Here, at the Samsung CE Forum 2019, Biareview got its hands on this smartphone small in size, personality color but superb configuration-the Galaxy S10e, a competitor to the Apple iPhone XR.
At first sight, one can appreciate the Galaxy S10e back from the compactness when holding and manipulating it, which is exactly what some customers want from the increasingly “larger screens, the better” calls for today’s smartphones. The back of the S10e is covered in glass 3D curve to the corners and has an abundant amount of youthful color options that are more for young people, especially lemon yellow.
Design and Build Quality
It is very well presented, and the exceptional features of the Galaxy S10e are easily visible in its construct. That has been a trademark of Samsung for the longest time, and the S10e is no exception to that. Featuring everything that has come to be the characteristic sleek, compact design typical of Samsung builds these days, the S10e is a welcome change in smartphones believed to be getting larger and larger.
Compact and Ergonomic
Pocket-friendly in the premium segment, the Galaxy S10e measures 142.2 x 69.9 x 7.9 mm and weighs just 150 grams. In fact, it’s almost small enough to use with one hand-something that is now rare with a modern smartphone. Thanks to its rounded edges and weightlessness, it has great ergonomics that make it easier to fit nicely into the hands.
Premium Materials
The device is made of premium materials using aluminum frames sandwiched by Gorilla Glass 5 at the front and back. This seamless integration looks and feels quite premium, and also adds a certain level of durability. The Galaxy S10e is among those glass-backed phones that are prone to fingerprints and smudges, and hence, advice is to keep the device clean regularly or use a case.
Button and Port Layout
The Galaxy S10e features a true-to-form button layout: volume rocker on the left, power button on the right, and a dedicated Bixby button sitting just below the volume controls. The same power button doubles up as a fingerprint sensor-release that will be explained further down. An increasingly rare feature in many modern smartphones, but a definite treat for a lot, is the 3.5mm headphone jack still retained by this device.
Galaxy S10e is the Dynamic AMOLED with Full HD+ resolution, 5.8 inches screen. The screen protection is through Gorilla Glass 5 and is flattened rather than bending on the sides like the senior S10/S10+. That would certainly make the exposed screen border of the device more visible but it actually makes operations in some tasks (mostly playing games) easier.
The 10MP resolution, f1.9 aperture; Dual Pixel focuses support Selfie camera cluster will be placed inside the screen’s nght corner for S10e. Because of the size being too large, the screen is not much affected by the camera especially when the S10+ has a dual-camera cluster in the screen.
It’s all about the metal construction on the S10e, forming slightly curved edges for better gripping without hands. The left edge will be given for placement of the Bixby call key, and the volume up and down cluster with the colored frame.
The power key cum one-touch fingerprint sensor cluster will be on the right edge. Preliminary assessment, opening the device via touching the sensor on the S10e is pretty quick and comfortable because the size of the device is not that large.
In contrast to the S10 / S10 Plus duo, the Galaxy S10e is a dual rear camera cluster. The primary sensor comes with a resolution of 12MP, two f/1.5-2.4 apertures, 26mm focal length, 1.4µm pixel size, and supported technologies such as Dual Pixel PDAF, and OIS. And this camera setup also includes a resolution of 16MP for the ultra-wide lens, plus an f/2.2 aperture with 12mm focal length, which further separates the other cameras, in a sort of quiet way. All in all, the assurance is promising, as images taken from the S10e will not lose the competitive edge compared to that of their predecessors; they just can’t shoot photos that liquefy text smoothly with the help of the 2X optical zoom telephoto lens.
Photographic interface specially made by Samsung highly has an intuitive touch and has a very user-friendly design, especially the quick switch button, which is positioned at an appropriate height of the user’s finger, that switches between the standard lens angle to the super wide.
The Galaxy S10e configuration will look about the same as the whole year’s S10-series ecosystem, including the Exynos 9820 octa-core processor on an 8nm process, plus RAM and internal memory in two flavors like 6/128GB or 8/256GB. As for the device battery it sits at 3100 mAh only and it comes with 15W fast charging, which also applies to wireless charging.
Software Vs User Experience
Samsung Galaxy S10e was born and packed with the One UI developed by Samsung out of the box and runs Android 9.0 Pie; immediately after the official launch, an update to Android 10 and One UI 2.0 will be ready. One UI is an interface that presents a one-handed operation experience on a great screen mobile but works just as great on the super compact S10e.
One UI Features
One UI will have a very neat and easy to understand interface along with the usability of its software design. The interactive elements are found within easy reach, especially on larger devices, but it further makes even that compact screen of Galaxy S10e pretty manageable.
