Samsung hasn't released a 'lite' variant of its Galaxy S or Note series for quite some time now. So it came as a bit of a surprise when leaks about their release came to light. In this post, we'll take a look at everything we know about the Galaxy S10 Lite and the Galaxy Note 10 Lite.
Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
Samsung's last 'lite' variant of a Galaxy S series smartphone was the Galaxy S3 Mini. Interestingly, Samsung already has a 'lite' version of the Galaxy S10 in the form of the Galaxy S10e. So, just what is the difference between the Galaxy S10 Lite and S10e? Let's find out.
Design, Camera, and Battery
Based on a leak that emerged some time ago, the Galaxy S10 Lite will look more like the Galaxy Note 10, rather than the Galaxy S10e, as is visible by the arrangement of the front and rear cameras. Another report claimed that Galaxy S10 Lite will use an AMOLED display and will come in white, black, and blue color options.
As you can see in the image above, the Galaxy S10e will come with a triple-camera setup that will employ a 48MP primary sensor assisted by a 12MP ultra-wide lens and a 5MP macro lens. The likelihood of a ToF sensor making its way in the camera array is low. The selfie camera may get a significantly more powerful 32MP sensor.
Prolific leakers Slashleaks stumbled upon a listing that puts the Galaxy S10 Lite's battery capacity at 4370mAh. Another report indicates that the phone may support 45W rapid charging like the Galaxy Note 10+.
Here's another look at the alleged Galaxy S10 Lite via another source. Some rumors speculate that this could actually be the Galaxy A91 too. It's best that we take these with a grain of salt as it won't be too long before Samsung unveils these.
Specifications
The Galaxy S10 Lite, unlike the Galaxy S10, will come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC across all variants. The base variant is expected to ship with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable storage and run Android 10-based One UI 2.0 out of the box. The following image was sourced from an FCC listing for the Galaxy S10 Lite.
Here's another leak that shows an alleged Geekbench score.
Price and release date
It is unlikely that Samsung will muddy the Galaxy S11 (or Galaxy S20, based on who you ask) launch with a refresh of last year's flagships. Chances are, we'll see it drop sometime late January or early February. We could see it unveiled alongside the Galaxy Note 10 Lite at CES 2020.
Two different reports peg the Galaxy S10 Lite's price at €669 ($741). We could also see some higher memory configurations with a price to match. Considering that the device has an FCC listing, it'll be available in the United States as well.
Galaxy Note 10 Lite
We saw the first hints of the Galaxy Note 10 Lite a couple of weeks ago when references of a mystery Galaxy Note device popped up online. Much like the Galaxy S line, Samsung hasn't released a 'lite' version of a Galaxy Note device since the Galaxy Note 3 Neo back in 2014. Let's take a look at what the Galaxy Note 10 Lite has in store for us.
Design
The Galaxy Note 10 Lite has a vastly different camera module arrangement compared to the Galaxy S10 Lite, and even the Galaxy Note 10 series, for that matter. Samsung may opt for a glass plus plastic sandwich for the phone as opposed to all glass.
It will come in three color variants, as you can see in the image above. It will feature a 6.7-inch 1080p AMOLED panel with an in-display fingerprint scanner. As it is a Galaxy Note device, it will come with a Bluetooth 5.1 S Pen with tracking capabilities. And it'll have a headphone jack too.
Specifications
Unlike the Galaxy S10 Lite, we're 'lite' on the specifics as to which chip will power the device. Looking at the Note 10 Lite's purported Geekbench score, it doesn't appear to be a Snapdragon 855. Rumors indicate that it could be the Exynos 9810 chipset that powered the Galaxy S9 and Note 9 series.
The Galaxy Note 10 Lite will also ship with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage out of the box. Surprisingly, it's battery capacity will be more than that of the Note 10+ at 4,500mAh. It will also support 45W wired fast charging.
Release date and price
The Galaxy Note 10 Lite is expected to release alongside the Galaxy S10 Lite. One leak pegs its price at €609 ($675), while another one estimates it to be €630 ($698). It isn't very different from that of the Galaxy S10 Lite, and it'll be interesting to see both devices finally make their debut as a low-cost alternative to the otherwise prohibitively priced Galaxy S10 and Note 10 smartphones.
