The 2021 Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event is almost here! Are you ready for the unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S21 smartphones?
While we wait for the official launch on 14 January 2021, here is everything we know about the S21 series so far!
2021 Samsung Galaxy Unpacked : Are You Ready?
Samsung is kicking off 2021 with a big bang on January 14 – the first Galaxy Unpacked of the year!
Unlike previous years, they are going to announce their latest Galaxy S21 smartphones on the last day of CES 2021, instead of during Mobile World Congress in February or March.
The 2021 Samsung Galaxy Unpacked will be broadcast globally on www.samsung.com (www.samsung.com/my here in Malaysia) at 11 PM (GMT+8) on 14 January 2021.
If you register your interest at https://www.samsung.com/my/unpacked/ by 14 January 2021, you will be entitled to redeem a FREE Samsung Galaxy Fit2 worth RM179 when you pre-order any Galaxy S21 smartphone!
2021 Samsung Galaxy Unpacked : What We Know So Far!
The 2021 Samsung Galaxy Unpacked will be the official launch of the Samsung Galaxy S21 series of smartphones. Here is what we know so far… based on what’s been leaked.
Three Galaxy Galaxy S21 Models
Samsung will offer three models :
6.2-inch Galaxy S21
6.7-inch Galaxy S21+ (Galaxy S21 Plus)
6.8-inch Galaxy S21 Ultra
Displays
All three models will come with a Dynamic AMOLED display, with dynamic refresh rates of up to 120 Hz.
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The Samsung Galaxy Note20 has a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED+ display, with a Full HD+ resolution.
It will come with 8 GB of RAM, up to 256 GB of storage, and a 4,300 mAh battery. Its triple camera system will support 8K video recording :
a 12 MP main camera,
a 12 MP ultra-wide camera, and
a 64 MP telephoto camera with 30X Space Zoom
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra has a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED display, with a 2K+ resolution.
It will come with 12 GB of RAM, up to 512 GB of storage, and a 4,500 mAh battery. Its triple camera system will come with laser focusing and support 8K video recording :
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Just before the official launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note20 smartphones, an AT&T video leaked…
Take a look at the leaked video… and check out the key features and specifications of the Note20 and Note20 Ultra smartphones!
Samsung Galaxy Note20 | Galaxy Note20 Ultra Video Leaked!
This AT&T video of the Samsung Galaxy Note20 and Galaxy Note20 Ultra smartphones leaked ahead of the official launch, confirming earlier leaked information.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+
The US market will receive the super-fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ in their Galaxy Note20 / Note20 Ultra devices.
The Plus version offers a faster Prime core (3.1 GHz, instead of 2.84 GHz), and a 10% faster Adreno 650 GPU.
The Snapdragon 865+ also adds Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 capability, although it’s likely that Samsung may lock it at regular Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 for “consistency”.
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Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra : Hands-On Experience
In this exclusive video, we present to you our hands-on experience of the Galaxy S20 Ultra smartphone in both colour options – Cosmic Black, and Cosmic Gray!
Samsung removed the dedicated Bixby button, so the only buttons you will find are the Volume control and Power buttons along the right edge.
The hybrid SIM tray is located at the top, with a second microphone that is used for noise cancellation.
Like the Galaxy Note 10, the Galaxy S20 Ultra no longer has the 3.5 mm audio jack. So you will only find the USB Type C connector at the bottom, flanked by the speaker and main microphone ports.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra does not come with an internal DAC, so you will need to use the provided USB Type C earphones, or purchase a USB-C audio adaptor with a built-in DAC.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra : 120 Hz Display
One of the new features introduced in the Galaxy S20 Ultra is a 120 Hz refresh rate for its Super AMOLED display.
Doubling the refresh rate to 120 Hz allows for smoother scrolling and a more realistic gaming experience.
However, running the display at 120 Hz will reduce the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s battery life.
The display not only refreshes twice as often, the GPU has to work twice as hard.
