Samsung has officially unveiled its Galaxy S10 family of flagship phones. There are four new phones in the Galaxy S10 range: the standard Galaxy S10, the bigger Galaxy S10+, a smaller Galaxy S10E and for the first time, a 5G smartphone which will be available to buy later this year.
It’s impossible to talk about the Galaxy S10 family without first mentioning their displays. Samsung was one of the few that didn’t embrace the traditional center-mounted display notch fad in 2018. However, Samsung’s answer to the notch is the punch-hole cutout that it calls Infinity-O.
On the Galaxy S10e and Galaxy S10, which have a 5.8-inch (2280×1080) and 6.1-inch (3040×1440) Super AMOLED displays respectively, there’s a single cutout for the selfie camera. The Galaxy S10+ with its 6.4-inch display ups the stakes with a pill-shaped cutout that houses two selfie cameras.
On the Galaxy S10e and Galaxy S10, the selfie camera uses a 10MP f/1.9 sensor. The Galaxy S10+ adds a second 8MP f/2.2 Live Focus, Dual Pixel 4K sensor. Out back, the Galaxy S10e uses a dual-camera setup, which seems rather quaint these days.
There is a 12MP f/1.5 Dual Aperture sensor and 16MP f/2.2 ultra-wide sensor positioned beside an LED flash. The Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+, on the other hand, go with a triple camera setup. These two devices add a third telephoto camera with 12MP f/2.4 sensor.
All three smartphones are powered by Qualcomm’s new octa-core Snapdragon 855 processor, which is built on the 7-nanometer process node. The Kryo 485 uses a single “prime” core that is clocked at 2.84GHz, which is then coupled with three performance cores clocked slightly lower at 2.42GHz. In addition, there are four efficiency cores clocked at 1.8GHz.
Also onboard is a new Adreno 640 GPU and a fourth-generation AI engine. According to Qualcomm, the Kryo 485 offers a 45 percent performance boost compared to the Snapdragon 845, the Adreno 640 offers a 20 percent performance uplift, while the AI engine offer a 3x performance advantage.
There will be a wide range of RAM/storage configurations depending on the model selected, and these are the options that Samsung announced today:
- Galaxy S10e: 6GB/128GB (RAM/NAND storage), 8GB/256GB
- Galaxy S10: 8GB/128GB, 8GB/512GB
- Galaxy S10+: 8GB/128GB, 8GB/512GB, 12GB/1TB
With respect to biometrics, the Galaxy S10e forgoes the rear-mounted optical fingerprint sensor of its predecessors in favor of one built-in to the side-mounted power button. The Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+, however, feature an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor mounted in the bottom centre of the display.
On the connectivity front, the Snapdragon 855 includes support for the new 802.11ax wireless standard, better known as Wi-Fi 6, along with support for the 10Gbps 802.11ay. There’s also an integrated Snapdragon X24 4G LTE modem which can accommodate 2Gbps download speeds.
On the power front, the Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ feature 3100 mAh, 3400 mAh, and 4100 mAh batteries respectively. As you might expect, the batteries can be recharged either via the bottom-mounted USB-C port of wirelessly using a Qi-compatible charger (Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 supported). The added twist with the Galaxy S10 family, however, is that they add reverse wireless charging called Wireless PowerShare.
Wireless PowerShare allows you to use your Galaxy S10 smartphone to wirelessly charge another Qi-compatible smartphone or even the Galaxy Buds earphones. The feature works as long as the host smartphone has at least 30 percent of battery available, and is something we’d like to see incorporated into more devices.
Galaxy S10 5G
If all that wasn’t enough, there’s still one more member of the family that made an appearance today, and that’s the Galaxy S10 5G. Samsung confirmed that the smartphone is 5G-capable thanks to its Snapdragon X50 modem and that it will feature a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display, a 3D Depth Camera up front that enables Video Live Focus and a massive 4500 mAh battery.
The Galaxy S10 5G also supports Super Fast Wireless Charging at 25W. Interestingly, the Galaxy S10 5G only has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.
DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics said,
“Since its launch ten years ago, the Galaxy S series has stood for premium innovation – offering consumers an incredible experience, and the ability to find the device that’s right for them,”
“Galaxy S10 builds on that incredible legacy, and delivers breakthrough display, camera, and performance innovations. With four premium devices, each built for a unique consumer in mind, Samsung is leveraging a decade of industry leadership to usher in a new era of smartphone technology.”
