Samsung S series was first released on June 4, 2010 and has since become a popular brand and model. However, not all phones are created equal, so to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Samsung’s S series phones, we thought it would be a fun idea to rank each generation in order from weakest to best. In continuation of this article, we will review the best and weakest Samsung S series phones from Phoner:
Samsung S1 series
The phone that started it all is the Samsung S1 series (or Galaxy S1), but if you check out its specs today, it looks funny. 1GHz single-core chipset, 512MB RAM, 4-inch screen with a resolution of 480 x 800.
But these features were pretty much the best in the early days of Android. Its biggest weaknesses were the poor design and lack of a camera flash.
Advantages
- A great browser (when Chrome wasn’t for phones)
- Excellent technical features
cons
- There is no camera flash
- Low battery life
- lousy design
Samsung S2 series
After Samsung S1 series in 2011, it is one of the best Android phones. The Samsung S2 series has a sturdy design, removable battery, and OLED display. This phone was an important and big step in Samsung getting to the top of the Android world.
The only reason it doesn’t rank higher on this list is because there are so many different variants of this phone that it’s almost impossible to find an actual Galaxy S2 (GT-I9100).
Advantages
- The rear camera can compete with the iPhone
- 2MP selfie camera when VGA or 1.3MP was the norm
- Wide range of video formats
- Excellent OLED screen
cons
- Average battery life
- The different species that have caused confusion
To find out the price and buy the best Samsung S series phones from Phoner, visit the Samsung phone brand page.
Samsung S3 series
While the Galaxy S1 may have started the series and the Galaxy S2 showed us that Samsung’s camera team can compete with Apple, the Galaxy S3 was the culmination of the first of a few flagships for the company. The Galaxy S3 offered an interesting design, nature themed TouchWiz user interface with many features like Smart Stay to keep the screen on, popup video player and fast processor.
Advantages
- Powerful healer
- Removable battery and microSD support
- Great camera
- Add useful programs
cons
- TouchWiz UX skin was not as smooth as other Android skins
- The plastic design wasn’t as attractive as metal or glass
Samsung S4 series
Samsung S4 series was not only the most popular Samsung S series phone but also the best selling Android phone of all time. But Samsung introduced a lot of useless software in this model.
Was header scrolling really necessary? Or the ability to create a 5.1 surround sound system with six phones?
Advantages
- Removable battery and microSD support
- Good picture quality during the day
- a great offer
cons
- Android with many features but useless
- In terms of design, it is very similar to the Samsung S3 series
- Lower image quality in low light compared to the HTC One
Samsung S5 series
The Samsung S5 series was the first waterproof Galaxy flagship to feature a removable battery and microSD support. This series was one of the first Samsung phones with 4K recording capability. Also, the real-time HDR capability was a nice bonus when HDR photography was still slow on most phones.
Advantages
- Water resistant
- Removable battery and microSD support
- Excellent image quality with real-time HDR
cons
- Weaker fingerprint sensor than touch scanners
- The MicroUSB port requires a plastic cover to seal it against water
Samsung S6 series
The Samsung S6 series was a notable launch in 2015 for several reasons. This series of phones was their first foray into the realm of glass design, and Samsung also matched Apple in terms of pricing, generally being cheaper than the iPhone up until then.
But the Samsung S6 series does not rank high in the overall ranking because it has reduced many features found in the Samsung S5 series to achieve design goals. For this reason, the IP standard does not have a removable battery and microSD support, and it has a much smaller battery.
Advantages
- Nice design
- Exynos 7420 chipset is very powerful
- Great camera
- Average fingerprint sensor
- Original wireless charging (no special case needed)
cons
- small battery
- There is no IP standard
- There is no microSD support and a removable battery
Samsung S7 series
It’s Samsung’s best S series model ever, addressing and fixing all the glaring issues of the Galaxy S6 series, like large batteries, water resistance, and MicroSD support.
Also, the Samsung S7 series has a 12MP main camera, 240fps slow motion (like iPhone) and a fast processor. The Galaxy S7 was a significant development and not just an iteration of what it was serving as a competitor to the iPhone at the time.
