Top 5 greatest anime crossovers: Samsung deploys Microsoft at Note 10 hootenanny

Samsung surprised nobody by unveiling a pair of eye-wateringly expensive smartphones – the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ – while talking up best buddy Microsoft at an event last night in New York City. To be fair, the previous Galaxy Note9 was a decent, if pricey, bit of kit and the hulking Note 10 has continued that trend both …

[djstardust]

Just like Apple

Higher prices >£50 every year

Removing things

No innovation

I have the Huawei P30 Pro (replacement for the Note 8). The battery life is stellar, build quality is great and the 5x optical zoom is immense. Granted it doesn't have a headphone jack but either a HTC or Hidisz USB C DAC dongle makes it sound amazing with wired cans.

I also don't understand why the smaller Note 10 has no SD support but only 256gb fixed storage, where the larger one already has 512gb and SD support on top ??????

I really expected Samsung to compete with Huawei on the camera front but yet again it's the same old stuff rolled out with tiny improvements for the 3rd year now.

Sorry Samsung, you're falling behind and taking the piss now.

[simonlb]

Re: Just like Apple

I agree they are falling behind, and if they're not careful are in danger of going the same way as HTC.

[jelabarre59]

Re: Just like Apple

Higher prices >£50 every year

Removing things

No innovation

Didn't Louis Rossmann tell Samsung they shouldn't copy Apple's bad examples?

They're going to change from Samsung to SamSUNK.

[sabroni]

fingerprint senson on the front

How is that better than having a bevelled sensor on the back? You know, round where your fingers are where you hold a phone.

I can see a few disadvantage: not obvious where the sensor is, you have to block the screen to use it and more grease on the screen (you have to provide more of your finger to get a print than you do to tap a button).

So, what's the point of the sensor on the front then? I mean, I understand that it was an interesting challenge, but that doesn't make it a useful feature....

[VonDutch]

Re: fingerprint senson on the front

Sensor on the back is great when holding your phone but a real pain when it's sat on your desk and you don't want to have to pick it up to quickly reply to a message.

Sensor on front is great if phone is on a desk or (depending on size of phone) got both hands free.

[MiguelC]

Re: fingerprint senson on the front

in my own experience, the under screen sensor only works whenever it wants to... on my Samsung most of the times it doesn't want to...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: fingerprint senson on the front

IMO side mounted seems best. I love the rear mounted on the Note 9, but understand it is not ideal in all situations.

[doublelayer]

Re: fingerprint senson on the front

I believe placement on the front is done so that cases don't have to leave a hole on the back. In my experience, it doesn't really matter where the sensor is, as I'll get used to putting my finger there if I'm using it. I can't say my fingers always gravitate to the back of the phone, let alone the same place on the back of the phone, when I pick it up.

[Anonymous Coward]

If the new note doesn't sell well they can just have a fire sale in a few months. I just hope people don't get burned buying them early. That's my hot take on it.

[jelabarre59]

If the new note doesn't sell well they can just have a fire sale in a few months.

But wouldn't that be the Note7?

[VonDutch]

Just rebrand it as the Galaxy Fold mini.

Screen probably has the same resistance to bending as the Fold review units did.

[Kane]

I see what you did there...

[Dave 126]

VGA resolution TOF

The Note 10+ apparently features a laser Time of Flight 3D sensor, scanning at VGA resolution, which can output to something useful such as an *. STL file.

I've been making positive noises about such things here for a couple of years ago (since Qualcomm showed off a reference design, and especially in the last year since Sony announced a ToF sensor they wanted to push onto OEMs) though I acknowledge that most consumers likely won't have a use for then. Whilst I would dearly like a 3D scanner, its inclusion alone isn't enough for me to upgrade my S8 to a phone as big and and pricey as this Note 10+. Still, I look forward to seeing which models feature a ToF sensor when the time eventually comes to retire my current phone.

[Anonymous Coward]

"our good friends at Microsoft"

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: "our good friends at Microsoft"

Beware of Geeks bearing gifts.

FTFY - No charge (Just in case it explodes).

[Ochib]

Re: "our good friends at Microsoft"

Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes

[Kane]

Re: "our good friends at Microsoft"

Libera te tutemet ex inferis

[Anonymous Coward]

How does that make DeX more useful?

The whole point of such a solution is to allow people to not carry a laptop or own a PC, as they can perform PC tasks like writing a Word document or updating a spreadsheet using a phone, and need only a monitor (for which any HDTV will do) and bluetooth keyboard/mouse.

Nobody wants a "show my phone apps on my PC" solution, this is solving a problem nobody has!

[Dave 126]

Re: How does that make DeX more useful?

I guess DEX allows you to use a borrowed laptop without having to sign the laptop into (and more importantly, out of ) various services such as email. Could be handy, could potentially offer security benefits depending upon how it works.

