SAMSUNG GALAXY S10e: Detailed Review

It will not be an exaggeration if we say that the Samsung Galaxy S10e is a compact flagship phone packed with 2019 specs and features and that too at such a discounted price.

Similar to Apple IPhone XR in many ways, both are loaded with the best features of their generation of phones yet lack in areas when compared with their pricier siblings.

Well the competition results somehow stunned us when we found the S10e is robust enough to forgo the extra perks in the S10 (which is $150/AU$210/£113 more) or the S10 Plus ($250/AU$350/£189 more). To boot, the S10e’s compactness will definitely be an attraction for people who feel uncomfortable with the gigantic size of flagship phones. However, the phone lacks an in-screen fingerprint sensor, curved screen sides or a telephoto lens- the features usually expected from the handsets of 2019.

Easy to hold single handedly, the Galaxy S10e is a fantastic phone with top-of-the-line specs to match. Its 5.8-inch all-screen display is easy to hold and its chipset is fast enough that it’ll compete with other flagships for years to come, even if it compromises in display resolution and camera fall short of the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus.

Samsung Galaxy S10e price and release date

The Samsung Galaxy S10e came out on March 8, 2019 in the US, Canada, Europe, India, China, and other selected countries. It rolled out to a total of 130 markets by the end of March. You can buy it from Amazon right now as well for under $500 (sligthly used)

The Galaxy S10e retails for $749 / AU$1,199 / AED 2,699 / £669 for the 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage version. For double storage and extra RAM, spend an extra $100. At this point, it seems like it’s only available on the US Samsung online store, and you’ll pay $849 (prices aren’t available outside the US) for it. It’s unclear if this means the higher-priced model isn’t available in other regions. 

Design

Galaxy S10e Specs

With a chromed aluminum case sandwiched by attractive glass and the elegant rounded corners, the phone doesn’t look anything less than the pricier phones. The rear has a narrower camera bump due to the lack of a third camera and the absence of a heartbeat sensor.

The phone officially comes in 6 colors, though only four are available in the US: Prism Black, the pearlescent Prism White, shimmering Prism Blue, and the new punchy pastel Flamingo Pink. Sadly, Prism Green and Canary Yellow are restricted to other regions.

The S10e’s left edge has the receptive volume rocker. Below it, sits the much-disliked Bixby button, though nothing to worry about as Samsung has gamely allowed you to finally use it to activate other apps. There is a limitation: the button functionality has been split into single and double presses, and one of those must activate Bixby.

Luckily, it’s easy to restrict Bixby to double-press and set single-press to whatever your heart desires. Considering how much Samsung has fought to keep third-party apps from remapping Bixby out of the picture, we’ll take this compromise. On the bottom edge, there is a center-mounted USB-C port, microphone port, speaker grille and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

As previously stated, one of the Galaxy S10e striking features might, ironically, be its smaller size. As the leading phones get larger in size, many consumers have shown preference for smaller phones- just look at the popularity of the iPhone SE (RIP) – and the S10e is as manageable as top-tier phones get with a width of 2.75 inches. (Curiously, the iPhone XS is the smallest of its generation, and the S10e is smaller than that phone by a hair.)

This phone is extremely light with a weight of only 150g taking a lead when compared with 208g iPhone XR. However, compromises have to be made as the phone doesn’t include the Galaxy Line’s Infinity Edge tapered display in this less expensive model, thus a flat front screen with more noticeable bezels.

The phone also doesn’t have a fancy in screen fingerprint scanner, opting instead to put a small capacitive sensor within an enlarged power button on the top-right side.  It works far better with thumbs as you have to cover the whole sensor with your digit, and mashing your fingertip flat enough to envelop the button is tough from any angle. Just use a thumb.

Display

The bright colors and crisp detail paired with 5.8-inch AMOLED display lives up to the Galaxy S name. The color balance can easily be adjusted with an easy fix called Vivid Mode which lets you further fine tune it to be a warmer (more red) or cooler (more blue) picture. If even that isn’t enough, you can make adjustments with the RGB levels individually.

Side-by-side with an iPhone XS Max, the S10e’s screen kept up gamely, losing out only on the darkest scenes in a media comparison where backgrounds of varying blacks average out into dark gray smudges.

