The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is now official.
The company announced its latest stylus-touting smartphone today at a dedicated event although what was announced largely only confirmed what was already understood following the whirlwind of leaks that came through prior to today’s launch.
One of the most notable aspects is that Samsung is making the Galaxy Note 10 available in two different sizes – a first for the Galaxy Note line – and with the exception of the display size (and resolution), battery capacity, RAM, storage choices, and rear cameras, the overall experience is designed to be identical regardless of which model a buyer opts for.
First off, there’s the smaller or standard Galaxy Note 10 which comes with a 6.3-inch display, 8GB RAM, a 3,500 mAh capacity battery and a rear camera combo made up of three sensors.
The larger model, now confirmed as the Galaxy Note 10 Plus (+) ships with a 6.8-inch display, 12GB RAM, a 4,300 mAh capacity battery and the same triple rear camera combination albeit with an additional Time-of-Flight sensor allowing for depth-of-field adjustments.
Both the standard and Plus Galaxy Note 10 models come powered by either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 or Samsung’s latest SoC solution, the Exynos 9825, depending on location.
The price for the standard version starts at $949, while the Galaxy Note 10+ costs a minimum of $1,099. The Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+ will both go on sale on August 23 in the U.S., although pre-orders are set to open on August 8 – tomorrow.
The Galaxy Note 10 makes even more of an S Pen play
Including a stylus with a Galaxy Note smartphone is hardly a new thing considering the S Pen has always been one of the defining features of the Galaxy Note line. However, this year Samsung is making an even bigger play to sell the S Pen in the hopes of selling the Galaxy Note 10 series.
Take this to mean users of the Galaxy Note 10 will be able to do more with the S Pen than any other Galaxy Note owner has been able to do in the past, in some cases, without even touching the display.
One of the new tricks the S Pen can do is make use of “Air actions” where the user is able to control various elements of the smartphone without the S Pen having to make direct contact with the display.
In addition, the actual width and breath of those controls has also increased as the S Pen has gained some handy camera-related tricks that allow the user to quickly switch between front and rear cameras, and even zoom in and out when needed. This is on top of some of the more typical S Pen features one might expect, including actually taking a photo, controlling media playback, navigation, and so on.
It’s a Samsung phone, so expect camera features galore
The S Pen is the main selling point with the Galaxy Note line and this is even more true with the Galaxy Note 10 however Samsung is also making sure the camera experience is as good as anything else on offer with the phone.
Generally speaking the camera experience is expected to be fairly common to both phones due to the inclusion of the same primary three-camera setup consisting of a 12-megapixel main sensor, accompanied by a 12-megapixel telephoto and a 16-megapixel ultrawide sensor.
Besides the usual benefits one would expect with a premium camera experience, Samsung is also keen to point to the live bokeh effect that’s available. Specifically, the fact that the live bokeh effect can now be applied when capturing video thanks to “Live Focus Video.”
Moving to the front of the device and following in the footsteps of the Galaxy S10 series, the Galaxy Note 10 lineup includes a hole-punched front-facing camera. This is a 10-megapixel sensor and unlike the Galaxy S10 family, is centrally-located on the top of the front panel.
Let’s not forget about the 5G version
With the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ now official, and packing a ton of features inside, it is easy to get sidetracked and forget that there’s also a 5G version.
Samsung officially announced the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G today at the same event and as the name suggests, this is a variant of the Galaxy Note 10+, specifically. In other words, you won’t be able to buy a 5G version of the smaller Galaxy Note 10.
Although this is clearly the future-proof version of the phone considering the next-generation wireless network support, it does not differ that much from the main Galaxy Note 10+ and therefore buyers going for this model will be largely doing so for the 5G support alone. Samsung has now confirmed the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G will also go on sale in the U.S. on August 23 as well, although it will only initially be available to buy through Verizon for a limited time. Following this period, Sprint and T-Mobile will also be offering the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G.
The best of the rest
Yes, the Galaxy Note 10 lineup are expensive smartphones, but they are clearly designed to be premium smartphones that pack in a ton of additional features. If none of the above has caught your attention then the best of the rest of the features include an in-display fingerprint sensor, USB-C fast charging, wireless charging, wireless PowerShare, DeX support, and Bluetooth 5.0. The one clear downside is that you won’t find a headphone port anywhere.
