Representing the tenth anniversary of the Galaxy line, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is not a radical reinvention of the smartphone. (That would be the flexible Galaxy Fold.) But Samsung’s new flagship is not lacking in innovation or ambition.
With Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 855 processor under the hood, this is the fastest Android yet. I also like the PowerShare feature that lets you use the back of the S10 Plus to wirelessly charge other phones and gadgets--and the epic 12.5 hours of battery life. Is all that worth $999? Based on our testing, yes. That's why the S10 Plus made it our best smartphone list.
Also see our reviews of the Galaxy S10 and less expensive Galaxy S10e, as well as our face-off against the OnePlus 6T.
Galaxy S10 Plus Cheat Sheet: What You Need to Know
- The in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor works well provided you press and hold your finger on the screen briefly instead of a quick tap.
- The S10 Plus’ 4,100 mAh battery lasted an epic 12 hours and 35 minutes on our web surfing test, beating every major flagship phone in the last year.
- The Infinity-O display looks great, but the two punch holes for the front cameras can be distracting. You can hide them if you want.
- Wireless PowerShare lets you charge other phones using the back of the S10 Plus and Galaxy Buds.
- This is the fastest Android phone yet, thanks to the Snapdragon 855 processor.
- The new ultra-wide camera produces impressive results, but the Pixel 3 offers better image quality in low light.
Galaxy S10 Plus release date and price
The Galaxy S10 Plus is now on sale. The phone costs $999 to start for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. But you can also order the S10 Plus with 512GB of storage for $1,249 or get a whopping 1TB of storage and 12GB of RAM for $1,599.
The good news is that you can get up to $550 with trade-in offers. Be sure to check out our updated list of the best Galaxy S10 deals so far.
The Galaxy S10 Plus is available from all of the major carriers, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon, as well as U.S. Cellular and Xfinity Mobile. You can also buy the phone unlocked.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S10 PLUS
THE GOOD
- Immersive Infinity-O display
- Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor works well
- Excellent cameras
- Very fast performance
- Superb battery life and can charge other gadgets wirelessly
- Headphone jack
THE BAD
- Punch holes in display can be distracting
- Pricey
- Confusing gesture controls
VERDICT
The Galaxy S10 Plus is one of the best phones money can buy, with fast performance, an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, improved cameras and extra-long battery life.
Design: Refined and elegant, but about those punch holes
The quest for the all-screen phone is almost complete. The Infinity-O display on the Galaxy S10 Plus truly goes from edge to edge. With the exception of a narrow chin on the bottom, the S10 Plus has virtually no bezels. Samsung was able to do this because it used a laser cutter to carve out holes in the top right of the screen for the front cameras.
Now that I’ve been living with the S10 Plus, I’d say that the holes can be distracting, especially when you’re using an app with a white background like Gmail. It’s like two tiny eyes staring at you. And there’s a reason Samsung created wallpapers for this phone that are darker toward the top right corner: to help hide these holes.
Are the punch holes any better or worse than the iPhone XS’ notch? It’s a wash for me, because even though the notch is bigger, it swoops down from the top of the screen and isn’t an interruption like the camera holes are. Interestingly, you can hide the front cameras altogether if you want so that a black bar appears atop the screen, but that seems like an even bigger waste of real estate. (We have step-by-step instructions on hiding the front cameras if you want to do it.)
The S10’s camera holes can be distracting, especially when you’re using an app with a white background like Gmail.
Measuring 6.2 x 2.91 x 0.3 inches and weighing 6.17 ounces, the Galaxy S10 Plus is not a one-handed phone, at least not for me. I had to shift the device in my hand as tried to reach the Recent Apps button on the left side with my thumb.
There's a slightly bigger issue with the design, and that's the curve on the display. This is not a new problem, but because the screen is curved and it goes from edge to edge I accidentally pressed things i didn't mean to press as I was simply holding the device.
However, Samsung’s phone is more than a full ounce lighter and noticeably narrower than the iPhone XS Max (6.2 x 3.05 x 0.3 inches and 7.34 ounces). Plus, you can engage one-handed mode by swiping diagonally up and to the left from the bottom right of the screen.
We tested the Galaxy S10 Plus in Prism White, which has a futuristic vibe to it and does a nice job hiding fingerprint smudges. You can also get it in Prism Black, Prism Blue and Flamingo Pink. If you prefer a more durable ceramic finish on the back to glass, you can spend an extra $250 on the Ceramic White or Ceramic Black finish.
