Samsung announces Galaxy S10, S10+, S10e and S10 5G smartphones

During their Unpacked 2019 event, Samsung unveiled four new members of the Galaxy S10 family - The Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, Galaxy S10e, and the Galaxy S10 5G. With their new lineup, it looks like Samsung wants to make sure it has something for everyone.

Samsung Galaxy S10 and Samsung Galaxy S10+

Samsung has packed everything it can think of into its newest flagships, ensuring its 10th generation handset will dominate 2019. You get a beautiful premium design and powerful hardware packed in to ensure you have the best experience Samsung has to offer.

Design

Samsung has its own take on an all screen smartphone, by placing the front camera in a hole cut into the display. Samsung calls this their Infinity-O display giving customers as much screen real estate as they can offer.

Samsung has also replaced the traditional fingerprint scanner with an in-display supersonic one. Samsung promises that this technology is faster and more secure than the optical in-display scanner found on the OnePlus 6T and Huawei Mate 20 Pro.

Samsung still offers customers the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack and expandable microSD storage. You also get stereo speakers and a USB Type-C port on the device along with a dedicated Bixby button to call up your digital personal assistant.

The IP68 water-resistant design of the Galaxy S10 and S10+ will be available in Prism White, Prism Black, Prism Green, Prism Blue, Canary Yellow, and Flamingo Pink. The green shade will remain exclusive to the international version of the phone, but customers in the U.S. will be able to pick up any of the other colors. The Galaxy S10+ will additionally be offered in Ceramic White and Ceramic Black versions which will boast improved durability and protection against scratches and scuffs.

Camera

Both the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ have triple-cameras on their rear. These are made up of a regular 77-degree 12MP sensor with an F1.5/F2.4 variable aperture, a 12MP 2x telephoto snapper with a 45-degree viewing angle and a fixed aperture of F/2.4 (both of these are optically-stabilized) and an ultra-wide 16MP (non-OIS) camera with a 123-degree viewing angle and a fixed F2.2 aperture.

On the front of the Galaxy S10, you have a 10MP camera located on the upper right side of the device. Samsung has included optical image stabilization and 4K video recording. The Galaxy S10+ features the same camera but includes a second one for depth for improved selfies.

Hardware

The Galaxy S10 features a 6.1-inch display, while the Galaxy S10+ has a 6.4-inch panel. Samsung calls these panels “Dynamic” Infinity-O AMOLED displays and they come with QHD+ resolution, HDR+ certification and 19:9 aspect ratios. Both handsets boast marvelous outdoor visibility and unmatched color accuracy.

The Galaxy S10 will be available with 128GB or 512GB of storage and come with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S10+ comes with 128GB, 512GB or 1TB storage options, and offers 6GB, 8GB or 12GB of RAM. Customers will be able to expand their storage by an additional 1.5TB of microSD.

Samsung has outfitted both handsets with Qualcomm's 7nm octa-core Snapdragon 855 chipset. This is made up of four efficient 1.8GHz Cortex-A55 cores, three performance 2.4GHz Cortex-A76 ones, and a single high-performance 2.84GHz Cortex-A76 core. The international model will come with Samsung's Exynos chipset.

The Galaxy S10 packs a 3500mAh battery while the Galaxy S10+ has a 4100mAh battery inside. Samsung promises over one day of battery life on both handsets. You get reverse wireless charging that is capable of charging other Qi-enabled devices.

The gaming experience should be quite impressive on both phones as they are optimized for the Unity Engine and support Dolby Atmos for gaming, but the Galaxy S10+ also packs in a vapor chamber cooling system for lower temperatures during intense gaming sessions.

Software

Both the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ run Android 9.0 Pie with Samsung's One UI running on top. One UI is designed with usability in mind and allows for intuitive interaction with almost all stock Samsung apps and menus.

You get Bixby 2.0 integrated into the system, and Samsung allows users to reprogram the Bixby key to another function or voice assistant.

Release and Availability

The base model of the Galaxy S10 with 128GB storage and 8GB of RAM will be priced at $900. Samsung would expect this to undercut the iPhone XS which has a $1000 starting price and only 64GB of storage.

The Galaxy S10+ with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage will go up against the iPhone XS Max. Its priced at $1000 which is nearly $100 lower than its iPhone competitor, which also offers only 64GB of storage on its base model.

