Samsung Galaxy S Series
Alongside Google’s Pixel phones and Apple’s iPhones, Samsung’s Galaxy S series of smartphones is presently among the best-selling alternatives available. Samsung launched its first Galaxy S phone in 2010, and a lot has changed between that model and the most recent phone in the lineup.
In the market for touchscreen phones without an external keyboard, Apple had a little advantage over Samsung since, well, the business debuted its first iPhone in 2007. However, the Galaxy S series of phones from Samsung swiftly won over customers.
Naturally, all of this is just for fun, so your thoughts may differ! It’s also important to keep in mind that a lot of these smartphones are among the greatest ever made; even the worst of the best is still very amazing.
Check out our retrospective on the history of Galaxy S phones here for a more in-depth look.
1. Samsung Galaxy S
Looking at the specs, the Samsung Galaxy S (also known as the Galaxy S1), the phone that started it all, appears ridiculous. 512MB RAM, a 4-inch, 480×800 screen, and a 1 GHz single-core processor. But in the early days of Android, this was about as good as it got—and it was early. The most significant drawbacks were the garish software, the absence of a camera flash, and the drab appearance.
2. Samsung Galaxy S II
The Samsung Galaxy S1 was only just missed by brilliance due to the early state of Android at the time and a general lack of polish. However, Samsung’s 2011 retry resulted in one of the greatest Android phones to date. The Galaxy S2 had a fast internal system, an OLED screen, a detachable battery, and a robust construction. The only reason it isn’t higher on this list is because Samsung US and its network partners created so many variants (Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch, anyone?) that it was nearly impossible to find a true Galaxy S2 (the GT-I9100). Still, this was an accomplished, significant step in Samsung’s ascent to the top of the Android world.
3. Samsung Galaxy S III.
The Galaxy S3 was the pinnacle of Samsung’s first few flagship smartphones, even while the Galaxy S/Galaxy S1 may have launched the series and the Galaxy S2 shown to us that the company’s photography team could rival Apple’s. The Galaxy S3 had a sleek, plastic body, a quick internal structure, and a redesigned TouchWiz UI with a nature theme and a few useful features like a pop-up video player and Smart Stay for screen retention. When combined, you got the first true iPhone killer for the range in terms of both total quality and sales.
4. Samsung Galaxy S IV.
The Galaxy S4 from Samsung only cost $50 more than its predecessor, but it had a lot of upgrades. The Galaxy S4 featured a number of additional sensors, like as an accelerometer, gyroscope, digital compass, thermometer, moisture-measuring hygrometer, and pressure-tracking barometer, to help customers get more out of their handsets.
There were three different storage capacities available: 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB; more storage could be added with a microSD card; RAM doubled to 2GB; and the battery could be changed if needed. Then, for enhanced performance, the newest Exynos 5 Octa 5410 with eight cores was added to the next-generation Galaxy S phone.
The Galaxy S4 boasts a sharp 13MP rear camera, up from 8MP on the S2 and S3. The back camera may potentially be used to shoot 4K video at 30 frames per second. Then, there wasn’t much of an upgrade with the 2.1MP front camera, but it could still capture 1080p video at 30 frames per second. All of your images might be viewed on the gorgeous 5-inch Super AMOLED display.
Although the Galaxy S4 was the model that sold the most, there were a few additional models available in 2013. For those who are really active and love the outdoors, the S4 Active was positioned as a water-resistant model. The S4 Zoom included an optical zoom lens with 10x magnification, while the S4 Mini was more compact and reasonably priced.
5. Samsung Galaxy S V
Was 2014 the greatest smartphone year ever? Should that be the case, then the Galaxy S5, which showcased Samsung’s best efforts, deserves some recognition. The Galaxy S5, the first flagship model from the mainstream Galaxy line to be water resistant, did not sacrifice microSD compatibility or a detachable battery. After the Galaxy Note 3, this was also among the first Samsung phones to record in 4K. Moreover, the phone’s real-time HDR feature was a wonderful addition at a time when other phones’ HDR photography was still a sluggish, hazy mess. The swipe-based fingerprint scanner was a major letdown compared to the touch-based sensor on the iPhone 5S. A cherished phone that narrowly loses out on the top slot.
6. Samsung Galaxy S VI
The Galaxy S6 was a noteworthy release in 2015 for a few reasons. This was the range’s initial attempt to enter the glass design space made popular by the iPhone. In terms of price strategy, Samsung also followed Apple’s lead, having up until this time been less expensive than the iPhone. However, the Galaxy S6 receives a wooden spoon score since, in order to accomplish this look, a great deal of the Galaxy S5’s features were eliminated or sacrificed. This implied a considerably smaller battery, no replaceable battery, no support for microSD cards, and no IP classification.
7. Samsung Galaxy S VII
All of the obvious problems of the Galaxy S6 series were fixed by the greatest Galaxy S series ever, and boy, did it cure a lot of problems. larger batteries? Verify. Water-resistant material? Yes. Extension of MicroSD? Yes, in fact. Aside from that, the Galaxy S7 series also had fast internals, a 240fps slow-motion camera (matching the iPhone), and a 12MP primary camera. The Galaxy S7 was a best-seller and the opposite of the iPhone lineup at the time, representing true progression rather than merely iteration for the sake of iteration. Praise be to the Galaxy S7.
8. Samsung Galaxy S VIII
In 2017, the overwhelming majority of phones had a screen ratio of 18:9 or more. This also applied to the Galaxy S8 series. It was comfortable to handle and had a beautiful OLED screen with enough space. A number of innovations, including DeX, the Bixby voice assistant, the much-maligned Bixby button, and an iris scanner that wasn’t as bad as many had anticipated, were also introduced with Samsung’s early 2017 flagships. However, the back fingerprint scanner falls short in this regard. How could anybody have thought it was a good idea to place it near the camera? Nevertheless, the Galaxy S8 series served as a welcome reminder that Samsung remained the industry leader after a few months due to the Note 7 fiasco.
