Samsung’s Galaxy S10+ leaked in the most high-resolution set of renders yet, with the new depictions of the device coming from established industry insider Steve Hemmerstoffer, better known by their social media handle @OnLeaks. The images that can be seen in the gallery below are said to be based on product information provided by reliable sources familiar with the final design of Samsung’s next Android flagship.
Unlike some previous reports about the Galaxy S10 lineup, the new set of renders suggest Samsung won’t be positioning the front-facing camera setup of the upcoming handsets centrally. Instead, the leaks show a two-sensor system sitting in the top-right corner of yet another Infinity Display panel, a Super AMOLED module expected to have a QHD+ resolution and a tall aspect ratio of at least 18.5:9. What’s unchanged compared to older rumors is the suggestion that Samsung is doing away with a traditional top bezel design and will instead be situating its next front-facing camera inside of a cutout that’s not a traditional notch but is literally surrounded by the phone’s display from all sides. How well that design will work in practice remains to be seen, though it’s bound to be even less intrusive on the regular Galaxy S10 that’s expected to only feature a single front camera and should hence have an even larger screen-to-body ratio.
A small chin will still be present on the Galaxy S10+ which will stick with Samsung’s Edge Display and deliver yet another display panel that curves alongside its long edges, as per the same source and previous claims from other industry insiders. Other aspects of the Android flagship are largely identical to this year’s Galaxy S9+, including the top position of the ejectable SIM/microSD card tray (though the slot is now leaning to the left instead of right), a USB Type-C connector, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, with the latter two ports sitting on the bottom, right next to a single speaker. Much like the Galaxy S9 series, the Galaxy S10 family is expected to utilize the earpiece as another speaker when necessary and hence deliver a stereo audio experience which should once again be optimized by AKG, the Austrian subsidiary of Samsung-owned technology giant Harman. The earpiece itself sits in a separate cutout at the very top of the device, the newly emerged images reveal.
The new leak also shows a dedicated Bixby button sitting on the left edge of the device, immediately below a volume rocker. The key in question may be textured so as to differentiate from the volume-down button and minimize the chances of users accidentally pressing one instead of the other, which was a common complaint aimed against all of Samsung’s devices since the Galaxy S8 line which debuted the Bixby key. The rear panel of the device is shown as featuring a triple-camera setup with horizontally arranged lenses and a dual-LED (dual-tone) flash unit, as well as a heart rate monitor. What’s missing from the back is a conventional fingerprint reader which Samsung is now said to have moved beneath the display of its next Android flagship.
Background: While some of the images from the newly leaked batch show the Galaxy S10+ with a gradient finish, the color in question is in no way confirmed to be part of the upcoming smartphone lineup. Instead, the author of the unofficial renders is understood to have been inspired by the Ice Blue variants of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ which Samsung brought to China less than a month ago. There’s still no indication that the colors in question will be launching in other markets but after Huawei, LG, and several other smartphone makers saw success with gradient smartphone finishes, Samsung may be willing to start experimenting with the thereof on a global scale as well.
The Galaxy S10 line is expected to do away with the front-facing iris scanner of Samsung’s recent flagships as several sources already claimed it will instead be positioning an ultrasonic fingerprint reader as its primary screen-unlock method, though it’s still likely to feature some form of facial recognition support. Other novelties include One UI, a brand-new Android implementation from Samsung that’s meant to replace Samsung Experience 9.5 (which itself succeeded TouchWiz several years back). One UI is based on Android 9 Pie and is already being beta-tested on Samsung‘s 2018 flagships, with the Galaxy S10 series being expected to mark its commercial debut.
Samsung itself admitted the Galaxy S9 line didn’t sell as well as the last few generations of its high-end smartphones and is now understood to be going all out with the Galaxy S10 and will be catering to its largest mobile demographic yet; according to a number of credible reports, the product family will include three models – direct successors to the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, as well as a base variant that will be similar in size to the smaller unit but feature a flat screen, a first for a Samsung-made flagship since early 2016. A fourth model with 5G capabilities is also rumored to be in the works but may not be released outside of the company’s home country of South Korea.
Impact: Following a largely underwhelming year in terms of annual upgrades to its mobile portfolio, Samsung appears to be positioning the Galaxy S10 line as a major step forward and one that will attempt to cater to everyone in the hopes of strengthening the company’s leading position in the smartphone market. A move to triple rear cameras, in-display fingerprint readers, and an innovative alternative to display notches will most likely allow the upcoming series to stand out from the competition, though it remains to be seen how well it actually ends up performing. The Galaxy S10 family is expected to be unveiled at the next iteration of Mobile World Congress which is kicking off in Barcelona, Spain, in late February. Following that debut, the new Android flagships should hit the market by late March after a brief pre-order period which will likely see more incentives than what Samsung has been offering last year seeing how the Galaxy S9 line ended up having relatively underwhelming sales.