Samsung Galaxy s20 vs. s10

Rohan Mathew

When the smartphone giant Samsung released the Galaxy S10, it left the world in awe. Samsung is known for its upgrades; every year, they announce newer and better versions. So it was no surprise when the Samsung Galaxy s20 took it to another level next year.

Both phones are excellent, but how are they different from each other? And what are the similarities between them? Let’s take a deeper look into them and compare the two.

Design

The first thing that gets the attention of the buyer is the design of the phone. With these devices, Samsung has pretty much applied the same principle.

Both phones have a curved screen with rounded corners, a glass back and an in-display fingerprint scanner, and let’s not forget the Infinity- O display.

However, there is a tiny difference in size. The last year’s model weighs 157 g with a dimension of 149.9 x 70.4 x 7.88 mm. And this year’s model is a little larger, measuring at 151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9 mm and weighing 163 g.

The primary difference would be the placement of the camera. At the back, the previous generation’s cameras are positioned sideways while this year cameras are housed in a column. At the front, the cameras on the s10 sit on the top right corner while s20’s are in the center. 

Other than that, both the models are IP68 certified, so they are resistant to dust and water. Also, the frame of the whole structure is aluminum.

Display 

The s20 screen size is 6.2 inches while the last year’s model has a 6.1-inch display. There is not much difference, and both phones support HDR10+ and have a QHD+ display resolution. Even if we look at pixel density, the Galaxy s10 has a PPI of 550 while this year’s model has a PPI of 563.

The only real difference is in the touch sampling rate. The Galaxy s10 at 120 Hz lacks behind the s20’s 240 Hz touch sampling rate, it’s double. And let’s not forget the difference in the screen refresh rate, which makes the s20 look and feel much faster/smoother at 120 Hz. The Galaxy s10 has the standard 60 Hz screen.

Battery life Comparison  

Samsung is known for its battery life; however, the drawback with the Galaxy s10 is its 3400 mAh battery. The s20 easily towers over it with 4000 mAh battery capacity. As a result, the s20 might last a little longer than the Galaxy s10.

Samsung has also upgraded its Fast Charging technology, with an increase to 25W for s20. In contrast, the Galaxy s10 supports 15W. Like most Samsung models, both the batteries of Galaxy s10 and s20 are non-removable. Also, both the smartphone features wireless charging and Samsung Power Share.

Camera

The smartphone market has come to a point where the camera quality decides the success of the phone. In this aspect, both Galaxy s10 and s20 have done well.

Following the footsteps of the Galaxy s10, the s20 also has three rear cameras. It features a wide-angle, ultra-wide-angle, and telephoto sensors for those shots that require zooming in.

Equipped with 10 MP selfie camera and a 12 MP wide-angle or primary camera, the difference starts showing with the ultra-wide-angle. The Galaxy s10 towers with 16 MP over s20’s 12 Mp. 

However, s20 makes it up with its 64 MP telephoto sensor. It has this feature known as Space Zoom for combining 3x Hybrid optic zoom with AI processing. In comparison, the Galaxy s10 has a 12 MP telephoto lens with a 2x optical zoom.

For those who love making videos, the s20 records 8K video. It is a drastic growth from s10 that records 4K video. Plus, both the models feature an auto-HDR panorama and LED flash. 

Chipsets and Other Features

The chipset that powers the Galaxy s10 differs depending on the regions. The s20 European version is powered by the Exynos 990 processor, while the American version uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865. 

The same applies to the Galaxy s10, where its European version has Exynos 9820, while its American version uses Snapdragon 855. It is essential to highlight that both these chipsets were the best in the year it was launched. 

The Samsung Galaxy s10 runs on One UI 2.1 on top of Android 9.0, which can easily be upgraded to Android 10 and the s20 runs on Android 10 and One UI 3.

Headphone jacks are a massive debate in the smartphone industry. In this regard, the previous generation model comes with a 3.5 mm headphone jack and the s20 is the first among Samsung’s S series not to have a headphone jack.

Regarding the storage capacity, both the phones start at 128 GB with 8 GBs of RAM.

Connection wise, the last year’s Samsung phone supports 4G, while this year’s model is compatible with both 4G and 5G connections in regions where it is available.

Price

There are two price points of this year’s Flagship according to the version available. The 4G version’s launch price was at $1349 AUD, while the 5G version started at $1,499 AUD.

On the other hand, the last year’s Flagship started at $1,349 to $1,699 AUD on the day of release. However, you can now buy a refurbished Samsung s10 for $699 AUD.

Conclusion:

Both phones are great and can do any task you throw at them. Pick the one which suits your needs. They both offer great displays with excellent viewing angles and great cameras. 

In conclusion, it all comes down to budget and personal preference.