Comments Locked

229 Comments

Back to Article

  • luca.costantino - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Way too much bloatware on Samsung products for my taste. I would never consider buying a phone from them.
  • shabby - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Are you offended or something? That's the dumbest comment I ever read, I just sold an s9 and wiped it, the buyer said I thought it would have more bloatware but it doesn't.
  • liteon163 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    No need to be so harsh simply because you disagree with someone's opinion, dude. Don't be a jerk (that's not an opinion, that's a FACT proven by your initial reply).
  • close - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Samsung has their own equivalent of every single piece of software that comes with Android and you already didn't want in your phone. @shabby just wanted to tell us he knows how to follow a decrapify tutorial. The phone is still crappy software-wise but after putting in a lot of effort you can make it marginally less crappy. Yay?
  • Vermite - Sunday, May 19, 2019 - link

    You're an idiot. Yay?
  • s.yu - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    There are smarter opinions and stupider opinions.
  • goatfajitas - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Yes, it does have alot of bloat.
  • mazook - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Dude, the ROM is about 4 GIGS.
    Think there's just a BIT of bloat in there?
  • Samus - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    I figured Android users are just used to bloat at this point. I’d you want a clean optimized mobile experience you either buy a Google phone, install a 3rd party ROM, or just buy an iPhone.
  • notashill - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    The "bloatware free" Android One ROMs are like 12 gigs though they do keep 2 entire copies of the system partition for the seamless update feature. Very annoying especially considering how many Android One devices have 32GB storage.
  • philehidiot - Friday, May 10, 2019 - link

    My S8 has quite a bit of bloat. Some of it very, very useful, some just plain annoying and some that I can see has a use but not for me. It's generally fairly simple to disable any you don't want (bixby). I do wish that they'd offer us the choice of removing the unwanted crap without resorting to semi-technical geekery. At least Samsung bloat is generally fairly well made and not buggy. Just imagine if it was Microsoft bloat.... That would be a phone killer.
  • Long live Galaxy Note 9 - Tuesday, November 16, 2021 - link

    Lol that's a bummer
  • sonny73n - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    He may not be offended but I AM. Every time a customer brings a Samsung phone to my shop for repair, I get offended. Like wtf is this trash doing in my store? But I have to calm myself down and explain to the customer how sorry that pos is and patiently trying to figure out the problem. In the end I always suggest that they get rid of the phone and get another - any other brand except Apple.

    I’ve seen many broken phones but the most were Samsung’s. Can’t receive calls or text from certain phones, frozen, virus, acting strange, crapwiz... you name it.

    Btw this phone looks ugly. Is protruding camera still a design?
  • SaolDan - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Preach it!!!
  • shompa - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    please explain how you get a virus on a Linux/unix system..
  • tinted - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Linux/unix systems are not immune to viruses. They are just not that common but Android is different because of its popularity. Just search "Android virus" in google and you will get your answer. Thankfully with new google play protect in newer versions of android it is not that much of a problem.
  • close - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    @shompa - "please explain how you get a virus on a Linux/unix system.."

    You must be coming from some alternative timeline where either becoming nitpicky about the meaning or preaching decade old myths is cool.

    Android is well on it's way to becoming the biggest malware target known to man, probably surpassing Windows. There, welcome to 2019. Wonder how you managed to stumble on to this site though...
  • Notmyusualid - Sunday, April 21, 2019 - link

    +1
  • Vermite - Sunday, May 19, 2019 - link

    Wonder how someone like you is even allowed on this site.
  • Richard_cranium - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Stfu you unemployed bum. You're not fooling anyone with that "I have a job and I work on phones" bs. The only thing you have worked on is pushing buttons on your microwave to warm more hot pockets you lazy fat bloody tampon.
  • sweetca - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Lol.
  • sonny73n - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    No, I don’t have a job. I’m retired but I own a computer repair shop. However I get to repair phones sometime. Building and repairing PCs is just my hobby. It’s hardly a job.

    I was going to tell you about a few samsung junks I have in my drawer and their problems but It’s pointless trying to educate someone like you. To others, you’re just a fanboy. To me, you’re a low life who has nothing to live for but worshipping corporation and your god is samsung.
  • bigboxes - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    derp
  • chrnochime - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    I want this skill of yours that can tell some random stranger on internet is employed or not just by reading their one post.
  • Kamus - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Someone's jelly...
  • Vermite - Sunday, May 19, 2019 - link

    Who pays you to post these moronic comments?
  • Gastec - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    As a Galaxy user I'm offended by: upday, Game Optimizing Service, KLMS Agent, Knox Enrollment Service, KnoxBBCProvider, Samsung Galaxy Friends, Samsung Experience Service, Samsung Members and the rest of the shit that I don't want in my device but can't uninstall.
  • flyingpants265 - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    It's quite strange how they keep this up for years and years without realising it's a bad idea.

    It wouldn't be such an issue if the apps weren't hard-coded into the phone and absorb battery life without you knowing it, and if the rest of the Samsung ROM wasn't bloated as well.
  • s.yu - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    How on earth does it absorb battery life if you disable it? Also some of the few that can't be disabled could be put to sleep. Do you have proof that Knox etc. impact battery life in any significant way?
  • niva - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Where in his message did he say anything about disabling or putting things to sleep, or even uninstalling?

    The fact is, that none of those things should be on the phone in the first place. If Samsung, or any other company feels their software is better than what's already on the platform why not make this software freely downloadable for Samsung customers? Because it's not better.

    You shouldn't have to uninstall, disable, sleep software on the device in order for it to function somewhat normally. Do you have proof that Knox etc. doesn't impact battery life in any significant way?
  • s.yu - Friday, April 5, 2019 - link

    lol?? What you're suggesting goes against some of the fundamental consensus of human behavior.
    "If Samsung, or any other company feels their software is better than what's already on the platform why not make this software freely downloadable for Samsung customers? Because it's not better."
    No, simply wrong, it's because as long as the default is half decent, most people won't feel compelled to switch. MS even persuaded a significant percentage of people to upgrade to Win10 just by setting upgrade to default and notifying them they could opt out.
    "You shouldn't have to uninstall, disable, sleep software on the device in order for it to function somewhat normally."
    And what proof do you have that the phone doesn't function "somewhat normally" out of the box? You think Samsung would still be No.1 in the market if its flagships don't function "somewhat normally" out of the box?
  • Notmyusualid - Sunday, April 21, 2019 - link

    And then you uninstall Face Space etc, delete, then the phone updates, and all is re-enabled again.

    I almost happy to see the Chinese selling so many phone now due to this bloatware, and I've no love for China (but, er hello from Shanghai), but like MS with their butchery of Windows as we know it, Samsung doesn't care, as they've their own agenda to push.

    I'm guessing my S8+ will be my last Sammy.
  • jfrichter4 - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Can't you just force stop an application, though? That's what I do for YT and stuff that I can't be distracted by.
  • surt - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Every bit of bloatware is an increased risk of root level compromise. IMO it is pretty offensive.
  • Zanor - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Lol why are you so mad?
  • Chaser - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Gee that's insightful info for a specific model review. But I can help your cognitive dissonance: Samsung offers an unlocked version that works on all U.S. carriers. Not only does it not carry "bloatware" it also tends to be updated faster than the carrier branded versions.
  • Danky - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Actually, the unlocked version gets updated last. About a month after carrier version update starts.
  • anactoraaron - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Yep, the S8+ US unlocked is still on the December 2018 patch. This 'flagship' hasn't seen an update in FOUR months.
  • pjcamp - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Unlocked does not = unlocked bootloader, sadly. It just means you aren't bound to a specific carrier.

