One of Samsung’s most popular phones, the S10 is a living legend. Although a year has passed, it’s a device that still turns heads. Let’s dive into it below.
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When we say that the S10 feels smooth, we’re not joking. The device boasts the glossiest back we’ve ever seen. It’s Gorilla Glass 5, so it’s also durable. The fact that it has a quality aluminum frame just elevates its look.
The phone comes in a range of colours. Our favourite is the prism white – it has an iridescence that’s jaw-dropping.
Being so expensive, it’s not surprising that the former flagship is slim. The S10 is 149.9 x 70.4 x 7.8 mm. Now, how big is it? You’re looking at a 6.1-inch beauty.
Of course, it fits well into your hands. The glass on its back is curved, making it look and feel like a million bucks. The cherry on top is that its buttons are also easy to reach.
Flagships these days don’t come with fingerprint sensors on their backs. The S10’s are optical and works in the blink of an eye. To make things even better, know that its fingerprint sensor is ultra-sonic. This means spoofing is never an issue. The Samsung device has an ultra-fast face unlock too.
Premium devices these days also don’t come with expandable storage. The S10 is a gift that keeps on giving, which is why it has a MicroSD slot. You also wouldn’t expect it to have a headphone jack, but Samsung decided to spoil us.
This is subjective, but we aren’t the biggest fans of its camera set-up. It’s long. It makes the back look retro, which doesn’t go with its sleek look. Thankfully, it doesn’t protrude. Samsung’s been guilty of installing bulky cameras before.
Samsung has accused other brands of stealing their displays. Whether this is true or not, you have to admit that their screens are amazing.
The S10 rocks a Dynamic AMOLED display. It’s extremely vibrant. Dynamic AMOLEDs are known for the deepest blacks.
Just like the glass on its rear, the sides of its screen are curved. This makes for a very immersive viewing experience. The absence of a notch helps as well. You’re getting a punch-hole instead.
Keeping all of this in mind, you might be thinking that it has a great screen-to-body ratio. You’re right, it’s 88.3%.
The S10’s screen is bright. Over 500 maximum nits are the gold standard. Guess what, the Samsung device has a 1215 max nit display. Its display is adaptive as well, letting you use it in a range of settings.
Samsung’s flagships are notoriously sharp. The S10 is no exception. It has one of the sharpest displays we’ve ever seen, at 1440 x 3040 pixels.
What protects all of this? Gorilla Glass 6.
To top things off, know that you’re looking at a HDR10+ device. You probably have no idea what this means. It means that the phone can produce an immense amount of colours.
There’s a 3400 mAh battery in it. It’s small, but size doesn’t always matter. The handset lasts over a day. You can easily stretch it longer. It comes with very customizable power saving modes.
You’ll be using a 15 W fast charger. Want to know what’s great? It goes from 0-80% in half an hour.
The S10 can handle 15 W wireless charging too. If that isn’t enough, know that it offers reverse charging capabilities as well.
Ready to hear about its processor? It comes with the formidable Exynos 9820. It’s one of the fastest chipsets out there, making the S10 a beast of a device. It’s especially beastly when it comes to gaming.
You can find the former flagship with the Snapdragon 855 chip too. It has an edge when compared to its Exynos counterpart.
The phone comes with 8 GBs of RAM, which is another reason why it’s so snappy. Storage-wise, you can get it with 128 or 512 GBs of space. If you remember, it offers expandable storage as well.
Out of the box, the S10 runs Android 9. Being a device of a superior caliber, it isn’t a surprise that Samsung gave it the Android 10 update.
We could talk about its camera all day, it’s that good. There’s a triple set-up on its rear. The primary sensor is a 12 MP wide lens, the secondary sensor is a 12 MP telephoto lens, and the tertiary sensor is a 16 MP ultrawide lens.
There are many camera modes for you to play with. The handset’s UI makes them a breeze to switch between. Overall, shots are everything you’d expect from a device that costs an arm and a leg. They’re vibrant, detailed, and pack a punch. Pictures are especially great in low-light, colours are balanced perfectly.
In terms of its front camera, a 10 MP wide shooter is present. It works excellently. Like any good selfie camera, multiple filters and effects are at your disposal.
The S10 is a godly device. Let’s see how well it fairs against alternatives below.
The OnePlus 7 Pro is a very big phone. It not only towers over its Samsung counterpart, but its size is generally quite large. It’s 6.67-inches.
Being a former flagship, a quality build is to be expected. The device comes with a Gorilla Glass 5 body. There’s an aluminum frame bordering it, making it extra premium.
The S10’s Dynamic AMOLED is amazing, but how does it fare against the 7 Pro’s Fluid AMOLED screen? Fluid AMOLEDs are very organic. They have 90 HZ refresh rates, which results in buttery animations. Colour-wise, they pack a punch but are not as vibrant as their Dynamic AMOLED counterparts.
Unlike the Samsung phone, the OnePlus device has no notch, punch-hole, or anything. You’d expect it to have an amazing screen-to-body ratio, but it’s a tad smaller than the S10’s.
The handset is quite sharp. It outdoes its Samsung counterpart, coming with a 1440 x 3120-pixel screen.
