Review of Samsung Galaxy Note10 +: the largest and most technological flagship on Android

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For 8 years of existence, the line of smartphones Samsung Galaxy Note has changed dramatically, but the overall positioning

remained the same: it is a smartphone with a large display, maximum power and functionality and, of course, the active S Pen stylus. The difference between the Galaxy Note8 and Note9 turned out to be logical and, to some extent, boring: the familiar design, a slightly enlarged display, the actual (at that time) hardware similar to the Galaxy S9 flagship line, an improved camera and a more functional S Pen. In the same year, innovations are more cardinal and more interesting. Starting with the fact that the lineup now has two models of different sizes and ending with a radically updated design and a new processor that has never been used before. We already managed to use the oldest in the line of Samsung Galaxy Note10 +, and today we will talk about it.

What is it?
What makes him interesting?
What will be included?
What does the Samsung Galaxy Note10 + look like?
How good is the screen?
What are the unlock methods?
What about performance, memory, sound and autonomy?
How convenient is the interface?
What's new about the S Pen?
What can Dex mode do and what are the options for connecting to a PC?
How good are the cameras?
In the dry residue

What is it?

Samsung Galaxy Note10 + - flagship smartphone witha large curved and elongated DynamicAMOLED display with a diagonal of 6.8 inches, a powerful Samsung Exynos 9825 processor, 12 GB of RAM, a main camera with four modules, dust and water protection and, of course, an advanced S Pen stylus.

What makes him interesting?

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There are really a lot of innovations: the display became even larger and almost completely lost the frames around the perimeter, which entailed the use of a front-facing 10-megapixel camera embedded in the screen, which was located in the middle. The screen is now already 6.8 inches, curved DynamicAMOLED with a resolution of 3040x1440 pixels. An ultrasonic fingerprint scanner is built into it. The infrared scanner of the iris was abandoned. The main camera received four modules: the main 12 megapixels (f / 1.5 - f / 2.4) with optical stabilization, telephoto 12 MP, f / 2.1, OIS, 2x zoom, ultra wide 16MP, f / 2.2, 123 ° and 3D ToF VGA for determining the distance to objects and their shape. The active stylus of the S Pen has acquired new features: in the remote control mode now there are not only clicks, but also gestures, which somewhat expands the possible use cases. Inside is the top-end Samsung Exynos 9825 processor. The main difference from the 9820 is the new 7-nm EUV process technology. Plus a little overclocked graphics chip. Otherwise, everything remains the same. RAM in the smartphone - 12 GB, built-in 256 or 512 GB of fast UFS 3.0 plus there is a microSD slot. The smartphone has an impressive 4300 mAh battery, supports fast charging of 45 watts via cable and wireless up to 15 watts. Plus there is reverse wireless charging for accessories. From the additional good: the smartphone still has dust, and water protection according to the IP68 standard, from the bad - the company decided to remove the 3.5 mm headphone jack.

What will be included?

Only a smartphone came to our office, butcommercial samples will be delivered with a 25 W power supply, USB-C - USB-C cable, clip for removing the SIM card tray, AKG USB Type-C headphones, tweezers with interchangeable tips for S Pen, USB adapter (C to A) and documentation.

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What does the Samsung Galaxy Note10 + look like?

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Samsung Galaxy Note10 + design substantiallydiffers from the previous generation: the screen has grown significantly in size, and the frames around the perimeter have become smaller. Galaxy Note10 + approached almost complete elimination of frames from all sides, it looks very cool. But the front camera is located right on the screen. But its hole is exactly in the middle, which is more aesthetically pleasing than the side of the Galaxy S10 line. When installing the appropriate wallpaper, the hole becomes almost invisible. In fact, there is nothing more on the front panel, I could not consider the earpiece (but it is), and the LED indicator was completely removed. The latter is offset by the presence of Always on Display.

