Here's where our heads are at after 24 hours with Samsung's latest.
Our full review is underway, but that doesn't mean we need to hold back our thoughts as we go. We'll have a complete and comprehensive Note 10+ review in due time, but until it's finished, we want to give you a peek into what our thoughts are on the phone at various milestones.
To kick things off, here are our first impressions after using the Note 10+ for about 24 hours. Both myself and Hayato Huseman received our phone the morning of August 15, and dove right in. There are no final conclusions here, or hard stances — just our raw feelings holding Samsung's latest and greatest. Plus, we've answered some of your burning questions about the phone as well!
Biggest and best
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
The best of Samsung in a single phone.
Samsung improved on the Note 9 in every way … except for removing the headphone jack. But the big display, top-end specs, wide-angle camera and huge battery could make up for it.
Galaxy Note 10+ first impressions: Andrew
Andrew Martonik is the Executive Editor, U.S. at Android Central. He has been a mobile enthusiast since the Windows Mobile days, and covering all things Android-related with a unique perspective at AC since 2012. For suggestions and updates, you can reach him at [email protected] or on Twitter at .
It feels great to get back to the Note 10+ after my relatively brief hands-on time prior to its launch. Let me break down my first impressions from a day with the Note 10+ — first the good, then the bad, then the "unsure until I have more time with the phone."
The good begins with the hardware. Samsung has this down to a science, and everything from the design to the materials and construction are spot on. The Note 10+ is massive, but it feels solid, well-weighted and worth the money. And I'm so glad I have the Aura Glow color — it's an amazing shimmering delight every time you pick it up. The glass is a massive fingerprint magnet, but that's par for the course with all phones nowadays. Also, I'm loving the power button on the left — both because it kills the dedicated Bixby button, and also because it's much more reachable than being high on the right.
Unsurprisingly Samsung knocks it out of the park again with the display. We all knew the Galaxy S10+ was as good as it got at the time, and now you just get more of a great thing. With even smaller bezels and a substantially better camera cutout, you just get to focus on that AMOLED panel. I switched mine over to the "vivid" color setting (I can feel Hayato cringing from here) and it's gorgeous. Samsung's outdoor visibility is second to none, and it's incredibly crisp even set to FHD+ by default.
Okay, the not-so-good parts. The in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is no better than the S10's, which is disappointing. It works fine, but it's nowhere near the OnePlus 7 Pro's in accuracy, speed or recognition area. Y'know what? I actually kind of miss the Note 9's iris scanner.
Also, this is really based on personal preference, but the phone is huge. It may not be that much bigger than the S10+, but there's something about the combination of little increases in dimensions, extra weight and the blockier shape that makes the Note 10+ a bit unwieldy. I get that you get a ton of benefit from extra screen space, but more than once already I've been afraid I'm going to drop it trying to reach the top half of the screen one-handed.
Further on the personal preference side of things, every time I set up a Samsung phone I'm reminded just how much work is required to get it just right. So many apps, settings, features and tweaks need to be made. The software is confusing and overbearing out of the box, and really needs to be tamed. Once you do, you're golden — it just takes a lot of work to get it the way you want it.
A lot of the experience is going to take more time to analyze. I'm still not sure how I feel about the speakers; the top one in particular. It's embedded deeper in the phone, so the sound kind of comes out of the whole top of the phone, rather than a specific speaker point. It's great for calls, but the body vibrations when listening to anything are a bit odd.
I'm going to need more time with the camera to see if anything has changed from the S10+, but so far it's exactly as expected: solid, consistent and pleasing to the eye. Super-low-light photography is a weak point, and the high quality wide-angle camera is a strong point. The front-facing camera is great, too.
I'm trying to make a serious effort to incorporate the S Pen into my daily use of the phone, too. I've struggled to find a use for it in the past, and I don't expect the air gestures to make a difference there, but I'm going to rehash all of its capabilities for the review.
I have a lot of thoughts churning right now — and you'll hear them all soon.
Galaxy Note 10+ first impressions: Hayato
Hayato Huseman is a recovering trade show addict and video editor for Android Central based out of Indianapolis. He can mostly be found complaining about the cold and enthusing about prog metal on Twitter at . Got a tip or inquiry? Drop him a line at [email protected].
This is my first time back on a Note in a few years, and boy did I miss the S Pen. I know not everybody finds use in it, but there's just something about touching the pen to the glass that makes using a Note more satisfying. It's also hard not to love the added precision for certain apps — I'm particularly excited to try out Samsung's new video editing software for that reason.
I'm also loving the hardware; the Note 10+ is still too big for my taste (I'm dying to spend more time with the ), but it's stunningly well-made, just as the S10 and Note 9 before it were. And while I'm still not a fan of in-display fingerprint sensors, and Samsung didn't even do anything to improve the optical sensor here, it's a breath of fresh air coming from the Xperia 1, whose side-mounted capacitive sensor is so maddeningly unreliable it might as well not even be there.
