Samsung's new Notes are here — let's talk about them.
In the second half of each year, Samsung launches a new entry in its Galaxy Note series to showcase the very best it has to offer in smartphones. For 2019, Samsung used the Galaxy Note 10, Note 10+, and Note 10+ 5G to do just that.
2019 was the first year Samsung's ever launched three Notes at the same time, and along with that, the company also made some controversial decisions when it comes to legacy Note features. Even so, these handsets stand out as some of the best smartphones Samsung has to offer right now (even with the now available).
Eager to learn more? Keep on reading.
Galaxy Note 10
Samsung's 2019 Note is still a powerhouse
The Galaxy Note is back, but it looks a little different than usual. Samsung is selling three different models, removed the headphone jack, and is starting to phase out the microSD card. However, with gorgeous AMOLED displays, faster performance, and an S Pen that does more than ever before, these Notes are certainly worth a look.
First, read and watch our full review
Before you do anything else, we first recommend taking a look at our review of the Note 10+.
The Note 10+ is one of the best phone Samsung has to offer in 2020, only being outdone by the . Some of its highlights include an incredible AMOLED display, outstanding hardware, consistently good camera performance, and excellent battery life.
There's a lot going for the Note 10, but the removal of the headphone jack is a big change for the Note series and low-light images taken with the camera aren't quite as strong as we would have liked. There's also the annoying fact that the baseline Note 10 doesn't have expandable storage.
Read and watch our full reviews to learn more!
Note devices are always chock-full with the latest specs, and that's no different with the Note 10 and Note 10+.
Powering the phones are Qualcomm's blazing-fast Snapdragon 855 processor, you can get up to 12GB of RAM, the displays support HDR10+, and Samsung's finally boosted its wired charging speeds (up to 45W!).
No matter how you slice it, these are flagship phones through and through.
See how the Note 10 compares to other phones
Last year's Notes are forces to be reckoned with — no doubt about that. However, they're also far from existing in a bubble.
The flagship smartphone space is crowded with tons of other competing handsets, with some of them offering similar features for hundreds of dollars less.
Before you pull the trigger on the Note 10, be sure to give our comparisons a look to make sure you're buying the phone that's right for you.
Note 10
Note 10+
As mentioned above, Samsung's shook up its Note release formula with the Note 10 by launching not just one new Note, but three — the Note 10, Note 10+, and Note 10+ 5G.
The regular Note 10 is the cheapest of the bunch, and for the first time since we can remember, offers a true Note experience in a surprisingly manageable form factor. Samsung usually tries to make Notes as big as it can, but the Note 10 has a similar footprint to the Galaxy S10. While we still wouldn't consider it a small phone, it's definitely a breath of fresh air for the Note series.
Unfortunately, the Note 10 does come with some drawbacks to achieve its "low" price. Its display is only 2280 x 1080 Full HD+, there isn't support for expandable storage, and the battery capacity isn't the largest at just 3,500 mAh.
If you want this year's best Note, you'll want to get the Note 10+. It has a larger display with a higher Quad HD+ resolution, a bigger battery, an additional Time-of-Flight rear camera, and supports microSD cards for extra storage space.
Last but not least, there's the Note 10+ 5G. As the name suggests, this is essentially the same phone as the Note 10+, save for the fact that it can connect to 5G networks.
Yep, the rumors were true. The 3.5mm headphone jack, one of the Note series' staple features, is no more with the Note 10. No matter which Note 10 you get, you won't find the legacy port anywhere on the phone.
As with other phones that lack the 3.5mm jack, you can still use wired headphones with the Note 10's USB-C port — either with the USB-C headphones Samsung includes in the box or with a 3.5mm to USB-C adapter.
Alternatively, if you prefer wireless headphones, the Note 10 supports the latest Bluetooth 5.0 standard so you can listen to your tunes with great wireless range and minimal interference.
While Samsung's been a proponent of wireless charging for some time now, its wired charging speeds have consistently been slower than what a lot of the competition has offered. With the Note 10, the company finally changed things.
Both phones come equipped with USB Power Delivery, meaning that you get out-of-the-box charging speeds of 25W.
