Last month I made my annual trade of Android phones – this time for a Galaxy Note 10+ from a Note 9. Have owned and used almost 50 Android phones since 2010, this was just a natural progression. I no longer purchase new phones every few months, but I still enjoy upgrading to a new phone every so often. Currently I have an iPhone XS Max and the Note 10+, and I enjoy both. Here are a few thoughts of my own on the new Note.

I have had every Galaxy Note phone, including the infamous Note 7 and the unique Note Edge. I believe that this new model is the epitome of what the Galaxy Note line is intended to be. While it does not have the absolute latest Sanpdragon processor, it has the current high in SoC and the performance of the phone is extremely impressive. This most likely has to do with the 12gb of ram the larger Note device carries. I have also been impressed with the battery life of this phone – like all Note devices it has a large battery, but this one is beyond “large” with a 4300 mAh cell. I have yet to see this device drop below about 30% in my usage – I am not wedded to this device as I often carry two phones, but I did attempt to drain the battery and simply was not able to under normal use patterns.

The most impressive part of this phone is, as usual, the screen. The Note 10+ has a 6.8 inch screen that runs almost edge to edge on all four sides, with only a small gutter on the top for the speaker grill. The camera is in a circular cutout just below the top/center of the screen, and I have found it to be normally unobtrusive. Like the cutout in the latest iPhones and some other devices, the center of the top line of the screen is often devoid of any real information, so it seems a natural location for whatever kind of cutout might be necessary for the camera. The screen is ridiculously bright and vibrant, and the sensitivity of the touch panel is excellent.

Now, to the S-Pen – a caveat for me to be honest. I choose to use the Note line over the regular Galaxy S line of Samsung phones because I simply prefer the slightly “boxier” or squarer shape of the device and the screen in the Note line. After I had surgery a few years ago I developed a tremor in my left (writing) hand, so my ability to use the S-Pen or an Apple Pencil is somewhat to very limited. It is simply difficult for me to hold the stylus steady on the slick surface of the glass screen. I appreciate the purpose and utility of the stylus for both this phone and the iPad, but for me they provide limited utility. To that end, I cannot really comment on the S-Pen other than from the perspective of appreciating the utility of the item.

The camera seems to be a bit of an improvement over the Note 9, especially in the low light environments I have used it. I know that the sensors are basically unchanged between the 9 and 10+, so I am guessing this is based primarily on software improvements. In any event, for everyday usage the camera holds its own against most flagship devices, with the possible exception of the Pixel phones in low light – and these phones do their “magic” computationally as well, so improvements like that could continue to be made to a phone like the Note 10.

I also greatly enjoy the new version of the S-View case I got with my phone. I have used the S-View case with other Samsung phones, and while I liked the general functionality of the case, they proved to be absolute nightmares to keep clean – that is not the case with this version for the most part. The case is covered mostly with a tacky, opaque material that shows no fingerprints or oil deposits to speak of, unlike its predecessors. The S-View function has been moved to a ¾ inch strip of translucent plastic along the outer/right edge of the case. Through this strip you can see the clock, notification icons, and even answer phone calls by swiping the call notification icon like in the older, full screen S-View case. This change makes keeping the case clean much easier (the plastic strip is still prone to fingerprints and the like but is easily managed), while still providing the functionality the case is known for – I highly recommend the case if you like a case with a cover over the screen.

I have included a couple of photos of the Note 10+ and one taken by the device as well. You can judge what you can from those. In the end, I really like and can highly recommend the Note 10+ if you are looking for a large, flagship Android device and are not scared away by the price. Enjoy.

Indoor picture of my silly old wiener dog.

Spatial/Tech

Galaxy Note 10+