Galaxy S10 Plus Specs
| Price | $999 |
| Display (Resolution) | 6.4 inches (wide quad HD+) |
| Rear Camera(s) | 16-MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 12-MP dual-pixel wide (f/1.5, f/2.4), 12-MP telephoto (f/2.4) |
| Front Camera(s) | 10-MP dual-pixel (f/1.9), 8-MP depth-sensing (f/2.2) |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 |
| RAM | 8GB, 12GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| microSD | Yes, up to 512GB |
| Battery | 4,100mAh |
| Colors | Prism Black, Prism White, Prism Blue, Ceramic White, Ceramic Black, Prism Green (except U.S.), Flamingo Pink (except U.K.) |
| Size | 6.2 x 2.91 x 0.3 inches |
| Weight | 6.17 ounces |
Ultrasonic fingerprint: Fast and (mostly) convenient
This is biometric security made easy. The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy S10 Plus is embedded into the display and is easy to set up and use. Unlike Apple’s Face ID, you don’t have to stare at your phone and swipe up to unlock the device; you simply hold your finger on the designated area of the screen and—boom—you’re in.
Unlike the 2D optical fingerprint sensors found on other phones like the OnePlus 6T, the ultrasonic reader on the S10 Plus creates a 3D map of your finger, which is more secure. It’s also plenty fast, as I never waited more than a second to log in.
I did encounter a few false negative “No Match” messages during my initial testing. But I enjoyed much more consistent results once I remapped my finger and made sure to position my thumb from multiple angles during the registration process. Since then, I have logged in successfully almost every time. Sometimes, I get an alert that says "keep your finger on the sensor a little longer." So it's important to just press and hold briefly when unlocking the S10.
I also tried unlocking the Galaxy S10 with a wet finger; I ran my hand under the sink and then placed my thumb on the display and I unlocked the phone. The ultrasonic fingerprint reader even worked after I smushed some potato chip crumbs between my fingers.
The Galaxy S10 offers facial recognition, but the default fast scanning mode makes it all too easy for someone to unlock with a photo or video of you, which we have confirmed in testing. We suggest that you toggle the fast scanning option off or simply use the fingerprint reader.
Cameras: Compelling wide-angle and dual selfie cams
The Galaxy S10 Plus packs the most cameras we’ve seen on a Samsung phone yet with a grand total of five. There’s three in the rear, including a 12-MP dual-pixel main shooter with a variable aperture (f/1.5, f/2.4), a 12-MP telephoto lens (f/2.4) with a 2x optical zoom and an ultra-wide 16-MP camera (f/2.2) that gives you a 123-degree view.
Up front, the Galaxy S10 Plus features two cameras: a 10-MP dual-pixel shooter (f/1.8) and a second 8-MP depth-sensing lens (f/2.2).
The ultra-wide angle lens on the S10 Plus can produce dramatic-looking photos, giving you a more captivating view of almost any scene. Take this shot of the Grace building in New York City, which has a unique curved design. With the standard camera, you can make out the curve, but with the ultra-wide lens engaged you can see the other flat buildings around it, making the curve more pronounced.
If you like to have fun with portraits, you’ll appreciate the new Live Focus effects Samsung has added to the mix. You can choose from Blur, Spin, Zoom and Color point. My fave is Color Point, which puts the main subject in color and the background in black and white. The effect worked really well for this shot of me in San Francisco standing in front of a cable car. You can also apply these effects to portraits or selfies after you shoot.
Using a dedicated neural processing unit and AI, the Galaxy S10’s camera can recognize 30 different subjects, up from 20 on the Galaxy Note 9. This is not instant, though, as it took a few seconds for the dog icon to show up in the camera live view as I shot a picture of my golden retriever.The ultra-wide angle lens on the S10 Plus can produce dramatic-looking photos, giving you a more captivating view of almost any scene.
To see how well the Galaxy S10 Plus’s camera performs, we faced it off against the Pixel 3, and Google’s phone came out on top. But the S10 Plus won some rounds. Take this shot of some colorful hats. The S10 Plus’s image is brighter and sharper, even if parts of the shot are a bit blown out compared to the Pixel 3’s photo of the same scene.
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