India is fast outgrowing the sub-Rs 10,000 segment, at least that’s what one recent report would have us believe. And while it may not be the most conclusive report, we can tell from the products that get the biggest hype – the fluid mid-range segment ranging from Rs 12,000-Rs 15,000 in pricing, more or less. But Samsung is convinced the sub Rs 10,000 segment still has legs and is hedging its bets with the Galaxy M series.
Before we get started on our initial experience with the M10, here’s a look at the specs:
There are some notable omissions such as the lack of a fingerprint sensor, which does make the M10 seem less appealing. And we’ll see if it that impacts user experience negatively.
The M10’s retail package is rather spartan. The box doesn’t look like it contains much and that’s pretty much true, but it’s also expected given that this is a budget phone. This is what you get inside the box:
Samsung Galaxy M10: Design and Build Quality
The Galaxy M10 has two stark design qualities that seem incompatible and half-thought at first glance. Let’s start with the front, which has that trendy teardrop notch, which the company calls Infinity-V. It’s the first time we are seeing a Samsung phone with a notch and it is less intrusive than most notches in this price segment. The screen to body ratio of the M10 is a healthy 81.6 % which is higher than the Realme C1 and Honor 9N, both phones with notches in this price range.
The sides of the phone are plastic too, since the back wraps around the side for a monolithic look. The glossy treatment on the sides starts looking dirty as soon as you use the phone for a few minutes. The left side has the SIM slot, while the right has a clicky power button below the volume rocker. You will find the 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom, along with micro USB port and the speaker holes. Compared to Galaxy M20 (left)
The big talking point with this phone will be the presence of the Infinity V notch, which is a first for a Samsung phone, along with the Galaxy M20, which was also launched today. The notch is not intrusive and certainly doesn’t get in the way of the UI. It reminds us of the notch on the OnePlus 6T, which is not a bad thing.
One of the highlights of the M10 has to be the display. The 6.22-inch PLS TFT panel has a HD+ resolution of 720 x 1520 pixels with a 19:9 aspect ratio and around 271 ppi of pixel density. It’s a bright and vibrant panel which is a bit surprising given that it is a TFT panel, and not IPS. It has good viewing angles and the sunlight legibility is quite good too.
The Galaxy M10 is powered by the Samsung Exynos 7872 hexa-core 14nm SoC with 4 x 1.6 GHz Cortex-A53 cores and 2 x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A73 cores. For GPU, the chipset has the Mali-G71 MP1.
Once you get used to the UI/UX quirks and Settings pages of Samsung Experience, the experience is more or less like any other budget phone with the only difference being the OEM skin. I won’t really pan Samsung Experience for the bloatware since the competition isn’t doing any better. At least, Samsung does not inject ads into your notification banner by default like on MIUI.
Dual cameras are becoming very common in the budget segment, but not like the ones on the Galaxy M10. That’s because Samsung has added an ultra-wide sensor, instead of the typical depth sensor found in the competition. We have seen a similar sensor in action in the Galaxy A7 and A9 and the wide-angle definitely makes certain kinds of photos look more immersive and impactful.
And here are a couple of examples of the wide-angle camera in action:
The notch on the front houses the 5MP f/2.0 selfie camera. These selfies are nothing great to speak of, but Samsung has added a Live Focus mode which helps you take shots with blurred background. You can also add stickers to you selfies – because, why not?
We aren’t quite ready to deliver a verdict for The Galaxy M10’s dual rear cameras. We will be comparing the the 13MP f/1.9 main camera and the 5MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera to the competition, so stay tuned for the full review which should be coming up soon.
Another key focus area for Samsung with the M10 is the battery. Samsung has packed in a 3,400 mAh battery, which falls short of what some of the competition offers – Realme C1, for example, has a 4,230 mAh battery. The Galaxy M10 should ideally provide all-day usage, and the smaller battery pack is likely to reduce the weight of the phone. At 160 g, it’s already on the heavy side so the weight must surely have been a consideration on Samsung’s part.
The Galaxy M10 doesn’t have fast charging support and comes with a standard 5v 1A charging adapter in the box. Samsung has not mentioned any support for fast charging standards, unlike the Galaxy M20.
I won’t lie: I was looking to be impressed by the Galaxy M10 before I went ahead and used the phone. But the first impression is that it’s an underwhelming device. Perhaps it’s down to the plain design of the back – we have become spoilt by the finish and look of some of Honor’s budget phones – or the fact that nothing on the specifications sheet seems to grab our attention from the outset. Compared to Galaxy M20 (bottom)
