For a long time, only Chinese manufacturers supported the fashion for stripped-down versions of flagship smartphones. In any case, they thought they supported it, because they were quite a walk-through model with a rather mediocre hardware that provided them with a low price. And the only thing that made these devices in common with the flagships was the identical name, flavored with the specifying prefix Lite, so as not to cause confusion. There was nothing to find fault with here, because it was impossible just to take and release a smartphone with top-end hardware for half the money. Or is it possible?
Samsung brought its first truly lightweight versions of flagship smartphones to Russia
Despite the presence in the lineup of the Galaxy S10e smartphone, which until some time played the role of an affordable flagship, Samsung went even further and released the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite. Starting today, they are available for purchase in Russia, and therefore it became interesting for us to figure out for ourselves whether the new items are worthy of being considered cut-down versions of flagships, and even more so to buy.
Differences between Galaxy S10 Lite and S10
Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite – one field of berries, however, one of them is more ripe than the other
The hardware on the Galaxy S10 Lite is pretty close to the classic Galaxy S10. At the heart of the new item is the Snapdragon 855 processor, which is an analogue of the Exynos 9820, which is equipped with the original model, and 6 GB of RAM instead of 8 GB. The difference, frankly, is not too big, given that the performance of modern smartphones has long reached the level where it is almost impossible to notice the differences between the flagship and devices from the middle price segment in everyday tasks. But for some, this may be a determining factor, because Samsung flagships on Snapdragon are usually not brought to us. Therefore, we will write down the first virtual plus at the expense of new items.
In the case of the Note 10 Lite, however, a little clarification needs to be made. Firstly, it is powered by the two-year-old Exynos 9810 processor, which was installed in the Galaxy Note 9, and secondly, the main camera module has a resolution of 12 MP, versus 48 MP in the Galaxy S10 Lite. As a result, the Note 10 Lite costs $ 5,000 less than the S10 Lite, but despite this, it may become a less attractive contender for someone.
In general, for the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite, it is difficult to say that these are lightweight versions of the original flagships. This is reflected in the diagonal of the displays, which in both models is equal to 6.7 inches, and in the battery capacity, which is already 4500 mAh, which is almost a third more than the classic versions. In practice, this increase provides smartphones with 27 hours of talk time versus 17 hours for the Galaxy S10, which is likely to result in an additional couple of hours in a mixed cycle of use. So here, too, a plus goes to new products.
Best Buy: Galaxy S10 vs Galaxy S10 Lite
But the flagship is not only hardware, but also execution. In terms of design, the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite have no complaints. In my opinion, the new items look even more interesting than their prototypes, at least due to the design of the main and front cameras. The back looks more trendy than the classic Galaxy S10, and the additional module clearly plays into the hands of the new product. The front camera, in spite of the fact that the manufacturer simply shifted it to the center, gives the devices some unique elegance. Probably because no one, except Samsung, is doing this yet.
But the question of price remains, and it is he who, perhaps, is of paramount importance for many. After all, no matter how cool a smartphone is, if it's prohibitively expensive, what's the point of drooling over it? In the case of the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite, there is no problem. The first costs 44,990 rubles, and the second costs 39,990 rubles. And this, for a minute, in the official retail. The same Galaxy S10 in the classic modification costs 40,000 rubles for servo carriers. But, firstly, most often the gray shipments of the Galaxy S10 come from Europe, where only Exynos devices are sold, and, secondly, purchasing from officials, you get some kind of protection and a two-year warranty under the law. But since the Note 10 Lite is not perfect with hardware, I would prefer the S10 Lite.