Samsung Galaxy S11: what we want to see

We're not expecting to see the Samsung Galaxy S11 release for a long time since, if Samsung continues its yearly cycles for phone releases, it will be out in or around February 2020 – but we've already been seeing some hints and clues as to what we can expect from it.

On top of that there are some features we didn't see in the Samsung Galaxy S10 that we were expecting, and there were aspects of the Samsung Galaxy A80 and Galaxy Fold that would work well in a new Galaxy S flagship.

Inspired by all these phones, we've drawn up a list of the things we'd like to see in the Samsung Galaxy S11, or whatever the next Samsung Galaxy S phone ends up being (it could be the Galaxy S20, given that phone companies seem to jump straight from 10 to 20 when numbering phones).

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next Galaxy S smartphone from Samsung
• When is it out? Likely February / March 2020
• What will it cost? Likely more than $899 / £799 / AU$1,349 

Samsung Galaxy S11 release date and price

We saw the Samsung Galaxy S10 release alongside the Samsung Galaxy S10e and Galaxy S10 Plus, in late February 2019. Since Samsung tends to release its phones in yearly cycles, we expect to see the Samsung Galaxy S11 release in February or March 2020.

The Galaxy S10 cost $899 / £799 / AU$1,349 for its cheapest storage size, and went all the way up to $1,149 / £999 / AU$1,699, when it released.

We would expect the Samsung Galaxy S11 price to be a small increase on this, as the Galaxy S10 was pricier than the Galaxy S9. Taking into consideration the usual price increases on Galaxy S handsets between generations, we'd expect to see it cost around $1,000 / £900 / AU$1,500 for the cheapest version, and even more for more memory.

1. Better camera specs 

The Samsung Galaxy S10 has three rear cameras: the 12MP main sensor with a regular lens, the 12MP second sensor with a telephoto lens for distance shots, and the 16MP third sensor with an ultra-wide lens.

The three lenses are generally what we'd expect in a smartphone camera, but the resolution of each is a lot lower than in many other phones.

Handsets like the Honor 20 Pro have a 48MP main snapper, which is a big step up from 12MP, and even affordable handsets sometimes now come with four lenses (the extra is usually a time-of-flight or macro sensor for close-up shots), so to stay competitive in the smartphone camera game Samsung needs to up its game.

We've heard that Samsung is working on a 64MP smartphone camera that could be put in the Samsung Galaxy S11 – if this is true, the new phone would blow its competitors out of the water.

2. A 3.5mm headphone jack

If you're scratching your head thinking “the Samsung Galaxy S10 does have a 3.5mm headphone jack”, then you're right – but it may be the last of its kind.

Newer Galaxy smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy A80 have ditched the headphone jack, so it seems Samsung is following suit behind many other smartphone companies in getting rid of the physical headphone port.

But since many, many people still use non-Bluetooth earphones, it's a feature that we'd love to see return in future Samsung smartphones, especially given it's one of the only high-end smartphone manufacturers to still be using them.

3. Different front-facing camera arrangement

The Samsung Galaxy S10 was one of the first phones to have a 'punch-hole' front-facing camera, which means the front snapper was in a cut-out section inside the screen, in the corner.

In theory this is a useful feature that replaces the top notch, so you get more screen real estate – but in practice the punch-hole takes just as much space, as there's a sliver of screen between the camera and the edge that just isn't used.

Going forward, we'd like to see Samsung take a different tack – Samsung itself has said it's planning to drop the punch-hole in favor of a camera under the screen, but that could still be a few Galaxy S phones down the line.

4. Greater battery capacity

The Samsung Galaxy S10 had a 3,400mAh battery – that's fine, but you've got no hope of that lasting more than a second day of use, especially if you use your phone a lot.

We'd hope the Samsung Galaxy S11 battery life would surpass that – it will definitely have to have a bigger capacity to cater for all the new tech the phone uses, but we'd like to see a serious improvement on the capacity, perhaps 4,000mAh or above.

5. More launch colors

The Samsung Galaxy S10 comes in a few colors, most commonly prism white and black – but we always love a vibrant design in a phone, and so far Samsung handsets have often seemed a little dull.

We're not asking for the crazy back patterns of a Huawei or Honor phone, but it would be nice for the Samsung Galaxy S11 to launch in a few different colors.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 has a few colors that are only available in certain regions, like yellow, green or red, but if Samsung made these designs available from the get-go in all regions, we'd appreciate the design a lot more.

6. Affordable 5G

We're expecting there to be a Samsung Galaxy S11 5G – there was a Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, after all, and by the time the S11 launches 5G will be available in many countries.

However, the Galaxy S10 5G is even bigger than the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus, and so is massive and expensive. Currently there are no affordable 5G smartphones on the horizon, but Samsung could really get ahead of the curve if the Galaxy S11, or Galaxy S11e, had a low price and ran on 5G networks.

• Before the S11 we'll get the Samsung Galaxy Note 10