Hands-on with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ Android phones

The wait is over. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 is official and, no, it doesn’t have a headphone jack.

But before I get to why Samsung killed the classic audio port on the Note 10, I’d like to clarify that the new phone isn’t a single device, but two: a 6.3-inch Note 10 and 6.8-inch Note 10+.

Samsung’s always billed the Galaxy Note as its biggest and most cutting edge smartphone — a device for power users built with productivity in mind — and the two Note 10s are no different.

The new Android phones don’t break new ground with anything like a foldable display or camera embedded underneath the screen, but when it comes to tried-and-true innovation upgrades, there’s really little to dislike (except maybe the whole headphone jack removal, of course).

Like previous Galaxy Notes, the Note 10 and Note 10+ will cost a pretty penny when they launch on Aug. 23: $949 for the Note 10 with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, $1,099 for the Note 10+ with 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM, and $1,199 for the Note 10+ with 512GB of storage and 12GB of RAM. 

Pre-orders start on Aug. 8 at 12:01 a.m. ET.

Verizon will exclusively sell a 5G version of the Note 10+ (there’s no 5G version of the regular Note 10) for a limited time. Pricing and release for that is TBD. AT&T says it’ll carry the Note 10+ 5G “by the end of the year.”

As you can see, they’re pricey phones. That said, you still get a lot for your money. 

Beautiful glass slabs

Samsung says the Note 10 and Note 10+ are its thinnest and lightest Galaxy Notes ever. Holding a Galaxy Note 9 in one hand and a Note 10+ in the other, I could immediately feel the difference.

In true Samsung fashion, the glass display curves at the edges and bleeds into the polished aluminum frame. This time around, the front and back glass merge into the metal frame more seamlessly and the top and bottom of the phone have been flattened out.

It’s a clean and symmetrical look, and the phones feel good in the hand. You’re literally holding glass slabs. The Note 10 is roughly the same width of an iPhone XS and maybe half an inch taller. On the other hand, the Note 10+ is about the same dimensions as the Note 9. Needless to say, the smaller Note 10 is way more pocketable.

Dominating each of the phones’ fronts is a Dynamic AMOLED screen. The Note 10’s 6.3-inch screen has a resolution of 2,280 x 1,080 at 401 pixels per inch and the Note 10+ has a resolution of 3,040 x 1,440 resolution at 498 pixels per inch. 

These screens are easily as spectacular as the displays in the Galaxy S10’s; they support HDR10+ and are very bright, sharp, and vibrant. But of course the Note 10’s screens are superb — they’re Samsung screens, after all. 

There’s just a single round cutout for a 10-megapixel selfie camera at the top of the display. Samsung calls this an “Infinity-O” display. Personally, I think it looks better than any notch or hole-punch off to the side.

Underneath the screen is also the same ultrasonic fingerprint reader first introduced on the Galaxy S10, S10+, and S10 5G.

One thing you’ll notice has moved is the the power button. It’s now on the left side below the volume rocker. It’s a weird relocation — great for lefties to press with their thumbs, but sucks for righties — and will take some getting used to. And the hated Bixby button? It’s finally no more on both Note 10’s! 

The phones come in a variety of colors, including Aura White, Aura Black, and Aura Blue. The latter will be exclusive to the Note 10+ in the U.S. and sold at Best Buy.

But in my opinion, the prettiest Note 10 is easily Aura Glow, which has an iridescent finish and shifts between different colors depending on how light hits it. It’s just unlike any other phone I’ve ever seen.

However, as stunning as the Note 10s are, they’re missing one thing: the 3.5mm headphone jack. After years of making fun of Apple for removing it, Samsung’s now gone and killed the audio port, too.

Apple said the port simply needed to go because it believes the future is wireless. OnePlus said it killed the jack on its phones because it needed room for an in-display fingerprint sensor. 

So what’s Samsung’s reason? They gave me two answers. One, they needed room for larger capacity batteries that would fit the slimmer designs. And two, Note users have largely adopted Bluetooth headphones, so now’s the right time to drop the jack.

Satisfying or not, I personally am fine with the lack of a headphone jack. iPhones, Pixels, and OnePlus phones don’t have them, so there’s no real reason for them here, either. Interestingly, Samsung’s including a pair of AKG wired USB-C earbuds in the Note 10 box, but no dongle. 

Not to worry, though. We ranked the best headphone jack dongles. You’ve got plenty to choose from.

All the performance

If there’s anything the Note 10 and Note 10+ are not lacking, it’s power. They’re Samsung’s latest phones and you better believe they’re packing all the performance.

