Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus Review, Price and Specifications

If there is a family of smartphones with their personality, this is undoubtedly the Samsung Galaxy Note series, which has its incomparable S Pen pointer that allows you to write and draw on the screen. One more year, the company has presented a new Note family model in summer but in the year 2019, it comes in two variants, Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus, the latter being the most powerful of the two and the one we have analyzed.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus has a large 6.8″ OLED screen, Exynos 9825 processor, 12GB of RAM, 256/512 GB of expandable storage via micro-SD, 12MP + 12MP rear camera (telephoto) + 16MP (wide-angle), 10MP front camera and 4,300 mAh battery with fast charging at 45W.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus is on sale for (256 GB From $639.99 instead of $1099.99, 512 GB From $739.99 instead of $1199.99) of Samsung web storage. However, you can find it at a more competitive price on Amazon.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus Review

Samsung has surprised us 2019 by launching two variants of its new flagship – Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus – the latter being the one that offers better technical features and larger screen size.

Starting with the design, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus is one of the most attractive (and large) smartphones you can find. The front of the phone is dominated by an immense 6.8″ screen surrounded by minimal frames that are the envy of any smartphone since they reach a very high screen-to-body ratio.

While Samsung chose to place the front camera in a corner on the Galaxy S10, this time it has placed the camera hole in the center, in a place that hardly bothers in the day to day although it can end up covering some element of the Full-screen game interface.

The back is covered by Gorilla Glass 6 glass curved on the sides in Aura Glow (multicolored silver), Aura White (white) and Aura Black (black) colors.

The most original finish is Aura Glow, with a silver mirror finish that produces very striking multicolored reflections but that gets dirty just by looking at it.

Samsung has moved the power and volume buttons to the left side and has dispensed with the Bixby button. Personally, I would have preferred the power button to remain on the right side since that is where I will always look for it.

The presence of an ultrasonic fingerprint reader under the screen is an interesting feature. The recognition is quite fast if you manage to place your finger in the reading area, which luckily appears marked when the screen is in Always On Display mode. Samsung has also incorporated a facial recognition system that, despite not being 3D.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus screen is magnificent. It has a Dynamic AMOLED panel with HDR10 + support and two color modes called Natural and Intense that cover up to the DCI P3 color range.

In Natural color mode, color fidelity is excellent, while Intense mode produces supersaturated colors that, for many users, are more striking even if they are less realistic.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus screen offers pure blacks and wide viewing angles, although the screen tends to look darker on curved sides, especially with white wallpapers.

The brightness of the screen is the highest for a smartphone since it reaches 729 nits with 100% of the white screen and more than 1,115 nits by reducing the illuminated area to 10%.

Of course, Samsung incorporates the Always On Display functionality, which shows the time and icons of notifications to read, and has implemented the double-tap to turn on the screen. The only thing I miss is a panel with a high refresh rate, for example, the 90 Hz panel of the OnePlus 7 Pro, for a feeling of even greater fluidity.

The performance of the Galaxy Note 10 Plus is spectacular, as expected since it incorporates the recently announced Exynos 9825, which is a small improvement over the Exynos 9820 of the Galaxy S10. I cannot deny that I would have liked to see Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, but there is no reason to complain.

The processor is accompanied by a generous 12 GB of RAM, more than anyone needs on a mobile device.

Both in benchmarks and in my user experience, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus offers bestial performance.

Not only do apps move smoothly but also demanding 3D games such as Asphalt 9, Dead Effect 2 and PUBG move at full speed with stable rates of 30 or 60 FPS, depending on the limitations of each game, in maximum quality mode.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 + arrives with 256 or 512 GB of eUFS 3.0 storage, the fastest we can find today. The storage is expandable by micro-SD cards, in case you need even more capacity.

In terms of connectivity, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 + supports WiFi 6 (802.11ax), the new protocol for WiFi networks, and LTE / 4G cellular connectivity or even 5G if you opt for that variant.

