A few days back, I wrote about how disappointing it was that the Note 10 series does not have a headphone jack. Because of this, my excitement wasn’t huge when I went to go try the phone out. However, the good far outweighs the bad, and I would love to make the Note 10+ my future smartphone.
Rather than list bullet points about my initial thoughts, I’m going to concentrate on a few of the things I really liked about the Note 10+. I really think that despite the size of the screen, the Note 10+ is a better buy than the 6.3-inch Note 10.
The Note 10+ is all screen and minimal bezel. The bezel is slightly thinner than it is on the Galaxy S10+, which I thought couldn’t be possible. When I put it next to my Galaxy S10+, I barely saw a size difference. However, the most important thing about Samsung’s new phablet is that it is still a portable device. It is still pocketable (though you should get a sleeve and a screen protector if you put it in your pocket). Unfortunately, the back is also still a fingerprint magnet.
The Note 10+ is a fantastic portable media machine. I watched some YouTube clips on it and not only did the colors pop out, but the stereo sound was even more enhanced than it is on the S10+. Without hardly any bezel, it looks like you are watching a video screen that is floating in space.
Then, there is the S Pen, which is now more like a magic wand that can perform various gestures. I was able to use it in order to switch between the front and rear cameras. But it is still an excellent writing device, though I didn’t get to test it yet with my favorite note-taking app, OneNote. The only thing missing on the S Pen is a camera, but it’s not something that you really need (but would be incredibly cool).
I didn’t get to test out the camera that much, but did notice it was better at focusing than the camera on my S10+. The video camera not only offers Live Focus while shooting, but also allows for a bokeh effect. For now, it’s the best camera offered on a smartphone, but that may change once Apple releases the new iPhone.
It’s still a shame that the Note 10+ doesn’t have a headphone jack. However, in general, the device feels like a mini computer that can do just about anything while the features don’t feel gimmicky. You may think that the Note 10+ isn’t for you until you actually play with it in person.