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Trustworthy leaker says Galaxy S10 will have an exciting ‘punch hole’ screen design

Published Nov 13th, 2018 5:02PM EST

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The Galaxy S10 is several months away if recent reports are to be believed, but we already have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Samsung next February. The Galaxy S10 will come in three versions, complete with new designs and brand new features, including new tricks that aren’t available on some of the latest flagships.

A source with a great track record has also just posted details about the upcoming Galaxy S flagship, seemingly confirming what we already think we know about the Galaxy S10 models.

Well-known Samsung insider Ice Universe has been delivering details about the Galaxy S10 for a few months, but Evan Blass has joined in, sharing what he knows about the new phone as well:

In a tweet, the leaker said the Galaxy S10 would feature a “punch hole” style selfie camera cutout on the front, which sounds a lot like the Infinity-O display that Samsung introduced last week at its developer conference. What’s interesting about this design is that it would allow Samsung to “kill” the notch, and replace it with something a lot smaller. Top and bottom bezels could be reduced even further, or removed entirely.

We already saw in concept images how exciting such a design might be.

That said, the design does come with a couple of caveats. First of all, the phone won’t do Face ID-like facial recognition, which needs a sophisticated array of cameras and sensors at the top. That’s why the iPhone X phones have rather large notches. Secondly, something that Blass also observed, the hole may pose some problems when it comes to overall user experience. The notifications shade is one example where the cutout might overlap with text, but there may be other cases where Samsung will have to address potential in-app issues.

Blass also says the phone will feature an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, something we’ve heard many times in recent months. That’s the kind of in-display technology that’s not available from any of Samsung’s rivals right now, which use optical sensors inside the display.

The phone will have three rear-facing cameras, Blass added, including standard, wide-angle, and telephoto lenses. Samsung is hardly going to be the first company to make triple-camera phones, but this will be the first time a Galaxy S handset gets one.

Finally, Blass said the Galaxy S10 would run Android Pie out of the box with One UI on top. That’s the kind of detail we don’t need leakers for. Samsung’s next flagship will surely run Google’s latest operating system, and the UI that Samsung just unveiled at SDC18 is a natural fit for the company’s next phone.

As for that other leaker who keeps spoiling Samsung secrets, he seems to very much agree with Blass.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.