Introduction

Ease of Use

Front of the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus

At one point in time, it’s likely that the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus would have been considered a very large phone, with it’s 6.4-inch screen, but by modern standards it’s probably about average. It certainly compares quite closely with the likes of the Huawei P30 Pro and the iPhone XS. If you prefer smaller phones, you might want to consider the standard S10, especially as it uses the same (rear) camera set up.

The design of the S10 Plus is very sleek, with very limited bezels and edge-to-edge display. Samsung’s solution to the “notch” for this phone is similar to what we’ve seen before with the Honor View 20, in that it uses a sort of “hole punch” design, which incorporates the front-facing cameras, leaving the vast majority of the device space to be taken up by the screen.

With the phone in a locked state, you can access the camera by swiping up from the bottom right hand corner of the screen. As we’ve seen with previous Samsung models, the S10 Plus has a very well-featured native camera app that appeals to those who like to go a bit deeper with their smartphone photography.

Rear of the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus

As standard, the native app opens in “Photo” mode. This is a simple mode that enables point and shoot photography. It has a Scene Optimiser that automatically recognises the subject and applies settings appropriately - but you can switch this off with a simple tap of an icon on the screen.

Along the bottom of the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus's screen - or to the right if holding the phone in landscape orientation - you’ll see three tree icons, which you can tap to move between the three different camera lenses. There’s three trees for the super wide angle lens, two trees for the standard lens, and a single tree for the telephoto lens. Alternatively, you can pinch inwards or outwards on the main part of the screen to zoom in and out - if you want to extend further than 2x and engage the digital zoom, this is also how you access that.

At the top of the screen, you’ll see a cog for accessing some further settings, a flash icon for switching between flash on, flash off, or automatic flash, a timer icon (choose between 2, 5 and 10 seconds), an icon for choosing an aspect ratio (the choice is between 3:4, 9:16, 1:1 and “Full” - the latter of which means you can use the whole phone’s screen for your shot. Finally there’s an option for choosing between a variety of digital filters - here’s where you’ll find monochrome mode. You can also switch on a Beauty mode from this icon, too.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus 's Camera Mode

In the further settings menu, there’s a range of different options. One of the most interesting is the “flaw detection” which will display alerts if the camera detects that somebody in the shot has blinked, or if it detects blur.  You can also switch on “Shot suggestions” which will display guidelines to help you get a good shot in the first place.

In order to choose a specific autofocus point, you can tap around the screen to select the point you want. If you hold down on the screen, you’ll activate AF/AE lock, and you’ll also be able to adjust brightness by using a slider which appears when you select an AF point. Once you’re ready to take a picture, you can either tap the virtual button on the screen, or you can use the physical volume up or down key on the side of the phone.

Where you see “Photo” at the bottom of the screen, you can move left and right to choose different shooting modes.  To the left are all the “stills” modes, while to the right are all the “video” modes. The photo modes include Live Focus, Pro, Panorama, Night and Food mode. Live Focus allows you to create shallow depth of field effects - with it you can control the amount of blur, and even the type of blur with “spin”, “zoom” and “colour point” available as well as a more standard blur.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus In-hand

Pro mode is useful for many reasons. By selecting this, you’ll be able to control a number of different parameters, including white balance, ISO, focusing type, shutter speed, exposure compensation and unusually for a smartphone - aperture, when using the “standard” lens. You can choose between f/1.5 for darker conditions, or f/2.4 when more light is available. You’ll also be able to shoot in raw format - something which you can select from the main menu (under Save Options). Panorama does what it says on the tin, while Food mode creates shallow depth of field effects using Radial Blur.

Night mode is a new addition which came via a software update for the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus. It works in a similar way to other night modes on the market, whereby it’s taking several images and merging them together. The latest version we were able to install on our device is 9.0.04.3, with further updates expected in the future - which may improve the night performance.

For video, you’ve got the standard Video mode - up to 4K is available, as well as Super Slow-Mo, Slow motion and Hyperlapse. Switching to the selfie camera, if you’re using the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus, you’ll have the option to choose between the standard lens and a wider lens - which is great for getting more than one person in the shot. You also have a range of options here including choosing between different aspect ratios and switching a timer on.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 16 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 4Mb.

