But Motion Sense can also detect when you're about to pick up your phone, waking it up faster and speeding up the unlocking process. Overly smooth skin remains a problem when we switch to the front cameras on both phones — a 10MP shooter on the Galaxy S20 Plus vs. the Pixel 4 XL's 8MP selfie cam.

Because the Galaxy S20 Plus uses a 20:9 aspect ratio, it can accomodate a larger screen than the Pixel 4 XL without tacking too much size. The Pixel 4 XL comes with an 18-watt charger, while the Galaxy S20 Plus features a faster 25-watt charger in its box. Some may think that yellow cast of that photo is too excessive, but I prefer it to the white, almost washed-out look of the Pixel 4 XL's photo. The more colorful tone of the Galaxy S20 Plus' photo is more pronounced using an 8x zoom, and Samsung's phone does a better job keeping individual buildings in sharp focus.

You don't have that option with the two-lens Pixel 4, so give Samsung's camera phone credit for greater flexibility.

(In fact, all Galaxy S20 models feature 12 GB of RAM, and Galaxy S20 Ultra owners have the option of upgrading to 16GB.). Google added a second camera to the back of its Pixel 4 phones — a 16MP telephoto lens joins the 12MP main shooter on the 4 XL — but software-powered computational photography remains the star of the show. Faster refresh rates aside, the Galaxy S20 Plus features more screen real estate than the 6.3-inch Pixel 4 XL, so that's going to appeal to more people who prefer a larger display for getting things done, playing games and watching videos. Note that the result we saw with the Galaxy S20 Plus was with the screen refresh rate set to 60Hz. Some of Motion Sense's features, like controlling song playback with a swipe of your hand, are of limited use. Neither phone captured the ravages of time that are quite present on my face in real life, and the tone of the S20 Plus's self-portrait doesn't look natural at all. It's surprisingly accurate, and a great example of how Google can leverage its expertise with machine learning and language recognition to create a real productivity booster. That said, I prefer the way the Galaxy S20 crops its selfies, as there's too much head-room in the Pixel 4 XL's shot. You will receive a verification email shortly. Stimulus check 2 date: Here's when you could get a direct payment, Microsoft Surface Laptop Go just leaked — and it looks imminent, 25 funny Amazon Alexa tricks and Easter eggs, PS4 save files don’t work on PS5 — except when they do, 12MP primary (f/1.8); 64MP telephoto with 3x lossless zoom (f/2.0); 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2); VGA time of flight, 12.2MP main (f/1.7); 16MP telephoto with 2x optical zoom (f/2.4).

Receive news and offers from our other brands? For more on how the Galaxy S20 Ultra stacks up against its competitors, check out CNET's spec chart below. We had both phones transcode a 4K video to 1080p after applying an effect and transition in Adobe Rush. Usually, you're left to choose between Just Black and Clearly White options. The S20 Plus' bigger battery helped it last more than 45 minutes longer, at 10 hours and 31 minutes. The sharpness should be similar, though the Pixel holds a tiny edge in terms of pixels-per-inch. There's little separating the two photos, though I think the Galaxy S20 Plus did a better job punching up the blue in the sky. On Geekbench 5, which measures overall performance, the Galaxy S20 Plus posted a multi-core score of 3,076. Where the S20 Ultra has the latest Snapdragon 865 from Qualcomm, the Pixel 4 XL has the 2019-era Snapdragon 855 under the hood. Zoom We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read.

Bath In the case of the Galaxy S20, that version of Android is adorned with Samsung's OneUI 2.0 skin, which is designed to make the phablet easier to operate with one hand. Tom's Guide is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. That's twice as fast as most smartphone screens, and when you're scrolling through web pages, the smoother experience is really noticeable and more enjoyable. It may not sound like much, but it's indicative of how the Galaxy 20 Plus handles things faster than last year's top Android phones. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Samsung tends to stagger its OS updates, with availability also depending upon your carrier. The Galaxy S20 Plus' camera array is a little more elongated to house the additional lenses. Both cameras are too aggressive with skin-smoothing, as my daughter has freckles on her nose, though you wouldn't know it unless you really stared at either shot. Visit our corporate site.

Neither phone comes in a rainbow of colors. The Pixel 4 XL has 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM, whereas the S20+ has 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM on all variants.

That pales in comparison to the Galaxy S20 Plus' 4,500 mAh. While both photos are fairly identical, I think the Pixel 4 balances the contrasting colors — the red of the meat sauce verus the green of the garnish. The Galaxy S20 Plus has a few tricks of its own up its sleeve, but one of them — integration with Google Duo — mimics a feature available to Pixel users. While that's not as fast as what the Galaxy S20 offers, I put the two phones side by side and really couldn't spot an appreciable difference between the two refresh rates. I think the portrait effects on the Pixel 4 XL are more impressive than what the S20 Plus produces, even if Samsung's phone has a time-of-flight sensor that can help enhance things like a bokeh effect blur. Its hardware includes monster camera specs, a generously sized 6.9-inch display and a 5,000-mAh battery. That telephoto lens on the Galaxy S20 Plus is particularly noteworthy, as it can support a 3x lossless zoom. The Pixel 4 XL took 1 minute, 31 seconds to complete the task — a pretty typical result for a Snapdragon 855-powered phone. Galaxy S20 Ultra specs vs. iPhone 11 Pro Max, Pixel 4 XL and Note 10 Plus. The Pixel 4 XL has a chunky bezel on the top of its display to house both the front camera and additional sensors, but it makes the phone seem pudgier than it actually is, especially when it's lying next to the S20. The Pixel 4 XL's shot is all right, but some of the buildings around Oakland's Tribune Tower are getting a little fuzzy. The Pixel 4 and 4 XL introduced us to Motion Sense, which uses a radar sensor to help detect gestures. There's one Galaxy S20 Plus feature the Pixel can't match, and that's 5G connectivity. After Samsung's launch event in February, preorders for Samsung's three new Galaxy S20 phones have kicked off. At 6.37 x 2.9 x 0.3 inches, the Galaxy S20 Plus is only fractionally taller than the 6.3 x 2.9 x 0.3-inch Pixel 4 XL.

