Samsung Galaxy S10 Review
The Samsung Galaxy S10 packs an in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, a trio of rear cameras and a lovely display.
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.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 packs an in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, a trio of rear cameras and a lovely display.
Verdict
While the Samsung Galaxy S10 doesn't excel in any one specific area, the collective package makes for an incredibly capable offering – which I'm sure was Samsung's aim in the first place. It sports a stunning OLED screen, versatile camera and a number of enticing new features. It's a great phone.Pros
- Smaller than lots of other flagships, without sacrificing features
- Versatile camera that reliably takes excellent pictures
- A lovely screen that’s fantastic for video
Cons
- One UI is full of bloatware
- Battery life is middling
Key Specifications
- Review Price: £799
- 6.1-inch Dynamic AMOLED+
- Three rear cameras
- One UI
- Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint
- 8GB + 128GB / 8GB + 512GB
- MicroSD up to 512GB
- 3400mAh battery
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.
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.
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.The
screen has a hole in it.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 may not necessarily be perfect for me, but it is perfect for someone.The
screen has a hole in it.
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.
Samsung Galaxy S10
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