Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ hands-on: A new model changes the game, for better or worse

When I picked up the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, it felt like I used to be holding the strongest and exquisite cellphone on the planet. A 6.3-inch show, near-bezel-less design, triple-camera array, and supercharged S Pen are all crammed into an impossibly compact design. And then I picked up the Note 10+.

For the first time in the Note’s storied historical past, there are two sizes to select from, and the distinction between the two fashions couldn’t be clearer. While Samsung has arrange the Galaxy S10 and S10+ smartphones to be largely bigger and smaller variations of the identical machine, the Note 10+ is a transparent improve from the Note 10—a lot in order that many followers possible received’t even think about the smaller, lower-end model.

First, let’s overview the specs, which actually don’t inform the entire story…

Galaxy Note 10

• Dimensions: 71.Eight x 151 x 7.9mm
• Display: 6.3-inch AMOLED FHD 2280 x 1080
• Processor: Snapdragon 855
• RAM: 8GB
• Storage: 256GB
• Camera: 12MP telephoto Camera, f/2.1, OIS + 12MP wide-angle, twin f/1.5-f/2.4, OIS + 16MP Ultra broad (123 levels), f/2.1
• Battery: 3,500mAh

Galaxy Note 10+

• Dimensions: 77.2 x 162.Three x 7.9mm
• Display: 6.8-inch AMOLED QHD 3040 x 1440
• Processor: Snapdragon 855
• RAM: 12GB
• Storage: 256GB/512GB
• Camera: 12MP telephoto Camera, f/2.1, OIS + 12MP wide-angle, twin f/1.5-f/2.4, OIS + 16MP Ultra broad (123 levels), f/2.1 + DepthVision
• Battery: 4,300mAh

While the 6.8-inch show would possibly make the Note 10+ look like a monster on paper, it’s not practically so huge in particular person. In truth, its body is roughly the identical measurement as the 6.4-inch Note 9’s (76.Four x 161.9 x 8.8mm). That’s as a result of Samsung has critically trimmed down the bezels on the Note 10 sequence, a lot in order that the non-plus model feels downright puny. It’s not simply smaller than the Note 9 and the Note Eight both. Millimeter for millimeter, it’s the most compact Note since the Note 2, and its show is definitely a tenth of an inch smaller than the Note 9’s.

Michael Simon/IDG

That makes the Note 10 really feel much less like the newest in the lineage of premium phablets and extra like a Galaxy S cellphone that occurs to have a stylus. That’s not a criticism, nor does the Note 10 feels low-cost or even inferior. It simply doesn’t really feel like a Note. In truth, Samsung made its motivations clear throughout my briefing: This is the Note for individuals who’ve at all times wished a Note, however have been postpone by its measurement. It’s really spectacular that Samsung was in a position to pack such a large-screened and high-performing machine into such a small bundle, however I don’t suppose long-time Note followers will admire the dip in display screen measurement, even whether it is only a tenth of an inch.

Other tweaks—like the comparatively low-res HD display screen and the lack of an MicroSD card slot, each nonstarters for Note die-hards—solely drive residence that notion additional. For the first time, Samsung has made a Note that Note followers in all probability will not need. 

The Note 10+, on the different…