Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, Galaxy S10E, Galaxy Buds: Here’s everything Samsung may launch on Feb 20

Samsung is hosting Unpacked 2019 on February 20. In India, you will be able to watch the livestream on February 21 from 12:30AM IST on Samsung India’s website. Samsung is celebrating 10 years of the Galaxy this year, and it has already confirmed the Galaxy S10 is incoming. So is the Galaxy Fold, a fully-functional foldable phone that Samsung first teased at its annual developer conference last year. And there will be more products - will Samsung launch 10 new products, that is the question. 

The Galaxy S10 is expected to spawn three variants at least – the standard or vanilla Galaxy S10, the high-end Galaxy S10+ and the more affordable Galaxy S10E (previously thought to be Galaxy S10 Lite). A fourth Galaxy S10 variant is said to be on the cards as well, with 5G connectivity and more. The foldable Galaxy phone is meanwhile also expected to make an appearance in full glory. That’s five smartphones in all. 

Samsung is also expected to launch a slew of smart wearable devices, bringing them all under the Galaxy umbrella. These include, the Tizen OS-based Galaxy Watch Active, the Galaxy Fit (and Galaxy Fit E) fitness band and the truly wireless Galaxy Buds. Samsung is also reportedly working on a mainstream Galaxy Home (Mini) smart speaker, and while it is highly unlikely that we’ll hear something about it at Unpacked, the company may finally drop pricing and availability specifics of its long-delayed Galaxy Home. That’s three smart wearables plus some extra bit of Galaxy Home cheese. 

Here’s everything Samsung may launch on February 20: 

Samsung Galaxy S10E 

While the standard Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ will reportedly start at Rs 70,000+ and Rs 80,000+ respectively, the Galaxy S10E will cost at around Rs 60,000. In Europe, that is. In India, we can expect the Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy S10E to cost slightly lower than their European counterparts. 

The Galaxy S10E, which is said to be Samsung’s take on the iPhone XR, will have the same core innards as its bigger, more expensive siblings - which means, the same Exynos and Qualcomm chips and possibly the same primary rear and front cameras. It will reportedly come with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, and going by Samsung’s track record, micro-SD storage expansion is expected. 

It is also said to retain Samsung’s new Infinity-O notch display which means, much like the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+, the Galaxy S10E will also have a punch-hole selfie camera. 

But being an affordable option means, the Galaxy S10E will cut some corners. It will reportedly come with a smaller 5.8-inch screen with a flatter bezel as opposed to the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ which will retain Samsung’s hallmark curves on all sides. The Galaxy S10E is also said to pack a conventional fingerprint scanner as opposed to the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ which will come with in-display fingerprint scanners. In the Galaxy S10E, the power button on the side will double as a fingerprint scanner, which isn’t ideal, but certainly not new for a Samsung phone. Lastly, the Galaxy S10E is said to come with dual rear cameras and will be powered by a smaller 3,100mAh battery as well. 

But where the Galaxy S10E will fall short in terms of top-tier design, it will more than compensate for through its unique colours – the phone will reportedly be available in Canary Yellow, Prism Black, Green, White and Blue. 

Samsung Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+ 

The Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ will share a lot in common. So, let’s start with the purported differences. The Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ will reportedly differ in screen size, battery capacity and front camera configurations. While the Galaxy S10 is said to come with a 6.1-inch screen, the Galaxy S10+ will reportedly come with a bigger 6.3-inch display. While the Galaxy S10 is said to come with a 3,400mAh battery, the Galaxy S10+ will reportedly pack a larger 4,100mAh battery. The Galaxy S10+ is also said to come with dual front cameras, consisting of one 10MP sensor with f/1.9 aperture (same as the one on the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10E) and a secondary 8MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture (presumably for depth sensing). 

Additionally, the highest-end variant of the Galaxy S10+ is said to have a ceramic body, and whopping 12GB RAM and 1TB storage.  

Both the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ will reportedly come with an AMOLED HDR+ display with QHD+ resolution, 19:9 aspect ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection. Both will reportedly be powered by the same Exynos 9820/Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor. Both will reportedly run the same Android Pie-based One UI, and sport the same triple rear cameras - consisting of one 12MP wide (77-degree field of view) sensor with f/1.5 aperture and dual pixel OIS, a 16MP ultra-wide (123-degree field of view) sensor with f/2.2 aperture and fixed focus, and a 12MP telephoto sensor with OIS. Both will reportedly come with in-display fingerprint scanner and 9W reverse charging and faster Wi-Fi 6 (even the Galaxy S10E will reportedly pack these features). 

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, aka Galaxy S10 X 

Now details about the Galaxy S10 X are scarce and considering that it is said to be a 5G-ready Galaxy phone, limited availability is a given. Unlike the Galaxy S10 trio, the Galaxy S10 X may not launch in India anytime soon. 

Regardless, some of its rumored specs place it over the Galaxy S10+, which is frankly insane – a 6.7-inch display, six cameras in all (four on the rear and two on the front), 256GB base storage and a massive 5,000mAh battery. 

Samsung Galaxy Fold 

Rumour has it that Samsung showed off its foldable Galaxy phone to a few customers behind closed doors at CES 2019. The company did not apparently opt for a broader showcase – at CES 2019 – seemingly because the product was not ready for prime-time: there were alleged structural issues with the folding process. But it is seemingly ready now.  

The Galaxy Fold will give users access to two categories of devices: a 7.3-inch primary tablet kind and a smaller 4.58-inch phone form factor: in one device. 

Samsung is expected to start selling its foldable Galaxy phone sometime in H1 2019 but because the device will be so very difficult to make, only limited quantities – reportedly about a million units – will be made available for buying. Also, it won’t likely be made available for buying across the globe like its Galaxy S10 phones. 

Samsung Galaxy Buds 

Samsung’s truly wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Buds, will reportedly feature fast wireless charging (so you would be able to charge them wirelessly using the Galaxy S10 which will support 9W reverse charging) and improved Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. Samsung will likely bundle a pair of free Galaxy Buds with the Galaxy S10 for early-bird pre-orders. 

The Galaxy Buds will reportedly also come in yellow (like the Galaxy S10E), in addition to black and white. 

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 

The Galaxy Watch Active, purported successor to the Gear Sport, will reportedly be the first Samsung smart wearable to run One UI. The One UI, according to leaked renders, will bring in new watch faces as well as new fitness tracking features. Samsung seems to be working on its own take on Apple’s colorful activity rings found in the Apple Watch. Support for auto continuous heart-rate monitoring, and even more exercise forms are said to be on the cards. 

There is a downside amid all this though. Unlike its immediate predecessor, the Galaxy Watch Active will reportedly come sans a rotating bezel. 

Rumoured specs of the Galaxy Watch Active include a 1.1-inch AMOLED display and a 236mAh battery. The Galaxy Watch Active is further said to come with an Exynos 9110 processor with 4GB of storage. Connectivity options will reportedly include Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, and Wi-Fi. 

Samsung Galaxy Fit, Galaxy Fit E 

Samsung is also looking to update its Gear Fit fitness band both in terms of branding and hopefully in terms of feature set as well. Samsung is calling it the Galaxy Fit. While the feature set of the Galaxy Fit is unknown, the Galaxy Fit might be available in two variants, a standard and an e-version. The e-version could be like the running edition fitness bands we see from competing brands. 

Leaked by Samsung itself, the Galaxy Fit will have a watch-like buckle that will remind you of the Gear Fit 2 Pro. There will be a colour display on-board, ideally AMOLED. The Galaxy Fit will be able to count steps. More details are awaited.

Images courtesy: @ishanagarwal24

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