    There aren't a whole lot of reasons to root a phone any more, but taming the asinine behavior of Android Auto is a big one.
  • CrimsonKnight - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    What's wrong with Android Auto? I use it every day.
  • Gastec - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    I use it from time to time also, when I rent a compatible car. It's a piece of shit app, all I want is to put Maps on the car's display, all Android Auto wants is accesss to my contacts, my SMS, my everything. Fuck that shit!
  • s.yu - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    lol have to agree.
  • Ad.P - Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - link

    Well it need access to your contacts to show you who is calling. BTW it's a google app and google already have full access to your contacts....
  • Flunk - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Don't forget about breaking Android's security model entirely. That's the #1 feature of rooting an Android phone.
  • CrimsonKnight - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I agree with the bloat part, but the unlocked versions get updated LAST. I have a Note 9 Unlocked and we got Pie only after all the carrier versions were updated. I presume it's because the Unlocked version has to work on all carriers so the unlocked version can only be released once the carrier-specific versions get their QA testing and get rolled out.
  • JohnZim - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    That was a problem back in the S3/S4/S5 days, but Samsung has really cut back on bundled software.
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I find Samsung's latest software and OneUI in particular to be the best version of Android at the moment. I wish I had time to include a dedicated section, but OneUI actually is a selling point for new Samsung devices.
  • pjcamp - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    The fact that Samsung's custom UI is partly responsible for the glacial to nonexistent pace of Samsung updates is the opposite of a selling point.
  • flyingpants265 - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Android and Smartphone UI in general is atrocious. Multi-tasking hasn't existed in any meaningful way for TEN YEARS. Multi-window is a joke. So are floating popups.

    Multiple things should be happening on one screen, it's not rocket science. Especially with these new crazy 19.5:9 screens.

    The little SMS reply at the top of the screen is good. At least sms/chats, music/video and navigation should pop up over my browser, e-mail, phone app, etc. seamlessly without a little stupid dragging window.
  • s.yu - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    My phone got stuck in boot for half an hour updating the system, good thing a reset fixed it. I'd rather not update my phone unless I specifically feel something's broken. Oh yeah OneUI broke my (free) minimalist theme which I don't have a replacement for.
  • Liquidalloy - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    That's why you should buy the unlocked variant. Right now I have the Verizon version of the s10 plus and there's very little bloatware. The phone is lightning fast btw.
  • Jedi2155 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    As the bloatware typically doesn't impact my daily usage of the device nor consume a significant portion of the RAM/storage, I don't mind it. I actually find myself using much of the "extra" bloat they provide with the option to disable the ones I don't.

    When I use a stock AOSP build, I'm always searching for a feature or function that comes standard on Samsung....
  • 0ldman79 - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Go in and disable it.

    If you're really serious, root it, kill it and be done with it.

    The Galaxy line have good hardware. Software can be dealt with.

    I didn't buy my laptop for Windows 10, nor can I control what Dell puts on it, but I can certainly take it off.
  • SetiroN - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Yeah, good luck formatting and installing a stock OS from an iso like you can with your dell laptop.

    What an asinine comment.
  • Shekels - Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - link

    Dude have you ever rooted a phone? That's literally what you can do. Not an ISO but flash a Zip file and completely change your OS. The S10 is new and is pretty locked down, but some devs have already managed to root the thing and in the next couple months custom ROMs will emerge. It was like that for many Samsung phones on the past. The devs over at XDA have always manage to get root and custom ROMs on Samsung phones despite their attempts and totally locking down the phone.
    What an ignorant comment.
  • luisxfx - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    I used to think the same thing, still kinda do, but I just hide or disable their icons, doesn't really make a difference, Galaxy S9 still runs smooth and quick.
  • nathanddrews - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I upgraded from my S5 to the S10e at launch (T-Mobile, S855, 6GB/128GB). To be really honest, I was disappointed out of the box. The higher power button, locked bixby button, bloatware, default camera/video settings.

    The first real improvement I noticed was that all my apps opened instantly as opposed to waiting several seconds on my S5 (it was old and slower than when new, despite resetting the OS and trying difference ROMs).

    The second improvement was the ridiculous battery life. I'm not a "power user" when it comes to cell phones. Text/email, pictures, videos, podcasts/music, and some web browsing. But still, 60% battery life at the end of every day (15hrs without charging) amazes me.

    Now after a month of tweaking everything to my liking, I'm really happy with the phone overall. The speaker quality is really impressive - it's super loud without distorting much. The screen auto-brightness has adapted to my settings per app and depending on ambient light. The camera is only slightly disappointing. I must not hold the camera still enough, because a lot of my shots end up blurry/smeary when zooming in. I still need to work on dialing in those settings and trying some other camera mods.
  • nathanddrews - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I forgot to add that it felt a lot smaller in my hand (that's what she said) than my S5 due to the smaller overall bezel width. Now it's a lot more comfortable to use.
  • Targon - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I also made the jump from the S5 to the S10, though I went with the regular S10, not the e. Not a single issue for me in any way(Snapdragon version, AT&T version). While there is still a fair amount of pre-installed apps, it doesn't feel as bloated as the S5 did with true garbage that I would never use but could not be uninstalled.
  • liteon163 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Part of your battery life issue could be due to an old battery in the S5. But manufacturers and Google certainly seem to plan obsolescence - ever higher specs are needed to keep up with the OS and bloatware.
  • nathanddrews - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I was on my 3rd new battery, so it wasn't that.
  • id4andrei - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    I'd say Google Play services updates. To mitigate the lack of OEM Android upgrades Google made Android more modular. Google Play services are the glue that keep old phones running the latest apps. On the other side the phone is rather old and every successive service update keeps raising the hardware requirements.
  • Gastec - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Or due to Google Play Services, as with my brand new S7 right from the beginning.
  • nicolaim - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    The bixby button isn't locked:

    https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/20/18233819/samsun...
  • nathanddrews - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Not anymore. It was out of the box.
  • 0ldman79 - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    I think part of it is the scripting and stuff going on in the background, expecting faster hardware.

    Various apps, The Chive for example, uses the default browser as part of it's function (or it used to at least) so my old S4 with 4.3 (I blocked the update, broke apps I use) had issues with the app.

    Also, Facebook, Messenger, etc, are resource hogs and you can't even kill them. If they are installed then they are running 24/7. Even using a third party, even rooted app, to kill them, they keep coming back. The only way to get rid of them is to remove them from the phone. They auto-load 2 seconds after the task is killed, even when blocking auto-start of apps.

    If Facebook is built in like it was on my old LG phone you're just screwed. I couldn't even disable it on that one. Root and removed it eventually, doubled the speed of the old phone.
  • Achtung_BG - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link


    Kirin 980 scored significantly better results in Spec2006(prf/w) vs 9820, despite appearing 6 months earlier.Snapdragon 855 is the king of 2019
  • Irish910 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    But the A12 still beats them all at the Spec2006. Even the A11 is far superior to the 855
  • Cheesydieper - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    You're talking about benchmark numbers which is really nothing, Caused I've seen note 8 and 9 beating XS max in real life performance
  • dudedud - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    "real life performance"

    Let me guess, opening apps?
  • melgross - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Nope. Not even close.
  • Irish910 - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Oh right.
    You must have watched a YouTube video or two where the note loads one or two web based apps quicker. But fails to keep the same apps open in memory after the start up test.

