HTC Sensation XL vs Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G: A Generational Leap?
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🏆 Quick Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G utterly dominates this comparison. Its superior display, vastly improved performance, advanced camera system, and significantly longer battery life make it the clear winner. The Sensation XL's historical significance doesn't outweigh the Note20 Ultra's modern capabilities.
| PHONES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Phone Names | HTC Sensation XL | Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G |
| Network | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2G bands | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| 3G bands | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100 | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 |
| 4G bands | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48, 66, 71 - SM-N986U |
| 5G bands | - | 2, 5, 41, 66, 71, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave - SM-N986U |
| Speed | HSPA 14.4/5.76 Mbps | HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE (7CA) Cat20 2000/200 Mbps, 5G |
| Technology | GSM / HSPA | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G |
| - | 41, 66, 71 Sub6 - SM-N986W | |
| Launch | ||
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2011, October. Released 2011, November | 2020, August 05 |
| Status | Discontinued | Available. Released 2020, August 21 |
| Body | ||
|---|---|---|
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 3), plastic back, plastic frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), stainless steel frame |
| Dimensions | 132.5 x 70.7 x 9.9 mm (5.22 x 2.78 x 0.39 in) | 164.8 x 77.2 x 8.1 mm (6.49 x 3.04 x 0.32 in) |
| SIM | Mini-SIM | · Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM |
| Weight | 162.5 g (5.75 oz) | 208 g (7.34 oz) |
| - | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) Stylus, 9ms latency (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro) | |
| Display | ||
|---|---|---|
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Resolution | 480 x 800 pixels, 5:3 ratio (~199 ppi density) | 1440 x 3088 pixels, 19.3:9 ratio (~496 ppi density) |
| Size | 4.7 inches, 62.9 cm2 (~67.1% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.9 inches, 116.7 cm2 (~91.7% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Type | S-LCD | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+ |
| - | Always-on display 120Hz@FHD/60Hz@QHD refresh rate | |
| Platform | ||
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 1.5 GHz Scorpion | Octa-core (2x2.73 GHz Mongoose M5 & 2x2.50 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) - GlobalOcta-core (1x3.0 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Cortex-A77 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A55) - USA |
| Chipset | Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon S2 | Exynos 990 (7 nm+) - GlobalQualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 5G+ (7 nm+) - USA |
| GPU | Adreno 205 | Mali-G77 MP11 - GlobalAdreno 650 - USA |
| OS | Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), upgradable to 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), Sense UI 3.5 | Android 10, upgradable to Android 13, One UI 5 |
| Memory | ||
|---|---|---|
| Card slot | No | microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot) |
| Internal | 16GB 768MB RAM | 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM, 128GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM |
| - | UFS 3.0 | |
| Main Camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | Dual-LED flash, HDR | Laser AF, LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama |
| Quad | 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.0", 0.8µm, PDAF 8 MP, f/2.3, 119˚, 16mm (ultrawide), 1/4.0", 1.12µm 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro) 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth) | - |
| Single | 8 MP, AF | 3.15 MP |
| Triple | - | 108 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.33", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/3.0, 120mm (periscope telephoto), 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom, 50x hybrid zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 120˚, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm |
| Video | 720p | 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS & OIS |
| Selfie camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | Panorama | HDR |
| Single | 1.3 MP | 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.2", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps | |
