The world’s biggest smartphone maker, Samsung, on Wednesday launches its new Galaxy S10 range, with triple-cameras, ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensors and becoming the first mainstream phone to have one-terabyte of storage – enough to hold 300,000 selfies.
The Galaxy S10 unveiling is the South Korean firm’s most important this year, as it fights intense competition from China’s Huawei and arch-rival Apple. The S10 comes in three versions initially priced at £669 for the entry level S10e and £899 for the top-end S10+, which compares with the £899 Huawei is charging for its similar Mate 20 Pro, and £1,099 for the top-end Apple iPhone XS Max.
Samsung hopes its new Infinity-o display, which moves the selfie camera to a small hole directly in the screen, will wow buyers and prove that smartphone innovation is not dead for the tenth iteration of the firm’s hugely successful Galaxy S range.
However, analysts warn that after disappointing sales for the S9 range in 2018, the S10 is critical for Samsung as it spars with Apple on one front while defending itself from Chinese challengers on another.
Ben Wood, chief of research for CCS Insight, said: “The S9 and S9+ did not perform as well as Samsung had hoped, primarily due to them not being differentiated enough compared to the highly successful Galaxy S8 products, so it needs the S10 range to be a hit.
“Samsung has consistently delivered the latest features on its smartphones but the S10 portfolio needs to be super competitive to attack Apple and defend Samsung from a rampant Huawei and other Chinese brands that are aggressively looking for growth outside China.”
Samsung is banking buyers will be attracted to devices with top-of-the-line processors, in-display fingerprint scanners and a new triple-camera system, albeit a feature first pioneered by Huawei, offering greater levels of zoom, flexibility and low-light performance.
The Galaxy S10 and S10+ have a new 16-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 12-megapixel telephoto camera on the back – a similar combination used by Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro to great effect.
The smaller Galaxy S10 will have a 6.1in screen with a circular hole through which the 10-megapixel selfie camera will poke. The larger Galaxy S10+ has a 6.4in screen with an oval-shaped hole containing a dual-selfie camera for enhanced portraits.
Both versions will have at least 128GB of storage but the top-of-the-line S10+ also comes in a special version with a ceramic back, 12GB of RAM and one terabyte storage – a first for a mainstream phone. Quite how useful that much storage will be is a moot point. It’s enough to hold 500 TV shows from Netflix or up to 80 selfies taken every day for the next 10 years. And that’s without adding another 512GB via the microSD card slot.
They will all have a headphone socket, making them unusual for top-end phones in 2018/19, and have the ability to wirelessly charge other devices, a trick pioneered by Huawei last year.
“With it being our 10th anniversary, we wanted to demonstrate meaningful innovation, to make a really strong statement that innovation in smartphones isn’t dead,” said Kate Beaumont, director of commercial strategy, product and planning at Samsung.
Alongside the Galaxy S10 and S10+, Samsung has also launched a slightly cheaper and smaller version of its new flagship called the Galaxy S10e, which has a 5.8in screen that’s flat and a more traditional capacitive fingerprint scanner on the side.
A 5G version of the Galaxy S10 will also go on sale later this year to coincide with the launch of new 5G networks in the UK and elsewhere. The Galaxy S10 5G will have a larger 6.7in display and 3D depth-sensing cameras.
“Before, with 4G, you had to compromise on design with the needed antennas and poor battery but not this time with 5G – you can have a true flagship phone now and be future-proofed for the next four years,” Beaumont said.
While 5G will remain niche, particularly in the UK in 2019, being first to market with a 5G phone is very important for Samsung, explained CCS Insight’s Wood. He said: “Samsung is getting the jump on arch-rival Apple, which is not expected to have a 5G iPhone until the final quarter of 2020.
“But it is also important for mobile phone networks as they need a tier-one brand like Samsung to support their 5G go-to-market strategy.”