The 7 Pro is an HDR10+ device. This lets it produce a myriad of colours. Its display is great. A Gorilla Glass 5 front protects its goodness.
The chip inside of it is great as well. The 7 Pro rocks the Snapdragon 855. As we discussed earlier, it out beats the Exynos 9820.
What about the Android version it runs? Android 9 is present out of the box. The OnePlus device can be upgraded to Android 10.
What else? Well, its storage variants are impressive. You can get the phone in 128 and 256 GBs of space, along with 6, 8, and 12 GB of RAM. The 12 GBs along with the Snapdragon 855 gives you a jaw-dropping experience.
Hopefully, you’re a fan of its storage capabilities, because you can’t expand them. The 7 Pro does not come with a MicroSD slot.
Its battery is larger than the S10’s. There’s a 4000 mAh unit in the device. Due to its impressive processor, the OnePlus 7 Pro can last well over a day. It comes with 30 W fast charging. You can expect it to reach 50% in 20 minutes.
Let’s talk about its camera:
There’s a triple set-up on its rear. The primary sensor is a 48 MP wide lens, the secondary sensor is an 8 MP telephoto lens and its tertiary sensor is a 16 MP ultrawide lens.
About its front camera, you’re probably wondering where it is – there is no notch after all. Yes, it’s motorized.
Like the OnePlus 7 Pro, the Mate 20 Pro rocks a Gorilla Glass 5 body. There’s a quality aluminum frame around it, which we’re fans of.
It’s larger than the S10 but is still dainty next to the 7 Pro. It stretches 6.39 inches.
AMOLEDs and OLEDs are the most vibrant displays. The Huawei device has an OLED screen. This is great, but OLEDs pale in comparison to Super AMOLEDs. Considering that the S10 has a Dynamic AMOLED screen, the Mate 20 Pro doesn’t stand a chance.
Although not as vibrant, its screen is sharper. It’s 1440 x 3120 pixels.
The device comes with a smaller screen-to-body ratio. It has a considerably large notch. Thankfully, you can hide it through its settings.
The 20 Pro is an HDR10 device. It can produce a range of colours, but it’s not HDR10+ like its Samsung counterpart.
Out of the box, you’re met with Android 9. It’s not surprising to hear that the phone is receiving the Android 10 update.
You’re met with the Kirin 980 chip. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an awesome processor. But it’s not as powerful as the Exynos 9820.
Compared to the Samsung phone, the Huawei alternative doesn’t come with the best storage options. You can only get it with 128 or 256 GB of space, along with 6 or 8 GB of RAM. Yes, you can expand its storage, but there’s a catch. You’ll have to use a nano microSD card.
What about its battery? Well, a 4200 mAh unit is on the phone. Although bigger than the S10’s, it lasts as long. What isn’t disappointing is its charging capabilities. The Huawei device comes with a 40 W fast charger. You get 70% of charge in around 30 minutes.
Of course, the 20 Pro can handle 15 W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging too.
Camera-wise, there’s a triple set-up on its rear. The primary sensor is a 40 MP wide lens, the secondary sensor is an 8 MP telephoto lens, and its tertiary sensor is a 20 MP ultrawide lens. As it has a large notch, its selfie camera is not motorized like the OnePlus device. There’s a 24 MP front shooter in place.
Continuing with the trend, we’re met with another giant phone. The Note device is as big as the OnePlus 7 Pro. It’s back is glass, but it, unfortunately, looks plastic-like.
The Note 10 Lite has a Super AMOLED screen. We love it, but it doesn’t stand a chance to the S10’s Dynamic AMOLED display. Its screen resolution isn’t that sharp either. It’s only 1080 x 2400 pixels.
Like the S10, the 10 Lite doesn’t have a notch. There’s a punch-hole instead. You’re probably wondering what its screen-to-body ratio looks like. It’s almost 87%.
Once again, we’re looking at a phone that can stream HDR content. The thing is, the Note is not HDR10+. It’s just HDR rated.
Enough about its screen, let’s talk about its insides. An Exynos chip is in place. The Exynos 9810 is in it, which as you can imagine, isn’t as great as the 9820.
When it comes to Android 10, you don’t have to worry about the update. The handset comes with Android 10 out of the box. Yes, its memory variants are great. However, they’re not as impressive as the S10’s. You can only get the Lite with 128 GB of space. Along with this, 6 and 8 GB of RAM is available.
Like the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, you’re looking at another alternative that comes with expandable storage.
Onto its battery, it’s really good. There’s a 4500 mAh unit in it. You can almost get 2 days out of it. What about its charging capabilities? Well, you’ll be using a 25 W fast charger. It takes the device almost an hour and a half to fully charge.
Of course, we have to talk about its camera. There’s a triple set-up on its rear. All 3 sensors are 12 MP lenses. In terms of its front camera, a 32 MP shooter is by your side.
How could we not mention its S-pen? It makes life easier, which the S10 can’t compete with.
The Galaxy device is an icon. It’s one of Samsung’s best flagships and will continue to be a beast. When compared with alternatives, we think it does well. If you’re thinking of making the purchase, definitely go for it.
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