What we know about Samsung’s Galaxy S10 series ahead of next week’s launch
Samsung has previously been announcing its new flagship phones at the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, but not this year.
Instead, the South Korean maker has chosen to unveil its new Galaxy S10 series at an “Unpacked” event in both San Francisco and London on February 20 – five days before the start of MWC, the world’s largest show for mobile devices.
The S10 series will be a massive redesign to mark Samsung’s 10th anniversary of smartphone manufacturing, and include advanced features such as a “punch-hole” screen, in-display fingerprint sensor and reverse wireless charging.
Check out what we have learned about the new phones so far from various sources.
There will be three versions
The standard S10 will have a screen size of 6.1 inches (3040 x 1440 pixels), with the high-end S10+ (plus) screen measuring 6.3 inches (3040 x 1440) and an entry-level S10e (or S10 Lite) with a 5.8-inch screen (2280 x 1080 pixels).
There might be also a 5G variant, probably called S10x, but it’s unlikely to be available until the second half of this year.
Near bezel-less design
All three models will come with a near-bezel-less design with Dynamic AMOLED HDR+ display.
New power button
The power button will be located on the right edge and the volume and Bixby buttons on the left, while the USB type-C port will be on the bottom edge along with the 3.5 millimetre audio jack and the speaker grille.
‘Punch-hole’ front cameras
A new feature of the flagship series is the use of Samsung’s new Infinity “O” display, with a “punch hole” on the top right corner of the screen to house the selfie camera.
The S10 and S10e will sport a single hole to house the 10MP camera, while the S10+ will have an elongated cut-out for its dual cameras (8MP, 10MP).
Curved front displays ...
Both S10 and S10+ have a curved display for better viewing effects, while the lower-end S10e has a flat display.
The back of the phones is made of glass.
Triple-rear cameras ...
The S10 and S10+ both have triple rear cameras (12MP, 12MP, 16MP) on the back, while the S10e has dual cameras (12MP, 16MP). All three models support Face ID face-recognition.
Fingerprint sensor
Another new feature of the series is the in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor on the S10 and S10+. The S10e doesn’t have an in-display sensor, but features a side-mounted sensor under the power button.
Reverse wireless charging
The S10 series will be Samsung’s first smartphones to offer reverse wireless charging, which allows the user to charge other gadgets through back-to-back contact with the phone.
Faster connectivity
Powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 855 processor, the S10 series may also be one of the industry’s first smartphones to support the new Wi-fi 6 standard for faster connectivity.
The new series will be available with 6GB RAM and 128GB onboard storage, or 8GB RAM and 512GB.
A new range of colours ...
The S10 and S10+ will be available in Prism White, Prism Green and Prism Black colours; while the S10e will also have a Canary Yellow option.
There will also be a top-end S10+ variant with 12GB RAM and 1TB storage in Ceramic Black or Ceramic White colours.
The battery size will be 3400mAh for the S10, 4100mAh for the S10+, and 3100mAh for S10e.
And the prices ...
Prices should start at about US$880 in the US for the S10e, US$1050 for the S10, and US$1,200 for the S10+.
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The South Korean company’s three new flagship phones, due to be unveiled on February 20, are tipped to feature a huge redesign