Samsung
Galaxy S10e: Samsung's great response to the Pixel 3
Aprox. 354€ - see price -
See specificationsMore compact than its brothers, the Galaxy S10e completes the new range of Samsung with a promise that has become too rare: to offer a jewel that can be used with one hand.
Our review
Presentation
Like every start of the year, Samsung has unveiled its new range of flagships, the Galaxy S10. But unlike previous vintages, the Korean manufacturer decided not to offer two smartphones, but three. So here, in addition to the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 +, the Galaxy S10e (with an "e" for essentials). A phone fairly close to its brothers in the data sheet, except that it is smaller, it has a photo module amputated and it is also cheaper. Launched at € 759, it allows Samsung to occupy an additional price bracket, but also to come and hunt on the land of the Pixel 3, the Mate 20 or even the iPhone XR, the equivalent proposal from Apple.
Ergonomics and design
The Galaxy S10e has nothing to envy its big brothers in terms of design. The Samsung terminal benefits from a very pleasant high-end finish. It offers in addition to that a nice added value by its format. With its dimensions that have become XS for our time (142.2 x 69.9 x 7.9 mm), it turns out to be smaller than the Pixel 3 (145.6 x 68.2 x 7.9 mm) while carrying a larger panel (5.8 inches against 5.5 inches for the Google smartphone). This small feat is made possible thanks to the photo module punched in the upper right corner and with very fine borders. The slab thus reaches 85% occupancy of the facade. A rate high enough to offer the impression of a beautiful screen edge to edge.
Another strong point of this Galaxy S10e, it is easily handled with one hand. Comfort slightly spoiled by awkward button positioning. On its left edge, the volume buttons, very high, overhang a boring Bixby button as the assistant is still limited in Spain. Fortunately, it is possible to redefine the role of the button via the parameters. A single or double press can therefore open any of the installed applications. It is on the right edge that the home button is positioned. It is here doubled with a fingerprint sensor, in the manner of what Sony proposed once. If the sensor is very reactive and allows to register as many fingerprints as desired, it turns out to be too high to be perfectly accessible. And if it is high for a right-hander, things are even more complicated for a left-hander, forced to extend his fingers. We often find ourselves favoring facial recognition, based on the front photo module. It is rather reactive, but does not work in the dark, unlike Apple's Face ID, for example.
High-end Samsung requires, the Galaxy S10e is IP68 certified. It is therefore waterproof and airtight to dust. With 128 or 256 GB of internal memory, the smartphone can accommodate a microSD card on its second nanoSIM port (up to 512 GB).
Screen
Like its brothers, the Galaxy S10e comes with a screen protector. It may be interesting to remove it, as we explain in this dedicated news lab. Whichever you choose, it's a high-quality slab that sits underneath. The OLED screen of the Galaxy S10e offers a diagonal of 5.8 inches with a 19: 9 ratio for a display in 1080 x 2280 px and a resolution of 435 ppi. Luckily, the default settings of the smartphone offer a display profile perfectly suited to our rating. We thus discover an average delta E at 1.7, witnessing an almost perfect color reproduction. The color temperature is also close to perfection, with a measurement at 6,593 K, very close to the 6,500 K expected to stick to the video standard. The whole is completed by an infinite contrast ratio delivered by Oled technology.
We started our tests on the Galaxy S10 and made an unfortunate discovery. The screen protection posed by Samsung on its flagship ...
In terms of performance, the screen of the Galaxy S10e is also very satisfactory. It thus proves capable of increasing the brightness to 744 cd / m², enough to remain perfectly readable, even in direct sunlight. Night readers will also be satisfied by the minimum brightness of 1.7 cd / m², far from burning the retina. Note that if the reflectance is around 12% with the screen protector, it drops to 8% once removed.
Finally, the slab of the Galaxy S10e offers zero afterglow, Oled requires, and a tactile delay (74 ms) slightly above the average.
