Highlights:
Samsung already launched its Galaxy S10 series of smartphones at the Galaxy Unpacked event last month. However, the formal India launch of the Galaxy S10e, S10 and the S10+ took place today at an event, which was hosted by the company’s President and CEO, DJ Koh. The company reiterated the features and hardware capabilities of the phones, along with their India pricing. The launch offers on the handsets have also been detailed and Samsung announced the truly wireless Galaxy Buds earphone, and its price has been lowered as a launch offer.
The three phones come equipped with an Infinity-O Dynamic AMOLED display with HDR10+ support. The Galaxy S10+ sports a 6.4-inch display, while the Samsung Galaxy S10 has a smaller 6.1-inch screen. The Galaxy S10e features a 5.8-inch 19:9 Full HD+ Flat Dynamic AMOLED. The Galaxy S10 and the S10+ also feature an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the display.
In the camera department, both the Samsung Galaxy S10+ and the S10 sport triple cameras with Dual OIS support. They get 12MP telephoto + 12MP wide-angle + 16MP ultra wide-angle cameras on the back. On the front, the Galaxy S10+ has dual cameras with a 10MP sensor that supports dual pixel AF and an 8MP RGB sensor. The Galaxy S10 has an 8MP ultra-wide selfie shooter. The Samsung Galaxy S10e sports a dual 12MP + 16MP camera setup with a wide angle and ultra wide angle lens respectively. It gets a 10MP camera on the front.
The three phones are powered by the 7nm Exynos 9820 SoC. Samsung says that the new processor enables for a 29 percent jump in CPU performance and 37 percent boost in graphics processing. The Samsung Galaxy S10+ is backed by a 4100mAh battery while the Galaxy S10 has a 3400mAh battery. They both also support wireless charging and reverse wireless charging, which the company calls Wireless PowerShare. The Galaxy S10e gets a slightly smaller 3100mAh battery that can also be charged wirelessly.
Coming to the Samsung Galaxy Buds, they directly go up against the Apple AirPods and other truly wireless earbuds. The new Galaxy Buds feature a compact form factor and come with new features like wirelessly charging support. In case one is running out of power on the earphones, they can simply use Wireless Power Share on their Galaxy S10, or any other wireless charger, to top them up. As most wired headphones, the Galaxy Buds are also tuned by AKG. The earphones come with adaptive dual microphones that switch the source of audio between the outer and inner mic depending on how noisy the ambient environment is. The device is touted to be 30 percent lighter than its predecessor with an individual earbud and the charging case weighing 5.6g and 39.6g respectively. The device is claimed to stream up to 6 hours of music on a single charge and also comes with Bixby to support voice commands. The Galaxy Buds come equipped with a 5.8pi Dynamic Driver and feature a Type-C connection. It supports SBC, AAC, and the company’s proprietary Scalable audio codec.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 series of handsets will be available across select retail stores and online platforms starting March 8, 2019.
The Samsung Galaxy S10+ comes to India in 1TB, 512GB and 128GB storage variants, which are priced at Rs 1,17,900, Rs 91,900 and Rs 73,900 respectively. There are also Ceramic White and Ceramic Black colour variants of the 1TB and 512GB storage model respectively, while the 128GB variant will come in Prism Black, Prism White and Prism Blue colours.
Coming to the Samsung Galaxy S10, it will be available in Prism White colour model and in 512GB storage version for Rs 84,900. It’s 128GB version comes in Prism Black, Prism White and Prism Blue colours with a price tag of Rs 66,900. Additionally, the Galaxy S10e will be available in only a single variant of 128GB storage and in Prism Black and Prism White colours. It is priced at Rs 55,900. Do note that the Galaxy S10e also comes in other colours but it seems like the company is not introducing them in the market, at least for now.
As a launch offer, the Galaxy Buds are being priced at Rs 4,999, along with HDFC cashback offer of up to Rs 6,000 or upgrade offer of up to Rs 15,000 on the Galaxy S10.
Samsung has partnered with Jio, Airtel and Vodafone to provide offers for its customers. Jio users who buy the Samsung Galaxy S10 will get to avail an additional one-year of unlimited services for free, along with double data benefits when recharging with the Rs 4,999 annual plan. Airtel users on the Galaxy S10 series of device will get to avail cashbacks of up to Rs 3,600 on 24 recharges when topping up with Rs 349 using the My Airtel App. Additionally, the phones will also be available for purchase via the Airtel online store with a down payment starting at Rs 7,499 and EMI of Rs 2,599, which feature an integrated postpaid plan.
Vodafone users that have subscribed to the Red Postpaid plans starting at Rs 499 and above will get to avail one year of free Netflix subscription with the phones.
Related Reads:
Samsung Galaxy S10e First Impressions: Compact and uncompromising
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus teardown reveals estimated cost of $420