Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite review: Do not take this smartphone lightly 

Samsung launched Galaxy S10 lineup of phones in India last year at a starting price of Rs 55,900 for Galaxy S10e (6GB RAM/128GB stor) going all way up to Rs 1,17,900 for top-end Galaxy S10+ with 12GB RAM, 1TB stor and ceramic back. lineup has since seen a price drop but n again, only ever so slightly which is understandable because we’re dealing with Samsung’s latest and greatest hardware here – at least, until time Galaxy S20 shows up. 

Officially you can w get a Samsung Galaxy S10e at a base price of Rs 47,900. Pair that with a bank offer and you will be able to get it for around Rs 40,000. But Galaxy S10e’ pocket size means it may t appeal to everybody, even though it’s a pocket rocket. Which means you don’t have a choice but spend more and get vanilla Galaxy S10 if you want to get Samsung’s best. Some would do that. Some may t. In past, Samsung wouldn’t have really cared about latter group. In 2020, it seems it does. Enter Galaxy S10 Lite.  

Galaxy S10 Lite, as name suggests, is a ‘lite’ take on ‘flagship’ Galaxy S10. phone in question lies below Galaxy S10e in lineup and brings Samsung’s high-end hardware to masses – at under Rs 40,000 to be precise. re’s a very simple reason why it exists. re’s a certain amount of familiarity associated with Samsung’s Galaxy S devices. se are Samsung’s -nsense high-end flagship devices. Samsung alrey has Galaxy S10e (and vanilla Galaxy S10) as a more affordable option in lineup and making things more accessible in form of Galaxy S10 Lite would hopefully help it sell more devices in markets like India where it’s comparatively easier to sell a ‘value’ flagship on premise that se have everything that a true-blue flagship might have without higher asking price. 

And re are areas where Galaxy S10 Lite offers even more bang for buck over Galaxy S10+. For starters, it is first Samsung flagship phone in years to come with a Qualcomm processor – in this case, Snapdragon 855. It has a massive 4,500mAh battery and supports whopping 45W fast charging. Samsung is also touting its cameras, especially a new hardware feature called ‘super stey OIS’ for seemingly more stabilized videos. It has a bigger 6.7-inch screen too. 

In simple terms, you’ll be mistaken if you take Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite lightly. Let’s review this thing w, shall we?        

Design and display 

While Galaxy S10e was designed for those seeking a compact flagship, Galaxy S10 Lite is quite opposite. It’s a phone designed for those looking for a tall, nay, very tall screen. It’s in fact tallest among Galaxy S10 lot and a hair short of Galaxy te 10+’. But this is a Samsung phone, so you’ll probably won’t tice it much. Much like any or high-end Samsung phone, Galaxy S10 Lite also keeps its physical dimensions in check but n again re’s only so much that it can do, meaning, this is t a phone meant for ‘comfortable’ one hand use. When you’re buying a 6.7-inch phone like Galaxy S10 Lite, you alrey kw what you’re getting into. 

What really matters is overall fit and finish – and way this thing has been designed. It’s designed well. With rounded corners and curved edges, Galaxy S10 Lite fits just right into your hands, while its flat screen ensures it doesn’t slip off from your hands. Galaxy S10 Lite is a pleasure to hold and operate, so much so that it doesn’t take long to get used to its vast expanse. back is rar plain and simple with a rectangular camera module positioned at one end at top – it sticks out ever so slightly but t alarmingly so. This is a design inspired from Samsung’s new Galaxy A lineup, something that is also likely to make its way to this year’s Galaxy S20. 

But this is an affordable flagship so to say which means that some corners have been cut. Galaxy S10 Lite is me of ‘glossy’ plastic through and through. Samsung calls material '3D Glasstic.’ While it does help in building a slim profile, it also leaves phone prone to smudge and scratches in equal measure. Samsung is shipping a clear case in box which comes handy. 

front of Galaxy S10 Lite is unlike any or Galaxy S10 phone. Rar, it is Galaxy te 10 like. You don’t get Samsung’s highest end Dynamic AMOLED here but something that company is calling Super AMOLED Plus. We don’t kw what that really means though. But fancy naming conventions aside, Samsung makes best display panels for smartphones and Galaxy S10 Lite also has one of best screens that money can buy at its price. 

Wher you talk about brightness or contrast or outdoor legibility, you can’t go wrong with this one. Colors are more natural by default, but re is also an option to pump out Samsung’s signature over-contrast through settings. Viewing angles are also abundantly good with minimal color and white shifting. resolution is FHD+ and while re’s OnePlus 7T-like 90Hz refresh rate here, quality of display is so good, chances are you won’t even tice it.  

This is because Galaxy S10 Lite is literally all-screen and bezel with an Infinity-O punch hole in a de center position where you’re most likely going to forget about it, after a couple of days or two. Even faster if you’re going to binge watch content on it. Galaxy S10 Lite display is also certified for viewing HDR10+ content.   

Unlike Galaxy S10 and Galaxy te 10 phones, Galaxy S10 Lite gets an optical in-display fingerprint scanner which is faster in comparison, but again, a hit and miss affair. It’s t as fast competition, primarily OnePlus 7T eir.  

