At long last, the Galaxy Note 10 has been officially announced, following an extensive number of leaks that didn't leave anything to the imagination. As expected, there are two models: the Galaxy Note 10 and the Galaxy Note 10+, offering two different screen sizes for customers to choose from. The Note 10 and Note 10+ follow the Galaxy S10 design language with their small bezels and punch hole displays and also share some of the hardware features, but with plenty of upgrades thrown in.
Small bezels, centered punch holes
The Note 10+, with its 6.8-inch Cinematic Infinity-O display, is the biggest Note yet, at least in screen size. The actual dimensions of the device are very similar to the Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy Note 9, while the regular Galaxy Note is marginally smaller thanks to its 6.3-inch display. The front camera is now placed in the center of the screen for a more balanced design, and there's no dual front camera setup on either model. The displays are HDR10+ certified, and the regular Note 10 gets Full HD+ resolution like the Galaxy S10e.
The S Pen has received some new functionality in the form of what Samsung calls Air Actions, which enable gestures that let users control some functions without touching the stylus to the display. The remote control functionality that debuted on the Note 9 has made its way on to the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+, and the S Pen can now be used to jot down notes and instantly convert them to digital text in the Samsung Notes app, a feature we're assuming the company could bring to the Galaxy Note 9 at some point in the future.
More RAM, more storage, super fast charging batteries
Under the hood, there's the new Exynos 9825 SoC for most markets and the same old Snapdragon 855 processor for markets like the US and China. The Galaxy Note 10 gets 8GB of RAM on the base model and the Galaxy Note 10+ gets 12GB, and both come with 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage at the minimum. There's a 12GB+512GB version of the Note 10+ but no 1TB model; the smaller Note 10 only comes with 256GB storage for now but does get a bump up to 12GB of RAM on the 5G model.
All that power won't matter if the phones don't last very long on a single charge, so Samsung has equipped the Note 10 and Note 10+ with 3,500 mAh and 4,300 mAh batteries respectively. The company says the Note 10 can last an entire day as well, but we'll need some real-life experience to see if that claim holds true. Super fast charging is a part of the spec sheet as well. The Note 10 gets 25W charging while the Note 10+ supports up to 45W charging, as long as consumers are willing to buy a separate 45W charger. Wireless charging speeds have been upgraded to 12W and 15W, and reverse wireless charging is supported as well.
Triple cameras, a slew of new software features
Both the Note 10 and Note 10+ come with three rear cameras and one front camera. The rear setup is the same as the Galaxy S10's: a 12MP primary Dual Aperture (F1.5/F2.4) camera, a 12MP telephoto camera, and a 16MP ultra-wide camera. The rumored three-stage aperture hasn't made the cut, but the telephoto sensor has been improved with a wider aperture for better low-light performance. The Note 10+ also gets a fourth rear camera – a DepthVision ToF sensor that enables features like bokeh videos and drives AR applications such as measuring the dimensions of real world objects.
Samsung has also added a few very interesting camera features. There's something called Zoom-In Mic which amplifies audio from the subject while drowning out all background noise using three microphones. AR Doodle, meanwhile, lets you draw over a subject in the frame in the camera in real time and have those drawings track the subject as the camera moves around. And the dedicated Night mode introduced on the Galaxy S10 lineup has been added to the front camera as well. Finally, the Super steady recording feature can be applied to Hyperlapse mode for more stable hyperlapse videos.
New software features have been introduced outside the camera app as well. The Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ run Android Pie with One UI 1.5 and come with a dedicated Screen Recorder app to allow gamers and vloggers to record on-screen content and draw on them using the S Pen. Gamers also get PlayGalaxy Link P2P – it's unclear exactly how this feature works, but Samsung says it will let users play PC games on their phone. The Steam Link app for Android and iOS devices allows playing PC games on a mobile device when connected to the same Wi-Fi network, and we're assuming Samsung has simply built on that and made it possible to play games over a mobile data connection as well.
Bye bye headphone jack… and the microSD slot
Yes, our fears have been confirmed: There's no 3.5mm headphone jack on either the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+. And on the regular Note 10, the microSD slot is missing as well, a move that's sure to turn off a lot of Samsung fans (and perhaps increase Galaxy Note 9 sales in the process). However, the company is hoping that won't be the case and says that the Note 10 is designed for those who want to buy their first Note smartphone and enjoy the benefits of the S Pen. The heart rate sensor has also been axed from both devices.
As expected, the Note 10 and Note 10+ have many of the flagship features we've seen on devices starting with the Galaxy S9. There are stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support, an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, Samsung Pay, and Bixby. The Note 10 duo support the new Wi-Fi 6 standard, and the Note 10+ will have a 5G model that is sold around the globe. The regular Note 10's 5G model exists, but is expected to be exclusive to South Korea. Furthermore, the 5G models do not get any other special features (except more RAM on the smaller model), unlike the Galaxy S10 5G.
Coming August 23 in Aura White, Aura Black, Aura Glow, and other colors
The Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+ will go on sale on August 23 in three main color options: Aura Black, Aura White, and Aura Glow. Only Aura Glow has a gradient effect; there's also a pink color option which will likely be exclusive to some markets. Some markets will also get a blue Note 10+ and a red Note 10, but we will have to wait for specific availability details from Samsung to see if these color shades will launch right away or later down the line.
What do you think about the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+? Tell us in the comments section, and don't forget to check our our initial impressions of the two devices in our Galaxy Note 10 hands-on.
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