This is why Samsung sets the display to 60Hz by default.
To ensure it will last a long time, Samsung gave it a very large 5,000 mAh battery. The corresponding Galaxy S10 Plus from last year only has a 4,100 mAh battery in comparison.
On top of that, the S20 Ultra supports 45 watt fast charging, although it only comes with a 25 watt fast charger out to the box.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra : Battery Life!
We ran the PCMark Work 2.0 battery life test until its battery capacity dropped to 20% several times, with the display set to 60Hz and 120Hz. Here were the best results we obtained :
So there you have it – increasing the display refresh rate on the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra from 60Hz to 120Hz will reduce its battery life by about 21% or roughly 2.5 hours.
Now we can see why Samsung set the display to 60Hz by default. If battery life is important, keep it at the default refresh rate of 60Hz.
But if you prefer to enjoy the 120Hz display, go on right ahead. Thanks to its large 5,000 mAh battery, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra will last you quite a few hours!
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra : Recharging Speed
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra supports 45 watt fast charging, but only comes with a 25 watt fast charger. Let’s find out just how fast it recharges its 5,000 mAh battery.
Impressive! Even with the same 25 watt fast charger that shipped with the Galaxy Note10+, the Galaxy S20 Ultra recharged its battery 27.5% faster!
It has an excellent battery life : recharging ratio of 12:1. A general rule of thumb – for one of hour battery life, you just need to charge it for 5 minutes.
The fastest recharging happened up to the 85% level. This took just 37 minutes. Then the recharging speed slowed down, and it took a further 20.5 minutes to top up the last 15%.
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Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra : Performance
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 in the United States, and Samsung Exynos 990 in the rest of the world.
Here is a comparison of the key specifications of the Exynos 990 vs Snapdragon 865 :
Exynos 990
Snapdragon 865
Process
7 nm EUV
7 nm N7P
CPU Cores
2 x Exynos M5 (2.7 GHz)
2 x Cortex-A76 (2.5 GHz)
4 x Cortex-A55 (2.0 GHz)
1 x Kryo 585 (2.8 GHz)
3 x Kryo 585 (2.4 GHz)
4 x Kryo 485 (1.8 GHz)
GPU
Mali-G77 MP11
Adreno 650
Memory Support
LPDDR5
LPDDR5
Storage Support
UFS 3.0 / 2.1
UFS 3.0
5G Modem
Exynos 5123 (Separate)
– 7.35 Gbps
Snapdragon X55 (Separate)
– 7.5 Gbps
Samsung Exynos 990 Work Performance : PCMark
We tested its performance using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
What a nice surprise! Samsung Exynos has historically been rather poor at work performance.
The last-generation Exynos 9825 and Exynos 9820, for example, were significantly slower than their Qualcomm counterparts – the Snapdragon 855 and Snapdragon 855+.
But the Exynos 990 is 36% faster than the Exynos 9820 (its predecessor), and 13% faster than the Snapdragon 855.
Samsung Exynos 990 Gaming Performance : 3DMark
We tested its gaming performance using 3DMark, with these results.
Not bad at all! Samsung caught up with Qualcomm in gaming performance as well.
The new Exynos 990 was 7.5% faster than the Snapdragon 855+, that powered high-end gaming smartphones like the Black Shark 2 Pro, in Sling Shot Extreme, matching it in the easier Sling Shot benchmark.
Notably, the Exynos 990 was 50% faster than its predecessor, the Exynos 9820 that powered the Galaxy S10+.
Samsung Exynos 990 Gaming Performance : AnTuTu
We then tested the Exynos 990 using AnTuTu, yielding these results :
Will you look at that? The Samsung Exynos 990 was 19% faster than the Snapdragon 855+, and 57% faster than its predecessor, the Exynos 9820!
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra : RAM + Storage
The top-of-the-line model pairs 16 GB LPDDR5 memory with 512 GB fast UFS 3.0 storage. The other two models come with 12 GB LPDDR5 memory, and either 128 GB or 256 GB storage.
