The price of the Galaxy S10 isn't that much higher, but considering its features, it is the one you should pick.
It features better glass protection and a better display.
The Galaxy S10 also gives you a larger (+0.3") display, a telephoto lens (+40 mm), and more RAM (8GB vs. 6GB).
In the end, it's up to you because they ended up with similar scores.
If you're not considering going for a carrier subscription, you'll have to spend approximately $71 more.
Overall, you'll still get a pretty decent smartphone if you go for the Galaxy S10e in 2022, especially now that it's cheaper. That doesn't mean you should ignore other devices like the Galaxy S21 since it has better performance, better cameras, more security updates, faster charging, and more RAM.
The Galaxy S10 remains a great smartphone in part thanks to its good cameras, excellent glass protection, and a great display. It indeed is on the recommended list for 2022, but the Apple iPhone 12 could give you better performance, better cameras, more security updates, and faster charging.
Read on and find out more about them, how they differ from their competition, and how other specialists evaluate them.
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CONTENTS
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Samsung's Galaxy S10e and Galaxy S10 started selling in March 2019.
With this article, you'll be able to compare every feature of the Galaxy S10e and the Galaxy S10. Then, you can decide what model better suits your needs. Let's start.
For additional information regarding our smartphone comparisons, check this FAQ.
to check who their rivals are.
Price* | vs. | ||
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Device | ![]() |
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Release Date | 2019, March | 2019, March | 0y. |
OS Updates | 3 years | 3 years | 0y. |
Security Updates | 4 years | 4 years | 0y. |
*Reference: 100: Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max.
On the multicore portion of Geekbench 5, which measures overall performance, the Galaxy S10 was, on average, 4% quicker while finishing its tests. Basically, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
We can classify both of them as upper mid-range.
PS: Both the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 (with the Adreno 640 GPU) and the Exynos 9820 (with the Mali-G76) are market-dependent. Click here for more info about the Galaxy S10e or click here for more info about the Galaxy S10.
There's a performance increase of about 17% on the 855 for both of them.
Performance* | vs. | ||
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Features | ![]() |
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|
SoC | Exynos 9820 | Exynos 9820 | |
Graphics | Mali-G76 MP12 | Mali-G76 MP12 | |
Geekbench 5 Score | 2077 | 2153 | 76 |
OS | Android 9 (Pie) and OneUI | Android 9 (Pie) and OneUI | |
Tek-Score | 0.1 |
*Reference: 100: Apple iPhone 13.
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The Galaxy S10 is the title-holder here, but it shouldn't be that noticeable.
Do you despise big screens? Then, there aren't many devices to consider besides the Galaxy S10e. Other similarly priced smartphones just aren't that short.
The Galaxy S10 sets itself apart from most smartphones in its class: Its high DPI display.
If you're leaning towards the Galaxy S10e, you should know that 77% of its rivals can play HDR content and have an Always-On display, and 93% have an AMOLED screen.
Concerning the Galaxy S10, please be aware that 83% of its rivals can play HDR content, 97% have an AMOLED screen, and 87% have an Always-On display.
Display Density (DPIs)* | vs. | ||
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Features | ![]() |
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|
Size | 5.8 | 6.1 | 0.3 |
Screen Type | AMOLED | AMOLED | |
Resolution (px) | 1080x2280 | 1440x3040 | 1915200 |
Refresh Rate | 60hz | 60hz | 0 |
Dots per Inch | 434.98 | 551.44 | 116.47 |
Always-On-Display | Yes | Yes | |
Notch | Hole | Hole | |
Peak Brightness | 803 nits | 820 nits | 17 |
HDR | HDR10+ | HDR10+ | |
Sub Tek-Score | 0.5 | ||
Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 | |
Tek-Score | 1.4 |
*Reference: 100: Sony Xperia 1 II.
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We can safely state that both phones have similar cameras.
You can find a dual aperture camera on the Galaxy S10e that allows you to choose between f/1.5 or f/2.4.
About the Galaxy S10e: I'm sure the guys at DXOMARK will not look back at this camera, but we can place it at around 113* points. If you add its wide-angle lens, you'll end up with a score of 119**.
To put things in perspective: you'd probably like to know that all of its rivals can record videos in 4K or more and have an ultra-wide-angle lens.
There's a dual aperture shooter on the Galaxy S10 that allows you to choose between f/1.5 or f/2.4.
About the Galaxy S10: DXOMARK's gurus gave this shooter a score of 116. And if we consider the telephoto and wide-angle lenses, we'll get to the final score of 129** points. For an out-and-out review, check their article.
Last (but not least), just like the other device, all of its rivals can record videos in 4 or 8K and have an ultra-wide-angle lens.