Performances
In Europe, the Galaxy S10e is powered by an Exynos 9820 SoC and 6 GB of RAM. Enough equipment to run Android 9 and One UI perfectly smoothly. No problem of fluidity is to report, the whole managing with serenity multitasking and the heaviest applications. Nothing to report either on the heating side, the smartphone rarely exceeding 30 ° C.
On the gaming side, the Galaxy S10e is based on a Mali G72 MP12 chip. It offers very comfortable performance, not suffering from any slowdown or concessions on the graphics side, for a foolproof experience.
Audio
With its Galaxy S10, Samsung is one of the last manufacturers to integrate a 3.5 mm mini-jack connection on a high-end smartphone. A presence all the more appreciable as it turns out to be of excellent quality. In addition to a decent output power, it offers a wide dynamic range and contains its distortion and crosstalk at low levels.
The Galaxy S10e's speakers are perfectly fine. The main, located on the lower edge, offers a rather clear sound, although a little weak. It is however supported by the loudspeaker of the headset. What deliver a pretty good stereo sound and quietly accompany the playback of a video or game.
Photo
Where its big brothers have a triple photo module on their back, the Galaxy S10e only takes two, abandoning the one dedicated to 2x optical zoom. So here we are with the main module composed of a 12 MP sensor and a stabilized optic with variable aperture (f / 1.5 or f / 2.4). This is accompanied by a 16 MP sensor overhung by a very wide angle lens opening at f / 2.2 for a focal length equivalent to 12 mm. The whole is articulated by the good photo application from Samsung, fluid, complete, which leaves hands on a lot of parameters.
In full light, the pictures taken by the Galaxy S10e are good. The smartphone is positioned as one of the top photophones on the market. The colors are realistic and the details are present on the central part of the scene. Unfortunately, this quality is dissipated at the periphery, with an unfortunate loss of sharpness.
In low light, the result is also quite good. The S10e offers a clear and detailed scene. The rendering is pleasing to the eye, but benefits from a strong accentuation where the Pixel 3 offers a more natural shot.
For its part, the very wide-angle of the Galaxy S10e offers results identical to those of its big brothers, the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 +. Good results detailed in a news lab available here.
Before the full tests of the Galaxy S10 and S10 + which should be published next week, we offer you a point on the ultra module ...
At the front, the photo module of the Galaxy S10e offers a 10 MP sensor supported by a lens opening at f / 1.9. It offers detailed selfies, without exaggeration of the smoothing and with its own light management.
Finally, this smartphone offers a certain video quality and a very successful video stabilization mode.
Autonomy
Weak point of previous generations, the autonomy of the Galaxy S10e was expected at the turn. And like every year, Samsung does not shine with its battery. It took only 13 h 37 min for our SmartViser home autonomy test to overcome the 3100 mAh battery that powers the smartphone. In real conditions, this corresponds to approximately one day of use. A score slightly worse than that of Pixel 3, its direct competitor in the featherweight category. And that in itself is a little disappointment for customers of compact smartphones.
Conclusion
Like its brother the S10, this Galaxy S10e had everything to please. Its compact format proves to be very pleasant, its slab is beautiful, its performance is close to the top and the quality of its photos remains more than satisfactory. Unfortunately, he stumbles independently. Enough to prevent it from really competing with its opponents of the day, the Google Pixel 3 in mind.
Specifications
Reviews
not a scam at all. do not stress.
After ordering and looking at the other reviews for this phone, I got SO NERVOUS. I guess people who didnt get that they ordered are more inclined to write a bad review compared to people who got what they ordered and never bothered to come back and write a review about this.
But I came back here to say that this is not a scam! (for me at least).
It came unlocked, all i had to do was change the sim card and that was it. there was no complications with transferring to my provider. this was not stolen, it came uncracked, it came with the little key to take the sim card out (but even if it did not, usually cellphone providers have one anyways so thats not even that big of a deal.)