The S10 series is likely to remain Samsung’s focus when it comes to sales for the foreseeable future. Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy S10e will be available in Prism White, Prism Black, Prism Green, Prism Blue, Canary Yellow and Flamingo Pink. Galaxy S10+ will also be available in two, all-new, premium Ceramic models: Ceramic Black and Ceramic White.
The S10 and S10+ will cost more than the phones they supersede – beginning at £799 and £899 respectively when they go on sale on 8 March.
But the S10e means the Galaxy S range now starts at a lower price-point – £669 – albeit with lower specifications to match.
The S10 5G is yet to be priced and only has a vague “summer” release planned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbQZ0Mrpp80
Samsung Galaxy S10 Specifications
| Category | Galaxy S10e | Galaxy S10 | Galaxy S10+ | Galaxy S10 5G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Android 9 Pie One UI 1.1 |
Android 9 Pie One UI 1.1 |
Android 9 Pie One UI 1.1 |
Android 9 Pie One UI 1.1 |
| Display | 5.8-inch AMOLED, 2280×1080 (19:9) | 6.1-inch AMOLED, 3040×1440 (19:9) | 6.4-inch AMOLED, 3040×1440 (19:9) | 6.7-inch AMOLED, 3040×1440 (19:9) |
| Processor | Snapdragon 855 or Samsung Exynos 9820 |
Snapdragon 855 or Samsung Exynos 9820 |
Snapdragon 855 or Samsung Exynos 9820 |
Snapdragon 855 |
| Storage | 128/256GB | 128/512GB | 128GB/512GB/1TB | 256GB |
| Expandable | microSD | microSD | microSD | No |
| RAM | 6/8GB | 8GB | 8/12GB | 8GB |
| Primary rear camera | 12MP Super Speed Dual Pixel, OIS, f/1.5 or f/2.4 | 12MP Super Speed Dual Pixel, OIS, f/1.5 or f/2.4 | 12MP Super Speed Dual Pixel, OIS, f/1.5 or f/2.4 | 12MP Super Speed Dual Pixel, OIS, f/1.5 or f/2.4 |
| Telephoto rear camera | N/A | 12MP, OIS, f/2.4 | 12MP, OIS, f/2.4 | 12MP, OIS, f/2.4 |
| Ultrawide rear camera | 16MP, f/2.2 | 16MP, f/2.2 | 16MP, f/2.2 | 16MP, f/2.2 |
| ToF rear camera | No | No | No | Yes |
| Front camera | 10MP, f/1.9, Dual Pixel AF | 10MP, f/1.9, Dual Pixel AF | 10MP, f/1.9, Dual Pixel AF | 10MP, f/1.9, Dual Pixel AF |
| Secondary front camera | N/A | N/A | 8MP, f/2.2, AF | ToF |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6, 2Gbps (Cat20) LTE, Bluetooth 5.0 LE | Wi-Fi 6, 2Gbps (Cat20) LTE, Bluetooth 5.0 LE | Wi-Fi 6, 2Gbps (Cat20) LTE, Bluetooth 5.0 LE | 5G NR, 2Gbps (Cat20) LTE, Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.0 LE |
| Audio | Stereo speakers Dolby Atmos 3.5mm headphone |
Stereo speakers Dolby Atmos 3.5mm headphone |
Stereo speakers Dolby Atmos 3.5mm headphone |
Stereo speakers Dolby Atmos 3.5mm headphone |
| Battery | 3100mAh | 3400mAh | 4100mAh | 4500mAh |
| Charging | Quick Charge 2.0 (15W) Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 (12W) |
Quick Charge 2.0 (15W) Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 (12W) |
Quick Charge 2.0 (15W) Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 (12W) |
Super Fast Charge (25W) Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 (12W) |
| Water resistance | IP68 | IP68 | IP68 | IP68 |
| Security | Side fingerprint sensor Face recognition |
Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor Face recognition |
Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor Face recognition |
Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor Face recognition |
| Dimensions | 142.2 x 69.9 x 7.9mm 150 g |
149.9 x 70.4 x 7.8mm 157 g |
157.6 x 74.1 x 7.4mm 175 g (Ceramic: 198 g) |
tbd |
| Colours | Flamingo Pink, Prism Blue Prism Black, Prism White, Prism Green (global) |
Flamingo Pink, Prism Blue Prism Black, Prism White, Prism Green (global) |
Flamingo Pink, Prism Blue Prism Black Prism White, Prism Green (global) |
tbd |
| Starting Price | £669 | £799 | £899 | tbd |