If that’s not enough, the Galaxy S20 Ultra has a hybrid SIM tray, which allows you to use either two nano SIM cards simultaneously, or one nano SIM card and a microSD card for additional storage.
It also supports eSIM, which allows you to activate and swap mobile plans without using a physical SIM card; as well as the possibility of using two mobile plans with a microSD card!
Our review sample was the base model, which means it comes with just 12 GB of LPDDR5 memory, and 128 GB of internal storage.
Of that, 7.5 GB of memory and 104 GB of storage is free and available to use, out-of-the-box.
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Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra : Camera Features
In the front, it has a single 40 MP camera with a wide f/2.2 aperture.
At the back, it has a quad-camera system, which consists of :
a 108 MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture, PDAF and OIS,
a 48 MP telephoto camera (10X hybrid optical zoom) with f/3.5 aperture and OIS,
a 12 MP ultra-wide camera with f/2.2 aperture,
a VGA DepthVision camera with f/1.0 aperture (for depth sensing)
In addition, it is the first Samsung smartphone to be able to record 8K videos!
We can also see a third microphone in the camera bump, which is used to support Audio Zoom – letting you zoom into the action and focus on sound from the subject, while reducing ambient noise.
10X Hybrid Optic Zoom
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra uses a folded lens design, to deliver a 10X Hybrid Optic Zoom range in a slim design.
The lens lays flat, and is positioned at the bottom of the camera. Light from the aperture is redirected by a prism into the lens, refracting at a 90-degree angle to increase the focal length.
Space Zoom Technology
Space Zoom combines their Hybrid Optic Zoom, with AI multi-frame processing enhancements to give you incredible zoom ranges.
Hybrid Optic Zoom : longer zoom range by cropping their new super resolution sensor, and pairing it with new zoom lens
AI Multi-Frame Processing : better image quality of digitally-zoomed images through AI algorithms
Bright Night Mode
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra also offers a Bright Night Mode to greatly improve its low-light photography capability.
Without Bright Night mode enabled, you cannot make out the Minion prisoner’s hands and feet, or the details of Darth Minion’s armour.
But when we took the same scene with Bright Night mode turned on, the brightness and clarity of the scene is greatly boosted!
You can now see the Minion prisoner’s hand and feet, and the intricate details of Darth Minion’s armour, even though both are in the shadows!
In fact, even though we intentionally framed the scene with the light at the back, you can clearly see the details of all three Minions and the teddy bear.
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Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra : Camera Performance
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra uses the Samsung ISOCELL Bright HM1 sensor, which is notable for its large 1/33-inch sensor size and ultra-high resolution of 108 MP.
But it defaults to 12 MP – combining nine pixels into one for better image quality, especially in low-light conditions.
At the default 12 MP resolution using the new HEIC file format, each 4000 x 3000 pixel picture has a file size of only about 1-3 MB.
Even using the HEIC file format, the full 108 MP resolution of 2000 x 9000 pixels has a much larger file size of 10-20 MB!
Here are 8 high-resolution unedited samples for you to check out. Click on them to load the full-sized photos, which you can also download to examine.
The pictures look really good at the default 12 MP, with great detail even if you blow them up 100%. You really don’t need to go full 108 MP.
However, please note that the main camera has a very narrow depth-of-field. While this makes for great background bokeh (the flower picture above), it can be very difficult to focus on the subject.
Take a closer look at the broccoli picture, for example. Look at how only a narrow section of florets are in focus, with the rest quickly going out-of-focus.
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Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra : Video Samples
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is capable of recording 8K video from its 108 MP main camera, albeit only for 5 minutes, and without electronic image stabilisation, only optical image stabilisation provided by the lens.
It retains the ability to switch between cameras, and the Camera app has been modified to allow you to zoom all the way to 100X. However, the preset steps are much wider now.
