Samsung Galaxy S10 5G quadruple camera secrets have finally been spilled

Camera measurements and ratings body DxOMark has published its hotly-anticipated review of the all-new quadruple camera on the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, which is set to launch later this year. 

Unlike the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus, which have a rear-mounted triple camera, the Galaxy S10 5G adds an extra lens into the mix. It's an advanced hQVGA 3D-depth sensing camera, which improves the artificial bokeh-style blur behind the subject in Live Focus photos, as well as bringing the effect to video for the first time.

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DxOMark scored the quadruple camera-touting Galaxy S10 5G with an impressive 112 points for the rear-mounted shooter, and 97 points for the selfie cameras. 

In terms of rear cameras, that leaves the Galaxy S10 5G tied with the Huawei P30 Pro. However, the next-generation Samsung handset is now the highest rated smartphone on the market when it comes to selfies.

As you'd expect, the Galaxy S10 5G is also rated higher than the Galaxy S10 Plus. According to DxOMark, there are a number of reasons for this. For example, the Galaxy S10 5G lets you to pick between using the telephoto lens or the ultra-wide lens when shooting Live Focus photographs, which add an artificial bokeh-style blur behind the subject of the image. This isn't possible on any other Galaxy S10 handsets, which can only shoot Live Focus images using the ultra-wide lens.

There's no dedicated night mode on the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G at the moment, which means the flagship smartphone is behind rival handsets like the Google Pixel 3 and Huawei P30 Pro. However, this is heavily rumoured to be coming in a future software update which could alter its performance in tough low-light conditions.

Another key difference between the Galaxy S10 5G and the rest of the Galaxy S10 range is the ability for the former to record 4K video as the default. With every other Galaxy-branded smartphone, even those with the ability to shoot in Ultra HD quality, defaults to 1080p HD as the default video resolution.

The front-facing camera’s ability to shoot videos with more stable focus while walking safely contribute to the 100-point video score. Unfortunately, one thing that isn't contributing to that seriously impressive score is the new ToF (time-of-flight) sensor that enables Live Focus videos. DxOMark doesn’t currently test bokeh videos.

DxOMark is keen to point out that the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is still an impressive piece of kit, something that we espoused in our Galaxy S10 Plus review. 

It will be interesting to see whether Samsung does roll-out a dedicated night mode – or any other firmware improvements to the camera on the Galaxy S10 series – in the coming months, and whether this widens the lead that the 5G-touting model currently enjoys over its counterparts.

You can read DxOMark’s entire Galaxy S10 5G camera review on their website.