The Samsung Galaxy S10+ Snapdragon & Exynos Review: Almost Perfect, Yet So Flawed
by Andrei Frumusanu on March 29, 2019 9:00 AM ESTCamera - Low Light Evaluation
Low-light capture improvements is something that Samsung has been very mum about for the Galaxy S10. Fundamentally on the hardware side of things nothing has really improved compared to the Galaxy S9/Note9. So in practise, any difference we would be seeing should be solely based on the processing improvements of the Galaxy S10.
[ Galaxy S10+ Snapdragon ] - [ Galaxy S10+ Exynos ]
[ Galaxy Note9 (E) ] - [ Galaxy S9+ (S) ] - [ Galaxy S8 ]
[ iPhone XS ] - [ iPhone X ] [ LG V40 ] - [ OnePlus 6T ]
[ Pixel 3 ] - [ View20 ] - [ Mate 20Pro ]
In the first shot, we’re seeing again very different results between the Snapdragon and Exynos, but in a twist compared to the daylight shots, this time around it’s an advantage on the side of the Exynos model. Here the latter models is able to bring out a lot more shadows in the scene and is significantly sharper than the Snapdragon variant. The Snapdragon does a bit better on the bright highlights of the signage, however I don’t think this was worth it as it gives up too much in other parts of the shot.
I feel as if the Snapdragon has quite a bit of sharpening going on, which makes very little sense to use in a scenario like this.
The Galaxy S10’s are both beat by the Mate 20 Pro’s large sensor which just has much better native dynamic range, retaining more texture details on the gas station floor and roof.
Using the wide-angle lens in such a scenario doesn’t result in very good picture. The Snapdragon achieves better dynamic range and able to show the signage correctly without overblowing it, however the Exynos beats it in terms of detail. Noise on the latter is a lore more coarse and pronounced which can result in some ugly regions on even surfaces.
[ Galaxy S10+ Snapdragon ] - [ Galaxy S10+ Exynos ]
[ Galaxy Note9 (E) ] - [ Galaxy S9+ (S) ] - [ Galaxy S8 ]
[ iPhone XS ] - [ iPhone X ] - [ LG V40 ] - [ OnePlus 6T ]
[ Pixel 3 ] - [ View20 ] - [ Mate 20Pro ]
Big advantages in sharpness on the bright parts of the picture for the Snapdragon with stronger contrast for this phone. The Exynos doesn’t do well on the bright parts, blurring them, but on the other hand it has better details in the shadows than the Snapdrgon, with overall less pronounced light noise.
In terms of light capture, the Mate 20 Pro is far ahead and Night Sight on the Pixel 3 also sweeps the floor with the competition.
[ Galaxy S10+ Snapdragon ] - [ Galaxy S10+ Exynos ]
[ Galaxy Note9 (E) ] - [ Galaxy S9+ (S) ] - [ Galaxy S8 ]
[ iPhone XS ] - [ iPhone X ] - [ LG V40 ] - [ OnePlus 6T ]
[ Pixel 3 ] - [ View20 ] - [ Mate 20Pro ]
The Snapdragon here is heavier processed with darker shadows and noise reduction, however this makes little sense in a low-light show and the Exynos is more natural with better shadow detail even if it has more natural sensor noise.
Although Samsung at least beats the newest iPhones, it’s no match for Huawei and the Pixel’s Night sight.
[ Galaxy S10+ Snapdragon ] - [ Galaxy S10+ Exynos ]
[ Galaxy Note9 (E) ] - [ Galaxy S9+ (S) ] - [ Galaxy S8 ]
[ iPhone XS ] - [ iPhone X ] - [ LG V40 ] - [ OnePlus 6T ]
[ Pixel 3 ] - [ View20 ] - [ Mate 20Pro ]
[ Galaxy S10+ Snapdragon ] - [ Galaxy S10+ Exynos ]
[ Galaxy Note9 (E) ] - [ Galaxy S9+ (S) ] - [ Galaxy S8 ]
[ iPhone XS ] - [ iPhone X ] - [ LG V40 ] - [ OnePlus 6T ]
[ Pixel 3 ] - [ View20 ] - [ Mate 20Pro ]
In the last generic low light shot we see the Snapdragon again favour evening out highlights and sacrificing shadows. The Exynos does the opposite with more blown out highlights but with better shadow detail retention in the foreground.
On the wide angle, the Exynos produces a much more useable shot even though the noise is quite terrible.
