With the introduction of the lower-end Galaxy S10e, Samsung has consolidated the Galaxy S10 and S10+ to be extremely similar phones with few differences between them but price and size. Here’s what you need to know to choose the right one for you.
Before you read this, read about the Galaxy S20
This article was originally published in 2019. Since then, the Galaxy S10 has been succeeded by the Galaxy S20 series, which brings a whole bunch of improvements, especially to performance, battery life, and camera.
If you don’t need the latest and greatest specs, the Galaxy S10 and S10+ are still fantastic options you should consider, but if you don’t mind spending more, you may want to pick up the Galaxy S20 or S20+.
What are the differences between the Galaxy S10 and S10+?
Source: Android Central
A vast majority of the daily experience of using your smartphone will be identical on the Galaxy S10 and S10+. So we’re going to focus on the handful of things that differentiate the two.
The Galaxy S10+ offers a little bit more screen and a considerable amount more battery.
The biggest driver of your decision to pick one over the other is the size, and what that extra size means for the usable screen and battery life. The Galaxy S10 has a 6.1-inch display, while the S10+ bumps up to a 6.4-inch display — they’re the same quality and resolution, but having more of the same thing is generally positive for most people. More screen means less scrolling and content that’s a bit easier to see. For people with vision issues, the larger screen also offers an even better opportunity to use a screen zoom without losing quite as much content.
But a larger screen means a larger overall phone. Because the phones use a very tall 19:9 aspect ratio, most of that extra size comes in height. The Galaxy S10+ is about 8mm taller and 3.5mm wider than the S10 — that’s about 5% larger in each direction. It may not seem like much, but the Galaxy S10+ is pretty large, and if you have trouble handling larger phones, you may be better off with the smaller phone.
The extra space lets Samsung get the additional battery in the Galaxy S10+, up to 4100mAh compared to the S10’s 3400mAh. A 20% bump in battery capacity, with the same basic capabilities and specs inside, can directly translate to about a 20% increase in battery longevity. This is likely the biggest deciding factor for most people, especially if they tend to be hard on phone batteries. Dealing with a larger phone may be worth it if it means you don’t have to worry about charging as often.
| Galaxy S10 | Galaxy S10+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Android 10 One UI 2 |
Android 10 One UI 2 |
| Display | 6.1-inch AMOLED, 3040×1440 (19:9) | 6.4-inch AMOLED, 3040×1440 (19:9) |
| Processor | Snapdragon 855 or Samsung Exynos 9820 |
Snapdragon 855 or Samsung Exynos 9820 |
| Storage | 128/512GB | 128GB/512GB/1TB |
| Expandable | microSD | microSD |
| RAM | 8GB | 8/12GB |
| Primary rear camera | 12MP Super Speed Dual Pixel, OIS, f/1.5 or f/2.4 | 12MP Super Speed Dual Pixel, OIS, f/1.5 or f/2.4 |
| Telephoto rear camera | 12MP, OIS, f/2.4 | 12MP, OIS, f/2.4 |
| Ultrawide rear camera | 16MP, f/2.2 | 16MP, f/2.2 |
| ToF rear camera | No | No |
| Front camera | 10MP, f/1.9, Dual Pixel AF | 10MP, f/1.9, Dual Pixel AF |
| Secondary front camera | n/a | 8MP, f/2.2, AF |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6, 2Gbps (Cat20) LTE, Bluetooth 5.0 LE | Wi-Fi 6, 2Gbps (Cat20) LTE, Bluetooth 5.0 LE |
| Audio | Stereo speakers Dolby Atmos 3.5mm headphone |
Stereo speakers Dolby Atmos 3.5mm headphone |
| Battery | 3400mAh | 4100mAh |
| Charging | Quick Charge 2.0 (15W) Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 (12W) |
Quick Charge 2.0 (15W) Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 (12W) |
| Water resistance | IP68 | IP68 |
| Security | Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor Face recognition |
Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor Face recognition |
| Dimensions | 149.9 x 70.4 x 7.8mm 157 g |
157.6 x 74.1 x 7.4mm 175 g (Ceramic: 198 g) |
The only other functional difference to be found with the phones is the Galaxy S10+’s secondary front-facing camera. Now this “camera” isn’t used for actual photos, but rather is a dedicated camera for capturing depth information to improve selfies and provide neat portrait mode effects. With the second camera, you can accurately determine the depth of frames and apply some (admittedly gimmicky) effects. This isn’t likely to be much of a consideration, especially when considering the main selfie camera on both phones is the same — and it’s quite good, at that.
Both phones are well equipped by default, but the Galaxy S10+ has higher max storage and RAM choices.
Both phones come standard with the same 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is a healthy amount that most people will be happy with. However, for the true power users that never want to be stuck with storage issues, the Galaxy S10+ has an exclusive option for 1TB of storage — and it happens to have 12GB of RAM as well. Those are both absurd numbers that don’t apply to most smartphone users, but if you know that you need it, the Galaxy S10+ is the only place to go for it.
On the more superficial side, the Galaxy S10+ also has two exclusive models that have a ceramic back instead of glass. The ceramic comes in black or white (different shades than the glass models) and is only available when buying one of the high storage versions. The ceramic looks neat and is undoubtedly tougher than the glass model, but it’s tough to say that it’s worth the extra money when the base models are so well equipped. Nonetheless, you can’t get the smaller Galaxy S10 and the ceramic back together.
Which should you buy?
The Galaxy S10 is the preferred choice for most people, partially because it’s $100 less. For that money, you’re getting nearly the same phone, sans a couple of fringe features and higher optional storage and RAM choices that aren’t necessary. The GS10 is also a bit more compact and still has a plenty large battery to get you through the day
The Galaxy S10+ offers just a little bit more: a bigger screen, bigger battery, and a higher storage option. If you’re a power user who needs to have it all, the Galaxy S10+ is great; just know for a fact you’ll make use of the extra capabilities before you spend the extra $100.
Source: androidcentral.com