Take a look at these 1080p, 4K and 8K video samples we took :
Video Sample #1 : Blues Band (1080p)
The image quality at 1080p is exceptional, with good control of the exposure. Image stabilisation by the main camera was good, but there was some shakiness when we switched to the telephoto camera.
Its audio quality and noise cancellation were also very good. Even though it was breezy that day, you can’t hear any wind noise.
Video Sample #2 : Blues Band (4K)
This is our favourite video recording resolution. Good image quality at a high resolution, with good exposure.
Video Sample #3 : Blues Band (8K)
The detail at 8K was exceptional, and the image stabilisation (only optical) was better than we expected. But we noticed some autofocus issues – you can see some seeking even though no one is moving.
Video Sample #4 : Street Market (1080p)
In this test of its image stabilisation capabilities, you can see that at 1080p, the S20 Ultra does a very good job of cancelling out hand shake while walking.
Video Sample #5 : Street Market (4K)
Image stabilisation at 4K was very good too. Very smooth video even while walking.
Video Sample #6 : Street Market (8K)
At 8K, there is some noticeable jerkiness, but thanks to OIS, it actually turned out better than we expected.
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Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra : Our Verdict + Award
As the biggest and baddest smartphone in the S20 family, the Galaxy S20 Ultra boasts everything Samsung could fit inside.
Large 6.9-inch high-resolution display – check!
120 Hz Dynamic AMOLED panel – check!
Powerful new Samsung Exynos 990 platform – check!
Lots of free memory – check!
5G connectivity – check!
40 MP front camera – check!
108 MP main camera – check!
10X Hybrid Optic Zoom – check!
100X Space Zoom – check!
8K video recording – check!
AKG-tuned stereo speakers – check!
Large 5000 mAh battery – check!
Very fast battery charging – check!
If you want the very best Android smartphone money can buy, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra would be right at the top of a very, very short list.
The only complaints we have are pretty short :
it should have come with at least 256 GB of storage
it has a rather short battery life, especially with the display at 120 Hz
it is on the bulkier and heavier side
it is not cheap!
On the last point, it should be pointed out that if you pay peanuts for your smartphone, you often get one designed for monkeys. It should come to no surprise that we find ourselves wishing we earned enough to afford one.
For those with deep pockets, this is really one of the best, if not the best, Android smartphones you can buy in 2020. That’s why we have no qualms but to give it our Editor’s Choice Award. Congratulations, Samsung!
Samsung Galaxy S20 Smartphones : Where To Buy?
Here are the online purchase options for the Samsung Galaxy S20 family :
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Samsung has a new heavyweight champion – the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus! It packs a larger display, more cameras, memory and storage, as well as a larger battery, into a smaller and lighter form factor!
In this in-depth review, we will see how Samsung achieved that feat, and find out if this is indeed the best smartphone Samsung ever made!
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Models
First, let us point out that there are three variants of the Galaxy S10 Plus smartphone :
a base model with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage
a higher-end model with 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage
a premium model with 12 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Colour Options
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) is available in six colour options, although not all colours will be available in all countries.
Prism White
Prism Black
Prism Green
Prism Blue
Ceramic White
Ceramic Black
Here is a comparison of the available colours for the S10 Plus, as well as the S10 and S10e models.
Unfortunately, there was no sign of the Prism Blue, Flamingo Pink or Canary Yellow colours. As mentioned in our Galaxy S10 primer, not all colours are available in every country.
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Premium Ceramic Back
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) has two premium Ceramic White or Ceramic Black colour options, but they are limited to the higher-end models with 512 GB or 1 TB of storage.
The Ceramic back is heavier by 23 grams (13%), and was said to be more durable. However, we confirmed that both Ceramic and non-Ceramic backs are covered with Gorilla Glass 5. So the durability and scratch-resistance of the two types of backs are a moot point.
Ultimately, the Ceramic backs are all about the looks. You get a more premium looking back with the 512 GB or 1 TB models.
