➤ Samsung Galaxy S10, the review 🎮

For a few weeks in virtual and physical stores around the world, Samsung has launched its new top-of-the-range line, a triple offer that goes from the largest (and obviously expensive) S10 Plus to the small and cheaper S 10e. In the middle we find the Samsung Galaxy S10, of which you are reading review, a phone that attempts to combine the technological ambitions of its older brother in a more compact form factor and with a slightly lower price. We spent a few days in his company, we played with it a bit and we are ready to tell you what we think.

A quality phone

Removed from the box, the Samsung Galaxy S10 immediately reveals the premium nature of the product: the lines are very clean but at the same time it does not appear anonymous also thanks to the metal side profile. It gives an excellent idea of solidity despite the 157 grams weight make it all in all quite light. Above all, the dimensions relatively compact (149.9 x 70.4 x 7.8 mm) compared to the more voluminous alternative make it one of the best solutions for those who, like the writer, have rather small hands. Compared to the Samsung S10 Plus (20 grams heavier and definitely higher and wider) the side buttons are for example better reachable and the grip while holding it vertically safer. Similar speech for the upper part of the screen which on Plus often requires the use of two hands to be used without the risk of the phone falling to the ground.

Speaking of the panel, the Dynamic Amoled used for the Samsung S10 has a diagonal of 6,1 inches and resolution of 1440x3040 pixels (QHD +): like other terminals of the Korean giant, the curved edges help to give an even more sophisticated look to the device but it is the choice, characteristic of all the new high-end devices, to limit the space not to the single front camera reserved for the screen which make it a sight to behold. There is not much to complain about on the display, it looks great from any angle you look at it and the colors are perfect whether surfing the web, playing games or watching a movie. Wanting to find a problem, the fingerprint reader placed under the screen has given us some problems in the finger recognition process several times, ending up making us prefer other solutions such as unlocking through face recognition (2D). The processor mounted by the Samsung S10 in Europe is an octa core Exynos 9820 (fastest cores reach 2.7GHz) flanked by a Mali G76 MP12 GPU. How this translates into the use of games we will deepen later but we can already say that the hardware mounted under the hood allows you to use all the functions of the phone with maximum speed, without any kind of uncertainty.

This is also thanks to a very good one Samsung One UI that takes what is good in Android 9 and customizes it without weighing it down. There are some functions that have evolved and become very interesting, such as the DeX system to exploit it in the "desktop" version, better management of gestures and the possibility of using more than one account for some very popular apps, like WhatsApp, Facebook and Skype. Others, such as Bixby or sharing the recharge with other devices, may or may not be of interest but their presence does not disturb and does not weigh on performance. In some cases, Samsung's willingness to put its own respect to Android leads to some duplications that are useful up to a certain point, such as that of the browser, but it only takes a few minutes to customize the user experience according to your needs to then never think about it again. Two positive notes come from the presence of the Jack, useful both for using your headphones and for additional functions, such as connection to DeX, and the possibility of inserting one micro SD to expand the internal memory from 128GB or 512GB. There battery from 3'400 mAh allows you to arrive without problems at the end of the day, even if compared to that of the 4'100 mAh Plus it does not perform in the same way despite the different screen size, evidently more than compensated for on the larger model.

Cameras and surroundings

Il photo gallery rear has three lenses: the standard 12 megapixel one, the other with the same resolution and 2x zoom and the 16 megapixel wide-angle one. A photographic arsenal that allows you to shoot in any situation, from very wide city panoramas to portraits and tighter shots. In situations of excellent light the photos give no way to complain and it is also noticeable how Samsung has learned to implement theHDR really very good. When there isn't much light, things don't get dramatic, not at all, but perhaps compared to the leap forward made in other areas, things could have improved further here.

Compared to the past, it seems to us that the Korean company has done a good job on colors, which appear natural and not ultra-saturated, while in some cases it happens to turn up their noses for the choices of artificial intelligence that tends to clean up a little too much. skin imperfections. However, these are cases and details for a phone that takes excellent photos and has some options to have fun for both the more experienced, such as the Pro Mode, both for those who do not want to commit too much, as a system that recognizes the context in which the image is being taken and automatically optimizes the shot. The above also applies to the front camera: your selfies are safe. Where the Samsung S10 really stands out is in the making of video, up to 4K and 60 frames per second with the main camera, which enjoy a clean and well stabilized image. Stabilization that becomes even more precise with the appropriate option activated: the resolution freezes at 1080p but the yield allows you to have still and precise movies even in non-optimal conditions.

A phone also for playing games

You will hardly spend the 900 and passes euro needed to take the Samsung S10 home to play. The fact remains that it is one of the options on the plate with the most recent smartphones and that you can also play without any problem, indeed the results are very satisfactory. We tried both titles that are objectively lighter and suitable for all devices, such as Brawl Stars, and games that are more demanding in terms of resources required such as Asphalt 9, Real Racing 3, PUBG and Fortnite. In any case we got it frame rate stable with all products, even suggesting how the games of the near future will still be able to achieve ideal performance.

In some geographical areas the S10 is available with the Snapdragon 855, a processor that has better multi-core performance, but if on paper this is certainly the case, in practice it is unlikely that anyone will notice such shortcomings as to regret the choice to adopt the Exnos 9820. The length of the screen that covers the entire front side of the Samsung S10 (with the exception of the small camera) makes the gaming experience (and the enjoyment of videos) potentially even more satisfying. And we must note that stereo audio is another feature that, especially for those who play, gives something more. Nothing that obviously is preferred over using a good pair of headphones, in any case. The screen, as we also explained at the beginning, has features such as HDR 10 that make it not only an excellent panel today but also a future product for the next updates of services such as Netflix. In general, we much prefer the Natural setting rather than the Vivid setting, which saturates the colors too much, but in the case of games the difference is thinned as many use a bright palette, making it an indifferent choice. In short, without reaching the degree of specialization of a ROG Phone, which made mobile titles its raison d'etre, even the new Samsung flagship allows you to have fun on the move without leaving anything on the road.

Comment

Resources4Gaming.com

8.5

The Samsung Galaxy S10 has everything you can expect from a top-of-the-range terminal: lots of computing power, an excellent photographic sector, a beautiful design and a fantastic screen. The form factor and the rather low weight make it a good choice for those who do not want to go towards the more expensive and bulky S10 Plus. There are some details that do not completely convince and the list price remains quite high, however. for those looking for a top of the Android range that is also comfortable to keep in your pocket, there are very few options that can rival.