If there’s one major smartphone that can compete against the iPhone, it’s the Galaxy S series device. But it took years for Samsung to create the same level of excitement surrounding the Galaxy S smartphone, the Android alternative, as the Apple iPhone. In addition to the marketing muscles, what has really helped Samsung is its ability to track the trends and create key smartphones accordingly. Today, as Samsung is ready to unveil the Galaxy S21, we take a look at how the Galaxy S series has changed over the years.
Samsung Galaxy S (2010)
Samsung had been making smartphones for years, but the Galaxy S was the first sight of the company hitting the high-end market. Announced at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in 2010, the Galaxy S was a truly high-end, competitive phone straight to the iPhone 4. The Galaxy S featured a 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 480 x 800, 1GHz processor, 512MB RAM, 5MP rear camera, 1,500mAh battery, and Android 2.1 Eclair.
Samsung Galaxy S II (2011)
By all means, the Galaxy S II was a step up from its predecessor. It was relatively narrow and had an industrial design. Not to forget, the Galaxy S II was the fastest Android smartphone of its time. The 4.3-inch larger Super AMOLED Plus display but retained the resolution at 480 x 800 with Corning Gorilla Glass protection. It was powered by a dual Exynos 4210 processor, 1GB RAM, and up to 32GB storage, an 8MP rear camera, a 1,650mAh battery, and Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread. The Galaxy S II was a global success, as the company managed to sell 20 million units in less than a year.
Samsung Galaxy S III (2012)
The Galaxy S III was the first ‘Galaxy’ smartphone that changed Samsung’s fortunes in the handset market. Everything the phone would expect was from a flagship smartphone, including a larger 4.8-inch AMOLED display with HD resolution and 4G LTE. The phone came at a time when Nokia had already lost market traction, and Apple was struggling to innovate. All of these factors benefited Samsung, establishing the South Korean giant closer to Nokia as the world’s largest phone maker.
Samsung Galaxy S4 (2013)
While the Galaxy S4 was an attractive device, the phone did not impress critics. The reason: the Galaxy S4 went too far with the features that people never wanted. Those hand gestures and rubs made the Galaxy S4 gimmicky, although buyers valued the phone’s performance. The Galaxy S4 came with a 5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED screen, 13MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, and 2,600mAh battery.
Samsung Galaxy S5 (2014)
The Galaxy S5 came at a critical time when Apple started kicking back. The iPhone 5s was well received, and its successor, the iPhone 6/6 Plus, wiped out all sales records. Despite the success of the iPhone 6 series, the Galaxy S5 held up well on its own. Samsung had included everything to stand out the Galaxy S5 from the competition, a 5.1-inch Super HD Full AMOLED display, a quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, IP67 waterproof and dustproof, and swipe-based fingerprint reader. The Galaxy S5 was fast and had advanced cameras as well. However, the design language of the Galaxy S5 raised a lot of questions, as the cheap plastic designs started to look weird.
Samsung Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge Plus (2015)
The advent of the Galaxy S6, especially the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, marked a turnaround in Samsung’s Galaxy S line. The Galaxy S6 was the first Galaxy S smartphone built out of metal and glass, giving Samsung an edge over its Android competitors. The Galaxy S6 Plus, the one with the curved Edge screen and a slightly larger 2,600mAh battery, went on to become an even bigger hit. The amazing success of the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus even surprised Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge Plus (2016)
Samsung transformed the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge Plus into a behemoth technology. For the first time, it appeared as if Samsung was challenging Apple but the entire smartphone industry. His experience was in outdoor display technology in the country with the advanced AMOLED display and a new type of curved edge screen. But the Galaxy S7 series has received praise from all quarters; Critics particularly liked the camera performance of its phones, a recognition previously reserved for smartphones from Apple or HTC.
Samsung Galaxy S8 / S8 Plus (2017)
Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus had powerful hardware, a feature that helped Samsung beat their competitors. Both were the best Android smartphones of their time, but it felt like the Galaxy Note 8 would be mostly like the Galaxy S8 Plus with a stylus and a 2x optical zoom lens. For the first time, critics began to notice the similarities between the Galaxy S series and the Galaxy Note lineup.
Samsung Galaxy S9 / S9 Plus (2018)
The launch of the Galaxy S9 series was nothing significant, but it underwent a major change. For the first time, Samsung started differentiating between two famous smartphones in the Galaxy S series. Both the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus had many unique differences in addition to physical size. With the Galaxy S9 Plus, Samsung was desperate to go after a segment that values a bigger display and a bigger battery. The Galaxy S9 series was clearly aimed at the Apple iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.
Samsung Galaxy S10 / S10 Plus / S10e (2019)
The Galaxy S10 range was the biggest update made by Samsung in years. They also cost more than before, but Samsung was after a new set of diverse customers. The Galaxy S10e, the cheapest option, was more interesting out of the original. In a way, the Galaxy S10e along with the iPhone XR started a conversation around the “accessible flags”. And the strategy worked – at least, in parts. While Samsung tried to offer a premium smartphone experience at a lower price, the Galaxy S10e did not get the recommendation it deserved.
Samsung Galaxy S20 / S20 Plus / S20Ultra / S20 FE (2020)
Let’s talk about renewal. For the first time, Samsung offered four variants of the Galaxy S20. All four phones lived up to the promise, though the Galaxy S20 Ultra was a bit controversial for being too similar to the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. This sparked a debate on social media as to whether Samsung should combine the Galaxy S and Note series. Only Samsung knows the answer but the company has recently announced that they plan to bring some features of the Galaxy Note to other smartphones. Should Samsung let the Galaxy Note die? We will soon have the answer.