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Price + Availability
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) is available for sale at this price points :
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The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Up Close!
Before its availability on 8 March 2019, Samsung arranged an exclusive hands-on session. Here is our hands-on video of the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) smartphone!
On the left side, you will find the Volume control buttons, as well as the dedicated Bixby button.
The Power button is located on the right side. Samsung repositioned it higher in the new Galaxy S10 smartphones, ostensibly to avoid accidental presses.
The hybrid SIM tray is located at the top, together with a second microphone port (for noise cancellation).
Thankfully, Samsung retained the 3.5 mm audio port while they squeezed the S10+ thinner – at just under 8 mm.
Everything else is the same as the Galaxy S9 Plus – a USB Type C port, a microphone port and an AKG-tuned speaker at the bottom.
More Powerful Exynos / Snapdragon Platforms
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) runs on either the new Samsung Exynos 9820 (worldwide), or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 (United States) platforms.
The Samsung Exynos 9820 has a triple-cluster CPU architecture with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) (like the Kirin 980). Samsung says that it will deliver these performance advantages over the Exynos 9810 :
20% better single core performance,
15% better multi-core performance,
40% better power efficiency, and
7X faster AI performance
Built on the 8 nm LPP FinFET process technology, it also boasts 10% lower power consumption, compared to the last generation 10 nm LPP process.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, on the other hand, is fabricated on the 7 nm process technology., which should deliver similar power savings.
It also uses a triple-cluster CPU architecture, and comes with an Adreno 640 GPU and an X24 LTE modem that supports Cat20 download and uploads.
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Galaxy S10 Plus Has More Memory + Storage!
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) comes with a lot more memory and storage :
8 GB LPDDR4x + 128 GB eUFS 2.1 storage
8 GB LPDDR4x + 512 GB eUFS 2.1 storage
12 GB LPDDR4x + 1 TB eUFS 2.1 storage
And if that’s not enough, it comes with a hybrid SIM tray, where the second SIM slot can support a microSD card of up to 512 GB in capacity. If you don’t need the extra storage, you can use two nano SIM cards at the same time.
A hybrid SIM tray is generally good enough for most people. But if you need to use two SIM cards, you better opt for higher internal storage, because there is no way to add a microSD card.
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Infinity-O Display
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) features a very large 6.4-inch display with 1440 x 3040 pixels and a 495 ppi pixel density.
This is the new Infinity-O design, which allows Samsung to deliver a screen-to-body ratio in excess of 95%.
Instead of a notch, the Galaxy S10 Plus uses a pill-shaped hole to accommodate its two front cameras. Functionally, it works like a right-sided notch, with the area adjacent to the notch reserved for notifications.
Ignoring the notification area, the main display area has a WQHD+ resolution of 1440 x 2960. However, the Galaxy S10 Plus defaults to a Full HD+ resolution to reduce power consumption and extend battery life.
Dynamic AMOLED Panel
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) uses the next-generation Dynamic AMOLED panel that is HDR10+ certified.
This is literally the best smartphone display in the industry right now, capable of producing 100% of the DCI-P3 colour range, with a maximum brightness of 1200 nits.
This Dynamic AMOLED panel was also engineered to reduce blue light by 42% without changing how colours appear. This would make for more comfortable viewing with less eyestrain, especially at night.
Gorilla Glass 6 + Gorilla Glass 5
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) is said to be protected by the latest Gorilla Glass 6, but that’s not entirely accurate.
It is protected by Gorilla Glass 6 in the front; but only has Gorilla Glass 5 covering its back. This is true even for the premium models with a Ceramic back.
In case you are wondering, Gorilla Glass 6 is about twice as tough as Gorilla Glass 5. It will withstand over 15 drops from a height of 1 meter on a rough surface.
Ultrasonic In-Display Fingerprint Sensor
One of the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus’ 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 these use optical sensors that basically take pictures for a 2D profile.
