2019-09-01_Computer_Shopper

ISSUE 379|COMPUTERSHOPPER 49

JUSTBECAUSETHEstandardGalaxy S10
(opposite) proves worthyof its high price
doesn’t mean that everyone will be able to
afford it. Luckily,another waySamsung
is mixing up this year’s batch of new
smartphonesis to launch acheaper version
of its tophandset:the Galaxy S10e.
This is smallerthan the Galaxy S10,
having a5.8in display, but it still looks very
similar –which is to say, achinglystylish.
The silver-tinted edges are there,asisthe
pinholecamera,and most of the more
functionalbits are copied over as well.
That includesthe Bixbybutton, USB Type-C
port and headphonejack; the only major
changeis the fingerprintsensor being
integrated intothe power button, rather
than being part of the screen.That’s not quite
adowngrade,however,asitputs the sensor
intoaposition that you’d more naturally
touch when you’re either pickingup the
phone or alreadyholdingit in your hand.
The only thing we don’t like about the
Galaxy S10e’s design is an over-tendencyto
pick up smudgeson the rear panel. How
visible these marks are will vary depending
on which colour option you choose,but we
often found ourselvesstrugglingto wipe off
every trace of fingerprintsand grease.

SHININGEXAMPLE
The Galaxy S10e’s displayuses Samsung’snew
DynamicAMOLEDtech, and is Full HD+ in
resolution,as opposedto the S10 and S10
Plus’s screen resolutionof Quad HD+. It still
supportsthe HDR 10+ standard,and is almost
as exquisite: normalmode can cover 95% of
the sRGB colour gamut, and peak brightness
hits alofty987cd/m2.
Contrastis perfect, too,
measuringinfinity:1.
If that still soundslike
toomuch of adowngrade
from the standardGalaxy
S10, you might be
reassuredby both
smartphonessharing
the same Exynos 9820
processor;the only way
the Galaxy S10e differs in
performancehardwareis
that is has 6GB of RAM,
which is still alot.
In fact, the Galaxy S10’s
extra 2GB won’t even make
adifference,judging by
this model’sGeekbench 4

SAMSUNGGalaxyS10e

★★★★★

£569•From http://www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT
Minordisplayandcameradowngradesdon’tstopthis
beingatempting,farmoreaffordableflagshipalternative

ANDROID9.0 SMARTPHONE

benchmarkresults:

scores of 4,462 in the

single-coretest and

10,299 in the multicore

test make it close enough

to dead even with its

more expensivesibling.

The same goes for

gamingperformance:in

GFXBenchManhattan,

the Galaxy S10e managed

high scores of 60fps in

the onscreentest and

99fps in the offscreen

test. There’s nothingon

the PlayStore that this

phone won’t run well.

LITTLE SIPS

As forbattery life, we weren’t instilledwith a

lot of confidenceknowingit only has a

relativelysmall 3,300mAhbattery.Regardless,

it lasted for17h 50m in our video test, six

minutes longer than the Galaxy S10. The

Galaxy Note9-style vapour coolingchamber

in each of these handsetsprobablyhelps

with efficiency,asthe processordoesn’t run

so hot, but in the Galaxy S10e’s case it

benefits from its lower-resolutiondisplay

puttingless of astrain on the battery.

To furthersave costs, the Galaxy S10e’s

rear cameraarrangement

lacks the telephotozoom

lens of the Galaxy S10,

but it still has the main

12-megapixelsensor with a

16-megapixel,wide-angle

lens backingit up.Picture

quality is therefore

impeccable,with heaps of

detail no matter the

lightingconditions.

Somehow,colours also

seem more accurately

replicated than on the

Galaxy S10.

The wide-anglesensor

also does agood job of

squeezingmore objects

intothe frame.The

Batterylife

0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100

Seepage108forperformancedetails

PROCESSOROcta-core2.8GHzSamsungExynos9820•

SCREENSIZE5.8in•SCREENRESOLUTION2,280x1,080•

REARCAMERAS12megapixels,16megapixels•STORAGE

128GB•WIRELESSDATA4G•NFCYes•DIMENSIONS

142x70x7.9mm•WEIGHT150g•OPERATINGSYSTEM

Android9.0•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.

samsung.com•PARTCODESM-G970FZKDBTU

SPECIFICATIONS

phone’s Live Focus

shootingmode is

particularlyimpressive,

allowingyou to adjust the

amountof background

blur before you capture

an image.

That’s not to saythe

entire experienceis

flawless,however,as

Samsung’scameraUI is

still quitefiddly.The

phone’s HDR and

resolutiontoggles, for

instance,aren’t

immediately accessible,

and are instead tucked

awayinthe long list of

camerasettings.

The Galaxy S10e can also shoot stabilised

video at 4K resolution,but only at 30fps.

In order to capturesilky-smoothfootage

at 60fps, you have to drop the resolution

down to Full HD.Even so,ithas the ability

to record lovely lookingHDR 10+ clips and

can capture12 secondsof 720p slow-motion

footage at 960fps.

LITTLE SHOW-OFF

The Galaxy S10e might initiallyseem the least

technicallyimpressiveof the family,but in

the areas that matter most, it’s equallyas

formidable.You’ll spot afew compromises

here and there but, consideringthe S10e is

the cheapestnew model, the fact that it

brings top-end flagshipspecificationsto the

table makes it an extremelyappealingdeal.

NathanSpendelow

17h50m

Picturequalityisimpeccable,with heapsof detail

no matter the lightingconditions