Advantages
- Water resistant
- wireless charging
- MicroSD support
- Excellent photo/video quality
cons
- Fingerprints remain on the glass
- Having MicroUSB when major competitors have USB-C
Samsung S8 series
Samsung S8 series was the first phone with Bluetooth 5.0. The Samsung S8 series has a beautiful OLED display and was easy to hold. Samsung flagships in early 2017 saw the introduction of various features like DeX, Bixby voice assistant, Bixby button, and iris scanner.
Of course, how could anyone think that sticking a fingerprint sensor next to the camera is a good idea?
Advantages
- Image quality improvement due to multi-frame image processing
- Great design
- DeX brings a PC-like experience
- The 3D Touch home button was a great replacement for the physical button
cons
- There is no dual camera
- The Bixby button wasn’t initially customizable
- Incorrect location of the fingerprint sensor
- Average battery life
Samsung S9 series
The Samsung S9 series is basically the Galaxy S 8.1 with some of the DNA of the Galaxy S7. The phone uses the same glass design as the Galaxy S8, and many of the internal specs are the same. Samsung’s S-series phones got dual cameras for the first time, but that was limited to the Galaxy S9+.
Other improvements include slow-motion recording at 960fps, a dual-aperture main camera, and AR Emoji. For this reason, the Samsung S9 series is placed in a respectable sixth place.
Advantages
- Very slow recording
- Better location for the fingerprint sensor
- It has a 3.5mm port, IP68 standard, and wireless charging
cons
- The standard Galaxy S9 came without the secondary rear camera and with less RAM
- The design hasn’t changed much compared to the S7
- The battery capacity has not increased compared to the S8 series
Samsung S10 series
From the less expensive Galaxy S10 to the Galaxy S10 Plus and even the advanced 5G model, Samsung’s S10 series (2019) had something for everyone, an approach that resulted in one of the best Galaxy flagships ever.
This was also the first year that Samsung introduced multiple cameras on all devices, which is a long overdue move. Add to that the sleek punch-hole designs, One UI-first display, and gorgeous OLED displays.
Advantages
- Flexible camera settings on all models
- Leading OLED screens
- Excellent specifications and price
- Latest Galaxy versions with headphone jack
- IP68 standard and wireless charging
cons
- Good camera, but not great
- 15W slow charging
- Low resolution in-screen fingerprint sensor
Samsung S20 series
It seems that for every positive thing about the Samsung S20 series, there is a negative. Overall, it has a lot of features like impressive hybrid zoom (and periscope zoom on the Ultra), a great 120Hz OLED screen, 5G connectivity, good battery life, and high-quality 8K recording.
But the price is high ($1,000 to $1,400), the 100x spatial zoom is complex, and the telephoto camera is unsuitable. It’s also the first Samsung S series to ditch the headphone jack entirely.
Advantages
- advanced screen
- 8K recording with the ability to extract 33MP frames
- 120Hz refresh rate
- Great cameras
- Good battery life
cons
- Very high price
- Huge performance gap between Snapdragon and Exynos variants
- Exaggerated zoom capabilities
- No 3.5 mm port
Samsung S21 series
Samsung’s 2021 has come a long way in correcting the misconception about the S20 series, but there are a few of them, too. The Samsung S21 series is $200 cheaper overall, starting at $800 for the base model and going up to $1,200 for the S21 Ultra. The Ultra model is the star, though, with dual-focus zoom cameras (3X and 10X), S-Pen support, and a main camera that doesn’t suffer from the S20 Ultra’s major autofocus issues.
The series has some downsides, as the S21 has a plastic back, and the S21 and S21 Plus both lack QHD+ screens. All three phones have ditched the internal charger and microSD support, and they don’t support ultra-fast charging.
Advantages
- Good screen with a high refresh rate
- Excellent photo/video quality
- Cheaper than the S20 series
- Two zoom cameras in the Ultra model
- S-Pen support for the S21 Ultra
- The Exynos chipset closes the gap with the Snapdragon SoC
cons
- There is no microSD card slot
- The S21 and S21 Plus do not have QHD+ screens
- There is no charger in the box
- Plastic back for the Galaxy S21 phone
- The S21 and S21 Plus haven’t seen any camera/charging/battery changes compared to last year
