Samsung Galaxy S10 will come in THREE versions – just like Apple’s new iPhone
SAMSUNG'S Galaxy S10 will come in three versions rather than the usual two, according to registration details published by China's telecoms regulator.
The South Korean company has registered three model numbers with the Chinese agency, fuelling rumours that its new smartphones will directly compete with Apple's iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.
Not much is known for certain about next year's Galaxy S10, although the details from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) do at least confirm that there will be three separate S10 models.
According to Dutch news blog , MIIT has inspected three upcoming phones from Samsung, which have the model numbers of SM-G9700, SM-G9730, and SM-G9750.
Given that this year's S9 and S9+ had SG-9600 and SG-9650 as model numbers, it's a very safe bet to say that the new numbers refer to the Galaxy S10 and two additional versions of it.
Aside from that, the only other detail registered by MIIT are the mobile network bands used by the phones, which suggest that none of the phones will be compatible with 5G.
The existence of three different versions does at least feed a variety of rumours, largely because Apple itself released three new smartphones in September.
It's therefore tempting to speculate that one of the new Galaxy S10's will be a 'budget' version in competition with the more affordable iPhone XR., while the other two could be more premium smartphones in competition with the iPhone XS, the bigger iPhone XS Max.
According to rumours, one of the three S10 models will have its own 5G-compatible version, although neither MIIT nor any other telecoms regulator has inspected this yet.
But more generally, Samsung Mobile boss DJ Koh assured customers in September that the S10 – codenamed 'Beyond' - would boast "very significant" revamps to its design, and there are a variety of ideas as to what changes we could see.
One other possibility is that the S10 will feature an all-screen design similar to the iPhone X and XS, but without any 'notch' at the top of the screen.
Such a design would work by putting some features - such as speakers, the fingerprint scanner and even the selfie camera – under the touchscreen.
A likelier (and less ambitious) rumour is that the S10 will come with three cameras on its rear, as suggested by emerging from Samsung this month.
And another October indicates that the phone will come in a range of vibrant colours: black, white, green, silver, and pink.
Regardless of whether or not these leaks are 100% reliable, Samsung are determined to make the Galaxy S10 a game-changer compared to the S9, so the phone wars could become very interesting around the time the new model is launched next year.
Will the Samsung Galaxy S10 be better than the iPhone XS? Let us know in the comments!
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