Samsung Galaxy A10s Price in the Philippines and Specification

PROS of the Samsung Galaxy A10s

• There is a Night Mode theme
• It has a large display
• It has a good battery life
• It has a dedicated microSD card slot
• It offers respectable camera quality given the inexpensive price

CONS of the Samsung Galaxy A10s

• The CPU is not that commanding
• The position of the speaker is not good
• The fingerprint sensor is kinda slow
• The colorway is very basic
• It does not use Super AMOLED display
• It is still stuck with the dated micro USB port

Design of the Samsung Galaxy A10s

Samsung Galaxy A10s has a v-shaped notch display called the Infinity-V display. The notch houses the selfie camera, the proximity sensor and the tiny earpiece above it. The front of the device is virtually dominated by the screen. The side bezels are expressively compact. However, in spite of having removed the physical home button, there is still a thick black chin below. With the notch, there is no longer a Samsung branding logo on the front. The Samsung Galaxy A10s is dressed in a plastic body with a front glass panel. It is unspecified, however, whether the glass used on the front is scratch resistant. Moving forward, the design that the Galaxy A10s has is similar to other superior A-series devices. Going to the back, it has a sleek and shiny finish. The plastic unibody doesn't have a frame to the sandwich so the gloss goes up to the sides to make it look unified. The rounded edges that Galaxy A10s has enhanced ergonomics and device handling. Making the device easier to hold for most people even with one hand. One has to consider the design is glossy and does not have any special coating. This means that the Galaxy A10s is quite susceptible to muddled fingerprints and even smudges, which could undesirably distress the striking aesthetics of the back. In addition, it could also attract scratches and damages, so it is encouraged that the device is armored with a protective case to preserve its life. As usual, there is a Samsung branding logo printed on the back, specifically at the center. If you look at the upper-left corner sits the dual camera module with the single LED flash below it. Fortunately, there is a fingerprint scanner on the back, considering how affordable it is. The other physical buttons present on the device are the volume rockers and the power button, which are positioned on the left side. Positively, the placement of the power button is good as it can be reached easily on the right side. Both placements have been easy to reach. Sitting on the right side is a dual SIM tray. Yes, the device can support two different networks. Another big thing, the tray also has a dedicated microSD card slot, which is good for expanding storage memory. At the bottom part, there sits the dated micro USB port, the microphone hole, and the loved 3.5mm headphone jack port. With those design features, the device measures 156.9 x 75.8 x 7.8 millimeters (6.18 x 2.98 x 0.31 inches) and weighs 168 grams (5.93 ounces). Finally, the Samsung Galaxy A10s is available in the glossy shades of Blue, Green, Red, and Black.

Display of the Samsung Galaxy A10s

Just like any other budget-level smartphone, it does not sport a top-notch display like the one you find on flagship devices. Some may be disappointed but the IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors for the display isn't that bad. IPS means In-Plane Switching--a feature that significantly helps improve display viewing angles. Despite the LCD implementation, the colors are still vibrant enough, and it still offers deep blacks; it may not be as deep as those true blacks found on OLED displays, but it is still decent to say the least. The IPS LCD used by Galaxy A10s measures at 6.2 inches, which is categorically large. It has HD+ resolution with an actual resolution of 720 x 1520 pixels in a 19:9 aspect ratio. This results in a pixel density of 271 ppi. Aside from these display features, the display also adopted the notch trend. The notch is noticeably bigger than those waterdrop notch found in the other A-series devices, but it is smaller than those found in competitors. Positively, the display is bright and legible enough that several accounts say that it can be used outdoors at 50-75 percent brightness.

Performance and Softwar of the Samsung Galaxy A10s

The Samsung Galaxy A10s houses the MediaTek MT6762 Helio P22 chipset. Yes, you read it right, not an in-house Exynos Soc. It has an octa-core processor consisting of two quad Cortex-A35 cores. This CPU configuration is coupled with PowerVR GE8320 GPU for graphics processing. The processing power is accompanied by 2GB or 3GB of RAM--quite mediocre, but it will do enough to get by. The device has onboard storage of 32GB, but it is expandable via a dedicated microSD card slot.

The Galaxy A10s runs with the new Android 9.0 "Pie" with the Samsung One UI version 1.1 overlay. Subsequently, it has a custom skin on top of the Android OS, it is predictable to get the stock Android experience while using the device significantly reduced. The One UI is not bad because it is a more streamlined version of the previous Samsung UI's. It packs more improved and new features. One of the most distinguishing features is its Night Mode, which turns to be a very useful feature when using the phone in the dark. The new UI also made settings and menus easy to access, as well as, making gaming and performance smoother.