This new in-display fingerprint sensor 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.
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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.
Galaxy S10 Plus Has Built-In DeX Capability!
While not mentioned at all by Samsung, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (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.
After you use the USB-C to HDMI adaptor or cable to connect the Galaxy S10 Plus to a TV or monitor, you just need to link a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to use it like a PC. Best of all – you can continue to use your Galaxy S10 Plus while Samsung DeX is running!
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Dual-Lens Front Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) has a new dual-lens front camera.
The main front camera has a 10 MP Dual Pixel sensor with f/1.9 lens and a 80° viewing angle. The second “camera” is an 8 MP RGB depth sensor with f/2.2 lens.
Now, the depth-sensing camera does not take any pictures or video. Instead, it is used by the main 10 MP camera to better differentiate the subject from its background.
This allows for more realistic software bokeh effect, and adds Live Focus capability for the first time to a front camera.
3X Rear Cameras
In the back, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) boasts a triple camera system, which consists of :
a 12 MP dual-aperture camera (f/1.5 and f/2.4) – 77°, Dual Pixel, OIS
a 16 MP ultra wide-angle camera (f/2.2) – 123°, 0.5X optical zoom
a 12 MP telephoto camera (f/2.4) – 45°, 2X optical zoom, OIS
Look at how useful the three cameras are in aiding your creative composition :
Note that only the main dual-aperture camera, and the telephoto camera (both with 12 MP sensors) support optical image stabilisation (OIS). The new ultra-wide angle camera does NOT support optical image stabilisation.
This is important when you take videos, because you will lose optical image stabilisation if you switch to the ultra-wide camera. Your video will still be stabilised by electronic image stabilisation though.
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HDR10+ Video Recording
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) not only comes with a HDR10+ certified display, it also has the ability to record HDR10+ videos!
HDR10+ is an improved version of the HDR10 standard. It maintains the 10-bit colour depth of HDR10, but replaces its static metadata with dynamic metadata. This improves the dynamic range by allowing the brightness boundaries to be adjusted on a frame-by-frame basis.
However, please note that HDR10+ videos recorded on the Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) will only display properly on devices and TVs that support HDR10+, like the 2018 Samsung QLED TV range.
Samsung says that you can convert HDR10+ videos into non-HDR videos using its Gallery app. However, the functionality does not appear to be included in current version of their Gallery app. Enabling HDR10+ video recording also disables the more-efficient HEVC format.
Later in the review, we will show you what happens when you try to display or view HDR10+ videos on a platform or display that does NOT support HDR10+.
Improved Super Slow-mo
Like the Galaxy S9 Plus and the Galaxy Note9, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) supports Super Slow-mo ,which allows you to record 720p video at 960 fps. It has been improved though, with Samsung doubling its recording time from 0.2-0.4 seconds to 0.4-0.8 seconds.
The Super Slow-mo videos can be instantly edited, with a random selection from preloaded choices. Or you can use your own music / songs. You can also create a GIF from the recorded video, with three style of looping – reverse, forward or swing.
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Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Battery + Charging
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) comes with a large 4,100 mAh battery – 600 mAh or 17% larger than its predecessor, the Galaxy S9 Plus.
What’s really cool though is its Wireless PowerShare feature. 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 Plus (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.
IP68 Dust & Water Resistance
Like the Galaxy S9 Plus, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus 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 Plus (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.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) has the same display size as the Samsung Galaxy Note9 (US | MY Web | MY App). It even has a slightly larger battery. Yet it is smaller, thinner and lighter! In fact, it is smaller than a 5.7-inch smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy Note FE (Price Check).
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.
The new 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.
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Setting Up The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) runs on Android 9.0 Pie out of the box, and is very easy to set-up. If you are setting it up as a new device, it should take you only 5-7 minutes to finish the setup process.
Available Memory + Storage
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) base model comes with 8 GB of LPDDR4x memory. It has roughly the slightly more bloat than the Galaxy S9 Plus and the Galaxy Note9. However, it comes with 2 GB more memory, so you have almost 5 GB (61%) 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.
