13 reasons you should buy Samsung's $750 Galaxy S10e over the Galaxy S10 or S10 Plus

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13 reasons you should buy Samsung's $750 Galaxy S10e over the Galaxy S10 or S10 Plus

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Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

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  • The Galaxy S10e should make a very strong case for conservative spenders looking at Samsung's new Galaxy S10 phones.
  • The Galaxy S10e is almost identical to the Galaxy S10 in several important aspects.
  • You could say the extra features in the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus are simply extra fluff that not everyone really needs.

The real winner in Samsung's new Galaxy S10 lineup is a phone the company barely mentioned during its Unpacked event: the Galaxy S10e.

Why? Well, largely because it's the $900 Galaxy S10 without some of the extra fluff features and design elements. It's pretty similar in concept to Apple's iPhone XR compared to the flagship iPhone XS phones.

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Indeed, the Galaxy S10e costs $750 at its base - that's $150 less than the $900 Galaxy S10, and $250 less than the Galaxy S10 Plus.

And if you take advantage of Samsung's pre-order trade-in deal that can get you up to $550 for trading in your old phone, you could get the Galaxy S10e for $200. That's a phone with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor ... for $200. (With that said, not every old phone will fetch $550 from Samsung and its trade-in offer, and there are some terms and conditions for phones you want to trade in, but it's nothing too crazy. Basically, your old phone needs to be in good working condition, and shouldn't be part of a leasing program.)

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So, check out what you're getting - and not getting - for spending $150 less:

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The Galaxy S10e is the cheapest Galaxy S10 you can buy.

The Galaxy S10e is the cheapest Galaxy S10 you can buy.

The Galaxy S10e costs $750, and the most expensive option with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is $100 more at $850.

Even with the most expensive option, the Galaxy S10e is $50 less than the base Galaxy S10, which costs $900.

It's nearly identical in design to the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus.

It's nearly identical in design to the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus.

The only major design differences are slightly thicker display bezels on the Galaxy S10e, as well as a flat display versus Samsung's signature curved edges display.

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It's the best option for those who want a smaller phone and smaller display.

It's the best option for those who want a smaller phone and smaller display.

If you're looking for a smartphone with a sub-6-inch display, the Galaxy S10e and its 5.8-inch display is worthy of your consideration.

Its display is actually technically sharper than the $1,000 Galaxy S10 Plus.

Its display is actually technically sharper than the $1,000 Galaxy S10 Plus.

The Galaxy S10e's display has a full HD 1080p resolution, and the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus have quad HD 1440p resolution displays.

From personal experience, there's very little difference between 1080p and 1440p resolutions on smartphones, especially on smaller displays like the Galaxy S10e.

Fun little fact: The Galaxy S10e's display is technically sharper than the Galaxy S10 Plus, despite its lower resolution. That's because the Galaxy S10e's display is specced at 522 ppi (pixels per inch) and the Galaxy S10 Plus' display has 505 ppi. Honestly, however, this makes very little difference, if at all.

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It comes with the same 128GB base storage as the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus.

It comes with the same 128GB base storage as the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus.

All of Samsung's new Galaxy S10 phones at their base options come with a generous 128GB, even the Galaxy S10e.

It runs on the same processor as the $900 Galaxy S10 and $1,000 Galaxy S10 Plus.

It runs on the same processor as the $900 Galaxy S10 and $1,000 Galaxy S10 Plus.

All of Samsung's new Galaxy S10 phones run on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip, so there should be very little difference in performance between each phone.

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It comes with less RAM than the others, but it should still be plenty for most people.

It comes with less RAM than the others, but it should still be plenty for most people.

The Galaxy S10e has 6GB of RAM compared to the 8GB of RAM you get standard on the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus.

The extra 2GB of RAM you get with the S10 and S10 Plus is nice to have, but 6GB should handle most people's smartphone habits just fine.

And if you want more RAM, the $850 8GB RAM/256GB storage option is still cheaper than the Galaxy S10.

And if you want more RAM, the $850 8GB RAM/256GB storage option is still cheaper than the Galaxy S10.

As I mentioned earlier, you can upgrade the Galaxy S10e to 8GB and 256GB for a $100 more, which will give it the same specs as the base Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus.

It's worth keeping in mind that, even after the upgrade, the Galaxy S10e is still cheaper than the base Galaxy S10.

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It'll run on the same version of Android and comes with the same updated Samsung One UI.

It'll run on the same version of Android and comes with the same updated Samsung One UI.

There's really very little difference in the Galaxy S10e software compared to the others.

The only major differences are features for hardware, like the extra camera lenses on the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus.

Its main camera is the same as the more expensive Galaxy S10 phones.

Its main camera is the same as the more expensive Galaxy S10 phones.

The most important camera on any smartphone, the main rear camera, is exactly the same on the Galaxy S10e as it is on the others. You also get the ultra-wide 123-degree camera from the S10 and S10 Plus, but not the zoom lens.

With that said, you can still zoom with the Galaxy S10e, but it'll use digital zooming rather than optical zoom from a dedicated lens.

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It has the same selfie camera as the $900 Galaxy S10

It has the same selfie camera as the $900 Galaxy S10

Indeed, the Galaxy S10 also has a single-lens selfie camera. Only the Galaxy S10 Plus has a dual-lens selfie camera that offers a slightly wider angle and helps with creating that blurry-background bokeh effect in portrait mode.

Despite not having a second selfie lens to help with portrait mode shots, the S10e and S10 use a neural processing unit (NPU) that helps with creating blurry backgrounds.

And you still get the reverse wireless charging with the Galaxy S10e.

And you still get the reverse wireless charging with the Galaxy S10e.

It was a pleasant surprise to find that the Galaxy S10e is getting Samsung's reverse wireless charging. This could easily have been a feature that Samsung would have kept exclusive for its more expensive models.

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You get a regular fingerprint sensor on the power button rather than the in-display fingerprint sensor, but that's fine.

You get a regular fingerprint sensor on the power button rather than the in-display fingerprint sensor, but that's fine.

One of the things that Samsung kept for its more expensive S10 and S10 Plus smartphones is the in-display fingerprint sensor. Honestly, that's fine.

In the end, you'll just have to ask yourself if the in-display fingerprint sensor, and the other S10 and S10 Plus exclusive features — like the extra zoom lens and curved display — are worth the extra cash.