Images directly from the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus are very impressive, particularly if you’re shooting mainly for social media. Colours are nicely saturated, without going overboard in the majority of situations. Occasionally the Scene Optimiser seems to throw up some strong HDR effects that don’t look overly realistic - it’s worth keeping an eye on this and switching off the Optimiser if it’s problematic (some will of course like the look).

As we’d expect, the “main” camera puts in the best performance, producing the sharpest and most detailed shots. The super wide-angle lens is great for landscape and architecture shots, but if you examine closely you can see some loss of detail - particularly if light is limited. The telephoto lens is also very useful, but again produces its best results when the light quality is good.

In low light, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus puts in a good performance. In very low light, the new Night mode can be used. It’s helpful to have, but it doesn’t produce results quite as good as the Google Pixel 3 or the Huawei P30 Pro. In standard shooting mode, there is some loss of detail to be seen at higher ISOs - which again is to be expected - but for sharing online and the like, it’s more than adequate.

In most situations, you probably won’t find that you need to do much to get well-balanced exposures. If shooting in very high-contrast scenarios, tapping around the screen will help you to find the best balance. Automatic white balance also puts in solid performance in a variety of different lighting conditions.

Noise

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus has 5 manually-selectable ISO sensitivity settings available at full resolution, ranging between ISO 50 and ISO 800.

JPEG	Raw
ISO 50 (100% Crop)	ISO 50 (100% Crop)
ISO 100 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 200 (100% Crop)
ISO 400 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 800 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus 's fixed focal length lens is equivalent to 28mm in 35mm camera terms. It also offers an ultra-wide-angle lens and a 2x and 6x digital zoom.

12mm Wide-angle Lens

26mm Standard Lens

52mm Telephoto Lens

Macro

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is able to focus as close as 5cm from a subject.

Macro

Flash

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus uses a single LED flash, and as usual for this technology, it gives a weaker flash burst than a standard xenon camera flash.

Wide-angle Lens - Flash Off

Wide-angle Lens - Flash On

Selfie - Flash Off

Selfie - Flash On

Long Exposures

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus performs pretty well at night. This image was taken at the camera's ISO 800 sensitivity using a shutter speed of 10 seconds.

Long Exposure

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus camera, which were all taken using the 12 and 16 megapixel JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Samsung RAW (DNG) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

Product Images

Conclusion

There’s a huge amount of competition in the smartphone market right now, but the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is one of the best options currently available for those who are primarily interested in the quality of the on-board camera.

The native app has a lot to like about it, including a fully functioning Pro mode and a range of video options. Being able to shoot in raw format and take manual control is appealing to those who like to tweak their shots to get the best from the phone.

For those who don’t need all those extras, the standard Photo mode performs well too. You might want to keep an eye on the Scene Optimiser to avoid overly HDR’d images, but other than that it produces high-quality images that look great on the S10 Plus' excellent screen and are perfect for social sharing.

At the time of writing, there aren’t too many big-name phones on the market which offer such flexibility with the number of lenses as the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus. While many phones have double lenses, having a third, super wide angle lens has generally been the preserve of Huawei and Honor phones - with Huawei currently under a bit of a cloud thanks to strict US sanctions, choosing Samsung could be the “safer” option. The Sony Xperia 1 also has a triple-lens setup.

When it comes to price, the Galaxy S10 Plus isn’t too ridiculous. At £899 for the lowest storage option (128GB), it’s a full £100 cheaper than the cheapest iPhone XS (which only offers half the storage), and it also compares well with the likes of the Huawei P30 Pro and the Sony Xperia 1. This is by no means a “cheap” phone, but it is at least priced competitively. The fact that you can increase storage by inserting a microSD card also adds to to feel of value for money, since you can expand the storage at a later date if you need to.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is one of the best options in the smartphone market for photographers and comes highly recommended. If you’re looking for a phone which offers multiple lenses, a practical and functional native camera app and an attractive overall design, this is one of the finest currently available - and comes without a side order of controversy.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	5
Features	4
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	4.5
Value for money	4.5

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus.

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus from around the web.

