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There's a fingerprint scanner located just about the home button. (Image Credit: TechRadar) In-screen fingerprint sensor The hole in this 'punch-hole' display is extra-large, as Samsung dropped in two front cameras to take better portrait selfies than the single-lens Galaxy S10 and S10e front cameras.Good news, we’ve not found it too distracting.
On a similar note, the phone’s performance is equally impressive. Samsung’s homebrew Exynos 9820 processor is as fast as they come, largely matching the benchmarking results of its rivals such as the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G and Huawei Mate 20 X 5G.The dual front and multiple rear cameras all allow for hardware bokeh, which is better than the software bokeh that you get on single-camera phones. It's better at identifying the edges of objects, like flyaway hairs, that can otherwise mar the portrait effect. Of the new Galaxies, only the S10+ has the secondary front camera for hardware bokeh. We experienced some failures due it incorrect placement at first, and with no physical ridge to guide our finger we don't expect to eliminate failures completely.In time, we went from a first-time recognition success rate of 80% to a 95% success rate. Some of that was an update and some of it came down to getting used to the invisible sensor location. In real-life use at MWC19 in Barcelona, it seemed like I never needed to recharge it. The Galaxy S10+ would regularly go two days and still have a decent charge. Can you chalk that up to the superior regenerative powers of Spanish mobile networks? Maybe. Samsung says it comes down to software: More intelligent management of what processes are running, combined with what DisplayMate says is a more power-efficient screen, makes for an ideal battery situation. The battery fast-charges with both wired and wireless connections, although to fast-charge wirelessly it needs an appropriate fast-charging wireless pad. Samsung's One UI over Android 9 defaults to giant, bubble-like icons on a four-by-five grid, which looks like it's been left in "easy mode." There are a lot of good options here for folks who like their icons or fonts large: You can use big icons, increase the font sizes, or zoom everything. But Android experts who want a grid tighter than five-by-six, especially on a screen this large, will have to go to an alternative launcher.
The default resolution is Full HD+, but you can crank it to QHD+ and it's pin sharp, with HDR10+ for superior contrast and color. That's an important perk if you’re a movie-watcher on your phone – an idea which isn’t so crazy its size.
But I can't put this more kindly: Samsung's Bixby voice assistant needs to die. Google Assistant is firmly the superior voice assistant, and Bixby's ability to do things like control your phone's battery settings doesn't change the game. There's still a dedicated Bixby button on the left side of this phone, but at least you can remap it to almost anything —anything except Google Assistant, apparently, because Samsung is trying to make a point. We had the opportunity to spend some brief moments in the company of the four Galaxies, and we'll be sharing some early impressions. The main draw for us is the 93.1% screen-to-body ratio that fits more pixels across a tighter body. Samsung's new Infinity-O display avoids using a notch by opting for a laser-cut hole in the top-right corner for the front camera. With the Galaxy S10+, you're definitely getting an object that feels expensive. It's big and made from gorgeous, premium-feeling material. Everything's tight; nothing's cheap (so get a case and protect it). At 6.20 by 2.92 by 0.31 inches (HWD), it's almost exactly the same size as the S9+ (and noticeably narrower than the iPhone XS Max). Yet it has a bigger, taller screen: 6.4 inches at a 19:9 ratio. Looked at in terms of pure area, that's 15.58 square inches, compared with 15.12 on the S9+, 16.08 on the XS Max, and 16.11 on the Galaxy Note 9.
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