Samsung Galaxy Note 20 hasn’t already lost to iPhone 12, despite benchmark scores

It’s not even close

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We recently saw aniPhone 12leaked benchmark test which gave us a glimpse at its potential processing power, and now theSamsung Galaxy Note 20 Plusis another upcoming phone which also had its results leaked. However these new numbers are… well, quite a bit lower.

These test results were spotted bySammobile, in the listings of Geekbench. Sammobile noticed a phone listed under SM-N986U - for context, theSamsungGalaxy Note 10 Plus 5G had the model number SM-N976U, so this is very likely its successor.

Specs in the benchmark entry include 8GB RAM and the Snapdragon 865 chipset, which is the same as theSamsung Galaxy S20in certain regions (Samsung uses its own Exynos processors in other regions).

The benchmark scores show a single-core score of 985 and a multi-core score of 3220, and if accurate would mean this handset beats any other Samsung phones to date. However, as previously stated, they don’t touch the recently-leaked iPhone 12 results from mid-March.

TheiPhone 12 benchmark scoreswere 1,658 for single-core and 4,612 for multi-core, so it seems its rumored Bionic A14 chipset will beat the Snapdragon 865.

This isn’t much of a surprise, sinceApple’s chipsets tend to have some of the best processing power in the smartphone world, while Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors have their own advantages like power efficiency.

In addition, at this top-end of mobile speeds, it’s unlikely that many users will notice a huge difference when using the phones.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 20 chipset questions

While Sammobile reported the chipset looks to be a Snapdragon 865, a prevalent leaker thinks it’ll actually be the Snapdragon 865 Plus, suggesting Qualcomm is repeating its 2019 action of putting out a Plus version of its popular chipset towards the end of the year.

The Galaxy Note20 + will use the Snapdragon 865+ processor. Why do you say this? Because from the Geekbench results, we found that the processor’s large core frequency is as high as 3.09GHz, and the 865 frequency is 2.84GHz, so we have reasons to think that it is 865+ . pic.twitter.com/I9bU87RPRDApril 2, 2020

LeakerUniverseIcedug into the benchmark some more, and thinks the chipset shown must actually be the Snapdragon 865 Plus, based on the frequency levels of the chipsets.

This information contradictsleaked Galaxy Note 20 code found recently, which indicates the phone range will have the non-Plus chipset, but neither leak is from a convincing enough source for us to think one is more likely than the other.

We’ll find out the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Plus processor, as well as everything else about the phone, in around August when we’re expecting the range to launch. Before that we’re likely in for plenty more leaks, so stay tuned for them.

Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.

He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist.

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