What you should know before you buy Samsung 5G S10 phone in Australia?
Last month Telstra released Australia’s first 5G enabled smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G. At the launch Telstra Consumer Executive Kevin Teoh described the new faster phone as a “game-changing moment for customers”. The future won’t be cheap, however with the top of the range plan costing a staggering $4700 plus over the life of the contract.
Kevin Teoh added that 5G promises customers even better connectivity. Its ultra-fast speeds, ultra-low latency and greater bandwidth will transform the way we live and work by enabling all sorts of future applications and technologies. As well as the superior network connectivity, customers will also enjoy the Galaxy S10 5G’s larger 6.7” cinematic display, 3D depth camera technology, a powerful fast charging battery and other exciting features. Samsung Vice President, Mobile Division, Garry McGregor said Australians would be amongst the first in the world to experience the power of 5G.
Features of Samsung S10 5 G
The Samsung handset includes a 6.7-inch Infinity-O Display, 4,500mAh battery with Super Fast charging capability and great camera for photos and video. The 16MP Ultra Wide Camera captures a 123 degree field of vision. The camera also offers Live Focus video which helps to focus and create bokeh effects to make the subject stand out.
With a new 3D Depth Camera, users can also detect depth, distance, height and length of objects within the camera’s vision using Quick Measure. The Galaxy S10 5G rear camera capabilities received an overall DxOMark of 112, with a score of 117 for its still camera performance. Samsung says it was the first smartphone to receive a DxOMark of 100 for its video camera capabilities. Even the front selfie camera scored 97. The six cameras are enhanced with intelligence, similar to that offered by the P30 Pro and top of the range iPhones.
The Galaxy S10 5G combines 5G and 4GX network to provide super high speed capabilities. You will be able to download a full-length feature movie to your mobile device in seconds. If you are using high volumes of data like augmented and virtual reality, casino gaming and video conferencing you will also benefit from 5G.
Be among the first to experience our new Galaxy S10 5G smartphone. Equipped with a 6.7” cinematic dynamic AMOLED screen, 6 Pro Grade cameras and a powerful battery. All this on top of its 5G capabilities – it’s Samsung’s best smartphone yet!
Learn More → https://t.co/fGdERAWrI5 pic.twitter.com/RgDJqT0MPg— Samsung Australia (@SamsungAU) June 6, 2019
The device is available with 256GB or 512GB memory variants. Two colour options are available, these being Crown Silver for the 256GB variant, or Majestic Black for the 256GB and 512GB variants.
At launch the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G 256GB on the XL consumer and business lease plans was for $144 a month (for 24 months, min cost $3,456) and will come with 160GB of data plus Peace of Mind Data (no excess data charges in Australia), or shareable data as well as Telstra’s sports, music and Wi-Fi data inclusions. Plans start at $59 a month plus $83 a month for the handset stretching through to the $199 a month over 24 months for a total cost of more than $4770.
Things to know before you buy your Samsung S10 5 G in Australia
There are certain things to know before you think to buy Samsung S10 5 G in Australia.
Telstra has been building its 5G network since 2016, and says its current footprint reaches CBD locations and selected regional centres where four million Australians live. However, it’s worth noting that while Telstra’s 5G network is available in 10 cities around the country, including Toowoomba and Launceston, the overall coverage is currently very irregular. It will eventually be rolled out nationwide, so it may be worth picking up a 5G smartphone if you want to be ready. You can find out if Telstra’s 5G network is available in your area here.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is available exclusively through a Telstra plan starting at $132 per month. Besides Samsung Galaxy S10 5 G there are other two 5 G phones now available in Australia. Oppo Reno 5 G with near-borderless 6.6-inch screen through Telstra and JB Hi-Fi for a recommended retail price of $1499. It’s also available on a number of Telstra plans. The other is LG V50 ThinkQ 5G which features a 4000mAh battery, 6.4-inch OLED display, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. It also features the same triple-lens rear camera configuration found in the earlier LG V40. What sets the V50 apart from the competition is the Dual Screen accessory, adding a second 6.4-inch screen to be used for multitasking.
Besides Telstra these 5 G phones will have some great offers from other two major carriers, Optus and Vodafone, as they roll out 5G networks of their own. Optus have ventured into the fixed 5G broadband sphere though, which they’re currently testing in a handful of suburbs in the ACT, NSW, WA, QLD and SA. Vodafone, on the other hand, with their attempted merger with TPG. abandoned plans for rolling out their own network in January, blaming the federal government’s ban on Huawei-manufactured 5G equipment because of national security concerns.
If you’re interested in buying a 5G phone specifically to use 5G, it still might be best to wait for the network to be more broadly available and more widely adopted. Also the best time would be when 5G phones drop off in price as they are expensive right now and there aren’t that many places where you get the full value from their 5G capabilities.
As 5G in available in 10 cities around Australia,over the next 12 months the 5G coverage is set to increase in area almost five-fold and reach into at least 35 Australian cities. Remember also that there aren’t any real consumer use-cases or popular apps that require 5G yet. The download speeds might be dramatically faster but there aren’t any things you can do on a 5G phone that you can’t with a 4G device so there’s not much point in upgrading right now.