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Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Camera Performance – Photo Samples
Samsung brought over the excellent 12 MP dual-aperture camera from the Galaxy S9 Plus, and the Galaxy Note9.
Powered by the superb 12 MP Samsung ISOCELL Fast SAK2L3 sensor, it is capable of automatically or manually switching between the f/1.5 aperture, and the f/2.4 aperture.
The maximum 12 MP resolution is attained with the 4:3 aspect ratio, with 4032 x 3024 pixels, and a file size of between 3 MB and 5 MB.
Here are 10 high-resolution unedited samples for you to check out. Click on them to load the full-sized photos, which you can also download to examine.
There is no doubt that this is still one of the best smartphone cameras in the market, even though it was introduced a year ago.
You can see the intricate detail of the pepper seeds, the flower pollen, even the individual buds of the broccoli florets.
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It also did a great job of bringing out the colour of the subject matter. Every colour is accurately rendered and automatically “amped up” by AI algorithms. If you do not like the increased vividness though, you can turn off the Scene Optimiser feature.
The f/1.5 aperture naturally creates a very narrow depth of field, with a nicer bokeh effect. But if that’s not enough, you can use its Live Focus feature which allows you to create really awesome bokeh for the background.
No doubt, the Live Focus bokeh is artificially created, but the dual camera design allow for precise separation of the subject from the background. Live Focus also allows you to adjust the amount of bokeh for the background.
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Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Camera Performance – Video Samples
Like its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) is capable of recording 4K videos from both front and back cameras. However, Samsung still limits the 4K recording time to just 10 minutes. This was likely done to ensure that the sensor does not overheat the battery.
Video Recording Test #1 : Piano (1080p)
In this video, you can see the amount of detail the sensor captures, even at just 1080p.
You can also see how well its OIS capability worked, even when we switched between the main camera and the telephoto camera. Its ultra-wide camera does not support OIS, but has good EIS capability.
There was a noticeable lag when we switched from the telephoto camera to the ultra-wide camera (at minute 2:02), but there was minimal lag if we go from telephoto camera > main camera > ultra-wide camera, and vice versa.
The Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY), sadly, does not support Hi-Res Audio recording, and its noise cancellation could really be much better. We hope Samsung will look at adding context-aware noise cancellation, and perhaps a third microphone next to the rear cameras.
Video Recording Test #2 : Piano (4K)
The resolution at 4K is incredible. You can clearly read the billboard of the pretzel stand in the background!
Samsung also solved the focus seeking issue we noted when we reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S9+ (Price Check), which uses the same dual-aperture main camera.
There was, however, some auto-focus issues with the telephoto lens (which does not have a Dual Pixel sensor), and the OIS was slightly less effective at this high resolution.
Video Recording Test #3 : Piano (1080p with HDR10+)
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) supports HDR10+ video recording, but many devices still do not support HDR10+. Neither does YouTube. So check out what happens when you try to view a HDR10+ video on a non-HDR10+ platform.
Video Recording Test #4 : Piano (4K with HDR10+)
Just like with the earlier 1080p video, this HDR10+ video appears washed-out when viewed on a device or platform that does not support HDR10+.
Note that this is not a criticism of the HDR10+ video recording. The videos look great on the Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY). We are just demonstrating what happens if you try to view them on non-HDR displays.
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Video Recording Test #5 : Street Market (1080p)
The combination of OIS and EIS allowed the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) to deliver really good image stabilisation.
Video Recording Test #6 : Street Market (4K)
Its image stabilisation capabilities were not diminished with the higher resolution. Overall – very good OIS and EIS performance.
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Work Performance – PCMark
We tested the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus’ performance using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus’ Exynos 9820 greatly improved on the mediocre work performance of the Exynos 9810 used in the Galaxy S9 Plus, and the Galaxy Note9 . However, it still falls behind the Kirin 980 that powers the HUAWEI Mate20.