One can place the Galaxy S10e as an upper mid-range and the Galaxy S10 in the lower high-end ballpark.
The Galaxy S10's lens can deliver a shallower depth of field and yield sharper results along the way without introducing camera shake because of its aperture.
*DXOMARK knows how to test these shooters out. Unfortunately, they don't test every smartphone camera out there. So when I get my hands on one of them, I take every hardware specs (like lenses, sensor size, OIS, aperture, and so on) and give a comparable score. This score should have a maximum of 2 points (up or down) margin of error.
**This score still needs improvement, particularly on mid-end cameras with less than 40MP and no zoom lens. They just changed their protocol, and I need more reviewed devices to fine-tune older scores.
Picture Quality* | vs. | ||
---|---|---|---|
Primary Camera | ![]() |
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|
Megapixels | 12 | 12 | 0 |
Aperture | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
Lens | 26mm | 26mm | 0 |
Lens Type | Wide-Angle | Wide-Angle | |
Flash | 1 | 1 | 0 |
HDR | Yes | Yes | |
OIS | Yes | Yes | |
Video | 2160 | 2160 | 0 |
Score | 119 | 129 | 10 |
*Reference: 100: Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra.
Extra Camera(s) | ![]() |
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vs. |
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Megapixels | 16 | 12 | -4 |
Aperture | 2.2 | 2.4 | 0.2 |
Lens | 12mm | 52mm (2x zoom) | 40 |
Lens Type | Ultra-wide-Angle | Telephoto lens | |
Megapixels | - | 16 | |
Aperture | - | 2.2 | |
Lens | - | 12mm | |
Lens Type | - | Ultra-wide-Angle | |
Score | 6 | 13 | 7 |
Selfie Camera | ![]() |
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vs. |
---|---|---|---|
Megapixels | 10 | 10 | 0 |
Aperture | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0.0 |
Lens | 26mm | 26mm | 0 |
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vs. | |
---|---|---|---|
Tek-Score | 0.6 |
They're not that far apart, so you can't go wrong here.
In addition to that, the Galaxy S10e is indeed small. About 14% smaller when compared to other phones at nearly the same price.The Galaxy S10e weighs 150 g. (5.29 oz), while the other is 7 g. (0.28 oz) heavier. If you're curious, I've developed a formula for a kind of "display size to phone weight" ratio. The Galaxy S10e got a score of 7.8, which suggests it's one of the lightest phones for a 5.8 inches display. The Galaxy S10, in its turn, has 7.9, which suggests exceptional work from Samsung.
The Galaxy S10e is water-resistant in up to 1 to 3 meters, on par with the Galaxy S10. Remember that it shouldn't be for over half an hour, and it's in standby mode only. So don't take photos underwater.
Looks* | vs. | ||
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Body | ![]() |
![]() |
|
Size | 142 x 69 x 7 mm (5.01 x 2.43 x 0.25 in) |
149 x 70 x 7 mm (5.26 x 2.47 x 0.25 in) |
4424 |
Weight | 150 g. (5.29 oz) | 157 g. (5.54 oz) | 7 |
Build | Front and back glass | Front and back glass | |
Colors | Prism White, Prism Green, Prism Black, Flamingo Pink, Canary Yellow, and Prism Blue | Prism White, Prism Green, Prism Black, Flamingo Pink, Canary Yellow, Prism Blue, Cardinal Red, and Smoke Blue | |
Screen To Body Ratio | 85.70% | 89.05% | 3.35 |
Disp.Size To Weight Score | 7.8 | 7.9 | 0.1 |
Looks | 9.7/10 | 10.0/10 | 0.3 |
Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 | |
Biometrics | Side-mounted Fingerprint | Under Display Fingerprint | |
Tek-Score | -0.3 |
*100% = 4+ colors + front and back glass + S2BR: 86+%.
At 3100 mAh, the Galaxy S10e is the owner of the smallest battery, while the Galaxy S10 features 3400 mAh. But according to GSMArena's tests, you shouldn't expect any real contrast here.
The battery life on the Galaxy S10 is worse than other similarly priced devices. These tests show that it lasts up to 10% less.
You'll likewise get quick wireless charging on the Galaxy S10e. You won't find many phones as fast at about its price.
The Snapdragon 855 chipset has another advantage: A battery life boost of about 15% (screen-on-time) if you compare it to the Exynos 9820.
