Samsung's Galaxy Note 10 is the most 'Android' phone you can buy
No doubt about it, the Galaxy Note 10 is a pretty device, and it's lighter than it looks.
The Note 10's selfie camera hole right in the top center of the screen is very easy to ignore, and it's better than any notch. Check out those incredibly narrow bezels, too.
The Note 10 Plus has the largest screen on a smartphone at 6.8 inches, and yet the phone itself doesn't feel that much bigger than other large-screened phones. It still won't appeal to people who prefer smaller phones, at which point there's the regular Note 10 with a 6.3-inch screen to consider.
The screen is the best in the business. It's set to 1080p resolution by default, which helps with battery life. And yet, I never felt like I needed to switch it to the sharper 1440p resolution option.
The battery life has been great on the Note 10 Plus. It still needs a daily charge on most days, but I only need to charge it once on weekends when I use smartphones less. And the new, super-fast charger means it's not tethered to a cable as much.
The 4,300mAh battery in the Note 10 Plus gives you comfortable battery life, and it's charged quickly with Samsung's new 25W charger included in the box. In one test, it lasted almost 16 hours with three-and-a-half hours of screen-on time with 31% remaining.
The Note 10 Plus runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 chip with 12 GB of RAM, so it handles everything effortlessly.
I haven't missed the headphone jack, as I only use wireless headphones these days, but that can be an issue for some. Still, the included USB-C earphones are actually pretty good.
Sorry, wired headphone fans: Samsung didn't include a 3.5mm headphone jack dongle with the Galaxy Note 10.
The ability to take handwritten notes on the fly with the S Pen is easier than tapping away on a screen. Plus, you can convert your handwritten notes into digital text, and you can search for notes based on keywords, which is tremendously useful.
I've found that the S Pen is perfect for anyone who wants to do more intricate things on their phones with more accuracy than their fingers can provide.
There's a new S Pen Air Actions feature that's more gimmick than anything else. It's designed to let you control the camera by waving around the S Pen in the air, but it's finicky and not that useful.
The in-display fingerprint scanner is still too slow and temperamental compared to regular rear-mounted fingerprint sensors. It's difficult to tell where to put your finger, even with the ambient display enabled, and it often has trouble recognizing my fingerprint. Unlocking the Note 10 should be easier and more comfortable.
The Note 10's ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor is slow compared to "old fashioned" rear fingerprint sensors. Ultrasonic sensors are designed to read fingerprints regardless of moisture or dirt on your fingers, which is meaningful, but I feel like this is an unnecessary innovation, at least until it's as fast as regular fingerprint sensors.
The Note 10's camera is heavy on the HDR enhancements, making many photos look bad or photoshopped, especially those taken outdoors.
Here's an example of one outdoor photo taken with the Galaxy Note 10:
This photo looks fine at first glance, but it's not what I saw in real life at all. The greens are completely off, and it tries to even out the lighting too much.
In short, Samsung is trying too hard to "enhance" your photos.
However, the Galaxy Note 10 does get points for its incredible indoor photos.
In fact, the Note 10 seems to take better photos indoors than outdoors.
And I love ultra-wide cameras.
As much as the Galaxy Note 10 lets you do more, I found that the camera lets it down, especially if your smartphone is your primary daily camera. However, the way photos look is subjective, and you'll have to decide for yourself if the Note 10's camera is good enough for you.
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