Samsung Galaxy S10e review: Flagship at a flagship killer price

Flagship killers are great. That’s t to say that y are -compromise devices though. You kw what’s even better – a flagship at a flagship killer price. Because n, it’s a win-win for everybody. That’s precisely what Samsung Galaxy S10e is. It may be smallest among new Galaxy S10 lot, but it’s got guts to stand toe-to-toe with tallest of giants out re and give m, a major run for ir money. 

At same time, Galaxy S10e also makes a strong case for compact flagships – which, let’s face it, are fast diminishing. Which means Galaxy S10e is also your only bet, if you’re somehow still into small phones. 

Galaxy S10e’s got all thrills of its older siblings, minus frills of ir more expensive price tags. Sort of like iPhone XR. But while iPhone XR was launched in India at a starting price of Rs 76,900, Galaxy S10e costs Rs 55,900 – and even though iPhone XR has received a whopping Rs 17,000 price cut in India recently (bringing its price down to Rs 59,900), Galaxy S10e still mans to beat it to punch with its much more exhaustive feature set. 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

While Galaxy S10e does cut some corners to achieve its relatively more affordable price tag, in grand scheme of things, all its apparent compromises d up to become its main selling points. But you’ll have to give Galaxy S10e a fair chance to prove its mettle (and this will probably take time) - you’ll have to resist being bedazzled by shiny Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+. Unless a bigger screen and a bigger battery are your priorities, re’s reason why you shouldn’t consider Galaxy S10e. 

While Galaxy S10e does cut some corners to achieve its relatively more affordable price tag, in grand scheme of things, all its apparent compromises d up to become its main selling points

Galaxy S10e has  same glass and metal sandwich design as Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+, but it has a flatter bezel (re’s also slightly more bezel than what you get in Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+). Which means visually, Galaxy S10e isn’t as striking as Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+. Ergomically though, it works wonders for it – it won’t be wrong to say that Galaxy S10e is about function over form. This has two big vants.     

Samsung is really pitching its Galaxy S10 phones as ultimate content consumption devices – same reason why it h to punch a hole in ir screens to offer more screen real estate. curves on-board Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+, as glorious as y may seem, serve real-world purpose when it comes to content consumption. If anything, curves come in way of enjoying a seamless viewing experience. re is almost always a hint of distortion/discoloration where Samsung’s Infinity display melts into frame in case of Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ – that is t case with Galaxy S10e. 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

Secondly, a flatter screen ensures Galaxy S10e doesn’t feel as fragile as Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ - although, its Corning Gorilla Glass 5-based body is susceptible to occasional scuff or two ( Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ use Corning Gorilla Glass 6) which is where bundled TPU case comes in handy.  

Speaking of display, Galaxy S10e uses same class-leing ‘dynamic’ Super AMOLED panel as Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ - it is also HDR10+-rey, which is a simple way of saying, supported content from Netflix and Amazon Prime Video will look even more cinematic on phone. Galaxy S10e easily has best smartphone display ever at its price point – and most colour accurate too. It may t have a picture perfect QHD+ resolution as Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+, but because Galaxy S10e is a 5.8-inch phone ( Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ are 6.1-inch and 6.3-inch phones respectively), its FHD+ resolution won’t leave you asking for more. Samsung, for some reason, does t let you manually tweak Galaxy S10e’s screen resolution like in Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+. 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

Galaxy S10e also does t get an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner like Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ - which is a blessing in disguise really. Galaxy S10 in-display fingerprint scanner hasn’t been a very pleasurable experience for me so far – it is way slower and more finicky than what Samsung will have you believe – to extent of being frustrating. Software updates could change that, but again, I can’t stress eugh – a physical fingerprint reer is always appreciated.  

And Galaxy S10e is your only bet (among Galaxy S10 lot), if you’re still into all of that. It comes with a conventional fingerprint scanner which is embedded into power button on right – positioning will take some time getting used to, but at least you get option here. It’s fast, it’s accurate and it also lets you conveniently pull down tification menu by a gentle swipe gesture – all perks, if you ask me. 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

Ar perk is phone’s core hardware – it is ditto copy of Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+. Unsurprisingly n, Galaxy S10e is one of fastest Android phones that money can buy right w – this is true for even  Exys 9820-based Galaxy S10e that Samsung is selling in India ( phone is powered by an even more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 in US). 

Galaxy S10e, in fact, feels slightly faster than Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ in some cases - that’s possibly because it has lesser pixels to drive in comparison. One caveat is that Samsung is only offering Galaxy S10e in 6GB RAM and 128GB stor configuration – which is a bummer considering that it is offering a host of RAM/ROM options in case of Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+.  

