Samsung indulged in pretty much the same strategy as Apple when it launched three variants in its Samsung Galaxy S10 series - two Samsung Galaxy S10 and Samsung Galaxy S10+ premium variants and one cheaper Samsung Galaxy S10e variant to appeal to the developing markets. While Apple's cheap iPhone XR hasn't been very successful in being the hit the company hoped it would be, it remains to be seen how the Samsung Galaxy S10e - the cheapest variant of the lot - fares in the market. The Samsung Galaxy S10e sports an Infinity-O Display panel, a dual camera setup at the back, and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor as well. It is considerably cheaper than the iPhone XR in India.
We pit the Samsung Galaxy S10e against the iPhone XR to see which one fares better on paper.
The Samsung Galaxy S10e price in India is set at Rs. 55,900 for the sole 6GB + 128GB variant, and it has been made available in Prism Black and Prism White colour variants. Pre-bookings are live on Samsung's site, Amazon India, Paytm Mall, and Flipkart. The phone is said to be shipped starting March 8.
Pre-order offers include new Galaxy Watch at Rs. 9,999 alongside or the new Galaxy Buds for Rs. 2,999. The Galaxy Watch retails for Rs. 29,990, while the Galaxy Buds are priced at Rs. 9,990. Other pre-booking offers include an upgrade bonus up to Rs. 15,000 and HDFC cashback up to Rs. 6,000. The company is also touting EMI offers, with tenures ranging from 3 months up to 24 months.
The iPhone XR base 64GB storage variant comes in at Rs. 76,900, the 128GB storage model has been priced at Rs. 81,900, while the top-end 256GB storage version will set you back by Rs. 91,900. The smartphone comes in multiple colour options - Black, Blue, Coral, PRODUCT (RED), White, and Yellow. It is sold on most major online and offline stores.
Coming to the hardware and software, the Samsung Galaxy S10e runs Android 9.0 Pie with One UI on top. However, the Apple iPhone XR runs iOS 12, more precisely iOS 12.1.4. The Samsung Galaxy S10e features a much smaller 5.8-inch full-HD+ Flat Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O Display with a pixel density of 522ppi. The iPhone XR, on the other hand, gets a larger 6.1-inch (828x1792 pixels) LCD Retina display.
Apple's phone is powered by the latest six-core Apple A12 Bionic 7nm SoC, coupled with a quad-core GPU, 3GB of RAM, and 64GB/ 128GB/ 256GB of inbuilt storage. The Samsung variant is powered by the 7nm octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC (2.8GHz+2.4GHz+1.7GHz) in some regions, and the 8nm octa-core Samsung Exynos 9820 SoC (2.7GHz+2.3GHz+1.9GHz) in other regions such as India. In India, the Samsung Galaxy S10e comes in a sole 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant. The phone also comes with microSD card slot for expansion of memory (up to 512GB), while the iPhone XR doesn't come with a microSD card slot.
As for the cameras, the Samsung Galaxy S10e features a dual rear camera setup - the first is a 12-megapixel camera with 77-degree wide-angle lens, 2PD autofocus, a variable aperture of f/1.5 to f/2.4, and OIS; the second is a 16-megapixel fixed focus camera with a 123-degree ultra-wide lens, and an f/2.2 aperture. The setup is capable of providing 0.5x optical zoom, and up to 8x digital zoom. On the front, the Samsung Galaxy S10e uses a single selfie camera - a 10-megapixel sensor coupled with 2PD autofocus, an f/1.9 aperture, and 80-degree lens.
In the camera department, the iPhone XR houses a single 12-megapixel rear camera sensor with f/1.8 aperture, Focus Pixels, a 6P lens, and a quad-LED True Tone flash. The front of the handset gets a 7-megapixel selfie camera with improved Portrait Mode, and f/2.2 aperture.
The Samsung Galaxy S10e packs a 3,100mAh battery and supports Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, Wireless PowerShare, and fast wired charging. Apple hasn't revealed the battery capacity of the iPhone XR, though a teardown tipped it at 2,945mAh. However, there is wireless charging support based on the Qi standard.
The Samsung Galaxy S10e has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, and the iPhone XR only relies on Face ID for unlocking the phone. Connectivity options on the Samsung Galaxy S10e include 4G VoLTE (LTE Cat. 20), Wi-Fi 802.11ax, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a USB Type-C port. The iPhone XR has 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC (for Apple Pay), and a Lightning connector.
Dimensions of the Samsung Galaxy S10e measure at 142.20x69.90x7.90mm, and the phone weighs 150 grams. The iPhone XR, on the other hand, measures 150.90x75.70x8.30mm and weighs 194 grams.
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