Here’s the specs
- Display
Samsung Galaxy Note 10: 6.3-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O Display, 2280×1080 (401ppi) HDR10+ Certified
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: 6.8-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O Display 3040×1440 (498ppi) HDR10+ Certified
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G: 6.8-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O Display 3040×1440 (498ppi) HDR10+ Certified - Processor
Samsung Galaxy Note 10: 7nm octa-core Snapdragon 855 or 7nm octa-core Exynos 9825
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: 7nm octa-core Snapdragon 855 or 7nm octa-core Exynos 9825
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G: 7nm octa-core Snapdragon 855 or 7nm octa-core Exynos 9825 - RAM & Storage
Samsung Galaxy Note 10: 8GB RAM with 256GB internal storage
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: 12GB RAM with 256GB internal storage, 12GB RAM with 512GB internal storage
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G: 12GB RAM with 256GB internal storage, 12GB RAM with 512GB internal storage - Main Camera
Samsung Galaxy Note 10: Ultra Wide: 16MP F2.2 (123°) – Wide-angle: 12MP 2PD AF F1.5/F2.4 OIS (77°) – Telephoto: 12MP F2.1 OIS (45°)
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: Ultra Wide: 16MP F2.2 (123°) – Wide-angle: 12MP 2PD AF F1.5/F2.4 OIS (77°) – Telephoto: 12MP F2.1 OIS (45°) – DepthVision Camera: VGA
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G: Ultra Wide: 16MP F2.2 (123°) – Wide-angle: 12MP 2PD AF F1.5/F2.4 OIS (77°) – Telephoto: 12MP F2.1 OIS (45°) – DepthVision Camera: VGA - Front camera
All Samsung Galaxy Note 10 models: 10MP 2PD AF F2.2 (80°) - Charging
All Samsung Galaxy Note 10 models: Super Fast Charging (compatible on wired with QC2.0, AFC and PD3.0), Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 (compatible with WPC and PMA), Wireless PowerShare - Battery
Samsung Galaxy Note 10: 3500 mAh
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: 4300 mAh
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G: 4300 mAh - Connectivity
Samsung Galaxy Note 10: Enhanced 4×4 MIMO, Up to 7CA, LAA, LTE Cat.20, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024QAM, Bluetooth v 5.0, ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou), NFC, MST
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: Enhanced 4×4 MIMO, Up to 7CA, LAA, LTE Cat.20, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024QAM, Bluetooth v 5.0, ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou), NFC, MST
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G: Enhanced 4×4 MIMO, Up to 7CA, LAA, LTE Cat.20, 5G Non Standalone (NSA), Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024QAM, Bluetooth v 5.0, ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou), NFC, MST - Sensors
All Samsung Galaxy Note 10 models: Accelerometer, Barometer, Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, Proximity Sensor, RGB light sensor (BLE S Pen: 6-axis Sensor including Gyro Sensor and Acceleration Sensor) - Security
All Samsung Galaxy Note 10 models: Pattern, PIN, Password, Fingerprint sensor, Face recognition - Audio & Video
All Samsung Galaxy Note 10 models: Stereo speakers, Sound by AKG, Surround sound with Dolby Atmos technology (Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus included). Audio Playback Format: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DSF, DFF, APE. Video: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM - OS: Android 9 Pie
- Dimensions
Samsung Galaxy Note 10: 71.8 x 151.0 x 7.9mm (BLE S Pen: 5.8 × 4.35 × 105.08mm)
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: 77.2 x 162.3 x 7.9mm (BLE S Pen: 5.8 × 4.35 × 105.08mm)
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G: 77.2 x 162.3 x 7.9mm (BLE S Pen: 5.8 × 4.35 × 105.08mm) - Weight
Samsung Galaxy Note 10: 168g (BLE S Pen: 3.04g)
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: 196g (BLE S Pen: 3.04g)
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G: 198g (BLE S Pen: 3.04g) - Colors
Aura Glow, Aura White and Aura Black
Aura Blue exclusively at Best Buy and Samsung.com
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Gallery
