Samsung Galaxy S10 5G
Recently Telstra moved to selling three 5G smartphones from Samsung, Oppo and LG, but the only problem is that in a city such as Sydney or Melbourne it’s impossible to get a 5G signal over 380Mbps.
This is a real picture shot on the Samsung S10 5G. The picture was shot through the window of a BMW X4 shown is not only the kangaroos but the head up display that appears on the screen of an X4.
This is a technology that’s in its infancy and I suspect that 5G will become just another stream alongside 4G that a device flicks in and out of with all smartphones over a certain price point having the 5G chipset built in.
The new Samsung S10 5G is the same as the S10 plus the big difference is that it comes with a chipset that finds a 5G network when it’s available, then there is the added advantage of a 25 Watt fast charger new front camera sensors that actually capture more image data while also delivering improved picture quality.
In the hand the device feels light and comfortable despite it being fractionally larger than the S10+
The S10 5G now adds time of flight (TOF) depth sensors to both the rear and front camera.
The device has nonremovable 4100 mah battery compared to the S10 5G’s 4500mah battery capacity however I am still getting excellent battery management despite heavy use of the device during for example a trip to Melbourne where I used the new device for both navigating and accessing news sites all day long. I was expecting the 5G device to be power hungry due to the larger screen size and the added 5G processor.
The S10 5G has fast wireless charging 15W and Power bank/ Reverse wireless charging 9W.
However, the S10 5G supports wired Fast battery charging 25W (USB Power Delivery 3.0) which is much faster at filling the huge battery than the S10+ wired Fast battery charging 15W.
In the hand the device feels light and comfortable despite it being fractionally larger than the S10+ and at 198gm which is 23 grams more than the S10+ and while I could hold it in one hand, I suspect females with smaller hands will have a problem.
On the outside Gorilla Glass 6 covers the almost bezel less body and the HDR10+ Dynamic AMOLED screen.
Size wise the S10 5G is 6.7″ up from the 6.4″ S10+.
The nice thing about a Samsung smartphone Vs a Chinese made Oppo or Huawei device is that you feel safe in that the device is protected by Samsung’s constantly updated security system another advantage is that the Android 9.0 is layered with Samsung software that is highly functional and does not constantly change this is similar to the way that Apple delivers their OS apps.
The S10 5G has the same Android 9.0 Samsung One UI as the S10 and due to new software developments, the OS can be unlocked by placing your finger on the screen.
All you do is tap the screen to wake up the device and place your pre scanned finger on the screen to gain access to your app menu’s. Another big plus with this device is that I was able to easily transfer my apps along with the Samsung stored passwords from my S10+ to my S10 5G device, this saves an enormous amount of time having to set up a new device.
For iPhone owners who want to switch to a Samsung Android smartphone this is an ideal device to do it with as it is packed with features and software as well as hardware advancements that are not available for Apple iOS users.
Under the bonnet is 8GB RAM and the same Exynos 9820 chipset, Octa-core CPU and Mali-G76 MP12 GPU as in the S10+.
Under the bonnet is 8GB RAM and the same Exynos 9820 chipset, Octa-core CPU and Mali-G76 MP12 GPU as in the S10+
Unlike the US version of this device the Australian model has the Exynos Modem 5100 which supports sub-6GHz 5Ghz spectrum and enables download speeds of up to 2Gbps which is about 1.7 times faster than Samsung’s best Exynos 4G modem, the only problem is finding anywhere in Australia where you can get above 500mbps. How Telstra can on one hand claim speeds of over 1,600Mps in their Sydney experience centre for this device and then not deliver the same bandwidth 20 metres from a 5G Telstra tower defies logic or at least an ACCC investigation. The American S10 5G has a modem that supports higher Ghz mmWave (millimetre Wave).
The negative of this is that when you go to the USA with your superior Australian 5G device you will not be able to access a US 5G network.
5G Speed Tests
North South East and West in both Sydney and Melbourne we were unable to hit anywhere near the speed tests that Telstra claims in their PR spin sessions for 5G.
Recently at an event at Telstra’s Sydney Experience Centre we were shown 5G devices hitting over 1GB per second in download speeds yet right outside the front door of Telstra we were unable to get above 360Mbps.
20 metres from a 5G tower at 720 Military Road Mosman we had the same experience. Ironically the 4G signal did shoot up to over 260Mbps on this device.
Camera
The camera on this device is excellent and users can now take advantage of ultrawide, normal and 2x zoom lenses as well as the introduction of TOF sensors improve night photography. We noticed that in low light the new TOF sensors delivered significant detail despite their being limited light both with the flash disabled.
Conclusion
The big question now is why you should, invest in 5G now when Telstra is doing a lousy job of delivering the speeds they keep bragging about.
The answer is future proofing.
The Samsung 5G device can be used in the future to stream content delivering better content quality and faster speeds than 4G.
At this stage it is only a few seconds faster over 4G. However, you can add additional devices to you 5G smartphone using the built in tethering and these devices especially if they are 5G compatible will deliver better connectivity than via a 4G network due in part to better latency.
As for future proofing this device delivers superior processor capability than 98% of other smartphones out there and it delivers 5G today.
In the future when Telstra has real 5G competition 5G will be smarter, faster and more efficient than 4G.
The camera on this device is excellent and users can now take advantage of ultrawide, normal and 2x zoom lenses.
It will be capable of delivering mobile data speeds that far outstrip the fastest home broadband network currently available to consumers.
With speeds of up to 100 gigabits per second, 5G is set to be as much as 100 times faster than 4G and I believe the future for the Connected home and the thousands of devices which by next year will be automated to work with a Wi Fi or 5G network will work better via a 5G hub or connected to a 5G smartphone such as the Samsung S10 5G.
This device has all the top end capability that a premium Samsung delivers plus a few more capabilities such as 5G, Fast Charging and a much improved camera. What Telstra has to deliver is 1000GB of data for sub $150 a month plus the speeds they keep bragging about for 5G devices like this beauty to take off and become the norm.