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The frame is traditionally made of metal. The screen and back panel are curved on the sides and the smartphone narrows towards the side faces. The controls decided to slightly modify. A separate Bixby button disappeared, and the power button along with the volume control buttons are located on the left side. It is difficult to say how convenient it is to use the smartphone with your right hand in this arrangement. Under the left hand fits perfectly:

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At the top there is an additional microphone, a tray for SIM / MicroSD and a speaker slot for stereo sound:

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The tray is standard with a hybrid design, instead of a second SIM, you can install MicroSD. Although I’m not sure that it will be needed with 256 GB inside in the basic configuration:

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On the right, respectively, there is nothing:

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At the bottom there is a conversational microphone, externalspeaker, standard, USB Type-C connector and S Pen. Unfortunately, the company refused the 3.5-mm headphone jack and called the increase in battery the main reason. Not sure if +/- 100 mAh do the weather in this case:

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S Pen in terms of design and dimensions, it seems to me, has not changed much since Note9. It has the only mechanical button for control, and it is charged directly from the smartphone.

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The back cover of the smartphone, as expected, is madefrom glass. The layout has changed slightly from last year: the main camera module is now vertical, moved to the upper left corner, and the fingerprint scanner disappeared. Or rather, I moved under the screen, as we already wrote. The smartphone is available in three colors: traditional black, white and silver. We visited the “silver” version, which in fact is not quite silver. I would call it rather a mirror with multi-colored highlights. It looks impressive, but the prints are visible very well.

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The smartphone turned out to be large and weighty: 162.3 × 77.2 × 7.9 mm, 196 g, although the difference with Note9 is not very small: 161.9 × 76.4 × 8.8 mm, weight 201 g. I recall that the display diagonal has increased from 6.4 to 6.8 inches. Of course, the size of the smartphone is not suitable for everyone, but lovers of models with large screens are quite suitable. The shape of the case is quite convenient (as far as possible with an eye on the dimensions). The only question is the location of the buttons. I use smartphones with my left hand and got used to the Samsung Galaxy Note10 + very quickly. Visually, the smartphone is impressive, but with the assembly and materials, everything is fine, as always with Samsung flagships.

How good is the screen?

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The smartphone has 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen with curved sides and an elongated 19: 9 aspect ratio and a round neckline for the front camera. Resolution is 3040x1440 (WQHD +), pixel density - 498 ppi. Of course, Samsung has installed the most sophisticated of the available displays at the company. It supports the HDR10 + standard and has 100% DCI-P3 color gamut. It is claimed that the maximum brightness in the sun can reach 800 cd / m2, and the peak brightness is 1200 cd / m2. The screen is really excellent and almost devoid of typical AMOLED problems: at angles, white does not go green, and PWM flicker is not so pronounced compared to most OLED / AMOLED. The screen does not fade in the sun.

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In the screen settings - standard setSamsung's current flagships. The scale of the interface elements, font, its size, night mode (black theme of the interface), a blue filter, the ability to hide the camera cutout and the choice of resolution: 3040x1440 (WQHD +), 2280x1080 (FHD +) and 1520x720 (HD +). Always On Display with settings, of course, also has:

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Now everything is simpler, there are only two left: “Saturated” with manual color adjustment and “Natural”. In fact, the names fully reflect the essence of the modes. Natural in terms of color gamut closer to sRGB, Saturated - with an expanded, typical for AMOLED color gamut, brighter colors and higher brightness:

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In the “saturated” mode, the maximum brightness was 387.745 cd / m2 (SDR). There is a slight excess of blue, and the color gamut is significantly wider than sRGB, which is typical for AMOLED:

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In the “natural” mode, the screen is closer to the reference indicators, the color gamut is close to sRGB, and the brightness is slightly lower, 375.121 cd / m2:

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Comparison with other models:

Device name
White field brightness,
cd / m2
Black field brightness,
cd / m2
Contrast

Samsung Galaxy Note10 +
387.745
0
∞

Sony Xperia 1
394.97
0
∞

Huawei P30 Pro
447.247
0
∞

Samsung Galaxy S10
378.72
0
∞

Samsung Galaxy Note9
340.32
0
∞

What are the unlock methods?

