SAMSUNG S10 REVIEW

                             SAMSUNG S10

With the Galaxy S10, Samsung celebrates its 10th anniversary Galaxy S phone by going big and bold. How bold? Each of the four new Galaxy S10 models is more impressive than the last: there's the cheaper S10E ($750, £669, AU$1,199), the Galaxy S10 ($900, £799, AU$1,349), S10 Plus ($1,000, £899, AU$1,499) and Galaxy S10 5G, the brand's first 5G phone.

                                      

This is Samsung seeking to whip up excitement, roar back in sales and defend its title as the world's top smartphone brand. But the Galaxy S10 phones also represent a quest for perfection.

Display

The 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display on the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus makes this the biggest S phone screen to date, bigger than 5.8-inch S9 Plus and matching the Note 9 screen size. It’s also a lot better.

                                

The draw for us so far has been the 93.1% screen-to-body ratio, as Samsung has found a way to fit more pixels across a tighter body. The phone measures 157.6 x 74.1 x 7.8mm, roughly the dimensions of the S9 Plus – a bit less tall, a tad wider, and noticeably thinner and lighter. It feels better in the hand than the physically bigger Note 9 and its 83.4% screen-to-body ratio.

                                          

Its standout screen size magic comes down to the Infinity-O display type. Samsung has avoided using a notch cutout across the top of its flagship phone by opting for a laser-cut hole in the top-right corner. This is where it embeds the front-facing camera, and it’s a bit wider in the S10 Plus than the S10 and S10e due to the two front cameras instead of one.

Samsung Galaxy S10 – Performance

Screen aside, the rest of the design feels familiar. Present and correct are the super-smudge-attracting glass on the rear of the device, USB-C along the bottom edge, and even a headphone jack. The S10 is a delicate phone that remains hard to hold for extended periods, as a result of its sharp edges. While I’m aware that Samsung is a firm fan and has every faith in this design, I think more could have been done.

                                        

Samsung loves to ship its devices with the latest and greatest internals and, predictably, the S10 is no different. Powering the range is an unnamed 8nm chipset that has pretty much been confirmed as the Exynos 9820. In the US, this is likely to be switched up for the Snapdragon 855.

The S10 comes with the now-standard 8GB of RAM, rather than 4GB, and you can choose between 128GB or 512GB of storage. MicroSD support remains, as does Qi wireless charging and an IP68 water-resistance rating.

                                        

SAMSUNG GALAXY S10 REVIEW: CAMERA

Finally, the biggest change to the Galaxy S10 is the camera. Last year, Samsung introduced a secondary sensor to bring the bokeh-touting Live Focus photographs first introduced with its Galaxy Note range to the Galaxy S9. With the Galaxy S10, Samsung has increased the number of rear-mounted sensors again, benign the total to three.

                             

This triple-camera system includes a 12-megapixel camera with Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) and a variable aperture that can switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4, as well as a new 16-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide sensor and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens with f/2.4. This enables 0.5x wide-angle shots, the same as seen on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, as well as 2x optical zoom.

