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(CNN) - Believe it or not, the Galaxy Note is eight years old. When he first came out, some made fun of him, but he finally showed that the big screen phones were here to stay (and were not just a trend). And he also added the pencil to the equation.
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Whether you love it, hate it or be in the middle, the S Pen is a vital part of the Galaxy Note's identity. Although the stylus has been a point of discussion among Android users, and - surprise, surprise - both Note 10 and Note 10+ keep it.
It gets rid of the headphone jack, and is the first Samsung phone to do so. It seems that Samsung will finally dare to match Apple and boost its wireless Galaxy Buds.
I have spent a week with the Note 10+. We have been through many things and he has been my daily driver, so I am ready to write my thoughts. However, one thing to avoid is that, like a $ 1,000 high-end Android phone, it has the specifications. The power of the device no longer differentiates the line of Note models as much as it once did.
But software optimization (as we saw on the S10 line), a large battery, a more square design, S Pen updates and a three-camera configuration certainly make the Note 10+ a worthy device.
Let's dive into Galaxy Note 10+.
It's not a redesigned S Pen, but updates count
What better place to start than with what makes Note a Note. The most significant change for the S Pen 2019 is in the software. Originally from the Samsung Notes application, it now has the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) incorporated. It is a large term that essentially means that you will convert handwriting to text. Therefore, those notes that you could write down on your way to work or in a meeting, even if they look like a scratch, can become something more tangible.
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And it works well. I don't have the best calligraphy, but the phone was able to discover what I was writing, for the most part. I found myself taking quick notes or to-do lists on my Note 10+ while talking on the phone, traveling by train or even in meetings. It is just a simple touch to convert and then it can be exported to other applications. Or even copy and paste it.
You may look like old school, but you could write a tweet, convert it, copy it, paste it and tweet it ... it's an orderly way to do a task.
With the S Pen hardware, Samsung added an accelerometer and a gyroscope. It is still connected through a dedicated Bluetooth connection and a charger through the slot at the bottom of the Note 10+. The same goes for the Galaxy Note 10.
It is a bit smaller than the Note 9, but still retains the design of an S-Pen. At the end of the day, it is a pencil with a clicker about a quarter down from the bottom. And that button, along with the new sensors, enables great functions.
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People can call it a magic wand, but it's not like one you've seen on the Disney Channel.
With Air Actions, you will shake the S Pen and gesture with it. Then, with an application that supports it as the camera, you press and hold the button or click to control different modes. And yes, you can even approach from afar. You can also easily switch between different shooting modes. Air Actions is a software development kit (SDK), and for now, there is a brief list of what you can do with it.
AR Doodle is another application that uses the updated S Pen. You can draw on people, dogs and even on the object. It's fun, and from the point of view of privacy, it's good to stay on the phone. But users can get tired of it.
The S Pen is still a great tool for taking screenshots (possibly the best method on any phone and you won't have to take them accidentally, like on an iPhone). You can also multitask easily and use it as a magnifying glass.
At this point, you probably made a decision about the S Pen. And for 2019, it's not a complete rethink, but it's a good update. It remains the critical component that makes a Note a Note and will probably be a key factor when deciding on this phone above an S10 +.
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Goodbye to the edges
Samsung makes exceptional screens. It has incredibly vibrant colors, super deep blacks that define contrast and a quick refresh rate to reduce blurring when you play or watch videos. But the Note 10 line is getting rid of bezels, or edges. And to lose the edges on a large scale, the Note 10+ has a large 6.8-inch screen.
The Super Display Infinity-O also changed. Instead of having a cut in the upper left corner for one or two cameras, it now has a single circular hole in the center of the screen at the top. And it is small. To tell you the truth, I like this place. Similar to the notch on the iPhone XR, XS and XS Max, it blends more easily with the environment.
That little cut eliminates the need for an upper edge and you won't find a lower one either. The main controls for Android, such as the start button, return and multitasking are on the screen. You can also customize them in the settings. And like the previous Note and the S10 line, the screen curves left and right. This can make games difficult, especially given accidental touches. But it also offers you an amazing screen.
This truly borderless design is combined with high-end specifications - as it should be on a Note that costs more than $ 1,000 - for a 6.8-inch Quad HD + Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O display. More importantly, it has a resolution of 3040 × 1440, which reaches 498 pixels per inch. That means you can see the details even up close. Seeing the photos that were taken with the ultra wide angle lens allows you to immerse yourself in the details.
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Similar to S10 and S10 +, the Note 10+ has a fingerprint sensor on the screen. And it works much better than the one that was released on the S10 line.
For the first time in a long time, through this combination of being super high resolution and almost borderless, the Note 10+ feels like the future. And it's time for these expensive smartphones to do that.
Samsung is installing a screen protector on the Note 10+ (and the Note 10). It is similar to what we saw in the S10e, S10 and S10 +, but it is safe to remove it, unlike the Galaxy Fold. In fact, it is not the worst or the best protector, but it is probably better to add a third party.
A beautiful design with buttons placed in the right place
For the Note 10+, the Bixby button is disabled. The new home for volume control and the unlock button is on the left side, near the top. Given the size of the phone, this could be difficult for some people, but since the size is on par with the Note 9, for most users it should be fine.
