Hands-on with the Galaxy S10 and S10+: in-screen fingerprint readers works well and the materials feel classy, but it doesn't feel like a huge update
> but hidden behind the screen with an ultrasonic sensor. Commence squabbling between Apple & Samsung fans about the superiority of unlocking with thumbs vs faces. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... http://twitter.com/... Sarah Frier / @sarahfrier : Very interesting: company tells me the “Instagram mode” in the Galaxy S10 only works when people have downloaded Instagram on their devices. So they're not doing those annoying undeletable pre-install deals I wrote about Facebook having: http://www.bloomberg.com/... Jessica Dolcourt / @jdolcourt : By the way, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro also has the same type of wireless power sharing as the #GalaxyS10. As far as I'm concerned, this should become part of every high end phone (hint, hint @Apple) #Unpacked @CNET Joel Franco / @officialjoelf : Galaxy Buds Samsung is taking on Apple's AirPods. These are $130 (Pic: @mashable) pic.twitter.com/DTxqYFBSCH Roger Cheng / @rogerwcheng : The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus has a battery that lasts all days, and is 25% better than the Galaxy S9, the company says. #Unpacked #SamsungEvent Andrew Martonik / @andrewmartonik : The Galaxy S10, S10+, S10e and S10 5G all have a headphone jack, btw. #Unpacked #SamsungEvent Rene Ritchie / @reneritchie : I thought I would like the hole better. It's not bad on the S10, on the S10 Plus, though, it's like debris that can't be wiped away. I may get used to it like I did the notch. But it's not an improvement. It's a different compromise. http://twitter.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
A year ago, Samsung's S9 hands-on read almost identically: same look and feel as the prior model, with only the fingerprint reader placement called out as new. The S10 breaks that streak in exactly one place — the reader moves under the display, using an ultrasonic sensor instead of a rear-mounted pad, while the design language stays recognizably Samsung.
The verdict here is 'classy but not a huge update,' and the fuller S10+ reviews that followed within days sharpened it: great display and camera, but an unreliable in-screen scanner and a hole-punch cutout reviewers liked less than a notch. Meanwhile the description notes Samsung skipped the undeletable pre-install deals Facebook used — 'Instagram mode' only activates if the app is already downloaded.
First-order effects
- Buyers weighing the S10 against rivals face a straight biometrics trade-off: Samsung's ultrasonic thumb unlock versus the face-unlock camp — the description flags the squabble with Apple fans, and notes the Huawei Mate 20 Pro already shipped the same in-screen approach.
Second-order effects
- Samsung hedges the modest upgrade with a halo variant: the S10 5G, arriving late in H1 2019 initially exclusive to Verizon in the US, gives carriers and early adopters a reason to skip the base models.
Third-order effects
- If the iterate-and-add-a-tier pattern holds, the endpoint visible in the corpus is the S20 generation at $1,000–$1,600 starting prices — incremental yearly updates sustained by pushing the top of the lineup into four-figure territory rather than by dramatic redesigns.
The trend: Flagship smartphones have entered an iteration regime where under-display biometrics and 5G variants carry the upgrade story while prices climb toward four figures.