Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G Cell Mystic Bronze 128GB

The Galaxy Note 20 5G has a great S Pen and expandable storage, but the battery and camera are near the bottom of our rankings. At $700, it's hard to recommend over a Pixel or OnePlus. Only die-hard S Pen fans should consider it.

The processor is listed as unknown, which is never a great sign, and the performance score sits in the 22nd percentile. That's disappointing for a phone that was marketed around gaming and binging. The 128GB of storage is fine, and you can add up to 1TB via microSD, which is a nice touch most flagships have dropped. But the display only hits the 35th percentile, which is surprising for a Samsung panel. It's not a bad screen, it's just not competitive with the newer AMOLEDs we've tested.

Stacked against the Pixel 9 Pro XL or OnePlus 15, the Note 20 5G gets smoked in battery, camera, and performance. The Pixel 9 Pro XL has a far better camera system and cleaner software experience. The OnePlus 15 offers faster charging and a more modern processor. The Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 is a completely different form factor but shows how far foldables have come. Even the iPhone 17 runs circles around it in build quality and longevity. The Note 20 5G's only real edge is the S Pen, and that's a pretty narrow advantage.

At $700 USD, this is a tough sell. You're paying flagship money for a phone that scores below average in performance, display, connectivity, and build. The S Pen and expandable storage are the only real reasons to consider it, and those are niche needs. For the same price, you can get a Pixel or OnePlus that beats it in nearly every category that matters.

The Galaxy Note 20 5G is a weird one in our database. It's got a huge 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen and the S Pen, which still makes it one of the most useful phones for jotting notes or signing docs on the fly. But the rest of the package feels dated compared to what's out there now. The feature set lands in the 87th percentile, so Samsung packed a lot in here. The problem is the stuff that matters most, battery and camera, are near the bottom of the charts.

Skip this if you care about camera quality or battery life. The camera is in the bottom 10 percent of phones we've tested, and the battery is even worse. If you're a heavy user or take a lot of photos, a Pixel or OnePlus will serve you far better for the same money.

Buy this only if you absolutely need the S Pen and expandable storage in a big-screen phone. Everyone else should look at a Pixel, OnePlus, or even a newer Samsung Galaxy S series. The Note 20 5G was a solid phone in its day, but that day has passed.