    I’ll trust the spec benchmarks. Hell even geekbench scores and Antutu are much higher on the A12. You have no argument.
  • Tropicocity - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    All this is irrelevant when you take into account that to get the A12, you have ONE brand to go with, and an entirely different OS, with a very "You better buy EVERYTHING Apple or you're fucked" mentality. They literally lock you into their ecosystem and take away vast amounts of consumer freedom in terms of customization, and iTunes is still the worst piece of software on any phone
  • cha0z_ - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link

    I wish A12 was a SOC sold to other companies... ;(
  • Thraxen - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    LOL... it’s funny you mention dumping apps from memory when that’s what iOS is notorious for doing since all Apple devices are crippled by anemic RAM.
  • cha0z_ - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link

    You saw apple approach of fluidity and "user experience" above all. They aim towards animations, smoothness instead of choppy or no animation app loading. I suspect also that their loading is mainly after the animation finished and yes - the A12 is so fast that it can pull it off. In raw spec and speed the A12 is better in CPU/GPU vs sd855, simple as that. How it's utilised is different story. Some prefer the faster apps opening, others smooth and consistently doing so - UI. It's really nice to see how my iphone 6s is far smoother and "joyful" to use vs my exynos note 9 packed with features.
  • hansmuff - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I do like the direction Samsung is going regarding battery and camera. I'm much looking forward to the S11, the S10 isn't worth upgrading to from a S9+ IMO.
  • Thraxen - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I’d argue it rarely makes sense to upgrade between single generations for virtually any phone.
  • StevoLincolnite - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Yeah. I have always waited a couple generations before I upgraded.

    I had to regress to my old trusty Note 5 for the time being though, broketh my Note 8... And figure I will just wait it out for the Note 10 and buy it outright in a few months.

    Hate how phones are made from fragile glass and can't even survive a half foot drop. I really do.
  • catavalon21 - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link

    THAT. My son's S10, in an Otter Box case, fell and hit screen-first on something. The screen cracked. The built-in screen cover, which essentially prevents installing a good, effective, strong screen cover, is awful.
  • Tropicocity - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Very true. I went from the S4 to the S7 edge, now my S10+ is on the way. Meaningful upgrades!
  • catavalon21 - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link

    You've certainly never been an average Apple fan, then...
    /* sarcasm off
  • Monty1401 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I would argue the battery life alone is worth the upgrade (exynos s9+ here)
  • jordanclock - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    All of the deep dive information is great, but the graphs having different scales makes them very difficult to compare. Can you normalize the Y-axis on the graphs so that switching between them can be immediately compared?
  • jaju123 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Andrei, got any opinions for us peasants of inferior knowledge and skill living in the EU whether to go for the S10+ or P30 pro based on your experience thus far? Seems like the P30 pro may be having performance issues to me, or so I've seen on some youtube videos, particularly with throttling. Many thanks.
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Don't worry I'm also an EU peasant.

    I only got the P30's a few days ago at release and haven't really used it much as I was busy finishing this up. Performance at first glance looks the same as other Kirin 980 devices which found to be good although missing some OS booster in Snapdragon chips or the new S10.

    That review should follow up in the next week or two.
  • jaju123 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Great thanks, looking forward to the review.

    I currently have a mate 20 pro, but have itchy trigger fingers and usually buy 2nd hand to save some cash and upgrade quite a bit a few months after these things release. Finding that the main issue with the camera on this device is the white balance being incorrect quite often, but the addition of OIS on the main lens of the P30 pro looks like it could make quite a difference. I am also wondering if the 40mp sensor is in reality all that different from the mate 30 pro/p20 pro?

    Ironically, I think that if Oneplus released a true flagship Oneplus 7+ with waterproofing, 4200mah battery and epic camera quality at the 1000$ pricepoint I think that would blow away the rest of the competition.
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    > I am also wondering if the 40mp sensor is in reality all that different from the mate 30 pro/p20 pro?

    It should be fundamentally different due to the RYYB structure.
  • eastcoast_pete - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Andrei, thanks for this review. Question: How is the call quality, especially if used as speakerphone? The loudspeaker analysis looks promising, but calls also depend on microphones, noise suppression etc. Thanks!
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Call quality on this side is great, the speakers are fantastic, although I admit I didn't really test microphone quality on the other side.
  • eastcoast_pete - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Thanks Andrei! As a request: could you please add a short test of call quality (clarity, loudness, noise sensitivity, also with poor signal strength) to your future smart phone tests? I use my mobile phone for business, and being able to make and receive clear calls even under noisy conditions is important when selecting a phone. Thanks!
  • wrkingclass_hero - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    I called my friend on speakerphone my Snapdragon S10 Plus without telling him I was a new phone and he was blown away by the sound quality and started commenting on it right away, which suprised me. My previous phones were the S9+ and the Note 8, so I guess it is a clear and shocking difference.
  • eastcoast_pete - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Thanks, to both you and Andrei, for your replies! Those comments are helpful. I just had to retire an otherwise very good Xiaomi phone after experiencing poor call quality (intermittent drops etc). Had to reactivate an older LG phone (good call quality, but other problems).
  • NICOXIS - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Congratulations Andrei, this is one of the best smartphones reviews I've seen (ever). Really nice job.
  • catavalon21 - Thursday, August 22, 2019 - link

    +1
  • saleri6251 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Hello Andrei,

    Great review, and I'm still going through some of the particulars.

    You did mention that you considered this the best wide angle, however I heard from numerous people that due to the S10 being so wide, it's edges were very distorted?

    Also what do you think of people's complaint of taking photos of moving objects? I frequently hear this complaint from parents who say the photos taken of their moving child never turns out great.

    Thanks
  • Wardrive86 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Would the Cortex A55 Spec performance (not efficiency) scores be comparable between the SD855 and SD845?
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    They should be yes. I didn't explicitly verify this as it takes 11 hours.
  • Wardrive86 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Yeah I wouldnt ask you to do that again lol. Just glad to have some A55 Spec data. Once again you've outdone yourself. Excellent work!
  • Losttek - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    RIP Exynos users. You guys don't even have a superior DAC anymore. :(

    All jokes aside, screw Displaymate. They're a god damn shill, I don't understand why people still have faith in their display "reviews". Glad actual reviewers like Andrei still exist.
  • zeeBomb - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I always knew displaymate became somewhat of a sketch for what they put. It made me happy at first, but really, getting something that isn't really attainable in real life? Alright!
  • Notmyusualid - Sunday, April 21, 2019 - link

    RIP single-sim users / sellers.

    You'll not get MY time nor money.
  • LaDeX - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    How does the reviewer get so high screen on times? I barely get 4 hours on my S10+. Same as I got on S8.
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Cellular network strength, carrier network setting, how much you move around, and if you're using it full blasted brightness can make big differences.

    Anyhow the point of those screenshots were apples-to-apples comparisons of the idle times of the two phones.

    4 hours sounds absolutely atrocious as I don't even that that low when doing trade show events.
  • N Zaljov - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    My SoT was even worse than yours - at least after installing the first OTA (SBA). Although I can't pinpoint the exact cause of it (must've been some kind of Userspace DVFS that went apeshit, because the Cheetahs were erroneously triggered to their touch input boost freq as soon as the screen was on without me even touching the screen), clearing the cache after installing the update (S10+ Exynos) fixed it for me.

