Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 complete Review

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Release Date and Price:

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 complete Review

Samsung announced Galaxy Note 10 at their Unpacked event in New York on August 7, and you can now order worldwide. The release date of Galaxy Note 10 is August 23rd in the US, UK and Australia.

If you are placing an advance order in the USA, you will get a $100 credit for Samsung's online store - we don't currently know if Samsung will be running a similar plan for customers in the UK.

In Australia, however, pre-booking Samsung's phone or any of the major retail stores will get an AKG N700 Wireless Headphones voucher valued at AU$499.

If you are buying the phone directly, the price of the Galaxy Note 10 is set at $945 / £869 / AU$1,499.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Note 10: Design and Visualization:

The biggest design change compared to other Samsung phones is the introduction of a full screen with a perforation hole for the front camera at the top center of the screen: both the Galaxy S10 and the S10 Plus have the automatic camera at the top right.

The Note 10 has a 6.3 inch AMOLED screen with Full HD resolution, which comes in 2280 x 1080 pixels, with 401 pixels per inch. It includes HDR 10+ technology, and considering that Samsung has not opted for a QHD screen, we are impressed with the look of the screen. 

We were using the phone in natural sunlight and couldn't test the quality of the screen in an indoor environment, but outdoors it looked impressive.

It's not clear if this will continue to be the case when you compare the phone to other Samsung phones, but the video we saw on the screen seemed vibrant and clear.

Some may not be fanatics of the central location of the camera sensor, but it could be said that it is much less intrusive than the notches you get on other popular phones, such as the iPhone XS.

Not only is Note 10 smaller than Note 9, but it is also lighter and thinner. It measures 72 x 151 x 7.9mm, and at 168g it is one of the lightest Samsung phones available.

This is a Note that is designed for those with smaller hands, who want high-end features like the S Pen stylus, but don't want a gigantic phone that's hard to hold.

That said, this is still a big phone, and those with smaller hands will probably have difficulty using it with one hand - don't expect it to be as easy to use as phones like the iPhone SE or the compact line of Xperia phones from Sony.

Like the S10 and S10 Plus, Samsung has embedded the fingerprint scanner underneath the screen here, and it is slightly higher than the bottom screen scanners on some other Android phones. This feels like a more comfortable place to put it, as the thumb naturally falls over this area when using the phone.

At the bottom edge of the phone you will find the USB-C connector in the center, with a speaker and the S-Pen slot to the right of it. The top edge of the phone is uninterrupted apart from the SIM card tray.

At the left end of the phone is the volume control and power button below. Samsung has chosen to remove the Bixby button that has appeared on many of Samsung's latest flagships - to activate that function, now you just have to press and hold the power button for a few seconds, which is a much more efficient solution.

The frame of the phone is made of premium metal, while the back is made of glass. Its colour options are Aura Glow (a combination of blue and white), Aura Black and Aura Pink, but it is currently unclear which markets will get which colours.

We especially liked the Aura Glow variant, whose color changes depending on the light the phone is used with.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Note 10: Camera: 

If you have used the Galaxy S10 or S10 Plus, you will find that the Galaxy Note 10 camera is not an exciting update to those phones. It is using the same combination of an ultra-wide 16MP lens, a regular 12MP lens and a 12MP telephoto lens.

These must be combined to offer a fantastic photographic experience, if they work as well as the Galaxy S10 range. We had limited time to test the cameras during our practical review, but from what we saw they seemed to capture images that looked as good as other recent Samsung phones.

Most of Note 10's enhancements in the camera department are in its video recording capabilities. Image stabilization technology has been improved, and there is a new feature called Live Focus Video, which allows you to capture 'bokeh' background blur effects of the kind seen in portrait mode frames.

It can also make a subject come out of its background in other ways, for example, by keeping the subject in color while making the background black and white - again this is an effect we've seen for frames, but it's a new idea for video.

In Note 10, all this is achieved through the software, but Note 10 Plus uses a separate ProfthVision lens to work its magic, so if this sounds like a must-have function for you, it's likely to work better on a larger phone.

Another feature is called AR Doodle, which allows you to write over moving images. This works similar to the Instagram or Snap chat filters with its augmented reality technology, but it is designed so you can create your own images using the S-Pen.

The front camera is in the center of the screen and is a 10 MP sensor. We haven't had much time to test this yet, but we'll make sure to investigate how well it works in our next complete overhaul.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Note 10: Specifications:

Because it's a Galaxy Note phone, the S Pen is here for you to take notes, draw on the screen and more. If you're looking for a stylus phone, this is one of the few devices currently available, and the others are mostly other Note devices.

Improvements to the S Pen for Note 10 include gesture controls that allow you to control certain applications, such as the camera, video or gallery, by moving the S Pen in different directions.

It is present limited to galaxy applications or apps, but the company is allowing third party application creators to access this part, so third party applications may start using it in the coming weeks.

Users in the United States will have access to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip set inside their phone. If you're in the United Kingdom (and other countries around the world), you'll get the newly announced Exynos 9825 chip set, which is built with 7nm EUV technology.

This essentially allows Samsung to make a chip set that is smaller but more efficient, and the company has chosen to include the new chip in Note 10.

The phone has 8 GB of RAM and is only available with 256 GB of storage; it is not compatible with micro-SD, and Samsung says this is to help keep the size of the device low. That's a lot of room for the average user, but if you want more you'll have to opt for the Note 10 Plus, which comes with 512 GB of built-in storage as well as support for micro-SD.

Another feature that has been sidelined in the effort to keep the Note 10 thin is the 3.5mm headphone jack. This is the first time Samsung has dropped the jack on their high-end phones, and some will be unhappy with the decision. You will be able to use the USB-C port on the bottom of the phone for certain headphones (including a pair in the box), but you may need to replace some of the cables you currently use.

Samsung has chosen to put a 3,500mAh battery into Note 10. We still don't know how that battery will work, but we'll make sure to test it during our full review.

Wireless charging is available, and you can also use Samsung's Wireless PowerShare feature to charge compatible devices such as headphones, smart clocks or other phones from your Note 10.

Looking for a phone with 5G support? The Galaxy Note 10 is not - you will have to opt for a more expensive 5G version of the Galaxy Note 10 Plus in order to get that support on board.

Review By Expert: Conclusions:

Samsung's first attempt at a smaller Note device means the loss of some of the high-end features that some of those who opt for the company's premium range are looking for, but this is a fantastically designed device that is one of Samsung's best phones so far.

If you're looking for a Galaxy Note phone that's easier to hold, it might be this one. If you're looking for the most powerful device Samsung has to offer, you should try the Galaxy Note 10 Plus instead.

That said, the Galaxy Note 10 already seems to be one of the best phones Samsung has ever created and is immediately one of the best options on the market if you're desperate for a stylus that works with your phone.