[ Galaxy S10+ Snapdragon ] - [ Galaxy S10+ Exynos ]
[ Galaxy Note9 (E) ] - [ Galaxy S9+ (S) ] - [ Galaxy S8 ]
[ iPhone XS ] - [ iPhone X ] - [ LG V40 ]
[ OnePlus 6T ] - [ Pixel 3 ]
[ View20 ] - [ Mate 20Pro ]
Going into extreme low light scenarios, we’re venturing into shots that usually in the past we didn’t expect phones to be able to capture.
This is the first scene in which Samsung’s new Bright Night mode triggers. The new extreme ultra low light mode functions similarly to Huawei’s Night mode or Google’s Night sight, although the results here aren’t quite the same. The result here heavily favour the Snapdragon chip as it’s able to produce much less noise. It’s not competing with Huawei or Google, however it is able to showcase a result that is much better than some other traditional shooters.
[ Galaxy S10+ Snapdragon ] - [ Galaxy S10+ Exynos ]
[ Galaxy Note9 (E) ] - [ Galaxy S9+ (S) ] - [ Galaxy S8 ]
[ iPhone XS ] - [ iPhone X ] - [ LG V40 ] - [ OnePlus 6T ]
[ Pixel 3 ] - [ View20 ] - [ Mate 20Pro ]
A second example of the new Bright Night mode, we again see that it does help the S10 over its auto mode and it lands the phone in third place after Huawei’s flagship and Google’s Night Sight.
Low-light Conclusion
Overall, the low-light capture ability of the Galaxy S10 isn’t very exciting. Fundamentally Samsung needed to innovate more in this regard and I would have wanted to see some more innovation to the likes of Huawei and Google.
Low-light is again a scenario where the Snapdragon and Exynos variants of the S10 differ quite a bit. The latter tends to produce more natural noise in most shots and retains more shadow detail, while the Snapdragon does better in brighter parts. Overall, I’d say it’s a toss-up between the two and it’ll depend on the given scene.
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zeeBomb - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link
I always knew displaymate became somewhat of a sketch for what they put. It made me happy at first, but really, getting something that isn't really attainable in real life? Alright!Notmyusualid - Sunday, April 21, 2019 - link
RIP single-sim users / sellers.You'll not get MY time nor money.
LaDeX - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link
How does the reviewer get so high screen on times? I barely get 4 hours on my S10+. Same as I got on S8.Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link
Cellular network strength, carrier network setting, how much you move around, and if you're using it full blasted brightness can make big differences.Anyhow the point of those screenshots were apples-to-apples comparisons of the idle times of the two phones.
4 hours sounds absolutely atrocious as I don't even that that low when doing trade show events.
N Zaljov - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link
My SoT was even worse than yours - at least after installing the first OTA (SBA). Although I can't pinpoint the exact cause of it (must've been some kind of Userspace DVFS that went apeshit, because the Cheetahs were erroneously triggered to their touch input boost freq as soon as the screen was on without me even touching the screen), clearing the cache after installing the update (S10+ Exynos) fixed it for me.With fairly high activity (CPU time demanding) and cellular strenght constantly altering between "wonderful" and "absolute shite" I get around 7 hours of average SoT, which I think is pretty damn good (coming from an iPhone 7 Plus with a completely worn out battery), although I do have to say that I could probably increase it even further, if I would start optimizing the phone a little bit.
Thraxen - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link
The real question is how are your times so low? Are you gaming the whole time or something?jamesindevon - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link
> In fact, the Exynos 9820 is the first tri-CPU cluster/group SoC which actually consists> of three different CPU microarchitectures.
Second: the MediaTek Helio X30 had A73, A53, and A35.
Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link
Fair enough. That SoC never made it very far though.supdawgwtfd - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link
Not making it far is relevant?Tevita - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link
"So flawed"?These sorts of headlines reek of someone losing touch with reality. It's a super hi-spec computer, breaking new ground. It's hardly the end of the world that tradeoffs need to be made, and getting annoyed at this points to a distinct lack of perspective (need I say "1st World Problems" when the orientation of a selfie-camera causes frustration?).
Having just updated from an S6, my S10+ is truly amazing. Perhaps rather than relentlessly feeling the need to update at every incremental product cycle, do your pocket and the environment a favour and sit tight on your old phone for an additional few years. You'll be surprised at how good the upgrade experience then becomes.