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Samsung’s Galaxy S10 Features & Prices (SF Unpacked Event)
Samsung just launched the Galaxy S10 in our beautiful city of San Francisco, a first for a Samsung Unpacked event. The Galaxy S10 line has four handsets, and we listed all the differences between the S10e, S10, S10+ and S10 5G.
The Galaxy S10 is a very well-rounded update for Samsung. Although it is somewhat incremental, significant progress has been made in every important smartphone usage aspect. The full view display with one or two punch holes looks a lot better than phones with notches and feature more surface area.
5.8” Galaxy S10e ($799.99), 69.9 x 142.2 x 7.9mm, 150g 6.1” Galaxy S10 ($899.99), 70.4 x 149.9 x 7.8mm, 157g 6.4” Galaxy S10+ ($999.99), 74.1 x 157.6 x 7.8mm, 175g (Ceramic: 198g) 6.7” Galaxy S10 5G (no pricing), 77.1 x 162.6 x 7.94mm 198g
Samsung’s AMOLED displays have been leading the industry for years, and we expect independent testing to confirm it. From our time with the phone, we could see that it is a top-quality display.
"A CLASSY AND ELEGANT DESIGN"
From an industrial design point of view, the Galaxy S10 sticks to a classy and elegant design but will feature more colors on day-1. This time, the general theme is to have a subtle iridescence in the back glass cover: it looks great, especially on the white version. Naturally, all Galaxy S10 phones are IP68 water resistant and feature a 3.5mm headphone connector.
There’s also a Ceramic option which will be a little heavier, but we know from experience that Ceramic can please users who like the feel of holding a more substantial phone. It may also be less prone to cracks when dropped. That ceramic handset can also feature 1TB of internal storage.
"A BROAD ARRAY OF CAMERA UPGRADES"
The Galaxy S10 gets a broad array of camera upgrades going from a Super Steady video recording option (somewhat like the GoPro Hero 7) to HDR10 and 4K recording in the front, and back. We knew this was coming to smartphones, and we’re glad to see the S10 series implementing it.
On the photography front, Samsung is extending the versatility of the Galaxy S10 by adding an Ultrawide lens by default (instead of the 2X zoom), a great decision that opens many more possibilities. Higher-end models feature a triple-camera system that includes a zoom lens as well. We’re looking forward to scoring it with our Uber-G Camera IQ score since Galaxy Note 9 was found to be the best low-light camera of 2018.
Inside, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor makes the Galaxy S10 one of the fastest phones on the market, with enhanced image-processing abilities for videos with Bokeh, and the fastest Gaming and AR experience Android users can get. We have previously evaluated the Snapdragon 855 speed, and it is top notch.
With the improved AI capabilities of the processor, Samsung is introducing Bixby Routines, a set of functionalities that will automate mundane tasks based on your habits. It can get itself in Driving mode upon detecting your car via Bluetooth, etc.
The Galaxy S10 series gets a bit more battery capacity than the Galaxy S9, and we hope that the charging speed will be higher than the 2018 edition. In the meantime, S10 can turn itself into a wireless charging pad, perhaps for charging the new Galaxy Buds wireless earphones or even another handset.
Let’s talk about connectivity and productivity. With WiFi-6 (802.11ax), the Samsung Galaxy S10 can reach speeds of 1.2Gbps which makes it as fast as wired options. All Galaxy S10 phones come with a CAT20 4G LTE modem, capable of 2.0Gbps theoretical speed, but the Galaxy S10 5G will feature “real” 5G with support for mmWave networks, wherever available. 5G speeds have a theoretical peak of 10 Gbps and are expected to become faster over time.
Finally, Galaxy S10 gets support for the latest version of Samsung DEX, a user interface which lets users connect the phone to a large monitor, and to a mouse/keyboard combo for a PC-like experience.
"THE GALAXY S10 IS SETTING THE BAR FOR THE HIGH-END ANDROID MARKET"
The Galaxy S10 is setting the bar for the high-end Android market. With prices ranging from $799.99 to $999.99, it covers an impressive range of that market, with an excellent entry point with the Galaxy S10e. The Galaxy S10+is the power-user handset with a very powerful array of cameras. For large-screen and early-tech lovers, the S10 5G (price unknown) is the one to get.
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