I still remember my excitement when I unboxed the Samsung Galaxy S10+. I watched the early reviews and fell in love with the design. As much as I enjoyed the Galaxy Note 9 I was testing, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the S10+. Samsung was on the right track, with each release innovating more than the last. The Galaxy S8 and S9 were sleek and stylish, but the Galaxy S10+ was another level.
I didn’t know it then, but the Galaxy S10+ became the high watermark for Samsung. It seems comical now, but with the Galaxy S25 Ultra design mostly unchanged since the Galaxy S22 Ultra, I wish the Galaxy S10+ design got more than one year. If you’re a long-time fan like me, here are 5 reasons the Galaxy S10+ was peak Samsung.
5
The Galaxy S10+ was the last time we got everything
Samsung still cared about certain features
Whenever a new Galaxy phone comes out, I hold my breath, waiting to hear which feature is being eliminated. We have endured the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack, the microSD card slot, and, most recently, the Bluetooth S pen. The Galaxy S10+ is from a time just before Samsung started doing that. The company still valued packing flagship phones with the most features possible. While the S10+ didn’t exactly match the Galaxy Note 9, it retained more fan-favorite features than we currently see on Samsung’s flagship products.
The Galaxy S10+ was the last Samsung flagship to have a 3.5mm headphone jack, ideal for those who love wired headphones or don’t want to rely on Bluetooth audio. It also included a microSD card slot for expandable storage. Whether you use it or not, expandable storage is vital for users who want to take lots of shows and songs with them in locations where connectivity is challenging, like an airplane. If Samsung could fit something on the Galaxy S10+, it did, a mindset the company has lost in recent years.
4
Not everything had to be a brick
The Galaxy S10+ was light and powerful
It’s almost hard to believe that in 2019, Samsung’s top-of-the-line flagship was only 7.8mm thick and weighed only 175g. The Galaxy S10+ proved that a phone could be lightweight and powerful, packing the latest Snapdragon 855 chipset and 8GB of RAM. I recently praised Google for using a flatback design on the Pixel 9a, but Samsung did the same with its flagship in 2019, with a slightly raised camera glass adding to the sleek design.
I also didn’t mind the Galaxy S10+’s 6.4-inch QHD+ display. It was large enough for everything I wanted to do on it, and its modest size compared to today’s massive flagships meant the phone was human-scale. It fits perfectly in my hand, even with a bulky case. However, I was incredibly disappointed after realizing what came next. The Galaxy S20 Ultra felt bloated, with an outsized display and thicker chassis. The Galaxy lineup gained 50g in one year, a significant difference.
3
The Galaxy S10+ made things simple
No awkward gap between the Plus and Ultra
I yearn for a simpler time when we didn’t have to choose between a Galaxy S+ and Galaxy S Ultra device. Samsung made the differences too artificial for the first few years, making it almost insulting to pay $1,000 for a smartphone without a QHD display, as was the case on the Galaxy S22+. You knew the Galaxy S10+ was the best the company could offer, and you never had to question whether something was held back to make another smartphone in the lineup more attractive.
I’ve long been a proponent of separating the Galaxy S lineup and reintroducing a Galaxy Note. It’ll alleviate the awkwardness between the Galaxy S+ and Galaxy S Ultra phones and give hardcore Samsung enthusiasts a phone we’ve been clamoring for since the Note line disappeared.
2
A camera that was just a camera
No Space Zoom anywhere
Some of my favorite photos were taken with the Galaxy S10+. The S10+ and the Galaxy Note 10+ that followed were a turning point for Samsung. The company focused on camera quality, and it shows. You won’t find anything ridiculous like 100x Space Zoom, and you won’t have to worry about fake moon shots on the Galaxy S10+. The S10+ had a 12MP primary sensor, a 12MP 2x optical zoom, and a 16MP ultrawide lens — not exactly impressive by today’s standards, but they got the job done. It was a versatile camera system with better-than-expected nighttime photography performance.
Samsung Galaxy S10+ camera samples
I also didn’t mind the dual front-facing cameras. I thought it was a cool idea, and after being spoiled by the ultrawide selfie images on my LG G6, I loved that the Galaxy S10+ allowed me to capture more of the frame.
1
You didn’t have to go into debt to own a flagship
The Galaxy S10+ was “reasonable” for a top-tier smartphone
I understand this isn’t a Samsung-exclusive issue, but I enjoyed spending less than $1,000 on the Galaxy S10+. While no phone close to $1,000 can ever be considered a steal, I thought I got equal value for my Galaxy S10+ — it felt like a $1,000 smartphone. Even with Samsung’s slight additions to the Galaxy S Ultra series, I never thought the additional $300 premium was justified. I love the S pen, but I’d prefer a new Galaxy Note, not a more expensive Galaxy S+.
The Galaxy S10+ is also from an era when Samsung included a charging adapter in the box. There are several steps Samsung could take to help the environment before removing the charger, so I refuse to think of it as anything other than a cost-cutting measure by the company — something that doesn’t sit well with people paying so much for a smartphone.
More than just nostalgia with the Galaxy S10+
Every time I go back and use an older Samsung phone, my frustrations boil over. Little changes to the company’s smartphones are easily overlooked, but when presented with them in bulk, you can see how much we’ve sacrificed in the last few years. I understand that Samsung thinks software enhancements and Galaxy AI features are enough to overcome old-fashioned hardware design, but it hasn’t panned out. Older Samsung phones had a charm unmatched by the company’s current offerings, and the Galaxy S10+ was the peak that I’d love to get back to.
