Samsung has a lot of work to do to get smartphone users excited about its flagship smartphones again, but we think the company is definitely up to the task. In fact, the turnaround might start sooner than everyone thinks. 2018 has been an uninspired year for the world’s top smartphone vendor. The company’s new Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ were met by yawns when they hit store shelves earlier this year, and they’re on track to be Samsung’s worst-selling Galaxy S phones since 2012. They’re not bad phones at all. In fact, to this day they’re still among the fastest, sleekest, and most powerful Android phones in the world. But they’re also among the most boring Android phones in the world, sporting a look that’s the same as last year’s Galaxy S8 phones and no new features that might compel people to upgrade. Then the Galaxy Note 9 followed the same model, though it added at least one new feature that people found a bit intriguing — a new S Pen with built-in Bluetooth. Of course, a neat new stylus might not be enough to get people to cough up the cash for Samsung’s most expensive flagship phone ever.
Thankfully, next year’s Samsung flagship phone lineup will be a much-needed breath of fresh air. And it all starts later this year, when Samsung plans to give the world a preview of its first smartphone to feature a foldable display. We’re as eager as anyone else to check it out, but we’re also not terribly excited about its release. Why? Because word on the street is the foldable “Galaxy F” will launch in limited supply with a price tag approaching $2,000. There’s another upcoming new Samsung smartphone we’re far more excited about, and new a new leak offers additional details about the upcoming Galaxy S10.
Samsung’s tenth-anniversary Galaxy S phone is shaping up to be the company’s most exciting flagship handset in years. In fact, it might end up being Samsung’s most exciting smartphone ever. So much has already leaked, and just about everything we’ve heard has been good news.
The Galaxy S10 will be Samsung’s first new smartphone to be powered by next-generation 7-nanometer chips. Apple’s new A12 Bionic in the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR is the first 7nm chip to reach consumers’ hands, but Qualcomm and Samsung’s 7nm offerings won’t be far behind. These new chips pack far more transistors into a much smaller space, and they’re more powerful and more efficient than anything found in phones right now. In addition to 7nm Snapdragon and Exynos SoCs, the Galaxy S10 will also feature new faster RAM and flash storage chips that offer further improvements.
A big redesign is also in the works for the Galaxy S10, and Android fans are excited. Rumor has it the phone will finally feature an “all-screen” design that puts it on par with other modern smartphones. The current-generation Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9 both still have big bezels above and below the screen.
Better Super AMOLED displays and triple-lens cameras are also in the cards for the Galaxy S10 next year. The larger Galaxy S10+ model will reportedly have a dual-lens front-facing camera as well, giving it five different camera lenses in total. Both the Galaxy S10+ and the smaller Galaxy S10 are said to feature an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor as well. This new type of sensor can be embedded behind the display, so users need only touch a finger to the screen in order to unlock a phone or authenticate a payment.
There’s indeed plenty in store for Samsung fans next year, and now we have new news to share. The latest Galaxy S10 leak comes directly from Samsung itself, and it was the xda-developers blog that caught the slip up.
The XML files seen above were found inside Samsung’s Android 9.0 Pie update file for the Galaxy S9+. For those who haven’t been following, “Beyond” is known to be Samsung’s internal codename for the upcoming new Galaxy S10. With that in mind, what you see above is indisputable evidence of four different versions of the Galaxy S10. Here’s a breakdown:
- beyond0: This is believed to be an entry-level version of the Galaxy S10 with less impressive specs and a lower price point
- beyond1: This is Samsung’s main Galaxy S10, believed to have a 5.8-inch AMOLED display
- beyond2: This is the larger Galaxy S10+ model with a 6.44-inch screen and five cameras in total
- beyond25g: This is also the Galaxy S10+, but it’ll be Samsung’s first flagship to support 5G
Samsung’s new Galaxy S10 lineup is expected to be unveiled as early as January next year at the CES 2019 trade show in Las Vegas. From the looks of it, there will be something for everyone when the phones are released later in the first quarter.