Last year's Samsung Galaxy Note9 wasinfrared scanner of the iris to determine the owner of the smartphone. This year they decided to abandon him. There is face recognition that uses only the front camera. It works quickly, but, of course, only in good light (the infrared scanner worked in the dark) and the security of this method is also not the highest.

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The fingerprint scanner was on the back,Now it is built into the screen. An ultrasound scanner is used, as in the flagship Galaxy S10 line. Even then, on the final firmware, it worked very well. Apparently the software was “finished” and in the Galaxy Note10 + it works even faster and more accurately. In speed, he came close to more traditional solutions. Of course, the protective film does not interfere with it (in any case, the factory one).

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What about performance, memory, sound and autonomy?

Samsung Galaxy Note10 + has a processorself-developed (and manufactured) Samsung Exynos 9825. As always, the US and China will receive the Snapdragon version. In fact, the processor cannot be called completely new: there are not many differences from the Samsung Exynos 9820, which we saw in the Galaxy S10 line of smartphones. The main thing is a new technical process. Exynos 9820 is manufactured using the 8-nm FinFET LPP (Low Power Plus) process technology, and Exynos 9825 is manufactured using EUV (deep UV ultraviolet photolithography) 7-nanometer technology. It is alleged that this is the first mobile chip on the market that is manufactured using such technology. Formally, this fact is interesting because in the future Samsung will develop and improve this particular production technology. But at the moment, for the end user, such an upgrade will not change much. The processor configuration is similar to 9820: two customized powerful Mongoose M4 cores with a maximum clock speed of 2.73 GHz, two ARM Cortex-A75 up to 2.4 GHz (in 9820 - up to 2.31 GHz) and four energy-efficient ARM Cortex-A55 at 1.9 GHz. There is a module for machine learning and working with neural networks Neural Processing Unit (NPU), the same ARM Mali-G76 MP12 is responsible for the graphics, it is claimed that it is slightly overclocked. They also spared no memory: 12 GB of RAM and 256/512 GB of built-in, the fastest at the moment UFS3.0. So the smartphone’s performance is more than enough and the stock will last for another couple of years for sure. The results in performance tests confirm this:

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I suspect that in terms of heavy 3D graphicsThe Snapdragon 855 does a slightly better job with the Adreno 640, but there are no issues with games on the Exynos 9825. Settings are set to the maximum (where possible), nothing slows down.

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Game Launcher app and Game overlayBooster has changed a bit, although the basic functionality is already familiar. It is possible to adjust the level of performance for games, turn off notifications, record videos, take screenshots. Of the interesting added time monitoring in games, a chart by genre, the ability to stream to Mixer, tie up a Discord account, monitor temperature and memory usage during the game:

Another interesting point regarding games isPlayGalaxy Link. This is a proprietary service for streaming games from PC to smartphones. Under this case, even released the Glap gamepad. I suspect that this will work approximately like Steam Link. While the launch is planned for September, but not with us. Korea is most likely the US first thing. And then we'll see.

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Interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac / ax (aka Wi-Fi 6) 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, Bluetooth 5.0 LE with aptX, ANT +, NFC, and for wired connection - fast USB 3.1 Gen 1 (Type-C ) Supported global positioning systems GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo. As already mentioned above, the smartphone produces stereo sound and supports Dolby Atmos. The smartphone sounds very loud and high quality. We couldn’t verify the sound on the cable: unfortunately, the company refused the 3.5 mm jack. And this is considering trolling to Apple about this a year earlier. In the absence of a 3.5 mm jack, one could close one’s eyes if it weren’t for one annoying moment: one of the third-party adapters from Type-C to a 3.5 mm jack didn’t “wound up” with a smartphone. Apparently you only need a proprietary (I think Type-C DACs like Hidizs Sonata or iBasso DC01 should work) or complete AKG headphones. They didn’t reach us, so it was not possible to evaluate the sound through the wire. The application and sound settings are familiar to Samsung. There is an equalizer and all kinds of Pribluda like UHD upscaler, Dolby Atmos and Adapt Sound (optimization by ear and age):

