Samsung recently launched the Galaxy Note 10 series at the August Unpacked event. These phones has been heavily leaked and this event only confirms most of these leaks. The Note 10 line-up has consists of two phones, the vanilla Note 10 and the Note 10+. In this post, I will discuss the specs, differences and my opinion of who should purchase these devices.
Display: An appreciable upgrade
The Note 10 has an FHD+display measuring about 6.3 inches while the Note 10+ uses an absurdly large panel, measuring about 6.8 inches of QHD+ goodness. Although the FHD+resolution on the Note 10 is a disappointing step down, it is somewhat understandable considering the budget Galaxy s10e uses an FHD+ panel as well. Both panels utilize an Infinity O display with a hole-punch in the centre. The displays also contain an ultrasonic in display fingerprint scanner and takes up almost the entire phone with only a few millimetres of bezels, and there is a noticeable difference compared to the s10 series. The hole-punch is also an improvement, as they removed a few millimeters from it's housing. They also have an improved Dex mode which can integrate your phone with a laptop now, not just your pc.
Performance: An incremental upgrade
The Note series is known for offering the most powerful phones and this year doesn't differ. Both phones use the Snapdragon 855 in North America and the Exynos 9825 in other regions. Both processors are based on a 7nm process which offer powerful performance while leaving more space for a bigger battery. Speaking of which, the regular Note 10 houses a 3,500mAh battery while the Note 10+ has a 4,300mAh. There is no headphone jack on either phone, and expandable storage is only available on the plus version. About storage, these phones will use UFS3.0 storage, which should make basic tasks like opening apps noticeably faster. The phones both support USB C and can achieve speeds of up to 45 watts. They also support 15 watt wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. Both phones will also house an improved s-pen and even have support for Wifi 6. The Note 10 comes with 8gb of ram and 256gb of storage while the Note 10+ can be configured with 12gb of ram and up to 512gb of storage.
Camera: Improved videos
The Note 10's camera can be compared with the s10 while the Note 10+'s camera is similar to the s10 5G. In my opinion, photos from the rear camera won't be noticeably different compared to these phones, which may not be a bad thing. The s10 5G has the best camera while the s10 plus has the third highest score. Front facing cameras however, have a changed aperture of f/2.2, which would allow less light into the camera. I feel like this would make night-time selfies worse but, if integrated with Samsung's night mode, this shouldn't be a problem. Videos however, have been significantly improved. They've improved motion blur and reduced it to a bare minimum, and introduced features such as audio zoom, which emphasizes any volume coming from the focused object; and background bokeh can now be applied to videos.. In all honesty though, unless you're a vlogger, these video improvements shouldn't be a deciding factor for you.
Price and Value: Only for the best
The Galaxy Note 10 starts at CAD$1259 while the Note 10+ starts at CAD$1459. At the time of writing, pre-orders have already started and sales will be live soon. In terms of value, I think the Oneplus 7 pro offers a better package. It has a 6.67 inch screen with a 90hz refresh rate, 30 watt charging, a pop-up camera, a 4,000 mAh and costs only CAD$899. In terms of value, I think if your considering this phone, you don't care about the value, you care about having an all-in-one device. If this is what you want, the Note 10+ would be a better purchase. Besides the obvious spec improvements, it will also age better because of the battery capacity, and will ultimately, last longer. The battery will degrade slower and will still be acceptable a couple years later. Otherwise, these are some of the best phones of the year to futureproof yourself for the next few years.
Display: An appreciable upgrade
The Note 10 has an FHD+display measuring about 6.3 inches while the Note 10+ uses an absurdly large panel, measuring about 6.8 inches of QHD+ goodness. Although the FHD+resolution on the Note 10 is a disappointing step down, it is somewhat understandable considering the budget Galaxy s10e uses an FHD+ panel as well. Both panels utilize an Infinity O display with a hole-punch in the centre. The displays also contain an ultrasonic in display fingerprint scanner and takes up almost the entire phone with only a few millimetres of bezels, and there is a noticeable difference compared to the s10 series. The hole-punch is also an improvement, as they removed a few millimeters from it's housing. They also have an improved Dex mode which can integrate your phone with a laptop now, not just your pc.
Performance: An incremental upgrade
The Note series is known for offering the most powerful phones and this year doesn't differ. Both phones use the Snapdragon 855 in North America and the Exynos 9825 in other regions. Both processors are based on a 7nm process which offer powerful performance while leaving more space for a bigger battery. Speaking of which, the regular Note 10 houses a 3,500mAh battery while the Note 10+ has a 4,300mAh. There is no headphone jack on either phone, and expandable storage is only available on the plus version. About storage, these phones will use UFS3.0 storage, which should make basic tasks like opening apps noticeably faster. The phones both support USB C and can achieve speeds of up to 45 watts. They also support 15 watt wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. Both phones will also house an improved s-pen and even have support for Wifi 6. The Note 10 comes with 8gb of ram and 256gb of storage while the Note 10+ can be configured with 12gb of ram and up to 512gb of storage.
Camera: Improved videos
The Note 10's camera can be compared with the s10 while the Note 10+'s camera is similar to the s10 5G. In my opinion, photos from the rear camera won't be noticeably different compared to these phones, which may not be a bad thing. The s10 5G has the best camera while the s10 plus has the third highest score. Front facing cameras however, have a changed aperture of f/2.2, which would allow less light into the camera. I feel like this would make night-time selfies worse but, if integrated with Samsung's night mode, this shouldn't be a problem. Videos however, have been significantly improved. They've improved motion blur and reduced it to a bare minimum, and introduced features such as audio zoom, which emphasizes any volume coming from the focused object; and background bokeh can now be applied to videos.. In all honesty though, unless you're a vlogger, these video improvements shouldn't be a deciding factor for you.
Price and Value: Only for the best
The Galaxy Note 10 starts at CAD$1259 while the Note 10+ starts at CAD$1459. At the time of writing, pre-orders have already started and sales will be live soon. In terms of value, I think the Oneplus 7 pro offers a better package. It has a 6.67 inch screen with a 90hz refresh rate, 30 watt charging, a pop-up camera, a 4,000 mAh and costs only CAD$899. In terms of value, I think if your considering this phone, you don't care about the value, you care about having an all-in-one device. If this is what you want, the Note 10+ would be a better purchase. Besides the obvious spec improvements, it will also age better because of the battery capacity, and will ultimately, last longer. The battery will degrade slower and will still be acceptable a couple years later. Otherwise, these are some of the best phones of the year to futureproof yourself for the next few years.
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