Samsung Galaxy S10e Prism White 128GB

The S10e's feature set punches above its weight at the 83rd percentile, but its performance is stuck in the bottom third. You get IP68, wireless charging, and a headphone jack in a compact body. Just don't expect it to keep up with modern apps or take great photos.

The Qualcomm SM8150 chip and 6GB of RAM were a solid combo back in 2019, but our benchmarks put this phone's performance in the bottom third of all devices we've tested. That doesn't mean it's a slideshow. Daily swiping and app launching feel fine, but you'll notice chugs when pushing it with modern games or heavy multitasking. The 5.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED display is a bright spot, literally. It's a 1080p HDR10+ panel that's still sharp at 438 ppi, though its overall display score lands right in the middle of the pack. The side-mounted fingerprint sensor is a love-it-or-hate-it choice, but it's fast and reliable.

Stacked against the Google Pixel 9a or Apple iPhone 16e, the S10e's age is glaring. Both of those competitors will run circles around it in camera quality and raw performance, and they bring 5G to the table. The Motorola Edge 2024 also offers a much larger, smoother display and a cleaner software experience. Where the S10e still has a tiny edge is in its compact size and that headphone jack. If you absolutely need a small phone with expandable storage and a headphone jack, your modern options are slim. But for everyone else, the performance gap is just too wide to ignore.

Pricing is all over the map for a refurbished S10e, with a spread from $110 to $599 across vendors. At the low end, you're getting a lot of flagship features for a little over a hundred bucks, which is hard to argue with. But pushing toward $599 is a trap. For that money, you're deep into territory occupied by much newer competitors with 5G and far better cameras. The sweet spot is clearly at the bottom of that range, and Newegg's refurbished listings are where you'll likely find the best deal.

The Samsung Galaxy S10e lands in a weird spot in our database. Its feature set is well above average, sitting in the 83rd percentile, which means you get niceties like wireless charging, reverse wireless charging, and an IP68 rating that most modern mid-rangers still skip. But the raw performance and camera scores tell a different story, landing at the 30th and 36th percentiles respectively. This isn't a powerhouse anymore. It's a compact, feature-rich phone that's showing its age where it counts.

Anyone who needs their phone to last a full day on a charge should skip this. The 3100mAh battery was small in 2019 and is a real weak spot now, landing in the 45th percentile. If you rely on your phone for photography, the camera's 36th percentile score is another dealbreaker. And if you need 5G, this 4G-only device is a non-starter.

The Galaxy S10e is a charming little phone that's been left behind by time. Its feature set is still impressive for a budget device, but the core experience, performance, camera, and battery life, just doesn't hold up against even entry-level phones from the last couple of years. If you can snag one for around $110 and you only need a backup phone or a music player with a headphone jack, it's a fun pickup. For a daily driver, look elsewhere.