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Battery capacity - an impressive 4300 mAh, whichespecially important with such a screen. The Note line has always been notable for its good autonomy and the Samsung Galaxy Note10 + was no exception. With a very active load with calls, a lot of time in social networks, games, YouTube, benchmarks, photos and so on, the smartphone can withstand all day without problems. So in a more vital, and not panoramic, conditions, the smartphone lives for a day and a half. Less active users, I think, can last up to two days. For extreme cases, there are energy saving modes.

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The smartphone supports fast charging,Quick Charge 2.0, Adaptive Fast Charge and USB Power Delivery 3.0 are supported. Just the latter is used in branded chargers. Included is a 25 W charger and a USB-C to USB-C cable. An even faster version of 45 W is also supported, but you will have to buy the corresponding memory separately. Wireless charging - up to 15 watts, plus there is a reverse wireless charging function for any Galaxy Buds or Galaxy Watch.

What about the interface?

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Samsung Galaxy Note10 + runs on Android 9 OSPie with shell One UI version 1.5. We first met One UI in the Galaxy S10 + review, then version 1.1 was used, although there were no fundamental changes, it seems that the main emphasis is on optimization. The shell is very good: comfortable, functional and works very smartly. Recall in a nutshell the main features. The interface is completely redrawn in its own style, there is a "night mode", it is also a black theme of the interface. Organization of the workspace has remained familiar: either only desktops, or with a separate application menu, plus there is a simplified mode with large icons. It is possible to change the grid size on desktops, in the application menu and curtain. In various menus, functional elements are shifted to the bottom of the screen when turned on for easy access on large screens. There is also a reduced screen mode:

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There are two options for navigation: familiar buttons or gestures from the bottom of the screen:

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Application Manager is similar to native with Android 9Pie with a horizontal set of cards with running applications, but a few more options. In addition to the two-window mode, it is possible to launch applications in a window with an adjustable size and transparency, or minimize to the type of a moved icon:

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Edge panels are, but some cardinalno changes have occurred. The panel itself can be moved to any convenient place, changed transparency, or simply turned off. The set of panels available is already familiar:

There are a decent number of branded applications. Including its variations on the theme of a file manager and voice recorder, its service application for optimizing a smartphone, the already familiar virtual assistant Bixby, Smart Things for a smart home, Galaxy Wearable for connecting wearable gadgets, Samsung Health and Smart Switch for comfortable transferring data between smartphones. From the new - Samsung Global Goals app. In September 2015, the UN set its main global goals to combat hunger, inequality and environmental protection. The application allows you to learn about each of the 17 goals, progress towards its achievement, makes it possible to view ads and donate money received for viewing it.

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What's new about the S Pen?

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The S Pen itself is physically practically nothas changed compared to last year. Unless now it is completely monochrome, without a glossy insert with the Samsung logo. As before, he can recognize 4096 degrees of pressure and determine the slope. There are both standard stock applications and features, including Samsung Notes, PENUP, part of the screen saving and annotation, live GIFs, the ability to take quick notes directly on the locked screen, handwriting and translator. In Samsung Notes, you can convert handwritten notes to text and send them right away to a Word document. PENUP is a drawing application with built-in coloring and original visual drawing lessons. In addition to standard applications, S Pen feels great with third-party, for example, Autodesk Sketchbook or Concepts.

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Like last year, the S Pen is equipped with Bluetooth andbuilt-in battery. It is alleged that from a full charge it will work up to 10 hours. I don’t think that anyone will check this in practice, given that the stylus is most of the time in the smartphone and, accordingly, is charging. The capabilities of the S Pen as a remote control have evolved and correspond to what we saw in the review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 tablet. That is, in addition to pressing the mechanical button, you can now perform actions in the air thanks to the built-in gyroscope and accelerometer. You can switch cameras, shooting modes, flipping photos and videos in the gallery, slides in presentations, switch music and so on.

