Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ to feature record-breaking screen, launch in Australia on August 23
Samsung is set to launch the world’s biggest smartphone in Australia, with a record-breaking screen that could rival tablet computers. Here’s a sneak peek of the new Galaxy Note 10+.
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The world’s biggest smartphone maker has revealed plans to launch the world’s biggest smartphone in Australia this morning, with the kind of screen once reserved for tablet computers.
Samsung’s latest Galaxy Note smartphone, unveiled in New York, will break records in Australia when it arrives with a 6.8-inch screen in a move that experts warn could divide smartphone buyers.
But for the first time the company will simultaneously release a smaller version of the Note, in what is widely viewed as a pre-emptive strike on major rival Apple before its next iPhone launch.
MORE: Samsung to sell laptops in Australia again
Samsung Electronics Australia mobile vice-president Garry McGregor told News Corp releasing two Note smartphones at once was designed to recruit “as many people as possible” to the flagship smartphone, and allowed Samsung to create a record-breaking device for big-phone fans.
“I remember 10 years ago when we were talking about anything over six inches, it was a tablet. This is a lot bigger,” he said.
The new top model Note 10+ will not only feature a 6.8-inch display but will come with five cameras, 5G connectivity, twice the storage of its predecessor, and a redesigned S Pen stylus.
New S Pen features will convert handwriting scribbled on its screen into digital text, and let users control its camera by flicking the stylus in the air.
The smaller Galaxy Note 10 will feature a 6.3-inch screen, and Mr McGregor said it was designed to appeal to a largely female audience who reported “they would be interested in all the features of the Note if it had a smaller form factor”.
Despite the upgrades, both smartphones will be launched in Australia on August 23 with “aggressive” prices, Mr McGregor said, with the Note 10 matching last year’s $1499 cost, and the 5G Note 10+ commanding $1999.
Both models will cost significantly less than the most expensive smartphones in Australia: Samsung’s competing top model S10 and the Apple iPhone XS Max, both of which command over $2000.
Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi said the South Korean tech giant had wisely super-sized the Galaxy Note to “grab a lot of attention without too much noise from Apple“.
And while he said any phone with a 6.8-inch screen would only narrowly avoid being “categorised as a tablet in its own right,” it was likely to find buyer in Australia.
“We used to joke about carrying such a large device beside our heads but we do it now,” Mr Fadaghi said. “Times change and history would lend itself to ‘bigger is better’ and it will differentiate this phone.”
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 models will become available for pre-orders in Australia at 9am on Thursday, and Apple is expected to release new iPhone models next month, with a launch tipped for September 10.
But both companies could face an uphill battle to get Australian consumers to upgrade their smartphones due to rising prices and questions over 5G.
Research firm Gartner this week released predictions that Australians would buy 700,000 fewer smartphones this year before sales figures recovered to normal levels next year.
FIRST LOOK AT NEW GALAXY NOTE SMARTPHONES
Samsung is placing an each-way bet.
Its Galaxy Note is known as the big-phone pioneer; the original phablet; the phone other companies mocked until it proved so popular they had to copy it.
But Samsung doesn’t just want to make big phones: it wants big profits and a bigger audience.
That’s why there are two Galaxy Note smartphones this year: one with a screen big enough to break records, and the other with a daintier display designed for pockets.
It’s a new approach for the company, and a gamble that could pay off if it can explain why buyers need a pen with their next handset.
But there are some compromises made in these new handsets too (particularly if you love your current headphones).
We went hands on with the new Note 10 models to assess their noteworthiness.
BIGGEST SCREEN YET
According to analysts, any device with a 7-inch screen can be classified as a tablet computer, so Samsung’s latest Note is only just clinging to “phone” status.
At 6.8 inches, the screen on the Note 10+ is the biggest on the market, and the biggest to arrive in Australia since the little-known ASUS Fonepad in 2013.
Mercifully, while it looks larger, it doesn’t feel bigger than the Note 9 or the S10 5G when it’s in your hand.
In fact, it is just one millimetre long and wider than the model that came before it.
It achieves its screen size by whittling away more of the screen’s border. The Note 9, by comparison, has a terribly thick black bar at the top of the screen (some call this the forehead).
The screen of the Note 10+ almost touches the top edge, and boasts a 94 per cent screen-to-body ratio.
Even though it might seem awkward on paper, the new Note doesn’t feel unwieldy. You will need to use both hands to compose a message, though.
WHAT’S NEW
The top model Galaxy Note will come with a high-speed 5G connection, 12GB RAM and a 512GB memory this year, making it a seriously powerful device.
It also brings Samsung’s built-in fingerprint sensor to the Note’s screen, offers power sharing, and boasts a slightly upgraded four-camera array out back (the time-of-flight camera is an upgrade).
But its freshest additions are a new stylus and software features.
The S Pen is now battery-powered, arrives in a solid, unibody form, and can be used to control the phone with gestures.
Open the camera and you can flick the S Pen skywards to change from the back to the front camera. Flick it sideways and you can change photo modes. This is likely to be a big deal for influences who take spectacular selfies.
Other photographic additions include bringing portrait-style images to video for the first time, and letting users draw on their selfies using AR Doodle.
But probably the handiest feature of all is the Note’s new ability to convert handwritten notes to digitised text.
After scribbling down words on this phone’s screen, you can tap your writing with a finger to convert it to text. Whether you’re a student or often find yourself taking meeting minutes, this could be a massive timesaver, and it worked every time in our limited tests.
WHAT’S MISSING
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 giveth new features but it hath also taken some away.
For the first time, Samsung has relented to market pressure and removed the headphone jack from this device. There’ll be no more plugging in a standard pair of earphones — you’ll need a USB-C model or a wireless set.
The company has also removed the dedicated Bixby button from this phone. The Samsung smart assistant can still be accessed, however, if you hold down the new power button that has shifted to the left side of the device.
The new Note is also not one for keen, front-facing selfie-takers. It has only one camera up front, rather than the two on some S10 models that deliver portrait results.
IS IT ENOUGH?
Samsung’s newest Note delivers what its loyal users want: a big screen, a capable stylus, and plenty of power.
The top model also comes with 5G — a must for savvy smartphone shoppers — and a host of new features that range from novel fun (drawing crowns on your selfies) to genuinely useful (converting handwriting to text).
But from the outside, there’s no major overhaul here. Despite the screen size, this phone looks very similar to smartphones that came before it. It’s not a bold redesign like the Fold, nor a big step up like the Note 9.
The loss of the headphone port is also likely to disappoint some big phone fans who may have been willing to trade extra bulk for a life without adaptors.
But if Samsung can sell buyers on the S Pen’s new features, or win them over with that record-breaking screen, they could secure their old audience and a new one.
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson travelled to New York as a guest of Samsung.
THE 10 BIGGEST SMARTPHONES YOU CAN BUY
6.7 inches: Samsung Galaxy S10 5G
6.6 inches: Oppo Reno 5G, OnePlus 7 Pro
6.5 inches: Apple iPhone XS Max
6.4 inches: Huawei P30 Pro, LG V40 ThinQ, Oppo R17 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S10+, Samsung Galaxy A50
6.3 inches: Google Pixel 3 XL
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