The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and 10 Plus are indeed taking mobile computing to the next level. Today we review the devices that were announced at the Samsung Unpacked event on August 7 in New York and slated for release on August 23 in the US, UK, and Australia.
Samsung continues to dazzle with innovative designs and concepts. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and 10 Plus duo packs are premium smartphones and therefore much is expected of Samsung on these ones.
Design
Samsung focuses on an ergonomic grip and lightweight design
Samsung has gone with a 6.3 inches display on the Note 10 and 6.8 on the 10 Plus, making the 10 Plus almost a tablet but not quite a tablet just yet. The display would be amazing on both devices with the Note 10 packing a 401 PPI and Note 10 Plus coming with an amazing 498 PPI that very few if any device in the market can match. The Note 10 weighs an approximate of 168 grams while the Note 10 Plus weighs 198 grams. Not bad Samsung! The two devices come with “infinity O display”
Samsung says colors are inspired by light
The two phones come in three different variants.
- The Aura Glow tends to reflect more of blue and thus appear more bluish.
- The Aura White appears more white but is expected to still be quite reflexive
- The Aura Black.
Both Phones come with One UI installed. One UI is built on the latest Andriod and receives regular updates.
On-screen Ultrasonic Fingerprint scanner for vault-like security
Hidden within the screen is the Ultrasonic Fingerprint scanner. It pulses to detect the 3D ridges and valleys of your fingerprint for invisible security.
Infinity-O Display creates an uninterrupted view
The front camera is tiny and discreetly positioned to minimize interruptions onscreen. And with bezels pushed way back, we’ve given you a truly epic view. Both phones are literally bezel-less.
A cinema-grade viewing experience on mobile
Enjoy a cinematic experience whether outside in bright daylight or in the dark. It’s HDR10+ certified with Dynamic Tone Mapping for playback with tone and contrast true to how it’s intended to be seen.
HDR is a setting on the Smartphone Camera app. The letters stand for High Dynamic Range. But what does that mean? It means that your camera will process photos slightly differently than normal in order to capture greater detail from bright and dark areas in your photo.
Samsung has gone with their trademark Amoled display on these ones. For years, Samsung have often used the AMOLED display on their flagship phones. With the release of the Galaxy A Series in Q1 2019, Samsung dubbed the AMOLED technology on that series “Super AMOLED.” The idea is that the screen and the pixel cells have been brought much closer than before. The Company claims this is an improvement over “ordinary AMOLED.”
There is Eye-Comfort display which is good for night reading and Night Mode which I personally prefer my handhelds on.
These phones come with USB Type 3.0 also known as USB Type C which is an improvement over Micro USB, so that’s great news. Fast Charging is enabled and it will actually come with a 15 Amps fast charger. Another plus for Samsung! Earbuds may or may not be included depending on the region, Transparent Phone Pouch, A stylus dubbed “S-Pen”. In-Built battery as expected of a flagship. Who does removable batteries this day anyway?
Performance
Performance of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Plus should be great. It should, however, compare favorably to other flagship phones of 2019. Let’s dive in.
Super Fast Charging — a 30 minute charge to last all day
Harness 25W of power for a 30 minute power-up that goes all day or ditch the cord with Fast Wireless Charging 2.0. It’s not the first time we’d see wireless charging on a Samsung Phone but it’s great to know the Note 10s’ would be getting it. Battery power on Note 10 Plus is a whopping 4300mAh while on the Note 10 it’s 3500mAh. I’m a little disappointed with battery on the Note 10. Feels “teasy” if you ask me.
Both Phones come with 256GB of storage with an expandability capability of 1TB. Wow!
Hybrid Sim Slots so you can connect two times as much. The Note 10 Plus comes with an amazing 12GB of RAM while the Note 10 comes with 8GB. Samsung has deliberately given the phones large memory to encourage gaming. Talk about the Alienware of phones. Video streaming will definitely be flawless. The speakers and Type-C earphones offer stereo audio enhanced by Dolby Atmos for a clear, rich, 3D sound experience. The phones are water resistance as expected.
Face Recognition and Ultrasonic Fingerprint keep your device secure until it detects your individual features. Or use a PIN, pattern, or password. Samsung’s face recognition on the A-Series is a bit laggy and was discouraged by Samsung themselves. We can only hope that they have been able to perfect the technology now.
The intelligent assistant, Bixby, responds to your voice. Simplify your tasks with Quick Commands by assigning a keyword or phrase to a group of actions. Bixby edits photos, sends messages and composes emails on command. Anything you do on your phone via touch, you should be able to do via voice with Bixby. It can also control some smart home appliances and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, including smart fridges, TVs, and dozens of other Samsung devices. Use your camera to translate whole sentences from a foreign language via the upgraded Bixby Vision.
Camera
Selfie Camera: 10MP
A Triple Camera, back camera setup packs 16MP Ultra Wide Camera, 12MP Wide Angle Camera, and 12MP Telephoto Camera. Blur out the backgrounds with video bokeh for movie-like depth of field and add special effects in real time to capture artistic moments that stand out.
Zoom-in Mic lets you record the sounds you want
Control the sound around you as you zoom in or out, giving you the power to capture the sound that matters.
Get hi-motion video without the motion sickness. The camera predicts movement by pulling from a library of over a million frames, reducing vibrations in your videos.
Shoot incredible colour and detail in 4K UHD. Experience rich hues and contrast that stay accurate in each scene with HDR10+ and Dynamic Tone Mapping. Make edits to multiple videos, insert transitions or subtitles, change the speed, and even add illustrations with S Pen.
Go wide for a 123° field of vision with the 16MP Ultra Wide Camera. Crop in with the 12MP Wide-angle Camera, or get closer with the 2x optical zoom on the 12MP Telephoto Camera. The Wide-angle camera auto-adjusts to the surrounding light: F1.5 mode brings light into dark scenes, F2.4 mode keeps things sharp in bright daylight, and Night Mode brightens up the super low light scenes. The 10MP front camera now sits in the center of the screen and has been upgraded for better low-light shots.
S Pen
Samsung claims the S Pen the Note 10 and 10 Plus is the most advanced yet. With an elegant, unibody design, it follows your movements, and writes, draws, and controls longer. It has a 10 hours battery standby life. Move S Pen clockwise or counterclockwise to change the camera angle and capture a close-crop group shot or the whole scene. Flick left or right in the Gallery app to move to the next photo, or go back to the previous one.
Turn up the sound by gesturing up. Lower the sound by gesturing down — no need to touch the volume key. Jot down your thoughts then simply tap, turning your project notes into readable text you can copy, paste, and share. Pop out the S Pen to use Screen off memo. Write and draw in a variety of colors. Then save your screen to Samsung Notes or pin it to the Always On Display.
Draw in 3D with AR Doodle and S Pen. Your creations can track your face and the space around you for eye-catching videos.
Without a doubt, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Plus is worth the money.
It’ll be interesting how the likes of Huawei and Xaomi and even Apple respond.