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00:00Hey guys, I'm Tom the Tech Chap and this is the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus.
00:04I've been lucky enough to have a review sample since they were announced and since then I've been using this as my main
00:10everyday phone. I put it through its paces in Barcelona for a few days,
00:14I made a video showing off some of my favorite tips and tricks, and now I wanted to share with you my full review.
00:22So I'll cut to the chase, I had been using the Huawei Mate 20 Pro as my daily driver since I guess like October now,
00:29quite a long time, and I really, really have enjoyed using this. The big battery, triple camera setup.
00:34The software isn't my favorite and sometimes the camera was a bit inconsistent, but I really, really like this.
00:40So for me, this was the phone to beat and I think the S10 Plus has done it. Now,
00:46there is definitely room for improvement and quite honestly, I think the smaller S10e is actually a much better value proposition.
00:52It kind of feels like the iPhone SE of Android phones.
00:56But if you want the biggest, the best, the longest battery, the most cameras, the S10 Plus really is an incredible phone for £900.
01:04First question then, is it a big upgrade over the S9 Plus?
01:08Well, they both run Android 9 and use Samsung's One UI software, so they do feel very similar to use.
01:15But now we've got that new hole-punch design, much thinner bezels, a slightly bigger
01:19HDR 10 Plus screen with Gorilla Glass 6,
01:23in-screen fingerprint reader, a new ultra-wide camera lens on the back and second selfie lens on the front, and a pretty decent spec bump
01:29including two extra gigs of RAM and double the storage on the base model. Plus, we get a much bigger battery,
01:364100 versus 3500 mAh. So I would say that's a pretty big upgrade.
01:41But then when you consider you can get the S9 Plus now for around £600, about £300 less than the S10 Plus,
01:48I think it is still worth considering.
01:50Having said that, if you're happy to forego the latest processor, the hole-punch design, and a few other little bits and pieces,
01:57actually, I think the Galaxy Note 9 is a very, very strong contender.
02:01It costs about £700 now, plus you get those nice symmetrical bezels, which I know some people prefer, and of course the S Pen.
02:09But let's put the competition to one side for a moment and concentrate on the S10 Plus.
02:15While not everyone is a fan of that hole-punch design,
02:18especially on the S10 Plus with the dual camera lenses and that pill-shaped cutout, although you can actually add a software bezel if you want,
02:25personally, I actually do quite like it. I think it adds just a bit of character, especially when you can do things like this.
02:31I mean, if that's not a reason to buy an S10 Plus, then I don't know what is.
02:35Yes, the hole-punch cuts into full-screen videos and games,
02:38but if you hold the phone in landscape with the cameras in the lower right corner, your thumb basically covers it up anyway.
02:44Picking up the S10 Plus, you really do get a sense when you're holding and using it that this is a
02:49premium and really well-made phone. The S10 Plus really does pack in all the bells and whistles.
02:55We've got stereo speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack, a dual SIM card slot with microSD support,
03:00in-screen fingerprint reader, Face ID, plus IP68 water and dust resistance.
03:05And despite its size, the S10 Plus is actually slightly thinner and lighter than the S9 Plus.
03:11The new prism colors also look pretty cool.
03:13I think the prism blue looks best,
03:15but I also like this white one, which doesn't show up fingerprints or smudges, and depending on the light,
03:19it can shimmer green, red and orange.
03:22So it really does feel great to use, but if I had one complaint with the design,
03:26it's just that the power button is so far up. It's even higher up than the Note 9. It's here versus here.
03:33Plus, we still have that Bixby button, although you can actually quite easily remap it to launch any app you want.
03:39I've got it set to open the clock so I can quickly set alarms. It's actually pretty useful.
03:44Let's talk about that screen though. The new dynamic AMOLED panel is simply stunning. It's the nicest screen I've ever seen on a phone.
03:52It's 6.4 inches, has a 19 by 9 aspect ratio and a quad HD plus resolution.
03:57Although I leave it at the default full HD plus res, as it's hard to really see the difference and it does save between 5
04:03and 10% of the battery life.