    With fairly high activity (CPU time demanding) and cellular strenght constantly altering between "wonderful" and "absolute shite" I get around 7 hours of average SoT, which I think is pretty damn good (coming from an iPhone 7 Plus with a completely worn out battery), although I do have to say that I could probably increase it even further, if I would start optimizing the phone a little bit.
  • Thraxen - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    The real question is how are your times so low? Are you gaming the whole time or something?
  • jamesindevon - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    > In fact, the Exynos 9820 is the first tri-CPU cluster/group SoC which actually consists
    > of three different CPU microarchitectures.

    Second: the MediaTek Helio X30 had A73, A53, and A35.
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Fair enough. That SoC never made it very far though.
  • supdawgwtfd - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Not making it far is relevant?
  • Tevita - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    "So flawed"?

    These sorts of headlines reek of someone losing touch with reality. It's a super hi-spec computer, breaking new ground. It's hardly the end of the world that tradeoffs need to be made, and getting annoyed at this points to a distinct lack of perspective (need I say "1st World Problems" when the orientation of a selfie-camera causes frustration?).

    Having just updated from an S6, my S10+ is truly amazing. Perhaps rather than relentlessly feeling the need to update at every incremental product cycle, do your pocket and the environment a favour and sit tight on your old phone for an additional few years. You'll be surprised at how good the upgrade experience then becomes.
  • GekkePrutser - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    The orientation of the selfie camera in this case significantly reduces the experience and overall screen space from what would be possible. And smartphones are all about the screen. Making a big hole in it is really annoying.

    I'd personally find it a lot less flawed if it just left the selfie camera out altogether as I'd gladly do without it, or just kept the bezels.
  • Tropicocity - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    So your solution to what is actually the smallest and least-intrusive version of a 'total full screen display' (screen to body ratio is the highest ever pretty much, save for a few gimmicky ideas) is to remove it entirely?

    Linus seems to be in love with the front-and-back display idea, where there's a whole extra screen on the rear so you turn the phone around completely to take a selfie. Personally, I think the cutout is way better compared with the 'notch' on other phones. Sure, the s10+ having a double one isn't as nice as the singular one on the regular S10, but you get better depth-sensing and better selfies out of it.
  • Zoolook - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Isn't that a bit like tying one arm to your back for a while because it's so good when you release it?
  • drajitshnew - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Thank you ANDREI. This is really nice, comprehensive, review with very useful conclusions. I really liked it.
  • apexjr - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Andrei Frumusanu,

    You nailed this display part! I actually returned my first S10 yesterday because the calibration wasn't great. I saw way too much greens while looking at a grey display. Nothing I could do fixed it.

    On my next S10 the calibration was better. I selected Vivid, max'd out Cool, reduced green by 2 notches. That seemed to get the white closer to white, even though there is still a bit too much red/yellow mixed in. It is acceptable now though.

    Would you possibly try adjusting it within the vivid sections to maybe get a better color accuracy?

    I don't know what is going on with this display. I bought a S9 for my daughter at the same time and the colors are much better/accurate. The contrast is a bit too punchy though, as dark scenes are rendered too dark. This is what you are talking about and continues to be in the S10 (but to a lesser degree in my two phones).

    Thanks!
  • nicolaim - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Typo on the last page: "the SoC represents be"
  • nicolaim - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    And another: "comfing"
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Thank you.
  • SwordOS - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    also s10s don't have iris scanner..
  • danwells - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    There's only one problem with any ultra-high-end Android phone... Apple!

    If you're going to pay for a phone that's in the Apple price range, the average person would be MUCH better off with an iPhone - you can avoid Android's security problems, ads and tracking entirely. Every performance test posted that included modern iPhones also showed the iPhones are faster and more power efficient.

    Yes, there's a small fraction of the market (and a larger fraction of AnandTech's readership) that prefers the greater customizability of Android, and that's fine as long as they're aware of the security risks and don't mind the ads and tracking. 9 out of 10 people who are in the segment of the market that contains the modern iPhone ($750+) are better off with an iPhone, and the other 1/10 know why they don't want one.
  • Thraxen - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I’m in that customization category and also not technically naive so avoiding any security issues is, well, as natural as not falling for e-mail scams. Anyway, I’m typing this reply on my iPad Pro and like it quite a bit, but compared to my S10 it’s boring as hell. The phone just feels more exciting while the iPad feels... safe? Like it was jointly produced by Fisher Price or something.
  • jaju123 - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Lol, I have the same experience. The iPad pro 11 that I have is like a kids version of what a mobile OS should be. I can barely do anything on it, whereas android on my mate 20 pro feels like an OS for adults.
  • Thraxen - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Exactly. I love customizing my phone. I can add widgets (real ones, not that card BS on iOS), change the screen grid layout, change all the icons or just one, use live wall papers (real ones, not that handful of very limited ones on iOS), add automation with apps like Tasker, change the dialer/contacts/etc apps, change how notification functions, etc, etc, etc...

    If there’s something you don’t like how it works or looks on Android there’s a very good chance you can change it. On iOS everything is Apple’s way. And I get the logic there. Apple is big on having a very consistent user experience. But for someone like me it’s painfully boring. Everyone’s iOS devices look the same. So one hand it means you are immediately comfortable using any iOS devices, but on the other it’s like living in one of those neighborhoods where the boulder used the same floor plan for every house. It’s soul sucking boring.
  • Speedfriend - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I use a iPhone and Android daily, and despite benchmarks saying that my iPhone 7 is much faster than my pixel 2 XL, in reality it is slower, takes longer to log into new WiFi, kills apps in the background and takes far worse photos. Plus it is loaded with bloatware I can't even remove off the home screen and can't even rearrange the home screen with icons at the bottom.
  • Wardrive86 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    This is absolutely true. My job always upgrades me to the latest Iphone and Ipad. After having multiple generations of Iphone, browser performance is not as good as benchmarks suggest. Personal and work are always on the same network either WiFi or Verizon.
  • GekkePrutser - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    That's because Apple skimps so much on memory. They make great SoCs but their memory skimping hurts the overall experience by killing off apps in the background too much. Especially after one or two iOS updates it becomes really bad.
  • Irish910 - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    That’s just a blatant lie. I used an iPhone 7 Plus for almost 2 years and the thing was hella fast. Using my XS Max I can barely see a speed difference under most circumstances. The only thing that might seem “faster” is the non animations of apps in android. iOS is much more fluid and smooth. But memory, chipset and software, the iPhone should be faster.
  • arayoflight - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    That applies only to the US. The iPhones are much, much more expensive outside of US. In my country, the 128GB S10+ costs less than the base 64GB iPhone XR (yes, the XR). If you are going to get comparable, even the base XS max costs about 1.5x of the S10+, and comes with half the storage to boot.

    Not to mention that Apple phones don't work that well outside US as well. There are no ubiquitous Apple stores which fix your problems immediately, Apple maps doesn't work well, or siri with non-US accents. You can't disable or set defaults to google assistant or google maps or chrome as well, so good luck. Also, the rest of the world doesn't use imessage, but WhatsApp.

    iPhones are a much worse deal outside of US, They have excellent performance and displays yes, but they aren't excellent value for the atrocious prices you pay.
  • cha0z_ - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link

    This, when I got my (sadly exynos as EU) note 9 it was HALF the price of the XS max 256GB at my carrier both and with deal. I literally could take two note 9 instead of a single xs max 256GB. Even if we argue that the xs max is a better phone (tho in reality it has it's + and - compared to the note 9), is it two times the price better? Had the money to buy both, but tbh I like android generally more. Tho I must admit that the iphones are a lot a lot smoother... got iphone 6s too and it's smoother than the note 9 and that's not exactly making me happy. :D
  • id4andrei - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    You keep saying Android's security problems like it's an axiom. You're just as safe with a high end Android device like you are with an iphone. Android does not have ads. Tracking can be disabled or enabled with as much ease as on ios.

