Should you get the Galaxy Note 10+ in 2020?
Getting a Note 10+ in 2020 is definitely not a dumb move, on the contrary – this Samsung flagship still feels as fresh as the day it was announced. Surprisingly, I like it much more than the current Galaxy S20-series and not only because of the S Pen; the sleek overall design, the large display, and standout suite of Galaxy Note features made an excellent phone. The Galaxy Note 10+ indicated a paradigm shift for Samsung as it was its first modern phone to drop the headphone jack and the first Note device that finally embraced the bezel-less trend. It was also the first Galaxy Note phone that strayed away from the strict business design language and spiced things up in the exterior with vivid colors and shapes, making it a device that broke away from its family legacy just as much as it tried to stay true to its identity.
Galaxy Note 10+: The good stuff
The Note 10+ has aged like a fine wine. True, it’s technically not even a year old, but in the mobile market, such a window of time can be perceived as eternity in the sense of technology improvement. Yet, I can’t say the Note 10+ is lacking in any department.
Performance-wise, the phone still feels pretty much excelling in any task that you throw at it, and that’s… hardly surprising. There’s a chance that you are an Android power-user if you’re using the Note 10+ or at least considering getting one, so rest assured that the phone can keep up with your demanding requirements as a user. I’d know, since I like to regard myself as a power-user, just like you. I have often found myself watching a picture-in-picture video while multitasking in split screen mode, and while that’s an extremely niche thing to do, I have never felt like I’m stretching the Note 10+’s capabilities thin. On the contrary, it always feels more than ready to be used and abused; if it could talk, it’d probably scream “Spank me, daddy!”
The display is another aspect of the Note 10+ that has aged well. The colors? Excellent! The maximum brightness under the sun? Great as well! “But… It doesn’t have a high-refresh rate display, ” some of you may say. True, it doesn’t have a 90 or a 120Hz display, which are all the rage these days, but seeing how the Galaxy S20-series implemented this feature rather poorly, I’m more than glad Samsung didn’t ‘ruin’ the Note 10+ as well. As a reminder, the Galaxy S20, S20 Plus, and S20 Ultra all come with 120Hz displays, but the power draw in this display was significantly higher, leading to a pretty drastic 33% reduction in battery life. That’s not cool, especially when you consider the fact that the 120Hz display was one of the often highlighted new features of Samsung’s flagships. There’s still room for improvement, it seems, and I hope that the Note 20 does a better job at juggling between a smooth display experience and adequate battery life.