Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: Fast Tracking

I am obviously weeks behind the other critics in regards to the 10+ rating. So, here is a brief overview of my experience.

The screen of the Note 10+ is superb, even with its default setting FHD + (2280 x 1080) – it can be manually configured to use its native resolution WQHD + (3040 x 1440) or HD + (1520 x 720) – I guess it's a good balance between appearance and battery life. I see no reason to change that, and until now, at least, the battery life has been excellent. I do not really go out into the world like many people every day, but I would be surprised not to last more than a day.

The size of the screen is also fantastic, and for anyone with aging or failing eyes, this size phone (or larger, future) can solve some problems. I was curious to see if I could use the 10+ rating to read in the morning (I'm currently using a full size iPad but I would prefer an iPad mini), but maybe it's a little too small for that. I could see movies on during trips, but only if there was power or flights were not too long.

A strange problem with a very big phone like this is that the usual way of doing things with one hand does not always work, and not always for obvious reasons: hold the phone normally in my right hand and Stretch to reach a point in the upper left corner of the screen, the bottom of my palm, which rocks the phone, has triggered several times elements in the lower right corner of the screen. My hands are big enough that I can use many large phones with one hand. But this is one of the first times – it happened with the Lumia 1520 too – I had this problem. It may be necessary to create new muscle memories.

I have started to experience reliability issues with the built-in fingerprint reader, and they are very similar to what I had experienced with the OnePlus 6T last year: despite the # 39; meticulous registration of two fingers, I have had several cases where none of the registers, forcing me to use a PIN after some annoying tests. This has happened several times over the weekend, during outings around the world and at the gym. And it's a bit depressing. OnePlus has never repaired the 6T, but the OnePlus 7 Pro's fingerprint reader has been significantly improved. But until now, the Note 10+ version does not work at all.

I used the built-in Link to Windows feature in the Note 10 + notification shadow to connect to the Your Phone in Windows 10 application on my NU, and it worked well. I would not call it a game changer as such, but by placing this interface directly into the UI, and in the first hue of notification, nothing less is discoverable. And since there is no application (Your Phone Companion) to install, it is easier and faster to establish the connection.

In use, it works normally, but I was able to experience the screen replication feature for the first time. It works well, with only a slight lag. But what I would prefer is a floating mirror window instead of holding it in the larger window of your phone. It is a small complaint, however, and I will continue to use Note 10+ with your phone to see how the other elements of the integration – photos, messages and notifications – work.

I finally spent a good part of my time testing the Note 10 + camera system, and it's a mixed bag if you care about the quality of the camera as much as I do. I get straight to the point: this camera system is better than the OnePlus 7 Pro overall, and is probably in the same quality zone as the iPhone XS family. It's very decidedly do not in the same company, from the point of view of quality, as the cameras used in the Google Pixel 3, 3 XL, 3a or 3a XL, or in the Huawei P30 Pro or Mate 20 Pro. It's not even close.

But make no mistake: these Pixel and Huawei handsets have really raised the bar, and Note 10+ cameras provide consistently good and sometimes excellent photos. The low light is similar to last year with the Galaxy S Series, where I understand what Samsung is filming, but it just does not match what the latest pixels and Huaweis can do. And outdoor shots can be washed unless the weather is really sunny.

And there are some things that I really like in the Note 10+ camera system. The camera app itself is great, and the on-screen options to switch between normal, wide-angle, telephoto, and scene optimizer are features I want for all camera applications.

Samsung may have too many shooting modes, but you can configure the ones that appear in the carousel, and you can use a Pro mode if the default settings do not suit you. But some modes, like Food and Instagram, are only clumsy. There are some esoteric shooting modes, such as Hyperlapse and Super Slow-mo, I will have to force myself to perform tests. I'm not here yet.

Someone asked about this in Ask Paul Friday, but I am determined to try to use as many Samsung apps and services as I can and do it as long as I can . Some, like Bixby, really test my sanity. But others, like Samsung Internet (the browser), Phone and Messages, are not questionable. I've installed the Google app to access the stream I usually see in Google Discover, which Samsung replaces with Bixby Home. And of course, I use applications like Gmail, Outlook, OneNote, Skype and others on which I rely.

I've connected the Note 10+ to two other Samsung devices, the Galaxy Buds bought a few weeks ago at the gym and a Galaxy Fit freebie purchased with the Note 10+. The Galaxy Fit is basically a Fitbit with a color screen. It offers a battery life of several days and allows virtually all the follow-up I need. It connects to Samsung Health, however, and I have not tested sync with Google Fit yet, which would be better. I'm going to get there, but for the moment, I only want to recover several days of data.

I had a very happy and unexpected surprise: when I connected the Note 10+ to my wife's car this morning via Bluetooth, I did something that had never happened before. He connected the Note 10+ to the audio system of the car. On all previous phones, including my wife's Galaxy S8 +, only phone and SMS are available in the car, and we had to rely on a line-in cable for audio. It has literally never worked before and I was convinced that it would never work. I can not explain it, but it's good news and the integration works well, even for this older model (2014 model year).

More soon.

Marked with Galaxy Note 10, Samsung