A Brief History of 'Galaxy'

Very soon, literally in a little over twenty days, Samsung will present the next generation of smartphones of the flagship Galaxy S line. Today, you can find a lot of 'leaks' on the network, according to which you can quite accurately find out the design and characteristics of future new products. Based on the experience of recent years, it can be assumed that the information obtained from these 'leaks' will be largely confirmed.

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  Source: Slashleaks

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  Source: Slashleaks

And, as always, Samsung's top-end product will have both a mass of fans and a considerable number of haters.

Be that as it may, it is foolish to deny the contribution that Samsung made to the development Android, both in terms of introducing new features and in terms of popularizing the operating system as a whole.

Therefore, shortly before the official presentation of the tenth generation Galaxy S, I propose to remember how it all began.

Samsung Galaxy S (GT-I9000)

The first 'galaxy' with the letter 'S' was released in 2010 and competed with the most beautiful (according to many fans of technology Apple) apple smartphone – iPhone 4.

At that time, there was neither Xiaomi nor OnePlus, and most of today's vendors claiming to be A-brands 'walked under the table'.

The first generation Galaxy S (GT-I9000) was equipped with a proprietary Samsung Exynos 3110 processor, 512 MB of RAM and either 8 or 16 GB of permanent memory.

All this splendor was hardly enough to turn the heavy proprietary TouchWiz shell, to which users will have many complaints for a long time.

However, even back then, Samsung began to use screens produced using the technology AMOLED for their flagship devices. In the first 'galaxy', the screen had a diagonal of 4 inches and a resolution of 800 × 480 pixels with a density of 233 ppi.

In addition to the torn-eyed colors, the screens of the first 'galaxies' received their portion of criticism for the imperfect color rendering – the screen was very green. This was recognized as a marriage and the devices with green screens were changed to the same ones, but without a marriage, which was promptly corrected in subsequent batches.

Due to its characteristics, Galaxy S has become a very desirable and popular Android smartphone in the second half of 2010.

In the next year and a half, sales of this line were supported by the expansion of the model range and the entry into the market of various versions with the letters 'i', 'Plus', etc.

In the same generation, a proprietary button appeared, which will become the hallmark of Galaxy S smartphones for many years and will not disappear from the front panel until the eighth generation of Galaxy.

Samsung Galaxy SII (GT-i9100)

In February 2011, the second generation Galaxy – SII (i9100) was presented, the motto of which can be considered the words 'power and more power'.

When the smartphone first appeared on the shelves, many were confused by its size, because of the screen, the diagonal was as much as 4.3 inches.

In stores, one could often hear about this smartphone: 'Well, a shovel, how do you use it at all? ' Today these fears sound naive and ridiculous.

But this is today, and then the 4.3-inch screen was perceived as huge and uncomfortable. I remember how I myself stood and tried on my smartphone for a long time, trying to understand whether I could master such huge dimensions. ?

At the same time, the smartphone itself turned out to be quite okay and thin, thanks to which, even despite the completely plastic case, it is quite stylish.

Do you remember this thin back cover, which, during the removal process, was bent so that it seemed to break even a little more? But it has not broken and does not break until now.

With the increased diagonal, the screen resolution remains the same as in the first generation – 800 × 480. But the processor has become more powerful. Now it was made on 45 nm Samsung Exynos 4210 process technology, which had 2 Cortex-A9 cores in its arsenal, operating at a frequency of 1.2 GHz.

The Mali-400 MP4 was responsible for the graphics, and there was a whole gigabyte of RAM!

Throw in the then-chic 8MP autofocus camera that could shoot FHD video and you have a smartphone that has become a hit for years and is still considered the best Galaxy by geeks.

By the way, thanks to the open platform, you can even install Android 7 on S2, and it will work stably. Yes, it is still far from the record HTC HD2, but still.

Samsung Galaxy SIII (GT-i9300)

Inspired by the success of the second 'galaxy', Samsung is releasing the third generation, which begins the era of 'soap dish' design, for which many criticized Samsung, demanding more strict forms.

Despite the criticism, the 'soap dish' design is very popular with those who prefer ergonomic shapes. By the way, it was in the third Galaxy S that a design element appeared, which later received the name '2.5D-glass', which was later so boasted in Apple, attributing to itself the laurels of the discoverer.

