Samsung Galaxy A10e Review: Pros and Cons

Samsung Galaxy A10e review explains everything about this new Galaxy A release. If you’re looking for a good quality budget smartphone, A10e is among the ones to consider.

Samsung released Samsung Galaxy A10e in June 2019 along with Samsung Galaxy A20 as part of the affordable Galaxy A line. A10e acted as the little sibling to the A20, being at 5.8 inches in dimension (the A20e is 6.4 inches).

Since the phone is released earlier this year, it comes with the freshest Android version, Android 9 Pie as its operating system.

The powerhouse of Samsung Galaxy A10e is a 1.6 GHz Samsung Exynos processor with 2 GB of RAM. The whole system is run and powered by a 3000 mAh battery.

The letter e on Galaxy A10e means “essential”. This is the kind of phone that’s made for users who want something simple and do the work. Let’s check out the complete Samsung Galaxy A10e review below.

Key Specs

Samsung Galaxy A10e key specifications:

• Display: 5.83-inch PLS TFT screen
• Processor: Samsung Exynos 7884, 1.6 GHz Octa-core
• Storage: 32GB, MicroSD slot
• RAM: 2GB
• Camera: 8MP rear camera, 5 MP front camera
• OS: Android 9.0 Pie
• Battery: 3000mAh, Non-removable
• Feature: Face recognition, Accelerometer, Proximity

Design

The smooth glass-looking back of Samsung Galaxy A10e is actually plastic. Samsung has done an excellent job in making this phone appears like it’s above its price range. It’s beautiful and looks luxurious.

The size fits perfectly on the one hand, although the back makes the phone a bit slippery. The glossy back also means this phone is not immune to grease and fingerprints.

Although the overall built is ergonomic, the weight of this phone still can not hide the fact that this phone is on the affordable side. At 4.97oz (141g), the phone lacks that heavy tough feeling as if gripping the metal body of a more expensive model.

It depends on each user though. If you want a lightweight smartphone, Galaxy A10e is perfect for you. I personally love a heavier phone.

Moving onto the back case, we can see the main camera at the top left part. The Samsung logo lies in the middle, while the bottom part is the place for the IMEI number and the speaker.

A microphone is located at the top of the phone. This microphone is supposedly for video recording and noise cancellation, as there’s also another microphone at the bottom of the phone for calling/recording.

The bottom part also hosts a headphone jack, as well as the USB port for charging. Samsung installs USB type C as the port connector. To the left side, you can find a small hole to eject the SIM card tray. You can also put a microSD card here alongside the nano-SIM card.

Read also: Samsung Galaxy A20 Review: Pros and Cons

Display

Following the current trend on smartphones these days, Samsung Galaxy A10e presents an almost full-screen display. It’s what they call “Infinity Display.”

LCD covers most of the front part except the camera notch and the chin at the bottom of the screen. The 5.8-inch size fits nicely on the one hand.

The bezel stays at the minimum, and it looks awesome for a phone at this price level. The soft buttons are squeezed at the very bottom near the chin.

Now, let’s talk about the quality of the screen. The screen of Galaxy A10e is an LPS TFT screen with a resolution of 720 x 1560 pixels (295 dpi). With such resolutions, we can categorize this phone as HD+. It’s not a full HD screen and unfortunately is not an AMOLED screen just like its big brother the Galaxy A20.

But really, there’s nothing to complain if you get a full screen at such price. It’s still bright and emits vibrant colors. I can comfortably watch YouTube videos on the big screen.

The notch is a little distraction we all need to get used to eventually. Since Samsung also equip this model with the Multi-Window feature, stacking one app on another doesn’t feel too awkward as the screen is big enough.

Nothing else worth mentioning about the screen. It does look like a phone released in 2019, sleeky and flashy with the cute little notch at the top.

No information is available regarding Gorilla Glass protection on this model. As a safety precaution, I recommend putting a tempered glass to protect the phone screen.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy A10e comes with an 8 MP back camera and a 5 MP selfie camera. In 2019, having an 8 MP back camera could put a phone on the subpar category.

At this price point, many other brands dare enough to put at least 12 MP camera on the back camera. Samsung could have done better here.

The ability to take pictures is decent. I’m neither impressed nor disappointed. The camera does what it supposedly does: taking pictures.

Images taken from the A10e camera are sharp on optimal light conditions. Details are good although beware with over-exposure. The phone struggles a bit when capturing an object with a strong background light.

You also can’t hope a lot in lowlight conditions. Pictures come with a lot of noise, even with the flash on. For a phone at this price, this doesn’t come as a surprise.

Samsung Galaxy A10e camera is certainly not for you who has a serious mobile photography hobby. Although the pro mode lets you make some manual adjustments for ISO, exposure, white balance, and color tones.

The 5 MP front camera is enough to make a quick selfie every now and then. My favorite feature with Samsung’s camera is its palm shutter. It’s where you gesture with your hand when taking selfies, which is much more comfortable and non-shaky than when clicking the shutter button.

Other than that, the camera features don’t stray far from what’s considered standard nowadays. We got panorama mode, HDR, but sadly there’s no bokeh effect (or how Samsung calls it: Live Focus).

The viewfinder is clean and easy to navigate. All the essential menus on the top of the viewfinder don’t feel so obstructive. For recording videos, the highest setting is 1920×1080 30 fps. It means you get a Full HD result with A10e.

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Storage

For internal storage, A10e offers 32 GB of memory. After subtracting it by what’s the operating system and pre-installed apps use, we are left with around 21 GB.

