Samsung Galaxy S10 vs Galaxy S10 Plus: The Full Verdict (2023)

Which new Samsung should you buy? The Galaxy S10 or the larger Galaxy S10 Plus

BothSamsungGalaxy S10 Plusand his younger brother whoGalaxy S10are now widely used and we are big fans of both.

But which of these 9 top 10 smartphones is the best buy? The differences between these two phones are relatively subtle and revolve around things like screen size, front camera specs, and battery capacity.

• Would you like more detailed information? Here is ourSamsung Galaxy S10 im Test
• And here is oursSamsung Galaxy S10 Plus im Test

Another key difference is the price. With prices starting at £799/$899 for the Galaxy S10 and £899/$999 for the Galaxy S10 Plus, can the decision come down to something as simple as your budget?

We'll break down these subtle but potentially significant differences in the article below, based on our extensive experience with both phones. We can safely say that you won't be disappointed with any of Samsung's current champions.

But which smartphone will squeeze those precious extra drops of happiness out of you?

Galaxy S10 vs. S10 Plus – Specifications and Features

Looking through the spec lists of these two phones is a case for spotting the difference. There really is very little between them on paper.

The Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus global editions run on Samsung's custom Exynos 9820 CPU (US and China get the Snapdragon 855), built to an 8nm manufacturing standard. It's not the most efficient process out there - Apple, Huawei and Qualcomm all make 7nm chips - but it's still very capable.

More importantly for this piece, both phones offer equally impressive (if not class-leading) levels of performance. No doubt helped by the fact that both phones have identical 8GB of RAM, the two phones performed about the same in all of our benchmark tests.

Related:beste Smartphones

In the real world, too, both phones coped with everything we could throw at them, from playing 3D games to loading RAW photos into Lightroom. When it came to multitasking, apps would sometimes stay loaded in their live state for a whole day.

The fact that the Galaxy S10 Plus includes an additional vapor chamber cooling system doesn't seem to offer a really noticeable performance benefit in our experience. Which is a shame because it sounds really cool in every way.

Without a doubt, the most obvious spec difference here relates to the screens on these phones. While both are Super AMOLED displays with a resolution of 3040 x 1440, the Galaxy S10's 6.1-inch screen is slightly smaller than the Galaxy S10 Plus's 6.4-inch screen. Of course, this makes the larger phone better for media consumption, although the Galaxy S10's screen is easier to use with one hand.

Whichever size you prefer, these are undoubtedly the two best smartphone screens out there. Samsung is really good at creating AMOLED displays that are vibrant yet color accurate, and they represent their best work yet.

Most of the remaining specs of these two phones are identical, including dual storage capacity options of 128GB and 512GB with microSD expansion for both. Both also feature Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 andWireless-Powershare, with the latter you can charge other Qi-compatible devices.

Both phones also use Samsung's ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, which is an improvement over the optical variants of its rivals.

While there's a glaring difference in battery size - the Galaxy S10 Plus has a 4100mAh battery versus the Galaxy S10's 3400mAh unit - there wasn't a pronounced difference in endurance during our testing period. Both are firmly in the one-day battery life zone, and both tend to itch after a midnight charge.

That's not particularly bad for a big phone like the Galaxy S10. For a big phone like the Galaxy S10 Plus, that's pretty disappointing.

Galaxy S10 vs. S10 Plus – Look and Feel

The Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus are variations on a unique design approach. Which is a fancy way of saying that they look exactly the same.

It's a strong design though - all glass surfaces, metal trims and curved edges. Add in some very narrow bezels and the lack of an unsightly fingerprint sensor and you have the two best looking phones out there.

Of course, the Galaxy S10 Plus is the larger of the two. It's around 8mm taller and 4mm wider, although both phones share the same 7.8mm thickness. The Plus is also 18g heavier.

These increased dimensions can be significant depending on how you carry your phone. The Galaxy S10 is certainly easiest to carry around in a pocket or compact bag.

The Galaxy S10 Plus' larger screen actually fills more of the front of the phone, and we all know that more screen is better. It has a higher screen-to-body ratio of 93.1% compared to 88.3% on the Galaxy S10.

Speaking of front-fill screens, both phones come with Samsung's new Infinity-O-Display technology. This is an alternative approach to the notch introduced by Apple, which places the front cameras almost like a small island within the confines of the screen.

It looks pretty slick on the Galaxy S10, with a circular hole in the top-right corner of the display. However, the Galaxy S10 Plus doesn't look quite as good with a secondary selfie camera that offers an elongated diamond shape. It's hard to ignore. Both can also look a bit odd with third-party apps, which tend to treat the Infinity-O like a normal notch and just erase the entire line.

As we mentioned earlier, the Galaxy S10's smaller screen makes it easier to handle the phone with one hand. Still, the Galaxy S10 Plus looks remarkably compact for such a large phone, thanks to the stripped down bezels.

Both phones areIP68-Rated for dust and water resistance, so they're almost as tough as they look good. Or at least they would be if they weren't mostly glass. It's a very 2019 issue and hardly unique to Samsung.

Galaxy S10 vs. S10 Plus – Are the photos good?

Despite the similarities between these two phones, so far we've managed to spot subtle differences in each area. Not so with the reversing cameras. They are absolutely identical triple sensor subjects.

Both feature a 12-megapixel primary sensor with dual-pixel autofocus, optical image stabilization and an adjustable aperture that can switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4. There is also a 16-megapixel wide-angle sensor with a fixed focus and f/2.2 aperture for zoomed-out shots.

Finally, both the S10 and S10 Plus have a 12MP telephoto sensor and 77-degree autofocus with f/2.4 aperture and OIS if you want to get closer to the action.

Combined, this results in two extremely versatile camera systems that can both capture breathtaking views and zoom in on a sporting event.

Under normal shooting conditions, both the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus produce very detailed and reasonably balanced shots. However, our image results lagged behind the best smartphone cameras like those on thePixel 3, ÖHuawei P30 Proand even theiPhone XSwhen it comes to color accuracy and exposure.

• Here everyone isbest camera phonesin one place
• To learn more about the S10 camera, check out ourSamsung Galaxy S10 Kameratest

There is a difference between the two photographic settings, but it is related to the front cameras. Both phones have a 10-megapixel front camera with a fixed f/1.9 aperture and dual-pixel autofocus. But only the S10 Plus has an 8-megapixel f/2.2 secondary camera with autofocus for superior depth perception in your selfies.

Galaxy S10 vs S10 Plus – How much does it cost?

Both the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus hit stores in March 2019. The Galaxy S10 starts at £799 / $899 for the 128GB model, while the 512GB device is £999 / $1149.

Either way, that's £100 cheaper than the Galaxy S10 Plus equivalents. It costs £899/$999 for the 128GB model and £1,099/$1,249 for the 512GB model.

Verdict

We called the Samsung Galaxy S10 "the best Android phone you can buy today" in our review. While the Huawei P30 Pro has muddy the waters a bit over the past few weeks, we stand by that verdict.

By the way, the main competitor for the throne is the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus. With a larger screen and slightly improved selfie camera, it's technically the superior phone of the two. However, we wonder if these improvements are worth the £100 premium for most people. In fact, the Galaxy S10 feels like a more affordable and slightly more balanced phone.