The Galaxy S10 is once again Android’s top dog – but not for the right reasons
If you’re in the market for a top-end Android phone, the Galaxy S10 is once again Trusted Reviews‘ recommended flagship.
But sadly this isn’t because it has managed to smoke the competition. It’s because two of its biggest rivals have been unceremoniously taken out of the picture.
Specifically it’s because, thanks to prompts from the White House, Google has cut Huawei off from Android software and services. The move happened over the weekend, and means that as things stand, future Huawei handsets won’t be able to access key features like the Google Play Store and its associated services.
Related: Best Android phones
While this isn’t great news for unreleased Huawei devices like the Huawei Mate 30, it also severely diminishes the long-term appeal of the company’s current Huawei P30 and Huawei P30 Pro phones.
This is because, while Huawei and Google have confirmed both phones will continue to have access to the Play Store and services, it’s unlikely they’ll be updated to new versions of Android, like the upcoming Android Q.
Related: Everything you need to know about the Huawei Android ban
It’s pretty hard to recommend anyone pay £600-plus for a phone that’ll only run on the latest version of Android for a less than half a year.
Which is tragic because, up until now, the P30 and P30 Pro were two of the best phones money could buy, and excellent alternatives to the Galaxy S10 family for one key reason: their industry leading cameras.
As we noted in our Huawei P30 Pro vs Galaxy S10 head-to-head: “From a pure hardware perspective, the P30 Pro’s setup makes the Galaxy S10’s regular tri-camera system with basic RGB sensor look a little dull.”
If you go down both companies’ portfolios, as we noted in our P30 review, the cheaper phone is “a perfect alternative to the Galaxy S10e,” that “beats the full-fat Galaxy S10 in a few key areas”.
Related: Best camera phones
Don’t get us wrong, the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus are very good handsets. But we can’t help but feel their resurgence to the top of our recommended smartphone list is a hollow victory when their two biggest rivals have been stripped of their crowns for what appear to be political reasons.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
