Samsung did things a little differently when it comes to its annual Galaxy S launch event, skipping the Mobile World Congress in favor of a private event so that the company could get a few extra days of exclusive coverage. Since then, we told you everything you need to know about the various versions of the handset, except for the 5G model, which Samsung didn’t let anyone touch during our meeting ahead of last week’s Unpacked event. Things have changed since then, and the Galaxy S10 5G is on display at MWC, complete with 5G coverage.
As a reminder, the Galaxy S10 5G might not have any “+” signs in its official name, but the device is the biggest model in Samsung’s Galaxy S10 lineup, topping the Galaxy S10+ by a few inches. We’re looking at a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED Display with 3040 x 1440 resolution. Even though it’s huge, the phone still feels a lot more compact than you’d expect. That’s because the handset is very thin and comfortable to use, and more importantly, it features the same punch-hole camera design as its siblings.
However, The Galaxy S10 5G’s Infinity-O screen has a bigger pill-shaped cutout than the Galaxy S10+. The latter has two front cameras, which look like this:
The selfie cam arrangement of the Galaxy S10 5G is slightly different because there’s a sensor in between the two camera lenses:
Similarly, the rear camera setup is slightly more sophisticated than the one found on the Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy S10. That’s because both the front and back cameras come with 3D depth sensors on the Galaxy S10 5G.
The 5G version will share several other features with other premium Galaxy S10 phones, including an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, 8GB of RAM, and reverse wireless charging (Wireless PowerShare).
Because the Galaxy S10 5G is so big, it’s got the largest battery of the series at 4,100 mAh. It’s also the only phone of the four to support 25W Super Fast Charging. Fast wireless charging is also in the cards for the phone.
I was able to test the Galaxy S10 5G phone over at Qualcomm’s booth, which is where Ericsson tech provided the 5G coverage. The Galaxy S10 phone was part of a 5G demo that Qualcomm has set up for visitors. The whole thing plays from the cloud over to the phone, and then the video is beamed on the walls of a dark room that’s isolated from the other sections of Qualcomm’s booth.
The demo includes a brief 5G walkthrough where Qualcomm uses neat graphics to briefly explain the various advantages of 5G, followed by a short promotional video from Samsung. Outside of the demo area, the 5G phone streams the same content over and over.
That said, Samsung is yet to announce availability dates and prices for the Galaxy S10 5G. Not to mention the fact that you’ll need decent 5G coverage to take advantage of it. Xiaomi sure made things a lot more difficult for anyone about to launch a 5G phone by setting an incredibly low entry price for its first 5G flagship. But when it does launch, the Galaxy S10 will be available the phone three color options, including silver, titan, and gold.