I'm still not sure I love the power button situation, though. Don't get me wrong, it's great that you can reassign it so you never accidentally launch Bixby again, but I'm having a hard time adjusting to a left-oriented power button, and I don't know that hiding the power menu in the notification shade is terribly user friendly. In fact, that's sort of an overarching problem with One UI; Samsung buries everything deep into random settings menus, and disables a lot of useful features by default. This is the first time in a while I've actually needed to use the search function in the system settings.
While we're talking about minor annoyances, there's a weird friction in usability between the in-display fingerprint sensor and the S Pen. Whenever you need to use the fingerprint sensor, the Note 10+ tells you to move the S Pen away from the screen first, which means I have to shift the S Pen around in my hand or just switch hands entirely. It isn't a huge deal, but it just makes it feel like the two technologies weren't meant to exist in the same device.
I still think Samsung should've included a headphone adapter in the box, but I've been using Bluetooth cans for years, so I'm not terribly bothered by it. There's at least a pair of AKG-branded USB-C earbuds in the box and — surprise! — they look and sound just like the 3.5mm version that's been around for the last few years. They're better than what you get with almost any other phone, though I definitely think you're better off getting a pair of Galaxy Buds with Samsung's instant $150 credit if you're pre-ordering.
It's too early for me to comment on battery life or charging speeds, since my unit arrived halfway charged in the afternoon and I spent the first hour or two just downloading and signing into my usual apps. I ended the day about twelve hours later with 24% remaining, though, which is promising at the very least. As a videographer, I'm also of course excited to check out the new video-related features; not just the new video editing software (though I'm definitely looking forward to trying that), but the improved stabilization while shooting and the new audio zooming feature.
There's a lot more to explore with the Note 10+ over the next few days and weeks, and I'm definitely excited to get more into the weeds with it.
Your top Note 10+ questions, answered!
We took to and our own to see what you want to know in particular. We picked the top questions here, but we're answering more in both places!
Andrew: Google still has its usual apps pre-loaded, and you can install more if you want others. Partnering with Microsoft just makes more sense for Samsung at this point than continuing to develop (and support) a bunch of self-branded apps that frankly weren't that popular or competitive.
Hayato: I think Samsung realized its business-related apps weren't great, so partnering with Microsoft and bundling its services made a lot of sense. Of course, you can still download Google's apps separately, and Samsung still bundles in a ton of other services.
msm0511
08-15-2019 04:07 PM
“
How are the haptics?
Reply
A: I'm not noticing a big difference from the Galaxy S10. Haptics are above average, but not as impressive as the Pixel 3 or even OnePlus 7 Pro. Samsung has toned them back so they're not strong enough to rattle, which is a good strategy. They're just solid.
H: Samsung's gotten pretty good at haptics in the last few years. I don't think the Note 10+ is quite up to the level of the Pixel 3 or especially the iPhone XS, but I'm perfectly happy with it.
A: I don't notice a single improvement in speed, accuracy or recognition area over the Galaxy S10+. It works fine, but it isn't particularly fast and can be a little frustrating to get the pressure just right to get it to recognize consistently.
H: As far as I can tell, this is identical to the optical sensor on my S10 5G — which is to say, it's not the best out there, but it isn't horrible either. I'm honestly just waiting for the day Samsung moves to depth-mapped facial recognition like the iPhone and upcoming Pixel 4.
KupKrazy
08-16-2019 05:37 AM
“
How do you take a screenshot? Still Power/Bixby + down volume? I assume hand gesture wave is still there as well.
Reply
A: Hayato knows how this works!
H: Swiping your palm across the screen indeed still works, or you can quickly press volume down and the sleep/wake/Bixby button. Just don't hold them down too long; you'll trigger the power menu instead.
A: The speakers are very asymmetrical — the bottom is a typical single loudspeaker that sounds pretty good, and then the top is a small speaker set deeper in the phone that kind of emanates from inside the phone rather than from a specific speaker opening. That creates a little rattling inside the top half of the phone that can be distracting.
H: They're surprisingly loud and punchy without clipping, but there's a bit of rattle under the display near the earpiece speaker. You can definitely feel a lot of vibration on the back of the phone, though.
A: Any transparent case will show the glow just fine. It's a shame to have to cover up this brilliant shimmer and color shift, but if you have to do it a clear case would be a fine choice.
H: Aura Glow will shine through anything. This is one of the shiniest, most reflective finishes I've ever seen, but it's also a ridiculous fingerprint magnet, so. Yeah, I'd probably grab a clear case.
Galaxy Note 10+ More to come
As we have more time with the phone, we'll be adding our updates here covering more substantial topics with more informed opinions. We'll have more to say soon about the camera quality, battery life, software quirks, and other deep dives on specific features.
So be sure to check back and follow along with us! You'll be learning about the Note 10+ right as we do.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
The Note 10+ is the pinnacle of Samsung's hardware, features, specs and more — plus, it's the only phone you can get with an S Pen. It's a proper flagship competitor in all respects.