Specifications

News

Samsung have just launched 4 new Galaxy 10 smartphones - the Galaxy S10+, Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10e and Galaxy S10 5G.

Galaxy S10 is designed for those who want a premium smartphone with powerful performance and sets the stage for the next generation of mobile experiences. For consumers looking for a supercharged device, Galaxy S10+ takes every spec – from display, to camera, to performance – to the next level. Galaxy S10e is built for those who want all the premium essentials in a compact package, on a flat screen. Finally, Galaxy S10 5G is created for those who want more of everything and are ready for the fastest available speeds and the most powerful features.

The Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy S10e will be available in stores and online beginning 8th March 2019. Pricing starts at £799 for Galaxy S10, £899 for Galaxy S10+ and £669 for Galaxy S10e.

Samsung Electronics Press Release

Samsung Raises the Bar with Galaxy S10: More Screen, Cameras and Choices

New premium smartphone experiences help celebrate 10 years of Galaxy innovations

LONDON, UK – February 20, 2019 – Celebrating a decade since the launch of the first Galaxy S, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. introduces a new line of premium smartphones: Galaxy S10. With four unique devices, the Galaxy S10 line is engineered to meet the distinct needs of today’s smartphone market, so consumers can do more of what they love. Each device delivers a next-generation experience in the categories consumers care about most: ground-breaking innovations in display, camera and performance.

A testament to a decade of innovation, Galaxy S10 is designed for those who want a premium smartphone with powerful performance and sets the stage for the next generation of mobile experiences. For consumers looking for a supercharged device, Galaxy S10+ takes every spec – from display, to camera, to performance – to the next level. Galaxy S10e is built for those who want all the premium essentials in a compact package, on a flat screen. Finally, Galaxy S10 5G is created for those who want more of everything and are ready for the fastest available speeds and the most powerful features. Featuring the all-new Dynamic AMOLED display, next-generation camera, and intelligent performance, the Galaxy S10 line offers consumers more choice and sets a new standard for the smartphone.

“Since its launch ten years ago, the Galaxy S series has stood for premium innovation – offering consumers an incredible experience, and the ability to find the device that’s right for them,” said DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics. “Galaxy S10 builds on that incredible legacy, and delivers breakthrough display, camera, and performance innovations. With four premium devices, each built for a unique consumer in mind, Samsung is leveraging a decade of industry leadership to usher in a new era of smartphone technology.”

Introducing the Dynamic AMOLED Display: Full Screen Experience with Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanner

Galaxy S10 is made with Samsung’s best screen yet, the world’s first Dynamic AMOLED display. As the first HDR10+-certified smartphone, the display delivers vivid digital content, and with dynamic tone mapping, you’ll see a wider range of colour for a brilliant, realistic picture. Galaxy S10’s Dynamic AMOLED display is also VDE-certified for vibrant bright colours[1] and extraordinary contrast ratio for even deeper blacks and brighter whites.[2]

Verified by DisplayMate, you’ll also enjoy exceptionally accurate colours on your mobile device[3]– even in harsh sunlight. What’s more, the Dynamic AMOLED display also reduces blue light through its TÜV Rheinland-certified Eye Comfort display[4] without compromising picture quality or adding a filter.

The result of a ground-breaking engineering process, Galaxy S10’s unique Infinity-O Display packs an array of sensors and camera technology into a hole-in display – so you can maximise your screen real estate without any distractions.

Galaxy S10’s Dynamic AMOLED display also includes the first-ever in-display Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanner[5] that reads the 3D contours of your physical thumbprint – not a 2D image of it – for improved anti-spoofing. With the world’s first FIDO Alliance Biometric Component certification, this next generation biometrics authentication offers vault-like security to keep your device safe.

Professional Camera

Building on Samsung’s camera leadership of Dual Pixel and Dual Aperture firsts, Galaxy S10 introduces new camera technology and advanced intelligence that makes it easy to take epic shots and videos:

Ultra-Wide Lens: A first for the S Series, Galaxy S10 offers an Ultra-Wide Lens with a 123-degree field of view, like the human eye, so what you see is what’s in frame. Perfect for impressive landscape shots, big panoramas and even fitting the entire extended family into the photo, the Ultra-Wide Lens ensures that you’ll always be able to capture the full scene.

