Samsung Galaxy S10 price and release date: Samsung unveils four new smartphones in S10 range

Samsung packed a lot in to its London event, including a first look at its 5G smartphone
Amelia Heathman21 February 2019

It’s been a big night for Samsung as it unveils its 10th anniversary Galaxy S phones at its Unpacked event in London.

There are four new phones in the Galaxy S10 range: the standard Galaxy S10, the bigger Galaxy S10+, a smaller Galaxy S10E and for the first time, a 5G smartphone which will be available to buy later this year.

What’s new with the Galaxy range this year? According to Kate Beaumont, Director of Commercial Strategy, Product & Planning at Samsung, there’s a great camera, battery and screen in the mix but these aren’t the only improvements to the S10.

“It’s a lot of subtle stuff that is really exciting,” Beaumont told the Standard. “All the AI stuff that's going on behind scenes that make it easier and simple, such as Bixby Routines predicting things or power saving behind the scenes. That’s what I love about technology - it should be seamless and we want it to be meaningful innovation, not [just] tech specs.”

Here’s what you need to know about the new Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphone range.

Samsung Galaxy S10

In a nutshell: The standard flagship in the Galaxy S range, the Samsung Galaxy S10 has all the bells and whistles you’d expect in a premium device, with that signature Samsung flair of a curved screen, and a great camera.

Specs: The new Samsung Galaxy S10 is 93.1 per cent screen, thanks to the minimisation of the bezels and a new punch-hole front camera design. It has a dynamic AMOLED display, with a new in-screen fingerprint scanner, that will work even in cold temperatures.

The device has three rear camera lenses, one zoom lens, one wide lens and one ultra wide angle lens to get more in your shots. There’s a new super steady video feature and Bixby Vision has been improved, offering 30 optimised scene options, including an option to take the best image of your cats and dogs.

The new Galaxy S10 has a 93.1% screen to body ratio
Samsung

Inside the phone is Samsung’s new Exynos 9810 chipset, which promises AI-enabled performance including faster app launches and adaptive power consumption. This will come in particularly handy when using the wireless power share feature, which allows you to charge other devices using your phone, just like the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. That being said, the battery is only 3,400mAH on the normal S10, fairly small for a feature like this.

Samsung has also updated its One UI software, to minimise the bloatware and make it more intuitive to use -- it makes using the device more like a Google Pixel device.

It comes in four colours: prism green, prism white, prism black and prism blue. As well, there will be two variants, both with 8GB of RAM and either 128GB storage or 256GB.

Price and release date:You can pre-order the phone now from Samsung, and it will be available to buy outright on March 8.

Prices for the S10 start at £799.

Verdict: This is a good-looking phone and as per usual, the camera is pretty excellent on the first few tries. The updates to One UI will really make a difference, the feel and usage of the phone is slicker than previous Samsung devices. This could be our favourite Samsung phone in recent years, though we'll have to wait to get our hands on it for a full review to see if that comes to pass.

Flashy features like in-screen fingerprint scanner and reverse wireless charging were debuted by other phone companies last year, but that doesn’t mean the features aren’t welcome.

10 years of Samsung Galaxy S phones - In pictures

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Samsung Galaxy S10+

In a nutshell: Like the standard Galaxy S10 device, but the Plus version has a bigger screen, bigger battery and comes with two selfie cameras on the front of the device.

Specs: The Samsung Galaxy S10+ is almost exactly the same as the normal S10, except it's slightly bigger. The new device is [this size] and has two selfie cameras on the front of the device.

There’s also a bigger battery too, at 4,100 mAH, which is important for that power-sharing feature.

You get the most benefits of the new One UI software on the Galaxy S10+ as it has been designed to work for larger screens.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10+ have three cameras on the back of the phone
Samsung

Speaking about One UI, Beaumont told the Standard: “The basic premise [with One UI] is that you can do everything one-handed. You have a clear information block at the top, like with the alarm, it tells you how long until your alarm is, which means you don't have to go back into the specific alarm and found out.

“It's simple things like that that if you'd asked me I wouldn't have said was important but when you get it, it's a win," she added.

Similar to the Galaxy S10, there are two variants, both with 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage.

Price and release date: The Samsung Galaxy S10+ is available to pre-order now and will be on sale officially from March 8.

Prices for the device start at £899.

Verdict: It’s good that Samsung has kept the rear camera set up the same on the Galaxy S10 and S10+ so you don’t have to fork out for the more expensive device for a better camera. Really, it will come down to preference: do you prefer the bigger screen or a slightly smaller one? Either way, there’s an excellent feature spec in both devices.

Samsung Galaxy S10e

In a nutshell: This is the smaller of the Galaxy S10 range. Sized at 5.8-inch, the S10e is aimed at those who want the high-end specs from the Galaxy S range, but without the larger, curved screen. This device is also cheaper than its bigger siblings.

“Some of our customers don’t want the big screen,” Beaumont told the Standard. “It’s great to bring them the same-level screen quality but simplify it so they get the same expected features but at a more affordable price point.

Specs: The Samsung Galaxy S10e still has the infinity display, the in-screen fingerprint scanner and fast wireless charging like the other devices.

Where you are missing out slightly is the camera. On the back of the device, there are two rear lenses: a wide angle lens and an ultra wide angle lens, so there is no zoom lens on this device.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 in prism green
Samsung

It will come in the same colours as the rest of the range, with an additional canary yellow colour, which the jury is still out on.

Surprisingly for a smaller device, the S10e will also come in either 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, or 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage. The battery size is 3,100 mAH.

Price and release date: The Galaxy S10e is available to pre-order now and will be on sale from March 8.

Prices for the S10e start at £669.

Verdict: This is for the 20 per cent of customers who would rather have a flat display, than a curved one, and who also seek a smaller, more affordable device.

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G

In a nutshell: The first 5G flagship phone from Samsung, which includes all the S10 specs and a little bit more.

Though there won’t be full 5G coverage across the UK until at least late 2020, Samsung isn’t bothered. “We want to be there and in first, experiencing it with the customers and get feedback,” said Beaumont.

Specs: This device is a lot bigger than the rest of the Galaxy S10 range, with a 6.7-inch screen display. We also know it’s going to have a 4,500mAH battery - this is even bigger than Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro 4,200mAH battery which can last a solid two days, so expect this to be a good one.

In addition, there’s going to be a 3D depth camera on the back of the device to bring augmented reality (AR) features, such as live measurements, just like the iPhone Measure app.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G device will be on sale in the summer
JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images

Price and release date: Release date is vague at the moment, so far Samsung says it will be launched in ‘the summer’.

Verdict: You’ll have to wait a while for the 5G version and it is likely to be way more expensive but it should last a couple of years. That 3D camera with AR features is no big deal though if that’s what you’re waiting for, as Huawei and Apple boosted their phone’s AR capabilities last year and without the need to make it a 5G-enabled device.

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