Samsung has equipped the Galaxy Note10 + with a 4,300 mAh battery, an amount that is somewhat below what we find in other smartphones with a similar screen size due to the space occupied for the S Pen slot.

In tests, the Galaxy Note10 + has obtained good results of autonomy but not spectacular. In practice, you should have no problem reaching the end of the day but you will not be as spare as with other smartphones.

Samsung has listened to its users and, finally, has incorporated a fast-charging system at the height of its competitors. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus supports fast 45W cable charging and, with the included “only” 25W charger, it takes about 70 minutes to fully charge.

Samsung has also incorporated fast wireless charging at 20W and allows you to power other devices wirelessly (for example, smartphones or other accessories), although quite slowly.

The Galaxy Note10 + has stereo speakers, one of them invisible since the screen itself acts as a driver and the other located next to the USB-C connector.

These speakers emit a sound with great power and good quality. The smartphone offers Dolby Atmos surround sound, which can be enjoyed both with headphones and with the speakers of the phone itself.

In the absences section, we must mention the 3.5mm headphone jack, which has been eliminated to the surprise of many.

Samsung has launched the Galaxy Note10 + with Android 9 Pie and, above, the Samsung One UI customization layer that seeks to simplify the use of the smartphone and make the most used buttons and controls more accessible. We assume that it will not take long to receive Android 10 but, for the moment, there is no official date.

Samsung has removed almost all of its own applications that were previously pre-loaded but you can access all of them from the Galaxy Store. Some apps, such as Music, are worth downloading.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 + has a large number of software functionalities above Android such as gesture control, power-saving modes, secure folder, dual messaging, Game Tools, Edge panels, Samsung Pass, Samsung Pay or the virtual assistant Bixby.

Another interesting feature of Samsung is DeX, which allows you to use the phone as if it were a computer by simply connecting it via an HDMI cable to a screen and, optionally, to a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. In addition, it is now possible to connect it to a Windows 7/10 or macOS computer and access DeX in a computer window.

The most characteristic aspect of the Galaxy Note family is its S Pen pointer, which allows you to write and draw on the screen (even when turned off) as if we were doing it on paper. The S Pen offers a standby time of 10 hours and is automatically charged when stored in the compartment.

To the features already present in previous models, Samsung has added gestures in the air with the S Pen – as if it were a magic wand – thanks to the incorporation of a gyroscope and an accelerometer. These gestures are used to switch songs, volume up/down or switch between front/rear cameras, to name a few examples.

Samsung has incorporated four cameras on the back of the Galaxy Note10 + that offer great versatility as they allow capturing in ultra-wide-angle (16MP f/2.2), wide-angle (12MP f/1.5 or f/2.4) and telephoto (12MP f/2.1). The fourth camera is a depth camera for Augmented Reality and photographs with Dynamic Focus (or, as it is known in other smartphones, Portrait mode).

Ultra-wide-angle and telephoto cameras allow you to take shots that would otherwise be impossible, so they are a very interesting addition if you like photography.

Samsung has added a functionality called Scene Optimization that, by AI, detects a scene like food or vegetation and applies certain settings automatically, normally related to color saturation.

We also find a Night mode that increases the brightness of the scene as if we were taking a long exposure photograph, but without the risk of it moving. The photograph takes longer to capture but the result is quite good.

Samsung has also incorporated a mode called Dynamic Focus that allows you to blur the background of a photo (even afterward) to simulate the known bokeh effect, and the result is quite good. This effect is also available when recording video, but there the results are improved.

In general, the performance of the rear cameras of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 + is very good, both in good light and at night, although I would not dare to say that it is the best in all situations. The telephoto camera, for example, is not as bright as others, so low-light portraits taken with this camera suffer.

The front camera of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus has a 10MP sensor and f/2.2 aperture and allows you to take individual selfies or group selfies with a wider viewing angle. The image quality is quite good and it is even possible to take selfies with an unfocused background.

