Science

Galaxy Note 10: Release Date, Price, Features for Stylus-Centric Powerhouse

Stakes are high for the August 7 Unpacked.

by Danny Paez
Unsplash / Adrien

Samsung is gearing up to host its next Unpacked event, the New York City-based unveiling that introduced last year’s Galaxy Note 9. This year, however, the stakes are significantly higher. After the bruising unveiling of the Galaxy Fold, Samsung has even more riding on a blowout launch for its next flagship.

While the August 7 date for the event had already leaked, Samsung confirmed the event on Tuesday and sent invitations to media. According to Samsung’s press release, the company plans to introduce multiple new devices to the Galaxy ecosystem. In addition to successors to the Note 9 and Note 9+, this will almost certainly include a new version of the Galaxy Watch, Samsung’s new smartwatch product it introduced last year.

Samsung brought the heat last year. The Note 9 offered further evidence that the 9 is its signature phablet, offering a Bluetooth-enabled stylus, a 6.4-inch OLED display, three cameras, up to a terabyte of storage, and 4,000 mAH battery. The Note 10 will build

The expected Galaxy Note 10 might be familiar, but come with some game-changing differences from last year's Note 9.

Samsung

Without the Galaxy Fold, the Note 10 will claim the throne as the most high-caliber device Samsung will offer in 2019. It won’t be foldable but it’ll almost certainly one-up trio of S10 phones it debuted in April.

Here’s everything we know about the the Galaxy Note 10:

Galaxy Note 10: Release Date

Samsung’s upcoming phablet is just over the horizon.

The company will host another Unpacked event on August 7 in New York City to unveil the Note 10, according to a press release the company sent on Tuesday. You can follow along with the action in a livestream on of Samsung’s many livestreams. Samsung hasn’t yet revealed what time the proceedings will start, but last year’s Unpacked kicked off at 11 a.m. Eastern.

The Note 9 hit shelves on August 24, three weeks after its Unpacked event, and a similar time frame is likely planned for this year.

The Galaxy Note 10 could back more screen than any Note model before it.

Samsung

Galaxy Note 10: Price

The Note 9 was the most expensive mobile device Samsung launched last year, starting at $999, but it could get more costly this time around.

The 6.4-inch S10+ already costs $999 for a base model and the Note 10 is expected to blow its screen-size and specs out of the water. Expect a four-figure start price with its most expensive model potentially grazing $1,500 if you spring for additional memory or other add-ons.

Renders of both potential Note 10 models.

PriceBaba Daily / Steve Hemmerstoffer

Galaxy Note 10: Note 10 vs. Note 10+

The Note 10 will launch as a duo with a 6.3 and 6.7-inch models, according to Korean tech outlet ETNews. The smaller model is said to only support LTE, but its companion is expected to tout a 5G modem.

That chatter was corroborated by a batch of renders that depicted two Note 10 variants, published by famed mobile leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer, better known as OnLeaks. The mockups show that the devices will use the S10’s “Infinity-O” hole-punch display, come with three rear cameras, and skip out on the 3.5mm headphone jack once again.

The two-model speculation was all started by the notable smartphone leaker Ice Universe back in April. It was all but confirmed by June 28, when another trusted smartphone leaker Ben Geskin tweeted some images from a hands-on, saying this up-market Note 10 will be called the Galaxy Note 10+.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10+, according to the leaker Ben Geskin

Ben Geskin

Galaxy Note 10: Cameras

Leaks like those from Onleaks and Geskin all suggest both models will come with three rear cameras and a single front-facing lens, though Sam Mobile writes there will be four rear cameras.

All of the S10 models have the “Infinity-O” camera cutout on the top left of the screen and the S10+ has two front-cameras. Given that the Note 10 will be Samsung’s top-of-the-line smartphone, two front cameras wouldn’t be surprising, either.

It also looks like the cameras will be getting some sort of stylus integration, based on the invitations Samsung sent out. As you can see in the below animation, a stylus drops down from the top of the frame, draws a neat circle which subsequently transforms into a camera lens. It’s not clear how this integration will work. Perhaps the stylus will allow you to click the shutter, making it easier to take selfies and group shots.

Based on the illustration, however, it looks more like Samsung is teasing a photo editing feature. No one takes an image, after all. Instead, it looks like Samsung is teasing a feature that uses A.I. to add detail to image based on a drawing.

The invitations Samsung sent teased a new camera feature that integrates the stylus. 

Samsung 

Galaxy Note 10: Potential Features

There hasn’t been much in the way of leaked features for Samsung’s upcoming phablet.

  • Sound on Display: Ice Universe allegedly got their hands on a Note 9 phone cover that suggested the phone won’t have a top speaker, like every phone before it. Instead, the top of the screen will carry sound by vibrating ever so slightly when users pick up a call.
  • Samsung Dex Improvements: The Note 9 let users plug it into a computer monitor with an HDMI adapter to turn it more into a laptop that a mobile phone. Expect Samsung to introduce some upgrades around this feature come August.
  • Increased Internal Storage: Phone makers have a habit of one-upping their previous years’ storage specs. Last year, the Note 9 came with 512GB built-in plus a microSD support that could boost that to 1TB. It wouldn’t be surprising if Samsung took this a step further this year.

There have not been many leaks of the smartphone so far. Perhaps smartphone leakers were too busy digging up gossip about the fate of the Galaxy Fold. Last year, more leaks revealed more details about the Note 9 in the weeks leading up to the event. Based on the early reaction to the Notes’ near-bezel-less design and impressive camera specs, Samsung could have a banger on its hands.