9. Samsung Galaxy S IX
In essence, the Galaxy S9 was the Galaxy S8.1, which in turn had some genetic similarities with the Galaxy S7. It shared many of the same internal specifications as the Galaxy S8, and it had a glass design. For the first time, the Galaxy S series received a dual-camera configuration, however, this was limited to the Galaxy S9 Plus. Other enhancements include dual-aperture primary cameras, AR Emoji, and native 960-frames-per-second slow-motion video. When competitor Huawei unveiled the cutting-edge P20 Pro, the phones largely adopted a cautious strategy, and there were also many more reasonably priced flagships available. If we were only considering the Plus model, it would be ranked higher than its immediate predecessor; nonetheless, as it stands, the Galaxy S9 is a solid sixth.
10. Samsung Galaxy S X
From the more economical Galaxy S10e to the Galaxy S10 Plus with all the bells and whistles, and even a 5G variant with extra power, the 2019 Galaxy S10 family featured something for everyone. Some of the finest Galaxy flagships ever were produced as a result of this “something for everyone” strategy. Additionally, it was the first year that Samsung offered multiple cameras on all of its handsets, a move that was long overdue given that competitors like LG, Huawei, and Xiaomi had been delivering dual or more cameras for a number of years. There was a lot to appreciate about this device, especially when you consider its sleek punch-hole designs, One UI skin debut, and stunning OLED panels.
11. Samsung Galaxy S XX
The Galaxy S20 series appears to have a drawback for every one or two advantages. A beautiful 120Hz OLED screen, decent battery life, 5G, an amazing hybrid zoom (and periscope zoom on the Ultra), and 8K video are just a few of the many things you receive. However, the price tag is high (ranging from $1,000 to $1,400), the device has a gimmicky 100x Space Zoom, neither the S20 nor S20 Plus have a decent telephoto camera, and the One UI is beginning to exhibit feature creep similar to other Samsung skins. Additionally, this is the first Samsung Galaxy S series to fully do away with the headphone port. Even so, these remain deserving successors to Samsung’s ongoing smartphone dynasty and are among the greatest Android phones available at the time.
12. Samsun Galaxy S XXI
While Samsung’s 2021 flagships make significant improvements over the S20 series, there are still several significant errors. From $800 for the base S21 to $1,200 for the S21 Ultra, the Galaxy S21 series was $200 less expensive overall. The Ultra variant, on the other hand, stole the show with its two zoom-focused cameras (3X and 10X), support for the S Pen, and a primary camera that doesn’t have as many serious focussing problems as the S20 Ultra. There are a couple drawbacks to the series: the S21 and S21 Plus lack QHD+ displays, and the S21 has a plastic back. Additionally, none of the three phones support ultra-fast charging, microSD expansion, or the in-box charger. An enhanced Ultra model and a price reduction seems to have greatly increased initial sales in the US.
13. Samsun Galaxy S XXII
While Samsung had already included the S Pen in the S21 Ultra the year before, the S22 Ultra marked a significant milestone with the addition of an integrated S Pen slot (consistent with Note phones). Features including the 5,000mAh battery, the QHD+ screen, the 3x and 10x cameras (with better quality), and other S21 Ultra features were carried over to the S22 Ultra. Not all of the S22 series was limited to the Ultra model, though, as Samsung also made improvements to the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus, keeping their respective price tags at $800 and $1,000. A new 50MP primary camera and a real telephoto camera with greater zoom were added to the base and midrange variants.
14. Samsun Galaxy S XXIII
The Galaxy S flagships from 2023 will have a few noteworthy upgrades from Samsung, starting with Snapdragon power in every area. This is significant since Galaxy flagships with the Exynos version have typically always been the less-than-ideal model. Not only that, but the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus also benefited from much-needed increases in battery capacity. In the meantime, the S23 Ultra’s incredible 200MP primary camera outperformed the S22 Ultra’s 108MP sensor in terms of image quality. However, practically every other aspect remained unchanged, therefore this version may be considered incremental in many respects. It’s also important to note that, similar to the iPhone 14 series, the Galaxy S23 range saw pricing increases outside of the US.
15. Samsun Galaxy S XXIV
We contend that the Galaxy S24 series’ superior ranking over the Galaxy S23 range is mostly due to the Galaxy S24 Plus. Thanks to several improvements, Samsung’s midrange phone is now more similar to the Ultra series than ever (256GB of basic storage, UWB, a QHD+ screen, and a larger battery). At most, the basic S24 seems like a little improvement over the model from 2023. In addition, the Korean company controversially decided to replace the 10MP 10x camera in the Ultra range with a 50MP 5x camera. Impressive AI functions are available on all three phones, however, they are also being added to more current high-end Galaxy smartphones.
Faq
1. What is a Galaxy S from Samsung?
Produced by Samsung Electronics, the Samsung Galaxy S series comprises premium Android smartphones and tablet computers. As Samsung’s flagship smartphone portfolio, the lineup includes the foldable Galaxy Z series.
2. When was the Samsung Galaxy S released?
Since its launch on June 4, 2010, Samsung’s Galaxy S series has been the phone line that most people think of when Android is discussed. Since there are differences across phones, we thought it would be a good idea to rate each generation of Galaxy S smartphones from worst to best. We have almost ten years of Galaxy S devices at our disposal.
3. When was the Samsung Galaxy S23 series announced by Samsung?
On February 1, 2023, Samsung revealed the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, which includes the Samsung Galaxy S23, Samsung Galaxy S23+, and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
