Samsung Galaxy S10+: Phone That Goes Higher, Further, Faster

It doesn’t fold and it doesn’t have 5G, but the Galaxy S10+ is still a force to be reckoned with.

- Michael Simon

It’s something of a perfect coincidence that Samsung’s Galaxy S10+ goes on sale the same day Captain Marvel (go.pcworld.com/cpmv) lands in theaters. Both were once the most powerful members of their respective universes. Both are struggling with an identity crisis spurred by a larger-than-life existential threat. And both have a gorgeous shimmer when the light hits them just right.

And in many ways, they’re both the last of a dying breed. The Galaxy S10+ may represent the culmination of 10 years of Samsung’s Android engineering, but it’s also the phone that doesn’t fold. Much like last year’s iPhone 8 Plus, which existed in the shadow of the button-less and OLED iPhone X, the Galaxy S10+ no longer represents the pinnacle of Samsung innovation. That honor now falls to the Galaxy Fold (go.pcworld. com/sfld) arriving April 26. (In yet another curious coincidence, that date just so happens to be the same as Captain Marvel’s intergalactic turn in Avengers Endgame.)

But even with the forces of change closing in all sides, the Galaxy S10+ more than holds its own. It might have a sky-high price tag at $1,000, but the S10+ is also a massive improvement over its predecessor, pushing the limits of conventional smartphone design just about as far as they can go. And just like Carol Danvers, it’s not about to fade into irrelevance without a fight.

AN UPGRADE TO THE CLASSIC DESIGN

Even without straying too far from the Infinity Display formula that began with the S8, the Galaxy S10+ is a completely new device. Most notably, Samsung has trimmed its empty spaces even further, leaving slivers of black above and below the screen. That brings the size of the S10+ down to 157.6 x 74.1 x 7.8 mm, a touch smaller than the Note 9 despite sporting the same 6.4-inch display dimension.