Of course, throwing in features just because they can has always been Samsung's MO with the Galaxy and Note lines - see my comment about the Note 10+'s 3D laser scanner.

[NerryTutkins]

Re: How does that make DeX more useful?

I disagree that nobody wants a "show my phone apps on my PC".

I think lots of people like me who spend most of our time at a desk have the whatsapp app on windows linked to our phone, so we can type messages etc. rather than have to do it on a poxy phone keyboard when we have a perfectly good physical keyboard in front of us.

When MS was desperately trying to get Windows Phone off the ground, and get app developers to provide apps for it, they decided to butcher the Windows desktop. What they should have done is exactly this - provided a neat way to run Windows Phone apps in a sidebar (kind of like the old gadgets they dropped). Maybe it still would not have been enough, but they could have at least provided something different, useful (to some) and not have had to murder the Windows desktop in the process either.

It seems they're going in that direction now with android. And I think for many users who work in offices most of the time, it's actually going to be a popular feature.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: How does that make DeX more useful?

Why in the world do you need to run Whatsapp off your phone and display it on your PC, rather than simply running it directly on your PC? That makes no sense.

If you argue "my work doesn't allow me to run Whatsapp" then they likely aren't going to allow you run the app on your PC that lets you access your phone, either.

[a pressbutton]

Fingerprint reader

does the fingerprint reader work if you have a screen protector?

I have a tempered glass one on my note 8 - and it is the second one - and I will need to replace it soon.

[Dave 126]

Re: Fingerprint reader

You're best off waiting a few weeks until reviewers and consumers have had a chance to test it with a glass screen protector. In the meantime, you can Google people's experience of using the Galaxy S10 ( another phone with an under the screen finger print scanner) with glass screen protectors - a brief look suggests that some work better than others (though you might want to look a bit more in depth than I have, since some of the top search results read like paid content).

Having an air gap blinds ultrasonic sensors (which is which a gel is applied to the skin for medical ultrasound scans), so it's very plausible that using an optically clear adhesive with a glass screen protector will allow the finger print sensor to work.

[Hans 1]

Re: Fingerprint reader

But is the whole point not to disable the fingerprint reader ?

Biometrics on portable devices ...

[Dave 126]

Re: Fingerprint reader

Eh Hans?

Biometrics is likely enough to prevent you being sued if you're a professional with data about your clients on your phone, should you lose your phone. You can remote wipe before a thief can fake your fingerprint with super glue.

If you're about to enter the USA or go to a protest in Hong Kong then hold down the power button and 'Enter Lockdown' (after enabling Show Lockdown Option under Security settings). On iOS, hold down two buttons for five seconds (newer phones) or tap power button five times (older).

[jonathan keith]

No Snapdragons over here

It's one of Sammy's Exynos doodads for us living in Euroland.

Thanks, Samsung.

[Dave 126]

Re: No Snapdragons over here

Meh. Marginal differences between Snapdragon and Exonys in speed and power efficiency. Modders and those who sideload the Pixel camera app might get some benefit from Snapdragon.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/14072/the-samsung-galaxy-s10plus-review/17

[Kevin McMurtrie]

Re: No Snapdragons over here

Lucky you - there are no 3rd party operating systems for Sammy's Snaps. The phone is landfill when the OEM updates stop.

[Hans 1]

It's 2019 – and you can completely pwn this Androids over the air

Snapdragon 855

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/08/06/qualcomm_android_security_patches/

So get patching!

[J. R. Hartley]

12GB of RAM

That'll keep Chrome happy for a few hours.

[Anonymous Coward]

I miss grenade mode :(

Does it have one? Like, you're in a tight situation, the bad guys have almost found you but just have to cross the vat of boiling magnesium metal on a very rickety gangway.. you NEED to be able to activate grenade mode it would literally save your life.

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmm

Didn't Samsung drop the sd card on the note5 and s5 (or the following year's 6) and then had to reinstate them due to a slump in sales ? I can only seeing this going the same way. I had the first few generations of Note (1-3). They were fantastic, every feature in one phone. And now they're no longer more powerful nor particularly bigger than the S line, have dropped the sd card, the headphone jack, the removable battery (not sure about the ir blaster), and the basic Note has gone back to 1080p or what my Note 3 had about 6 years ago. All that for double or more the price ?? Seriously, the specs are getting worse and I'd have thought tech would be getting cheaper, but yet prices are insane now. Not for me.

[Kevin McMurtrie]

We took features away so it's premium now

The giant slab has room for a detachable pen and a bunch of extra cameras but there's none for a headphone jack or a second USB-C port to replace it?

[CAPS LOCK]

So, Samsung has jumped into bed with MS...

... joint ventures with MS always work out well...