Samsung’s Galaxy S line has long been one of the best-sellers in the premium smartphone segment, and with its three new devices in the S10 range, that looks unlikely to change. As its tended to do in recent years, Samsung’s focused its efforts on upgrading three key areas of its flagship handsets: the display, cameras and performance.
Bigger is best
It’s no surprise that the S10 device that gets the most features is the S10+. First up, there’s the 6.4in Quad HD+ curved display that features Samsung’s dynamic AMOLED tech and, thanks to the new Infinity-O display which uses a punch hole in the top right-hand corner of the screen for the pair of front-facing cameras and accompanying sensors, it’s as close to a truly edge-to-edge screen as Samsung’s ever managed.
Next up there’s the triple camera setup around back. In addition to pairing of a wide-angle, variable aperture (f/1.5 or f/2.4) 12MP camera and a 2x optical zoom 12MP telephoto camera as seen on the S9+, there’s now a third, 16MP ultra-wide angle snapper that provides a 123-degree field of view. That should make it easier to get photos of big groups, or compelling shots of interiors and other tight spaces.
Up front, meanwhile, the S10+ boasts a 10MP f/1.9 camera supported by an 8MP f/2.2 RGB depth camera, which means you’ll be able to take portrait-like selfies that keep you nice and crisp while blurring the background. The secondary camera should also mean more precise real-time digital filters like those found in Snapchat and Instagram.
Power for the S10+ comes from a 4,100mAh battery, and there are various RAM and storage combinations to choose from, starting with 6GB/128GB and moving up to 8GB/512GB and 12GB/1TB.
Nothing middling in the middle
In the middle of the pack there’s the regular S10, though there’s nothing ‘regular about it’. The S10 has a slightly smaller 6.1in display than the S10+, but the same Quad HD+ resolution. That means you’re actually getting a higher pixel density on the smaller handset, but we challenge you to be able to tell the difference with the naked eye. On both handsets there’s resolution for days.
In previous years, the regular S devices have had to make do with single rear cameras while the dual camera setup has been reserved for the + models, but not this time. The S10 gets the same rear camera setup as the larger S10+, but has to make do without the secondary, RGB depth camera up front.
The S10 gets a smaller 3,400mAh battery than the S10+ and is only available with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. We say ‘only’, but that combination should be more than enough to handle even the most demanding content creator’s needs.
Say yellow to the S10e
Rounding out the S10 line-up is the S10e. Cheaper than its siblings, it’s still surprisingly similarly well-equipped. While it loses the third, telephoto rear camera found on the S10 and S10+, the S10e still gets the ultra-wide and wide cameras they include. Like the S10, the S10e comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
Samsung’s Dynamic AMOLED technology and 19:9 aspect ratio still makes it to the S10e, but this time the screen size is 5.8in and the resolution is marginally lower at Full HD+. The S10e also ditches the curved edges of its brethren for a flat display, despite keeping the same underlying tech. One thing that unique to the S10e, though, is the new canary yellow colour option.
More in common than not
Perhaps the most impressive part of the S10 line-up is the huge array of features they share. All three are compatible with the Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 standard, meaning you can top them up in record time, and all three offer Samsung’s new Wireless PowerShare technology that lets you turn them into wireless charging devices that’ll work with any Qi wireless charging-enabled gear… including Samsung’s new Galaxy Bud wireless earphones.
All three handsets also include a microSD slot that supports cards up to 512GB, and get Samsung’s updated artificial intelligence-powered camera software that can recognise up to 30 distinct scenes or subjects an adjust capture settings accordingly.
Even more exciting is the new Super Steady video recording mode that crops into frames to provide buttery smooth stabilisation of the sort usually reserved for high-end action cameras.
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