Samsung Galaxy S10+ long-term review

Hey guys long time no see I know you’re probably anxiously waiting for Samsung to reveal the note then but what if you’re not into the s-pen well in that case the Galaxy S 10 plus might be a better fit for you I’ve been using it as my daily driver for a long time now and these are my thoughts on what it’s like to live with it day in and day out I’m glad for Jason Marina back to bring you our long-term review of the Samsung Galaxy S 10 plus [Music] it’s clearly a look at this one turning heads left and right even if Samsung hasn’t gone all in with the gradient back finish crease the rear camera island is well huge but it does prevent the phone from wobbling and slipping off couches by itself handling is busier than the screen size may suggest I had no issues using this with one hand then again my hands aren’t particularly small the sn+ is surprisingly less slippery than you’d expect when that really helps with handling the white version I have here it shows almost no fingerprints on the back at all even after extended periods of use which is really refreshing to see build quality is flawless as it should be and the phone has held up very well with no signs of wear and tear even if I have been using it without a case the biggest big key is still here but because you can remap a short press to a different application or action I wouldn’t call it the worst button on a Samsung flagship anymore now that honor goes to the power key which for some reason is placed way too high on the right side if you’re right-handed it’s never quite within the reach of your thumb while you normally hold the device so get ready for finger gymnastics if you use this button a lot unlike last year you don’t have any issues during this one apart from its predecessor because of the trimmed top and bottom bezels the function cut out for the selfie cameras is controversial if like me you’re a fan of symmetry because it pushes the right side of the status bar off to the center for years I’ve instinctively looked at the top right side of the display in order to quickly check on the connections and battery percentage but against n+ those aren’t quite there just a little bit off to the left since siding the don’t call it a notch in software results in wasted screen real estate you probably won’t ever be able to unsee the cutout but you might get more used to it in time than I have and you can even fully embrace it there are plenty of wallpapers now that you clever things with it and even apps that show you useful information around it like your remaining battery percentage for example the AMOLED panel is one of the best ever put in any smartphone and yet to fully take advantage of all of its pixels you need to dive into settings and up the resolution from the default that is 1080p plus because Samsung is prioritizing marginal battery life gains and varying most people won’t be able to tell the difference in pixel density but if that’s the case then why fit the phone with such a high res screen in the first place just for the spec sheet bragging rights I like the simplified screen mode settings as there’s just two options now one for punchy colors and the other for accuracy much better than the confusing multiple items on past Galaxy flagships the curves have made torn though because while I really dig the looks I’m also constantly annoyed by the two biggest downsides they entail glare depending on how light hits the screen and accidental touch is triggered by the hand I’m holding the phone with if you’re like me a case is a must because that alleviates the accidental touches issues that is somewhat even so I still feel like I need to be extra careful how I hold this device compared to flat-screen ones but that’s the price I’m willing to pay for what is still a pretty futuristic look unlike other phones the s10 plus uses an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor theoretically this should be superior to the optical ones out there it’s more secure and less prone to errors when your fingers are wet and it doesn’t need to shine a bright light onto your finger when unlocking in use I did find it more accurate and more reliable especially once I rolled the same finger multiple times from different angles but it is slower than the most recent optical sensors and it’s even slower than the fastest optical sensors from last year not to mention the traditional capacitive model in the s9 plus this is the case even after a few updates so I’m not sure if Samsung will be able to fix this some more in software in the future one UI is the breath of fresh air compared to the Samsung experience and TouchWiz of days past the cartoony look is fully gone and there’s a system-wide dark theme that you can even schedule although it is confusingly called light mode which is what some other companies are calling their blue light filter the UI polish has not come at the expense of removing features in fact there’s still seemingly an option for everything you might be able to think of and a lot of things you wouldn’t inevitably some gimmicks have slipped through like the security scanning software that you have zero need for unless install apps from shady places Digital navigation is an option I turned on right from the start because it feels oh so antiquated to live with a three-part navigation bar these days Samsung system works but it’s not perfect the fails to trigger around one in 20 times though it vibrates as it did while the animation that brings up the reasons menu is janky every single time Samsung’s new scheme places actionable items in the bottom half of the UI and that makes it much easier to operate large stones like the s10 plus unfortunately this is only valid for the settings and Samsung’s own apps as Google and third-party app makers have their own design languages Samsung’s duplicate apps including its own App Store aren’t something I gradually got used to living with over the past few years but people were new to the brand might find them disorienting one UI looks good but its main problem is speed Samsung fixed the trademark lag of its interfaces last year and that hasn’t returned but operating the sm+ feels slower than it should considering the hardware inside there aren’t very many stutters it’s just that the whole UI is slower than the current champs in this regard I’m thinking of oxygen OS Google’s pixel experience out of the box and even me why I would received a few updates and Samsung has a monthly cadence to these delivering security patches and bug fixes so all’s good on this front so far how long it will take to bring Android Q to the s 10 plus is an entirely different question of course considering the company’s track record the camera on the S 10 plus is definitely among the best in business image is captured by smartphone cameras aren’t generally a hundred percent true to life anyway so in the end it all comes down to you deciding how much enhancement and sharpening you like in your photos the aston plus delivers the slightest amount of over sharpening along with buncher colors then your eyes can see especially when it comes to the sky bodies of water and greenery while that results in a look that isn’t necessarily accurate the shots do come out great the ultra wide-angle cam is welcome for fitting more into your shot but do expect shapes to get distorted around the edges Samsung definitely took its sweet time coming up with its own manually selectable night mode but it is here now and it went straight to the podium joining Huawei’s and google’s which you prefer comes down to your specific needs but all three are incredibly good battery life has been great I easily achieved 5 to 6 hours of screen on time every single day started off with a full battery my use case involves mostly Wi-Fi connectivity Bluetooth always on and connected to a SmartWatch a couple of hours or so of music streaming around half an hour of GPS navigation and about one or two hours on mobile data obviously if your usage is different than the numbers will change charging is fast but not really the fastest around anymore even mid ranges are starting to pack faster charging systems than the s10 plus this is not the perfect smartphone for everyone but it very well could be the best smartphone for most people it’s premiums that went through which is great because it’s priced accordingly it’s cameras are top-notch the screen is among the best out there built quality is great handling – battery life is good and hey it even has a headphone jack the speakers are quite impressive and you also get some peace of mind from the water and dust resistance the s10 plus is jam-packed with features left and right both hardware and software it truly is amazing for everyone who likes to be showered with choice having an option available for seemingly everything on the other hand if your main priority in a smartphone is for it to be blazing fast including when it comes to fingerprint authentication then the s10 plus might disappoint this is why it left me with some mixed feelings but I think we can all agree that its disadvantages are heavily outweighed by its advantages it’s been fun having this Galaxy S ten plus as a daily driver and with possible price cuts hitting one of the no 10 drops it might actually become a more affordable option in the near future well that’s been it for this long-term with you I hope you enjoyed it and I’ll see you guys around