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The Galaxy Note 20 may include Google's AirDrop competitor

The latest Galaxy Note 20 gives us a glimpse at the phone's camera settings and Google Nearby Sharing functionality.
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Published onJuly 20, 2020

Samsung Note 10 Lite samsung branding
TL;DR
  • Unlike the S20, it doesn’t look the Note 20 Ultra features a 100x zoom.
  • It appears Samsung has added support 21:9 video capture.
  • It looks like the phone includes Google’s upcoming Nearby Sharing feature.

We’re about two-and-a-half weeks out from Samsung announcing the Galaxy Note 20 on August 5, but the leaks continue to come. Following his earlier hands-on, YouTuber Jimmy is Promo has shared a new video detailing some of the Note 20 Ultra’s camera app settings and other features.

We first get a look at the phone’s telephoto capabilities. Corroborating an earlier rumor, it appears Samsung has in fact dropped the S20’s 100x Space Zoom feature in favor of a more reasonable 50x zoom. What’s new here is that the Note 20 can also shoot videos using a 21:9 aspect ratio. Budding filmmakers will love this feature since it’ll allow them to make their footage more cinematic. However, most people will probably still want to record their videos in the usual 16:9 or 4:3 since 21:9 displays are few and far between. The fact it seems like you won’t be able to use features like auto-focus tracking and video effects while shooting at 21:9 may also limit use.

Don’t miss: Everything we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy Note 20

In the next section, there’s a new histogram you can access while filming. It’s that graph you see at the top right of the interface. A histogram is handy for ensuring you don’t over or underexpose a scene to avoid something called clipping. You want to avoid it because it can lead to loss of detail. If you’ve ever taken a photo on a bright day and the sky came out white, you’ve experienced clipping.

It also looks like Samsung has added several audio tools. On the left side of the interface, we can see levels for monitoring audio. At the bottom of the interface, meanwhile, you can tweak how the direction the Note 20’s mic records audio from. It looks like you’ll also be able to adjust the gain if the sound you’re trying to capture is either too soft or loud.

Jimmy is Promo saved the most interesting detail for the end of the video. We see the Note 20’s notification shade includes a Nearby Share toggle. Nearby Share is Google’s take on Apple’s popular AirDrop functionality.

The good news here is that it seems Samsung has dropped whatever plans it had to create its own AirDrop alternative. Instead, it appears the Note 20 will come with Nearby Share, which will allow it to send files to wirelessly to all other compatible Android devices, not just other Samsung phones.

XDA Developers’ Mishaal Rahman recently tweeted that Google plans to start rolling out the feature to all Android devices running 6.0 Marshmallow and above next month. The Note 20 Ultra could be one of the first phones to ship with Nearby Share.