04:05I also put the display colors in vivid mode rather than the natural default. It is less accurate, but I prefer the more vibrant look.
04:12It's also the first phone to support HDR 10 plus, which is Samsung's own fancy HDR tech,
04:19which works a bit like Dolby Vision in terms of offering frame-by-frame HDR.
04:23Right now only a few UHD Blu-rays and movies on Amazon Video actually support it,
04:28but the list should grow as Samsung's TVs also offer it and you can also now record
04:324k HDR 10 plus video on the phone itself.
04:36More importantly though, I think is the fact that this screen gets seriously bright up to a peak of
04:421200 nits, which means even if you're out and about with bright sunlight, it's still really really easy to use.
04:49Playing games is also a treat on the S10 plus. I mean, not only do you have that fantastic screen,
04:54but the new Snapdragon 855 or the Exynos 9820 processors, depending on where you live,
04:59plus the 8 gigs of RAM means everything just runs flawlessly.
05:03There's also a version of the S10 plus with 12 gigs of RAM and 1 terabyte of storage,
05:08if you have extremely deep pockets and want bragging rights of having a slightly more powerful phone.
05:14Although if you're planning to use Samsung's DeX feature,
05:16which gives you like an Android desktop and you're a bit of a power user, then that extra RAM and storage could come in handy.
05:22More importantly though, it's the software.
05:24I do generally prefer stock Android where possible,
05:27but Samsung's One UI feels much cleaner and more modern than previous versions. And coming from Huawei's EMUI on the Mate 20 Pro,
05:35yeah, I'm pretty happy with this.
05:36It's slick, responsive, and once you enable the reduced animation setting, turn night mode on,
05:41lower the screen zoom size a little bit, and remap the Bixby key, you're good to go.
05:45I also really like just how seamless unlocking the phone can be. I tend to use the face unlock feature, face ID,
05:52and combine with the lift to wake gesture, which is enabled by default, pick it up, hold it, face,
05:59boom.
06:00Pretty good. Now, unfortunately, it doesn't have an IR scanner like the iPhone, so it doesn't work as well at night time.
06:06It's relying on light to see your face. So most of the time I do use face unlocking,
06:11but sometimes if I'm out in the evening or it's getting dark, it doesn't work quite as consistently well.
06:16So then I'll usually switch to using the ultrasonic fingerprint reader, which again is also
06:22very, very fast. It's not 100% reliable, just one too many times I get a no match,
06:27but I have found there's a couple of tricks. First of all, don't press down.
06:31It just requires you to tap your finger on it. You don't have to press it down. It's not pressure sensitive.
06:36Also, register the same fingerprint multiple times, like three times. That vastly improved how reliable it is. And you can see
06:44just how fast that is. Plus, because it's an ultrasonic 3D scanner,
06:48it doesn't matter if your finger's a bit wet or a bit greasy,
06:51it'll still work. Battery life on the S10 Plus is also very impressive and goes toe-to-toe with the Mate 20 Pro,
06:58which was the winning champion in my battery tests. By the end of a normal working day with moderate use,
07:04I have about 35% of the battery left.
07:07I also really like the battery optimizer, which seems to do everything behind the scenes in order to give you the best battery life,
07:13but also the best performance when you need it.
07:15We also get fast charging and fast wireless charging, plus a new feature called PowerShare,
07:20which basically transforms the S10 Plus into a big Qi wireless power mat.
07:25And then just pop any Qi compatible device on top, from Galaxy Buds, other phones, smartwatches.
07:31It's pretty clever, although just like Huawei's reverse wireless charging, it is also very slow.
07:36At the very least, it's a bit of a cool bar trick to show your nerdy friends. Now, let's talk about the camera.
07:42You actually get five lenses. Three on the back, including the main lens, a 2x telephoto lens, and the new ultra-wide lens.
07:49Plus two on the front, with the second lens offering depth information for live focus.
07:54So on the one hand, yes, the camera is very good.
07:57I love the ultra-wide lens, and a few new features like super steady, best shot, and 4k selfie videos are useful to have.
