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The Samsung Galaxy S10 is poised for big-screen changes

New Samsung Galaxy S10 rumors point to what may be the most exciting phone of 2019, which makes sense given the incremental upgrade that was the Samsung Galaxy S9. The South Korean company is poised for a major overhaul.

Current Samsung Galaxy S10 rumors suggest a phone with a larger screen, maybe one that does away with the iris scanner in an attempt to make the screen-to-body ratio larger than the Galaxy S9 Plus. Every fraction of an inch of space counts.

Samsung did just announce its Samsung Infinity Flex Display, though we suspect that will be on a different foldable model, as the idea we saw in person on November 7 seemed like a concept. In other words, Samsung could launch a Galaxy S10 variant to test the waters with early adopters

Speaking of timing, the Galaxy S10 release date may not be far off. In fact, we could see official hints about the smartphone drop in the next few weeks, namely at CES 2018 in January (sometimes Samsung teases its phone there) or right ahead of MWC 2019 (we expect the phone to launch at this Barcelona-located conference).

Samsung Galaxy S10 release date and price

The Samsung Galaxy S10 launch date is is likely to be in early 2019. More specifically we'll probably see it at MWC 2019, which takes place from February 25-28.Not only does more than one leaker claim we'll see it then, but Samsung announced the Galaxy S9 range at MWC 2018, so the 2019 show is the most likely release date.

Samsung doesn’t always announce its Galaxy S flagships there, but recent models have all been announced in the first few months of the year, so we’d be surprised if we don’t see the Samsung Galaxy S10 by the end of March 2019.Though it could arrive earlier, as we might see it in January at CES 2019 if one rumor is to be believed. That takes place from January 8-11, but that feels too early for such as major announcement, so we'd take this particular Galaxy S10 leak with a fair pinch of salt.One price rumor puts the budget model at $650-$750 (roughly £500-£585 / AU$900-AU$1,040), but this time Samsung might launch three models, so expect prices to climb significantly as you move up the range.

The Galaxy S9 launched at $719.99 / £739 / AU$1,199, while the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus went on sale for $840 / £869 / AU$1,349. We’d expect the pricier entries in the Galaxy S10 range will cost at least that much.

Samsung Galaxy S10 design and display

One leak from OnLeaks suggests those colors may be Black, Grey, Blue, Red, Green and Yellow, while in announcing some software Samsung may have hinted that the phone will come in silver, green, black, blue and pink shades and will have a 3.5mm headphone port.Meanwhile, a benchmark for a mystery Samsung phone which could be the S10 points to a 19:9 aspect ratio, which would make it taller than the 18.5:9 Galaxy S9.One thing the Galaxy S10 might not have though, is a notch, because, as noted by T3, Samsung has taken to Twitter to criticize the notch on the Google Pixel 3 XL, so presumably it won't be going down that route for its next flagship. Having said that, the company has now revealed several new screens, some of which do have notches.

At least one S10 model could ditch bezels completely though, as Samsung has teased another phone (the Galaxy A8S) in the image below, showing a handset that seemingly has no notch or bezels. This might be achieved by drilling a hole into the screen for the camera, according to one source, possibly like the Infinity-O display mentioned above.

The image, which you can see below, shows a handset with a curved screen and almost no bezel on any edge. There seems to be less bezel in fact than we've seen on any other phone, suggesting the front-facing camera may either pop up or be built into the screen.You can't see much else, but in addition to the power and volume buttons it looks like the Bixby button is making a return - if this photo really is showing the S10 and if nothing changes in the design before launch, which are two big ifs, especially as reputable leaker @OnLeaks has poured cold water on the image, claiming it's fake.

Samsung Galaxy S10 biometric security

The picture above is our only real possible sighting of the Galaxy S10 yet (and we use the term 'real' very loosely), but we have heard a number of things about it, and one rumor we have seen pop up numerous times is the presence of an in-screen fingerprint scanner.This would go nicely with the all-screen design that's being tipped for the phone, and would see the Galaxy S10 follow in the footsteps of the Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS and Vivo Nex.We've heard a similar thing from South Korean media, but it suggests that we'll only see an in-display fingerprint scanner as the main way of unlocking the phone. Either way, it's likely the iris scanner will be dropped.

An earlier rumor also talks about an in-screen scanner, stating that while an in-screen scanner wouldn’t be ready in time for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, it would be ready by sometime next year, making the Samsung Galaxy S10 a candidate for one.

Samsung Galaxy S10 camera

An analyst reckons Samsung is considering a triple-lens camera for the Samsung Galaxy S10, along with a 3D sensor for augmented reality content.Analyst chatter isn’t always that reliable, but it would make sense if Samsung wants to compete with the Huawei P20 Pro and the rumored triple-lens iPhone.

It's also a rumor that we've now heard again, with a source claiming that while the most basic model of the Galaxy S10 might have just a single-lens camera and the middle model might have a dual-lens one, the biggest (and most expensive) version of the Samsung Galaxy S10 would have a triple-lens camera.

More recently we've heard more details on the possible specs of the triple-lens camera, with it apparently consisting of a 12MP wide-angle lens, a 16MP super wide-angle lens and a 13MP telephoto lens.

An even newer report echoes those camera specs, but adds that the 12MP one will be an f/1.5-f/2.4 variable aperture lens , just like the camera on the Samsung Galaxy S9, while the 16MP lens will have an f/1.9 aperture and a 123-degree field of view, and the 13MP lens will have an f/2.4 aperture.

Some or all of the S10 models might also have a dual-lens front-facing camera according to one report, which would give the top model five lenses overall. It's not known what the extra front lens would be used for, but it's likely to improve the face unlock feature if nothing else.

Samsung Galaxy S10 name

We’ve also heard talk that Samsung might rename the range, launching the next model as the Samsung Galaxy X rather than the Galaxy S10. That might sound unlikely, but Koh Dong-jin, the head of Samsung’s mobile division, has been quoted as saying that “we have been thinking about whether we need to maintain the S moniker or the numbering system” so it’s possible.

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