Samsung Galaxy Note 10: what we want to see

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 needs to pack a punch to get the phone series back in the limelight, and we're now hearing a number of Galaxy Note 10 leaks and rumors suggesting it might do just that.

We've also assembled a list of what we want from Samsung and its next flagship phablet to help propel the handset to the top of the pile.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is packed full of tech, along with a few new features. But in a lot of ways, the phone still feels like a small upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 from the year before.

Update: We now know what size the batteries might be in the Note 10 range. Plus, a source suggests the Galaxy Note 10 range could be announced on August 10, while another source claims it won't charge as fast as had been rumored. We've also seen leaked case renders, which match earlier design leaks.

So while we're looking forward to the next version of Samsung's notable phone, we’re hoping for more from the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. We want sizeable, impactful changes and upgrades that help justify its inevitably enormous price tag.

We’ve listed some of our specific hopes below, but before that you’ll find rumors and educated guesses at the release date, specs and features of the Galaxy Note 10.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next stylus-toting flagship from Samsung
• When is it out? Probably August 2019
• What will it cost? More than most other phones

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 release date and price

It’s likely that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 launch date will be some point in August 2019, as in recent years Samsung has announced new Galaxy Note handsets in August.

We even have one possible date, as August 10 has been rumored, but we'd take that with a pinch of salt, not least because it's a Saturday, which is an unusual day to launch a phone.

That said, that date comes from a South Korean source, so due to time differences it's possible that the date would be August 10 in South Korea but August 9 for much of the world. That's very possible as the Galaxy Note 9 was announced on August 9 last year.

In any case, even once the Galaxy Note 10 is announced it will likely be at least a couple of weeks before you can buy it, so don’t be surprised if it doesn’t hit stores until late August or September 2019.

As for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 price, the Note 9 starts at $ 1,000 (£899, AU$ 1,499) and it gets even more expensive if you want more storage and more RAM. 

Given that smartphone prices generally seem to be rising we’d expect the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will cost at least this much.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 news and rumors

Our closest look at the possible design of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 can be seen in the video below.

You can see that it has a curved screen, a single-lens punch-hole camera on the front, a triple-lens camera on the back, a metal frame, and no Bixby button or headphone jack. The phone also apparently has up to 12GB of RAM and either a Snapdragon 855 or Exynos 9820 chipset, depending on region.

The source adds that the screen is apparently 6.3 inches, likely with a 1440 x 3040 resolution, and that the dimensions may be 162.6 x 77.4 x 7.9mm – though we'd take all that with a pinch of salt, as it would mean a smaller screen yet a larger body than the Note 9.

Plus, one other rumor we've heard is that the Note 10 will apparently have a 6.66-inch screen. And we've heard that not once, but twice already!

That's up from 6.4 inches on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and while we'd take this with a pinch of salt it's believable, given that phone screens keep getting bigger, and given that the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is 6.4 inches and we'd expect the next Note to be bigger than anything in the S range.

However it's possible there will be two different Samsung Galaxy Note 10 models, as we've heard rumors that as well as a 6.75-inch phone Samsung will release a smaller Note 10 only in Europe.

The larger of the two (or more) models might be called the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Pro, as that's a name that we've heard rumored now.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Pro could also have a quad-lens camera according to one report. 

That's a claim we've now heard multiple times. In fact, we've even seen leaked renders showing four lenses, along with a design that's otherwise similar to leaks of the standard Note 10.

The source of these renders says that the extra lens is a Time of Flight (ToF) depth-sensing one, with the other lenses apparently being a 12MP main one, a 12MP telephoto one, and a 16MP ultra-wide one.

The screen meanwhile is apparently 6.75 inches, 1440 x 3040 and said to support HDR10+, while the rest of the specs apparently include up to 12GB of RAM, and a Snapdragon 855 or Exynos 9820 chipset, depending on region.

It's worth noting that leaked case renders for both models match the designs above, so they could well be accurate.

Elsewhere, a report says that the Note 10 has the model number SM-N975F. However Note handsets usually have a '0' as the last number, so there's speculation that this could denote a 5G variant.

In fact, we're now almost certain that there will be a 5G version of the Galaxy Note 10, because Verizon has said as much. Plus, mention of a 5G model has also been found in Samsung source code.

We've also heard rumors that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 (or at least the Pro version) could have a 4,500mAh battery – up from 4,000mAh on the Note 9. And it might charge fast, with multiple sources suggesting it will exceed 25W (the Galaxy S10 is only 15W). One claim points to it reaching as much as 45W.

Then again, another source disputes that, saying that actually it will just be 25W, so we're really not sure at the moment.

There's also some dispute about the battery size, with a source saying that both the Note 10 and Note 10 Pro will have a 4,170mAh battery.

They also say that the Note 10 will have a 6.4-inch screen while the Note 10 Pro will have a 6.8-inch one – which is slightly larger than we'd heard before. Finally, they add that the Note 10 will start in a 128GB size, while the Note 10 Pro will start at 256GB, rising to 1TB.

Elsewhere, a source has said that the camera position for both the front and rear lenses will be different on the Note 10, with the rear moving from a horizontal to a vertical arrangement, which would match most leaks.

