The much-anticipated Galaxy Unpacked event was held in New York with the South Korean giant launching four flagship smartphones in the Note series: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Plus along with the 5G versions of both. It also launched the S Pen stylus with some interesting features. The large 6.8-inch display size of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus is also another talking point.
The phones are open for pre-ordering and shipments start August. First, the key specs and features.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will sport a 6.3-inch display while the Note 10 Plus has a phablet-like 6.8-inch display. Both displays have the same Dynamic AMOLED panels with support for HDR10+ and dynamic tone mapping. The screen resolutions and pixel densities are however different with the Note 10 offering 2280x1080 pixels 401ppi while the Note 10+ has much higher values at 3040x1440 pixels and 498ppi respectively.
Much against expectations, Samsung has retained the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855SoC as the processor for all these 4 models and not chosen the 855 Plus chipset. However, this is only for the select markets like the US where the company has traditionally gone with the Qualcomm chipsets only. For the other destinations it will be the inhouse Exynos chipsets. The latest Exynos 9825SoC will be the processor in these markets, including in India, as and when it is launched.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will have 8GB RAM and 256GB onboard storage with no provision for a microSD card. The Note 10+ on the other hand will have a huge 12GB RAM and two internal storage variants, 256GB and 512GB with a slot for a microSD card that can lift this to 1TB. The Android Pie OS version 9 with the latest One UI will be the operating system. Samsung has killed off the headphone jack in both Note 10 phones.
The camera section too is quite impressive as you would have expected. The triple camera setup in the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 has the three sensors, 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 16-megapixel (ultra-wide angle), 12-megapixel (telephoto), lined up vertically one below the other. The Note 10+ model has an additional 3D depth (HQVGA) sensor.
For selfies, both models sport a 10-megapixel f/2.2 camera with autofocus and an 80-degree field-of-view.
Of all the features that Samsung has packed in the camera section in these latest flagships, one notable one is a unique ‘Zoom-in Mic’ feature. If you are recording a musical for example and wish to focus on one singer in the troupe, you can tap on that person’s face on the image and when you replay the video it will show his/her face when the voice comes through.
The S-Pen, as mentioned, has been upgraded to perform many more functions, including the one in which handwritten note is converted into text in Word format. The pen is quite useful with the camera function by swiping it to change the modes and to switch from front and rear cameras. A lot of customization of the Pen is feasible from the Settings menu.
The Galaxy Note 10 comes with a 3,500mAh battery, while the bigger Galaxy Note 10+ sports a 4,300mAh battery.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+ will be available in Auro Glow, Aura White, and Aura Black colours. The Note 10 will also come in Red and Pink colour options, while the Galaxy Note 10+ will be available in Blue.
A phone like no other in colors like no other. #GalaxyNote10
— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) August 7, 2019
Learn more: https://t.co/jcLllvJzg7 pic.twitter.com/TEEK4Meahb
In other features, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ phones can be seamlessly connected to a Windows PC using the Type-C cable that comes along with the pack. Once connected, you can practically do whatever you want moving files and photos and so on.
Finally, the pricing: The US price for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and the Note 10+ start at $949 and go right up to $1,399.99 for the Note 10+ 5G model with 512GB storage.
India pricing and availability
'Made in India' Galaxy Note10 will be available in India for Rs 69,999, while Galaxy Note 10+ will come at a starting price of Rs 79,999.
The pre-booking for Galaxy Note 10 opened for consumers in India on Thursday and will remain till August 22. Those who pre-booked will get their devices on August 23 which is the global availability date.
Customers can pre-book their Galaxy Note across select retail outlets and online portals including Samsung.com/in, Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm and Tata CLiQ.