The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is the US’ first 5G phone

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  To-scale pictures of the S10 lineup. The 5G version is huge! [credit: Phone Arena ]

Samsung and Verizon are introducing the first 5G smartphone to the US, the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G. A participation trophy should go to the Moto Z3, which is a 4G smartphone that you can clip a 5G backpack onto, but if you're looking for a fully self-contained 5G phone, the S10 5G is the first. Today, the S10 5G is out exclusively on Verizon, and it can be picked up for an astounding starting price of $1,300.

Samsung Galaxy S10

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View more storiesAs the first 5G phone, the Galaxy S10 5G lets us put our assumptions about first-generation 5G hardware to the test. Last year, when Qualcomm announced its 5G chips, we expected the first 5G hardware to be big and power-hungry, and the S10 5G seems in line with that theory. To start, the S10 5G isn't a normal Galaxy S10 with an extra 5G modem, it's a fourth size class of the Galaxy S10 (after the S10e, S10, and S10+). It's essentially an S10++.

The bigger size is most likely required to fit all of the extra hardware needed to make 5G work, which consists of a separate 5G chip and around four extra 5G antenna modules. Since Samsung needed to super-size the Galaxy S10, it might as well have thrown in a gigantic 6.7-inch display, a bigger 4500mAh battery, a fourth rear camera (this one is a depth sensor), and a front 3D sensor.

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