Preordering
BestBuy changed their preordering process this year; this was a bummer because I prefer to buy local (economy, returns, etc)
Bought through Samsung’s website this year
Arrived 2 days ahead of general availability date via preorder so that’s something
Pricing
That’s right, there are two models this time; I can’t tell you much about the little one; I wish that one was just as good as the big one
$999 for regular sized Note 10
$1099 for large sized Note 10+
Also: black on launch this time; no more of that blue on launch-only restrictions
Display
Size
6.8 inches
19:9 ratio; which is just ever-so-slightly better than 18.5:9
Gorilla Glass 6; at some point this is not remarkable anymore is it?
Special features
All of the features from the S10 line are here; fingerprint sensor, ambient display, you name it
There’s a new placement for the front camera though; instead of the S10+ 's strange double cutout in the corner, there is a single camera cutout just pixels from the top of the phone
There’s no speaker cutout in the top glass, the speaker is literally in the top of the phone and not on the display side
Physicals
Look and feel, build quality
Footprint
It’s huge! Who could have guessed
162.3 x 77.2 x 7.9 mm (6.39 x 3.04 x 0.31 in)
Weight
196g
It’s slightly heavier than the S10+ but feels lighter than the Note 9
Comparing the Note 10+ with the Note 9; the Note 9 looks ancient, the chin, forehead, the chunky look and feel - even the curved edges were massive
The S10+ fares much better, Note 10 is really an extension
Battery
4300 mAH
Effectively the same as the S10+ for my usage patterns
Charging
The new 45w charger might be more note... get it... worthy than the phone’s charging capabilities, but it can charge fast when you need it to
Ports
No more headphone jack; I haven’t missed this whatsoever
TypeC otherwise with Dex Support
Speakers
They’re fine, but I’ve seen criticism of them since the top speaker is not in the previous position
Buttons
What an amazing change!
The bixby button is gone, well, it’s the bixby button but your first job upon set up is to change its function to the regular wake/sleep power button
There’s no more power button on the right side
Many people took weeks to adjust, while I was very ok
Keyboard (if applicable)
There’s no keyboard...
Pen
But the pen is back!
Really, the S10+ could have a further variant S10 Pro that has a pen
The pen has all of the same gimmicks as last time
I like taking photos with the pen as a remote, it’s not like this couldn’t be done with an add-on accessory on any phone, but it’s great built in
“Air Actions” are new and useless since most apps will never support them
I would have liked Samsung to figure out how to make “scrolling” a default universal “air action”; if I am on Twitter in a lengthy list, air scrolling would be great - but no
The new notes app allows handwriting to be kept as handwriting but internally converted to text for search capabilities, making notes searchable is huge for usability in the long term
Camera
How is it
It’s the same as the S10+ but after almost a year with a wide lens, I can’t imagine having a phone without the option; I take so many shots with it
2x mode is kind of mediocre in my opinion; if the camera had regular, 4x and it’s current 1/2x mode, I think it would be a wonderful mix
2 12mp sensors, the wide is 16mp
Time of Flight sensor for something
Special modes
Night Mode is available
Due to how Samsung updates their unlocked phones, those get updates last; I was never able to use Night Mode on the S10+
I never use Night Mode; why are you taking pictures in the dark?
Better slowmo options
4k60 recording
S10+ had an issue where taking photos during a video would cause framedrops in video, this doesn’t exhibit the same issue
Pro mode lets you tweak whatever you want
Notable features
QR code scanning is now an automatic thing the camera will do
Specs
CPU
Snapdragon 855
RAM
12GB because this is the Note 10+
Storage
256gb + I added a 64GB SD card
Software
OS
TouchWiz is still gone, the Samsung EXperience is gone, now it’s the One UI and I enjoy it
I skip the default One UI launcher and use Action Launcher and I have it customized the way I like it (which is really not at all the way Chris Lacy likes it at all - get your Google Pixel nonsense out of here)
Running Android 9.0 probably until March (by the time the S11 comes around)
Updates
Carriers suck
Samsung should figure something out for this; but I get the complexity of such a thing
Performance
It’s as fast as any phone has been and should be
Some people like turning the animation speed up
Final thoughts
Note 10+ is great
It’s big, fast, has cameras, has a good interface
S10+ is cheaper now, almost as good
S11 coming in just a few months Connect With The Nexus
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