The Samsung Galaxy S20 5G UW finally launched at Verizon recently, taking a few months of extra time to launch at the big red carrier so that it could include support for Verizon's mmWave 5G network. And while the Verizon Galaxy S20 does include mmWave support and an exclusive Cloud White color option, it's been revealed that those aren't the only differences between it and other Galaxy S20 models.
Verizon's Galaxy S20 5G UW is missing the microSD card slot found on other versions of the Galaxy S20 and it's got less RAM than those devices, too. Spotted by XDA-Developers and folks on Reddit, Samsung's product page says "No support" for external memory on the Galaxy S20 5G UW, and the SIM card tray only has room for the SIM card itself.
The Galaxy S20 5G UW is only available with 128GB of built-in storage, so if you do buy one, that's the most storage you'll be able to get on the device. Other Galaxy S20 models include a microSD slot so you can add more storage if you need it.
Samsung's product page for the Verizon Galaxy S20 5G UW also confirms that it's only got 8GB of RAM. The other US carrier versions of the Galaxy S20 and the US unlocked model have 12GB of RAM.
Neither Verizon nor Samsung have said exactly why these changes were made to the Galaxy S20 5G UW. It's possible that the microSD slot may have been pulled to make room for the mmWave antenna in the S20 5G UW, which is a feature that other Galaxy S20 models don't have. As XDA notes, costs may have also played a part in these changes being made, with Verizon wanting its Galaxy S20 5G UW to cost the same as other versions of the S20. Including the mmWave support could've made it more expensive, so making changes to the RAM and microSD slot could counteract that.
These changes are probably frustrating to Verizon customers who have been waiting for the Galaxy S20 5G UW to launch. The microSD card slot is a feature that's been pretty common on Galaxy flagships over the years, so some long-time Samsung customers may be used to having it. And while 8GB of RAM is still quite a bit and should serve most folks fine in day-to-day use, getting 4GB less compared to other S20 models could be a deal breaker for some.