Key features of One UI include:
Dark Mode: One UI’s holistic dark mode on the system saves energy in addition to looking good on the S10e AMOLED display.
Gesture Navigation: If the user prefers, you can rely on a combo of regular on-screen buttons, plus gesture navigation so it feels more immersive; for example, swipes up from the bottom of the screen might bring you back to the home screen , pull up recent apps, or return the person to where they were already working, so the whole thing stays smooth, but also feels modern in the interface itself.
Edge panels: Even though the display of the S10e is not curved, it still includes the Edge Panels feature. That means you can swipe along the screen’s edge to get to apps , contacts, tools, and a lot of shortcuts, just for that extra ease , and convenience in day to day use.
Always On Display: The S10e has an AMOLED panel that can do an Always On Display mode, so it keeps showing things like the time, the date , notifications and a couple other small tidbits, without the phone getting fully awake each and every time. And yes it’s customizable , you can tweak it around, pick different clock layouts, and add a few extra details depending on what you want.
Samsung DeX: DeX is basically marketed as work, mostly for the higher-end phones, but the S10e still brings that kind of functionality. With Samsung DeX, you can hook your phone to a monitor, plus a keyboard and a mouse, and then you get a desktop style setup that helps with productivity tasks , and not just casual browsing.
Performance and Smoothness
With optimal day to day operation, the One UI on the Galaxy S10e aims for a fluid, quick interface. A strong chipset, enough RAM, and Samsung’s software tuning help apps open fast , keep animations running smoothly, and make multitasking feel effortless. The S10e handles daily stuff just fine, be it browsing the net , streaming videos, gaming, or bouncing between multiple apps without much delay.
Battery Life
Battery life is a highly crucial factor in any smartphone and, in this regard, the Galaxy S10e excels though not to the same extent as some its competitors.
Battery Capacity
The S10e comes with a 3,100 mAh battery, kind of slightly smaller than the S10’s 3,400 mAh across the board power pack and the S10+’s 4,100 mAh synthetic battery. It has pretty solid stamina, though not exactly standout battery life for the S10e, especially when you factor in the smaller body and that a bit lower-res display.
Daily Usage
In day to day use , the Galaxy S10e can pretty easily see out a full day on moderate use, which might mean web browsing, social networking, snap taking photos, and media streaming. Still if you’re the type who is deep into gaming hard core sessions, recording videos for ages, and generally juggling a ton of multitasking , you’ll probably be reaching for the charger , and that’s especially true by afternoon or dinner time.
Battery Optimization
Offering users a few battery optimization goodies that should help stretch battery life on One UI, Adaptive Battery uses machine learning algorithms to keep battery energy routed toward the apps you tend to use the most,while apps you barely touch go into a low-power sort of standby kind of state. After that , users can also flick on power-saving modes on their own, which clamp down screen brightness, dial back CPU performance and limit background activity when you’re trying to squeeze out every last bit of battery life , like for a long day out.
Options for Charge
Charging wired and wireless both being covered is where fast charging shines on the Samsung Galaxy S10e. You get a 15W fast charger included, so it’s capable of bringing the phone from 0 up to 100% in about an hour and a half. On top of that, wireless charging goes as high as 15W too, as long as you’re using compatible chargers, so you can go for a more effortless and less messy setup. Then there’s Wireless PowerShare on the S10e, basically a way to juice up other Qi-compatible devices by placing them against the back, including things like earbuds, and yes even other smartphones. Honestly this part isn’t hugely necessary , it feels more like a novelty feature and delivers a bit of that “wow” reaction, but it can come in handy in certain moments when you really need it.
Security Attributes
Samsung has put a lot of work into its security, and thus the Galaxy S10e has some that will secure your data.
Fingerprint Sensor
On the S10e there is a fingerprint sensor that sits on the side, it is actually built into the power button too. It is a bit unconventional, but it works quite alright in real use. The whole setup feels surprisingly quick ,and also very accurate so you can open the phone almost instantly just by touching the button area. That said some people might notice the sensor ends up a little higher on the edge of the device, so reaching it can feel slightly awkward. Still, most will get used to it after a while, with time.
Face Recognition
Apart from fingerprint recognition, there is also face recognition with the S10e. The front camera is used for unlocking based on a user’s sight on the phone. Unlike about 3D facial recognition found in some devices, this is pretty fast and convenient for using every day. The significant catch here is that face recognition might not work so well under low light and in sunglasses.
Samsung Knox
The Galaxy S10e runs on Samsung’s multi level security platform, Samsung Knox, and honestly it keeps the phone safe from malware and hostile attacks too. That protection is both hardware and software based, and it comes with functions like Secure Folder where you can tuck away sensitive apps or files in a virtual, separate encrypted area. You can open that space only via fingerprint or password.