You still get the USB-C port and the S Pen slot on the bottom. The top is a combination of SIM card slot and microSD. Important note: 10+ has expandable storage, but 10 doesn't. And all this is done along with a frame, but the star of the Note 10 + design is on the back.
The color of the new phone, called Aura Glow, is amazing and beautiful. The reflective and shiny surface creates unique rainbow tones, which makes it a point of conversation with people in the office, on the train and even on the street. Depending on your grip, the variety of colors may differ, and the 10+ also comes in Aura White, Aura Black and Aura Blue.
But this shiny silver reverse has secrets. It may be the most difficult smartphone to photograph and is a fingerprint magnet, but still, the Aura Glow is spectacular.
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You will definitely want a case to stop fingerprint stains or invest in a ton of microfiber cloths.
First level hardware and long battery life
The Note line has always stood out for power and performance. And most high-end Android phones have met that requirement. But if you want the most powerful Note, the Note 10+ is the obvious choice.
A Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor feeds it with a huge 12 GB RAM. That could be more than your laptop. It is also combined with 256 GB or 512 GB of internal storage, and you can expand it through a microSD card. It has been improved to the maximum when it comes to hardware.
All this, together with the 4,300 mAh battery, powers the Android 9.0 Pie processor with the Samsung One user interface. It is the same as we saw in the S10e, S10 and S10 +. Samsung does an excellent job of merging software and hardware, but not to the extent that Apple does.
The software is relatively clean, but the Note 10+ includes many functions, some unthinkable and others completely thought out. It can be difficult to find several functions and I hate how you turn off the phone. Do not just press the button. It must be deployed from the top navigation bar and press the power button icon to turn it off, restart it or enter emergency mode.
That said, it works fine. I did not experience any slowdown with the applications and the new Game Booster worked well in Fortnite, PUBG and Asphalt 9. These games with processor and intense graphics are highlighted in Note 10+.
Daily use with social networks, check email, send text messages or messages with third-party applications, transmit and surf the web, everything went well.
The other star of performance is the 4,300 mAh battery. The Note 10+ lasted easily one day with heavy and heavy use. It is difficult to make this phone reach 0%. You will easily have a full day of use, if not more, but it comes with a 25-watt super fast charger, and if that is not enough, Samsung manufactures a 45-watt fast charger. It also supports fast charging of 15 watts through a wireless charger.
And Wireless PowerShare is back, so you can charge any Qi-enabled device on the back of your Note 10+. Just remember that it is a slow load, so do not expect a rapid increase in the percentage.
An attractive triple camera experience
If you liked the triple camera settings on the S10 and S10 +, you'll love all three in the Note 10+. These are almost identical configurations. You get an ultra wide angle 16 megapixel lens, a standard 12 megapixel lens and a 12 megapixel telephoto lens. And the photos look great.
It doesn't make all the improvements like the Pixel 3, and when you really examine them, they may appear first. But for the everyday consumer, he will love taking photos on the Galaxy Note 10+. It is also an attractive experience within the camera application. Switching between the three is a joy.
You can see a series of test photos below in the gallery. Taking the boat at Hudson Yards, in New York, is a great example of why I am impressed with the Note 10+ cameras.
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Here are a few of favorites shots taken while reviewing the # GalaxyNote10Plus: 1️⃣: This ultrawide shot from the corner of 33rd and 10th in New York City really captures the full scope. Zoom in, and you can see how the Note 10+ is able to really capture the details. 2️⃣: Spy out all the details of this Fender Telecaster statue in Belmar, NJ. 3️⃣: This telephoto shot of a bush with blooming flowers does a great job of equally representing colors from across the spectrum. 4️⃣: This shot of the train station in NJ on a cloudy day shows how the standard lens handles overcast on a muted background. 5️⃣: This shot of a calm street just before sundown captures the blues of the sky, the vibrancy of passing cars and captures the details of the pavement.
A post shared by CNN Underscored (@cnnunderscored) on Aug 22, 2019 at 1:22 pm PDT
Night mode can be unpredictable, mainly depending on the conditions. Pixel's NightSight mode is still prominent, but I hope Samsung is moving forward a lot to improve. In some cases, it will be better with normal camera mode.
While it doesn't have the option of two lenses in the front, the only 10-megapixel camera with an 80-degree field of view works well. It's fine for selfies - although Samsung still softens the skin by default - snapchats and even video calls.
The camera experience is a joyful experience, although familiar, in the Note 10+.
In conclusion
The Galaxy Note 10+ is an impressive smartphone for 2019, but the choice finally comes down to the S Pen. It is a personal opinion, but I certainly like the attractiveness of taking notes while one is in a rush. It gives you the feeling of paper.
Once you make that decision, you can be sure that this is an inexhaustible source. The 6.8-inch screen is beautiful, with excellent color reproduction, it's fast, thanks to the monstrous 12 GB of RAM, and the battery will last all day. It's what a flagship phone should be in 2019.
But the Galaxy S10 + ($ 999.99; samsung.com) matches almost all of this, except the S Pen, so is it worth a couple hundred dollars? For some people, the answer is a big yes. Oh, and you can't get the awesome Aura Glow on another device, except in the smaller Note 10. We will have more about the mini-Note with a 6.3-inch screen in the coming weeks.
The Galaxy Note 10+ is available with a starting price of $ 1,099 from Samsung.
Note: The above prices reflect the retailer's listed prices at the time of publication.
Galaxy Note Samsung Galaxy