That's a sizable upgrade on its own, but if you splurge for the Note 10+, you can take advantage of even faster 45W charging. However, in order to get these increased speeds in a safe and reliable manner, you'll need to spend another $50 for Samsung's official .
The S Pen picked up some new features
For a lot of people, the S Pen is the reason to get a new Note phone each year. With the Note 10, Samsung continued to improve the S Pen and added even more features to it.
For avid selfie-takers, Samsung introduced something called Air Actions. Building upon the Bluetooth functionality first introduced with the Note 9's S Pen, Air Actions allow you to point the S Pen at the Note 10 to act as a camera shutter button, switch between different shooting modes, and zoom in/out.
Air Doodle is another new feature, allowing you to draw wigs, mustaches, and more on people in the camera's frame. Through the use of algorithms, the Note 10 can map these drawings on top of people through the viewfinder in real-time.
If video editing is more your thing, the S Pen is also a key component to the Note 10's new native video editor, making it super easy to splice, scrub, rearrange timeline items, and more.
It's available in some beautiful colors
With 2018's Note 9, Samsung had some fun with its creative side with colors like Ocean Blue and Lavender Purple. For the Note 10, Samsung kicked its color wheel up to 11.
The Note 10 comes in a variety of awesome colors, including a striking Aura Glow one that's essentially a rainbow colorway and changes its appearance all the time depending on how light is hitting it.
If that's not your thing, Aura Red, Pink, and Blue are also pretty great. Check out the link below to see all of them for yourself .
You can buy the Note 10 right now
As of August 23, 2019, the Galaxy Note 10, Note 10+, and Note 10+ 5G are all available for immediate purchase. The Note 10 has a starting price of $950, whereas the Note 10+ will cost you at least $1100.
For those interested in the Note 10+ 5G, it costs the most at $1300 and is available at AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. If you're on Sprint, you're out of luck.
You can find a lot of ongoing promotions to make the phones more affordable, and while these are changing all the time, there's always something out there to help make these phones as affordable as can be.
Don't forget to get some accessories
After you buy the Note 10, we recommend picking up some accessories for the phone.
The Note 10 is big, beautiful, and definitely not something you want to risk shattering with just the right drop. As such, we urge you to get a screen protector and case at the bare minimum.
If you opt for the larger Note 10+, you'll also want to consider getting a microSD card.
Take a look at our accessory guides if you want to see what we recommend picking up.
Note 10
Note 10+
In January 2020, Samsung unveiled something we weren't expecting — the Galaxy Note 10 Lite. Taking a look at the phone, it's an interesting hodgepodge of specs. It offers a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a 2400 x 1080 resolution, Samsung's Exynos 8895 processor, up to 8GB of RAM, and triple 12MP cameras — including wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto sensors. You also get a hefty battery at 4,500 mAh.
The idea behind the Note 10 Lite is to offer the Galaxy Note experience at a more affordable price, with Samsung saying it'll have an "accessible price point." Unfortunately, that's as specific as the company has gotten so far.
Availability also remains a mystery, but seeing as how the Note 10 Lite has an Exynos processor, it's highly unlikely it'll ever make its way to the United States.
New Notes
Galaxy Note 10
Samsung's 2019 Note is still a powerhouse
The Galaxy Note is back, but it looks a little different than usual. Samsung is selling three different models, removed the headphone jack, and is starting to phase out the microSD card. However, with gorgeous AMOLED displays, faster performance, and an S Pen that does more than ever before, these Notes are certainly worth a look.
In the second half of each year, Samsung launches a new entry in its Galaxy Note series to showcase the very best it has to offer in smartphones. For 2019, Samsung used the Galaxy Note 10, Note 10+, and Note 10+ 5G to do just that.
2019 was the first year Samsung's ever launched three Notes at the same time, and along with that, the company also made some controversial decisions when it comes to legacy Note features. Even so, these handsets stand out as some of the best smartphones Samsung has to offer right now (even with the now available).
Eager to learn more? Keep on reading.
