(Long post warning!)
Had my Galaxy S10e a couple of days now, been with Apple since the 3G, including 4, 5, 6, SE and a couple of iPads, of which the 2011 one STILL has far better battery life and nicer screen coating than my newer 2016 iPad Air (despite promises of "efficiency" upgrades)
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I think it's a 50/50 as to which people will prefer between Apple and this Samsung to be honest. The S10e is obviously physically far more capable than the SE, better screen, speakers, cameras etc and a lot closer comparison to the X which I have limited experience with. In the couple of days I've had it I'm still adjusting to lots of it but here's what I think are the pros and cons (especially vs Apple) so far:
Pros:
Screen: Very nice indeed and on "natural" mode much like the colour balance I'd expect from a good panel (I sometimes calibrate TV's as part of my work), not the expected overblown saturation of old OLED. The near full-sized screen is a great plus, the circular cut-out for the front camera is rarely noticeable except for on widescreen films, a good compromise of form and function.
Speakers: Again very good, not the bassiest and slighty "bright" especially with Dolby Atmos turned on but goes fairly loud and clear, great sense of space and separation considering the size with Atmos on. I'll play with the equalizer at some point to try and improve the balance.
Speed: All very fast and slick with the settings adjusted for minimal animations, Face ID is only about 80% successful even on its less secure setting but it has pin code AND a fingerprint sensor if that's a problem.
Size: This is about as large as I'd like to go with a phone, slightly smaller than the X and noticeably lighter but still feels very solidly built.
File management: I simply put 100+ films on a 128gb Micro SD card and popped it in, I dropped a bunch of music from the PC in the internal storage "Music" folder and that was that. So easy, so quick - a million miles from the needless hassle of iTunes.
Google Assistant: Much better and more comprehensive than Siri, can answer contextual questions well and not locked to internal searches - for example: I said "Play 'And you smiled' by Matt Monro" (random discussion about the theme from British 70's TV Series Van Der Valk with friends FWIW) and it did instantly, from YouTube. I said "Who played the head teacher in Ferris Bueller's", and it replied instantly "Jeffrey Jones", which surprised me as he'd be listed as "Principal" if anything in the credits and I didn't use the full film title. Good stuff.
Camera: I haven't had need for the wide-angle camera yet but can see how it would be useful, I can say the main camera is very good, bright, clear and detailed with good dynamic range. Another unexpected bonus - much like the older iPhones can also take very close up pictures, my SE couldn't focus closer than about 6" but this works right up to the object with great detail. The front camera also has great detail and quality.
Fingerprint sensor: Just because. Nice to have the option.
3.5mm Headphone jack: As above.
Cons:
Battery life: This is the SD855 processor version so should have good battery, after restarting the phone and charging to full this morning, I took it off and left it idle on my desk at 8:15am, picked it up to leave for work at 8:35am and it was at 98%. WTF! My iPhone SE was taken off charge at the same time at 98% and it's now 11:55am and it's still at 98% (I haven't used it but still). That said, the S10e has had light use since and is at 91% more than a few hours later, so idle drain isn't great but usage doesn't greatly impact it either, it may still be "settling in".
App Integration: There is a lot of fiddling and flaff with apps I find, not as easy as with Apple and not everything works in the same way as everything else. I had to download an email client, there is distinction to be made between Play store and Galaxy Store etc.
Bixby assistant: No-one wants this, it has quite a few applications based around it which can't be deleted... So much for all this "customisation" I hear about. I've turned it off where I can to use the Google assistant instead.
AKG headphones: I've seen reviews saying how great these are, nearly as many as I've seen slagging off the "poor" Apple Earpods. They have three sizes of rubber earplug included, you need a perfect and tight fit to get bass, the treble is over-exaggerated. They may be better with Atmos turned on (haven't tried) but the Apple Earpods are very good in my opinion and far better than these. I also have Sennheiser HD600's as a reference (still a little sharp sounding to me) and find I prefer the Earpods at times, very well balanced.
Overall the iPhone is a nicer user experience, the S10e is a technically better device. I'm gradually getting used to it and am sure I'll appreciate it more over time. iOS still tops Android for slickness, even if you can't put widgets on your home screen - something I've never been particularly bothered about.
(Close-up image example, taken at around 2")
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