There was a time when the Note brand of phone meant something special. It was the cutting edge of what Samsung had to offer, it often had the best specs and it had the stylus.
As the brand evolved, and the Android ecosystem evolved with it, the differences between the S line and the Note line blurred. As the Samsung Galaxy S got bigger, more powerful and acted as the flagship to which most people turned on Android, the Note was left with less to differentiate it from the competition. Now, with the Note 10 Plus, Samsung has taken the advances we saw in the Samsung S10, refined them and produced one of the most advanced and feature-rich phones you can buy today, but as with anything, there are caveats.
There are plenty of big smartphones on the market, even Apple has jumped on the big phone bandwagon. But few do justice to its size with the style of the Note 10. This is a stunning device that feels as premium as the price suggests. The curved glass front seems to melt into the pearlescent metal back, making it a stunning device to look at and hold. The S-Pen slides easily into its dedicated slot at the bottom right of the device, which also charges the pen when not in use.
One thing you will notice missing this time is the 3.5mm headphone jack. And yes, it took a while, but Samsung finally finally decided to remove this feature this time around. They have chosen to a ‘nice’ set of AKG-branded USB-C headphones in the box, but you will have to to pick up the 3.5mm dongle separately if you want to go that route.
Looking to the back of the phone, you’ll find the triple camera array, along with a ToF (time of flight) sensor. The Note 10 Plus has a 12-megapixel main shooter with an f/1.5 aperture, a 16-megapixel ultra-wide f/2.2 and a 12-megapixel f/2.1 telephoto. The ToF sensor measures depth of field, which is used to great effect in the Note 10’s new AR Stickers and AR Drawing modes.
As you would expect from a phone in this price range, both the main and telephoto lenses support optical image stabilisation (OIS). Samsung has also put more emphasis on video this time around, with new ‘pro-grade’ video recording, ‘super-steady’ stabilisation and an improved video editor. And frankly, from all our tests, Samsung has made great strides in this area, with the Note 10 Plus being a fantastic video recorder in a pinch, and while it still doesn’t match the capabilities of the iPhone 11 Pro, it comes very close, and with the added features the S-Pen enables, especially in video editing, it has become a very viable option.
Under the hood, it’s easy to see why the Note range is the pinnacle of Samsung’s Android offering. Powered by the latest Snapdragon 855 (Exynos 9825 outside North America), the Samsung Note 10 Plus comes with 12GB of RAM, a choice of 256GB or 512GB storage, expandable via micro-SD. It also has a massive 4,300 mAh battery and a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 3040×1440. Samsung has thrown everything at this phone and it shows.
The Note 10 Plus screen is bright, vibrant and clear. It also manages to do all this with as little glare as possible. The curved glass screen makes it feel as if the display is spilling over the sides of the phone, which is a stunning concept and a bit of a pain if you are not used to typing on a screen like this.
Now, the Note 10 Plus doesn’t have the fast refresh rates we see on devices like the Razer Phone or the new OnePlus 7 Pro, but honestly, I never missed it, and unless you’re the most discerning of screen aficionados, you probably won’t either.
Even without the 90Hz feature, the Note 10 Plus feels undeniably swanky and premium. From the way it feels in the hand to the glamorous look of the Aura Glow back, Samsung has gone to great lengths to make this feel like a premium device, and it shows. That said, the back should win an award for how much of a fingerprint magnet it proved to be. It will be next to impossible to keep this device free of marks unless you put it in a case, and that will spoil the look of the device in the process.
Looking back at the camera, not much has changed since the release of the Samsung S10 series. Apart from the ToS sensor on the back, you find the same basic features as on the other, smaller flagship. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing, the Samsung S10 was one of the best Android cameras of 2019 and remains so, but it still doesn’t quite take on the Pixel 3 or Pixel 4 for that matter.
With the Note 10 Plus, the photos are closer to what we’ve come to expect from Google’s Pixel range of devices. There are a few areas where the Pixel has a leg up on the Samsung, but overall you can expect photos close to what you can find on an iPhone or Pixel. I do find that the Samsung sometimes over-saturates colours, making things pop a little more than I would personally like, but this is a matter of preference. And as we say in all phone reviews, while these photos are fantastic, a good DSLR or point-and-shoot will still do better than what you can achieve here.
It is also a pleasant surprise to see that Samsung has worked to improve the overall camera experience. Taking photos with a Samsung phone has never been easier or more enjoyable. They have made great strides in creating an application that works, is packed with features and is generally reliable. I never worried about what I was doing and the results were consistent throughout the test.
The S-Pen is the other area where Samsung has made to improve and innovate. You can now do more than ever with the The S-Pen can do more than ever before, thanks to the new sensors built into the small device. From camera to using it to navigate music and apps. The stylus feels much more like part of the reason for taking a note.
You can still use all the basic pen functions we have seen in seen in previous iterations, from making notes on the screen to taking and commenting on screenshots. and commenting on screenshots, the Samsung Note 10 Plus feels like the ideal device for people who want to do more than use their finger to control their mobile with their finger.
Of course, for all the budding artists out there, the S-Pen is still great for art-based applications, from photo editing to painting, and with the tilt and pressure sensitivities, the Samsung Note 10 Plus is the perfect size for art on the go. It won’t replace a good drawing tablet, and the size of the pen makes it difficult for long drawing sessions, but it has just enough in it to make for an easy to use and enjoyable experience.
Speaking of ease of use, Samsung has made great strides in the interface department. Now, to be honest, I will always like the feel of a bare-bones Android experience. I like my operating system to get out of the way and allow me to do what I need to do with as little interference as possible. Having said that, Samsung’s new One UI feels much more efficient in managing all the potential features on offer with the Note 10 Plus.
It feels a little annoying that anyone jumping on the Note 10 Plus will have to wait a little longer for the Android 10 update, but Samsung has snuck many of the features we see in Android 10 into what you have on offer with the Note 10. Not all of them work as smoothly or efficiently as what Google has on offer, but it does just enough to make the wait a little less tedious.
The Samsung Note 10 Plus feels like the ‘most’ Android phone on the market right now. It is like the Ferrari, it does everything a normal car can do, only better. Most people don’t need the flash or the power that the Note 10 offers, and with the premium price tag, it’s a hard sell for some. But for anyone who wants the best phone money can buy and wants Android, the Note 10 Plus is it. It has the most features, the biggest screen and the most power of anything currently on the market. Samsung has delivered a stunning device, and if money is no object, give the Samsung Note 10 Plus a try, you won’t be disappointed.