Photo by Saurabh Singh

Like Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+, Galaxy S10e also gets Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, IP68-certification and micro-SD expansion. Galaxy S10e keeps hephone jack, and stereo speakers too, although I must say, y sound tinny in comparison to what Galaxy S10+ outputs. 

Software inside Galaxy S10e is also same as Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ - which is Android 9 Pie-based One UI. It is cleaner, smoor and much more user friendly – although its big, cartoonish icons may need some time getting used to. What’s really impressive is that even though Samsung hasn’t necessarily cut down on fancy animations (and re are still many duplicate apps), whole user experience still feels faster than any of its past software iterations. Hopefully, it holds up – and hopefully Samsung shows same intent with updates as well. 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

I am optimistic about that, as I am optimistic about Galaxy S10e’s cameras. As opposed to Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ (which come with three rear cameras), Galaxy S10e has two cameras on back – it has same primary 12MP wide (77-degree field of view) sensor with variable f/1.5-f/2.4 aperture and dual pixel OIS camera as Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+. re’s also a 16MP ultra-wide (123-degree field of view) sensor with f/2.2 aperture and fixed focus, again same as Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+. Galaxy S10e lacks 12MP telephoto sensor found in Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ - so unless you’re into shooting 2X zoom photos, you’ll probably t be missing out on much. 

Camera quality is at par with competition, if t downright best. Samsung seems to be using new algorithms so all-round results are warmer and more pleasing to eyes with great dynamic range as well. Galaxy S10+ photos are true to life, especially in abundant light. But metering issues still exist – Galaxy S10e photos almost always end up being overexposed matter lighting conditions. Wide-angle shots taken with Galaxy S10e have ticeable distortion/fish-eye effect, but wider perspective if fun, neless.  

Galaxy S10e has a built-in night mode – Samsung calls it Bright Night. But it’s different from Google’s and Huawei’s take in that it can’t be manually enabled to pump out brighter, more detailed low-light photos. Rar, Bright Night is an automatic feature that kicks in on its own, but only in very challenging conditions – when intensity of light is exceptionally low. But n, thing beats a manual night mode – and I am happy to report, feature is w rolling out through a software update (on all Galaxy S10 phones).   

It still seems a work in progress and re is still a lot of room for improvement, but it’s nice to see Samsung listening to customer feedback and coming out with feature in first place. night mode in Galaxy S10e entails in brighter, more detailed photos – but Huawei’s P30 Pro does it better. 

Galaxy S1Oe furr has same 10MP primary front camera with support for 4K video recording as Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+. It can shoot good-eugh selfies with lots of detail in good light but low-light selfies (and portraits) are where close to what you get on Pixel 3.  

Galaxy S10e is a Galaxy S10 for everybody – while Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ are designed for those willing to splurge

Last but most important aspect – battery life. Galaxy S10e has smallest battery of lot (it is 3,100mAh), but you can say its smaller screen and lower resolution seemingly justify this. y do, but, only ever so slightly. Battery life is t Galaxy S10e’s strong suit – especially if you’re a heavy user. If that be case, this is a phone that you may have to charge twice a day. Moderate us should carry you through a full working day though. Like Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+, Galaxy S10e also supports fast wireless charging and PowerShare reverse wireless charging (which means phone will be able to act as a wireless charging mat for or Qi compatible devices like smartwatches and smartphones). 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

Samsung Galaxy S10e: yay or nay? 

Galaxy S10e is a high-end phone like Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+. But unlike Galaxy S10 (which starts at Rs 66,900) and Galaxy S10+ (which starts at Rs 73,900), Galaxy S10e costs just Rs 55,900 – and that is its biggest selling point. Galaxy S10e is a Galaxy S10 for everybody – while Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ are designed for those willing to splurge. 

Here’s a full disclosure – I use an iPhone XR as my daily driver, and I haven’t felt need to upgre to an iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max. Samsung’s Galaxy S10e is similar – only, its aggressive price makes it an even more attractive proposition over iPhone XR. Galaxy S10e packs almost everything that its higher-end and more expensive siblings bring to table, and all things that it is conservative about (in order to cut costs) also seem to work in its favour. Galaxy S10e is a phone destined to give upcoming OnePlus 7/OnePlus 7 Pro a tough fight – OnePlus should be nervous.

Also Re:  Review: Samsung Galaxy S10+ Is Best Android Phone That Money Can Buy Today