binny0529
Active Level 7

Samsung Galaxy S10 - Real-world Testing

The very first thing I noticed about the Galaxy S10 was its stunning, curved AMOLED screen, which Samsung calls the โ€œInfinity Display.โ€ It really does make every app look richer. The device included a preinstalled screen protectorโ€”which I hated, and peeled off immediately.

weather

The device feels light at 5.53 ounces. (Thatโ€™s versus 6.24 ounces for the iPhone XS, and 5.22 ounces for the Pixel 3.) That weight is pretty surprising, given how large the S10โ€™s battery is. Relatively, itโ€™s huge, weighing in at 3,399 mAh. (In comparison, the iPhone XS is 2,658mAh and the Pixel 3 is 2915mAh.) With enough gaming, you can still reliably run down the battery, but for the most part, youโ€™re looking at a phone that will last you the entire day and then some.

With enough gaming, you can still reliably run down the battery, but for the most part, you're looking at a phone that will last you the entire day and then some.

One of the coolest new features Samsung has added to the S10 is with the flip of a toggle your phone becomes a wireless charger. Thatโ€™s right, your phone can charge other phonesโ€” even iPhonesโ€”just by putting them back to back. This drains your battery, and fast, but I couldnโ€™t help but admire the feature. Talk about a power move.

Unfortunately, the S10โ€™s other power moveโ€”a built-in-the-screen finger scanner was less impressive. In theory, the S10 offers the best of both worlds, packing a Face Unlock for your lock screen, and Pattern or thumbprint unlock for the more sensitive actions. This has been touted as A Very Big Deal by Samsung, but unfortunately, it was nowhere near reliable enough for me. If Iโ€™m being generous, Iโ€™d say it worked about sixty percent of the time. Thatโ€™s a stunningly low accuracy, that was only slightly alleviated by re-adding my thumb as multiple fingers.

The speakers are also a disappointment. At full tilt, theyโ€™re muffled and not particularly loud. In a blind audio test, five separate people preferred the iPhone XSโ€™s speakersโ€”and were divided between the S10 and the Pixel 3. However, the S10 is the only phone of the bunch with a headphone jack, at least.

Ultimately, Iโ€™m able to forgive these shortcomings due to everything the phone does right. And one of my favorite features is the camera. Or, cameras. The S10 has four (and the S10+ has a fifth, with the addition of an 8MP front-facing camera). Iโ€™m always skeptical of these multiple lenses, but the S10โ€™s are a treat. Thereโ€™s a 12MP Telephoto, a 12MP Wide-angle, and a 16MP Ultra Wideโ€”each activated with a simple toggle flip. Of the lenses, my favorite was by far the least useful: the ultra wide that made everything look like a 90s skate video. Itโ€™s that wide. Like, โ€œI can see my legs when Iโ€™m holding the phone in front of meโ€ wide.

The photos below were taken three times from the same spot, using the Telephoto, Wide, and then Ultra Wide camera.

Telephoto
Telephoto
Wide angle
Wide angle
Ultra wide!

The wide-angle camera self adapts between two apertures (f/1.5 and f/2.4). This adds a ton of utility to the cameraโ€”especially during night photography when a wider aperture is necessary. But it's a little slow-focusing for my liking, and many times I waited while my subject went in an out of focus.

The S10+ has two front-facing cameras, so you can add depth of field to your selfies, but unfortunately, on the S10 youโ€™ll have to settle for one. It focuses quickly and seems to takes capable photos.

selfie

The Selfie camera does come with some software effects to add a digital bokeh. Oh, and stay far far away from the AR Emoji.

The phone also boasts a whole slew of software features that can improve the quality of your photos and videos. The best of all is โ€œSuper Steady,โ€ which stabilizes videos. Thereโ€™s not much to say about it, except that it works phenomenally. I used the Super Steady in a video (below) while walking with an intentionally exaggerated bounce in my step, and it looked steady enough to be drone video. Once i turned it on, I couldn't think of a reason to turn it off

1 Comment
SherryJay97263
Active Level 9
there all mode are really nice at all
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