Leak Reveals Two Samsung Galaxy S10 Features to Rival iPhone X

Like any high-end smartphone maker would, there’s no doubt Samsung had high hopes and expectations for its latest Galaxy S9 and S9+ flagships. And while Samsung was reported to have also had much bolder design plans for its ninth-generation Galaxy devices in the run-up to their February 2018 unveiling, unfortunately, it appears the firm ultimately settled on a more marginal, under-the-hood upgrade of the similarly designed Galaxy S8 and S8+ from last year.

This clearly intermittent spec boost is at least partly responsible for why the Galaxy S9 and S9+ haven’t performed so well on the sales circuit thus far – especially in Samsung’s home country of South Korea – though the company did manage to sell a couple million units, even still.

Now, as demand for the Galaxy S9 and S9+ begins to dwindle, Samsung is apparently setting its sights on a much bolder and more ambitious material redesign for its upcoming Galaxy S10 smartphone, which is expected sometime in the first or second quarter of 2019.

According to the historically reliable Korean publication, The Bell, Samsung has not only dubbed its upcoming Galaxy S10 flagship “Beyond” internally – signaling that the device will go ‘above and beyond’ current technological norms – but the paper, shared two key details about the flagship which may see their way into the final unit.

? Glass- Embedded Fingerprint Sensor

The first Samsung Galaxy S10 tidbit is that the phone will ship using some iteration of a glass-embedded fingerprint sensor.

While there are currently other devices on the market (such as the V20 from Vivo), which employs Qualcomm’s glass-embedded fingerprint scanner, it’s worth noting that Samsung with its S10 would be among the first large-scale smartphone OEMs to make the technology commercially available for a wider audience.

Interestingly, The Bell noted that it’s uncertain if the glass-embedded fingerprint tech will debut exclusively on the S10, or if it will first be integrated into the Galaxy Note 9 due out later this summer. But, either way, we can be almost guaranteed to see the sensor on Galaxy S10.

? 3D Imaging Sensor

Another potential, albeit unconfirmed, feature for the Galaxy S10 is an actual 3D camera sensor capable of rivaling Apple’s TrueDepth camera on the iPhone X.

While Samsung took an honest stab at “3D imaging” by introducing its AR Emoji feature on the Galaxy S9 and S9+, the feature, though fun and interactive, sadly pales in comparison to Apple’s Animoji functionality on the iPhone X. And that’s at least in part because Samsung used essentially the same, generations-old front-facing camera technology on the Galaxy S9 as it did on the S8, while employing decent software enhancements, in lieu of any meaningful hardware upgrade.

Though The Bell admitted that Samsung’s 3D imaging component is a wildcard, apparently Samsung has been working with Mantis Vision in its ongoing effort to finalize the 3D software – though the Galaxy-maker is reportedly still having trouble sourcing hardware components to bring the whole package together.