Samsung's Galaxy S10 Series Already Spells Trouble for the 2019 iPhones

Samsung celebrated the tenth anniversary of its Galaxy S handset series by launching four Galaxy S10 models alongside its Galaxy Fold foldable phone. The quintet of devices comes with an arsenal of game-changing display, camera, and specs that redefine Samsung’s flagships. All five were debuted at the company’s Unpacked event in San Francisco and London Wednesday.

The S10 devices might be the aces up Samsung’s sleeve to surpass Apple in United States smartphone market share. Its new phones have long steered clear of adopting the iPhone’s famed top notch and this year they’ve notably improved it. The new S10s’ “Infinity-O”, hole-punch display design will give users the best screen-to-body ratio of any Samsung phone, or iPhone for that matter. And that’s not even the true extent of their features.

Samsung has retrofitted its S10 devices with more cameras, newfound security systems, notable spec improvements, and a complimentary set of AirPod-like earbuds for customers who pre-order any of the new models. The pre-order window begins February 21 and the S10s will hit shelves on March 8.

The S10 roster of next-generation smartphones seem designed to turn Apple users into walking Distracted Boyfriend memes. And to add insult to injury, they all still come with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Samsung Unpacked: Galaxy S10 - $899

Starting from the top, the 6.1-inch Galaxy S10 is the baseline model that the other three devices will resemble. The differentiators between each phone boil down to screen size and batteries, Samsung has given all the available variants the same features. These new features include: an under-the-screen fingerprint scanner, facial recognition, Wireless PowerShare that turns the smartphone into a portable wireless charger, and three rear cameras.

Its trio of back cameras are arranged horizontally and include a 12 MP 77-degree wide-angle lens, a 12 MP 2x telephoto lens, and a 16 MP ultra-wide sensor with a 123-degree field of view. The single front-facing camera comes in at 10MP.

When it comes to internal specs, the S10 comes with a Snapdragon 855 processor for a roughly 30 percent increase in computing speed compared to the S10. The 3,400mAh battery that Samsung promises will last 24 hours. Finally, the phones will ship with a storage memory range of between 128GB and 1TB (with a microSD card) as well as 8GB of RAM.

Samsung Unpacked: Galaxy S10 Plus - $999

The 6.4-inch S10 Plus is the premium model out of the bunch, and offers the complete list of next-gen features Samsung announced in a more impressive package. Most notably, it comes with one extra camera and a bigger battery compared to the S10.

Its extra front-facing camera is an 8 MP depth sensor that will enable users to take stunning portrait photos with a bokeh effect. The battery is notably more powerful, coming in at 4,100 mAh users should have no issue with charging other devices with this handset, either.

The S10 Plus has exactly the same internals as its smaller counterpart but it can hold up to 1.5TB of storage with microSD cards. That’s laptop-like memory in the palm of your hand, making it a compelling purchase for smartphone power-users.

Samsung Unpacked: Galaxy S10e - $749

On the other end of the spectrum you’ll find the 5.8-inch S10e, which is Samsung’s answer to the iPhone XR. It’s smaller and more affordable thanks to a downgraded screen and reduced storage, but it still packs all of the high-end features that roll out at this year’s Unpacked.

The budget model does not include Samsung’s “Infinity Display,” which makes it seem like the screen wraps around the phone’s edges, so its bezels will be slightly more pronounced than on the others. Just like the S10, it only packs one front-facing camera, but it’s the only one of the models that only has two rear-cameras: 16MP ultra-wide and 12 MP wide lenses.

It also has the least powerful battery, coming in at 3,100, but Samsung’s “Adaptive Performance” feature should help to optimize how the S10e uses its power to make sure you aren’t left at zero during the day.

Samsung Unpacked: Galaxy S10 5G - To Be Announced

Finally, Samsung unveiled its beastly, 6.7-inch Galaxy 5G, which will initially be available exclusively through Verizon. The handset will come enabled with the next-generation of wireless connectivity, giving users access to wifi-like internet speeds when they’re on the go. But it’s the only phone that didn’t receive a release date or starting price.

It’s been said to tout a 4,500 mAh and with 5G-capabilities it could allow mobile gamers to play online games completely lag-free in the future. Given that the device packs the biggest screen out of all of the releases and the biggest battery, it will probably also cost substantially more. Samsung could in fact match Apple’s $1,099 price point for the iPhone XS Max, but only time will tell.