Repair site iFixit has published its in-depth teardown of Samsung’s new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S20 Ultra. In addition to the video above, iFixit also shared a detailed account of the autopsy, including close-up shots of the impressive camera array Samsung has packed inside this monster.
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| The motherboard assembly, which includes the camera array, is carefully removed from the Galaxy S20 Ultra unit. |
As a quick refresher, the Galaxy S20 Ultra features a camera array consisting of three individual modules: a 12-megapixel F2.2 ultra-wide camera module, a 108-megapixel F1.8 wide-angle camera module and a 48-megapixel F3.5 telephoto camera module, the last of which offers up to 100x zoom through a combination of optical and digital zoom with a little AI and software trickery for good measure. On the front of the S20 Ultra is a ridiculous 40-megapixel front-facing camera as well.
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| The 108-megapixel sensor inside the Galaxy S20 Ultra (top) shown alongside the 12-megapixel primary sensor inside Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro. |
First up on the docket was the 108-megapixel (9.5mm x 7.3mm) wide-angle camera, powered by Samsung’s ISOCELL Bright HM1 ‘Nonacell’ image sensor. As iFixit points out, this massive sensor features roughly double the surface area compared to the iPhone 11 Pro’s 12-megapixel primary sensor and uses Samsung’s Nonacell pixel-binning technology to bring the final image down to approximately 12-megapixels.The 12-megapixel F2.2 ultra-wide camera module was glossed over in the teardown, but given a nod in the video as it’s removed from the main camera assembly.
From there, iFixit took a closer look at the 48-megapixel F3.5 telephoto camera module, which is responsible for the 100x ‘Space Zoom’ advertised on the outside of the camera bump. Similar to other periscope-style zoom lenses seen in past smartphones, Samsung uses an array of zoom lenses behind an optically-stablized prism (which is used to redirect the light 90-degrees) to get up to 4x zoom capability. As noted above, the 100x ‘Space Zoom’ is achieved through a combination of sensor cropping, digital zoom and software.
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| The prism (top) redirects the light 90-degrees through the lenses housed within the assembly (black box, above where the tweezers are positioned), which slides back and forth within the guides to offer up to 4x optical zoom. |
Other components onboard the Galaxy S20 Ultra include the 6.9-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O Display (3200 x 1440 pixel, 511ppi, up to 120Hz refresh), a Snapdragon 865 processor, up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a 5,000mAh battery. As you might expect for a smartphone that manages to pack that much tech inside its frame, the device doesn’t score too well on iFixit’s repairability chart. When all was said and done, iFixit gave the Galaxy S20 Ultra a three out of ten.
You can find more images and read peruse through the entire teardown over on iFixit’s website.
Image credits: Photos via iFixit, used with permission
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