Gaming Performance – 3DMark
We tested the Galaxy S10 Plus’ gaming performance using 3DMark, using the Ice Storm Unlimited test.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) has the same battery size and battery life as the Galaxy Note9, but lasted more than an hour longer than the Galaxy S9 Plus.
Thanks to its larger 4,100 mAh battery, it lasted longer than the S9 Plus, even when you turned its display resolution all the way to WQHD+.
Battery Recharging Performance
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus comes with an adaptive fast charger with a power output of 15 W. Take a look at how fast it recharged its 4,100 mAh battery.
Despite using the same old 15 watt adaptive fast charger as the Galaxy S9 Plus, and the Galaxy Note9, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) has significantly improved fast charging performance – about 20-22%.
Even though the Galaxy S10 Plus has about the same battery capacity as the Galaxy Note9 and the HUAWEI Mate20, it fully recharged its battery 15 minutes and 26 minutes faster respectively.
This gives it an improved battery life : recharging ratio of 6.75 : 1. A rule of thumb – for one hour of battery life, charge it for 9 minutes.
The fastest recharging happened up to the 90% level. This took just 61 minutes. Then the recharging speed slowed down, and it took a further 30.5 minutes to top up the remaining 10%.
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Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus – Our Verdict + Award
Despite Apple slacking on the job, Samsung continues to push the boundaries of smartphone technology. Perhaps, it’s the clear and present danger from HUAWEI. Perhaps it’s the fear of declining smartphone sales worldwide.
Whatever the reason – Samsung delivered another killer smartphone in the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus!
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) is, as we would expect, FASTER and comes with even more memory and storage than its predecessor. But that’s not why we think it’s a great smartphone.
They just packed a larger 6.4-inch display, a larger 4,100 mAh battery, and two extra cameras into a smaller, thinner and lighter device! This is a remarkable feat of engineering.
Its Dynamic AMOLED display deserves special mention. It is incredibly bright at 1200 nits, with a wide colour gamut – 100% of DCI-P3 – and is HDR10+ certified! This is hands-down, the industry’s best display.
Credit also goes to Samsung for taking their time to perfect and introduce an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor. This is definitely more secure and accurate than optical in-display fingerprint sensors. In our tests, it even works with damp fingers!
We did not cover the dual-lens front camera much in this review, so we should point out that it’s not a gimmick. The ability to selectively blur the background of selfies is really useful. If you like taking selfies, it’s worth splurging on the Galaxy S10 Plus for its dual-lens front camera.
The addition of an ultra-wide angle camera to the already excellent dual camera system from the Galaxy S9 Plus, and the Galaxy Note9 is a nice upgrade. It’s not something you would appreciate until you actually start using it.
We also want to salute Samsung for introducing the ability to record HDR10+ videos, although we have to point out that HDR10+ support is still limited. Samsung also seemed to have forgotten to add the ability to convert the videos.
But if you already have a TV or monitor that supports HDR10+, you can start creating HDR10+ videos with your Galaxy S10 Plus! And remember – HDR10+ is the future. It’s a matter of time before you upgrade to a HDR10+ display or television.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) is not perfect, of course. Samsung still has not done much to improve its audio recording quality, even as they improved its audio output. And the relocated Power button always seems to be a thumb too far to press…
Its Wireless PowerShare feature is interesting and quite useful on-the-go. However, its slow recharging speed means its utility is largely limited to small devices like the Galaxy Buds and the Galaxy Watch. Recharging other smartphones is painfully slow, and should be relied on only in emergencies.
But its few faults are testament to the full decade of evolution behind its development. We continue to be impressed by each iteration of the Galaxy family, and the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (US | UK | MY) is, in our opinion, a worthy successor to the excellent Galaxy S9 Plus.
There is no doubt that the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is a truly great smartphone, and worthy of our Editor’s Choice Award! Great job, Samsung!
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