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Samsung Galaxy S
First released in June 2010, the Samsung Galaxy S ran on Android 2.1 and had an 800 x 480 Super AMOLED display. It also had a single-core 1GHz processor and 0.5GB of RAM. The rear camera was 5-megapixels, while the front was just 0.3-megapixels. The thing that really stood out about it was the customization of Android. -
Samsung GalaxyS II
Also known as the Samsung Galaxy S II, the refreshed phone was released in April 2011 and sported a similar 800 x 480 screen as its predecessor. The processor got a bump up to dual-core and 1.2GHz, and there was 0.75GB of RAM. The rear camera was 8-megapixels this time, with a 2-megapixel front-facing cam. Samsung embraced widgets with the Galaxy S II, something that rivals HTC was really pushing. -
Samsung Galaxy S III
Again sticking with the Roman numerals, so therefore technically known as the Samsung Galaxy S III, this model came out in May 2012 and was the first in the series to have a HD screen. Its resolution of 1280 x 720 was pretty revolutionary at the time. It also sported Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. There was a 1.4GHz quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM on launch, although Samsung stuck with an 8-megapixel rear camera. -
Samsung Galaxy S4
Released in April 2013 and ditching the Roman numerals that nobody used when referring to Galaxy phones anyway, the S4 had a 5-inch Full HD display. It also upped the processing power to a 1.9GHz quad-core chip, with 2GB of RAM. The rear camera had a jump too, up to 13-megapixels. -
Samsung Galaxy S5
Coming in April 2014, the S5 also had a Full HD screen but it was slightly bigger, measuring 5.1-inches (an LTE-A model eventually upped that to 2560 x 1440). There was a 2.5GHz quad-core processor on board, with 2GB of RAM. And the rear camera was once again improved, to a 16-megapixel module. But the most interesting thing about the Galaxy S5 was around the rear, with a texture like a sticking plaster. Samsung was still using removable plastic backs at this time -
Samsung Galaxy S6
April 2015's Galaxy S line was the first to offer two separate devices at the same time. The more standard Galaxy S6 featured a flat 2560 x 1440 Quad HD Super AMOLED display, measuring 5.1-inches, while Samsung moved to embrace the curved edges, resulting in the Galaxy S6 Edge and S6 Edge Plus. It ran on a Samsung-made octa-core processor, had 3GB of RAM and a 16-megapixel rear camera capable of recording Ultra HD footage. A 5-megapixel camera was adopted for the front. -
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
Like its stablemate also released in April 2015, the Galaxy S6 edge had a 5.1-inch Quad HD screen, octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 16-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front-facing cam. Where it differed is that the sides of the display are curved and wrap around to give the illusion of no bezel - a radical alternative at the time. -
Samsung Galaxy S7
The Galaxy S7 was announced in February 2016 and came with a 5.1-inch QHD display (2560 x 1440). Like the S6 before it, it was the flat-screen version of two handsets, but added a dual-pixel 12-megapixel camera for better low light photography and faster octa-core processor. Samsung Pay was enabled on the phone, which could work through NFC and magnetic strip systems. -
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
The Galaxy S7 edge was a true flagship phone in every respect. It too was announced in February 2016 and its 5.5-inch dual edge QHD display was simply superb. All of the same features as the S7 were on board and the design was a touch rounder than the S6 edge that preceded it. -
Samsung Galaxy 8
The Samsung Galaxy S8 was the first to introduce the Infinity Display, that referred to the fact it had an edge-to-edge display with virtually no bezels. The front-mounted home button was moved to the back too, albeit in a slightly awkward position - something Samsung should correct with the S9. While there was also a second variant in the S8 Plus, which came with a bigger screen and better battery, but the standard Galaxy S8 came with curved edges as standard. -
Samsung Galaxy 9
On the surface, the S9 looks very similar to the S8. The phone still offered that curved edge design and comes with a 5.8-inch OLED screen size and was once again, waterproof. The Galaxy S9 also offered AR emoji, which allows the phone to create a 3D avatar by scanning your face and creating a range of custom emoji for you. These can be used when chatting in WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. The Samsung Galaxy S9+ also launched alongside the S9 offering a dual aperture main camera. -
Samsung Galaxy S10
The Samsung Galaxy S10 launched alongside the larger S10+, the more affordable S10e and a 5G capable model. The 2019 flagship from Samsung featured a lot of the same design facets. There were also some enhancements with this model that included market-leading concepts, like the UltraSonic fingerprint sensor. A triple-camera system, smart auto-camera suggestions and wireless reverse charging also made this another flagship to beat. It also had a punch hole camera on the front. -
Samsun Galaxy S20
The standard handset takes the Infinity Display concept further - almost eliminating the bezel entirely. It also switches the punch-hole front camera to the centre. The screen sizes of the S20 and S20+ are 6.2- and 6.7-inches respectively, with Quad HD+ (3200 x 1440) resolutions. They also have in-display fingerprint scanners. Perhaps the biggest generational leap comes with the bump up to a 120Hz refresh rate for each screen, with triple-lens cameras on both. -
Samsung Galaxy S21
While they are a little cheaper than the launch price of the S20 models in 2020, there have been a couple of moves, reducing the display to 1080p only, and move to a plastic back rather than glass on the rear. But these are still powerful flagship level devices, with a triple camera arrangement and offering adaptive refresh rates for that display, so while it's only 1080p, it will offer 120Hz. -
Samsung Galaxy S22
Samsung's Galaxy S22 feels like an iterative update to the Galaxy S21. Again there are two models - the S22 with a 6.1-inch display and the S22+ with a 6.6-inch display. Outside of these shize differences, these phones are basically the same, offering the same design and build, the same colours, the same power and hardware. There's a difference in the battery capacity, of course. Both these phones also share features with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, Samsung's latest flagship.