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The tenth generation of the flagship Samsung promised to be revolutionary in many ways and brightly turn the story of the company's top smartphones. It turned out differently. The conceptual moment was the release of three versions of the flagship, and not two as before. A more compact and large version, as well as a kind of budget. At the same time, all three models received their own characteristics.
Confusing S10 with S10 + will not work at least due to different front cameras, and S10e is highlighted by a screen. There are, of course, differences inside, but a cursory glance to a sophisticated user will already give information about which smartphone is in front of him. We will consider all versions of the new product, and this review will start with the base - Galaxy S10.
Externally, the model is not much different from the previous generation and in form has become closer to the Note line. Side bends of the screen are preserved, but become smaller. The frames at the top and bottom are also thinner compared to the Galaxy S9. The smartphone case as a whole is monolithic and lies very well in the hand. On both sides, the coating is represented by Corning Gorilla Glass. The body color under glass in our market can be of three options - turquoise (“Aquamarine”), white and black, as we have. In all cases, the front of the screen will be black.
Having become commonplace in recent years, there are no bangs or cutouts on the screen. Instead, the camera selects a few pixels directly in the matrix. In version S10, a circle is allocated for it, and in S10 + - the oval is horizontal, since there are two cameras. The round neckline in S10 is less conspicuous, and with the use of funny adapted wallpapers it completely disguises it. The factory set of screensavers hides the front camera with dimming, but there are already plenty of alternative options with a funny camouflage camera for graphics. From custom, not all software can correctly work with camera cut-out, but popular and most popular services are displayed correctly.
From the point of view of operation, you need to get used to the cutout on the right less than to the bangs. The line of notifications and network icons with the battery is simply shifted to the left.
In general, the smartphone turned out to be more compact than many 5.5-6 inch models in terms of overall dimensions, but the display overtakes them with a diagonal of 6.1 inches with a resolution of 3040x1440. And this is still one of the main trump cards of the company against competitors: excellent color reproduction, a wide range of brightness and space contrast, if the user wants it. To optimize energy consumption, you can choose other values - 2280x1080 or 1520x720 points. Full HD + is just enough for clear pictures and details. Note that the screen is based on a dynamic AMOLED matrix. Support for HDR10 is implemented, that is, tones can change dynamically depending on the content displayed.
In the settings, there is traditionally a choice of a color profile and the ability to adjust the color temperature for individual colors. The smartphone also has two RGB sensors, which are responsible for assessing the illumination - front and rear. They adjust the brightness of the picture and shades to the external lighting.
All this is complemented by the always-bored AlwaysOn Display mode, which breathes life into a smartphone with the display turned off. Traditionally, you can display a clock of a diverse design or picture while the smartphone is in standby mode. The new One UI shell used has expanded these options.
On the layout of the buttons, almost everything is standard. On the right side is the power button, on the left - volume control and activation of Bixby. Bottom - 3.5 mm audio jack, USB Type-C and speaker, by the way sounding louder and better than the S9. Above is a noise canceling microphone and a tray for a SIM card and / or memory card. Note that the Bixby key cannot be disabled, but can be reassigned to launch any other applications.
Of all the components, only the power button is located higher than usual and it’s quite difficult to reach it with the thumb. To do this, the new shell has an automatic "sleep" function. The smartphone sensitively monitors when it is put back on the table or pocket and automatically turns off the display.
The back panel now only places a block of cameras and flashes. For the S10 and S10 +, it consists of three modules in the Galaxy S10e of two. Older versions can now take photos on: telephoto module with a resolution of 12 megapixels, a standard module of 12 megapixels with a variable aperture value or an ultra-wide module 123 ° with a resolution of 16 megapixels. The latter, has become a kind of response and an alternative to action cameras.
We did not mention the fingerprint scanner, among other things, because in this generation it has returned to its original place. There, where the thumb is most often and from where it can immediately go to the desired interface icon. A fingerprint sensor is installed under the display and we have been waiting for this innovation for a long time. While the technology was being developed and finished, the scanner roamed the back panels of previous generations of smartphones. Now, finally, he has found his permanent and best place in terms of ergonomics.
The sensor under the screen is ultrasonic, it was still installed in Mi 6, and unlike the optical one, it can work better in difficult conditions, when for example the surface is wet.
In the tenth generation of flagships, Samsung removed the retinal unlock and left face recognition, fingerprinting and a standard PIN code and pattern key. Given that the owner’s face is not recognized by depth and distance sensors, but by a trivial picture - the fingerprint is the main and safest method of unlocking.
The scanner does not take up a very large area under the screen, engineers are still working on it, so you need to get your finger quite clearly. The unlock speed is lower than in the classic versions, but fractions of a second is not something for which it should be returned to the rear panel.
The cameras in the flagships of the tenth generation are given increased attention. For the first time in top-class smartphones, Samsung uses a triple configuration. As already mentioned, cameras with a narrower (tele-camera) and wider viewing angles were added to the main camera with a "normal" viewing angle. A similar solution was previously found, for example, in the smartphone LG V40 ThinQ.
The 12-megapixel main camera sensor has the largest size of 1 / 2.5 ”. Dual Pixel AF autofocus and optical stabilization system are available. Good color and detail rendering, fast focusing and, subject to stillness, not too noisy photographs even in the dark. The same case when only a tap on the descent and an array of algorithms that do everything for the user are separated from a good result. And this is the usual second trump card of Samsung flagship smartphones.
