[IT’s 가성비] Does the Galaxy S20+ stand out even more in the used phone market?

‘Cost-effectiveness’, as the name suggests, means ‘the ratio of performance to price.’ A cost effective product is not just a cheap product. A product that provides more functions than other products in the same price range, or is more efficient than expected in a particular application and environment, is considered a product with high cost-effectiveness.

Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S20 series released in 2020 / Source = Samsung Electronics

And cost effectiveness is not always something to consider when buying a new product. There are also used items that are very good value for money. Even if it is an older or discontinued product, it provides enough performance to be used immediately, and in some cases, it has advantages that new products do not have. And since it is a used product, the price is also cheap. The cost-effective used product we’ll be looking at this time is the Samsung Electronics ‘Galaxy 20+ (Plus)’ smartphone, released in 2020.

The Galaxy S series is the flagship smartphone line of Samsung Electronics. From 2024, the latest model is the Galaxy S24 series, and the Galaxy S20 series has already been released for more than 4 years. It has already been discontinued and only used products are available. It is divided into the base model ‘Galaxy S20’, the large screen model ‘Galaxy S20 +’, and the top model ‘Galaxy S20 Ultra’.

Galaxy S20 series, lucky model with low cost savings

At first glance, it may seem that it is not worth buying at this point, but that is not true. This is because the Galaxy S20 series is a product with a very special meaning. The Galaxy S20 series follows the Galaxy S10 series (released in 2019). According to the current practice of adding 1 to the product name every time a next generation product is released, it should have been the ‘Galaxy S11’ series. However, Samsung Electronics had so much confidence in this product that they added a whopping 10 and released it under the name of the ‘Galaxy S20’ series. And the so-called ‘cost reduction’ was not done either.

(From left) Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, Galaxy S20 Ultra / Source = Samsung Electronics

In fact, the Galaxy S20 series was a product with luxury materials and high specifications that clearly distinguished it from other smartphones at the time. First, the Galaxy S20, the basic model, is equipped with a lot of RAM of 12GB. Large RAM capacity is beneficial when you run large content or perform multiple tasks at the same time. Instead, the base models of the successor models Galaxy S21, S22, S23, and S24 were ‘downgraded’ to 8GB of RAM.

This is also true when looking at the outside arrangement. For example, in the case of the base model Galaxy S21, the back of the body is made of relatively cheap plastic, but the Galaxy S20 is made of tempered glass.

Regarding the screen, the Galaxy S20 series is equipped with an ‘edge’ display where the edges on each side of the screen are curved for both the basic model, Plus, and Ultra models. It is a more expensive screen compared to the flat displays installed in the basic / plus models of the Galaxy S21 ~ S24 that were released later. Of course, some people do not like the edge screen, but it is true that the overall production cost of the Galaxy S20 series seems to be higher than its successors.

In addition, the Galaxy S20 series is well designed to dissipate heat. Its successors, the Galaxy S21 series and S22 series, were criticized for not handling excessive heat properly and thus providing poor performance compared to specifications, but the t -Galaxy S20 series is relatively free from such criticism. This means that, compared to its successors (especially S21), the performance itself is not significantly reduced.

The last Galaxy S series with an SD card slot

In addition, the Galaxy S20 series is also the last Galaxy S series to feature a micro SD card slot, which was deleted in later series. You can use this to expand storage space.

And since it is an older model but a flagship model, you can use advanced features such as a wireless charging function that allows you to charge the battery without a cable connection, and a DEX function that brings out a user interface like a PC when you connect. your smartphone to a monitor or TV. This is also a differentiating feature from entry-level/mid-range products such as the Galaxy A series.

Still, used goods are used, things to think about before you buy.

However, this does not mean that the Galaxy S20 series is a perfect product in every aspect. In particular, if you are looking to buy a used product from 2024, there are definitely things to keep in mind.

The biggest disadvantage is that it is an old product that has been released for 4 years already, so you can’t expect any further updates to the operating system version (Android ). The Galaxy S20 series was equipped with Android 12 operating system at the time of launch, and later updates increased the version to Android 14. In fact, Android 14 is fine to use right now.

However, since the Galaxy S20 series does not support more operating system version updates, it is possible that there may be compatibility issues with some of the latest applications if you use it for more than 2 to 3 years. or more than 5 years.

And in the case of some Galaxy S20 series products, there are several reports of screen failures. A typical example is what is called ‘whitening’, where the whole screen turns white. In addition, since the Galaxy S20 series has an edge-to-edge display, screen repair costs are also expensive. If you buy a used product to save money, you may end up spending more money on repair costs, so we recommend that you check the screen carefully before buying a used product.

The ‘Plus’ model is recommended, and the ‘BTS Edition’ is also priced the same.

When buying a used Galaxy S20 series product, the most recommended model is the ‘Galaxy S20 + (Plus)’ model. The Galaxy S20+ (6.7 inches) has a larger screen than the base model Galaxy S20 (6.2 inches), and it has twice the storage space (128GB for the base model and 256GB for the Plus model).

Above all, the biggest attraction of the Galaxy S20+ is that it is a smartphone with a large screen but it is light in weight. Weighing only 186g, it is easy to carry. Among the smartphones sold these days, it is very difficult to find products weighing less than 200g. The Galaxy S20 Ultra, a higher-end model, is attractive because it is equipped with a 100x zoom camera, but it is somewhat heavy at 220g.

Galaxy S20+ ‘BTS Edition’ / Source = Samsung Electronics

It may vary depending on the condition of the product, but as of August 2024, used Galaxy S20+ products are being traded at a price between the late 100,000 range to around 200,000 won. And among the products of the Galaxy S20 +, a ‘BTS Edition’ model has been released for BTS fans. The color of the product and the installed theme (user interface) are somewhat unique, but the performance itself is the same as the regular Galaxy S20 +, and since a fairly large number has been released, the market price is used almost identically to the standard Galaxy S20 +. . Note that there is no need to pay extra money to buy it.

Donga IT Reporter Kim Young-woo pengo@itdonga.com