SAMSUNG GALAXY S10 LITE: Almost a Flagship

Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is the lighter version of previous year’s flagship the Samsung Galaxy S10. Galaxy S10 E was also released last year as a shortened specs version of the S10 but surprisingly Samsung released another version this year.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is different from its predecessors the Galaxy S10 series in having a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor in place of the Exynos chipset which is surely better by even a small margin.

Samsung has already released their flagships for this year,2020 namely the S20 series but if you want a taste of the Samsung experience at a much lower price then the Galaxy S10 Lite is a good option.

Though at its price i.e ₹42999 for the 8/128GB variant it will have to face some serious competition from the OnePlus 8.

Now its upon you to decide. Here is s detailed information on the specs.

DESIGN AND BODY

Premium looks would be an understatement.The Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite features a glass front and the back is what Samsung calls glastic (nothing but plastic which looks like glass) on top of a metallic frame.The rear camera module is different from that of the Galaxy S10 which had a horizontal set-up.The S10 Lite features a perpendicular rectangular module going with this year’s flagships the S20 series.

The back specially the White colour variant has a pearl shiny finish to it. It lacks in having no IP certification for dust and water resistance which its main version has.On the front is s punch hole selfie camera right in the centre.

The dimensions of the phone are 162.5mm×75.6mm×8.1mm.It weighs 186g. To be honest the phone is quite light and slim.

DISPLAY

One thing you can always be assured of and that is a Samsung phone will always have a better and more vibrant display.It sports s 6.7″ Super Amoled display with 2400×1080 resolution. The aspect ratio is 20:9 and the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite has ~394 ppi.Amoled screens by default have vivid colours and you can also customise your phone with the settings given.

The display supports an always on display with HDR 10+ whereas the screen refresh rate is 60 Hz whereas the biggest contender the OnePlus8 has a 90Hz display.

Another point worth mentioning is that the display is flat meaning there is no curved edges.

OS, PROCESSOR AND STORAGE

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite (runs on Android 10 with Samsung One UI 2 slapped over it.The One UI also has some distinctive features like the Bixby voice control for hands-free phone usage. Then there is the Knox security mode a pretty impressive and important feature to enhance your phone’s security.The One handed mode is also essential for a display so big.

Under the hood is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC with octa core processor (1×2.84GHz,3×2.42GHz,4×1.78GHz) and GPU Adreno 640.This was the go-to chipset of last year’s premium flagships and is a very efficient one with slight difference with the latest Snapdragon 865.Moreover the Galaxy S10 Lite doesn’t feature the Exynos chipset which is present in the rest of S10 series.

Three variants of the phone are available-6GB RAM+128GB Internal storage,8GB RAM+128GB Internal storage and 8GB RAM +512GB Internal storage.The 8/128 GB is the common one.Storage is UFS 2.1 powered.There is also place for external storage as there is a shared slot for micro SD card along with the dual sim.1TB is the maximum expandable storage.

CAMERA

Rear Camera

On the back is a rectangular quad camera module with a primary 48MP f/2.0 wide sensor,a 12MP f/2.2 ultra wide sensor with 123° field of view and a 5MP f/2.4 macro lens.The absence of a telephoto lens is disturbing but Samsung has compensated with the camera quality and features.Again I will say that I personally find no big use or requirement of the macro lens.

Both the wide and ultra wide sensor come with Live Focus and hence the Bokeh effect is wonderful.The main camera also comes with Super Steady OIS(optical image stabilization). Night mode is present for your low light photography.A dedicated Food mode is present to recognise and enhance images of foods.

4K videos can be shot at 30 fps and 1080p [email protected]/60/240 fps.The Super Steady OIS comes in very handy and allows steady videos even if you are jogging or cycling and capturing. Live Focus is also supported in video mode and hence you can get videos with Bokeh effect i.e background blurred.

FRONT CAMERA

Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite houses a 32 MP f/2.2 punch hole selfie camera with HDR support.It also features the Live Focus which enables you to shoot Portrait selfies with excellent Bokeh effect.1080p videos at 30fps can be captured.

OTHER FEATURES

You can unlock the phone with the in display optical fingerprint sensor.Face unlock is also supported with the front camera.It is unlike the S20 series which uses ultrasonic fingerprint sensor.

There is no 3.5 mm jack. A USB support wired headphone is present in the box which I like a lot since I am a fan of wired headphones like many of you.A single bottom lined speaker takes care of the audio and has a pretty loud maximum volume.

Bluetooth, Wifi are present.You can easily link with windows app and use the phone as a laptop another unique Samsung feature.

Game Booster is present with usual features of no notification and enhanced connection mode.The Snapdragon 855 is a high end chipset and gaming experience is bound to be lag or stutter free.

BATTERY AND COLOURS

Another aspect in which the S10 Lite betters its predecessors is the 4500mAH battery with 45W fast charging support.But there is no wireless charging which may affect some of you.But you need to know that the Snapdragon 855 is renowned for its energy efficiency and along with Samsung’s battery saving features it will be tough for you to drain the battery in a single day of more than moderate use.If not then you have the 45W fast charging.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is available in three variants- Prism Black,Prism White and Prism Blue.

CONCLUSION

Good though it is but at the price tag it is enevitable that people will compare it with the OnePlus 8.In my opinion besides the 90Hz refresh rate of display and the latest Snapdragon processor both the phones are pretty similar.

In fact although the rear camera module is pretty similar the front camera of the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is better. Still when the price is almost similar one does tend to go for the latest model if he or she has no fascination for Samsung brand.

In my personal view 90Hz display is far better than the customery 60 Hz of the Galaxy S10 Lite in terms of scrolling or swiping but effectively it doesn’t have an impact on the phone’s performance. 90Hz also calls for faster battery drainage. In regards to the processor Snapdragon 855 is pretty good and the difference with the Snapdragon 865 of OnePlus 8 is small besides the latter having a 5G modem.

So are you willing to buy the Galaxy S10 Lite? Please let me know in comments.