Samsung reveals Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite after endless leaks

Quick, everyone act surprised: Samsung has officially pulled the covers from the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite. At this point, the decision to reveal two new flagship handsets before CES 2020 has even begun feels a bit like damage control; both of the new Lite handsets were exhaustively leaked over the course of the past couple of months.

Here are the facts. The Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy Note 10 Lite share a remarkable number of similarities. Both have the same 6.7in Full HD+ Super AMOLED display; both have a 32MP selfie camera; and both have a massive 4,500mAh battery keeping the lights on.

Both devices offer up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and both have three rear cameras. The similarities stop there, however (well, they don’t, but this is a convenient segue point). The Galaxy S10 Lite has a 5MP Macro lens, a 48MP IOS wide-angle lens and a 12MP ultra-wide angle lens. The Note 10 Lite, meanwhile, has the same 12MP ultra-wide angle lens, but opts instead to flank it with a 12MP wide-angle lens and a 12MP telephoto lens.

Back to the similarities. The Galaxy S10 Lite has an unnamed octa-core processor (Exynos or Snapdragon) which is only distinguishable from that of the Note 10 Lite because it’s built using a 7nm fabrication process rather than 10nm. You’ll find that both run Android 10, with the Samsung One UI overlay. In addition, both have an “Infinity-O” display that has a holepunch-style selfie camera housing. 

Of course, the Galaxy Note 10 Lite has a trick up its sleeve: the S-Pen. Like its more expensive relatives, the Note 10 Lite can be written on or even controlled remotely by the S-Pen – the Notes app will translate your written notes into text.

Samsung has confirmed that these handsets will be available to explore at CES next week at the Samsung booth. So far, we don’t know how much they will cost, or when they will launch. Expect both handsets to be at least slightly cheaper than their high-end counterparts, however.