You will be able to pre-order both handsets starting tomorrow February 21. Customers who have already reserved a Galaxy S10/S10+ had the chance to trade-in their old phone and getting up to $550 off the price of their new Samsung flagship. For a limited time, pre-orders of the S10 and S10+ in select markets are also coming with a pair of Samsung's new Galaxy Buds wireless earphones (priced at $130). The devices will be available for purchase from stores and online retailers starting March 8, meaning you should expect your pre-ordered device to be delivered around that date as well.

Samsung Galaxy S10e

The Samsung Galaxy S10e features an Infinity-O display like its larger siblings but in a smaller form factor. The handset also lacks the curved edges that the Galaxy S lineup has become known for over the past few years.

Display

The 5.8-inch display on the Galaxy S10e has a 1440x2960 pixel resolution, HDR support, and Corning Gorilla Glass 6 scratch resistance.

Camera

On the back of the Galaxy S10e you will find a modest dual-camera setup, made up of a 12MP dual aperture camera (F/1.8; F/2.4) with optical image stabilization, alongside a 16MP ultra wide angle one.

On the front, you have the same 10MP camera as the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ offer.

Hardware

You don't get the in-display fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S10e, instead, a physical one can be found on the right side of the device. Other features include a 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD for storage expansion, a USB Type-C port, and IP68 water resistance.

The Galaxy S10e comes with a 3100mAh battery. Samsung has included wireless charging and even reverse wireless charging, which allows you to transfer some of the S10e’s power to another smartphone or any compatible device.

When it comes to connectivity, the S10e is no different in any way than the S10 and S10+, carrying the same networking components as the bigger versions: Wi-Fi 6 (Wi-Fi 802.11 ax), LTE Cat. 20 with up to 2Gbps download speeds and Bluetooth 5.0. Do we even need to say it has NFC? Fine! There's also NFC.

The Galaxy S10e is powered by the same high-end Snapdragon 855 chipset found on its siblings and should offer stellar performance and low power consumption. You can pick between the 128GB storage option with 6GB of RAM or the 256GB storage option which comes with 8GB of RAM.

Software

On the software side, you get Samsung's One UI on top of Android 9.0 Pie, just like its siblings. The new interface is a complete revamp not only design-wise but when it comes to functionality as well, making it more user-friendly and intuitive.

Release and Availability

The Galaxy S10e is priced to compete with the iPhone XR and will cost $749 for its 128GB version with 6GB of RAM. You will be able to pre-order the handset tomorrow, February 21. The device will be available for purchase starting March 8.


Samsung Galaxy S10 5G

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is the most premium of the lineup aimed at enthusiasts, power users and those who demand to live on the bleeding edge of technology. It takes the best of what the Galaxy S10 family offers and packs in a unique feature in the form of a 5G modem.

5G isn't here just yet. The world has slowly been preparing for the next generation of mobile data transfer for a couple of years now. 5G will allow for faster data transfers, reduced latency, and more energy-efficient connections than the current LTE standard.

Carriers around the world are currently in the process of slowly rolling out their own support for the new standard. In the USA, all four major carriers have begun deployment in a small number of cities and areas. It is believed that 5G's global spread will have a serious expand some time in 2020 and that it'll be available to 40% of the world's population by 2024.

If you are worried about purchasing this device and not being able to use it because its "5G", you'd be happy to know that it still works on LTE and can even support 3G or EDGE in rural areas.

The good news is that the Galaxy S10 5G is ready for that future, and for those who are planning to be at the forefront of 5G you will be future proof with this handset. Fortunately, the Galaxy S10 5G offers much more than just the 5G modem.

Hardware

The Galaxy S10 5G comes with a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 19:9 aspect ratio. You get 256GB of internal storage, a 4500mAh battery and that powerful Snapdragon 855 chipset with 8GB of RAM.

Camera

Another unique feature on the Galaxy S10 5G is its four camera setup on its rear. You get the main 12MP camera with optical image stabilization (OIS), 12 MP telephoto portrait camera with OIS, and 16 MP wide-angle camera. The fourth is a Time of Flight (ToF) camera meant for Augmented Reality (AR).

The module can map up to 300,000 points at a distance of up to 10 feet. This means it can detect a whole lot of objects and peculiarities within a room in no time and then place overlay the AR components much more accurately than we've seen thus far.

Release and Availability

Samsung hasn't released the pricing or availability details for the Galaxy S10 5G. When it launches it will be a Verizon exclusive for a limited time, coming at some point in the first half of 2019. While it isn't official, we expect this handset to be priced around $100 to $200 higher than the Galaxy S10+.