Samsung Galaxy S20: 10 tips and tidbits you need to know before you preorder

Update 2/21: The Galaxy S20 is now available for preorder. Check out the best deals here.

Samsung’s new series of S20 phones go up for preorder this week, and if you plan on buying one, you already know all about the giant screens, eye-popping cameras, and gorgeous design. But with preorders set to begin tomorrow, there are a few features deep down on the list that you might not have noticed:

The S20 doesn’t support mmWave 5G yet

Samsung is touting all of its S20 phones as 5G capable, and that’s true, with one exception. The smallest model only supports the sub-6GHz spectrum while the S20+ and S20 Ultra can switch between sub-6GHz and mmWave. That might not be an issue for T-Mobile subscribers, but Verizon buyers will basically have a 4G phone, as the carrier hasn’t yet switched on its sub-6 GHz network. Verizon says a mmWave version of the S20 will be launching in the second quarter, but we don’t know whether it will carry a higher price tag.

You can lock RAM to a game or app

All of the S20 models have at least 12GB of RAM, which is more then most people will ever actually need on their Chromebook, let alone their phone. In fact, there’s so much memory in the S20, Samsung is letting users lock apps and games into the RAM. That means that when you stop using an app that’s RAM locked, it’ll stay in the phone’s memory, so you won’t need to wait for a lengthy load the next time it launches.

Christopher Hebert/iDG

You can’t zoom videos to 100X

Samsung is so proud of its 100X Space Zoom lens on the S20 Ultra, it’s plastered it right on the rear camera array. However, if you’re hoping to take Cloverfield-style videos from super far away, however, you might be disappointed. Samsung says you can only zoom up to 20X on the Ultra and 13X on the S20 and S20+.

They have pretty awesome music sharing

Sharing and streaming music over Bluetooth is hardly a revolutionary feature, but the S20 puts a whole new spin on it. Here’s how it works. Let’s say you’re on a road trip and your buddy wants to play a song through your car’s stereo. Normally, you’d need to unpair your phone and pair his, but if you have an S20, it’s way simpler than that. With your S20 acting as a hub, your friend will be able to connect to your car’s stereo through your S20, provided they also have a Galaxy phone. Your phone will show up in their Bluetooth preferences and the Galaxy S20 will broadcast it to the car. Pretty ingenious.

You can make Duo video calls in Full HD

Samsung has teamed up with Google to build Duo video calls directly into the phone app, a bit of Pixel-level ingenuity right on your Galaxy S20. But that’s not all. Video chats made on the S20 will be streamed in full 1080p HD at long last. Just remember to make yourself presentable.

Christopher Hebert/iDG

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