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What can Dex mode do and what are the options for connecting to a PC?

The “desktop” DeX mode continues to evolve. As before, it is possible (with the appropriate cable) to connect the smartphone to the monitor, connect the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to the smartphone (or use the smartphone as a touchpad) and get some kind of desktop with the appropriate interface. We examined it in detail recently in the Galaxy Tab S6 review: we get a familiar desktop with application icons and a bottom panel on which notifications, switches, navigation buttons and everything else is placed. Of course, full-fledged multitasking is supported. By default, applications open in windows, you can expand to full screen or work in multi-window mode. Dex is very intelligently optimized and works very fast, even if an impressive number of applications are open. As I understand it, docking stations for Dex can also be used, which is convenient: there are the necessary full-sized ports. New feature - Dex for PC. When connecting a smartphone with a standard complete cable to a PC, you can get the Dex-interface of the smartphone directly in Windows. That allows you to quickly transfer the necessary files back and forth and, in fact, simultaneously work with your computer and Dex on the same monitor. At the same time, the smartphone remains available for calls and other manipulations. To work, you need to download and install from the official website of Samsung DeX software for PC or Mac:

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For easy and convenient tossing pictures andAmong other things, there is the “Connect with Windows” application (you need to install it from the Microsoft Store). We already saw the application in action on other Android smartphones, but on the Samsung Galaxy Note10 + it is already preinstalled. It works wirelessly and gives access to the gallery, messages and notifications of the smartphone. There is a display mode of the desktop smartphone. After the first setup, it will be enough to enable the function in the curtain on the smartphone.

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How good are the cameras?

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Samsung Galaxy Note10 + main camera bythe characteristics are very close to the Galaxy S10 +, the differences are just a couple. The main module is the same: 12 megapixels, variable aperture f / 1.5-2.4, viewing angle 77 °, pixel size - 1.4 microns, optical stabilization. The telephoto for zoom has changed a bit: the resolution is the same, 12 MP, but the optics are faster, with an f / 2.1 aperture (instead of 2.4), optical stabilization, a viewing angle of 45 °, a pixel size of 1.0 μm. Ultra-wide - no change: 16 MP, 123 °, f / 2.2, no stabilizer, and autofocus. To them was added the DepthVision module for measuring distance for objects. The camera can blur the background (including on video), take ultra-wide-angle photos and zoom at 2x without loss of quality. The camera can write 4K 60k / s, 4K HDR10 + 30 f / s and Super Slow Motion 960 frames per second in a resolution of 1280x720 with the ability to choose a recording duration of 0.2 or 0.4 seconds, which are stretched. The front camera is 10 megapixels, f / 2.2. There are no fundamental changes compared to the Galaxy S10 +, so the shooting quality can be expected to be comparable. Fully updated cameras should be expected in the next generation of Galaxy S.

The camera application is already familiar to us: switching modes by horizontal movements, a camera switch next to the shutter button and all the basic settings on the main screen. There is a fully manual “Professional mode”, night mode, Super Slow motion, live focus (with blurring the background), video with live focus, hyperlapse. There is a virtual shooting assistant with auto-detection of scenes and identification of problems in the frame:

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The built-in video editor has become more functional. With it, you can cut and glue pieces, make transitions, apply subtitles, illustrations, change the speed and resolution. Desktop video editors do more, but enough for basic editing.

Thanks to the DepthVision camera, the smartphone can make 3D models of objects and measure dimensions:

And using the front-end you can make a personal emoji, the function has long been registered in Samsung smartphones:

Image quality, as expected, is comparable toGalaxy S10 +. Accordingly, the smartphone shoots cool in almost any lighting conditions. The quality of the pictures is at a very high level, but it cannot be said that it is perfect. It is more objective to say “one of the best”, there are a number of very strong competitors who in some situations do better, in others worse. For example, Google Pixel 3 XL (and Pixel 3), Huawei P30 Pro Apple and iPhone XS Max. But, in any case, the camera is at the top modern level.

