Samsung Galaxy S10 Security | DeX | Battery | IP68 | Ergonomics | Memory + Storage
Contents
Ultrasonic In-Display Fingerprint Sensor
One of the Samsung Galaxy S10’s killer feature is its new in-display fingerprint sensor.
In-display fingerprint sensors have already been introduced in smartphones like the OPPO R17 Pro, but they use optical sensors that basically take pictures for a 2D profile.
The new in-display fingerprint sensor in the Galaxy S10 (US | UK | MY) uses ultrasonic pulses to take 3D profiles of the user’s fingerprints. This allows it to be more accurate and secure.
In our tests, it proved to be surprisingly good. You just need to learn to press a little harder for the sensor to detect your fingerprint.
The bad news is – Samsung dropped the pressure sensor and feedback for the virtual Home button. So you will need to tap twice on the Home button to activate it.
Iris Scanner + Intelligent Scan Removed
With the introduction of the ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner, Samsung removed the iris scanner. It was also removed to minimise the size of the punch hole in the display.
And with the iris scanner gone, there was no need for Intelligent Scan, which was first introduced in the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus. Intelligent Scan, as you may recall, combines the iris scanner with facial recognition for faster identification in both bright and dark conditions.
Built-In DeX Capability
While not mentioned at all by Samsung, the Samsung Galaxy S10 (US | UK | MY) has built-in DeX capability, that was first introduced in the Galaxy Note9.
This mean it does not require a separate DeX Station or DeX Pad accessory. All it requires is a simple USB-C to HDMI adaptor or cable! It does not even require a Samsung-branded adaptor (looking at you and your MFi bullshit, Apple!) – ANY USB-C to HDMI adaptor or cable will do.
Battery + Charging
The Samsung Galaxy S10 (US | UK | MY) comes with a 3,400 mAh battery, which supports QuickCharge 2.0 fast wired charging and Wireless PowerShare capabilities.
The Wireless PowerShare feature is particularly cool and useful. It allows the Galaxy S10 Plus to function as a wireless charger for any Qi-certified device!
However, its recharging speed is slow, so it’s really only useful to recharge the Galaxy Buds or the Galaxy Watch on a regular basis; and other smartphones in an emergency.
Although we expected Samsung to improve its fast charging technology, the Galaxy S10 (US | UK | MY) maintains the Quick Charge 2.0 fast wired charging, with the standard 15 watt Samsung fast adaptive charger.
This is frankly pretty dinky compared to the OPPO R17 Pro with its 50 watt SuperVOOC charging technology.
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IP68 Dust & Water Resistance
Like the Galaxy S9 Plus, the Samsung Galaxy S10 is IP68-rated for dust- and water-resistance. Best of all, you don’t have to prepare it in any way before you dunk it into water!
Officially, the Samsung Galaxy S10 (US | UK | MY) can withstand complete immersion in water up to 1.5 m in depth, for up to 30 minutes. That means you can take it for jogs in the rain, or reading in the bathtub. Heck, you can even take it for a swim!
There are some caveats though. The IP68 rating applies to a specific set of test conditions : 15-35 °C, 86-106 kPa, 1.5 metre, 30 minutes. Water may enter and damage the Galaxy Note9 if it is exposed to “water moving with force“, like running water from a tap or waterfall, or ocean waves.
In other words, this is not a waterproof phone like the Oukitel K10000 Pro or the Kenxinda ruggerdised smartphones. It is IP68 water-resistant, so you need to be gentle with it.
You can read more about this in our article – The Samsung IP68 Engineering Explained.
The Ergonomics
The Samsung Galaxy S10 (US | UK | MY) has a slightly smaller display size and battery capacity than the Galaxy S9 Plus, but is significantly smaller, thinner and lighter!
In fact, it is about the same size as a 5.2-inch smartphone like the HTC 10!
That said, this is still a two-handed device, because of its height. If you prefer to use only one hand, you can turn on the One-handed mode option.
Its Dynamic AMOLED display is incredible. To see how much better it is, you need to compare it side-by-side with the already impressive Super AMOLED display used in the Galaxy S9 Plus and the Galaxy Note9. In particular, compare them in bright sunlight.
The main display area with its non-standard 18.5:9 display ratio means you will have to live with some pillarboxing – a black bar on each side of a movie. The extra wide display will come in handy in games though.
Available Memory + Storage
The Samsung Galaxy S10 (US | UK | MY) base model comes with 8 GB of LPDDR4x memory. It has roughly more bloat than the Galaxy S9 Plus and the Galaxy Note9.
However, it comes with 2 GB more memory, so you still have a whopping 4.5 GB (56%) of free memory to use!
The base model also comes with 128 GB of internal flash memory, of which 107 GB is free to use. This is enough space to store about 24,000 photos, or 13 hours of 1080p videos, or 5 hours of 4K videos.
Next Page > Samsung Galaxy S10 Camera Performance – Photo Samples
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