The Galaxy S10’s front panels have surfaced online, both for the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ it seems. These images were shared by a well-known tipster called Ice universe, and they got shared via Twitter, even though at least some of them have been originally found on Weibo (Chinese social network), notes the source. Now, two different sets of images leaked, the very first image in the gallery shows the Galaxy S10 and S10+ front panels, while the other four seem to be showing the Galaxy S10’s front panel, but it’s different than the one in the first image. You will notice that the Galaxy S10’s and S10+’s front panels in the first image sport a cutout at the top for the earpiece, while that same cutout is not visible in the other four images that are available in the gallery down below. Furthermore, the shape of these front panels seem to be slightly different, and the bezels seem to be thinner on the second set of images, so… not all of these images are legit, if any of them.
That being said, you will notice that neither of these images sport a hole in the display for the camera, even though the Galaxy S10 handsets are rumored to sport such design. Now, the two panels in the first image do seem to be a bit curved on the sides, but not to the extent of the panel shown in the other four images. Based on the Galaxy S series’ previous designs, the second set of images may be more accurate in this regard, even though Samsung did adjust that curve with the Galaxy S9 to make the display a bit less curved than on the Galaxy S8.
Background: The Galaxy S10 information has been leaking for quite some time now, and we’ve actually seen a lot of conflicting info, so it’s not exactly easy to predict what to expect at this point. Initially, rumors suggested that the company plans to release more than two Galaxy S10 units, as the Galaxy S10 and S10+ were expected to be joined by a more compact S10 unit, and a “budget” variant. Some of those phones were rumored to sport two rear-facing cameras, while others three, but according to a new piece of info that surfaced yesterday, Samsung is actually planning to launch an additional Galaxy S10 variant, and include four cameras on the back of it, and two cameras on its front side. That report also suggested that the phone is called “Beyond X” internally, and that it will ship with 5G support, while it is not expected to launch with the other “three variants” of the Galaxy S10 in February, which suggests that the company is planning to launch four Galaxy S10 phones after all.
Those three variants of the Galaxy S10 that are expected to arrive in February are allegedly codenamed Beyond 0, Beyond 1, and Beyond two. Now, if rumors are to be believed, the “budget” Galaxy S10 model will sport a 5.8-inch flat display, and it will also ship with 4GB of RAM, while the other Galaxy S10 units which are expected to arrive in February are said to sport 6GB of RAM. The Exynos 9820 is expected to fuel all the Galaxy S10 units, rumors say, while the same can be said for the upcoming Snapdragon 8150, or whatever Qualcomm opts to call it, as Samsung is expected to introduce two SoC variants of its flagship smartphones once again. The Snapdragon 8150 will fuel the Galaxy S10 units in the US and China, while the Exynos 9820 will do the same in Europe.
The other two Galaxy S10 models are said to ship with curved displays, and at least one of them is expected to sport a 6.4-inch display, quite probably a QHD+ Super AMOLED panel. Those two phones are expected to include 6GB and 8GB of RAM, though if the fourth model will arrive later on with four rear-facing cameras, Samsung may include 8GB of RAM in that variant, and keep the others at 6GB of RAM. The premium Galaxy S10 variant with four cameras on the back is rumored to cost $1,770, which is an extremely high price point, and quite frankly a bit hard to believe, so it will be interesting to see how accurate are these rumors.
Impact: Samsung’s Galaxy S10 series is expected to sport a different design compared to the Galaxy S8 and S9 series, as Samsung tends to spice things up when it comes to design every two years. In addition to that, the Galaxy S10 series basically represents the 10th anniversary of Samsung’s flagship Android smartphones, so the company will probably want to differentiate it from its previous offerings. The Galaxy S10 units will probably be made out of metal and glass, though, just like the Galaxy S8 and S9, but the bezels on the Galaxy S10 are expected to be considerably thinner. At least one Galaxy S10 model is expected to support 5G, and Samsung is expected to become one of the first smartphone manufacturers to offer a smartphone which supports 5G connectivity, even though 5G will not become available until H2 2019, and it will not become a standard anytime soon. In addition to the Galaxy S10 series smartphones, Samsung is also planning to announce its first-ever foldable smartphone in early 2019. The company still did not confirm when is the phone coming exactly, but Samsung did show off a demo unit of that smartphone during its developer’s conference, and the company’s CEO did hint a while back that the phone will arrive in early 2019. Samsung will probably host separate launches for the Galaxy S10 and its foldable smartphone, as the company doesn’t want one to steal attention from the other. The Galaxy S10 will likely arrive during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, in February, while the company’s foldable phone may actually arrive sooner than that, at least if rumors are to be believed, as LG is rumored to announce its foldable handset in January, during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
