Samsung Galaxy S10e vs. Apple iPhone XR

21 April 2019


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Kangal, 21 Apr 2019The Huawei P30 isn't a flagship, unlike the iPhone Xr and t... moreP30, if anything, has better quality optics compared to P30 Pro which uses a lens with wider aperture of F1.6... Pro has an edge in low light solely because of the presence of OIS. Now, the question is, does the regular P30 have worse lens than S10e or iPhone Xr? Of course not, S10e has the worst quality lens out of three due to Samsung's attempt to eliminate the camera bump and make the body as thin as possible & very wide open F1.5 aperture in darker environment, whereas iPhone Xr and P30 are just as good as each other in this regard. Not to mention that the noise reduction that Samsung employs is far more aggressive compared to other two, which sweeps up a lot of details along with noise. Don't also forget that P30 is the only one that comes with the lossless digital zoom and 3x telephoto lens.

In terms of system performance Exynos variant of S10 series is behind P30 series in every single measure according to Anandtech, though it's unclear which series is better when it comes to sustained GPU performance(as right now there's something wrong with the regular P30's thermal throttling mechanism). P30 clearly edges out S10e in battery life though, if you look at GSMArena's battery test results... as well as in charging speed. And it's cheaper than S10e in many countries. Although I must agree that A12 has no competition from the Android side right now, I don't understand how Apple is even making a chipset that has performance almost comparable to older dual core Intel i series chipset, while only consuming 6W at most.

Finally, as for the Qualcomm variant of S10e: good luck with getting the proper custom ROM on that one. Any Galaxy sold in US comes with a locked bootloader so you can't even root it in the first place.

    ishreal, 21 Apr 2019You must be absolutely delusional in your own little world.... morehe must to diminish Huawei in order to make Samsung bigger than life...after first line "The Huawei P30 isn't a flagship, unlike the iPhone Xr and the Samsung S10e." , there's really no point to read the rest of his rant.

      Kangal, 21 Apr 2019The Huawei P30 isn't a flagship, unlike the iPhone Xr and t... moreI completely disagree with your opinion regarding the P30 not being a flagship. Whether you look at it's specs or design, it is fully competitive with other flagships in it's price category. If you'd go around and read GSMArena's review of it's camera system, you'd find out it's image output is rather close to the P30 Pro, which makes it one of the front-runners in photographic abilities.

      And you say it lacks "water-proofing". Well, the S10e lacks a under-display fingerprint sensor, A big battery & modern fast-charging capabilities. So you see, you can't point out individual aspects of a phone to claim one is better or worse than the other.

        Kangal, 21 Apr 2019The Huawei P30 isn't a flagship, unlike the iPhone Xr and t... moreYou must be absolutely delusional in your own little world. The P30 camera isn't "significantly worse", you can check GSMarena's review showing its almost identical. Going just off specs is not a good indication of the camera performance. Also the Kirin 980 performs just as good on day to day as any AWE or SD845-855. I've used Kirin 960, 970, and 980 phone's on top of many SD845 and you won't ever notice the difference in performance unless you just look at raw numbers, which are meaningless in real world use. Your use of hyperbole is just an indication you have no idea what you are talking about.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 0BG
          • 21 Apr 2019

          LOL, an iPhone VS random Android phone, it's like Lada Vs random Mercedes car.

            Whackcar, 21 Apr 2019Why didn't you include P30 in this comparison? It costs the... moreJust wondering, does P30 cost the same as those two in your country? In where I live P30 priced significantly lower than either of them, making it more like an undercutter rather than a direct competitor of S10e and iPhone XR.

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              • Maria
              • PA7
              • 21 Apr 2019

              [deleted post]To those who may ask for other brand to be compared with Galaxy S10e and iPhone XR...well, in specs/features sheet and money-based, you all are correct.

              But, at least for me, Samsung is one of the Android phone pioneers which is available widely around the world and large company. Moreover, Samsung is the world's first challenger of Apple iPhone for long time ago. So, it is fair to compare both in all aspects, including the Software/UI.

              Other brands may win for their specs/features only and the value for money, of course.

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                • AngryLithuanian
                • myq
                • 21 Apr 2019

                S10e just for the looks and more compact form factor alone. But this review is a bit unfair to the iPhone XR because it doesn't really compare to S10e imo. Anyway, thanks for the review, a lovely read with a cup of coffee in the morning.

                  The Huawei P30 isn't a flagship, unlike the iPhone Xr and the Samsung S10e.

                  The Huawei P30 looks like it has the better camera, but it's lenses are significantly worse than the P30 Pro, making it actually worse than the iPhone Xr and Samsung S10e. Not to mention it lacking IP68 waterproofing. The only thing the Huawei P30 has going for it is the HiSilicon Kirin 980 SoC, which is mildly better than the Exynos 9820 but much much worse than the Apple A11, let alone the Apple A12.