Galaxy Note 10
Samsung's 2019 Note is still a powerhouse
The Galaxy Note is back, but it looks a little different than usual. Samsung is selling three different models, removed the headphone jack, and is starting to phase out the microSD card. However, with gorgeous AMOLED displays, faster performance, and an S Pen that does more than ever before, these Notes are certainly worth a look.
First, read and watch our full review
Before you do anything else, we first recommend taking a look at our review of the Note 10+.
The Note 10+ is one of the best phone Samsung has to offer in 2020, only being outdone by the . Some of its highlights include an incredible AMOLED display, outstanding hardware, consistently good camera performance, and excellent battery life.
There's a lot going for the Note 10, but the removal of the headphone jack is a big change for the Note series and low-light images taken with the camera aren't quite as strong as we would have liked. There's also the annoying fact that the baseline Note 10 doesn't have expandable storage.
Read and watch our full reviews to learn more!
Note devices are always chock-full with the latest specs, and that's no different with the Note 10 and Note 10+.
Powering the phones are Qualcomm's blazing-fast Snapdragon 855 processor, you can get up to 12GB of RAM, the displays support HDR10+, and Samsung's finally boosted its wired charging speeds (up to 45W!).
Note 10+ | Note 10 | |
---|---|---|
Operating System | Android 9 Pie One UI 1.5 | Android 9 Pie One UI 1.5 |
Display | 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 3040x1440, HDR10+ | 6.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2280x1080, HDR10+ |
Processor | Snapdragon 855 | Snapdragon 855 |
Memory | 12GB | 8GB |
Storage | 256/512GB | 256GB |
Rear Camera 1 | 12MP, f/1.5-2.4, OIS, 77° FoV | 12MP, f/1.5-2.4, OIS, 77° FoV |
Rear Camera 2 | 16MP, f/2.2, 123° FoV | 16MP, f/2.2, 123° FoV |
Rear Camera 3 | 12MP, f/2.1, OIS, 45° FoV | 12MP, f/2.1, OIS, 45° FoV |
Rear Camera 4 | VGA DepthVision f/1.4, 72° FoV | n/a |
Front Camera | 10MP, f/2.2, 80° FoV auto focus | 10MP, f/2.2, 80° FoV auto focus |
Battery | 4300mAh 45W wired 15W wireless | 3500mAh 25W wired 12W wireless |
No matter how you slice it, these are flagship phones through and through.
See how the Note 10 compares to other phones
Last year's Notes are forces to be reckoned with — no doubt about that. However, they're also far from existing in a bubble.
The flagship smartphone space is crowded with tons of other competing handsets, with some of them offering similar features for hundreds of dollars less.
Before you pull the trigger on the Note 10, be sure to give our comparisons a look to make sure you're buying the phone that's right for you.
Note 10
Note 10+
As mentioned above, Samsung's shook up its Note release formula with the Note 10 by launching not just one new Note, but three — the Note 10, Note 10+, and Note 10+ 5G.
The regular Note 10 is the cheapest of the bunch, and for the first time since we can remember, offers a true Note experience in a surprisingly manageable form factor. Samsung usually tries to make Notes as big as it can, but the Note 10 has a similar footprint to the Galaxy S10. While we still wouldn't consider it a small phone, it's definitely a breath of fresh air for the Note series.
Unfortunately, the Note 10 does come with some drawbacks to achieve its "low" price. Its display is only 2280 x 1080 Full HD+, there isn't support for expandable storage, and the battery capacity isn't the largest at just 3,500 mAh.
If you want this year's best Note, you'll want to get the Note 10+. It has a larger display with a higher Quad HD+ resolution, a bigger battery, an additional Time-of-Flight rear camera, and supports microSD cards for extra storage space.
Last but not least, there's the Note 10+ 5G. As the name suggests, this is essentially the same phone as the Note 10+, save for the fact that it can connect to 5G networks.
Yep, the rumors were true. The 3.5mm headphone jack, one of the Note series' staple features, is no more with the Note 10. No matter which Note 10 you get, you won't find the legacy port anywhere on the phone.
