Description

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Plus are two smartphones that were highly anticipated in 2019. Having been announced in August 2019 (and released in the same month) the two smartphones broke both the internet and Galaxy selling shops with intense promotion and publicity. And this was to be expected.

DealBora Kenya brings you this descriptive review of Samsung Galaxy Note 10 with the goal of helping you make an informed decision before placing an order. That is, not leading you into buying a device you know nothing about. How modest. Below is a list of the main features of Samsung Galaxy Note 10. On this very website you will find the reviews of many more smartphones, including Note 10’s bigger brother the Galaxy Note 10 Plus. Make sure you look around.

Key features of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10

• GSM, CDMA, HSPA, EVDO and LTE network technology
• Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
• Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified)
  IP68 dust/water proof (up to 1.5m for 30 mins)
  Stylus (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro)
• Front/back glass (Gorilla Glass), aluminum frame
• Dynamic AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
• 6.3 inches, 98.6 cm2 (~90.9% screen-to-body ratio)
• 1080 x 2280 pixels, 19:9 ratio (~401 ppi density)
• Corning Gorilla Glass HDR10+
  Always-on display
• Android 9.0 (Pie); One UI
• Chipset (2): Exynos 9825 (7 nm) – EMEA/LATAM
  Qualcomm SDM855 Snapdragon 855 (7 nm) – USA/China
• CPU (2): Octa-core (2×2.73 GHz Mongoose M4 & 2×2.4 GHz Cortex-A75 & 4×1.9 GHz Cortex-A55) – EMEA/LATAM
  Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4×1.78 GHz Kryo 485) – USA/China
• GPU (2): Mali-G76 MP12 – EMEA/LATAM
  Adreno 640 – USA/China
• 256GB 8GB RAM
• Primary camera: 12MP + 12MP + 16MP
• 2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, dual-video rec., stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS & OIS
• Selfie camera: 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF
• 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps
• Loudspeaker with stereo speakers
• 32-bit/384kHz audio
  Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
  Dolby Atmos/AKG sound
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
• Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
• NFC
• FM radio (USA & Canada only)
• USB 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector
• Fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
• Sensors: Samsung DeX (desktop experience support)
  ANT+
  Bixby natural language commands and dictation
• Battery: Non-removable Li-Ion 3500 mAh battery
• Fast battery charging 25W
• USB Power Delivery 3.0
• Fast Qi/PMA wireless charging 12W
• Powers bank/Reverse wireless charging 9W
• Colors: Aura Glow, Aura White, Aura Black, Aura Pink (exclusive for Note 10) and Aura Red

Design and build 

Writing about the design of Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is quite a task. I might be fully describing its glass build on the front and back, with an aluminum frame. I must of course tell you about the selfie camera that attentively stands out on the display. It is a hole punch camera placed symmetrically just below the barely thick top bezel. You might be curios to find out how the speaker grill on this bezel holds up, given that it has been positioned here. I think it is in my place to inform you that sound quality is booming on Galaxy Note 10. And I beg to rest my comments there.

What is a Note without an S-Pen? I wish I had a smart reply for this one. Anyway, the S-Pen has been very much improved and included here. This time it comes with new features like air wave motions that allows you to control your smartphone as you have customized. Of course, customization options are limited, though not few.

Let us also talk about that reflective glass back panel. Not only is it reflective but it dazzles different colors (with color options named above) at different angles. It is a feature that sparked debate even before Galaxy Note 10 was released but personally, I think it just adds to the beauty here.

Rejoice and be happy since there is wireless charging on board with Galaxy Note 10. Thanks to the fingerprint magnet back panel. Also, its reverse charging feature can be utilized when need be to charge another smartphone which supports wireless charging, like a Galaxy S10 for example among many others available on DealBora Kenya. Also rejoice because it is a water and dust resistant smartphone this.

Display 

The fingerprint scanner of Galaxy Note 10 is under the display.

There is Corning Gorilla Glass protection on the 6.3 inches HDR10+ display panel of Samsung Galaxy Note 10. It is a dynamic AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with a 98.6 cm2 (~90.9% screen-to-body ratio) surface area. What a large estate this is. Keep in mind its sharp 1080 x 2280 pixels resolution which has ~401 ppi density ensuring it. This ppi is comparatively low. But that is something that will certainly not occur to you unless you contrast it side to side with Note 10 Plus. Always-on display feature is definitely on board here.

Camera 

I like to talk about camera performance of a great camera phone. And here I also talk about video recording capability among other worthwhile features. Speaking of video, you get 2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, dual-video rec., stereo sound. This with the main camera on the back. The front facing camera also shoots high quality videos at 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps with its 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF hole punch selfie camera.

The lenses on the back constitute a 12MP + 12MP + 16MP; wide, telephoto and ultrawide camera lenses respectively. Optical Image Stabilization is ensured by the wide lens, whereas the telephoto lens handles effectively 2X zoom and Dual OIS. Well, the ultrawide camera is just what it is. I think on a scale of 1-10, camera performance on Galaxy Note 10 is a splendid eighty percent.

Performance 

I envy the users of Galaxy Note 10 who will be enjoying the latest software update Android 9.0 (Pie) with Samsung’s fresh One UI. Other performance features are made up of these:

• Chipset (2): Exynos 9825 (7 nm) – EMEA/LATAM or Qualcomm SDM855 Snapdragon 855 (7 nm) – USA/China
• CPU (2): Octa-core (2×2.73 GHz Mongoose M4 & 2×2.4 GHz Cortex-A75 & 4×1.9 GHz Cortex-A55) – EMEA/LATAM or Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4×1.78 GHz Kryo 485) – USA/China
• GPU (2): Mali-G76 MP12 – EMEA/LATAM or Adreno 640 – USA/China

Whereas there is no support for internal storage expansion via external channels, you get a 256GB smartphone that runs on 8GB of RAM.

Battery 

I think I briefly mentioned some battery features already. Fast battery charging 25W, USB Power Delivery 3.0, Fast Qi/PMA wireless charging 12W and Powers bank/Reverse wireless charging 9W. Its non-removable Li-Ion 3500 mAh battery should see you through a whole day of mixed usage.

Pros and cons

• Cons: No SD card support
• Pros: Everything else

Consider Samsung Galaxy Note 10 if you are looking to buy a great Note smartphone. Also check out its bigger brother the Note 10 Plus on this very website.