Something to look forward to: In exactly two weeks today, Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, along with several other devices, at its Unpacked event. From what we've already heard, the handset will be overflowing with features, including optimizations for playing Xbox games.
According to a report from German publication Winfuture, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra will be optimized to stream more than 90 Xbox games via Microsoft's Project xCloud. Samsung appears confident that the phone's gaming abilities will appeal to consumers and is advertising the Note 20 Ultra as a "portable game console" and "made for Xbox Game Pass."
Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that its Project xCloud would launch this September. Xbox boss Phil Spencer said over 100 titles would be available for subscribers, and those who subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which combines the Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold services, would receive the game streaming service free. Interestingly, Microsoft just killed off the 12-month option for Xbox Live Gold subscriptions.
Project xCloud, which will get a new, official name at launch, allows users to stream console and PC games to any device, including smartphones. It's also cross-platform compatible.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra's hardware and impressive display should make it one of the best smartphones for streaming games. It will be powered by either the Snapdragon 865 or 865 Plus (and Samsung's Exynos 990 octa-core chipset in certain locations), have at least 12GB of RAM, and is 5G compatible, enabling smooth game streaming in areas with 5G coverage.
The handset's OLED screen sounds like it is made for mobile gaming: it's a hefty 6.9 inches with minimal bezels, boasts a 3200 x 1400 resolution (19.3: 9 aspect ratio, 508 PPI), and, best of all, comes with a 120Hz refresh rate. It's rumored to be covered in Gorilla Glass 7, too.
Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event takes place on August 5. You can watch proceedings live on Samsung's website at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT. Expect to see several products on show, including the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Galaxy Z Flip 5G, both of which recently saw their prices leak online.