Those differences become starker once we zoom in. The Pixel 4 XL's Super Res Zoom feature tops out at 8x, but because of the 64MP telephoto lens, the Galaxy S20 Plus can keep zooming. Please refresh the page and try again. There was a problem. Samsung has its own Note 10 Plus, released last year, which has a 6.8-inch display and an embedded S Pen stylus that allows you to access work-related features baked into the phone. Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra raises the bar on phones in 8 ways, Galaxy Z Flip phone: 6.7-inch foldable display, available Feb. 14 for $1,380, 6.5-inch OLED Super Retina XDR; 2,688x1,242 pixels, 108-megapixel (wide-angle), 48-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), time-of-flight camera, 12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (telephoto), 12.2-megapixel (standard), 16-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 16-megapixel (ultra wide-angle), 12-megapixel (telephoto), 3D depth (HQVGA), 64-bit octa-core processor (Max 2.7GHz + 2.5GHz + 2.0GHz), 2.84GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, or Samsung Exynos 9825, Not disclosed, but Apple claims it will last 5 hours longer than iPhone XS Max, 5G enabled; 120Hz refresh rate; 100x zoom; water resistant (IP68), Water resistant (IP68); dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging, Soli motion sensing and touchless gestures; 90Hz display; water resistant (IP68); dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging, S Pen stylus; Wireless PowerShare; hole punch screen notch; water resistant (IP68), $1,099 (64GB), $1,249 (256GB), $1,449 (512GB), £1,149 (64GB), £1,299 (256GB), £1,499 (512GB), AU$1,899 (64GB), AU$2,149 (256GB), AU$2,499 (512GB).

Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. As a result, that tower pops out in the S20's shot, adding more depth to this Oakland skyline view. See how Samsung's most premium Galaxy S20 phone stacks up against its rivals. You can also read how the phone compares to other Galaxy devices and learn how to purchase the Galaxy S20 phones. The Pixel 4 XL's photo is probably more true-to-life, even if it looks a little muted next to the S20's shot. I've included a 10x shoot of the Tribune Tower here, because that provides more detail than the 8x photo without sacrificing too much in the way of focus. Both the Galaxy S20 Plus and Pixel 4 XL make mobile photograph their centerpiece feature, though the phones go about things in different ways. Samsung's biggest rival, Apple, also released the iPhone 11 Pro Max in September, and it boasts superb video recording skills and facial scanning. The wine glass in the background is also more distinct in the Pixel 4 XL's photo, whereas the S20 Plus has a harder time showing off the contours of the glass. Battery life is another area where the older Pixel 4 lineup takes a backseat to the latest from Samsung. The Pixel 4 more consistent, but the S20 Ultra often captures more detail and its non-Night mode photography is better than the Pixel 4's non-Night Sight photography. Price-conscious shoppers are going to balk at paying the Galaxy S20 Plus’ $1,199 asking price, and there’s something to be said for the pure Android experience that a Pixel phone delivers — particularly when Google includes features like the impressive Recorder app. © CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. You can charge both Google and Samsung phones wirelessly. Flip the phones around, and they're pretty identical with matching glass backs and prominent camera arrays that stick out of the back. Google's phone is also optimized to work on the Google Fi wireless network. That's one of the best results we've ever seen for an Android phone, and certainly far ahead of the 2,582 for the Pixel 4 XL.

Take this landscape shot taken across the San Leandro Channel from downtown Oakland. Our test numbers confirm the advantage the Galaxy S20 Plus brings to this fight with the Pixel 4 XL. A new mobile system-on-chip usually ushers in performance improvements (among other features), and the Snapdragon 865 is no exception, with Qualcomm promising a 25% boost for the chipset's processor along with 25% faster graphics rendering. It originally launched at $899, though discounts throughout the year have dropped the price from time to time. You're also able to search for specific words and phrases in recordings. Samsung's phone is sleek-looking with a screen that stretches from top to bottom. Google's phones have typically done a great job in low light, so I was pleasantly surprised by how the Galaxy S20 Plus outperformed the Pixel 4 XL when things got dark. That last point is worth emphasizing, as Samsung flagships have fallen behind rival phones when it comes to cameras. The Pixel 4 XL's telephoto lens has a 2x optical zoom, giving Samsung an edge on paper when it comes to shooting from a distance. The Pixel 4 XL's effort remains a little too dark — you can see the helmets clearly enough, but not any of the items on the shelves in the background. Any comparison between a new Galaxy S20 model and one of last year's top Android phones like the Pixel 4 XL isn't really a fair fight. And the results in our battery test reflect that disparity in battery sizes.

Samsung's new phones can connect to faster 5G networks — at least where those networks are available. The iPhone 11 Pro Max (left) and the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Google's phones used to be hard to come by, but these days you'll find the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL at every major carrier, just as you would the Galaxy S20 Plus. Moving indoors, the Pixel 4 XL does a slightly better job at capturing a bowl of pasta.