Galaxy S20 FE and S10e now cost the same but they’re far from equal

The Galaxy S20 FE 5G was released in the USA for the base price of $699 but Black Friday draws near and Samsung is now selling the device for the same price as the Galaxy S10e. For the time being, both phones carry a $599 price tag at Samsung’s online store in the USA, so the question now is which of the two models offers better value for the price.

Long story short, the answer is the Galaxy S20 FE 5G, at least from a purely spec-oriented view. Samsung took the budget flagship approach for both phones but the Galaxy S20 FE 5G is newer and takes advantage of more modern specifications. It’s a more future proof device thanks to 5G, and it also promises better Android OS support. It shipped with Android 10 and it is eligible for Android 13, whereas the Galaxy S10e will be limited to Android 12.

The Galaxy S10e is a better compact solution

The Galaxy S20 FE 5G is technically superior to the Galaxy S10e in many ways. As highlighted in the device comparison widget below, the Galaxy S20 FE 5G takes advantage of a larger display that supports a high refresh rate of 120Hz, and it’s powered by the newer Snapdragon 865 chipset as opposed to the Snapdragon 855 SoC. It also has a larger battery (by 1,400mAh) with faster charging capabilities.

On the other hand, the Galaxy S10e is not entirely obsolete and it does offer a couple of key advantages over the Galaxy S20 FE 5G, namely the compact size and arguably the side-mounted fingerprint scanner. It may not be as elegant as an under-display solution but it is more reliable.

More importantly, the Galaxy S10e weighs a whopping 40g less than the Galaxy S20 FE 5G and it can be described as a true compact (2019) flagship – something we’ve missed out on this year. It measures only 142.2 x 69.9 x 7.9mm, whereas the Galaxy S20 FE 5G’s dimensions clock in at 159.8 x 74.5 x 8.4mm. Simply put, if you’re looking for relatively capable hardware wrapped in a compact body then the Galaxy S10e remains one of your best choices on the market.

Now that both phones cost the same – at least for the time being – would you rather buy the Galaxy S20 FE 5G or the Galaxy S10e for $599? Are there any other reasons why you’d pick one over the other? Leave a comment below.

Galaxy S20 FE review | Galaxy S10e review

• Model: SM-G781B
• Dimensions: Bar: 159.8 x 74.5 x 8.4 mm
• Display: 6.5 inch / 165.1 mm Super AMOLED Display
• CPU: Snapdragon 865
• Camera: 12MP

• Model: SM-G970F
• Dimensions: Bar: 142.2 x 69.9 x 7.9 mm
• Display: 5.8 inch / 147.32 mm Dynamic AMOLED Display
• CPU: Exynos 9820
• Camera: 12MP