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Wide angle camera:

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Zoom:

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Blur background:

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4K 60 FPS video recording example:

Stabilized video:

Super Slow Motion:

Another interesting feature is audio zoom: using a directional microphone, the smartphone increases the volume of a specific source if you use the zoom during video. The thing is interesting, but the sound is not quite natural:

In the dry residue

Samsung does not change its traditions and GalaxyNote10 + offers the maximum range of capabilities and technologies that the company currently has. This is a kind of “all in one” option for those who need everything at once. The smartphone has a huge high-quality screen with almost no frames, very productive hardware, large amounts of RAM and built-in memory, an S Pen stylus with interesting chips, a top-level camera and an impressive battery with fast and wireless charging. It is all packaged in a metal and glass housing with protection against dust and water and runs on the highly convenient and functional One UI shell. Of the unpleasant moments, it is worth highlighting the lack of a 3.5 mm jack and the inability to use standard adapters from Type-C to minijack. Note line has never been cheap and for a new flagship, those who wish will also have to pay a very impressive amount 36 000 UAH.

7 reasons to buy Samsung Galaxy Note10 +:

huge high-quality screen with almost no frames;
top performance;
high-quality materials and assembly, dust and moisture protection;
flagship-level main camera;
Stylus S Pen with interesting additional features;
capacious battery;
functional and quick shell One UI.

2 reasons not to buy Samsung Galaxy Note10 +:

very high price tag;
no headphone jack and incompatibility with standard adapters with Type-C to 3.5 mm.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10+

New leader

This is the older version of the phablet with a 6.8-inch AMOLEDdisplay, Exynos 9825 chip, 4300 mAh battery with support for ultra-fast charging power of 45 W and a camera with four modules. The 10-megapixel front camera is housed in a circular neckline. Comes with a branded stylus.

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Technical specifications Samsung Galaxy Note10 +

Display
curved on the sides Dynamic AMOLED, 6.8 inches, 3040 × 1440 (19: 9 aspect ratio), 498 ppi, HDR10 +, Gorilla Glass 6

Housing
dimensions: 162.3 × 77.2 × 7.9 mm, weight: 196 g

CPU
64-bit 7nm Samsung Exynos 9825, 2xExynos M4, 2.73 GHz, 2xARM Cortex-A75 2.4 GHz, 4xARM Cortex-A55 1.95 GHz, Neural Processing Unit (NPU), ARM Mali-G76 MP12 graphics

RAM
12 GB

Flash memory
256/512 GB, MicroSD

Camera
12 MP (f / 1.5-2.4, 26 mm EGF, 1 / 2.55 ″, 1.4 µm, Dual Pixel PDAF) + 12 MP (f / 2.1, 52 mm EGF, 1 / 3.6 ″, 1 µm, AF), optical stabilization, 2x zoom, ultra wide 16 MP, f / 2.2, flash, video 2160p @ 60fps , 1080p @ 240fps, 720p @ 960fps, DepthVision; front camera: 10 MP f / 2.2 with autofocus

Wireless technology
Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n / ac / ax (dual band, 2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth 5.0 LE, NFC, ANT +

GPS
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO

Battery
4300 mAh non-removable

operating system
Android 9 Oreo + One UI 1.5

Sim card
2xNanoSIM

Additionally
dust and water protection IP68, ultrasonic fingerprint scanner in the screen

For those that want to know more:

Review of Samsung Galaxy Tab S6: the most “charged” tablet on Android
Samsung Galaxy S10 + Review: Anniversary flagship with five cameras
Samsung Galaxy S10e review: less doesn’t mean worse
Samsung Galaxy A80 Review: Smartphone Experiment with PTZ Camera and Huge Display
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active review: stylish, sporty and functional
Samsung Galaxy Note9 review: maximum technology and features