Samsung’s smaller Galaxy Note 20 is made of plastic, but still costs $999

Ben Schoon | Aug 5 2020 - 7:25 am PT

The Galaxy Note 20 series has gone official today and it delivers fast chipsets, new designs, and more to the series. However, the smaller Galaxy Note 20 also includes a choice that might frustrate some long-time fans — it’s made from plastic.

Samsung’s Note series has always lived on the bleeding edge when it comes to power and design, and the name of the game for flagships in 2020 is a metal frame that has a glass rear. Fragile as that may be, it also distinctly makes the phone feel more premium, more worthy of its exorbitant price tag.

The smaller Galaxy Note 20, though, bucks that trend by adopting a plastic back. The company confirmed the material choice to our friends over at Android Police in a London briefing for the products. Based on their hands-on time with the phone, they said it doesn’t feel cheap and has a slick matte finish on the back too which will block fingerprints.

Using plastic — Samsung specifically calls it “reinforced polycarbonate” — should end up leaving this phone more durable as well. Plus, the chassis is still made from metal, so you won’t lose all of that premium feel.

There are a lot of pros to switching from a glass back to plastic, but when we’ve been pushed so hard by Samsung and, well, everyone else for the past few years that glass is better and worth more money, paying $1,000 for a plastic phone is a hard pill to swallow. I’m not sure it’ll be a deal-breaker for most folks, but it’s certainly an interesting move for the Note line.

At least the display is flat.