The Galaxy M series is Samsung’s attempt at taking over the reigns from Xiaomi when it comes to the budget smartphone segment, with the M20 being the flag bearer of this attempt. So, does the Galaxy M20 succeed, or is it a failed attempt? That’s what we are here to find out.
Before we get started, let’s take a look at the specs of the Galaxy M20:
Samsung Galaxy M20 Design and Build Quality
Let me tell you about my experience by starting off with the design. So the overall design of the Galaxy M20 is pleasing but it’s not great when it comes to looks, or to put it another way, lacks personality. I prefer the Redmi Note 7‘s premium glass design any day over the M20’s bland glossy plastic shell, but I have to admit it’s functional and Samsung is clearly going for that. If you have read our Galaxy M10 review, the Galaxy M20 is only a slight improvement with the plastic build sticking out in this day and age. It’s not bad by any means, it’s just not wow.
The teardrop notch design aka Samsung’s Infinity V display certainly looks beautiful, despite the limited functionality. Ignore the bland back of the M20, and you will enjoy a beautiful looking smartphone. The modern front and the beautiful display complement each other well.
Samsung has done a good job when it comes to the display on the Galaxy M20, and the notch-laden front design is fine too, but the average fingerprint scanner is a problem for sure when it comes to the exterior of the phone.
Let’s take a look at the internals that keep the Galaxy M20 powered. I had my doubts about the performance of the all-new Exynos 7904 SoC which is backed by up to 6GB RAM. Unfortunately, the performance of the M20 is a mixed bag.
First of all, it’s Android Oreo, which is disappointing. Secondly, there are the ads. Yes, the Experience UI here has its own version of ads. Firstly, there’s Lock Screen stories, which shows you a new story on the lock screen, which are basically promotional photos for different companies. Now, you can disable this feature, but it’s really annoying.
Samsung Galaxy M20 Cameras
Moving on to the cameras now. The Galaxy M20 has dual cameras on the back, with the secondary sensor being a pretty cool wide angle sensor, so that’s nice. Anyway, here are some photos from the phone.
Now, as you can see in these photos, the photos aren’t mind-blowing, but they definitely look decent. The colors are nice, the details are good enough and yes, some photos have white balance issues, but it’s generally decent in good light. When it comes to low light, like every other budget phone, the M20 is a mixed bag. Now, the f/1.9 aperture does manage to capture photos with decent light, and some photos are okay but most low light photos have low detail with some noise. So, it’s definitely average.
The M20 also has the live focus mode aka the portrait mode, and it works decently. Most portrait mode photos look good, with some nice colors but some shots do not have the best edge detection. But there’s one problem and it’s the fact that it only works on faces, and it does not work even when someone is looking away.
Compared to the ZenFone Max Pro M2 and the Redmi Note 7, you can see that the Galaxy M20 manages to beat the Asus phone on most occasions, but in almost every comparison, the Redmi Note 7 photos are just way better.
Anyway, let’s talk about the selfie cameras on the Galaxy M20. Now, I wasn’t really expecting much from the 8MP camera, and well, I was right in not expecting much, because as you can see, the selfies are pretty average. The selfies lack detail, the colors are off, it’s just not very good.
Moving on to videos, the Galaxy M20 only supports 1080p at 30FPS, and the videos tend to be a little overexposed. Plus, I have noticed that the M20’s autofocus does not work too well in videos and the white balance issues are present here as well. There’s no EIS or OIS either, which means videos aren’t the most stable, and are certainly worse than the Redmi Note 7.
I am sure you must have noticed that I have mixed feelings about everything in the M20 so far, but if there’s one thing in the M20 that has outright impressed me, it’s the battery. The M20’s massive 5,000 mAh battery lasts long.
Lastly, let’s talk about the connectivity, where again, the Galaxy M20 is a mixed bag. So, the Galaxy M20 has dual 4G VoLTE support and it has the Widevine L1 license, so HD videos on apps like Netflix and Prime Video shouldn’t be a problem.
Unlike in the past, where Samsung has cut costs by dropping sensors, I am glad to say that the M20 does not skip any of the major sensors. It has an ambient light sensor, a gyroscope, the proximity sensor and the accelerometer.
I guess we have answered pretty much all your questions, so let’s move on to our verdict. It will help us to sum up the good and the bad in the phone.
Really nice display
Great battery life
USB Type-C charging
Interesting wide-angle camera
Plain, functional design
Performance is a mixed bag
Ads in Experience UI
Bad photos in low light
No support for 5Ghz Wi-Fi
Samsung Galaxy M20 Review: Buy or Wait for Redmi Note 7?
Samsung really seems to have made an effort to compete in the budget smartphone segment, but having used the Galaxy M20, I believe Samsung still has a long way to go before it can truly compete with the likes of Xiaomi, Honor or Asus. Look, the Galaxy M20 has decent cameras, the design is functional and practical, the battery and charging is super impressive, but the inconsistent performance just does not match up against the competition.
Plus, there are some issues in Samsung’s Experience UI. The average fingerprint scanner also makes it hard for me to recommend the Galaxy M20. So, if you are looking to buy a budget phone right now, the ZenFone Max Pro M2, which is a great all around smartphone, even though it does not have the best cameras, is the option to go for.