This is somewhat expected, as the S10e has a single 2280 x 1080 (438 ppi) resolution setting. Samsung sets this as the default for its flagship phones, but both the S10 and S10 Plus max out at 3040 x 1440 for a higher ~550 ppi. One other minor difference between the models: the S10e has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on front and back, while its bigger siblings have had their front display’s glass upgraded to Gorilla 6.

As per the tradition of S10 line, the Infinity-O display- a punch-hole in the top-right corner of the screen is also present in S10e, It’s noticeable, like the notches before it, though far less an ugly sight than the wider camera tabs found in the likes of the iPhone XS and XS Max. 

In some aspects, placing the hole within the display looks more attractive than tucking it into a corner, as the eye naturally gravitates toward the uninterrupted borders of the lit screen rather than the circular cutout.

The S10e’s Delta-E color accuracy score of 0.57 is a bit higher than what we’ve observed from other flagships, like the iPhone XS and Pixel 3 at 0.22 and 0.44, respectively. (Numbers closer to 0 are better.) Those results shouldn’t discourage you, though, as the S10e’s panel still dazzles as well as any Samsung has ever produced.

Camera

The S10e comes with two rear-facing main cameras: a dual-aperture f/1.5-2.4 12MP main camera with OIS for smoothing out your unstable footage and a 16MP f/2.2 ultrawide shooter. The S10 and S10 Plus have both of those as well as a 2x optical zoom lens for a triple-lens array that’s become standard on flagships like the LG V40 ThinQ and Huawei Mate 20. It’s possible that users will miss the really awesome telephoto lens, but if the phone was going to ditch any of the three, we’re glad it was one we wouldn’t use as often as the wide and ultrawide.

The dual cameras give S10e an edge over last year’s Samsung Galaxy S9 which had a single dual-aperture shooter. Taking wider shots is great for sheer functionality: the main camera has a 77-degree field-of-view, but the ultrawide has 123-degree FOV, which captures a surprising amount of extra context on the sides of a shot. Best of all, while dialing up or down zoom increments, switching between wide and ultrawide lenses is virtually seamless – which is a departure from the noisy transition when doing the same with the Huawei Mate 20 Pro.

So how are the photos result? In our casual (i.e. automatic settings) shots, Samsung gave excellent results in bright sunlight, and the photos are better than the iPhone XS Max and Huawei Mate 20 with both indoor-outdoor sections: the other two handle interiors fine, but the S10e doesn’t blow out those bright exterior areas at all. The dark shots are not up to mark and for night photography, the Google Pixel 3 takes the cake

Samsung uses ultrawide lens for panoramas – which means you’ll get a bit more context above and below your sprawling image.

Samsung has added 10 more ‘scene optimizers,’ which make adjustments to photo settings to suit the subject and environment in front of the camera. Initially there were general setups like food, animals, sunrises and waterfalls, but the new ones add more specific ones like ‘baby’ and ‘dog.’ In all there are 30 scene optimizers which you can switch on with a button that pops up in the camera app. More is good, if you like AI-suggested filters, but we’re fine tweaking things ourselves.

Video gets an upgrade, too, with the front-facing camera now capable of shooting in UHD/2160p at 30fps (the rear camera has the same capabilities as the Galaxy S9, maxing out at 2160p at 60fps). There’s better footage stabilization too, but the breakthrough is the capability to shoot in HDR10+, which is Samsung’s custom format to improve on HDR10. Switching it on and off is a bit tiresome, and somehow unnoticeable on the phone, since you’ll need a higher-quality display.

Bixby vision is back, of course. The AI-powered camera addition is a diverse collection of services that recognize real-world objects and make suggestions, from shopping to finding related images online to wine-pairing tips. Fortunately, you should toggle these on and off so you’re not overloaded with matching images from Pinterest.

 As for software, it has got Android 9 Pie on board here, with Samsung’s One UI on top. The recently-launched One UI means Samsung phones are now carrying software that’s more useful and less bloated than ever before – but yet it lacks behind other Android versions like the Pixel Android from Google and OxygenOS from OnePlus but it’s perfectly fine. You get a bunch of Samsung apps pre-installed, but they are easy to ignore if you don’t want to use them.

