Galaxy S10 E vs iPhone XR: A spec war between two 'budget' flagship smartphones

The Galaxy S10 series has been finally unveiled by Samsung on 20 February even though leaks had given us a clear picture of the device before that launch had even happened. This time, like Apple last year, Samsung has unveiled three smartphones in the S-series lineup namely the S10, S10 Plus, and S10 E.[caption id="attachment_6129651" align="alignnone" width="1024"]

Galaxy S10 E.[/caption]While the S10 and S10 Plus are the premium flagship devices from Samsung, the S10 E is what you could call as a budget version of those two. Although it is by no means cheap with a starting price of $749, the S10 E does offer nearly all the features of the S10 while having only a few tradeoffs.These tradeoffs include a flat Infinity O display instead of the curved one. Lower RAM and storage for the starting variant. Dual-cameras instead of triple cameras on the back and a capacitive fingerprint reader instead of an in-display one. The screen size of the S10 E is also 5.8-inch as compared to the 6.1-inch and 6.4-inch on the S10 and S10 Plus respectively. Apart from that the internals of the phones are more-or-less the sameA certain phone from Apple was also launched with certain tradeoffs to keep the price low. The iPhone XR was the budget iPhone in 2018 and even it retails for a price of $749. The XR doesn't have the AMOLED display, dual-camera and the stainless steel finish of the expensive iPhone XS and XS Max. It also comes with lower RAM and storage options. However, the internals of the phone were the same as that of the iPhone XS.It makes sense for us to compare the budget flagship from the tech giants. So we have a spec comparison for both the phones below.

Smartphone	iPhone XR	Samsung Galaxy S10E
Display Size (inch)	6.1	5.8
Resolution (pixels)	828 x 1792	1080 x 2280
Pixel Density (PPI)	326	438
Display Type	LCD	Dynamic AMOLED
Dimensions(mm)	150.9 x 75.7 x 8.3	142.2 x 69.9 x 7.9
Weight (gm)	194	150
Dual SIM	Yes	Yes
SIM Type	Nano-SIM + eSIM	Hybrid Dual
Connectivity Types	GSM / HSPA / LTE/ VoLTE	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE
Processor	A12 Bionic	Exynos 9820
CPU Cores	Hexa-core	Octa Core
CPU Clock Speed (GHz)	2x2.5 GHz Vortex + 4x1.6 GHz Tempest	2x 2.7 GHz Mongoose M4 & 2x 2.3 GHz Cortex-A75 & 4x 1.9 GHz Cortex-A55
GPU	Apple GPU	Mali-G76 MP12
RAM	4 GB	6. 8 GB
Ruggedness	IP 67
On-Board Memory	64, 128, 256 GB	128//.256 GB
Expandable Memory	No	Yes, up to 512 GB
Sensors	Face ID, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass, Barometer	Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Primary Camera	12MP f/1.8	12 MP, f/1.5-2.4 and 16 MP. f/2.2
Optical Image Stabilization	Yes	Yes
Camera Array	Single Camera	Dual-camera
Autofocus System	Phase detection autofocus	Dual Pixel PDAF
Secondary Camera	7 MP f/2.2	10 MP, f/1.9
Video Capture	2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@480fps	2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps
Flash	Quad-LED	LED Flash
OS Version	iOS 12	Android 9.0 Pie/ One UI
AI (Smart Assistant)	Siri	Bixby, Google Assistant
GPS	Yes	Yes
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth	v5.0, A2DP	5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX
NFC	Yes	Yes
Infrared	No	No
Fingerprint Scanner	No	Yes, side-button
3.5mm jack	No	Yes
Radio	No	No
USB Type	Lightning Port	Type-C Reversible connector
USB Standard	USB 2.0	v 3.1
Battery (mAh)	2942 mAh	3100
Fast charging	Yes	Yes (support wireless fast charging as well)
Colors	Black, Red, Yellow, Blue, Coral	Prism White, Prism Black, Prism Green, Prism Blue, Canary Yellow, Flamingo Pink
Prices in India	Rs 76,900	$749.99

In terms of display, the S10 E seems to be a winner with its 505 ppi AMOLED display. The dual-camera is also a bonus although we shall have to test the phone thoroughly to make a final verdict. For now, both Samsung and Apple have released decent 'budget' versions of their flagship devices and we shall see if the S10 E sells as much as Samsung hopes it would. Stay tuned for a detailed review of all the S10 devices released by Samsung.