It still a lot of storage space left, but after some time of use, this number will quickly decrease. Especially if I’m planning to install big games or take a lot of pictures.

The expandable storage is one of this phone’s attractions. The phone lets users add up to a whopping 512 GB of SD card. If you decide to install one, it can be several years until you use up all that space.

Performance

On the first impression, Samsung Galaxy A10e is fast and speedy. As far as the performance goes, the 1.6 GHz processor works wonderfully. Navigating between screens feels seamless and smooth.

The phone handles multitasking well. We can applaud Samsung for strapping 64-bit octa-core processor Exynos 7884 as this model’s system chip.

Exynos 7884 combines two ARM Cortex processors. One is dual-core Cortex A-73 with 1.6 GHz clock speed, and the other is power-saving hexa-core 1.35 GHz Cortex A-53. Samsung also equips GPU Mali-G71 as the graphic processor.

The lineup opens a possibility for fast gaming experience. However, with only 2 GB of RAM, it’s not guaranteed that this phone can make the most of its processing power. I won’t be surprised if I experience lags with certain heavy-duty 3D games in the future.

One thing I’m sure of is that I won’t have a problem during day-to-day use. The processor is smart enough to efficiently use the 2 GB ram for everyday apps.

I personally wish customers could get at least a 3 GB of RAM at this price point. But Samsung is known to be the opposite of generous when it comes to their budget line. I just hope that the OS would make up the lack of RAM since Android 9 claims to be more lightweight.

Moving into software, Android 9 Pie ensures this phone gets the latest Android features out there. And that includes an adaptive battery (automatic power-saving for rarely used apps), security improvement, as well as a feature called Slices, which lets users do app actions such as ordering Uber right from Google search page.

The version of Android here is a typical Samsung-modified version. Some would argue vanilla Android is better, but one thing I like about the Samsung version is their collection of custom icons and themes. It’s just fun browsing through the option available.

An obvious thing that I noticed on this phone during the first impression was the lack of a fingerprint scanner. Samsung offers face recognition instead on this model. But nothing beats a fingerprint.

Even Samsung themselves admits that biometrics is less secure than traditional passcode and PIN. If security were the biggest concern, the alternative would be Galaxy A20.

No fingerprints, no worries. Let’s take a look at other sensors. Aside from biometrics, also included here are proximity sensor and accelerometer.

The proximity sensor helps the phone with its adaptive brightness and power saving, while the accelerometer helps with display rotation.

If you’re wondering how is the speaker quality, it’s loud and crisp. And good news for folks who need it, this phone is also Hearing Aid Compatible (M3/T3).

Connectivity

Samsung Galaxy A10e is equipped with 4G LTE for its network mode. No 5G though, it’s a dream only high-end models could attain. It’s not a big problem because 4G LTE is fast enough for everyday communication.

There’s nothing I complain about the connection speed. It’s fast and reliable most of the time. Calling and the internet was a breeze. Wi-Fi is relatively quick to connect. As for the technical specification, the Wi-Fi is a standard 802.11 version.

The main star for connectivity is actually the Bluetooth. Galaxy A10e uses Bluetooth 5.0, the latest version and also the coolest. Bluetooth 5.0 lets you connect to more than one Bluetooth device at a time.

It means I can connect to both of my car speaker and my headphone at the same time. Data transfer also faster with Bluetooth 5.0 (up to 2 Mbps).

The USB port connector is USB type C. Faster data transfer is guaranteed compared to the older micro USB type. Aside from transfer speed, I like the convenience of USB C because it means I can plug in the charger without even looking or positioning the port.

Samsung also comes with GPS. Almost mandatory for today’s phone so we all would never get lost. It works well when turned on and determining a location was quick.

It’s another story with NFC; this phone doesn’t come with it. Mobile payments such as Google Pay isn’t available in this model. For users like me, who rarely use NFC technology as an everyday payment method, this is not the end of the world.

The honorable mention for this model is the headphone jack. Those of you who are a fan of the old 3.5mm stereo jack, Samsung won’t disappoint you with Galaxy A10e. The headphone jack is located conveniently at the bottom of the phone. It’s there for people who still like the fun of detangling earphone cables.

Battery

The battery of Galaxy A10e is located at a non-removable compartment on the back of the phone. It is a Li-Ion battery with the capacity is 3,000 mAh.

Samsung claims up to 18 hours of talk time on LTE and 15 hours of internet time on Wi-Fi/LTE. Surprisingly, the phone lasts longer on real use thanks to the efficient power-saving ARM Cortex A-53 processor.

I suspect the new Android Pie also plays a role here, since it comes with its own optimization features (the adaptive battery mentioned earlier, and the adaptive brightness). On a lazy use, I can expect the battery to last until the end of the day.

Is the Samsung Galaxy A10e a good phone?

The screen sharpness, the performance, and the overall appearance would not disappoint you for a phone with $180 on its price tag. I was pleased how this phone delivers even on a day of heavy usage. The battery also surprisingly last long even though it’s only 3,000 mAh.

The downside lies in the lack of fingerprint features. Although it isn’t considered essentials, some people might require it on the phone, especially on a 2019 phone.

As mentioned earlier, getting the big bro Galaxy A20 can be the alternative. Another thing to consider is the camera. Although it does the job well, a photography enthusiast might need a better phone with a better camera.

But if you’re okay with only face recognition and not a fan of taking many pictures, Galaxy A10e can be a smart choice at 200 bucks. To conclude, this phone is a decent option for those who are looking for a quality mid-tier/budget smartphone.