Chinese brands such as Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and OnePlus have been giving Samsung a run for its money, especially in the premium segment. They offer premium specs at mid-range prices and have built a huge fan following in recent years. It’s no secret that Samsung is going to launch three variants of its Galaxy S10 flagship next month. Two of them will be direct successors to last year’s Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. The third model will have watered-down specs and a relatively lower price tag to compete with the Chinese rivals. So far, the rumor mill has been referring to this device as ‘Galaxy S10 Lite.’ But a new report from the UK-based online retailer Mobile Fun suggests that the cheaper version is going to be called Galaxy S10 E.
Galaxy S10 E to have a 5.8-inch display
It’s unclear what ‘E’ in the Galaxy S10 E denotes. Maybe economical, maybe entry-level, or maybe something else. If MobileFun is to be believed, Samsung is going to retire the ‘Lite’ designation this year. The online retailer said in a media release sent to ValueWalk that the other two models would be called Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+. The Plus variant would sport a 6.4-inch display, the standard model would get a 6.1-inch screen, while the Galaxy S10 E would feature a 5.8-inch display.
Mobile Fun obtained the information from one of its “long standing suppliers in China.” The supplier has been testing screen protectors for the upcoming flagship. The retailer also revealed that the S10 E would lack the in-display fingerprint sensor to keep its price within the target budget bracket. It’s unclear whether the fingerprint sensor will be on the back panel or somewhere else. Previous reports have indicated that the budget model would have a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.
The S10 and S10+ would have an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor placed under the display to let users unlock the device by putting your finger on the screen. The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is faster, more accurate, and more secure than the optical fingerprint sensors used in devices like OnePlus 6T. Of course, the S10 and S10+ will be much more expensive than the Galaxy S10 E. The budget model is likely to be priced in the same range as Apple’s ‘cheap’ iPhone XR.
What else we know about the upcoming flagship?
The image shared by Mobile Fun suggests that all three models would have a punch-hole Infinity-O display, which has a hole in the glass to accommodate the front camera. The S10 E and the regular S10 appear to have a single selfie camera while the S10+ has dual cameras on the front. All of them appear to have a nearly bezel-less design.
This is the Galaxy S10+ screen cover, its data is accurate, if you like to draw a rendering, you can make it according to it. pic.twitter.com/IwysyZIxh4
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) December 25, 2018
A few days ago, the Galaxy S10 E with 6GB RAM and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 processor at 1.78GHz clock speed appeared on Geekbench. The Geekbench listing was first spotted by folks at SlashLeaks. According to the listing, the device had model number SM-G970U and ran the Android 9 Pie software. While the Snapdragon variant will be sold in the US, some countries will get another version of S10 E running Samsung’s in-house Exynos 9820 processor. The Exynos 9820 comes with an integrated neural processing unit (NPU) to handle AI tasks.
The S10 E with Snapdragon 855 scored 1986 points in single-core and 6266 points in multi-core tests. That’s a disappointing score, to be honest. Last year’s Galaxy S9 with an older Snapdragon 845 SoC had scored 2273 and 8193 points in single-core and multi-core tests, respectively.
According to the rumor mill, all three variants will have a dual-camera setup on the back, though some reports claim the S10+ could get three rear cameras. Sources familiar with the matter told GalaxyClub recently that the upcoming flagship would come with exciting camera features such as ‘Artistic Live Focus’ and ‘Bright Night’ mode. The Artistic Live Focus will reportedly allow you to create digital animations. Bright Night would be similar to the Night Sight mode in Google’s Pixel 3, which dramatically enhances low-light photography.
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) January 4, 2019
According to reliable tipster Ice Universe, all three Galaxy S10 models will offer at least 20W fast charging, meaning the older 15W charging will become history. The S10 E would pack a decent 3100mAh battery while the S10 and S10 Plus would feature a 3500mAh and 4000mAh battery, respectively. If it turns out to be true, the S10+ will have the same battery size as last year’s Galaxy Note 9.
Galaxy S10 series charging power is not less than 20W.
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) January 5, 2019
Galaxy S10 price and release date
A verified source told Gizmodo UK that Samsung would hold a Galaxy Unpacked event on February 20, a few days before the MWC event, to unveil its newest flagship. Pre-orders will go live soon after the unveiling event. The devices would hit the store shelves in the first half of March.
The publication added that the S10 E is going to cost £699 in the UK for the 128GB version. The regular Galaxy S10 will set you back by £799 for the 128GB model and £999 for the 512GB variant. The larger Galaxy S10+ would cost £899 for the 128GB version, £1,099 for the 512GB model, and £1,399 for the 1TB variant.