Super Steady & High-Quality Video Recording: Galaxy S10 offers Super Steady recording with digital stabilisation technology. Whether you’re dancing in the middle of an amazing concert or trying to record every detail of a bumpy bike ride, Super Steady allows you to capture the moment. Both front and rear cameras can shoot in UHD quality, and in an industry first, the rear camera gives you the flexibility to record in HDR10+.[6]

AI Camera: Galaxy S10 makes already smart features more accurate with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) so you can get professional shots worth sharing without having to manually select any advanced camera settings. Scene Optimiser can now recognise and more accurately process additional scenes. And with Shot Suggestion, Galaxy S10 offers automatic composition recommendations so you can frame your photo better than ever.

Intelligent Performance Features

Galaxy S10 is built with premium hardware and machine-learning-based software that works hard, so you don’t have to. From new power sharing capabilities to AI-powered performance enhancement and Intelligent Wi-Fi, Galaxy S10 is Samsung’s most intelligent device yet, from the inside out.

Wireless PowerShare: Samsung introduces Wireless PowerShare on Galaxy S10, making it possible to easily charge Qi-certified smartphones and even compatible wearable devices. In addition, Galaxy S10 is capable of charging itself and a second device simultaneously via Wireless PowerShare[7], while connected to a regular charger, enabling you to leave your second charger at home while on a trip.

Intelligent Performance: The new AI software on the Galaxy S10 automatically optimises battery, CPU, RAM, and even device temperature, based on how you use your phone, and continues to learn and get better over time. Leveraging AI-capabilities, Galaxy S10 also learns how you use your device to launch frequently used apps faster.

Intelligent Wi-Fi: Galaxy S10 comes with Intelligent Wi-Fi that allows for an uninterrupted, safe connection by seamlessly switching between Wi-Fi and LTE. Galaxy S10 also supports the new Wi-Fi 6 standard, making it possible for better Wi-Fi performance when connected to a compatible router.

Bixby Routines: On Galaxy S10, Bixby learns your routine and provides personalised recommendations to make your life easier. With pre-set and personalised routines, such as Driving and Before Bed routines, , the Galaxy S10 makes things simpler, by automatically reducing device touches and cutting steps out of your day. [8]

A New Era of 5G Connectivity

Just as it did with 2G, 3G and 4G, Samsung is leading the way with 5G—working with major carriers to develop and deploy 5G networking technology. Now, Samsung is putting the power of 5G in consumers’ hands with Galaxy S10 5G, Samsung’s first flagship 5G smartphone. With Galaxy S10 5G, consumers on a 5G network can download a full season of a TV show in minutes, play graphics-rich cloud games with virtually no lag, and keep in touch with real-time 4K video calls. To take full advantage of 5G connectivity, Galaxy S10 5G features the largest-ever Galaxy S series display, the 6.7-inch Infinity-O Display; Samsung’s 3D Depth Camera for 3D-image capturing to power Video Live focus and Quick Measure; powered by 4,500mAh with Super Fast Charging at 25W.

The Best Comes Standard: Galaxy Foundation and Next Level Ecosystem

The Galaxy S10 line offers everything you have come to expect from the Galaxy S series and more—including Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, IP68 water and dust resistance[9], a next-generation processor and Samsung services like Bixby, Samsung Health, Samsung Pay and Samsung DeX. You will get the largest storage capacity available on a Galaxy device with 1TB of built-in storage[10] and the ability to add an additional 512GB microSD card for up to 1.5TB.[11]

Speed: Galaxy S10 gives you the capability to access next-generation Wi-Fi 6[12], which gives you prioritised and four times faster access[13] over other users in crowded areas, like an airport. Experience lightning fast LTE for downloading and browsing capable of up to 2.0 Gbps for the first time ever[14].

Gaming: Engineered for the best possible gaming experience, Galaxy S10 is built with AI-based on-device gaming performance optimisation software and premium hardware including Dolby Atmos for gaming mode and a vapour chamber cooling system. Galaxy S10 is also the first mobile device to be optimised for games created on the Unity platform.

