The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 series has just been announced at the Galaxy Unpacked 2019, and for the first time since the Galaxy Note Edge, Samsung’s Note release will be coming in two sizes—the Galaxy Note 10 and the Galaxy Note 10+. Here are 10 things to note about the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 series:
1. Largest display for a Note smartphone, ever
The Galaxy Note 10 comes with a slightly smaller display than Samsung’s previous Note 9, at 6.3″. However, it pushes a slightly lower resolution of 2280 x 1080, which gives you a pixel density of 401 ppi (pixels per inch). Along with support for HDR 10+, Samsung has equipped the Note 10 with the same Infinity-O display that the S10 series had, but with the selfie camera now placed in the middle.
However, it’s the Galaxy Note 10+ that really turns heads, with the largest display ever seen on a Note (the Note 9 had a 6.4″ display). The larger Note will feature a 6.8″ Quad HD+ display of 3040 x 1440 thanks to its 19:9 screen aspect ratio (498 ppi), which should make for a superb display for media consumption. Both the Note 10 and the Note 10+ will, of course, have Samsung’s Dynamic AMOLED screens.
2. A impressive 94.7% screen-to-body ratio
The 6.3-inch AMOLED display on the Galaxy Note 10 will have the same dual-curved sides from the Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy S10 series. The Infinity-O design, as mentioned earlier, squeezes as much screen real estate as possible in the physical footprint—resulting in an increased 93.2% screen-to-body ratio, up from 83.9% on the Note 9.
As for the Galaxy Note 10+, it will have a very impressive 94.7% screen-to-body ratio, which is possibly the best in the market today. For some comparison, the iPhone XS and XS Max have ratios of 82.9% and 84.4% respectively, while the OnePlus 7 Pro manages an 88.1% ratio, even with its pop-up selfie camera.
3. No headphone jack across the board
Samsung also revealed that the headphone jack that the Note 9 had will not be present in both the Galaxy Note 10 and the Galaxy Note 10+. This is somewhat disappointing, although it’s expected given that Samsung has been pushing for users to utilise its Galaxy Buds, with Wireless PowerShare a feature that makes a return on the Note 10 series.
This is, however, the first time that a flagship smartphone from Samsung doesn’t have a headphone jack (unless you’re counting the Galaxy Fold, which will be released without a headphone jack). For those of you who don’t have Galaxy earbuds (or bluetooth headphones in general), Samsung will be including USB-C headphones out of the box.
4. No expandable memory for the Note 10
Sadly, there won’t be an option to expand your storage via microSD on the smaller the Note 10, unlike its predecessor, the Note 9. That said, the Note 10+ will come with the option to expand your storage via microSD, which will come as a boost to power users who will look to up their storage to 1TB.
The Note 10 will have storage options of 256GB, regardless of variant, with 8GB of RAM for the LTE model and 12GB of RAM for the 5G model which is only available in Korea. On the other hand, the Note 10+ will give users options between 256GB and 512GB, both with 12GB of RAM. A Note 10+ 5G variant will be available with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage, although we don’t have confirmation on international availability yet.
5. A new S Pen with a built-in 6-axis sensor and motion support
The S Pen, according to Samsung, has been the heartbeat of the Note series, and it’s hard to argue with that. But this year’s S Pen has an emphasis on productivity as well as creativity, with a new built-in 6-axis sensor that allows you to do a lot more with your S Pen. This is another step forward in functionality for the S Pen, which came with a remote function for the Note 9 previously.
Air Actions. This latest feature allows you to control certain functions of the Note 10 via gestures with the S Pen, such as switching camera lenses. What’s interesting here is that Samsung has also opened up the SDK for Air Actions, which means that developers have the access to add this to their very own apps—games, or other applications.
6. The biggest battery on a Samsung Galaxy Note smartphone so far; 45W fast charging
The Note 10+ features the largest battery ever for a Note, at 4,300mAh—a 7.5% increase over the 4,000mAh battery found in the Note 9. However, the Note 10 will come with a relatively small 3,500mAh battery. The larger Note 10+ will be supported by 45W wired charging capability, which Samsung says will give you enough juice to last throughout the day with just 30 minutes of charge.
However, the 45W charger will be sold separately. Both Note 10 models come with a 25W fast charger out of the box.
In addition to that, the Note 10 series will also work with Samsung’s Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, which outputs at 12W. Both devices will also be able to reverse-charge (Wireless PowerShare) Qi-enabled devices, including Galaxy Buds and the newly announced Galaxy Watch Active 2.
7. Gaming enhancements, PC game streaming
Samsung says that they’ve also paid attention to the gaming aspect of the Note 10 series, with mobile gaming becoming the one of the most popular platforms for gamers. They’ve included a new cooling system—the world’s slimmest vapour chamber—that will help optimise the device during hardcore gaming sessions.
There will also be an AI Game Booster system, while Samsung has also included native Discord integration within the Samsung game launcher. Additionally, the Note 10 series will feature Samsung’s PlayGalaxy Link P2P streaming service, which will allow gamers to stream PC games without having to store games on their Note 10 devices.
8. Samsung Dex, and the ability to work with your PC
Samsung Dex, the operating system within an operating system that gives users a desktop feel (and functionality) on their Samsung devices, now allows users to drag and drop files between their Note 10 smartphone and a PC or Mac. This is done via a USB connection, and you can do so using a mouse and keyboard.
Thanks to a partnership with Microsoft, users can now also access a “Link to Windows” option right from the drop down menu. This means that you can reply to texts, use pictures from your smartphone, and see notifications—all mirrored from the Note 10 to a Windows PC. In fact, Microsoft says that an option to make calls directly from your PC, through the Note 10, will be coming sometime later this year.
9. Improved stereo speakers
Just like the Note 9, the latest Note 10 smartphones will be equipped with stereo speakers that are tuned by AKG. However, the balance between both speakers still isn’t perfectly symmetrical, although the difference in volume between the top and bottom firing speakers isn’t as contrasted as before. This is due to an additional speaker orifice near the top of the device, which allows for a bigger driver and louder top speaker.
Interestingly, Samsung has removed the earpiece for the Galaxy Note 10 series, which means that it has been replaced with an embedded unit—similar to the Galaxy A80. It seems that Samsung has still gone with a conventional earpiece, although it is very small in size, and is barely perceptible to the naked eye. As such, Samsung has maintained stereo speaker output by adding the aforementioned speaker on the top frame.
10. Quad-camera setup at the rear for the Note 10+
The rear camera setup for the Note 10 series is more or less identical to the one seen on the Galaxy S10+—a 12MP f/1.5-2.4 variable aperture wide camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS), a 12MP f/2.1 telephoto camera with OIS, and a 16MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera.
But the Note 10+ does feature an additional sensor—Samsung calls it VGA DepthVision—that helps with depth sensing and a new 3D scan mode. With the DepthVision sensor, users can take a scan of an object, and instantly turn it into a 3D rendering. According to Samsung, you can 3D print these renders as well.
If you’re interested in picking up Samsung’s latest Note 10 or Note 10+, both models are available for pre-order starting today with freebies worth up to RM1,159. Here’s Samsung Malaysia’s official pricing for available variants:
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 256GB – RM3,699
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 256GB – RM4,199
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 512GB – RM4,799
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to confirm details on the devices’ features.
