Samsung Galaxy Note 10 & Note 10+ Hands On
62The Samsung Galaxy 10 and 10+ are here! There is a lot of hype for this phone to live up to and we’re going to tell you what we loved and what disappointed.
When the Note first launched in 2011 it was unlike anything we’d ever seen before, it’s 5.3 inch display, but phabelts are now mainstream and the Note has become the business focused compliment to the Galaxy S series.
Samsung is doubling down on the Galaxy Note and is offering two models instead of just one: The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+.
The Note 10 has a 6.3 inch FullHD+ Dynamic AMOLED display and the Note 10+ is an enormous 6.8 inches and it’s QHD. The triple camera on the back has the same vertical layout on both phones, but on the Note 10+ there’s a fourth ToF lens for better depth detection. The memory configurations differ but the Note 10 has no microSD card for expansion while the Note 10+ does. And samsung finally did the unthinkable, they dropped the headphone jack.
The digital pen has always been a stand out feature, even if many users never use it. But those who do love it, LOVE IT!
The new Samsung S Pen included with both the Note 10 and Note 10+ will wow the stylus fans out there, thanks to its improved sensitivity, its 10hr battery life (battery can be charged quickly by sliding the pen back into the device’s body) and new gestures that let you control the device’s interface without actually touching the screen.
They’re called Air Action and they basically turn the S Pen into a magic Bluetooth wand likethe JoyCons of the Nintendo Switch. by flicking the stylus up or down in the air, for example, you can switch between front and back camera while taking a picture; with a horizontal air swipe you can browse through pictures or other contents; a circular gesture will instead activate the zoom functionality, to enlarge the picture you’re displaying or zoom in into the frame of a photo you’re about to shoot. We’ll have to try these gesture more extensively to asses if they’re just a novelty or a functionality that will actually make the stylus even more useful. So far they seem to be a meaningful evolution of what the S Pen can do on a Note device, especially considering that developers will be able to tap into this specific functionality thanks to a dedicated set of APIs.
The stylus is also supposed to provide more innovative interactions with video editing software Adobe Rush.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is boxy, it has almost awkwardly sharp corners, but once you have it in hand it doesn’t feel as sharp as it looks. Once you have it in hand you really stop looking at the shape because the display is really quite beautiful. The frame and shape of the phone almost fall away because when you have it in hand, they display is all you see. The frames are so thin you can easily forget they are there. The centered punch-hole front-facing camera isn’t really a problem, we’ve been using the S10 line and see it as more of a feature than a flaw.
The main color option for this year’s Notes is called Aura Glow. It’s basically a silver finish with prismatic reflections that change their hue based on the surroundings. For those who feel less experimental with their color choices, Samsung has provided less flashy options.
There is one red flag that we’ve got about the Note line and it’s the battery size. Sure the phones are surprisingly thin and light for their size. The 3500mah on the Note 10 hardly seems sufficient and the Note 10+ with a 4300mah battery. We’d sacrifice a few mm of thickness to bring the battery size over 5000mah. But you can charge it with 45 watts ultra fast charger, if you have the right power supply because the power supply in the box only only gives you 25 watts of charging horse power.
The Note 10 line is up for pre-order, we’ve got prices in the description below and it will be available in stores starting Aug 23! If you haven’t already subscribed to our channel you should smash that button now. I’m your host Umit the awesome for Mobile Geeks.