Inside, both phones are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 chip. Compared to the Note 9, the Note 10 has up to 33 percent faster CPU performance and up to 42 percent more powerful graphics performance. 

I can only speak for the pre-production Note 10 and Note 10+ devices I tried, but from what I could tell, they’re super fast.

Like the Galaxy S10s, the Note 10’s run Android 9 Pie with Samsung’s One UI skin. It’s no stock Android, but it’s at least super smooth and responsive.

Other ways the Note 10 is speedy: wireless connectivity. The Note 10 and Note 10+ boast ultra-fast LTE with up to 2Gbps download speeds and also support the new WiFi 6 protocol.

If you want 5G, it’ll only be sold as a special Note 10+ version. There’s no 5G for the smaller Note 10.

As I mentioned earlier, the Note 10 comes in one configuration model with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the Note 10+ has either 256GB or 512GB of storage with 12GB of RAM. MicroSD storage expansion is also limited to the Note 10+.

Battery life should also be solid on the Note 10’s. The Note 10 has a 3,500 mAh battery and the Note 10+ has a 4,300 mAh battery. With the included 25-watt fast charger, Samsung says the phones can be juiced up from 0-100 percent in a little over an hour and with a 45-watt charger (sold separately), the phones can get enough power to “last through the day” with a 30-minute charge.

Performance also comes in the form of the cameras. Both Note 10’s come with a bunch of them on the back.

On the rear, the Note 10 and 10+ share mostly the same triple-camera system. There’s a 12-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel telephoto camera, and a 16-megapixel ultra-wide camera. These should produce photos similar to shots from the Galaxy S10 and 10+.

The only difference is that the Note 10+ has a fourth “Time of Flight” camera. There aren’t many uses for this small 3D depth camera yet, but Samsung says it’ll be useful for AR. For example, with a special app, you can 3D scan an object into the digital world and “place” it the real world using AR.

Samsung’s also added a few new video recording features. There’s a “Zoom-In Mic” that lets record audio from a specific source within the video. For example, say there are three people in a video — with Zoom-In Mic you can amplify one person’s voice and reduce the others by zooming in on them. The Note 10’s cameras also feature improved video stabilization for smoother, less shaky footage.

By far the most fun new camera feature is “Live Focus Video.” You can think of it like portrait mode, but for video. With Live Focus Video, you can blur out the background and apply different background filters in real time to make videos more interesting.

There are several Live Focus Video filters to mess with. Color point is my favorite. It looks for faces and then keeps a person in color while the background is turned to black and white. The glitch filter is also fun and gives your footage an old-school cassette tape-like vibe.

Oh, and I don’t wanna forget the new built-in video editor inside of the Gallery app. It’s not quite as advanced as iMovie on the iPhone, but still very easy to use. Within seconds I was was editing clips together with the precision of the S Pen. Advanced users will also appreciate that Samsung’s worked with Adobe to optimize Premiere Rush to take advantage of the Note 10’s performance.

Snoozy new S Pen features

Of course, if you’re considering the Note 10 or Note 10+, you’ll likely be wondering about new S Pen features. 

Unfortunately, the S Pen is light on splashy new S Pen features. The two main ones are handwriting-to-text conversion and AR Doodle.

Converting handwriting to text has existed on Galaxy Notes before, but Samsung says it’s now using machine learning to detect and convert 62 different languages. In my brief tests on a pre-production Note 10, the conversions were hit or miss. The software nailed some of my chicken scratch, but failed to correctly convert others.

On the bright side, the Note 10 lets you export converted handwriting-to-text notes directly as Microsoft Word, PDF, text, and image files. You know, if you’ve been waiting on this feature.

AR Doodle on the other hand is mostly a fun feature. Using the S Pen, you can draw on your face and have the doodles move with you. It’s so silly, yet strangely entertaining. 

One Note no longer fits all

With two models, the question is: which Note 10 do you get? Should you buy the small one or get the big one?

Samsung says it made two sizes to offer choice. If you already own a previous Note and still want the biggest screen and largest battery, you’ll probably gravitate towards the Note 10+. 

But if you’re new to the Galaxy Note, want the S Pen, but still want a smaller phone, the Note 10 will likely be the way to go.

Either way, both Note 10s are top-notch phones. Samsung is playing it safe, but is there a need for more? Longer battery life and more performance for processing real-time video effects may not be as exciting as foldable screens or pop-up selfie cameras, but they’re far more useful for getting things work done. 

And in the real world, practicality is more important than gimmicks.