Samsung Galaxy S10E: The People's S10

With Samsung’s 10th anniversary of their S device, they made sure to spread the celebration across more than the atypical Galaxy S & S Plus device. Enter the Galaxy S10E: their answer to the iPhone XR. It is essentially a small S10 w/ a slightly lower-resolution display, smaller battery, and a traditional fingerprint reader on the side of the device.

While there’s been tons of BOGOs & other promos out there for this and the other S10s, we still wanted to give this some of our necessary attention. We talk about how it handles and is it more than just Samsung’s answer to Apple’s candy-coated iPhone. This is our Galaxy S10E review.

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The display still has a hole-punch but offers a 5.8inch 1080p AMOLED panel. On paper, it has the same resolution as the Galaxy S8 w/ a 2280 x 1080 setup. Which is still a step up from the iPhone XR’s 1792 x 828 resolution panel at a slightly smaller footprint. With all of that said, don’t forget Samsung makes the best displays in the game for smartphones. So this 1080p panel is still bright & vibrant while still great for dark colors & ideal for Dark Mode. Of course, you’ll notice the difference when placed side-by-side w/ other QHD panels though.

I think w/ the polarizing experience of the in-display fingerprint scanner, most people will appreciate the traditional one on the side, It is easily faster than their ultrasonic in-display reader on the S10 + S10 Plus. It also doubles as the Power button and it is the perfect placement. You can also use it to swipe down to access your notifications shade + Quick Settings w/o touching the screen. Didn’t think I would appreciate it so much.

5.8inch 1080p AMOLED display w/ 2280 x 1080 resolution
Snapdragon 855 CPU
6GB of RAM + 128GB of storage expandable up to 512GB via microSD
f/1.5-f/2.4 12MP lens w/ OIS + f/2.2 16MP ultra wide-angle lens
front-facing f/1.9 10MP lens
3100 mAh battery w/ fast wired + wireless charging
IP68 dust/water-resistant body
Samsung One UI w/ Android 9.0 Pie
stereo speakers
headphone jack

There's really not a lot to dislike here.

Fast speeds on Verizon's reliable network.

The Snapdragon 855 + 6GB of RAM combo is great. Fast, zero lag, responsive, and performs like you would want a phone to. Not OnePlus fast but damn-near close though. Of course the 3100 mAh battery could be a bit bigger. But coming from the S10’s 3400 mAh battery, it’s not that big of a difference. I was able to get close to 12 hours on heavier usage & close 23 hours w/ lighter usage. Not amazing but I think it will be good enough for most.

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You do have 2 out of the 3 cameras from the S10 as you’re missing the telephoto lens. Most people probably won’t lose sleep over not having it. Outside of that, you still got the same good cameras from the other models w/ a f/1.5 12MP & a f/2.2 16MP lens. The photos retain the same quality as the others S10s w/ being a bit on the overexposed & warm side. With the video going up to 4K @60fps, it is still one of the shining stars of the cameras w/ great stereo sound on board. Making this quite the pocket creator for photos & videos despite its shortcomings.

The Galaxy S10E might be cheapest S10 but still armed w/ just about everything to love from it.

So what does the E in the S10E stand for? It’s actually the Essentials more or less and I think they’re right. More so the essential version of the S10 not of all smartphones though. Next to the S10 Plus, this might be the next best S10 to pick up w/o losing much. You go from QHD to a 1080p panel, smaller battery, and lose the telephoto camera lens. For most consumers, that won’t be a deal breaker.

Especially when you can get this for under $800 at retail and even less w/ deals/promos. I actually prefer this over the S10 save for resolution, size, & battery size. I know it’s early in 2019 still for phones but keep the S10E in mind later in the year in case you don’t like what comes out as I’m sure it will be even a better buy.