Universe expanding (Galaxy multiplying too)

Korean electronics giant Samsung has released details of its new Galaxy S10 handset.

Make that handsets because latest S10 comes in four different versions and to add spice to the mix, with the continued development of OLED screens — a foldable device was briefly hinted at in 2018 and confirmed at the official release on February this week.

More details of that will be released soon.

Up front though is the four-tier range of S10 devices.

There will be the S10e, with 6GB RAM and 128GB memory, or 8GB/256GB — this will be the baby of the range.

Then comes the mainstream S10, with 8GB RAM and 128 or 512GB memory.

There will be a S10+ with the same 8GB of RAM, a bigger screen, and will offer a 12GB/1TB of memory capacity. This will outweigh the competition by a considerable margin and will make the addition of a memory card virtually redundant.

The top tier model, of sorts, goes back to a 8GB/256GB combination, but will feature a 5G cellular receiver in anticipation of that tech being rolled out in 2019.

Processors will be super fast 64 bit with eight cores, with maximum speeds of 2.8Ghz, with support for external microSD cards of up to 512GB in size for all models bar the 5G version.

Battery life will be again dependent on users, with the S10e packing 3100mAh, S10 3400mAh, S10+ 4100mAh and the 5G 4500mAh.

Although all will feature a USB-C connection, wireless back-to-back charging will now be offered.

This effectively uses one charged device to charge another. It’s recommended by Samsung however that the source charger be plugged in, which begs the question — why not just charge the device to be charged with the charger itself?

For the happy snappers, there’s camera tech aplenty.

The entry level S10e features a rear camera with 12 megapixel and 16 megapixel ultrawide lenses on the back that provide a 123 degree field of view.

On the front is Samsung’s DualPixel 10 megapixel lens.

S10 gets a triple whammy on the rear: 12MP telephoto, 12MP wide angle and 16MP ultra wide lens with up to 2x optical and 10x digital zoom — with the same camera as the S10e on the front.

The S10+ offers the same package with a variation on the front. A higher colour depth sensor is fitted for better saturation.

It’s the 5G version that takes things to the next level and leaves you wondering why no external memory?

It’s a four lens setup, with a dual 12MP lens, 3D processing, a wide angle 12MP, and ultra wide 16MP, with the front also getting 3D processing.

For the tech-heads though, it’s the screen size and dots per inch (DPI) that’ll cause excitement.

The S10e has a 5.8 inch, 552DPI, full HD dynamic AMOLED screen and in a world first, the AMOLED is Active Matrix OLED — this means a quicker response time for each pixel.

All models have had the screens pushed even further to the borders, with an effectively bezel free design.

This isn’t new, but the blue light part of the screen, the one allegedly responsible for eye strain and sleepless nights, has been reduced by 42 percent, processes colour to a higher degree and embeds a 3D resolution fingerprint scanner.

Next up is the 6.1 inch Quad HD dynamic AMOLED S10 with a curved screen and 550DPI.

S10+ has a 6.4 inch 538DPI screen and the 5G a 6.7 inch 505DPI screen. It’s also the heaviest at 198 grams.

Colours will be model dependent with Prism Green, Black, and White for the S10e and S10, and Ceramic White or Black for the other two.

Sound comes from AKG speakers and will have Dolby Atmos processing.

Now for the bad news — they ain’t cheap.

S10e kicks off at $1199, S10 128GB at $1349, 512GB iat $1699, S10+ 28GB at $1499, while the bigger memory version is $1849.

Memory is a big ticket item and the 1TB S10+ will set you back $2399.

No price yet for the 5G.

The current release date is March 8 and early buyers will be eligible for wireless Samsung Galaxy Buds.

Options such as a fan cooled wireless charger will also be available.

Keep an eye on Samsung’s website for updates.