Samsung, Honor, ASUS & Poco will give stiff competition to the next OnePlus flagship

On the mark of its 10th anniversary, Samsung announced a trifecta of the Samsung Galaxy S series, consisting of the Galaxy S10, the Galaxy S10+ and the Galaxy S10e. While all three phones have generated a lot of positive press since its announcement last month, its the S10e that seems to be the most interesting out of all.

The S10e stands to be the choice for people who want a piece of the Galaxy S series without spending a bomb. What’s more interesting than the phone itself is the price for which it was launched in India. The S10e starts at INR 55,900 which, for a flagship phone, is really attractive.

iPhone XR launch price in US: $750

iPhone XR launch price in india: INR 76,900 Samsung S10e launch price in US: $750

SAMSUNG S10e launch price in India: INR 55,900 — Prasham Parikh (@prashamparikh) February 22, 2019

The premium segment in India has been dominated by OnePlus’s flagship series of phones. According to a report by Counterpoint, OnePlus captured a whopping 36% of the total premium smartphone segment in India. But given that OnePlus has already breached the INR 50,000 mark with its OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition, it won’t be soon before the regular flagships approach Samsung territory.

Here are 6 reasons why we think the Samsung Galaxy S10e will prevail over the soon-to-be-launched OnePlus 7

1) Display

Samsung has always been at the top of the game when it comes to mobile displays. And with the Galaxy S10 series, Samsung has truly overdone themselves with their Dynamic OLED displays. Their new display recently also got the highest A+ grade ever from DisplayMate for being the most colour-accurate display. What about OnePlus you ask? OnePlus sources its displays from Samsung itself! And it’s a no-brainer that the display on the OnePlus 7 won’t be as good as the S10e’s.

2) Camera

Admittedly, the camera department has been OnePlus’s Achilles heel. This is what Vlad Savov from The Verge had to say about the OnePlus 6T’s camera.

I am, however, super pedantic about camera performance on phones, and this is where OnePlus again lets me down. A year ago, I wrote that the OnePlus 5T is the best phone without a great camera, and nothing has changed about that situation. In fact, in a year when Apple, Google, and Huawei all took major steps forward with their imaging, OnePlus decided to leave its OnePlus 6 camera hardware entirely unchanged in the OnePlus 6T.

Given OnePlus’s track record when it comes to cameras, I wouldn’t expect the OnePlus 7’s camera to blow me away. On the other hand, the Galaxy S10e has a very effective dual-camera setup with an ultra-wide sensor included. And although the phone has just been released, the S10e has already been proved to be a capable shooter.

3) Wireless Charging

Samsung was one of the early adopters of wireless charging in smartphones and has been incorporating the technology since the launch of the Galaxy S5. With the launch of the S10e, Samsung also announced Wireless PowerShare that makes the phone capable of sharing charge wirelessly to any other Qi-enabled phone or accessory. This, while also providing the fastest wireless charging solution in any phone right now. And as for OnePlus, new reports claim that the OnePlus 7 will also lack wireless charging capabilities.

4) Haptic Feedback

Beyond a point, an increase in specs doesn’t amuse the consumers anymore. That’s when the little things in a phone become the source for big bouts of happiness, the haptic feedback being one of them. Phone enthusiasts have always clambered for a highly-refined and impactful vibration motor. To their delight, the S10 is the answer to their uber-luxurious demand. On the other hand, OnePlus has been known to make nimble vibration photos.

5) Expandable Memory & the 3.5mm Headphone Jack

The S10 is a phone that gives you a glimpse of both the future and past. While riding the wave of cutting edge technology, it still seems to make one nostalgic by offering expandable storage and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The OnePlus 6T became OnePlus’s first phone to kill the much-adored headphone jack. And OnePlus never drove the road of expandable storage. So come the OnePlus 7, and expandable memory and the 3.5mm jack will still be absent.

6) IP68 Certification

Come sand, come rain, the Samsung S10e will stand tall. Its IP68 certification means that the phone is completely shielded from dirt and debris and can survive being submerged in water up to 1.5 metres deep for up to 30 minutes. While it’s been known of late that OnePlus flagships are splash resistant, there’s no hardcore certification. This might be a deal-breaker for people looking to be a bit more carefree with their phones. All in all, the reducing gap between the OnePlus flagship lineup and the Samsung S10e might be a cause of worry for the former party.

To get more perspective on the same, I requested a statement from Abdul who serves as the editor at GizChina. His opinion adds a balance to the argument and talks about what OnePlus might really have to worry about.

“Although I agree that the S10e has been priced really well in the Indian market, the eventual gap of around INR 12,000-15,000 might prove to be a deal-breaker for a part of the crowd who would still prefer OnePlus for its reliability and relative affordability. Having said that, OnePlus will also face heat from the likes of ASUS, Honor & Poco that have been nibbling into OnePlus sales recently.”

Industry veteran Raju PP, who is amongst the leading voices of tech in India, also lent his opinion to the topic.