The battery lasts all day, feels like it was not even used! Literally is like it is brand spanking new. I forget that i even bought this at half the price.
If you are worried about this being a scam and getting a phone that was stolen, i would not worry about it. All the other reviews gave me an anxiety attack, but i am here to tell you that all is well and this phone is 100% worth the money youre about to save !!!
Totally worth it (T-Mobile - Upgraded from S8)
While I do feel you are playing a little lottery when buying renewed, I do believe that odds are in your favor that you will receive a device virtually indistinguishable from what you'd get new out of the box at hundreds less. I thought for sure mine would have at least some "hairline" scratches or at least SOME kind of minor cosmetic flaw, but it was flawless! This might actually be the way I buy phones in the future as well.
Thanks to being IP68, one of the first things I did was wash it off under the faucet. The little adhesive stickers at the bottom were a little obnoxious, but I was able to completely remove them and rub off the remaining adhesive.
Expect LOTS of system updates when you start this thing up. There were 3 something system updates before I was even presented with the major Android 10 update (which is fantastic btw). Then there were another 1 or two after that!
Battery life also seems really solid - something I was concerned with being pre-owned.
Coming from an S8, the biggest difference I noticed is the UI. The Snapdragon 855 is also significantly faster, though you won't notice a difference in most cases. Didn't test the camera much, but it's supposed to be considerably better. The wide angle less is also nice addition. As someone who prefers my phone naked, it's much easier to use in hand thanks to NOT having curved edges. Fingerprint reader also has a faster / accurate unlock than its other S10 siblings. Overall I wouldn't consider this a huge leap over the S8, but it does offer enough new to appreciate. The S8 is still an incredible phone even by 2020 standards.
My budget allowed for any phone, but chose the S10e because I believe it's the best in the whole bunch. I don't need the optical zoom, 8GB of RAM, or in-display fingerprint reader as found in the other models. Plus the S10e is the perfect size.
Sold as unlocked. Was locked to Verizon. Completely useless and waste of time.
Sold as unlocked. Was locked to Verizon. Completely useless and waste of time. Beautiful condition AmazonRenewed phone that was as useless as a $ 400 paper weight. After hours and hours and hours and hours and hours on the phone and at the Verizon and T-Mobile stores, was told there was nothing I could do unless I wanted to switch ALL of my service over to Verizon for 4x as much money. Unusable phone. Enormous waste of time and energy. Highly NOT recommended. Buyer beware !!
Everything works perfectly
I was so nervous ordering this phone but i am happy to say after 2 days of use, the phone works perfectly.
The phone also looks brand new. I am extremely happy!
Not unlocked US phone
This phone was supposed to be a US unlocked phone but when I got it it had Verizon wireless specific service and when I wanted to switch it to another service it was not compatible.
Loving it
The phone arrived in great condition no scratches. I have been wanting to get this phone for a while and I think preowned version is worth it if it is certified from amazon
Onky things I don't like are USB C cable and the charger. Both are poorly made and cable broke on the first day. I would appreciate it if I recieved a high quality cable and charger. Other than that I am having great time owning a pre preowned samsung s10e
Great phone!
I received my phone within the time estimated for shipping. It was in a small aftermarket box, had some stickers with terrible handwriting on it, but it worked great! I was able to do a factory reset and full analysis. It was an activated unlocked T-Mobile phone, and I couldn't be happier. Everything works great on it, processor is snappy, screen is responsive, the fingerprint scanner can be finicky but I can always get it to work eventually. Good cell reception and stable wifi connection. Would recommend this to anyone looking for a smaller phone without skimping on internal hardware.
Great value for money
Worked directly with my verizon sim card with no issues, phone did not come in original box, did not come with headphones either. The device was also obviously banged up in two of the corners and had a deep scratch on the back but the front glass on the screen is perfect and overall it works with zero issues. Just gonna throw on a case and rock it.