Samsung Galaxy S10e Review: Every Bit A Flagship For Less


Samsung Galaxy S10e - Premium Features And Performance On A Budget

Galaxy S10E side edge hand
Generally speaking, pricing on flagship smartphones has continued to climb, because all of those fancy bells and whistles found on the top-end models do not come cheap. Not everyone has or is willing to spend a grand or more on a top-shelf handset, though, and some of the cheaper alternatives make too many sacrifices to hit a lower price point. That is not the case with Samsung's Galaxy S10e.

The Samsung Galaxy S10e is the least expensive model in the Galaxy S10 family, the others consisting of the regular Galaxy S10, the larger Galaxy S10+, and the decked out Galaxy S10 5G. Make no mistake, however, even though the Galaxy S10e is positioned at the rear of the pack, it is not a budget or entry-level phone.

That is true of both the price—the Galaxy S10e starts at $649.99—and the physical makeup of the handset. So, what exactly is the Galaxy S10e? Simply put, it's a more affordable entry into the Galaxy S10 family, without giant sacrifices to garner a more palatable price tag. It would be a critical error to dismiss the Galaxy S10e simply on the basis that it sits on the bottom of the Galaxy S10 totem pole.

Sure, there are some key difference between the Galaxy S10e and the higher end variants, and we'll get to those on the following pages. But at its core, the Galaxy S10e is a premium phone in a smaller package with many of the same features, and just as importantly, comparable performance.

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Like its bigger siblings, the Galaxy S10e is built around a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC (US model). The version we have in for review pairs 6GB of RAM with 128GB of onboard storage, but there is also a higher end SKU available with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Here's a look at the rest of the pertinent specs...
Samsung Galaxy S10e
Specifications & Features
 SoC  Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
 Display  5.8-inch Full HD+ (2280x1080) Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O, 438ppi, HDR10+ Certified Display
 Memory  6GB / 8GB LPDDR4
 Storage  128GB / 256GB UFS 2.1
 Rear-Facing Cameras  12MP f/1.5-f/2.4 Wide Angle w/ OIS and Autofocus
 16MP f/2.2 Ultra Wide Angle
 Front-Facing Cameras  10MP f/1.9 Dual Pixel Autofocus
 Video Recording  4K at 60 fps, 1080p at 60 (240 fps Slow Motion), 720p at 30 fps (960 fps Slow Motion)
 Battery  3100 mAh, non-removable, Fast Wireless Charging 2.0
 OS  Android 9.0 Pie
 Dimensions  5.60 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches (142.2 x 69.9 x 7.9 mm)
 Weight  5.29 ounces (150 grams)
 Connectivity  Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, USB-C, 3.5mm Audio
 Colors  Prism Blue, Prism White, Prism Black, Prism Green, Canary Yellow, Flamingo Pink
 Pricing Starting at $649.99 - Find It At Amazon

Contrary to what some expect, the Galaxy S10e is not a gutted version of the Galaxy S10/S10+/S10 5G. Sure, this particular SKU has the least amount of RAM out of the bunch—every other Galaxy S10 has 8GB of RAM, save for the Performance Edition of the Galaxy S10+, which ups the ante with 12GB of RAM—but 6GB is not exactly skimpy.

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The point of separation is the camera arrangement. Both the Galaxy S10e and the regular Galaxy S10 sport a single 10-megapixel lens on the front for taking selfies, but on the back, there is a dual-camera system on the former and a triple-camera system on the latter.

We will take a look at camera performance in a bit, as well as hit some benchmarks. Before we dive into how the Galaxy S10e performs, however, let's take a closer look at the phone itself...

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