With just over one month to go until the phone launches, so many questions remain. Like, will it support 5G?
Samsung has announced that it will host its next Unpacked event in San Francisco on Feb. 20. And with that, the countdown to the Galaxy S10 begins in earnest.
From now until then, we expect the rumor mill to continue to fire on all cylinders. Last week at CES, the next generation of cellular technology, called 5G, dominated the smartphone conversation. Samsung was quite visible at the show, and unveiled a prototype of its forthcoming 5G phone. And yet we still don’t know for sure whether the Galaxy S10, expected to launch on Feb. 20, will or won’t support it.
Whether it does or not, Samsung has a lot riding on the 10th edition of its flagship Galaxy S series. And based on the rumors, it may well live up to the hype. A chorus of analysts, pundits and leakers are painting a picture of a Galaxy S10 jam-packed with potentially extraordinary features, including an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, the company’s own take on Face ID and an Infinity-O display. If the stories are accurate, Samsung could have a hit — and secure its place at the top of the smartphone heap.
If not, the road ahead could be difficult. The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, introduced in February last year, haven’t sold particularly well. Slowing phone sales are now a threat to every brand. And China’s Huawei, which ousted Apple to take the No. 2 slot, is putting increasing pressure on Samsung. Despite its own problems — which include growing hostility from governments in the US and around the world — Huawei continues to drive sales on the strength of innovative products such as the Mate 20 Pro.
And it’s not just 5G that’s adding to the drama. Samsung is also battling LG, Huawei and others to be the first to market with a foldable phone. We expect to see examples of both this year.
With just over a month to go until the introduction, new rumors and hints continue to bubble up. We’ll continue to collect and evaluate them here, so check back often.
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Samsung interrupted CES 2019 with the announcement of the launch date and location for its next Unpacked event. Though it did not explicitly reference the Galaxy S10, it did everything but — with the event date, time and livestream URL printed below the image of a 10 on its side. The event will take place Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 11 a.m. PT at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. CNET will be on the ground to cover the announcements live.
And if this timing bears out, Samsung would presumably save the launch of its upcoming foldable „Galaxy X“ phone for MWC the following week — getting a second wave of publicity after it unveils the Galaxy S10. If the Galaxy S10 shows up then, Samsung is likely to start shipping it on March 8, according to an earlier report by Gizmodo UK.
The Galaxy S10 is rumored to come in three configurations:
Galaxy S10: Possibly code-named Beyond 1, this model is said to be the same size as today’s Galaxy S9, but with even slimmer bezels. It’s expected to have a 6.1-inch screen and, perhaps, according to Twitter leaker Ice universe, a total of three cameras .
Galaxy S10 Plus: Possibly code-named Beyond X or Beyond 2, this will be the successor to the Galaxy S9 Plus. It will have the largest screen — perhaps a 6.4-inch display — and up to four rear cameras, two front-facing cameras and a big battery. Ice universe claims that the Galaxy S10 Plus will be 7.8mm thick and have a 4,000-mAh battery.
Galaxy S10 Lite: Possibly code-named Beyond 0. Modeled on the iPhone XR, this could be a smaller, less-expensive device with a 5.8-inch display and fewer hardware embellishments. Other rumors include straight edges instead of two curved sides, no fancy in-screen fingerprint reader and no headphone jack.
Korean site Electronic News has reported that Samsung will bring out a variant of the Galaxy S10 that supports 5G. Known as the Galaxy S10 X, the phone will launch in Korea in March for 800,000 to 900,000 won, which converts to approximately $715 to $800 (AU$990 to AU$1,115 or £555 to £625). In addition to 5G connectivity, the rumored phone has some serious specs: four rear cams and two in front; 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display; 5,000-mAh battery; 10GB of RAM; and up to 1TB of storage.
The potential overlap between the Galaxy S10 coming on Feb. 20 and Samsung’s 5G phone remains unclear. Though phones were not a focus of his remarks at CES, HS Kim, who leads Samsung’s Consumer Electronics Division, mentioned that his company was the first to get FCC approval for its commercial 5G equipment.