                  Now, the article already mentioned it, but the RRP of the S10e is actually cheaper than the Xr in most markets... but even better is the ACTUAL price of the S10e in most markets is significantly below the RRP whereas the iPhone Xr is after six months still at RRP or slightly above it in most markets.

                  This means the S10e is not only a better device but it is significantly cheaper. However, I would say I actually think the iPhone is a neat device, and the one that's actually better since you get 3-5 year software updates, plenty of software and hardware support, great customer service, and lastly the best resale value in the market.

                  ....That is unless you get the S10e, with the superior QSD 855 SoC and Sony Exmor cameras, use a Tempered Glass Protector and a Matte Polycarbonate Case and install TWRP, and root/SuperSU, use a Custom ROM like ResurectionRemix, and install decent Apps for the Launcher, Keyboard, Browser, Media Player, File Explorer, Wallpaper, Camera, Gallery, Email, Calendar etc etc and plenty of MODs.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • 0{W
                    • 21 Apr 2019

                    Anonymous, 21 Apr 2019iPhone XR has a 720p display and still has a below-average ... moreThe XR has a higher resolution/sharper display than the S10e. That’s because the 438ppi in the S10e is amoled, which results in 1/3 lower real resolution due to the pentile/diamond arrangement of pixels.
                    So the S10e has a 292ppi display in reality, which is lower thatn the XR’s 326ppi. The XR is equal to 490ppi in amoled screen specs.

                    The S10e has a real visible resolution of 1520x720 pixels vs. the XR which comes with 1792x828 pixels.

                      I skipped the XR this year because it wasn’t a good upgrade for my X, the lack of 3D Touch and only 1 camera isn’t really interesting and for me the XR is too bulky. I will wait and see what the 2019 iPhones will offer...

                        Whackcar, 21 Apr 2019Why didn't you include P30 in this comparison? It costs the... moreP30 is not available in every region. But Galaxy S10e and iphone XR are two contenders in 750 USD price bracket.
                        Most of the GSMArena visitor are from India and US where P30 is not available.

                        But yeah GSMArena have to add P30 as reference, it is also as powerful as s10e and XR.

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                          • BiG3
                          • vxs
                          • 21 Apr 2019

                          Nick Tagataka, 21 Apr 2019For me it's really hard to declare the winner here, I mean ... moreI can agree to all your point but your last statement is the best I've read so far in this site, short yet sensible.

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                            • Anonymous
                            • 7BD
                            • 21 Apr 2019

                            iPhone XR has a 720p display and still has a below-average battery with bad charging out of the box. No...just...no.

                            I agree with the others. Should have compared this to the P30.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • t@g
                              • 21 Apr 2019

                              how come Apple XR scored better in GFX 3.1 Manhattan ofscreen 1080p (97 ) than on screen 720p (60 )??? Cheat ??

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                                • Melv
                                • sxs
                                • 21 Apr 2019

                                Between the two, I will choose the S10e. I bought a brand new iPhone 5s last November, and after 2 months of use, I sold it. I will never use an iPhone again for four reasons. First, I can't easily transfer my photos from my laptop and camera to my iPhone through a cable. There maybe some other ways to transfer but I don't know how. Second, there is no "Back" button. I always had to reach the uppermost right side of the screen to reach the "Arrow" to go back. Third, there are some useful local apps in the Play Store that are not available in the App Store. These apps are very important to me because, through them, I can monitor my loans and internet services. Fourth and last reason, old model iPhones are still expensive and not the best value for money. Imagine, as of today in my country, their iPhone 6s Plus is more expensive than the P20 (not Pro) or Honor 10, how about that!

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                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 7t7
                                  • 21 Apr 2019

                                  I am typing this on the s10e sd855 and it's a rocket.
                                  Best phone for a long time.
                                  Welcome back Samsung.
                                  Sadly many reviewers are not discussing the fluidity and speed of one UI. It's a game changer.

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                                    • Fayth
                                    • tEZ
                                    • 21 Apr 2019

                                    I love iOS software, but I love Samsung hardware

                                      Shanti Dope, 21 Apr 2019I'd choose the S10e, but you're definitely nuts to degrade ... moreThe iPhone XR isn't a bad phone by any means. It's just rather overpriced for what it offers. The S10e or the P30 make far more sense from a value standpoint.

                                      The XR makes a good "budget" option for those on the Apple ecosystem though.

                                        Why didn't you include P30 in this comparison? It costs the same as those two & arguably offers even more bang for your buck.