Samsung has unveiled its 2019 flagship phone lineup, and there aren’t just two phones, but four. There’s the Galaxy S10, S10 Plus, as well as a new entry called the S10e, alongside the Galaxy S10 5G. From new features like the display to pricing, here’s what you need to know about the new S10 range.
Like Apple did with its 10th-anniversary iPhone, Samsung is celebrating 10 years of Galaxy smartphones with a new device debuting alongside the highly anticipated Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus — the Galaxy S10e. But while the iPhone X was the flagship, staying a rung above the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, the S10e is the cheapest phone of Samsung’s 2019 flagship lineup.
And if you thought three phones was a lot, think again. There’s also the Galaxy S10 5G, which supports the next generation of mobile networking technology. It’s not available yet, but you can read more about the phone here. The S10 and S10 Plus bring a few improvements over last year’s Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, so let’s break down what these phones — including the S10e — are all about.
For our in-depth impressions, check out our Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus hands-on review and our Galaxy S10e hands-on review .
The Samsung Galaxy S10 is already being hailed as arguably the best phone out there, but it could get even better. Carriers have confirmed that the Galaxy S10 will have a software update available to it as soon as it’s launched, which will reportedly improve the camera and the in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. The update will also bring the February 1 security patch to the Galaxy S10. So far Verizon and T-Mobile have confirmed the update — though it’s likely other carriers will push it, too.
In other words, if you’re a Galaxy S10 early adopter, expect a software update to be ready for you as soon as you set it up.
Samsung’s new Dynamic AMOLED display on the Galaxy S10, S10 Plus, and S10 e has been awarded DisplayMate’s highest-ever score, with particular praise being heaped on the display’s color accuracy and picture quality.
This is becoming something of a tradition for Samsung now. The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9 set new records on DisplayMate’s tests when they were first released, and like the S10, they were praised for their exceptionally strong picture quality and color accuracy. This test confirms that Samsung really has pulled out even more stops for its Infinity-O displays. Also of note in the review is the observation that the S10’s display can reach 1,215 nits and is 17 percent brighter than the S9, and that the display either equals or exceeds over a dozen previous records for smartphone display performance. In short, the Samsung Galaxy S10 range contains the absolute best smartphone display you can get right now.
There are quite a few visible differences between last year’s Galaxy S9 series and the Galaxy S10 series, notably on the back as the phones mimic the horizontal camera setup that’s present on the Galaxy Note 9. The back design is cleaner than usual because there’s no fingerprint sensor. Instead the S10 and S10 Plus have an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner on the front under the display like the OnePlus 6T, but the technology is different.
Samsung said the in-display fingerprint has better anti-spoofing measures as it scans the 3D contours of thumbs and fingerprints instead of just capturing an image; machine learning algorithms are applied to keep it secure. The fingerprint data is stored in the phone’s Knox TrustZone, so it’s never uploaded to the cloud. What’s neat is the in-display fingerprint sensor is secure enough to be used to unlock sensitive apps like the one from your bank, and can even be used to authenticate payments via Samsung Pay. It also has a FIDO (Fast Identity Online) Alliance Biometric Component certification, which is a relatively new standard that ensures biometric tools pass certain tests and are indeed secure.
The fingerprint sensor under the glass is new, and so is the screen technology, which Samsung calls the Dynamic AMOLED display. Not only is it the first HDR10+-certified screen, which means it offers crisper details and more accurate colors, but it also reduces blue light exposure by 42 percent. Blue light at night can disrupt sleep, which in turn can affect your health, and Samsung’s new screens are TÜV Rheinland-certified to reduce exposure.
