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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s.yu - Friday, April 5, 2019 - link
lol?? What you're suggesting goes against some of the fundamental consensus of human behavior."If Samsung, or any other company feels their software is better than what's already on the platform why not make this software freely downloadable for Samsung customers? Because it's not better."
No, simply wrong, it's because as long as the default is half decent, most people won't feel compelled to switch. MS even persuaded a significant percentage of people to upgrade to Win10 just by setting upgrade to default and notifying them they could opt out.
"You shouldn't have to uninstall, disable, sleep software on the device in order for it to function somewhat normally."
And what proof do you have that the phone doesn't function "somewhat normally" out of the box? You think Samsung would still be No.1 in the market if its flagships don't function "somewhat normally" out of the box?
Notmyusualid - Sunday, April 21, 2019 - link
And then you uninstall Face Space etc, delete, then the phone updates, and all is re-enabled again.I almost happy to see the Chinese selling so many phone now due to this bloatware, and I've no love for China (but, er hello from Shanghai), but like MS with their butchery of Windows as we know it, Samsung doesn't care, as they've their own agenda to push.
I'm guessing my S8+ will be my last Sammy.
jfrichter4 - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link
Can't you just force stop an application, though? That's what I do for YT and stuff that I can't be distracted by.surt - Saturday, March 30, 2019 - link
Every bit of bloatware is an increased risk of root level compromise. IMO it is pretty offensive.Zanor - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - link
Lol why are you so mad?Chaser - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link
Gee that's insightful info for a specific model review. But I can help your cognitive dissonance: Samsung offers an unlocked version that works on all U.S. carriers. Not only does it not carry "bloatware" it also tends to be updated faster than the carrier branded versions.Danky - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link
Actually, the unlocked version gets updated last. About a month after carrier version update starts.anactoraaron - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link
Yep, the S8+ US unlocked is still on the December 2018 patch. This 'flagship' hasn't seen an update in FOUR months.pjcamp - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link
Unlocked does not = unlocked bootloader, sadly. It just means you aren't bound to a specific carrier.There aren't a whole lot of reasons to root a phone any more, but taming the asinine behavior of Android Auto is a big one.
CrimsonKnight - Friday, March 29, 2019 - link
What's wrong with Android Auto? I use it every day.