News + Trends

Samsung Galaxy Note 10: A first look in Amsterdam

7.8.2019

Translation: machine translated

Samsung presented the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 in Amsterdam. The phone picks up where this year's S series was lacking and impresses with a processor that delivers plenty of power. But it lacks important features.

Where others go to see canals and tulips, or to smoke weed, I'm in Amsterdam to see Samsung's latest smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is one of the most exciting, powerful and confusing phones of the season. Because one suspicion runs through the event: Is this the last Note? But more on that later. First, let's stay in the present. Because in front of me is the Note 10.

Or better: the Note 10s. Plural. Because the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 comes in three versions.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G

The South Korean manufacturer is breaking new ground. Because until now, the Note was the Note and that was that. Now you can have the device in small, large and large and fast.

What all three models have in common

From the front, all Note 10s look the same in pictures
Source: Samsung

The three models are visually similar. They come in black or white with a colour gradient effect. Samsung calls the colours "Aura Black" and "Aura Glow". However, this only applies to the back. The front is almost entirely taken up by the screen. The edges - not worth mentioning on the side, slightly narrower at the top than at the bottom - therefore remain black. There is a hole in the top centre of the screen where the selfie cam is located. Thanks to the AMOLED screen, you can achieve pretty cool effects here with an AMOLED black background image. I like it when hardware and software seem to merge visually.

Unfortunately necessary: A dongle. The Note 10 no longer has a headphone jack
Source: Samsung

There is also bad news: All Note 10s no longer have a headphone jack. Samsung supplies a dongle instead. This should be a quite acceptable solution for all those who are not videographers. Because they are at a disadvantage. There is still no sensible solution for an external microphone via USB-C. This hurts, especially with a phone like the Note 10, because the Note series is designed for productive and professional users. So it's essentially a Galaxy S10 with a stylus. And without a headphone jack.

The whole video digression above is because Samsung is not only introducing new video functions, but also the so-called Zoom-in Mic. This function is designed to work in the same way as a zoom lens, but with sound. In other words, sound that is far away is brought closer. And Adobe Rush has been specially optimised for the Note 10: External mic. Would be something.

Interesting detail: The Bixby button on the side is missing. The power button on the right-hand side of the smartphone is actually missing. The power button is now where the Bixby button is. This can do both, switch on and off as well as Bixby. Fortunately, Samsung has realised that not everyone necessarily wants Bixby and the button can be freely configured.

The Aurora Glow colour steals the show and no photo will ever do the colour justice

Further: The colour Aurora Glow. Spectacular. If you look at a picture of it, the picture does the colour an injustice. Because you have to see the colour in the light. The back of an Aurora Glow Phone is mirrored and the light reflects in all the colours of the rainbow in random patterns. Sometimes as rays, sometimes as areas. Black, white and pink can pack it in.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10: Smaller than the Galaxy S10+

The entry-level model in the Note series, the Note 10, has a screen diagonal of 6.3 inches. This makes it 0.1 inches smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S10. So far, so generic. The system-on-a-chip (SoC) sounds really good. The Snapdragon 855+ is there to deliver performance. Manufacturer Qualcomm advertises that the SoC is good for gamers. The eight processor cores deliver up to 2.96 GHz. There is also 8 gigabytes of RAM and 256 gigabytes of internal memory.

Samsung doesn't lean too far out of the window when it comes to the battery, as it only has 3600 mAh. This is the only point where the device worries me - without having spent much time with it, so read this statement with due scepticism. In the recent past, Samsung has often economised on the battery. The Galaxy S10+ barely survives a working day under heavy use. The S9 not even that. What a pity. If the competition at Huawei proves anything, it's that it's definitely not worth saving on the battery.

The camera comes with three lenses:

12 megapixel telephoto lens, f/2.2
12 megapixel wide-angle double lens, f/1.5-f/2.4
16 megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, f/2.2

This should enable the Note 10 to take decent pictures, depending on what the software delivers. In any case, the pictures look very good in Amsterdam under the conditions set by Samsung.

The device feels good in the hand. It doesn't look bulky, too wide or too thick. However, the round sides could be a little flatter. In terms of weight, it could have suffered a little more. Especially if the trade-off for more weight in the hand is more battery. A smartphone only becomes slightly uncomfortable to hold for longer periods of time from around 230 grams. Before that, it's absolutely nothing.