Audio and Multimedia
The Samsung Galaxy S10e gives an excellent audio experience whether listening to speakers via the wireless network or using headphones.
Stereo Speakers
It is said that the S10e has stereo speakers, where double use is made for the earpiece by the earpiece acting as a secondary speaker. It boasts excellent audio for a smartphone including meaty mids and highs with surprising amounts of bass for a phone so tiny. Watching videos or playing games on it would be even more enjoyable as the stereo setup makes it best in class for entertainment.
Plus freshly Hi-fi Sound
Samsung will push Dolby Atmos sound to the forefront by flipping it on straight from the sound settings. Dolby Atmos pretty much lifts the whole sound experience into something more immersive and maybe a bit deeper, especially on headphones, where it kinda feels like surround space even though you’re only wearing them. It’s great for movies and games, since it can imitate surround sound and make the audio seem wider , more open, like it has a little extra breath.
Earphone Jack
The presence of a 3.5mm headphone jack is perhaps one of the more discussed points of the Galaxy S10e. While most phone manufacturers have, kind of, moved away from this port, the device still keeps it for personal use. People who like wired headphones would probably appreciate that call, mainly because it lets you use them without needing to hunt for an adapter. Also the headphone jack sounds quite good, and it delivers a balanced audio profile that you can fine-tune in Samsung’s sound settings.
Connection interface
The redundant Galaxy S10e offers every feature of connectivity imaginable and so is best equipped for any current and future needs in wireless.
4 G LTE
The device specifically supports 4G LTE for fast, dependable mobile data connectivity, as it boasts a huge listing of LTE bands, making the S10e compatible with many regions around the globe.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
The device supports Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), the latest standard with several improvements in speed and efficiency under crowded areas. It makes it perfect by future-proofing the device against all users who want the best performance regarding wireless connectivity both indoors and outdoors in areas that feature Wi-Fi 6 networks. Besides that, the Galaxy S10e has Bluetooth 5.0 for extended range and stability in connecting various Bluetooth devices such as wireless headphones and smartwatches.
NFC and MST
NFC is also present for contactless payments and that most other NFC functions. The S10e is equipped with NFC and MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) to support Samsung Pay and widen the range of terminals. This is unlike most mobile payment services that rely solely on NFC for making payments.
USB-C
Charging and data transfer in modern devices are done using USB-C. This port is starting to look like an industry standard for most gadgets, since it helps with quick charging and higher data movement than micro-USB. With USB On-The-Go (OTG) support, the Micro-USB lets you link peripherals straight to a phone, for instance a flash drive or an outside keyboard, without all the extra steps.
Value and conclusion
In an otherwise clustered smartphone market, it offers at some least realistic and very affordable prices. It does not include premium features like a telephoto camera and the most high-definition display-resolutions, but it keeps most of the indispensable aspects, which made the S10 series a landmark in the smartphone industry.
Advantages
Compact Design: Easily manageable and usable with one hand, as such models hardly come today. It’s designed modestly and weighs less, giving that kind of freedom.
Performance: Be it doing data processing or gaming, the S10e strikes the balance between heavy multitasking and best-in-class performance in everyday tasks.
Display Quality: The Dynamic AMOLED display has a smaller, flatter space in which to shine, but deliver anything but weak colors, deep blacks, and offer HDR10+ in a bright room.
Camera Capabilities: The two cameras in this arrangement are quite simple compared with that of the S10 and S10+, yet flexible enough to take good images in a wide variety of circumstances.
Audio Features: Beyond that, the S10e manages to be kind of great in audio quality and versatility, with stereo speakers, platform features of Dolby Atmos, and including an actual headphone jack.
Security: These physical assets are further secured by a combination of side-mounted fingerprint sensor, face recognition, and Samsung Knox.
Weaknesses:
Battery Life: It is kinda adequate for the average user , but if you are a heavier user you may end up needing a charge before the day ends. The battery is sitting at about 3,100mAh so it can feel a bit limiting, you know.
Absence of a Telephoto Lens: There is no telephoto camera in the S10e . So this model really does not give you optical zoom, and that might be a downside for photography enthusiasts.
Position of the Fingerprint Sensor: The fingerprint sensor on the side, placed there for convenience, might not feel right for everyone, especially if you have smaller hands.
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Tech Reviewer & Product Analyst
Định Bia has spent over 10 years testing consumer electronics with a focus on smart technology. He work as a product advisor at Biareview where he helped customers find the right devices for their needs. He personally tests every product featured on this site using a consistent evaluation framework covering quality, durability, and value. All reviews are based on experience, not influenced by the manufacturer.
