Why You Can Trust CNET iFixit uncovers two different Note 20 cooling systems
Some have graphite thermal pads, while others have copper vapor chambers.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
Some Note 20 devices have graphite thermal pads, while others have copper vapor chambers.
Teardowns of Samsung's Galaxy Note 20 have found that some have graphite cooling systems, while others have copper vapor chambers, with each cooling system "seemingly chosen at random." iFixit said Monday it dismantled both the Note 20 5G and Note 20 5G Ultra, and didn't find copper vapor-chamber cooling -- but other teardowns have.
"To soak up all the heat from each phone's octo-core processor, we expect to find a sprawling copper vapor chamber here -- the kind Samsung was always quick to brag about in previous Galaxy Phones. But instead, we find a multi-layered graphite thermal pad," iFixit said. "Stranger still, it seems some other Note 20 phones do have copper heat pipes -- but not our US-spec model."
Read more: The best phones of 2020
iFixit suggested that Samsung is possibly A/B testing a new cooling system, or that the international models require different cooling with their Snapdragon processors -- but then pointed out that another teardown of an international model of the Note 20 also has graphite.
iFixit gave the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra only a 3 out of 10 on the repairability scale.
Samsung didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