    Stop spreading bullshit. You are tracked and monetized on ios via 3rd parties just like on Android. Ios gathers data about you just like Android.
  • Irish910 - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Where is that website link that shows how many MORE times android tracked someone over iOS over the course of a day.....
  • id4andrei - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Google is pretty transparent about what it gathers and how it is using it. You can download at anytime anything relating to your metdata. You can wipe history of that data. You can disable tracking, personalized advertising and more. These controls are available to you in Android and your google account. This is one thing. Saying that Android has ads and has inherent security issues is another and it's plain bullshit. Saying that the Google store is the wild west is also bullshit.
  • name99 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    "Exynos 9820 is the first tri-CPU cluster/group SoC which actually consists of three different CPU microarchitectures"

    It's not exactly comparable, but the A12/A12X has (at least) three different ARMv8 cores on it, the big cores (Vortex), the small cores (Tempest) and the tiny controller cores (but still ARMv8) Chinook. There are doubtless some number of M0s and suchlike ARMv7 cores also scattered around, but it's interesting that there are three different Apple-designed cores.

    It's also interesting, in terms of area, to scan
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple-designed_proce...

    Notable comparisons, for example, are A9X vs A10 (nominally both 16mm FF, but A10 uses the resources more efficiently) and A10 vs A10X.
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Oh come on you know better than this. The Chinooks are not part of the CPU cluster and aren't userspace program visible.

    I'm also not counting the Cortex A5's in the Exynos' audio and ISPs or the multitude of Cortex M3s it has.
  • name99 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Don't want to argue about it; I just thought this was an interesting point :-)

    I'd be just as interested if we learned that QC (or ARM proper) were using ARMv8 devices (ie "interesting" cores, not tiny cores) to handle any of their "controller" type functionality, eg controlling the NPU or GPU.
  • tuxRoller - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I've not finished the article so perhaps you address these issues elsewhere.

    "I wish Samsung at least would mimic the haptics with the fingerprint sensor."

    Coupling haptics and an ultrasonic sensor that also looks beyond surfaces seem like it would be more difficult than just measuring capacitance.

    Also, since the ultrasonic sensor works when the screen is off one should expect the apparent interaction time to go up. Did you happen to time it when the screen was on? The last scenario would be timing its unlock cycle when the phone is in use (any of the password managers should be fine).
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    > Did you happen to time it when the screen was on?

    I didn't do high-speed camera testing of it, but it does look every so slightly faster to respond.
  • tuxRoller - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    That's not too bad then. Most of the reviews I've seen haven't mentioned the new sensor being particularly slow, so, your experience stood out to me.
  • name99 - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I don't know if the iOS 12.2 update had a change to scheduler or JS that has an important effect on web scheduling, but I got 124 for Jetstream 2 on my iPhone XS which is, of course, substantially better than the 98 that Andrei sees.

    FWIW I got a very similar number on my iPad Pro A12X, and on my iMac Pro (Xeon W turbos to 4.2 GHz) I got 142, which is remarkably close to the A12/A12X number...
  • tipoo - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    How nuts is it that for largely ST bound tasks like Javascript, the A12 hangs right in there with the Xeon W, which turbos to 4.2GHz.

    Scale up the core count and memory bandwidth and I don't see why anyone would assume that wouldn't be a very competent chip even for higher end systems, if the software for ARM support was there.
  • cha0z_ - Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - link

    My exynos note 9 running android 9 also scores a lot higher vs his scores.
  • nicolaim - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I have the S7. This is the first new model that's tempting me to upgrade, so Samsung must be doing something right. I don't like the curved sides, nor the badly placed power button, but everything else seems quite good.
  • zeeBomb - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Ah, I forgot how good Andrei’s review on hardware is. Great stuff man, always detailed and straight to the point.
  • Awful - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Am I the only one that finds the spec2006 graphs a real chore to decipher/get a picture of relative performance from? It might just be that on the 1080p screen I'm reading them on I have to scroll down to see which extremely similar colored bar is which.

    The usual anandtech graphs on the other page are much easier going though.
  • jospoortvliet - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Well it is showing something complicated so no surprise it is a complex graph. I find that after a few you get used to reading them and they are certainly by far the best representation of this set of information I have seen anywhere.
  • name99 - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Actually I do hope that subsequent versions of the memory latency/bandwidth graphs are normalized to all have the same axes (in both directions).
    It's surprisingly difficult to compare one graph with another given that they're all scaled slightly differently :-(
  • tipoo - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    It's also quite hard to make out "spotted" from "more spotted" in the legend. As much as more data is cool I think in these cases it would be best to pare down what's in the graph so the legend and bar colors are more easily identifiable, and then post the full results elsewhere.
  • Awful - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Also, any chance of including portrait mode evaluation? Seems like a bit of an omission for evaluating the camera...
  • XelaChang - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    Thanks! Been waiting for it.
  • SwordOS - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    correct the phone specs please, the s10e doesn't heave the heart rate monitor and none of the s10s has the iris scanner
  • nobodycalls - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    WARNING:: With this new phone[ Samsung S10E and 10e. ] they no longer allow you to send or receive attachment photos and such on WiFi.. You have to turn on your mobile data! You cannot write long texts either.They say that is MMS not SMS and you must pay extra for that..We talked to multiple people at Xfinity and Samsung and most of them didn't even know about this new protocol on the OS. TOTAL RIP.. I am very upset about this and don't want this phone.. Not to mention the battery is weak...
  • Thraxen - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link

    I just sent a photo with mobile data off. So...?
  • Irish910 - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    You can send (full quality) non downsampled pictures and videos over iMessage over iOS using WiFi. Even just a Bluetooth connection gives you airdrop to other iOS devices.
  • Lau_Tech - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Thanks for the hardwork and measurements Andrei! Sad to hear my exynos S10 isnt the equal of the snapdragon, although it remains the best option for me given what i have to choose from. I also suspect that Samsung will be doing what it can to mitigate the differences in camera performance through software updates. regardless, I am happy with my purchase
  • tuxRoller - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    "Power efficiency here is better on the Snapdragon SoC by 15-18%."

    I'm getting 26-30% greater energy efficiency for the A55s Snapdragon. In lieu of capping the 9520's a55 to 1.78 wouldn't the better proxy be energy efficiency?
  • The_Quantum_Guy - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Garry did a Speed Test-G on his channel pitting the Exynos 9820 in Galaxy S10e against the Kirin 980 in the Huawei P30, in it despite the Exynos having 2 extra Mali cores than the Kirin it still lost by about 3 seconds to the Kirin in the GPU test, and as expected it even lost in the CPU department. Scorng an overall 1:55 vs the Kirin's 1:44 and even behind last year's Snapdragon 845 (1:49). So how come is Exynos close to Snapdragon 855 (1:32) even this time around ?
  • tuxRoller - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Different tests stressing different things
  • jospoortvliet - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    If you are talking those stupid app start tests - I neither see their relevance nor accuracy. They say nothing about device capabilities.
  • The_Quantum_Guy - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    No I am not talking about the tests which tell you about the storage speed ( I dunno how you assumed that, as I have specifically stated the different times for GPU and CPU of different processors ). The test mentioned here tests different components of the processor one-by-one (that's what the guy doing it says and shows), and rather than providing numbers at the end he gives you times it took for a phone to complete each test (like a race). And going by those times the Exynos fared even worse than the last generation Snapdragon.
  • Jhereck - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Hi and thanks for this wonderfull and very complete article, the only one which compares SD and Exynos version of samsung's phones.