Photos from the main module
An additional rear TV camera has a smaller sensor with the same 12-megapixel resolution. The viewing angle is 45 °, autofocus and optical image stabilization are available. There is a 2x zoom, but it will come in handy infrequently in practice, except for the technical consideration of details over a long distance.
Telephoto Photos
In size, the camera’s sensor with the widest viewing angle of 123 ° is smaller than the main module (with a “standard” viewing angle). Autofocus is not here. Focus is fixed at hyperfocal distance. A similar technique is used in action cameras. In general, it is best to shoot large objects and panoramas on a wide-angle camera. It is important that such extensive shots can be obtained using only a smartphone, without any additions, lenses or accessories.
Wide angle camera photos
The front camera is one and its resolution is 10 megapixels. Lens speed - f / 1.9. Supported autofocus Dual Pixel AF.
Note that the trend in computing cameras is very trendy when digital processing is actively used to obtain the final image. Therefore, even a single front camera gives good results.
In difficult conditions, smartphone cameras can shoot a whole series, and not just one shot, and the user will not even notice it. The final image, in this case, is formed by combining the resulting series. Due to this, both noise reduction and increased detail are achieved. You can also note the emergence of methods of "improvement" and modification of images using artificial intelligence technologies.
One of the derivative functions of these algorithms is the “live focus”, which implements the bokeh effect. In the new generation of the smartphone, he practically does not make mistakes with the boundaries of objects, although we were able to catch a few flaws.
In more detail about the capabilities of the main and front cameras of the Samsung Galaxy S10, we will tell in a separate material.
The smartphone will traditionally be offered two chip options - Samsung Exynos 9820 (8 cores operating at 2.8, 2.4 and 1.7 GHz) and Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 (8 cores with frequencies of 2.7, 2.3 and 1, 9 GHz). For Ukraine, this is usually a branded production model with a Mali-G76 video accelerator.
Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10 + received 8 GB of GDDRX4 RAM and are available in versions with 128 GB of internal memory. There is a special ceramic version with a drive of 12 GB of RAM and 1 TB of ROM. It is traditionally possible to expand the drive using microSD cards up to 512 GB. To communicate with other devices, there are Bluetooth 5.0, NFC adapters, support for the Wi-Fi ah standard, NFC, work with the Samsung Dex docking station.
Expectedly, “iron” occupies the first position at the time the smartphone entered the market and noticeably overtakes last year’s models. In everyday life, problems with performance were also not revealed. The device runs on Android 9.0 with the proprietary One UI shell. According to the shell, it can be said that it organically fits into the wide capabilities of the smartphone - in some places it looks easier, in some places it is more complicated. In terms of design, it is very controversial, but it does not radically affect ergonomics.
Of the important differences from Samsung Experience: the entire One interface is made more comfortable for large screen sizes. The menu of running programs is displayed by cards. A dark version of the interface has appeared, and applications that are not used for a long time are automatically unloaded from memory. All this partly influenced the autonomy of work. At least the Galaxy S10 with a 3400 mAh battery has more than 8 hours of PC Mark. Note that the capacity of the S10 + is 4100 mAh, while that of the S10e is 3100 mAh. In the tenth generation, an adaptive mode of operation is implemented - a bunch of both program code and hardware, which in theory should provide a longer run time. In our experience, with active work under load with 5-6 hours of screen operation, the smartphone works for about 20 hours.
Another important point is connected with wireless charging, which now works in both directions. The fact is that in S10 and S10 +, engineers installed two induction coils. As a result of this, not only the smartphone itself can be charged wirelessly, but also other devices. It is clear that sharing the battery capacity with other smartphones is not very important, but you can recharge the same headphones.
Apple iPhone Xr on Samsung Galaxy S10
Note a funny detail: the Cupertin's smartphone finds charging faster than other devices of the manufacturer
But not only recharging to the side was provided in the 10th generation. The ability to power the accessory wirelessly allowed the release of a set of branded covers with backlight. It seems that third-party manufacturers will soon also offer their variations on the topic. As part of this review, we were able to test the Samsung LED Cover branded case with a set of LEDs that can form various animated images.
The selection of pictures takes place in the application. There you can set the display of constant animation, in this case, the "starry sky", which starts when the smartphone is facing down. True, the software does not work stably so far and users all over the world note the “crashes” of the application and the inconsistency of its operation. We think that this is temporary and will be fixed in the next updates.
Total
Samsung Galaxy S10 this year will be one of the most prominent flagships on the market. Together with a camera, a finger scanner in the screen and a triple module at the back, it differs precisely in its consistency in development.
A high-quality screen with color management algorithms, a kind of universal battery for yourself and other devices, cameras of various light and viewing ranges. All this at first glance is just an easy marafet, but in fact a qualitative improvement.
The software shell, perhaps not the most progressive from a visual point of view, has added many opportunities for everyday use with great potential for future improvements.
The tenth generation of the Galaxy simultaneously closed and ushered in a new era of mobile devices. Surprisingly, there are not many marketing probes regarding innovations. The tenth model has everything for the modern user, as in previous years itself, however, with a certain halo of completeness.
