S20 FE vs S10 impressions

barondebxl

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Apr 27, 2012
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Whats up y'all! So I have both phones now. The S10 is my favorite phone of all time, I still think that it's the most complete phone but I won't get into that right now. I had no intentions on preordering the S20 FE but when I found out that Samsung was offering me $350 in trade in credits for my cracked screen S10 I figured that it would be smart to do since it's harder to sell a cracked screen phone and I wouldn't get as much for it. Anyways...

I got the S20 FE just a couple of hours ago and this is super early impressions obviously so i won't report on things like battery life. But I have to say that I honestly feel like the S10 is the better phone. But first let me share my impressions on the 20 FE. I think the size is good, doesn't feel overwhelming big. It's taller than it is wide. The plastic back is no problem for me, I like it. The phone is a bit thicker than I thought it would be but considering that it has a big 4500mah battery we can give them a pass lol. The display is nice and bright like 99% of samsung devices out there and the phone has a nice weight to it, not too light or too heavy.

Now how does it compare to the S10?well first let me say that I couldn't feel the 120hz, maybe because I was installing all my apps. But once it was done I definitely could tell. This thang is BUTTERRRRRR!!! Damn it's smooth. But scrolling isn't as fast as it is on my S10 and I don't like that. It's sorta iphoneish where the scrolling is more on the smooth side vs just fast scrolling. My S10 seem to be faster at opening apps and moving around the whole UI. Again this is after a couple of hours of use so we'll see how this holds up. But one thing that is without a doubt better on the S10 is the stereo speakers. It's not that they're bad on the FE, they sound pretty solid actually. But the S10 speakers are just flat out better. More base, deeper sound and louder. I Also find that the front facing camera is noticeably better on the S10. Oh I almost forgot too, the fingerprint scanner on the FE is more miss than hit and that's very frustrating. On the S10 it works 99% of the time without issues.

Overall I can't say that I'm impressed by the S20 FE. It's a great phone for the price without a doubt and I'm sure many ppl will love it but for me coming from the S10 I can't say that I'm wowed. I do feel like it's a downgrade except for the 120hz refresh rate and the battery size. And to be completely honest 120hz is cool and all but it's not a must for me. Before 120hz was on the market I wanted it so bad, now It doesn't really matter like that. It's cool to have but not a must. The S10 has a headphone jack too and dare I say the dedicated bixby button that I have come to love since you can remap it to open any app. Yeah guys, the S10 family is where it's at. I wouldn't "upgrade" at all if I were y'all.
 

jtfwTX

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Jun 6, 2013
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Thank you very much for your review. I was considering getting it but I LOVE my s10+ so much. Hands down the best phone I've ever had. If you come up with more details and things you like/dislike please share!
 

mundo472

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Nov 2, 2013
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this is helpful as I was considering that upgrade. my experience has differed on the fps (terrible and waiting on s21. if it's not on-par w/ s8 fps I am going to another phone). for some reason I am acutely feeling the disappointment of every phone being a compromise right now. either the 120mHz is only on lower resolution or the fps sucks or there is not enough ram or the best cameras are only on the models on which I could land a jet.