Battery* | vs. | ||
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Features | ![]() |
![]() |
|
Capacity (mAh) | 3100 | 3400 | 300 |
1h Talk + 1h Web + 1h Video | 79% left | 78% left | -1 |
1h Talk + 3h Web + 1h Video | 61% left | 58% left | -3 |
1h Talk + 1h Web + 3h Video | 65% left | 62% left | -3 |
Bat. To Phone Size Score | 6.9 | 5.3 | -1.6 |
Sub Tek-Score | -0.2 | ||
Fast Charging | 15w | 15w | 0 |
Wireless Charging | 15w | 15w | 0 |
Reverse Charging | 9w | 9w | 0 |
Tek-Score | -0.3 |
*Reference: 90: Samsung Galaxy A42.
None of them has.
Storage* | vs. | ||
---|---|---|---|
Features | ![]() |
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|
RAM (GB) | 6GB | 8GB | 2 |
Internal (GB) | 128GB | 128GB | 0 |
Micro SD | microSDXC (shared SIM slot) | microSDXC (shared SIM slot) | |
Tek-Score | 0.0 |
*Internal Storage + 256GB Memory Card (Max: 512GB).
They also don't stand out on any of these features.
You can find the Galaxy S10 in the LTE or (LTE and) 5G variants. This allows you to get a version of the Galaxy S10 with a 0.3MP depth camera, 256GB of storage, a larger 6.7-inch display, a 4500 mAh battery, and fast charging at 25w.
Connectivity | vs. | ||
---|---|---|---|
Features | ![]() |
![]() |
|
Network | LTE | LTE (also available in 5G) | |
Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 | |
NFC | Yes | Yes | |
3.5mm jack | Yes | Yes | |
Tek-Score | 0.0 |
Here are the best deals on some major online stores:
Reference: $428
Samsung Galaxy S10e
Reference: $499
Samsung Galaxy S10
I earn a small fee from qualifying purchases. It doesn't affect the price you pay nor my opinions, but it will mean a lot if you click on one of these buttons before purchasing your next phone (or whatever else you end up buying). You'll be helping to take this to the next level.
Prices on eBay are in $US but Europe-based. You can click to check the prices in your country.
Prices marked with ! are from renewed/refurbished/carrier-locked phones (except eBay prices that, as a last resort, can be from bids or used devices).
How much of a "phone" can your money buy?
That's how much "score" you can get with $100 based on the global score that you'll see in the next section (higher is better).
Have you found better prices elsewhere? The formula is simple: score/price*100.
Value for money | Galaxy S10e | Galaxy S10 | VS |
---|---|---|---|
Amazon | - | - | - |
eBay | 1.30 | 1.51 | 0.21 |
Best Buy | - | - | - |
Walmart | - | - | - |
Also, don't forget to check the latest deals from these four stores, and the state of the art on mobile technology, if you don't want to overpay on your next smartphone.
Related articles:
The Best Unbiased Smartphones For All Budgets
Smartphone Specs Statistics: The State Of The Art (Q1 2021)
Are you also considering other options? The global score can help. Let me point out the average of its competitors. The Galaxy S10e class is at 6.2, and the Galaxy S10 6.5.
Aside from the display size and resolution differences, you'll also get an extra camera.
Does that justify it's price differences? Well, I do value the 2x optical zoom of the Galaxy S10, so that would make it very hard for me to choose between these two. If that's not your case, I'm sure the Galaxy S10e is an excellent choice for you, plus you'll get a bit more juice from its battery.
Pros | ![]() |
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#1 | AMOLED | AMOLED |
#2 | Always-On-Display | Always-On-Display |
#3 | Cameras | Cameras |
#4 | Fast Charging | Fast Charging |
#5 | Wireless Charging | Wireless Charging |
#6 | MicroSD Slot | MicroSD Slot |
#7 | 3.5mm Jack | 3.5mm Jack |
#8 | Glass Protection |
Cons | ![]() |
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Relative Score* | vs. | ||
---|---|---|---|
Global Score | ![]() |
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|
Gaming Score | 0.3 | ||
Tek-Score | 0.27 | ||
Your Score |
*Reference: 100: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
Scroll the sliders down below to get your own personalized score. Let's suppose you value performance and battery life, and you don't really care about anything else. Then, just set the "Performance" and the "Battery" sliders up to 5 (5+5=10), and then the other sliders down to 0. You'll know what's the best phone for you.
Performance | 1.9 | |
Display | 1.7 | |
Cameras | 1.4 | |
Frame | 0.9 | |
Battery | 1.9 | |
Storage | 2.0 | |
Connectivity | 0.4 | |
Total | Should be 10 or as close as possible: | 9.6 |
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About me
Hello!
My name is Luis Silva, and I have a degree in computer management. Ever since I was a teenager, I've loved everything to do with tech. Music, pictures, video editing, I've done it all! This site is a place for me to share some of the knowledge I have, as well as keep up-to-date with current trends. This is a wonderful place for tech-geeks and everyone else that just want to learn more about tech and smartphones in general.
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