    Will the patch you are talking about in "system performance" which improves PELT responsiveness be included in future updates ?
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    I wouldn't count in it. Samsung didn't change much in the 9810 BSP and it's almost a year later now.
  • Jhereck - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Thanks for your response Andrei.
  • Jhereck - Monday, April 15, 2019 - link

    Hi Andrei another question regarding this patch : is there any way a third party kernel can include it, therefore making s9 and s10 the devices they should be ?

    You know like last year when you tried to play with s9 exynos kernel in order to match snapdragon power and power efficency ?

    Thanks in advance
  • JoeDuarte - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    AnandTech, please hire some good writers. Or some good editors. The writing quality is simply unacceptable for a major technology site. And the number of typos and broken sentences is ridiculous.

    Also, it's probably a good idea to use American English, not British.
  • Edwardmcardle - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    This is the most complete review you will ever find. The level of detail is infinitely more than any other article. Be thankful for the level of detail, time and effort that went into this as without this writer we would NEVER have such an in depth comparison..and that's what we need to decide what phone we are spending so much money on...
  • CityBlue - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    > Also, it's probably a good idea to use American English, not British.

    Hahaha, only the sort of idiotic thing a Merkin would say on a GLOBAL tech site!
  • name99 - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Dude, do you realize just how much of a dick you're coming across as?
    The author's name is Andrei Frumusanu. He's obviously not a native speaker. But I expect his French and German are a lot better than yours. (Which is of actual value, insofar as he can read articles and talk to people that you can't; and report back to us,)

    When you pay a serious fee (enough to cover, say, one writer's salary) for AnandTech you get to complain about writing quality. Until then, don't be a douchebag.
  • Edwardmcardle - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Agreed. One of the best tech writers out there. So rare to have proper technical analysis these days
  • JoeDuarte - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Yeah, I guess I can see that now. I shouldn't have been so curt.
  • tuxRoller - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    You can tell a person's native language from their name?
  • name99 - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    You can from a name and a 2 minute Google search...
  • RSAUser - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    "Also, it's probably a good idea to use American English, not British."
    Obvious troll is obvious.
  • Gastec - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    American English, as in Spanglish?
  • Irish910 - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Maybe you should apply for a job! Did you ever get the concept that many of these writers are probably multi lingual and speak English as a second language. I didn’t know this was a fucking spelling bee.

    Bottom line, you won’t find any better REAL tech articles than here. Trust me I’ve seen plenty and this site is by FAR the best. So just stop.
  • don0301 - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    From the guy who starts sentences with conjunctions. Your grammar,generally, makes my eyes bleed.
  • piroroadkill - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Why oh why, Samsung? I wouldn't mind a dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy S10e, but it only exists with the shitty chipset. Oh well.
  • asfletch - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    The G9700 has dual SIM and SD855. That's the S10 model in which I'm most interested. Just waiting for price to drop a bit....
  • AndromedaGalaxy - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    Hello Andrei, thank you for your detailed review, maybe the best i have read about the galaxy s10. I live in europe so i can only get the exynos version with valid warranty. I found a promotion for the regular S10 with the exynos and 128 Gb at 750 euros. With all the downsides of the exynos version compared to the snapdragon, do you think it is woth it at that price?
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    I'd wait another month to see how the G8 ends up, but otherwise yea it'd be a good deal.
  • Gastec - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    For $1000 ≠ 1000€ will I get the same Google Play Services battery drainer as on my Galaxy S7 This month it decided to use 33%, no 34% as I'm looking at the phone, with NOTHING active or running, just Mobile data :). Google and Samsung in cahoots FTW!
  • Azurael - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link

    "the M4 cores should very much be quite a lot more efficiency than the A75 cores"

    *brain explodes*
  • Samus - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    They should have gone with a pop-out camera than the hole punch. Hate to say it but apples notch was the best solution other than a pop-up camera.
  • Javert89 - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Just a precisation. Adreno 640 do not have 50% more execution units, indeed it should be the usual 2 core design seen in the 630.. only the Adreno of the bigger Snapdragon 8cx has 3 cores plus a 128 bit memory controller
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    It *does* have 50% more execution units / ALUs; https://images.anandtech.com/doci/13680/Screenshot...
  • bjtags - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    Huawei Mate SE 99% of this for 1/4 the Price.....
  • s.yu - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Entirely laughable.
  • tipoo - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link

    The efficiency + performance of the A12 even in comparison to this continues to be crazy, and we're on the other side of the year of that launching.

    I'd be really interested to see that put against x86 cores in SPEC2006
  • name99 - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Here you are. Not a PERFECT comparison but the best currently available:

    https://www.anandtech.com/show/13392/the-iphone-xs...

    https://www.anandtech.com/show/11544/intel-skylake...

    Would be great if we had comparison graphs, and if it were compiler to compiler (both LLVM) and if it were desktop cores, and if it were Coffee Lake, and ...
    But as I said it's the best available right now.

    Basically (especially if Apple adds SVE to their desktop ARM core) they probably have nothing to fear in terms of reduced performance by switching to the A12 successor.
  • s.yu - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    I gotta say I'm surprised from the first sample that the S9+ was the best among the Samsung's and very, very close to Pixel performance which is still overall No.1, S10PS only comes second, S10PE is about as bad as the Note9, I think some of these have defective lenses with especially bad resolution on the edge(s)...the difference is much smaller in the center of the frame. So it could be said that even with the f/2.4 aperture, the Samsung's lens has QC issues that aren't masked. It would be interesting to see how P30P's f/1.6 lens fares.
    S9+ didn't stand out so much in the HDR scenes though, but from the landscapes I'd say the S9+ probably got an especially good lens sample, better than the S10PS and much better than the S10PE. How the Pixel reproduces texture is just incredible, though many of the scenes are rendered darker, there's little sign of the crushed black issue, i.e. it's just darker, but high quality, it's still my definition of realistic among almost any smartphone output, it would obviously stand better to sharpening or NR in post.
    Regarding the wide shots...HDR's the differential. The S10PS outperformed the Mate20P despite a wider FoV in most of the landscape samples, but failed to do so in the shot under the bridge.
    IMO in low light shots the PS still wins overall, to the PE, PE seems to have issues mapping black (with minimal actual shadow advantage) while in the midtones as both win in certain instances it's a toss. Still nothing beats the Pixel...Mate20P's auto was especially bad in the maintenance center shot, that was interesting considering the sensor size.
    And I have to disagree just from the first night sample that the PS isn't matching Mate20P's night mode, it's evident that it did a poor job on the sand, but *everything else* on the frame is better, the subject, the houses in the background, the light posts. It is clear in the second night mode shot with a low DR range though, that the Samsung's messed up.
  • lty0432 - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Hi author !
    I think this kind of technical articles on Exynos and SD has been best out there.
    Can I possible get your opinion on how mobile processors stack up against PC processors ?
    Are there any benchmark comparison articles ?
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    I have a larger scale article on this topic in the coming months.
  • Wardrive86 - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Look forward to that!
  • s.yu - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    "HDR10 non plus"
    lol
    That looks like French.
  • JTBM_real - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge - It is usable now. At the start the phone part did not work - it froze after a few hours and you did not receive calls and couldnt call anyone. Software issue. Headphone had an unbearable noise - software issue. Edge screen made it impossible to use it with one hand - could not receive a call in my car. Restart took ages and had to restart every few hours. There were other issues too. By today the phone is actually ok. There is a new sh*t on it "Smartthings running" - I don't care, just not show on the screen.