08:04Side by side with the Pixel 3 and the Mate 20 Pro, all phones take a great photo.
08:09But there are some subtle differences, and I have to say, I think the Pixel 3 does come out on top overall.
08:14The clouds have a bit more contrast and dynamic range, and there's much more detail in the ripples and little waves in the pond.
08:21The biggest difference here, to my eyes, is just how much darker the Mate 20 Pro's shot is.
08:25Having said that, if you look at the lamp post on the S10,
08:28it's a bit bluish and just isn't as sharp as the Pixel, which I think overall has taken the best photo here.
08:35Now, this is such an interesting photo, because the lighting is really tricky here.
08:38We've got the very bright light from the filament bulb itself, but also darker areas and shadows.
08:43And out of these three phones, the Mate 20 Pro is the only one with a dedicated night mode,
08:48which gives you a four second long exposure, and it just helps to even out the lighting across the photo.
08:53But switching to portrait mode, things get even more interesting. The Pixel 3 crops in for its portrait shots,
08:58which means you get much less in the frame, but it is still a beautiful photo.
09:02And while I do like the bokeh effect of the Mate 20 Pro, it just comes across as a bit too dark.
09:07Although on the flip side, you could argue the S10 again looks a bit flat.
09:11Now, one of the cool things about the S10 Plus is, as you take the picture,
09:15you can actually adjust the level of blur, or the bokeh effect you get.
09:19And not only that, but you can switch to some different styles. Although this is one of my favorite modes,
09:23which just gives you color from the subject, it's a pretty cool effect and can really make your photos stand out.
09:29Selfies on the S10 Plus look great, and I do quite like the fact that you have the option for a slightly wider field of view selfie, if you prefer.
09:36It's not a huge difference, but if you want to get a couple extra mates into your shot, then this will help.
09:41And finally, we come to selfie portraits. You guys must be sick of my face by now,
09:45but this is the last one, I promise. And this is tricky, because I actually like all three photos.
09:50The Pixel 3 comes across as the most professional looking, perhaps.
09:53It's got a really nice even exposure, and the bokeh looks great,
09:57but it does look just a touch over sharpened, and the colors are a little bit muted.
10:01To be honest, there's no right or wrong answer, really. It's all personal preference.
10:04It's all very subjective, but I'd love to hear what you guys think. Which camera do you think came out on top overall?
10:10As for video, you can record in up to 4k60, if you want.
10:13Although from now on, I'm going to use the new Super Steady mode.
10:16It does limit the resolution to 1080p, but you get much smoother video, almost like the camera's on a gimbal.
10:22And it still looks pretty good.
10:25All right, so this has been a pretty long review, but the bottom line is the S10 Plus is an incredible phone,
10:31and I do highly, highly recommend it. Of course,
10:33it is expensive at £900, and I think the Note 9, which you can get for about £650 or £700, is a good alternative.
10:40But also consider that the S10 Plus is actually £100 cheaper than the iPhone XS, and £200 cheaper than the XS Max.
10:48Relative to Apple, at least, you could argue it's not bad value for money.
10:52Plus, it's only about £60 more than the S9 Plus was at launch,
10:56but you get two extra gigs of RAM, double the base storage, and two extra camera lenses. That's not bad. And a much bigger battery.
11:03So right now, I think the S10 Plus is the phone to beat.
11:06Although, we'll see how it stacks up against the likes of the Huawei P30 Pro and the OnePlus 7.
11:11And don't forget, we have the S10 5G coming soon, with a bigger 6.7-inch screen, a
11:174,500 mAh battery, a time-of-flight 3D sensor, and of course, 5G support. So that could be worth waiting for.
11:24But what do you think of the S10 Plus? Are you tempted to buy one?
11:27Or do you think maybe the S10e or the standard S10 is a better option? Or maybe not on the above?
11:33Let me know what you think in the comments below.
11:35Thank you so much for watching, guys.
11:36Hit that like button if you enjoyed the video, hit subscribe if you want to see more from me,
11:40and I'll catch you next time right here on The Tech Chap.