Each year Samsung comes out with an iterative update on their headlining Galaxy S-series phones, but perhaps the most extensive update, at least in the recent past, was the jump from the Galaxy S10 to the Galaxy S20. Both are excellent devices, and given that they have been in the market for a while, finding both these devices reasonably priced as refurbished phones is possible. If you are looking to buy a refurbished Samsung S20 or S10, you should buy from a reputable retailer. We’ll discuss how they stack up and what value your money will fetch you when you opt for any of them.
Price comparison
The price of a refurbished Samsung Galaxy S20 starts at $799 AUD and the price of a refurbished Samsung Galaxy S10 in Australia starts at $489 AUD from Phonebot. These phones are variants in a long line of siblings, but we should mention that their differences come from the internal storage, RAM size, and camera configurations. For this case, the Samsung Galaxy S20 is the baby of the S20 series phones, and the Galaxy S10 sits in the middle of the S10 range.
Design
Despite being the entry-level phone of the range, the Galaxy S20 has most of the entire range’s best features. To start with, under screen ultrasonic fingerprint reader and the hole-punch camera cutout shrunk the bezel on an already thin bezels display. The end result is a sleek-looking phone with a high screen-to-body ratio. They share almost identical dimensions, and the weight difference is only 6 grams—163g for the S20 and 157g for the S10. From the front, both share the same design language, and the significant differentiating factor comes with the camera arrangement at the back. On the galaxy S10, the cameras are laid out horizontally, and on the S20, the camera array is a rectangle at the top left corner. Both phones use an aluminium chassis with a glass back, and you can pick one up in many colour choices. Both phones are also IP68 certified, which implies water and dust resistance up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes.
Cameras
Both the Samsung galaxy s20 and galaxy S10 have a triple camera set up at the back. For the S20, shooting duties are handled by a 12MP main, 64MP telephoto, and 12MP ultrawide cameras. On the S10, there is a 12MP main,12MP telephoto, and 16MP ultra-wide camera. Thanks to the 64MP telephoto sensor, the Galaxy S20 could support 3X optical zoom and up to 30X digital zoom compared to the S10’s 2X optical zoom. On top of improved hardware, the Samsung S20 can also live focus and live focus video, which allows you more freedom when shooting pictures or videos. It is worth noting that unless the differences are hardware-based, most of the features came to the S10 with a later software update. All that aside, it is with video performance where the s20 shines—it can shoot impressive 8K videos while the S10 can only shoot 4K videos.
Both the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S10 have a 10MP front camera, so you can expect the image quality to be similar.
Displays
If there is one thing Samsung is good at is making phone displays pop and we can report that neither the Galaxy S20 nor the Galaxy S10 has been spared the Samsung treatment. The S20 has a 6.2-inch collection, while the S10 has a 6.1-inch display. While the sizes are not the most significant differentiator, you will notice the differences in both screens’ resolution. On the S10 is a QHD+ display and on the S20 is a WQHD+ screen. The pixel densities are almost identical, but it is the screen refresh rate that sets them apart. The S20 has a 120Hz refresh rate compared to the 60Hz on the S10. This means that animations and swipes on the S20 are smoother, thereby making it perfect for gaming.
Battery life
The Samsung Galaxy S20 has a 4000mAh battery which stores more power than the S10s 3400mAh battery can. And because the screen size isn’t that much different, it is also expected to last just as long—if not longer. The Samsung Galaxy S20 can support fast charging at 25W, while the Galaxy S10 can only do 15W. This clearly shows the difference in the development between the S20 and S10.
Verdict.
Looking at these comparisons, it is clear that the Samsung Galaxy S20 was a significant improvement from the Samsung Galaxy S10. That said, it would be unfair to compare them like for like since one is an actual update of the other. Frankly, both phones excel at what they do, and since the galaxy s20 is newer, the performance and the specs will come at a heftier price. It is 5G capable, has impressive performance thanks to the Snapdragon 865 or Exynos 990 chips, 12GB RAM, and since it still receives updates from Samsung, you can expect to use it for the long term. The older galaxy S10 also makes sense given its unique combination of features. Coming with than impressive Snapdragon 855 or Exynos 9820, 8GB Ram, and more storage than the S20, it is an old phone that most recent mid-range and budget phones have not come close to. What’s better is that both are available as refurbished devices which means you can get all this performance without paying flagship prices. Therefore, if you are not about getting the latest phones in the market or want value for money, there is no better choice than these two.
