Samsung Galaxy S10 review - Finding the middle ground is hard - Android
Update February 17: Samsung recently announced the Galaxy S20 series, including the S20, S20 Plus, and S20 Ultra. These phones are a huge step up from the S10 family in terms of specs and features. Some of the biggest improvements include 120Hz displays, the latest processor, huge allotments of RAM, big batteries, flexible cameras, and 5G.
More pertinent to this review, Samsung dropped the price of the S10e, S10, and S10 Plus. The phone’s now cost $150 less each, meaning $599 for the S10e, $749 for the S10, and $849 for the S10 Plus. These change the value equation, as the phones are much more affordable than the very pricey S20 series, which cost between $999 and $1,599 depending on model and options.
What we’re saying is there is a lot more value to be had here.
The Samsung Galaxy S10, the middle child of the company’s flagship series, is a fantastic phone that might easily be lost in the shuffle. Where the Galaxy S10 Plus has been lauded for its large screen and capable battery, and the Galaxy S10e for its compact form and ease-of-use, the S10 is challenged to strike the proper balance in between.
Samsung is in an enviable position. With three phones to choose from, it’s more likely to capture a purchase by those seeking an Android over iPhone. Find out what — if anything — sets the S10 apart.
Here is Android Authority‘s Samsung Galaxy S10 review.
The equation for calculating which device is best for any given person is a complicated one at best. In simplest terms, it requires finding the right set of features at a price the person is willing to pay.
In its 2019 Galaxy S lineup, Samsung mirrored the strategy unveiled by Apple late last year. Where Apple offers iPhones for $749, $999 and $1,099, Samsung now, too, offers high-end phones for $749, $899, and $999. By covering a wider range of price points, Samsung has given itself a better chance of resolving the equation for a greater number of people.
At $649 (or more, if you upgrade the storage), the Galaxy S10 has a lot of competition from its own siblings, let alone the market as a whole. Did Samsung tweak the S10 in just the right ways to score with consumers? We’re here to tell you.
Samsung is the class leader when it comes to hardware. It improves its phones every year, at least incrementally, and this year sees a pleasing evolution in design when compared to last year’s Galaxy S9. The S10 is still metal and glass, and yet it feels more approachable to me.
The curves of the front and back glass surfaces are spot on and merge with the metal frame flawlessly. Samsung smoothed over the feel of the side edges, which came across as somewhat sharp on the S8 and S9. The frame swells a bit in thickness on the top and bottom edges, lending strength to the phone. Since the S10 is one of the first phones to ship with Gorilla Glass 6, we don’t yet have real-world data on just how shatterproof it is. Like all glass phones, I felt nervous using the S10 when walking down city streets or standing over tile or cement floors. Gorilla Glass is still glass after all.
The most important “feature” of the S10 is its size. It’s a bit bigger than the S10e and a bit smaller than the S10 Plus. It’s also a smidge smaller than competing devices such as the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, LG G8, and OnePlus 6T. In other words, if you shy away from mega-huge handsets, but still want all of the best specs, the S10 fits that mix. This goes double for folks who have smaller hands.
I used the phone without a case and came away pleased by the form factor. It disappeared comfortably in my pocket and was a breeze to use one-handed. I generally prefer phones with larger screens, but the punch hole display has allowed Samsung to put ever-bigger screens on ever-smaller devices.
All the buttons and ports do their job. I’m happy to see the 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom of the phone, where it is easier to access. The controversial Bixby button on the left edge can, for the first time, be rerouted to other apps (except Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.) That’s a major improvement — and a tacit admission from Samsung that its original thinking was not in line with consumer preferences. The buttons themselves deliver perfect, crisp action.
The camera array is gigantic. It stretches 1.75 inches across the back glass in a raised rectangular module. The module is black no matter the color of the rest of the handset. In addition to the three cameras and flash, the module also contains the heart rate sensor.
I checked to make sure the phone is waterproof, and the IP68 rating holds up. The S10 shook off a shower like a wet dog.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 may not necessarily be perfect for me, but it is perfect for someone.
When Samsung first introduced the S10, it said three core pillars drove it forward: display, camera, and performance. Samsung’s focus has paid off.
Simply put, the S10 has one of the best displays I’ve ever seen. It’s a stunner top to bottom. Samsung’s Super AMOLED tech has always been impressive and the latest iteration thereof is simply fantastic.
Samsung says the S10’s screen makes use of Dynamic OLED technology. It combines blue light reduction and brightness control in a way that reduces eye strain by 42%. The HDR10+ offers lots of brightness and contrast. This means everything looks amazing. Colors are more accurate and viewing high-definition content from Netflix and other providers impresses.
The S10 does allow for alternative viewing experiences. For example, it ships set to natural color, but users can opt for vivid if they wish. The vivid setting makes colors stand out just a bit more. If you select vivid, you’ll also be allowed to tweak the white balance, and even the levels of red, green, blue saturation. The S10 includes night mode for those who prefer darker backgrounds. As always, you can adjust the resolution (high, medium, low), the size of icons, and the size of text to suit your needs.
The screen has a hole in it.
The screen has a hole in it. Samsung calls this the Inifinty-O Display. The cut out is a small circle positioned in the upper right corner of the glass. The ambient light and proximity sensors are buried under the display. This allowed Samsung to extend the screen up toward the top edge of the phone and achieve a display ratio of 93.1%. In other words, the S10 offers as close to an “all-screen” experience as we’ve seen. I haven’t decided if I like the notch or the hole more. The only time I really notice the hole is when viewing full-screen video, and then it is grating.
The fingerprint reader, which is buried under the display, is not so great. In-screen readers are the latest trend among flagship phones. We’ve seen them on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the OnePlus 6T, and more recently the Nokia 9. None of these implementations has been up to par, in my book, but the S10’s is more usable than the Nokia 9 or Mate 20 Pro’s.
To start, it’s an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. Rather than take a picture of your print, it makes a 3D scan of the contours on your finger. This protects against spoofing. Samsung says the fingerprint data is stored in the Knox Trust Zone on the device, making it safe from hackers. I have no misgivings about the security. It’s the performance that’s the problem.
Like most others, the under-the-glass reader is easy to train. No issues there. It’s mostly about speed. The reader is just not fast enough. You need to place your thumb just right and hold it for a second. The process of finding the right place, touching/holding, etc., lasts only a few seconds, but feels like an eternity when you have to quickly answer an urgent message. By way of comparison, the traditional fingerprint reader on the rear of the Galaxy Note 9 is easy to find by feel and unlocks the phone in an instant.
Equally frustrating, Samsung says the fingerprint scanner is not compatible with all third-party screen protectors. It is working with accessory makers to ensure that compatible screen protectors are certified and clearly labeled as such. Thankfully, the phone ships with a screen protector pre-applied.
The S10 is among the first to ship with the Snapdragon 855, the top-of-the-line chip from Qualcomm. All the base Galaxy S10 devices include a minimum 8GB of RAM, which is stellar.
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