2018 saw Samsung release three of most boring flagship smartphones we’ve seen in years, and 2019 was supposed to be a complete reversal for the world’s top smartphone vendor. So far, however, things have been mixed. Samsung started out very strong in 2019, releasing three remarkable new smartphones that make up the Galaxy S10 series. The Galaxy S9 series phones had the same design as their predecessors and no compelling new features at all, but the Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10, and Galaxy S10+ were fresh and new, inside and out. Android fans loved Samsung’s new all-screen design and the big camera upgrade, and sales have reportedly been quite strong so far.
After knocking it out of the park with the Galaxy S10 series, Samsung completely whiffed with its new Galaxy Fold smartphone. Even if we completely disregard the fact that it was a piece of junk and the release had to be delayed while Samsung figures out how to make it less of a piece of junk, the design of Samsung’s first foldable smartphone is horrible. Both screens are surrounded by massive bezels, there’s a huge notch bitten out of the top-right corner of the main display, and you can see a big crease down the middle of the screen while you use the phone. It’s a $2,000 embarrassment.
So far in 2019, Samsung has racked up one big win and one big loss. Thankfully, it looks like the company’s third new flagship phone of the year will be another check in the win column.
The Galaxy Fold is a design travesty compared to other foldable smartphones like the Huawei Mate X and the folding phone Xiaomi is working on. But the Galaxy S10 series proves that Samsung hasn’t completely lost its mojo. The all-screen design with hole-punch cameras is a fantastic update that still keeps all of the key elements that makes the company’s Infinity Display design great. According to the leaks and rumors we’ve seen so far, Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 10 will feature a very similar design.
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but it’s still fantastic news considering how sleek Samsung’s Galaxy S10 phones are. Each year, Samsung releases a new Galaxy Note series phone with a design that is basically a bigger version of the Galaxy S phones that preceded it, but with sharper corners and an S Pen stylus. All of the phone’s key specs such as processors and cameras have been the same, but that might change in 2019… big time.
Samsung on Thursday unveiled two new mobile imaging sensors, the 64-megapixel ISOCELL Bright GW1 and the 48-megapixel ISOCELL Bright GM2. These two new 0.8-micrometer sensors are the smallest currently on the market, and also the highest-resolution. Prior to the ISOCELL Bright GW1 and ISOCELL Bright GW2, the highest-resolution 0.8μm image sensors were 20 megapixels.
“Over the past few years, mobile phone cameras have become the main instrument for recording and sharing our everyday moments,” said Samsung’s mobile imagine boss Yongin Park. “With more pixels and advanced pixel technologies, Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 and GM2 will bring a new level of photography to today’s sleekest mobile devices that will enhance and help change the way we record our daily lives.”
These new sensors offer a few big benefits over previous-generation sensors, and one of the biggest benefits is improved low-light photography. The sensors might also enable enhanced zoom features, and the Bright GW1 supports HDR of up to 100 decibels. With mass production set to begin in the second half of the year, there’s definitely a chance that this new sensor could debut in the upcoming Galaxy Note 10.
Each new leak in recent weeks has brought more good news about the upcoming Galaxy Note 10, and a next-generation 64-megapixel main camera with dramatically improved low-light performance could definitely be the icing on the cake. Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy Note 10 in early August, so we don’t have much more time to wait before the phone is official.
