should have 82% of the battery left for the rest of the day.
• For 1 hour of talking, 3 hours of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, this phone should end up with 66%.
• After 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 3 hours of video playback, you'll likely end up with 69% of the battery charge.

And these are Galaxy Note 20 Ultra's patterns:

• By talking for 1 hour, browsing the web for 1 hour, and playing videos for 1 hour, you'll end up with 83% of the battery charge.
• If you do 1 hour of talking, 3 hours of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll probably have 69% left for the rest of the day.
• From 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 3 hours of video playback, you'll still get 72% to spend doing other things.

I think this isn't surprising at all, but there's no real difference here.

Battery life on the Pixel 5 isn't anything to write home about, but Google did a great job here if you ask me. It got a rate of 7.9 for the "battery to device size" ratio.  ? 

Quickly charging any of them won't be an issue. The Pixel 5 supports up to 18w and the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra up to 25.

There's also wireless charging (12w vs. 15w) in both of them. Cool.

Both phones can also use reverse wireless charging to charge any Qi-enabled devices.

The Snapdragon 865+ variant also has better battery efficiency, about 7% of additional screen-on-time.

Battery*			vs.
Features	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Capacity (mAh)	4080	4500	420
1h Talk + 1h Web + 1h Video	82% left	83% left	1
1h Talk + 3h Web + 1h Video	66% left	69% left	3
1h Talk + 1h Web + 3h Video	69% left	72% left	3
Bat. To Phone Size Score  ?	7.9	2.6	-5.3
Sub Tek-Score	7.2	7.5	0.2
Fast Charging	18w	25w	7
Wireless Charging	12w	15w	3
Reverse Charging	5w	4.5w	-0.5
Tek-Score	6.9	7.2	0.3

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy A31.

Storage

In terms of RAM, the Pixel 5 brings 8GB. In terms of storage, it has 128GB. Unfortunately, Google didn't include a MicroSD slot, but you wouldn't need that anyway, right?

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra offers 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM. You can add a MicroSD card if you want. Also, you'll get less RAM and less storage by picking any rival at that price range. 9Gb for RAM and 162Gb for storage, on average.

Storage*			vs.
Features	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
RAM (GB)	8GB	12GB	4
Internal (GB)	128GB	256GB	128
Micro SD	No	microSDXC (shared SIM slot)
Tek-Score	6.0	10.0	4.0

*Internal Storage + 256GB Memory Card (Max: 512GB).

Connectivity

When it comes to connectivity, you can count on the traditional Bluetooth 5.0 chip. Both phones also have NFC, so nothing special here.

There isn't much to say about the 3.5mm headphone jack, except that it simply isn't here. Just skip adapters and get a decent pair of wireless earbuds. Luckily, you can still get it on other phones if you're not really leaning towards any of these. Either the Galaxy S10 or the Galaxy S10 Plus can give you a headphone jack.

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra runs on LTE or (LTE and) 5G networks.

Connectivity			vs.
Features	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Network	5G	5G (also available in LTE)
Bluetooth	5.0	5.0
NFC	Yes	Yes
3.5mm jack	No	No
Tek-Score	4.6	4.6	0.0

Price

You're likely not considering the Pixel 5 to make all your pennies count. That, of course, depends on the place and the deals that you'll eventually find. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, in its turn, isn't that cheap, but I believe that it shouldn't come as a surprise at all. At least, it should be easier to sell it in the future.

Let's see if it really worths it or not.

Here are the prices that we've come across recently:

I earn a small fee from qualifying purchases. It doesn't affect the price you pay nor my opinions, but it will mean a lot if you click on one of these buttons before purchasing your next phone. You'll be helping to take this to the next level.

Prices on eBay are in $US but Europe-based. You can click to check the prices in your country.

Prices marked with ! are from renewed/refurbished/carrier-locked phones (except eBay prices that, as a last resort, can be from bids or used devices).

How much of a "phone" can your money buy?
That's how much "score" you can get with $100 based on the global score that you'll see in the next section (higher is better).

Have you found better prices elsewhere? The formula is simple: score/price*100.

Value for money	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra	VS
Amazon	0.97	0.73	-0.24
eBay	0.85	0.56	-0.28
Best Buy	-	0.77	-
Wallmart	-	0.73	-

And this is the "The Best Smartphones On A Budget" list.

Are you ready for that final score? We're almost there. For reference purposes, I'll tell you where most of its rivals average. They're in the ballpark of 6.8 for the Pixel 5 and 7.5 for the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Verdict: What Makes the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Stand Out?

By now, you should've realized that the Pixel 5 isn't for you. Unless, of course, you can't get a Note 20 Ultra. A Pixel device can indeed give you a cleaner user experience in a lightweight body and perhaps an extra year of software updates but check out what you'll lose by skipping its rival. You won't get a premium flagship performance, its display won't be as great on direct sunlight, nor will it have up to 120hz of refresh rates, and you'll also be ignoring a fantastic telephoto lens. The Note 20 Ultra can also give you double the internal storage, 12 GB of RAM, and the ability to insert a MicroSD card.

Pros	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
#1	AMOLED	Performance
#2	Always-On-Display	AMOLED
#3	Cameras	Always-On-Display
#4	Fast Charging	Cameras
#5	Wireless Charging	Battery Life
#6	Glass Protection	Fast Charging
#7		Wireless Charging
#8		MicroSD Slot
#9		Storage
#10		Glass Protection

Cons	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
#1	MicroSD Slot	Weight
#2	3.5mm Jack	3.5mm Jack
#3	Price	Price

Relative Score*			vs.
Global Score	Pixel 5	Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Gaming Score	6.6	8.4	1.8
Tek-Score	6.78	8.08	1.30

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

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