Samsung reveals more affordable Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy Note10 Lite at CES 2020

Samsung has revealed a pleasant surprise ahead of CES 2020 as they’ve announced the launch of not one but two affordable smartphones for their flagship Galaxy S series and Galaxy Note series line dubbed the Galaxy S10 Lite and the Galaxy Note 10 Lite.

The new Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy Note10 Lite act as the most affordable versions of their product lines while retaining the key features that made their more powerful siblings bywords in power and performance such as their top-shelf cameras, Bixby virtual assistant support, Samsung Pay and, in the case of the Galaxy Note10 Lite, the vaunted S Pen stylus of its siblings.

Both phones are somewhat similar to each other on a few key points, in particular both have a similarly sized 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display, front-facing 32-MP selfie camera and a 4,500mAh battery though they differ in terms of what processors they pack, what rear camera array they have and what processors they run on top of the more obvious difference of the Galaxy Note10 Lite packing an S Pen stylus.

They’re also still more powerful than the likes of anything from the Galaxy A series smartphones so that it outclasses the likes of an Galaxy A50S or a Galaxy A70 on paper.

Here’s a closer look at how they both stack up…

Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite Specifications

Intended to act as a more affordable addition to the S10 lineup that’s likely cheaper than Galaxy S10e, the Galaxy S10 Lite is an interesting addition to the Samsung Galaxy S10 family. The 6.7-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity O display is larger than the 5.8-inch display on the Galaxy S10e which was previously the smallest and lightest of the S10 line alongside the Galaxy S10 and the Galaxy S10+.

With the addition of this new phone, the Galaxy S10 family consists of the Galaxy S10 Lite, the Galaxy S10e, the Galaxy S10 and the Galaxy S10+ – 4 phones which is quite a substantial number for a generation of phones for Samsung.

The processor has yet to be revealed in detail but its stated to be a 7nm 65-bit octacore processor (Max. 2.8GHz + 2.4GHz + 1.7GHz), either 6 or 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage and a triple rear camera array that consists of a primary 48-MP F/2.0 sensor with OIS, their Super Steady image stabilisation tech, a 12-MP camera with an ultra-wide lens and a 5-MP F/2.4 macro camera. The front selfie camera is identical to the Galaxy Note10 Lite with a 32-MP F/2.2 sensor.

Keeping it powered is a 4,500mAh battery that has fast charging support with the phone weighing in at 186g while being 8.1mm thin. Colour options include Prism White, Prism Black and Prism Blue.

Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite Specifications

The Galaxy Note10 Lite comes with a similar  6.7-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity O display up front as the Galaxy S10 Lite and a similar 4,500mAh battery with fast charging though it weighs more at 199g and is a bit thicker at 8.7mm.

Interesting enough, the size and resolution of the screen is larger than the Note10’s 6.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED Infinity O display and the size of the battery itself is substantially larger than the Note10’s 3,500mAh battery.

While you’d be tempted to just look at screen size alone, it’s worth it to note that a Dynamic AMOLED display is a grade better than a Super AMOLED panel, as the former has HDR10+ certification as well as eye comfort certification from TUV Rheinland. Even so, Super AMOLED panels are still vastly one of the best looking displays that you can see in a smartphone.

The exact processor hasn’t been announced but it’s stated to be a 10nm 65-bit octacore processor (Quad 2.7GHz + Quad 1.7GHz), either 6GB or 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage. The rear camera array differs from the S10 Lite as it uses three 12-MP cameras with dual OIS and Dual Pixel autofocus.

The primary wide-angle camera has an F/1.7 aperture and Dual Pixel tech as well as OIS while the other OIS-stabilised camera is the telephoto camera which has 2X optical zoom. The last camera has an ultrawide F/2.2 lens for for capturing swathes of the landscape.

As you’d expect, the Galaxy Note10 Lite has an S Pen stylus with their Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE) support built in like the Galaxy Note9 though it’s unclear if it will have the same gesture controls as its siblings.

With the addition of the Galaxy Note10 Lite, the line-up for the series stands at 3 phones – the Galaxy Note10 Lite, the Galaxy Note10 and the Galaxy Note10+. Details are sparse for now but what we know is that it’ll come in Aura Glow, Aura Black and a unique shade of Aura Red. We’ll you posted on updates once we get them.

Galaxy Note10 Lite and Galaxy S10 Lite Prices and Launch Dates

Prices were not announced at CES 2020 for both smartphones but seeing their intended position in the line-up, they’ll have to be priced cheaper than their prior most affordable variants so it stands to reason the S10 Lite will have to be cheaper than an S10e to maintain competitive parity while the Note10 Lite will have to be cheaper than a Galaxy Note10.  At launch, the Galaxy S10e retailed in Malaysia at RM2,699 while the Galaxy Note10 retailed at RM3,699.

Still, everything is up in the air as there’s no word on how much both phones will actually cost or if they arrive in Malaysia but odds are good that it will so it’s a matter of when.

[Source Samsung]