Security: Galaxy S10 is built with defence-grade Samsung Knox, as well as a secure storage backed by hardware, which houses your private keys for blockchain-enabled mobile services.

Galaxy S10 Availability & Pre-Ordering

Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy S10e will be available in Prism White, Prism Black, Prism Green and Prism Blue[15]. In addition, Galaxy S10e will also be available in Canary Yellow, and Galaxy S10+ will also be available in two, all-new, premium Ceramic models: Ceramic Black and Ceramic White.[16]

The Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy S10e will be available in stores and online beginning 8th March 2019. Pricing starts at £799 for Galaxy S10, £899 for Galaxy S10+ and £669 for Galaxy S10e. Pre-orders for the Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy S10e begin 20th February 2019. For a limited time, consumers who pre-order a Galaxy S10 or Galaxy S10+ will be able to claim a pair of wireless Galaxy Buds[17] (worth £139).

For more information about Galaxy S10, visit http://www.samsungmobilepress.com, https://news.samsung.com/uk/  or https://www.samsung.com/uk/

[1] According to DisplayMate, peak luminance of up to 1200 nits.

[2] Galaxy S10e, S10, and S10+’s display has been awarded a certification for 100% Mobile Color Volume with a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1 by VDE Germany.

[3] According to DisplayMate, 0.4 JNCD colour accuracy at DCI-P3 colour gamut.

[4] TÜV Rheinland, a globally recognised certification institute, awarded Galaxy S10, S10+, and S10e’s display the Eye Comfort Certification based on its ability to drastically reduce the harmful effects of blue light. This certification can be found on www.tuv.com with the ID 1419064785.

[5] Available on Galaxy S10, S10+ and S10 5G. Galaxy S10e has a Fingerprint Scanner located on the power button.

[6] HDR10+ recording quality may vary based on sharing platform and playback environment; HDR10+ colour is only available on supported devices or platforms.

[7] Wireless charge compatible (QI standard) devices only. Battery charge above 30% required to PowerShare on the move without being plugged into mains charge.

[8] Bixby Routines Driving routine only available in cars with Bluetooth capabilities.

[9] IP68 water resistant up to 1.5 meters from up to 30 minutes. Rinse in fresh water afterwards..

[10] Up to 512GB additional storage with external microSD card for maximum 1.5TB storage capacity available only on Galaxy S10+.

[11] microSD card sold separately. Expandable memory can be used to store media (photos, videos and music files) but not applications.

[12] Faster than previous Wi-Fi protocols. WI-FI 6 support may not be available depending on the country or region you live in.

[13] Actual speed may vary depending on the carrier and user environment.

[14] May vary by carrier.

[15] Prism Blue models will only be available as an exclusive variant.

[16] Ceramic version only available on 8GB/512GB and 12GB/1TB Galaxy S10+ models.

[17] Promoter: Samsung Electronics (UK) Limited. UK, Isle of Man or Channel Islands residents (18+) only or registered companies.  Pre-order a new Samsung Galaxy S10 or S10+ from a participating retailer between 20/02/2019 – 7/03/2019 and claim a pair of Samsung Galaxy Buds in white by redemption. No cash alternative. Customers must complete the online claim form in the Benefits section of the Samsung Members app pre-installed, upload proof of purchase and provide all other required information before 8 April (Claim).  Maximum 1 claim per Promotion Product purchased and a maximum of 250 claims per Participant. See at www.samsung.com/uk/offer/galax... for full Promotion terms.

Hands On

Want to see exactly what the new Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphone looks like in the flesh?

Check out our hands-on gallery of photos of the flagship Samsung Galaxy S10+, the Galaxy S10 and the Galaxy S10e.

A gallery of hands-on photos of the new Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphone.

Image Gallery

Click on a thumbnail to see the full version.

Preview Images

Ahead of our full review, here are some sample JPEG and Raw images and videos taken with the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus​ smartphone.​ The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus​ is a brand new flagship smartphone with a 16 megapixel camera and 4K/60p video recording.

A gallery of sample images and videos taken with the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Sample Images

Sample RAW Images

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Samsung RAW (DNG) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

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