In addition to 2.5D, the Galaxy S3 saw the light of the day and other features, which over the years will be presented by other manufacturers as an achievement. Among them are the work of the screen when you look at it, and the face scanner, and smart notifications when you pick up the smartphone, and even the multi-window, which only reached clean Android years later.

Today many people know both Siri and Google Assistant, but few remember that the voice assistant S-Voice made its debut in the third 'galaxy'.

The display has grown again to 4.7 inches, having received a resolution of 1280720 pixels.

It was also SuperAmoled, which has received one of the most criticized types of sensor with the principle of pixel arrangement of Pen-Tile pixels.

The smartphone was sold in space editions – and less than half a year after the presentation, it sold 20 million devices sold.

And on board the Galaxy S3 was one of the best cameras at that time, which was inferior only to the camera in the Nokia 920. But because of the Windows Phone, Nokia had no chance.

As in the case of the first and second 'galaxies', S3 received several variations, differing in processors, RAM and the number of SIM-cards.

An unpleasant feature of the Galaxy S3 was a constructive flaw in the form of a lacquered bezel, which quickly became overgrown with chips and cracks, making the appearance of the smartphone untidy.

The Galaxy S3 adopted this 'feature' from its predecessors, the S and S2, from which it was not so striking.

The most offensive thing was that it was very, very difficult to change the bezel separately – it was part of the main frame, on which the display module was very tightly glued, which was very easy to damage during the peeling process.

Separately, the new original display cost indecently, so the owners of the peeling S3 had to hide this disgrace in covers or put up with an untidy look.

Despite this, the Galaxy S3 has become one of the best-selling and longest-lived smartphones on the market.

Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-i9500)

Well, then I saw the light of the Galaxy S4, which felt even easier in the hand than the 'three': no ​​2.5D protective glass of the display, often cracked flimsy plastic frame, the same lacquered bezel around the display that very quickly lost its appearance and an indistinct back cover, instantly covered with a network of scratches and cracks.

But, despite this, the smartphone became popular, and in this it was helped by a five-inch FHD-Super AMOLED display, which had a more balanced and calm color reproduction, a powerful eight-core Exynos 5410 processor paired with two gigabytes of RAM, which made the fourth 'galaxy' a highly coveted acquisition. And the cherry on top was a great, I would even say, gorgeous camera.

But, unlike in previous years, competitors did not sleep and actively joined the race. A tangible share of sales from the Galaxy S4 was taken away by the model released at the same time from LG – G2, which today is considered by many to be almost the best model that LG has produced during its existence. .

Samsung Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F)

The next generation of Galaxy can be characterized by the phrase from Rudyard Kipling's 'Mowgli': 'Akela missed.'

The smartphone, although it received water resistance in the basic version (in the previous generation, this option was only available in the special version of the Galaxy S4 Active) and even got a fingerprint scanner, it still became a very strange proposal.

Lid in the style of the ceiling of the classic 'Lada', 'soap' camera, not the freshest processor at the time of release Qualcomm Snapdragon 801. In addition, the S5 only had 2 GB of RAM (the same LG G3, released at the same time, already had 3 GB of RAM).

Where is the branded Exynos? And it was given to the actively promoted Note line, in this case the third generation.

In the end, considering all the blunders, the Galaxy S5 turned out to be a passable model, boring, controversial and therefore not winning the love of customers.

Samsung Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge (SM-G920 / 925)

And then came the Galaxy S6.

We can talk a lot and a long time about the sixth generation Galaxy S, and most often it will be epithets in excellent form.

This is a new milestone in the design of Samsung smartphones, which set the vector of development for all subsequent generations of Galaxy S.

New premium materials, which were so lacking to create an image of not only a geek, but a premium product for playing on the field Apple, a camera with outstanding characteristics, up-to-date hardware with the fastest processor, super-fast internal memory (albeit without support external memory cards), a chic 5.1-inch Super AMOLED Quad HD-display, as well as a monolithic body, made the Galaxy S6 a welcome purchase for many lovers of the best and most stylish.

The high price that had to be paid for a pass to the world of Samsung did not become a problem either.