Performance, software and battery life 

Exys-based processors have become de facto when it comes to Samsung premium flagships in India. So, every instance when company decides to flip script in favor of a Qualcomm processor, you’re bound to tice. Since it doesn’t happen very often, one can also cherish this development. And for good reason. Both syntic benchmarks and real-world experience give Qualcomm edge when it comes to desirability. Galaxy S10 Lite packs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 and while it isn’t next generation so to say, it’s still got a lot of fire power under hood to make you excited. That's basically same deal as Galaxy S10 lineup sold in US. 

This is paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB UFS 2.1 stor which is furr expandable by up to 1TB via a hybrid micro-SD card slot. dual-SIM phone runs Android 10-based One UI 2 software – that's best from Samsung right w.  

Unsurprisingly, Galaxy S10 Lite literally flies – matter what you throw at it. And it does that without breaking a sweat. Samsung does t say if it’s using any sort of fancy cooling techlogy inside, but thing has been running mostly cool mostly all time for me. That’s in part due to fabulous Snapdragon 855 chipset and in part due to Samsung’s well thought out optimizations. Galaxy S10 Lite handles everyday tasks like a boss and plays graphically demanding games like PUBG at high settings well.   

phone is efficient too and it boasts of biggest battery that Samsung has ever shipped in a high-end flagship to date - which is 4,500mAh. Battery life is outstanding. Galaxy S10 Lite is easily a one-and-a-half-day phone for even most demanding users.  

Galaxy S10 Lite supports 45W fast charging (like Galaxy te 10+) but Samsung is bundling a 25W fast charger in box (again, like Galaxy te 10+) which tops phone in around 1 hour – which is fantastic. 

Camera 

Galaxy S10 Lite has three rear cameras. re’s a 48MP main sensor (that’s Sony’s IMX586 for your reference) behind an f/2.0 lens, paired with a 12MP ultrawide-angle camera with a 123-degree field-of-view, and ar 5MP camera for closeups or macros. Samsung has been using 48MP cameras on some of its lower-end Galaxy A phones but clearly, t all 48MP cameras are created equally. Galaxy S10 Lite is a fine example. It’s better. Samsung has also outfitted Galaxy S10 Lite with something called ‘super stey OIS,’ that uses a combination of hardware and software to minimize shake and entail in seemingly better photos/videos in tricky scenarios. You should t confuse this with Samsung’s existing super stey mode which is essentially a software-only feature meant ‘specifically’ for video stabilization. While super stey mode needs to be enabled manually, super stey OIS is always on by default. 

As for im quality, it is quite good. That’s especially true for main camera. In good light, 12MP pixel-binned photos taken with  Galaxy S10 Lite come out sharp with good detail and colors that are mostly true to source, if a little oversaturated. Dynamic range also remains consistent across board here. That main camera is also capable of shooting native 48MP photos but again, that’s t its main attraction – far from it. 48MP main camera also handles tricky and low light well eugh even with night mode off. Samsung’s HDR helps capture more detail in such cases while super stey OIS helps in focusing. re is some room for improvement though. Night mode works well eugh helping capture brighter photos but re is some softness to m. All in all, that main camera gets job done and is in fact a step up from what you get on OnePlus 7T.  

12MP ultrawide-angle camera is good eugh especially in good light. Samsung’s automatic fish-eye reduction algorithm works well so re’s a general evenness to se photos throughout frame. Low light photos could be better though. 5MP macros shot using Galaxy S10 Lite come out well detailed with mostly accurate colors but only when re’s a lot of light at your disposal.  

While still photography may be a hit and miss on occasions, videos shot using Galaxy S10 Lite (up to 4K UHD) are easily among best in under Rs 40,000 price segment. level of stabilization and details here is simply hard to igre.  

On front, Galaxy S10 Lite has a 32MP camera that again uses pixel-binned photos with 8MP output. Selfies taken with it come out well detailed with pleasing colors in good lighting with intensity of ise increasing as level of light goes down. selfie camera can also take software-assisted bokeh shots that are good eugh, but we’ve surely seen better. 

Quick pointers on Galaxy S10 Lite as an everyday phone -   

-- Phone calls me with Galaxy S10 Lite are of good quality across board – re’s thing really to complain here. dual SIM phone supports dual 4G VoLTE. 

-- Galaxy S10 Lite has a mo speaker out which gets loud but can’t match stereo output coming from phones like OnePlus 7T. 

-- Galaxy S10 Lite does t have a hephone jack. 

-- phone does t support wireless charging or have any water and dust resistance like its more expensive Galaxy S10 siblings. 

Should you buy Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite? 

With Galaxy S20 launch on horizon (Samsung Unpacked is on February 11) it’s easy to write off Galaxy S10 Lite, but with what’s in store here, it’s easily one of most sought-after devices in Samsung’s 2020 portfolio that should hold its ground even after arrival of Galaxy S20 phones. Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is all about recycled parts but at least those are some good parts (especially cameras). It’s t a downright OnePlus 7T killer ( OnePlus 7T has a more premium design and generally faster performance with a 90Hz display) but I really liking 'new' trajectory Samsung is taking here. 

Galaxy S10 Lite has a lot going for itself. It’s a ticket into Samsung’s high-end flagship experience at a relatively more mainstream pricing and definitely worth a look if you have a budget of around Rs 40,000.  

(Photos by Saurabh Singh)

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