As with other phones that lack the 3.5mm jack, you can still use wired headphones with the Note 10's USB-C port — either with the USB-C headphones Samsung includes in the box or with a 3.5mm to USB-C adapter.
Alternatively, if you prefer wireless headphones, the Note 10 supports the latest Bluetooth 5.0 standard so you can listen to your tunes with great wireless range and minimal interference.
While Samsung's been a proponent of wireless charging for some time now, its wired charging speeds have consistently been slower than what a lot of the competition has offered. With the Note 10, the company finally changed things.
Both phones come equipped with USB Power Delivery, meaning that you get out-of-the-box charging speeds of 25W.
That's a sizable upgrade on its own, but if you splurge for the Note 10+, you can take advantage of even faster 45W charging. However, in order to get these increased speeds in a safe and reliable manner, you'll need to spend another $50 for Samsung's official .
The S Pen picked up some new features
For a lot of people, the S Pen is the reason to get a new Note phone each year. With the Note 10, Samsung continued to improve the S Pen and added even more features to it.
For avid selfie-takers, Samsung introduced something called Air Actions. Building upon the Bluetooth functionality first introduced with the Note 9's S Pen, Air Actions allow you to point the S Pen at the Note 10 to act as a camera shutter button, switch between different shooting modes, and zoom in/out.
Air Doodle is another new feature, allowing you to draw wigs, mustaches, and more on people in the camera's frame. Through the use of algorithms, the Note 10 can map these drawings on top of people through the viewfinder in real-time.
If video editing is more your thing, the S Pen is also a key component to the Note 10's new native video editor, making it super easy to splice, scrub, rearrange timeline items, and more.
It's available in some beautiful colors
With 2018's Note 9, Samsung had some fun with its creative side with colors like Ocean Blue and Lavender Purple. For the Note 10, Samsung kicked its color wheel up to 11.
The Note 10 comes in a variety of awesome colors, including a striking Aura Glow one that's essentially a rainbow colorway and changes its appearance all the time depending on how light is hitting it.
If that's not your thing, Aura Red, Pink, and Blue are also pretty great. Check out the link below to see all of them for yourself .
You can buy the Note 10 right now
As of August 23, 2019, the Galaxy Note 10, Note 10+, and Note 10+ 5G are all available for immediate purchase. The Note 10 has a starting price of $950, whereas the Note 10+ will cost you at least $1100.
For those interested in the Note 10+ 5G, it costs the most at $1300 and is available at AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. If you're on Sprint, you're out of luck.
You can find a lot of ongoing promotions to make the phones more affordable, and while these are changing all the time, there's always something out there to help make these phones as affordable as can be.
Don't forget to get some accessories
After you buy the Note 10, we recommend picking up some accessories for the phone.
The Note 10 is big, beautiful, and definitely not something you want to risk shattering with just the right drop. As such, we urge you to get a screen protector and case at the bare minimum.
If you opt for the larger Note 10+, you'll also want to consider getting a microSD card.
Take a look at our accessory guides if you want to see what we recommend picking up.
Note 10
Note 10+
In January 2020, Samsung unveiled something we weren't expecting — the Galaxy Note 10 Lite. Taking a look at the phone, it's an interesting hodgepodge of specs. It offers a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a 2400 x 1080 resolution, Samsung's Exynos 8895 processor, up to 8GB of RAM, and triple 12MP cameras — including wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto sensors. You also get a hefty battery at 4,500 mAh.
The idea behind the Note 10 Lite is to offer the Galaxy Note experience at a more affordable price, with Samsung saying it'll have an "accessible price point." Unfortunately, that's as specific as the company has gotten so far.
Availability also remains a mystery, but seeing as how the Note 10 Lite has an Exynos processor, it's highly unlikely it'll ever make its way to the United States.
New Notes
Galaxy Note 10
Samsung's 2019 Note is still a powerhouse
The Galaxy Note is back, but it looks a little different than usual. Samsung is selling three different models, removed the headphone jack, and is starting to phase out the microSD card. However, with gorgeous AMOLED displays, faster performance, and an S Pen that does more than ever before, these Notes are certainly worth a look.