Camera of the Samsung Galaxy A10s

The Samsung Galaxy A10s sports a 13-megapixel plus 2-megapixel rear shooter. The first sensor has f/1.8, 28mm (wide), AF. The second one has f/2.4, (depth). It is also supported by a single LED flash, panorama, and HDR (High Dynamic Range) for better photos. The rear camera can shoot in 1080p at 30 framers per second. Regrettably, it does not have EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) and OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) to crop out a video not being stable. On the front, we have an 8-megapixel selfie snapper housed in the V-shaped notch with an F/2.0 aperture lens. The video resolution is the same as the cameras at the back.

Battery of the Samsung Galaxy A10s

The Samsung Galaxy A10s sports a non-removable Li-Ion 4,000mAh battery, which is quite decent considering the inexpensive price point. Apparently, the device will not feature any fast battery charging and wireless Qi charging functionality which is not shocking as Samsung needs to cut corners somewhere. Charging the device may take up to two hours to fully charge. The device is still charged through a micro USB port with a micro USB connector. No reversible or wireless connector for now.

Network, Connectivity, and Sensors of the Samsung Galaxy A10s

For the device connectivity, the Samsung Galaxy A10s showcases Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/, Wi-Fi Direct, and a hotspot for WLAN; there installed the fresh Bluetooth version 4.2, A2DP, LE; GPS (Global Positioning System) is enabled with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, and BDS. For listening to newscasts and music, there is a built-in FM radio for you. Unfortunately, it is still stuck with the dated micro USB port and micro USB 2.0 connector for data transfer and charging. Another con is that it does not have an infrared port and NFC functionality. This not might be a big deal for some people, though. Regrettably for the sensors, the Galaxy A10s does not house an under-display optical fingerprint scanner like its other superior siblings in the A-line. It does have a physical fingerprint sensor on the back for biometrics. You can't always rely on the unlock feature because it still needs some time to work. Also, the device does not have a compass, gyro, ambient light sensor and barometer. It only has an accelerometer and proximity sensor. It is understandable as the device is only an entry-level contender. Talking about the device network support, the Samsung Galaxy A10s supports two SIM cards; it also supports GSM, HSPA, and LTE, which entails that the device can be operated in 2G, 3G, and 4G signals. Galaxy A10s's network bands are GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (dual-SIM only) for the 2G network bands; HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 and HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 - SM-A107M/DS for the 3G network bands; LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800), 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2500) and LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 17(700), 28(700) - SM-A107M/DS for the 4G network bands. The network speed in HSPA is 42.2/5.76 Mbps, while in LTE Cat4 is 150/50 Mbps. With a specific absorption rate of 0.26 W/kg (head) and unidentified W/kg (body). This SAR rating is to measure the rate of which energy is absorbed by the human body when exposed to a radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic field. This is very important although a lot of people do not have any clue about it. The heat that the device emits is absorbed by our bodies, so we need to know how much heat generation a device has if we want to use it for long periods of time near our body.

Comparison of the Samsung Galaxy A10s and the Samsung Galaxy A10s

The foremost differences between the Galaxy A10 and the Galaxy A10s are the processors, GPU, RAM, cameras, and the fingerprint scanner. The regular A10 uses an Exynos 7884 (14 nm) chipset with Mali-G71 MP2 GPU. Its RAM is 2GB only. It has a single rear camera and does not have any fingerprint scanner. On the other hand, the newer Galaxy A10s uses MediaTek MT6762 Helio P22 (12 nm) with PowerVR GE8320 GPU. It has a larger RAM of 3GB. It has a dual-camera setup on the rear as it has an additional depth sensor and a larger resolution for the selfie camera. Positively, it has a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor for biometric security. The original GalaxyA10 also has a newer Bluetooth version with 5.0, while the Galaxy A10s is stuck at 4.2. The colorways for the Galaxy A10s is leaning for on the darker side, while the vanilla version is more of the bright and pop side.

Conclusion of the Samsung Galaxy A10s

The Samsung Galaxy A10s is a hidden gem that didn't get much hype. Yes, it is not going to perform like the mid-range smartphones, but for the price, it is a really good bargain. Keep in mind that Samsung made the device for the people who want a quality smartphone at an affordable price tag. For an entry-level, it has a dedicated microSD card slot; it offers decent dual-camera. There is a system-wide Night Mode theme. It has a large display. It can legibly be used outdoors. And sports a very good battery life. What can you ask for, considering the price?

February 17, 2020