But that's not all. Indeed, along with the regular S6, the Galaxy S6 Edge is also entering the market, which has a display curved on both sides.

The S6 Edge was considered the most beautiful smartphone of 2015 and quickly became a fashion device, almost a must-buy for fashionistas and celebrities. As a result, the curved model was the reason for the failure in sales of the regular S6.

The six lacked only two components of the flagship – water resistance and support for memory cards.

All this appeared in both smartphones of the seventh generation Galaxy S, which became a logical continuation and development of the S6 / S6 Edge.

Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge (SM-G930 / 935)

The S7 and S7 Edge, like the sixes, went on sale as a couple and quickly became bestsellers.

In addition to the characteristics of the devices themselves, including an even better display, an even faster processor, as well as the already mentioned slot for a memory card and protection against water, the sales of the S7 / S7 Edge were spurred on by the 'explosive' failure with the Galaxy Note 7.

In the absence of an up-to-date large Note 7 model, the 'curved' S7 Edge has become very, very popular.

It is believed that even if there was no failure with the Note 7, the combination of features, design and capabilities would still make the S7 / S7 Edge bestsellers.

By the way, the smartphone is still selling well and remains relevant both in terms of hardware and design.

Samsung Galaxy S8 / S8 Plus (SM-G950 / 955)

The eighth 'galaxy' became both a cosmetic development and a full-fledged generational change at the same time.

On the one hand, the S8 and S8 Plus have a completely new design with 5.8 and 6.2-inch curved Infinity displays, respectively, which for the first time in the Galaxy S line has disappeared the mechanical button (if you do not take into account niche carrier models ).

As well as the new Exynos 8895 processor, competing with the Snapdragon 835, and memory with UFS 2.1 support.

On the other hand, the same main camera module with a similar shooting quality, as well as a 3000 mAh battery in the classic S8 version.

At the same time, the devices received the latest version of the energy efficient Bluetooth 5.0 and a completely different sound quality in headphones, thanks to the emerging DAC from Cirrus Logic CS43130.

All these nuances make the S8 a full-fledged new generation.

However, not without a fly in the ointment.

Firstly, it is a fingerprint scanner that has moved to the back, which Samsung does not shine with speed and accuracy anyway, but here you also need to learn how to get into it.

And secondly, due to the transition to on-screen navigation keys, there are more frequent cases of burnout in this area of ​​the display, which is constantly in operation due to the need to display these very navigation controls.

Another controversial innovation is the Bixby voice assistant, for which there is even a dedicated hardware key on the left side of the device.

In the next, ninth generation Galaxy, mistakes made in the 'eights' were taken into account.

Samsung Galaxy S9 / S9 Plus (SM-G960 / 965)

From a distance, when looking at the display, the eighth and ninth generations can be confused.

However, when looking at the back surface, everything becomes clear. The fingerprint scanner has moved under the main camera, making it a little more convenient to use than when it was on the side – now the camera lens does not need to be wiped as often.

The camera modules have been updated, now the main camera is a truly new generation, which has acquired a unique feature – a variable aperture, from 2.4 for sufficient lighting conditions to crazy 1.5 for difficult conditions with a lack of light!

And yet, the already comfortable narrow case has become even more comfortable to hold, thanks to smoother edges and slightly changed geometry of the joints of the display and the case.

In addition, in the ninth generation of 'galaxies', stereo speakers so beloved by many music lovers appeared.

At the moment, the Nine is perhaps the most balanced flagship, offering the maximum of functions and capabilities in one phone. This is protection against water according to the IP68 standard, and wireless charging, and a fast camera of excellent quality, and a jack 3.5 connector that has not disappeared anywhere, and no bangs and eyebrows on the almost frameless curved display.

For complete happiness, the only thing missing is the IrDA, which has disappeared from Samsung flagships since the seventh generation.

Conclusion

It remains to wait for the tenth, anniversary generation of Galaxy S and see how the Koreans can surprise us, and most importantly, whether they can.

Based on the experience of past years, from the new flagship Samsung can expect uncompromising technical equipment and advanced technologies.

And it seems to me that Samsung's top ten will be another demonstration of capabilities and a kind of benchmark for other manufacturers, once again setting a high bar.