    I will never buy a new Samsung phone ever again. It is unusable in the first 2 years. The hardware is good though. No scratch until today. Huwai had two large ones after 1 week - my wife bought one. It had on paper the same gorilla glass as my phone. Yeah...
  • twinuser01 - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Would an unlocked device from the US or Canada work in the EU (Germany)?
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Yes it would, although things like VoLTE or WiFi calling will not.
  • nuttyprof1991 - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Hi guys,
    I noticed a weird effect related to the gamma.
    So I installed the app called display tester from play store and ran the gamma test.
    During the test i found he gamma values to be very low and found it a bit strange.Then again I checked after one day and noticed it was around 2.2 most of the time.

    During both the tests the only difference I noticed in my setting was the resolution which affected the tests soo much. Is this possible? The accuracy was perfect in max resolution of 3040 by 1440.
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    The visual gamma testers such as that app rely on correct 1:1 pixel mapping for the display panel and the comparison background interleaved pattern in the app, on smartphones this is hard to achieve due to how things are resolution independent. The app will not work correctly on pentile display nor will it work correctly in the resolution change scenario you describe.
  • nuttyprof1991 - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    that makes sense. I was wondering if this could have resulted in the gamma problems explained in the review. Guess not
  • agn53 - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Unless I'm missing something, I don't see anything related with phone quality and performance (call stability and sound, signal strength, network speed, quality and range) or the UI (aesthetics and ergonomics, speed and load, functionality) or even health related and other features.
    Isn't phone usage and graphical design a important requisite for this type of tech?...
    It's a phone, after all. But nevertheless a very comprehensive and factual review, almost perfect but yet so flawed ... :-)
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    We don't have any good methodology on things like signal, network (does any site test this *accurately*?).

    As for the UI bits, it's something I wanted to have in the piece but also didn't want to further delay the article another week. In general OneUI is Samsung's by far best user interface and has fantastic features without them feeling like gimmicks. It's currently in my opinion the best variant of Android, though I'm sure some Google users will get angry at me for saying that.
  • GreenMeters - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    "If you’re a reader in the US or other Snapdragon markets, you can stop reading here and feel happy about your purchase or go ahead and buy the Galaxy S10+."

    Unfortunately, no, you can't feel happy about it, because once again the Snapdragon variant has its bootloader locked. So your expensive purchase that could easily have a 5+ year lifespan with an open source OS providing up-to-date security and features is now artificially limited to 2 years of Samsung's lousy support.
  • XelaChang - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Quite disappointing for Exinos, especially the audio. Going to look into Huawei P30 instead.
  • Quantumz0d - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Hello Andrei, huge thanks for the solid piece. I don't think there are any editors out who does this type of analysis. The most superb part was the battery analysis, just fantastic. I remember your piece on the Note 9 as well.

    Because smartphones with soldered/sealed batteries are a pain with 2 Yr EOL of cycles due to aggressive current/power/volts/cycles. I wish when you cover the LG. Maybe kindly have a look at their Qnovo. Replacing at end user is so bad, ruins the IP rating and hard to source. Samsung improvising this is a really good news.

    Next the Camera Hole points all are valid. Its worse than a notch with that absurdly thicc status bar and the stupid icons on the right side. An eye sore with dead pixels. Samsung showed in China for an under screen camera perhaps the Vertical integration you mentioned due to the Exynos applies here as well, perhaps the cost as well..

    One UI though perhaps feels polished but its too childish/kid friendly to me and excessively rounded like iOS instead of stock Pie/Q, that is bad IMO.

    Still have to read up on the Camera/Display. Also I think you should mention one great advantage that Exynos has - Bootloader Unlock. Without that QSD version is just a paperweight, zero ownership, zero tuning. IMO a brick.

    Also good to hear about the speaker system performance, apple mentions it always its surprising how they didn't yet offered a good quality, finally those AKG buds are very very bad. I heard them, their tiny driver is horrible in low end and mid range, its shameful. I'm not up to date with recent audio progress but at $100 we can get RHA MA 750/ Final Audio / iBasso IT01/ TFZ King II / Mee Audio P1 / FiiO F9 and Pro / Dunu Titan1 and ton of IEMs with far more superior quality.

    I hope they get the damn AKM chips into their phones and compete with LG ESS and take the Audio seriously, its a shame that LG doesn't advertise ESS anymore but Meridian collaboration.

    Finally the Audio DAC part, sometimes being 100% accurate doesnt necessarily mean best, my iPod 5.5G Wolfson DAC before CL merger many people say the iPod 6G+ Classics are better due to the ball roll off they mention on the Wolfson 5.5G DAC, I have both of them running same OS (Aftermarket stable Linux based Rockbox) and the Cirrus Logic G classic sounds fatiguing to me, metallic and lack of thump vs the 5.5G. I think maybe your impression is also similar. I heard the 835s Acoustic in my Car with my friend's Note 8 US version and it was hollow and lack of any texture and rumble. The iPod beats it by a HUGE margin both of th 6G and 5.5G and 5.5G being better, the V30s ESS sounds more balanced vs the 5.5G as in clear at the expense of soundstage (in car more significant) and sharpness being higher but retains excellent sub bass. All this is subjective. Just to let you know..

    Thanks.
  • Quantumz0d - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Correction.

    > Apple mentions it always its surprising how they didn't yet.

    Apple stands at top as one of the best speakers on an iPad/iPhone.
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - link

    The iPhone XS improved it, but the S10 beats it handily in speaker quality.
  • Quantumz0d - Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - link

    Wow, that's really surprising and great news. Thank you for the information. I'll stop by to a Best buy near to me and check it out.

    Perhaps they'll improve on their new S5 855 Tablet (hopefully with jack, unlike S5e) because the Tab S4 is outright beaten to pulp by iPad Pro 2017.
  • s.yu - Friday, April 5, 2019 - link

    Wow beating Apple at audio is definitely something special.
  • Quantumz0d - Monday, April 1, 2019 - link

    Damn another typo

    >Ball roll off

    Its Bass Roll off. And 6G missing before "classic sounds"
  • watersb - Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - link

    What an incredible opportunity to compare two leading SoC architectures.
  • TechieSandy - Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - link

    The difference in the Dynamic Range between the Snapdragon and the Exynos variant may have less to do with processing than the triggering by the camera. In one of the pics the Exynos proxessor has better details in the shadows and more dynamic range.
    In this photo:
    https://images.anandtech.com/galleries/6981/S10PS_...

