Galaxy S20 vs S10e: evolution yes, but is it worth the big price difference? The | Comparative

When Samsung launched its new flagship family, the S20e, which would be the successor to the most basic of the previous generation, was left out. With that, we now have the S20 taking its place, but it’s a much bigger phone and will end up driving away those who like a more compact device. And here is where the question arises: is it worth it to face the bigger model or is the younger one a better option?

In addition to the size difference, the first thing you will notice is the position of the hole on the screen. It is larger on the S10e and is on the right. The S20 is much smaller and is now centralized. This change is very welcome, since it makes it less difficult to use. Also, Samsung has reduced the width of the edges and the glass is slightly more curved than on the sides of the S10e.

Both are made of metal and with a glass bottom, the difference is only for the generation of Gorilla Glass, being more current in the S20. The water resistance is the same as with the wireless charging cradle. If you still do a headphone P2 input point then you will have to choose the S10e.

The biometric reader on the old one is on the side, while the new one is on the screen. Both work well, but on the S20 it takes time to decorate the right place to put your finger. At the rear, we have a more traditional design on the S10e with horizontally aligned cameras, while on the new one they are on a bounce block in the upper left corner, as at various brand intermediaries.

The S10e is smaller, lighter, and has a headphone jack, while the S20 has fewer edges and a more discreet hole in the screen. With that each one takes a point.

The Dynamic AMOLED panel has evolved and has a higher resolution and brightness on the S20. But the best part is being 120 Hz, which ensures greater fluidity for Android animations and games. In color reproduction there is not much difference, the S20 has a slightly better calibration, but many should not even notice.

There is stereo sound in both, but it is more powerful in the S20. The new one has more present bass and clearer treble. Already with headphones, both are excellent for listening to music, with a powerful and clean sound.

The accessory that comes with each is exactly the same as the AKG. The only difference is due to the USB-C type connector on the S20 due to the lack of a P2 input.

For a better visual and sound experience, the S20 earns two points.

Since we are comparing two Samsung phones, there is not much difference on the software side. The S20 hit the market with version 2.1 of One UI running on Android 10 and this same version was released for last year’s flagships.

What changes to the previous version of the system is that the night mode has been improved to have greater support for third-party applications. There is a shortcut to turn off the device, directly from the notification screen. This is good, especially on the S20 that lost the Bixby button and now has to hold down the power button to invoke the virtual assistant.

Google Duo is now integrated with the native dialing application, to make it easier to make a video call … if someone uses this Google service. There’s also a shortcut on the notification screen for Quick Share, which is Samsung’s novelty for quick sharing that rivals Apple’s AirDrop.

Regarding updates, the S10e will receive Android 11 and then be abandoned by Samsung, while the S20 will go up to Android 12.

But we will draw, since the experience is the same with both.

The shorter the time, the better

Both the S10e and S20 arrived in Brazil with Samsung hardware. In the older one we have the Exynos 9820 and in the newer one the Exynos 990. Fans of the Galaxy line were not too happy with the latest Samsung hardware and have even filed requests for Koreans to only use Snapdragon on their more expensive phones .

Is the Exynos 990 that bad? Not really, the problem is that it is inferior to the Snapdragon 865. Compared to its predecessor, the performance jump was small. In our standardized speed test, the S20 was only 10 seconds faster. He ate the dust of all the iPhones from last year and even the Galaxy Note 10 line.

At benchmarks, we see more significant progress. In the case of AnTuTu there is an average difference of 25% in the score. And games? Well, this is where the 120 Hz screen makes a difference … I mean, it should. We tested several games, but few are optimized for the S20. Most end up running at 60fps on both devices … but that should change over time.

The S20 stands out for being faster and running some games at over 60 fps.

The longer the time, the better (except recharge)

Samsung was more generous with the battery this time. No more expensive cell phones with only 3,000 mAh. The S20 comes with 900 mAh more than the S10e and in practice made a good difference, even with the increased display.

The S20 battery lasts an average of 5 more hours. This is enough to ensure that you will have a charge to get home at the end of the day without having to worry about a charger. The S10e, on the other hand, can even last all day, but you’ll have to take it easy. Taking lots of photos or thinking, the battery will fly fast.

And another advantage is for the most powerful charger in the latest model that reduces charging time by almost 20 minutes, even with the largest battery.

With that we give the S20 two points.

After years of using the same sensor, the S20 line finally brings new hardware that promises a huge leap in photographic quality. But it seems that this advance was only on paper. The new camera even fails in places, like HDR that ends up obscuring photos and hiding shadowy detail.

On the other hand, the S10e loves to saturate colors to bring more life to photos. Not everyone likes it, but I have to admit that it generally goes better. The advantage of the S20 is that the telephoto camera is missing from the previous one. It offers hybrid 3x and digital zoom up to 30x, which goes far beyond the S10e’s 10x.

The wide angle is still present, but did not bring any quality gain. It records fewer details than the main one in both, but it’s still worth using when you can’t fit everything with the main one.

We draw on the camera, since each one has its advantages.

The front can be seen the same in both generations, with its 10 MP sensor. Samsung has reduced the focal length on the new one to avoid automatically exploding sunrays. The change really helps and we have better images than before.

And that did not penalize the performance of the S20 at night. Shoot clearer selfies with less noise, but don’t always focus leaving some photos slightly blurry. This problem occurs more when using portrait mode.

And the S20 takes one more point to be better for selfies.

The camcorder records at 8K on the S20 and a maximum of 4K at 60fps on the S10e. But it’s that thing: who needs 8K videos right now with televisions with a resolution that costs a fortune? At the end of the day, you’ll end up shooting more in 4K, especially since it devours much less storage from your phone.

The biggest improvement is still the stabilization that is even better and the focus that has become more nimble. With the front, you can shoot 4K at 60fps on the S20, but only 30fps at this resolution with the S10e.

So we give the S20 one more point.

It was clear that the S20 is better, but there is one point that is the most important for many people: the price. It costs twice as much as the S10e today and doesn’t offer twice the performance, twice the battery, let alone twice the camera.

If you are looking for a top of the line Samsung with good value for money then you should go for the Galaxy S10e. And with that, take one more point.

Imagine if the S20 were the same size as the S10e, would it be the perfect phone for you? Samsung ended up leaving out those who like smaller phones, and this was a major disaster.

But the truth is that the S20 is practically superior in everything to its predecessor, but it charges a lot for it. Sure, the price will plummet in the coming months as with any Galaxy, but if you’re looking for the best of both, go for the S20 without fear. Is it worth swapping the S10e for it? Not now. Expect the price to drop below R $ 3 thousand.

Samsung Galaxy S20: 10 POINTS

• Fewer edges and more discreet hole
• Screen with superior brightness and 120 Hz
• More powerful and balanced sound.
• Very complete system
• Better overall and gaming performance
• A higher battery time.
• Shorter cooling
• Good cameras, but sins in HDR
• Best selfies
• More complete camcorder

Samsung Galaxy S10e: 4 POINTS

• More compact and lighter.
• The same features with One UI 2.1
• Better HDR, but saturates more photos
• Best cost-benefit

Do you think the S20 is a good successor to the S10e or would you prefer a more compact phone? Comment below.

(Updated April 10, 2020 8:50 PM)