The Note 10, without Plus, also comes in "Aura Pink", a kind of pink with a smile. Doesn't stand a chance against Aurora Glow. Really not.

The pen gets better, Dex also still exists

The small pen is still small. If you have big hands, maybe upgrade to the Staedtler pencil pen? It doesn't have a Bluetooth connection, but it's certainly more comfortable to write with. Nevertheless, the Bluetooth functions sound good. You can control your Note remotely, to a certain extent.

Samsung Dex is still there, but it is hardly mentioned during the presentation. The partnership with Microsoft is probably designed to close the gap between computers - Mac or PC - and smartphones. Exciting.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: A Note as you imagine it

As pretty as the Note 10 may be, the star of the show is the Note 10+. With a screen diagonal of 6.8 inches and a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels, the screen looks really good. Here too, black or white with a colour gradient on the other side. And inside the Snapdragon 855+ with 256 gigabytes of storage space.

But the RAM is where it gets really interesting. While 12 gigabytes of RAM were still exotic in the Galaxy S10, they are standard in the Note 10+. Nice! Also very good: the battery has a capacity of 4300 mAh, which should easily last a working day.

The camera system may look familiar from above:

12 megapixel telephoto lens, f/2.2
12 megapixel wide-angle double lens, f/1.5-f/2.4
16 megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, f/2.2

In addition, there is a time-of-flight camera, often simply abbreviated as ToF, which - to put it simply - greatly speeds up the focusing process as it measures the distances between the lens and the subject faster than the software.
The Plus version of the Note 10 is also available with 5G, the small version is not.

Fast charging at last

When it came to the Galaxy S9, analysts and fans realised that Samsung needed to improve its battery. The battery did not last a working day under heavy use and charging was slow. The Galaxy S10+ fared similarly. Huawei then came up with a charging voltage of 40 watts in a typical Huawei "hold my beer" manoeuvre, which enabled Huawei users to charge their smartphones by 70 per cent in half an hour. Samsung lagged behind with 7.5 watts.

But now it's quick. The charging voltage of 45 watts not only catches up, it leads the way. That's a good thing. It's an arms race that I'm happy to embrace. Keep up the good work, dear manufacturers. Plus, of course, Wireless Power Share, which means the Note 10 can charge other wirelessly chargeable devices.

The 45-watt charger is available separately.

Aimed at gamers

The Note 10 is not only aimed at productive gamers. It also targets their counterparts: gamers. There is hardly a better waste of time than a game of Call of Duty or Candy Crush. The phone should recognise that "Call of Duty" is a different game to "Candy Crush" and intelligently optimise the graphics and performance.

A gaming peripheral will be available separately. Your phone will then look something like a PlayStation controller. A P2P gaming service will also be rolled out.

The final touch?

One thought, however, keeps me going. During the presentation, during the demo, during the shoot. The differences to the flagship series, the Samsung Galaxy Phones, are getting smaller and smaller. In fact, the only difference between the devices is that the Notes have a stylus, while the S models do not. This is because the system performance of the Notes will usually even be slightly surpassed by the successor to the S10 in the coming year. That's why the Note is a little out of favour. Especially because the headphone jack is now missing.

What if this is the last note? Will the stylus be lost? Or will the S-Phones get stylus support? If so, where will the stylus be placed? Certainly not in the casing. Especially not because the rumour has spread that the S11 will come with a flexible display and can be rolled out. There is also the Samsung Galaxy Fold factor, release unknown. Could this device, with its gigantic, foldable screen and dual battery, replace the Note? Because there would be enough space for a stylus in the casing.

But that's just a thought. The Note 10 itself, as it lies in front of me, looks good. It catches up in places where Samsung has had to catch up, has a decent camera at first glance and decent specs.

I'm looking forward to testing it.

Smartphones

Samsung Galaxy Note10 EU

256 GB, Aura Glow, 6.30", Dual SIM, 4G

Smartphones

Samsung Galaxy Note10+ EU

256 GB, Aura Glow, 6.80", Hybrid Dual SIM, 4G

This article has no likes yet.

Dominik Bärlocher

Senior Editor

dominik.baerlocher@digitecgalaxus.ch

Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.

News + Trends

From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.

Show all

Your data. Your choice.

Search