Introduction
The Galaxy M series is Samsung’s online-exclusive lineup that is meant to take on the likes of Redmi and Realme more effectively in developing markets. The company unveiled the M series in early 2019 by launching the Galaxy M10 and M20 in India, with the former as its entry-level offering in the new portfolio of products.
Around eight months later, Samsung has released the Galaxy M10s as a mid-year refresh of its budget device. Like other ‘s’ variants, the M10s is an upgraded version of the regular M10 with enough improvements to keep the Korean company competitive in the sub-$150 segment in price-sensitive markets like India.
Design
The Galaxy M10s doesn’t bring any noteworthy upgrades in the design department. Though it is larger and heavier due to the bigger display and battery, it still retains all the key design elements of the M10, including the glossy-plastic build. The device measures 158.4 x 74.7 x 7.8 mm and weighs 169 grams.
The front of the M10s is occupied by an Infinity-V display with a relatively large chin. The volume rocker and power button are on the right side of the frame, while the SIM tray (supports 2 SIMs and a MicroSD card) can be found on the left side. A headphone jack, USB Type-C port, primary microphone, and a speaker grille sits at the bottom.
The back of the phone sports a vertically arranged dual-camera system on the top left corner, Samsung branding in the middle, and a fingerprint scanner just above it.
Specifications
The Galaxy M10s is an entry-level budget device, and the spec sheet reflects that clearly. It comes with a 6.4-inch HD+ Super AMOLED display, Exynos 7884B octa-core CPU with Mali-G71 MP2 GPU, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, microSD slot, dual rear cameras, 5MP front camera, and a 4,000 mAh battery with support for 15W fast charging. It runs Android Pie with Samsung’s feature-packed One UI on top.
Compared to the original M10, the M10s packs a bigger display with a Super AMOLED panel, a larger battery with support for fast charging, a USB Type-C port, and a slightly faster chipset. It also sports a fingerprint scanner which the M10 lacks.
For the full list of Galaxy M10s specifications, you can head over to our dedicated specifications page.
Display
The display on the Galaxy M10s is a significant improvement over the 6.22-inch HD+ TFT panel on the M10. The new model sports a bigger and better 6.4-inch Super AMOLED screen with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. At 720 x 1560 pixels, the resolution is still HD+ and offers a pixel density of ~268 PPI. As the one of the M10, it’s an Infinity-V display, which is Samsung’s way of saying it has a v-shaped waterdrop notch.
Camera
The core camera setup on the Galaxy M10s remains unchanged from the M10. It’s a 2+1 setup with two rear cameras and a single selfie camera. The rear-camera system consists of a 13MP f/1.9 primary camera with PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus) and a 5MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera. There is an LED flash right below the cameras to assist in low-light conditions. The rear cameras support panorama, HDR, Live Focus features and can record 1080p videos at 30fps.
For selfies, the M10s has a single 8 MP f/2.0 camera with in-display flash, which is an upgrade over the 5 MP sensor in the M10. This makes the Galaxy M10s camera hardware identical to the M20.
Software
The Galaxy M10s runs Android Pie with Samsung’s latest One UI 1.5 on top. The experience here is mostly similar to what you find on other devices running the same software, including the earlier M series devices which were updated to Android Pie recently. You can read our One UI (Android Pie) Feature Focus series to know about the major changes Samsung’s new interface brings to the table
Samsung hasn’t made any official announcement about the rollout of the Android 10 update yet, but it is safe to assume that the Galaxy M10 will receive it at some point in the coming months.
Availability
Samsung announced the Galaxy M10s, along with the M30s, on September 18 in India. It comes in a single 3GB/32GB storage configuration and carries a price tag of Rs. 8,999 (~$130). Color options include Stone Blue and Piano Black. Like other M series devices in the country, it went on sale exclusively on Samsung India’s online store and Amazon.in on September 29.