The camera hardware meanwhile is apparently the same as the Note 9 (though that doesn't necessarily rule out extra lenses).

According to the source, these camera changes are the main design changes to the phone, so the Galaxy Note 10 might look a lot like the Note 9.

The source of these claims has since followed them up with sketches of what seems to be the Note 10's camera block (below), showing the vertical arrangement with three lenses. They also claim that the front-facing camera will just be a single-lens one, as we've seen elsewhere.

Another report has a far more radical prediction: the Note 10 won't have physical buttons. Instead, the phone will use touch sensors, like the capacitive pads we've seen on the Nubia Red Magic Mars and elsewhere, for users to fiddle with volume and power. Presumably, it would also replace the notorious Bixby button with a touchpad.

Having said that, another source has disputed this claim, saying there will in fact be physical buttons. Plus, the leaked renders we've seen all show buttons.

A few different rumors have given us a clearer idea of the color choices Samsung might offer for the Note 10. It seems the company will be offering a red version as well as a gradient finish, which we expect to be the silver version of the phone.

Other color rumors include Black, White, Silver and Pink, which suggests we won't get a Lavender Purple version like we did on the Galaxy Note 9.

In more vague news, the Galaxy Note 10 is apparently codenamed 'Da Vinci'.

Given that Leonardo da Vinci was a famous painter that could hint at upgrades to the S Pen, though exactly what those upgrades would be is unclear. Leonardo da Vinci was also very talented in lots of other ways though, so this could equally be a suggestion that the Note 10 will be a very versatile phone.

Beyond that we can take some educated guesses as to what the Note 10 might offer. For one thing, based on past form it will probably use the same chipset as the Samsung Galaxy S10.

That means either a Snapdragon 855 or an Exynos 9820, depending on where you are in the world. They're both top-end though.

The Galaxy S10 also has an in-screen fingerprint scanner and a camera cut-out in the screen, rather than a notch or big bezels, so those are likely features of the Note 10. Indeed, both of those things have been rumored.

The Note 10 is also almost certainly going to have a curved Super AMOLED screen. You can probably expect water resistance too, given that all recent Samsung flagships have that.

And of course, the S Pen will make a return, though quite possibly with some new features and refinements.

What we want to see

While there’s no Samsung Galaxy Note 10 news just yet, we have a good idea of what we want from it. You’ll find our seven main suggestions below.

1. A customizable Bixby button

As much as Samsung might want us to use Bixby in favor of Google Assistant the reality is that for the most part it’s just not as good, and Google has so much of a head start that we doubt it ever will be.

That wouldn’t be an issue except that Samsung insists on putting a physical Bixby button on its Note phones, so for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 we either want this to be removed or to be customizable, so you can set it to launch something other than Bixby.

The good news is this should happen, because it's a feature that since writing this wish Samsung has started bringing to its phones – maybe the South Korean company really is listening to us.

2. HDR video recording

Many high-end handsets can now record HDR video, but the Galaxy Note 9 can’t. It’s a shame, because it’s a noticeably weak point in a camera that’s otherwise great.

So we really want to see HDR recording offered by the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. And not just any HDR, but 4K HDR (which is also offered by some rivals), so it can shoot videos that look as good as its photos surely will.

3. An in-screen fingerprint scanner

The Note 9 has a fingerprint scanner on the back, which allows for slim bezels on the front (though still more of a bottom bezel than we’d have hoped to see) but arguably makes it slightly trickier to reach than a front-facing scanner.

We also noted in our review that it’s too small and too close to the camera, making it easy to accidentally hit that instead and smudge the lens.

So for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 we want the scanner on the front, but rather than being under the screen we want it built into the screen, like the Galaxy S10 and some other phones are now doing.

4. A completely new look

The Note 9 is a nice looking phone, but it’s also similar in design to the last few and the bezels are starting to feel a bit much compared to the likes of the iPhone X and Huawei P20 Pro.

So we’d like to see a design overhaul for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. It can keep the water resistance and the curvy screen, but hopefully the rest of the design will change to something fresher and more modern.

5. A lower price

There’s no getting around the fact that the Note 9 is a very, very expensive phone and we’re expecting the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will be at least as pricey.

But we’re hoping it won’t be. If Samsung can shave a couple of hundred dollars/pounds off the price then it could have far wider appeal.

6. Improved facial recognition

The Galaxy Note 9 has both an iris scanner and facial recognition, but – as we note in our review – even combined these sensors are no match for Apple’s Face ID, so we’d like to see real improvements here for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.

That will probably mean packing in more and better cameras and sensors on the front so it can build up an accurate 3D picture of our face. 

That could be expensive and make removing the bezel trickier, but if it leads to a fast, secure scanner that works in almost all lighting then it might be worth it.

7. An even longer-lasting battery

For the Galaxy Note 9 Samsung upped the range’s battery size to 4,000mAh, delivering over a day of life in the process.

That’s good work, but we want to see further improvements for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, especially given that batteries wear out over time, so if you plan to hold on to the phone for two years or more you might notice significantly reduced life by the end.

On that note, if Samsung can make the battery degrade slower that would be appreciated too.

• The flexible Samsung Galaxy Fold has finally been announced

Image Credit: TechRadar 

TechRadar: Cameras and camcorder reviews