So it seems the rumors were true about the slow motion component being preserved on the Galaxy S10 phones from last year’s S9. Last year the stand out feature of the phone in video mode was the slow motion capability and it was one of the main selling points for the Galaxy S9.  We got no mention of the feature during the Samsung event today for the S10 but we can find it buried in the phone specs with some details.

It seems the feature is slightly improved in bit-rate quality, color, and dynamic range. However, the main improvement is the recording time which has gone up to 0.4sec from 0.2sec and up to 0.8sec in 480fps mode which is half the frame rate.  In essence, it seems the phone is now the flagship slow motion performer for Samsung.

Galaxy S10 Slow Motion Specs What We Know:

• 240 & 120fps Full HD 1080p Recording (Improved from S9)
• 480fps HD 720p recording up to 0.8 seconds or 12.8 seconds playback on a 30p timeline.
• 960fps HD 720p recording up to 0.4 seconds or 12.8 seconds playback on a 30p timeline.

From Samsung: “Super Slow-mo only supports HD resolution. Users can record approximately 0.4 seconds of video captured at 960 fps with approximately 12 seconds of playback. Users can record approximately 0.8 seconds of video captured at 480 fps and digitally enhance the video to 960 fps with approximately 24 seconds of playback. Playback time can be edited in Super Slow-mo player”

So Samsung has really not improved recording time compared to the Note 9 which offered these same specs last year. We do see interpolation in software as an option from a 480fps source in order to get a faked 24-second playback at 30p on a timeline.  As to why this is a good feature remains to be seen, we are no fans of interpolation but Samsung may have a pretty good algorithm to create frames that distort very little. Our hopes are not very enthusiastic for this feature.

Samsung Galaxy S10 lineup hands-on by The Verge:

All variants of the Galaxy S10 will shoot slow motion as it is available via the main rear camera module which is shared as a standard shooter across all four models of the phone announced today.

Sample footage in slow motion is not available yet besides a pretty bad sample on the Samsung website, we will have to wait and see if this new S phone has an ace up its sleeve compared to the Note 9 or S9 in high frame rate quality.  As of now, the 960fps mode should be identical on all models which means you can get the S10e for $749 and get essentially the same camera module.  You will miss on the telephoto mode on the “e” variant but that is not a big deal for most people.

All in all, it seems it was mostly a non-event for slow motion fans, Samsung has not really made a leap forward with this phone compared to their previous efforts and the recording time remains severely limited in comparison to the OnePlus 6 and 6T for example.

The Galaxy Fold phone/tablet hybrid that really bends was also previewed but no word if the device will support the slow motion mode. It seems to share camera components with the regular S10 phones so there may be a duplicate camera module and software in this device. At nearly $2000 USD we don’t think it is good value.

The best part about new phone releases is that older phones like the Galaxy S9 are now much lower in price. It may be an ideal time to get the phone if you were on the fence. The slow motion mode should be very close between the S9 and the S10 except for the 480fps mode with interpolation to 24sec 960p.

We will have Galaxy S10 slow motion samples when they become available. -HSC