Samsung software has always scored exceedingly is in the way it adds extra features and options to the software, from color control to notification management. For example, one can adjust the always on display to pick the most important information for the lock screen.

The AR mode allows you to see how some eyeshadow and lipstick look on you, here’s a way to do that without Snapchat. Or you can see how furniture would look in your room by dropping an animated model in – though the models tended to hover over rather than sit right on the floor.

Galaxy S9 veterans who haven’t upgraded to Samsung’s One UI interface overhaul will find a few changes here that support the refined UI’s “controls on the bottom” theme. The magazine of photo modes, for example, are now on the bottom just above the shutter button, much like every other phone camera app out there. 

While the S10e only has a single 10MP front-facing lens, there’s a simulated ‘ultra wide’ mode that zooms out a bit. Not as wide as Pixel 3 levels of wide, there is still some breathing room for selfies which is handy. Otherwise, expect them to be bright and serviceable, though you’ll feel the lack of a depth sensor when going in for Live focus.

Performance

Equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 system-on-chip — in North American models, at least — the Galaxy S10e is one of the most powerful Android phones you can buy today.

Our review unit with 6GB of RAM topped 10,513 points on Geekbench 4, which tests overall system performance. That’s much faster than any other Android we’ve tested, save for the Galaxy S10 Plus at 10,732. (The Plus comes with an extra 2GB of memory.)  It even blows away the OnePlus 6T McLaren with its 10GB RAM, which turned in only 8,976 with last year’s Snapdragon 845 silicon. Apple’s A12 Bionic-equipped iPhone XS remains the flagship phone to beat at 11,420, but rest assured — the S10e isn’t going to leave you wanting for more power.

Battery Life

As for the battery, the S10e packs a 3,100mAh unit, which is enough to last throughout the day while managing chat apps, email and listening to music. Recharging is quick with up to 15W fast charging (and 15W wireless charging), which isn’t the fastest-wattage charging on the market, but it gets the job done. 

The S10e can charge them itself thanks to a new feature: Wireless PowerShare which is the icing on the cake.

Wireless PowerShare

Now you can use your S10e to wirelessly charge other devices that have Qi-enabled charging thanks to a new feature called Wireless PowerShare. In theory, the Wireless PowerShare feature is simple: turn it on, place the second device on the rear cover of the S10e, and wait. Sadly, wireless charging speeds are still slow, so you’ll have to leave your Samsung phone alone if you want to transfer battery power to another device.

Practically also, this is quite simple. You can manually turn PowerShare on by digging around in the settings, though Samsung helpfully put a shortcut in the easy-access drop-down settings window. You’ll have to place the device in the exact center of the S10e’s rear cover for it to charge. The phone will buzz to notify when its charging and double-buzz when the receiving device has moved out of the recharging zone. 

It’s an awesome feature but definitely not the one you want to use a lot- well who wants to sacrifice some charge to revive a mate’s low-power phone. But Samsung did suggest a novel use case: plug your S10e in to a wall charger, activate PowerShare and use your phone to recharge a second device (like, say, Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds) overnight. Voila, only one wall outlet used.

What if the wall plug fell out, but your S10e was still charging another device. Will your phone die while pumping charge out? No, thankfully: Samsung introduced a failsafe that turns off PowerShare once the donating phone hits 30% charge. You can’t even turn on the feature until you charge the S10e back up above that threshold. 

What’s it like to use?

Surrounded by gigantic and huge phones, S10e is like a fresh breath of air and a perfect alternate to Iphone 6S, almost identical in size despite its larger screen.

From that angle, the S10e is a pleasantly-sized phone that’s just small enough to use single-handedly. Admittedly, if this category of sub-6-inch phones weren’t so sparse, we’d be a bit less starry-eyed, but it’s also true that Samsung’s interface works even better in such a compact frame.

The credit goes to One UI, Samsung’s recent overhaul of its UI overlay, which has placed most things you need helpfully low and right-aligned where your thumb is likely to hover. You can switch things around (like for the Edge panel) if you toy with the settings, which have been reshuffled into fewer broad categories that become more specified if you delve deep enough.

