Samsung Galaxy S10 Unpacked event: What to expect

All eyes are on Samsung once again.

Ten years after launching its first Android-powered Galaxy phone to challenge Apple’s iPhone, the Korean electronics giant is expected to pull out all of the stops for the Galaxy S10 at its Unpacked event in San Francisco on Feb. 20.

Mashable will be live on the ground covering everything Samsung announces at the event. Yan also watch Samsung’s official livestream here when it starts at 2:00 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.

OK, now that we have all of the logistics out of the way, what are we realistically expecting from Samsung’s big event?

A lot, actually.

In order from most to least likely, here’s what the word on the street is.

Three Galaxy S10: S10e, S10, and S10+

In past years, Samsung announced two versions of a new Galaxy S phone. This year is different and Samsung’s expected to unveil three models of the S10.

Based on the many extensive leaks, it’s all but confirmed the three versions will be called the S10e, S10, and S10+.

The S10e will reportedly come with a 5.8-inch screen, the S10 with a 6.1-inch display, and the S10+ with a 6.4-inch screen. These display sizes almost perfectly mirror the screen sizes of the iPhone XS, XR, and XS Max, respectively. The iPhone XS Max has a display that’s 0.1 inches larger, but close enough!

Besides myriad new colors (leaked images suggest there might be a yellow version), the biggest change to the display will be the “hole-punch” (“Infinity-O” display as Samsung calls it) cutout for the selfie camera in the upper right.

Leaked images also suggest the the S10e will come with dual rear cameras, while the S10 and S10+ will have triple rear cameras (regular, telephoto, and a new ultra-wide angle lens). 

The selfie cameras on the S10’s might also get a resolution boost to 10-megapixels from the 8-megapixels on the S9.

All of the usual Galaxy pillars should return on the S10’s. That includes staple features like IP68 water and dust-resistance, fast wired and fast wireless charging, a memory card slot, and a headphone jack.

New on the S10’s might be a reverse wireless charging feature similar to what we’ve seen on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Reverse wireless charging would allow the S10 to wirelessly charge another phone or new wireless earbuds.

Another likely new feature: an in-display fingerprint reader. Samsung’s reportedly dumping the rear-positioned sensor for an “ultrasonic” sensor embedded in the screen. Fingers-crossed it’s faster than the one in the OnePlus 6T.

Other rumored specs: The S10’s will be powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 855 chip and come with storage models up to 1TB (yes, one terabyte — double the iPhone XS and XS Max’s 512GB maximum storage) and RAM configurable with up to 12GB. For reference, the Galaxy S9 and iPhone XS have 4GB of RAM. Even the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition tops out at 10GB of RAM.

The S10’s will release on March 8. How do we know? Because Samsung’s already letting you reserve one for delivery then. The only thing left to announce is pricing.

Galaxy Buds true wireless earbuds

Samsung last updated its true wireless earbuds, the Gear IconX 2018, in late 2017. They’re due for a serious update.

Fortunately, Samsung will almost certainly announce new wireless earbuds. A handful of leaks suggest the new wireless earbuds will be called the Galaxy Buds. 

The charging case appears smaller than the IconX 2018’s and all reports claim you’ll be able to wirelessly charge them from the Galaxy S10’s reverse wireless charging feature.

But how will battery life compare with AirPods? And how much will they cost?

Foldable Galaxy Phone

Stupid or not, foldable phones are a trend this year. While most believe foldable phones will be a short-lived fad, their arrival has made phones interesting again.

Samsung’s foldable phone has been rumored for years and we finally got a very brief glimpse of the a prototype in action.

Samsung’s been teasing the Unpacked event with the word “unfold” in many of its social media posts, suggesting we could learn more about the transforming device on Feb. 20. But don’t be surprised if the phone is a no-show because it’s not ready yet.

5G Galaxy S10

2019 is the year 5G finally becomes real for early adopters. Samsung and Verizon announced in December they’re teaming up to release a 5G smartphone in the first half of 2019. And Samsung even teased a 5G phone at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Technology Summit, but will the rumored 5G version make an appearance at Unpacked?

Your guess is as good as ours, but we’re hopeful because other companies like LG are expected to unveil their own 5G phones at Mobile World Congress.

If we know Samsung, it’s not one to let others beat it to claiming “world’s first”.

Smartwatches and fitness trackers

The Galaxy S10’s will be the biggest announcement at Unpacked, but Samsung could also toss in a few new wearables as well.

Images of a “Galaxy Watch Active” smartwatch and “Galaxy Fit / Fit e” fitness tracker, which have yet to be announced, recently surfaced.

The alleged Galaxy Watch Active shows what appears to be a 40mm, round-shaped smartwatch. But unlike Samsung’s Galaxy Watch or previous Gear smartwatches, the new one doesn’t appear to have the company’s signature rotatable bezel.

WinFuture published press images of the alleged Galaxy Watch and they look legitimate.

The Galaxy Fit and Fit e trackers might be refreshed versions of the Gear Fit 2.

What about Galaxy Home smart speaker?

Though we expect Unpacked to focus primarily on the Galaxy S10, Samsung could provide an update on its Bixby-powered Galaxy Home smart speaker.

Like when is it coming out and how much will it cost?

Oh, who are we kidding, nobody cares about the cauldron-shaped Galaxy Home. Just kill it. The world doesn’t need another smart speaker. Let alone one powered by a digital assistant that’s nowhere near as smart as Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri.