Are you thinking of buying the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+? Samsung’s latest flagship phone contains top of the line specs and some innovative features. The Note 10 is also facing stiff competition from flagship phones by OnePlus and Apple. Thus, it’s becoming harder and harder to know which phone to buy these days.
In this article, I review the Samsung Galaxy Not 10+ pros and cons. I cover the many advantages and benefits of the Note 10+ has over the competition. I also cover a few disadvantages and drawbacks which may convince you to consider a different phone instead.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus Pros and Cons
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus Pros
Here are some of the advantages of buying the Samsung Galaxy Note 10:
- Large, beautiful 6.8-inch screen. Samsung makes the best smartphone screens and the Note 10’s screen is no different. It’s sharp, bright, and can be used in direct sunlight.
- Top of the line specs. The Note 10 Plus is powered by the Snapdragon 855+ with an Adreno 650 CPU.
- 12GB of RAM. This comes in handy when you want to run multiple memory-hogging apps at the same time.
- 256-512GB of storage. This provides plenty of storage for your apps, games, photos, and videos.
- 1TB compatible MicroSD card slot. Instead of paying Samsung for extra storage, you can expand the storage yourself for cheaper.
- Four great cameras. Features include dual pixel autofocus, optical image stabilization, 2x optical zoom, AF tracking, HDR10+ recordings, Live Focus video recording, plus multiple cameras including a telephoto camera and an ultra-wide camera.
- 4K video recording. Can shoot 4K at up to 60 frames per second!
- Super slow motion recording. The Note 10 can shoot at 1080p at 240 fps or 720p and 960 fps.
- Zoom microphone. This gives you the ability to specifically target an audio source and reduce other background sounds from your recordings.
- Stereo Speakers. Includes surround sound with Dolby Atmos technology.
- On-screen fingerprint sensor. It allows you to unlock your phone with your fingerprint. There’s no need to slide to unlock or enter a passcode.
- Always On Display. The phone can continuously display content such as notifications, calendar events, song information, and specialized widgets.
- Huge battery. The Note 10+ comes with a 4300mAh battery.
- 45-watt charging. This allows you to charge your Note 10 in slightly less than an hour from empty.
- Fast wireless charging. This is one of my favorite features!
- IP68 waterproof and dustproof. This helps protect your phone from spills or damage from dusty environments.
- Bluetooth 5.0. This is currently the newest version of Bluetooth. Support includes the ability to play audio through two devices simultaneously.
- 5G option. If you live in an area where your carrier provides 5G coverage, you may experience greater data speeds.
- New S Pen features. The S Pen has received some additional functionality including Air Actions, AR Doodle, and more. Old features are still here, including the ability to write on the lock screen, the ability to save hand-written text, and more.
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Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus Cons
The Galaxy Note 10 Plus definitely has some great features. However, it’s not without its share of drawbacks. Here are some of the cons and disadvantages of the Galaxy Note 10 Plus:
- Expensive. At $1099, the Note 10 Plus is pricey. You can get decent phones for much cheaper. You can even get a slightly older Samsung phone with most of the same essential features for less money.
- Good, not great battery life. The battery is big (4300 mAh) but battery life is decent, not spectacular. This is probably due to the super large screen. Samsung might have to include a 5000 mAh battery in the next version of this phone. I’d be OK with a thicker phone if it leads to having great battery life.
- Size. Be advised that this is a big phone. You should definitely handle one before you purchased the device. This is especially true if you have small hands.
- No headphone jack. At some point, all phones will ditch the headphone jack. Until then, this is still a con. Also, note that a headphone dongle is not included.
- S pen still feels like a gimmick. While the S pen has some new compelling features, I don’t I would use it much. I know several Galaxy Note owners that don’t use their pens either. I don’t suspect Samsung will ever ditch the S pen. I will probably ditch the Note for another Samsung phone.
- The fingerprint scanner is a tad slower than rival phones. I wouldn’t call it slow, just slower than some other phones. Personally, I prefer to have the fingerprint scanner on the back of the phone. When used with the right phone case, my finger quickly finds the rear fingerprint scanner, no problem.
- The screen doesn’t have a high refresh rate like rival phones. The OnePlus 7 Pro already has this and the next Google Pixel phone is expected to have this. I wish Samsung would have included it in the Note 10 Plus.
- 45-watt charger not included. You’d think that such an expensive phone would include the faster charger but it doesn’t.
- Few reasons to upgrade. In the past, the Galaxy Note phones contained enough unique specs and features over the competition. That’s no so much the case anymore. If you don’t plan to use the S Pen, you’ll probably be happy with a Galaxy S10 or even a discounted S9.
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus?
Since the first Samsung Galaxy Note was released, I have been using Note Phones (I briefly use the Droid Turbo until it died). In the past, I felt like each new version of the Note I purchased offered a compelling reason to upgrade. The new version either offered a bigger screen or a better camera or some other new, innovative features.
With the Note 10 however, I feel like most users will be just as happy with either an S10, Note 9, or even an S9, while also saving some money.
The lack of innovation is not a Samsung thing. I fell like all smartphone manufacturers will struggle going forward with convincing us to buy a new device every one to two years. Our phones already do what most users need them to do.
With that said, I will be buying the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. I want (not need) the 6.9-inch screen, 10X optical zoom, and 108MP camera sensor. I’m really hoping the camera is as good as the specs, as I plan to use the S20 to shoot videos.
Final Verdict?
If you plan to use the S Pen and you have a phone that is a few years old, the Note 10 will be a good option. I would urge you however to take a hard look at purchasing a discounted Note 9 instead.
If you don’t plan on using the S Pen, get an S10 or S9. Don’t get any Galaxy Note.
If you are willing to pay a premium to get the latest and greatest phone features, get an S20. I will be getting the S20 Ultra to replace my Note 9. I’ll post a review of the S20 Ultra as soon as I’ve had time to test it out.