As expected, the S10e gets Android 9 Pie out of the box (along with One UI), so you’ve got the latest and greatest mobile OS. It is one of the first of the company’s phones in line when Android Q is released, which will likely be far later in the year – given how slow Samsung is to update its phone, plenty of other devices will probably get the upgrade first. 

According to Samsung, they’ve harnessed AI to optimize performance, and we agree as it’s pretty effortless to zoom around the interface. Slightly cooler are the other things Samsung’s done with AI, like Bixby Routines, which take certain actions when a condition triggers, IFTTT-style. You can set these up manually, but the phone should start learning your habits and suggest ‘routines’ unique to you, Samsung claims.

Media-wise, the S10e has more in favor than complaint. Factually, the compact size means less screen real-estate to watch videos, and it’s noticeably deficient when placed side-by-side with a Plus/Max-sized flagship phone. It’s gaming where the diminutive form factor takes the greatest hit, and your thumbs will cover up precious screen space on either side where more active games typically house their controls. However, if you’re playing a game where every edge matters – like, say, in Fortnite – things will be hindered compared to players on bigger phones.

Size aside, it’s a good phone for enjoying less frenetic media, with things like a video enhancer feature to make things you watch more comprehensible (read: evenly-lit).  The headphone jack makes the experience pleasant and the speakers in the earpiece and bottom edge give good volume but Apple flagships fare better when compared.

Final verdict

It is a phone for people who like smaller phones, a phone with the ease to hold and browse apps and text single handedly.

It is a good option to save the cost and a good bargain for money paid but S10e is not the phone to make your friends jealous. Consider it as the best buy of 2019 that still costs a 2016 flagship price.

That could leave the S10e open to late-year competition from phones that trim features even closer to the bone to save costs, like OnePlus tends to do. We’ll have to see if the upcoming OnePlus 7 puts up a strong fight – but even if it does, the S10e still might come out on top thanks to sheer availability. Nothing’s worse than knowing there’s a slightly better phone out there that you just can’t buy.

Competition

Samsung Galaxy S10

Surprisingly, the competition runs not anywhere outside but within the familyThe S10 Plus has something of a defined niche with its large TK screen and higher spec ceiling. But what of the standard S10?

For $150 more, you get a third camera, in-screen fingerprint sensor and a bit higher specs. That’s not much. Perhaps, consumers have gotten so used to the 6-inch-ish size screen that this model is the new normal, but we doubt folks would be upset with a cheaper phone that’s easier to handle.

Much like what we saw with Apple’s iPhone XS line, where iPhone XR sales almost certainly disturbed the sales of the iPhone XS, we think people will agree with us about the Galaxy S10e: A few trimmed features are a good get for a device that will last years-why spend mercilessly when S10e is available.

 iPhone XR

There is no doubt that there is a glaring competition between both budget flagships but the choice still comes down to whether you’re an iOS or Android person. Because, in a fair fight, the S10e blows the iPhone XR out of the water. In almost every category.

The S10e is slimmer, with noticeably less bezel and a burnished chrome on its metal frame that makes the iPhone XR’s aluminum look cheap. The iPhone XR’s LCD display is impressive, but it’s not the S10e’s AMOLED. The S10e’s extra ultra-wide lens is a significant advantage over the iPhone XR’s lone rear shooter. 

Even the fingerprint sensor on the S10e is a convenient bonus. Samsung’s phone looks, feels, and shoots better than Apple’s.

OnePlus 6T

The judgement may change when the rumored OnePlus 7 hits the market later this year with specs and features more competitive in 2019. Even so, the 6T is a late-2018 powerhouse that’s significantly cheaper than even the S10e while still boasting flagship cred.

Sure, the S10e has the latest Snapdragon 855 processor, but the OnePlus 6T’s Snapdragon 845 is no slouch. The phones are otherwise even on specs, both starting at 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

So who has the last laugh? The OnePlus 6T starts at $549, which is quite less compared to the $749 starting price of the S10e. If you don’t absolutely need the Samsung name and early 2019 specs, OnePlus’ phone might be a better value. And last but not the least: the 6T has an in-screen fingerprint scanner.