3 reasons to spend $1,000 on the Samsung Galaxy Note 20, and 3 reasons not to

Newer isn’t necessarily better.

- MICHAEL SIMON

You might think the new $1,000 Galaxy Note 20 and $1,000 Galaxy S20 are two peas in the same pod as “affordable” counterparts to their high-priced Ultra siblings. They’re not.

While the Galaxy S20 is basically a smaller version of the S20 Ultra, with the same chip, RAM, and screen tech as its pricier sibling, the Galaxy Note 20 shares very little with the Note 20 Ultra. Samsung has set the cheaper Galaxy Note 20 apart from both the Note 20 Ultra and the Galaxy S20 Ultra with a number of changes, many of which might make buyers think twice about buying one. Here’s why your thousand bucks might be better spent on the slightly older Galaxy S20—or not.

The Note 20 (right) is just a little smaller than the Note 20 Ultra but it’s missing a lot of features.

THE GALAXY NOTE 20’S PROCESSOR IS FASTER THAN THE S20’S…

For the first time since Samsung has been using Snapdragon processors in the United States, the Galaxy Note has a faster processor than the Galaxy S. Samsung has opted to outfit the Galaxy Note 20 with the Snapdragon 865+ processor, which brings a 10 percent boost in speed and graphics. Whether that translates into a performance boost that you can feel is another story, but anyone who buys a Note 20 will have the best chip Samsung ever shipped.

...BUT THE GALAXY NOTE 20 HAS LESS RAM