	Samsung Galaxy S10E	Samsung Galaxy S10	Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus	Samsung Galaxy S10 5G
Display size, resolution	5.8-inch AMOLED; 2,280x1,080 pixels	6.1-inch AMOLED; 3,040x1,440 pixels	6.4-inch AMOLED; 3,040x1,440 pixels	6.7-inch AMOLED
Pixel density	522ppi	550ppi	438ppi	505ppi
Dimensions (inches)	5.59 x 2.75 x 0.27 in	5.9 x 2.77 x 0.31 in	6.20 x 2.92 x 0.31 in	6.40 x 3.04 x 0.31 in
Dimensions (millimeters)	142 x 69.9 x 7.9 mm	149.9 x 70.4 x 7.8 mm	157.6 x 74.1 x 7.8 mm	162.6 x 77.1 x 7.94 mm
Weight (ounces, grams)	5.29 oz.; 150 g	5.53 oz.; 157 g	6.17 oz.; 175 g	6.98 oz.; 198 g
Mobile software	Android 9.0 with Samsung One UI	Android 9.0 with Samsung One UI	Android 9.0 with Samsung One UI	Android 9.0 with Samsung One UI
Camera	16-megapixel, 12-megapixel	16-megapixel (ultra wide-angle), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (telephoto)	16-megapixel (ultra wide-angle), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (telephoto)	16-megapixel (ultra wide-angle), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (telephoto), 3D depth (HQVGA)
Front-facing camera	10-megapixel	10-megapixel	10-megapixel, 8-megapixel	10-megapixel, 3D depth (HQVGA)
Video capture	4K	4K	4K	4K
Processor	Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855	Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855	Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855	Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
Storage	128GB, 256GB	128GB, 512GB	512GB, 1TB	256GB
RAM	6GB, 8GB	8GB	8GB, 12GB	8GB
Expandable storage	Up to 512GB	Up to 512GB	Up to 512GB	No
Battery	3,100 mAh	3,400 mAh	4,100 mAh	4,500 mAh
Fingerprint sensor	Power button	In-screen	In-screen	TBA
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C
Headphone jack	Yes	Yes	Yes	TBA
Special features	Wireless PowerShare; hole punch screen notch; water resistant (IP68); Fast Wireless Charging 2.0	Wireless PowerShare; hole punch screen notch; water resistant (IP68); Fast Wireless Charging 2.0	Wireless PowerShare; hole punch screen notch; water resistant (IP68); Fast Wireless Charging 2.0	Wireless PowerShare; 3D depth cameras (not for face unlock); water resistant (IP68); Fast Wireless Charging 2.0
Base price off-contract (USD, GBP)	$750, £669, $AU$1,199	$900, £799, AU$1,349	$1,000, £899, AU$1,499	TBA

Specs and battery life

Samsung designed the Galaxy S10 Plus to be powerful enough to compete with today’s best gaming phones, and that means it has top-of-the-line specs inside.

We've benchmarked the S10 Plus already and it's the fastest Android phone we've ever tested, with a multi-core score speed of 1,1002. Samsung is coming very close to the iPhone XS score of 11,481 – this has long been one advantage Apple has held over its chief rival. Times are changing.

                                

In addition to getting either the Snapdragon 855 or latest Exynos chipsets (country dependent), this phone has either 8GB of RAM and starts at 128GB of internal storage. Samsung doesn’t start with 64GB storage anymore and it includes a slot for microSD card storage expansion.

The more expensive ceramic versions – exclusive to the S10 Plus – offer 512GB of internal storage with 8GB of RAM, or a ridiculous 1TB of internal storage with 12GB of RAM. With a 500GB microSD card, Samsung notes you can have a 1.5TB phone in your pocket.

                                          

One UI Software

Samsung is introducing a new user interface called OneUI that replaces the existing Samsung Experience Android skin. While it's currently in beta for the Galaxy S9, OneUI is also expected to be a big part of the Galaxy S10, because Samsung is pitching OneUI as a solution for devices with larger screens.

                            

                                            

Certain versions of the S10 will likely carry some of the biggest smartphone displays we've ever seen.

 Current rumors point to 6.4- and 6.7-inch models, so it follows that Samsung would tweak its Android skin to make those handsets less cumbersome to use. OneUI moves many of the main controls within system apps to the bottom of the display, where they're within reach of the user's thumbs. It also frequently puts large text and rich graphics up top, to capitalize on the extra space that these panels provide.

When these will be available in India

                   

Samsung Galaxy S10 family of smartphones will be available for pre-orders on Flipkart beginning tomorrow, revealed the e-retailer today on its website. The e-commerce website is likely to be the only online store except Samsung Online Shop to carry the upcoming Galaxy S10 smartphones. Flipkart hasn't officially stated which or all of Samsung Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, and Galaxy S10e will be listed for pre-orders, but we expect to see all three phones. Samsung India has already listed the new phones on its website, but the pricing information remains a mystery for now.