Samsung early next year will launch five flagships, including four distinct Galaxy S10 flavors and the first-ever foldable phone. These devices are already expected to deliver several innovations compared to previous high-end Samsung phones, as the Korean Android device vendor is looking to make up for its unimpressive 2018 performance. While there are plenty of reasons to get excited about Samsung’s flexible phone, it’s the Galaxy S10 that should impress you the most. A few new leaks seem to suggest that Samsung is indeed getting closer to making the smartphone we’ve always wanted.
The Galaxy S10’s Infinity screen will occupy almost the entire available real estate on the front of the smartphone. That’s something several other rumors claimed in the past, but a fresh batch of leaks show us what that screen may look like. Posted on Weibo and picked up by well-known Samsung insider Ice Universe, the alleged Galaxy S10 screen protectors in the following images indicate the Galaxy S10 will have tiny bezels at the top and bottom.
Galaxy S10/S10+ 3D Glass
Source：Weibo pic.twitter.com/AsO4fpvSS1— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) November 21, 2018
These bezels, however, won’t be symmetrical, with the chin at the bottom supposed to be slightly wider. What’s also interesting is that some screen protectors show a cutout near the top which could accommodate the front speaker. Other protectors have a different design:
More Galaxy S10 protective film leaks pic.twitter.com/KDIW7rk6hu
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) November 21, 2018
These screen protectors also feature a bigger bottom bezel, as well as curved edges.
Considering that Samsung will sell four Galaxy S10 versions next year, including a cheap model with a flat screen and an expensive 5G version, we may see some design variations between them.
In addition to tweeting these renders, the leaker also mentioned a detail about the Galaxy S10’s screen that we heard of a few days ago:
The Galaxy S10's Infinity-O screen laser hole punching technology is called "HIAA" (Hall In Active Area) by Samsung. This is Samsung's exclusive OLED screen technology. Samsung has exclusive technology for a certain period of time. pic.twitter.com/jWPXUgoAMl
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) November 21, 2018
The Galaxy S10 should feature an Infinity-O screen. That’s a display with a camera cutout somewhere at the top, where the selfie cam would be placed. Ice says that Samsung will use an HIAA (Hole In Active Area) technology to punch through the screen with the help of lasers. Apparently, that’s going to be an exclusive Samsung tech for a period of time. A few days ago, a report from Korea did mention HIAA screens, saying that Samsung will drill holes in the screen with a diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) lasers.
The exclusivity detail may be important given that Apple also has patents exploring technology for drilling holes into screens, and that Samsung Display happens to be the provider of OLED screens that go inside iPhone X and iPhone XS phones.
Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S10 series in February and launch the phones in several markets by March.