| Sound | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3.5mm jack | Yes | No |
| 35mm jack | Yes | No |
| Loudspeaker | Yes | Yes, with stereo speakers |
| Beats headset | 32-bit/384kHz audio Tuned by AKG | |
| Comms | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth | 3.0, A2DP | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Positioning | GPS, A-GPS | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO |
| Radio | Stereo FM radio, RDS | FM radio (Snapdragon model only; market/operator dependent) |
| USB | microUSB 2.0 | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Features | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
| MP4/H.264/WMV player MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV player Document viewer/editor Voice memo/dial/commands Predictive text input | Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) ANT+ Bixby natural language commands and dictation Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) Ultra Wideband (UWB) support | |
| Battery | ||
|---|---|---|
| Charging | 30W wired, 50% in 26 min, 100% in 65 min (advertised) | 25W wired, PD3.0 15W wireless (Qi) 4.5W reverse wireless |
| Stand-by | Up to 360 h (2G) / Up to 460 h (3G) | - |
| Talk time | Up to 11 h 50 min (2G) / Up to 6 h 50 min (3G) | - |
| Type | Removable Li-Ion 1600 mAh battery | Li-Ion 4500 mAh |
| Misc | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colors | White | Mystic Bronze, Mystic Black, Mystic White |
| Models | RMX2155 | SM-N986B, SM-N986B/DS, SM-N986U, SM-N986U1, SM-N986W, SM-N9860, SM-N986N, SC-53A |
| Price | About 170 EUR | € 381.00 / $ 248.44 |
| SAR | - | 0.71 W/kg (head) 1.18 W/kg (body) |
| SAR EU | 0.32 W/kg (head) | 0.34 W/kg (head) 1.47 W/kg (body) |
| Pricing | ||
|---|---|---|
| 128GB 8GB RAM | $ 389.00 | - |
| 64GB 6GB RAM | $ 144.98 | - |
| Tests | ||
|---|---|---|
| Audio quality | Noise -85.2dB / Crosstalk -75.1dB | - |
| Battery life | Endurance rating 40h | Endurance rating 88h |
| Camera | Photo / Video | Photo / Video |
| Display | Contrast ratio: 1085:1 (nominal) | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) |
| Loudspeaker | Voice 70dB / Noise 61dB / Ring 70dB | -27.8 LUFS (Good) |
| Performance | AnTuTu: 292828(v8) GeekBench: 1681 (v5.1) GFXBench: 17fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) | AnTuTu: 508760 (v8) GeekBench: 2603 (v5.1) GFXBench: 42fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) |
HTC Sensation XL
- Nostalgic Android experience
- Large screen for its time
- Outdated performance
- Poor camera quality
- Short battery life
- No 5G
- Limited app compatibility
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
- Exceptional display
- Powerful performance
- Versatile camera system
- Long battery life
- 5G connectivity
- Premium design
- Expensive
- Large size may not suit everyone
Display Comparison
The Note20 Ultra boasts a vibrant AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 1024 nits and an 'infinite' contrast ratio, offering exceptional color accuracy and deep blacks. The Sensation XL's LCD screen, while decent for its time, pales in comparison with a contrast ratio of 1085:1 and significantly lower brightness. The Note20 Ultra's larger size and higher resolution also contribute to a superior viewing experience.
Camera Comparison
The Note20 Ultra's camera system is a significant upgrade, featuring multiple lenses and advanced features like 8K video recording and improved low-light performance. The Sensation XL's camera is adequate for basic photography but lacks the versatility and image quality of the Note20 Ultra. The Note20 Ultra's zoom capabilities are also far superior.
Performance
The Note20 Ultra's Octa-core processors (either Exynos or Snapdragon) provide a massive performance advantage over the Sensation XL's 1.5 GHz Scorpion CPU. The Note20 Ultra handles demanding games and multitasking with ease, while the Sensation XL struggles with modern apps and experiences. RAM differences (8GB vs 6GB on the Note20 Ultra vs 8/6GB on the Sensation XL) further amplify this disparity.
Battery Life
The Note20 Ultra offers a significantly longer battery life with an endurance rating of 88 hours, compared to the Sensation XL's 40 hours. The Note20 Ultra also supports faster charging (25W wired, 15W wireless) and reverse wireless charging, features absent in the Sensation XL.
Buying Guide
Who should buy the HTC Sensation XL? Likely only collectors or those seeking a nostalgic experience with an older Android device. The Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G is for users who demand top-tier performance, a stunning display, a versatile camera, and 5G connectivity – a premium experience.