    It may be something triggering the HDR algorithm. It may have to do with it.
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, April 5, 2019 - link

    That image you linked is the Snapdragon - check the difference in detail in the marble for example.
  • urbanman2004 - Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - link

    No wonder people are holding onto their phones at the most for 4 years as indicated by this article after seeing those prices. After selling my Galaxy S7, never again will I find myself being held captive from the ever tightening stranglehold made by Samsung
  • Kishoreshack - Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - link

    Excellent review by Andrei
    this is even better than what Brian Klug used to do
    your analysis is good & conclusion are spot on
    I think you missed to test the GPS on both phones
    which would make it a complete review
  • Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, April 5, 2019 - link

    GPS part taken note of, I'll see what can be done in the future.
  • nyonya - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link

    Will the test results be added to Bench soon? Also, any guesses as to the battery life of the (Snapdragon) S10e? There's finally a small flagship phone and I'll probably upgrade to it. And agreed on the power button location, it's stupidly high on all the S10 variants.
  • ElFenix - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link

    45° FoV corresponds with a 52 mm lens on a 35 mm camera, which most people would consider 'normal' rather than 'telephoto.' 77° FoV corresponds with a 27 mm lens on a 35 mm camera, which most people would consider 'wide angle.' 123° FoV corresponds with a 12 mm lens on a 35 mm camera, which most people would consider 'super wide angle.'

    so this phone doens't have a telephoto camera in the traditional sense. only normal, wide, and super-wide.
  • s.yu - Friday, April 5, 2019 - link

    Indeed it is and is what many have been complaining about, the terminology issue of phone cameras.
  • US3R13 - Sunday, April 7, 2019 - link

    I have a question in regard to the camera output of the Exynos model.
    Does the different we saw in the review only occur in the JPG or even if we shoot raw the difference still exists?
    Thanks
  • zoamster - Wednesday, April 10, 2019 - link

    This review was a real real treat.
    I have been waiting for this review ever since the devices launched and have checked the website more than 20 times. No review can be better than this and I hope the authors keep doing the excellent work.
    I wish samsung starts selling snapdragon Soc phones in India(which i know they won't) and stop making those shitty ass exynos processors and start including hifi dac as lg does. Maybe improve the camera software department as pixel's or apple's.
    It seriously feels bad that you spend a fortune to buy trash.
    One question- Will the unlocked SD variant work fine in India?
    PS- Thank you for make this excellent review and I hope to see more in future.
  • xian333c - Wednesday, April 17, 2019 - link

    How to buy that unicorn on table in ur shout?
  • Brightontech - Sunday, April 21, 2019 - link

    it is an awesome phone
    <a href="https://www.brightontech.net/2019/04/audiovideo-ed... Editor and Video Converter</a>
    Video Editor and Video Converter
  • Jhereck - Tuesday, April 23, 2019 - link

    Hi Andrei another question regarding the patch designed to increase PELT resonsiveness : is there any way a third party kernel can include it, therefore making s9 and s10 the devices they should be ?

    You know like last year when you tried to play with s9 exynos kernel in order to match snapdragon power and power efficency ?

    Thanks in advance
  • Rixos - Thursday, May 2, 2019 - link

    It's kind of sad, I was actualy looking at the s10e as a replacement device for my galaxy S7 but as I live in Europe I would be getting the Exynos variant. Worse audio quality, less processing power and worse camera results. Basically seeing this kind of ruined the purchase for me. In some sense I wish I would not have seen it, the S10e is likely still a great upgrade for my S7 but knowing that there is a better version out there just ruins it for me. I guess ignorance sometimes really is bliss.
  • theblitz707 - Thursday, May 23, 2019 - link

    I see this is in every review. I actually went to stores and used my phones ambient light sensor and an another phones flashlight to measure display brightnesses. Although slightly inaccurate lg g7 gave a 1050lux reading with boost on.(all test on apl100) Taking that as a base s9 plus did 1020 s10 plus did 1123 and p20 pro did around 900 when i shone my flashlight to each sensor. So why everyone makes it seem like they are less bright than they actually are? Does using a flashlight to trigger high brightness impossible to imagine? Let me tell you those oled screens get very bright with high ambient light like outside on a sunny day.
  • ballsystemlord - Monday, June 3, 2019 - link

    Spelling and grammar corrections. I did not read the whole thing, so there maybe more.

    Samsung new L3 cache consists of two different structures
    Possesive:
    Samsung's new L3 cache consists of two different structures

    Similarly, the A75's should be a ton more efficient the A55 cores at the upper performance points of the A55's.
    Missing "than":
    Similarly, the A75's should be a ton more efficient than the A55 cores at the upper performance points of the A55's.

    Arm states that the new Cortex A76 has new state-of-the-art prefetchers and looking at what the CPU is able to do one my patterns I'd very much agree with this claim.
    Missing "to":
    Arm states that the new Cortex A76 has new state-of-the-art prefetchers and looking at what the CPU is able to do to one my patterns I'd very much agree with this claim.

    The nature of region-based prefetchers means that fundamentally any patterns which has some sort of higher-level repeatability will get caught and predicted, which unfortunately means designing a structured test other than a full random pattern is a bit complicated to achieve.
    "have" not "has" and a missing y:
    The nature of region-based prefetchers means that fundamentally any patterns which have some sort of higher-level repeatability will get caught and predicted, which unfortunately means designing a structured test other than a fully random pattern is a bit complicated to achieve.

    Switching over from linear graphs to logarithmic graphs this makes transitions in the cache hierarchies easier to analyse.
    Excess "this" and analyze is with a "z":
    Switching over from linear graphs to logarithmic graphs makes transitions in the cache hierarchies easier to analyze.

    Indeed one of the bigger microarchitectural changes of the core was the addition of a second data store unit.
    Missing comma:
    Indeed, one of the bigger microarchitectural changes of the core was the addition of a second data store unit.

    ...we see that in the L3 memory region store curve is actually offset by 1MB compared to the flip/load curves, which ending only after 3MB.
    "ed" not "ing":
    ...we see that in the L3 memory region store curve is actually offset by 1MB compared to the flip/load curves, which ended only after 3MB.

    "Traditionally such misses are tracked by miss status holding registers (MSHRs), however I haven't seen Arm CPUs actually use this nomenclature."
    This is almost certainly a run on sentence with missing punctuation. Try:
    "Traditionally, such misses are tracked by miss status holding registers (MSHRs). However, I haven't seen Arm CPUs actually use this nomenclature."

    "Again to have a wider range of performance comparison across ARMv8 cores in mobile here's a grand overview of the most relevant SoCs we've tested:"
    Missing comma:
    "Again, to have a wider range of performance comparison across ARMv8 cores in mobile here's a grand overview of the most relevant SoCs we've tested:"
  • giallo - Monday, June 17, 2019 - link

    how much did they pay you to write this bullshit? you must be true downs
  • theblitz707 - Monday, August 19, 2019 - link

    i discovered something about display brightness on oleds recently. I did a test with a7 with auto brightness on.

    Lets assume, on a slightly dark room you set your brightness to 25nits(whites), so when you go out to the sun phone boosts around 750-800 nits.

    Now lets assume on a slightly dark room you set your brightness to 250 nits, now when you go out to the sun phone boosts to 900nits. (what i actually did was not go in a dark room but while i was outside i covered the sensor with my hand so it thought i was in a dim place)

    I used to assume everytime you go out to sun it would get maxed but apparently it still depends on what you set your phone before.(dumb a bit if you ask me, cuz you know, its THE sun, brightest thing..) I believe this might be the reason why you didnt reach to 100APL 1200nits.

    P.s. I know every brightness sensor is different but i had tested lg on full white and i had gotten 1050 lux, i also tested s10 or plus, all white and i had gotten 1120lux on white,100APL.(It was painfully hard to find the sensor to shine the flashlight, its somewhere around upper part of the phone under the display).

    It would be cool if you retested the brightness in this way:

    1- After you put auto brightness on, Go in a very dark room or cover the sensor, so phone put itself to a dark brightness, after that happens, set the brigthness to max while you are still in the dark room.(auto is still on).
    2- Now go under sun or shine a phone flashlight to sensor and test the brightness on white APL100. That would be really nice.
  • theblitz707 - Monday, August 19, 2019 - link

    lg is g7 on boosted, forgot to mention

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now