EPIC INTRO
Ever since Samsung announced the S10 devices, I've had my eye on the S10E more than the other two devices.
Partially because it's a slightly cheaper device, it's $150 less than the S10
But I also think, that for a lot people, it's the better device of the two.
And having used these two devices - the S10 and the S10E - for the past week
And just deliberating between the two, I'm pretty confident that for me and for a lot of people
The S10E is more appealing
And so aside from price, there are two reasons why I like it more than the S10
The first is actually the fingerprint sensor. So this is a fingerprint sensor that is mounted on the side
It's a capacitive sensor, it's kinda like the old school technology
Usually, I find that side-mounted fingerprint sensors aren't great
Like, I've seen them on the Razer Phone and other devices as well
There's some like - For whatever reason, companies usually do fingerprint sensors on the side flush to the bezel
Like there's no real tactile feedback as to where it is
On the S10E, it's like a very obvious spot as to where the fingerprint sensor is
Like you could feel it blindfolded
And it's a great sensor, it's a high quality capacitive sensor and it just works very reliably
Now it also has this feature, where you can roll down on the fingerprint sensor
And it works in a manner to just pull down the top menu
It does take some time to get used to, like when I first set it up
I was accidentally pulling down the top very frequently
Like I would just turn on the phone and it would pull down the top menu by accident
But once you get used to the sensitivity, I found it quite useful
The other characteristic that I prefer about the S10E over the regular S10
Is the ergonomics of the device
The S10 - The regular S10 - has the kind of curved edges
And we've seen this kind of aesthetic on the past few generations of Samsung Galaxy phones
And it's a very nice looking design, right?
In the Samsung ads and renders, when they spin this device around in the videos
And you can see the light kind of reflecting off the surface
It was sexy, it was 2015, they were one of the first companies to bend displays like that
It was really cool looking, but in 2019 - 4 years later
This curved edge, doesn't really give any kind of advantage to the screen
If anything, it actually makes the image look a little bit distorted when you're watching videos
I feel like, for most people, a flat display
Although it doesn't look as cool in videos and renders and stuff like that
Is just a better device to hold
And if you're someone who likes to go case-less on a phone
It's smaller; it's got a more ergonomic design; throw a skin on it, you're good to go
The display is really nice, it's a 1080p panel, super bright, relatively thin bezels even though there is a bit of a chin
And then you have your circular hole punch.
Now I personally prefer this circular hole instead of that pill shaped hole on the S10 Plus
Which is one of the reasons why I prefer these smaller phones
Now if you compare the displays of the S10 to the S10E, side by side
There is no doubt in my mind that the S10 has a better looking display
It's higher resolution and anyone who says that they are identical is a filthy liar
The S10 does have a better display, but the S10E display is awesome
It is a pentile display, so at 1080p resolution, it's not like as sharp as you might think, based on the numbers
But I really like this screen
OneUI is pretty clean, I still have my reservations about how quickly and how frequently Samsung's gonna update the software on these phones
But I think that's something time will tell
The speakers are pretty clean, and the cameras are great
The wide angle on the secondary lens is something I felt Samsung has always missed out on
Like LG did it on their phones, I loved it
I'm glad that they chose a wide angle on the secondary camera instead of a zoom
But just great images from this camera
It seems to have a very normal battery life, even though it has a relatively small battery
I think 3100mAh
It's a lot smaller than the S10 battery
But because of the lower resolution screen and probably the lack of other features
They're just very similar in battery lives between the two phones
The reverse wireless charging is something that's kind of cool on this phone
But it's a feature that I probably won't use very often
I just don't have enough wireless accessories to make use of it
But if you do, it's there
There are a few things that I don't love; Bixby's still here
And the way they've implemented the whole Bixby button customization doesn't allow you to fully remove it
Like you can set it to a double tap, instead of the single tap, which is better than nothing
But I'd just like to see it completely gone, I feel like hardware buttons for assistants shouldn't be a thing
Other things I don't love about it; I wish the power button was a little bit lower than it is
Like this is relatively high up on the frame, this is something that affects all the S10 devices
But that's a minor complaint
If you're interested, or curious, if you're left handed, and you want to use the fingerprint sensor
I've tested it, so if you're left handed, you're probably turning on this phone with like the side of your finger
Either your index or middle finger, and it just works perfectly fine
You just have to map that part of your finger to the fingerprint sensor and it works
Now for the people that are deciding between the Galaxy S10E and Apple's XR
I gotta be fair here, if you're just looking at hardware, there's basically no comparison
The Samsung S10E is just a way better phone - in terms of hardware - than Apple's iPhone XR
However, if you are deeply into that Apple ecosystem
Like your have a whole bunch of Apple devices; like MacBooks, and you're running HomeKit and stuff like that at your house
The Galaxy S10E is gonna feel out of place in your ecosystem, there is no way to spin it
This is still a Samsung device, it is still an Android device, and as good as the hardware is
I can see why people would opt for the XR, like as much of joke of a phone this is to some people
There still is that software debate, but if you're not locked into that ecosystem
Or if you're trying to bust out of it
The Galaxy S10E should be the choice between the two
So, overall, S10E, such a good phone
It's small; great hardware; great camera; headphone jack
There's like so much I like about this phone
And I think for a lot of people, this should be the pick between the S10's this year
Okay, hope you guys enjoyed this video. Thumbs if you liked it! Subs if you loved it! See you guys next time!
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