The rear camera is capable of recording video in UHD resolution (3840 × 2160) at 30 / 60fps, Full HD (1920 × 1080) at 30 / 60fps and HD (1280 × 720), while the front camera can record videos in formats UHD, Full HD and HD at 30fps.

In addition, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 + allows you to record HDR10 + video at 30fps with greater contrast and color although this functionality is in beta.

In the videos, the image quality is excellent in all modes, but image stabilization is missed when recording in 4K @ 60fps (which the iPhone 11 does offer) or the possibility of using Super mode Stabilization at 4K @ 30fps and not only at 1080p.

Finally, I cannot fail to name the AR Emoji, the functionality that allows us to create avatars to our image and similarity and, later, to animate them with our facial movements.

In conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 + is a highly recommended smartphone for its design, display, performance, and photography, which also has a unique S Pen pointer in the market.

Now, if you do not plan to use the S Pen, the Galaxy S10 + offers practically the same with greater autonomy, so it is a highly recommended alternative that you can find at a more adjusted price.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus Specifications

The Best and Worst of Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus

The Best:

The Worst:

Price and competitors

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus has a fairly high price, as expected given the characteristics and functionalities of the terminal. It is on sale for (256 GB From $639.99 instead of $1099.99, 512 GB From $739.99 instead of $1199.99) of Samsung web storage. However, you can find it at a more competitive price on Amazon.

If you look at other high-end phones, we have several interesting options in which they can be alternatives to the Galaxy Note10 Plus, among which we highlight the following.

First of all, we have the “little” brother Samsung Galaxy Note 10 (From $539.99 instead of $949.99) that has a 6.3″ AMOLED screen with Full HD + resolution, Exynos 9825 processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage (without microSD), 12MP + 12MP + 16MP rear camera, 10MP front camera, and 3,500 mAh battery.

Without going too far, we also have the Samsung Galaxy S10 + ( $1,399.99 instead of $1,599.99 on Amazon) with 6.4” Super AMOLED display, Exynos 9810 processor, 6/8GB of RAM, 128/512GB of expandable storage via micro-SD, dual rear camera 12MP with 2X zoom, 8MP front camera, 4,000 mAh battery, on-screen fingerprint reader and water resistance. There is also a variant with 5G connectivity.

Another good candidate for Android lovers is the Pixel 3 XL ( $583.00 at Google store on Amazon) is Google’s flagship smartphone and features a 6.3″ OLED display, Snapdragon 845 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64/128GB of storage, 12MP rear camera, 8MP dual front camera + 8MP, rear fingerprint reader and 3,430 mAh battery.

If you like photography, the Huawei P30 Pro ( $681.99 on Amazon) has an OLED screen of 6.47″ Full HD +, Kirin 980 processor, 8GB of RAM, 128/256/512GB of storage, quad rear camera 40MP + 20MP + 8MP + ToF, 32MP front camera and 4,200 mAh battery with direct and reverse wireless charging.

In case you are behind a 5G smartphone, the LG V50 ThinqQ 5G arrives with 6.4 ″ QHD + OLED screen, Snapdragon 855, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage + micro-SD, rear camera 12MP + 16MP (super wide angle) + 12MP (2x zoom), front camera 8MP + 5MP (wide angle), stereo Boombox speaker, 5G connectivity and 4,000 mAh battery.

With a great quality-price reality we have the OnePlus 7 Pro ($499.00 (6GB / 128GB) and $549.00 (8GB / 256GB) Amazon) with a 6.7″ Fluid AMOLED display, Snapdragon 855 processor, 6/8/12 GB of RAM, 128 / 256GB of storage, triple rear camera 48 + 8 + 16MP, 16MP front camera, 4G / LTE connectivity and 4,000 mAh battery with 30W fast charge.

We can not stop talking about the recently launched iPhone 11 Pro ( $ 999.99 on Amazon ), which has a 5.8 ″ OLED screen that occupies almost the entire front (except the cutout from the top), A13 Bionic processor, 4G / LTE connectivity and a 12MP triple camera.

All images credits: Galaxy Note10 (Official Samsung website)