Is Samsung’s Newest Phone Worth the Price? Galaxy S10+ Review

Samsung is the big dog in the world of Android phones. Their Galaxy line is a juggernaut, largely defining each era of Android smartphones. Their newest phone, the massive Galaxy S10+ with its unusual hole-punch design in the front is upon us. Is the newest Galaxy phone worth the $1000 price of entry?

Galaxy S10+ Review

Photo Credit: CNET

Specs

Under the hood, the Galaxy S10 and S10+ both sport all the bells and whistles you expect from a modern flagship phone. This includes the Eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 CPU, 12 MP main camera, 4100mAh battery in the Plus model and flashy specs like an in-screen fingerprint scanner and wireless charging.

The most noticeable feature about the phone, however, is that weird hole-punch in the top corner. It’s incredibly eye-catching, and you’ll often find your eye drawn to it during normal use of the phone. This isn’t a case like the iPhone X’s notch, which fades from your notice shortly after using it.

The Issues

If you’ve used a Galaxy phone in the last three years, you know that they’re great. The phones are fast, responsive and sport beautiful screens and great cameras. However, the Galaxy S10 has some noteworthy issues we want to discuss.

The first is that in-screen fingerprint scanner. It’s a 3D scanner, mounted under the screen and impossible to see unless you shine a flashlight at the screen. However, it’s tiny, much smaller than a fingertip and hard to use. It often misses the finger, takes several seconds to unlock, and makes using the phone awkward and cumbersome.

The phone also comes pre-loaded with shovelware, even if you buy it unlocked directly from Samsung. Within, you’ll find McAfee antivirus cooked into the OS, Facebook (which can’t be uninstalled), your photos will want to share your location with FourSquare, and both FlipBoard and Spotify are on the phone when you open it.

Bottom Line

The Galaxy S10 is $900, while the S10+ is $1,000. For those prices, you could opt instead for an iPhone XR, a much more user-friendly and well-designed phone. If you want to keep your phone in Android’s ecosystem, you could opt for any number of more affordable options from Huawei, OnePlus or even one of Samsung’s own older Galaxy phones.

For the huge price tag, it’s not much worth getting a Samsung Galaxy S10 or S10+. Opt instead for the S9 if you’re dying to own a modern Galaxy phone.