Samsung Galaxy Note 10 vs Galaxy Note 10+: Should you buy the bigger phone?

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is now available in Australia. This time around, there are two to choose from: the "regular" Galaxy Note 10 and the super-sized Galaxy Note 10+.

So, which one should you pick? While we can't give a final verdict until we've had a chance to get both devices in our hot little hands, here's our early verdict on how the two phones stack up on:

• Price
• Camera
• Looks
• Performance
• Battery life

Galaxy Note 10 vs Galaxy Note 10+: Price

Early verdict: Galaxy Note 10

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The standard Galaxy Note 10 will save you $200 over the Note 10+.

If price is your first and only concern, the choice is obvious. Get the Note 10.

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Let's be honest. No one chooses a Galaxy Note to save money. The Note has always been Samsung's power smartphone, with a power price tag to match. This year will be no different. However, if you want to bag Samsung's latest and greatest and still keep some change in your wallet, the Galaxy Note 10 is the obvious choice.

Costing $1,499 outright with 256GB of storage, the Note 10 saves a cool $200 over the Note 10+ which, at $1,699 for 256GB, has a whopper of a price-tag. Just be aware that the Note 10 has no expandable storage, whereas the Note 10+'s 256GB out-of-the-box storage can be further increased with a microSD card. 

Galaxy Note 10 vs Galaxy Note 10+: Camera

Early verdict: Galaxy Note 10+

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The Note 10 and the Note 10+ both have a core of three cameras on the back.

But only the Note 10+ has fourth lens - a Time of Flight sensor to capture additional depth.

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Both the Note 10 and the Note 10+ are going to take great photo. But if you have to have the best, it seems like the Note 10+ will have a slight edge.

Each phone will have the same three core rear-facing cameras. There'll be a standard 12MP primary lens, a 12MP 2x zoom lens, and a 16MP ultra-wide angle lens. However, the Galaxy Note 10+ augments these with a Time of Flight lens, which is used to capture additional depth information and create more realistic-looking portrait shots.

On the other hand, while the two phone cameras will differ on the back, on the front, they are identical. Both devices have a single front-facing 10MP lens for selfies.

Galaxy Note 10 vs Galaxy Note 10+: Looks

Early verdict: Galaxy Note 10+

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While both phones will look the same with Samsung's new camera cut-out display, the Note 10+ has a larger screen with a higher resolution. 

That's more room to look at better picture quality. We wouldn't say no to that.

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As with the S10 family, Samsung has reduced bezel on both the Note 10 devices with a camera cut-out display. Rather than sitting in a notch, the selfie camera is built directly into the screen. But while the S10 family have the selfie camera in the top right hand corner, Samsung has centred it for the Note 10 and Note 10+.

Much like the Galaxy S10 series, both Notes have the curved Infinity screen and neither phone has a physical fingerprint reader. Instead, Samsung is using in-screen fingerprint technology, as is becoming increasingly common these days. Both phones also support facial recognition.

But while the pair of devices look pretty similar, there are a couple of important differences. The Note 10 will come with a 6.3-inch 1080p+ display, but the Note 10+ will have a massive 6.8-inch 1440p+ display. If a top-notch display is on your "must" list, we'd say go with the Note 10+.

If you're going for the super-size Galaxy Note 10+, you'll want to get a lot of data so you can enjoy that screen for gaming, Netflix, or whatever it is you do with your free time.

Galaxy Note 10 vs Galaxy Note 10+: Performance

Early verdict: Galaxy Note 10+

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While the Note 10 and Note 10+ are both powered by the the same processor, the Note 10+ has an extra 4GB of RAM, which should give it more oomph. 

If you're a power user who loves running memory-hogging apps and games, you'll want the Note 10+.

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When it comes to performance, both the Note 10 and the Note 10+ are going to be pretty slick. They share the exact same top-tier processor (a Samsung Exynos 9825), which means they have about the same amount of grunt for all your daily tasks.

Where they differ, however, is in the amount of memory (aka RAM) they're allocated. The Galaxy Note 10 will have 8GB of RAM. The Note 10+ will have a whopping 12GB. So how will this affect your experience of the phone?

To put it simply, extra RAM allows additional apps to run in the background. If you love jumping from app to app, this means there'll be a longer period in which to resume an app you were using earlier, without the phone forcing it to load from scratch. 

At the same time, we've found that 4GB tends to be more than enough for Android phones currently, so the regular Note 10 should still be more than satisfactory.

Galaxy Note 10 vs Galaxy Note 10+: Battery life

Early verdict: Galaxy Note 10+

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The Note 10+ has the bigger battery of the two phones, with 4,300mAh over the S10's 3,500mAh.

But we'll have to wait to do some real-world testing to see just what this means for the two phones' battery life.

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Samsung Galaxy "+" models have historically had the best battery life, and this would seem to be the case with the Note 10+. The big daddy Note 10+ will ship with a whopping 4,300mAh battery, whereas the Note 10 only has a 3,500mAh cell.

The battery size alone, however, is not enough to really say how much better battery life on the phone will be. There are a lot of other real-world factors that come into play. 

Once we've got our hands on the two devices and done some testing, we'll be able to say exactly what the difference will be in terms of battery life. In the meantime, we're betting the Note 10+ will be the device that lasts longer.

What we do know is that the Note 10+ will charge faster, with fast charging at up to 45W supported. Samsung says 45W charging will give you hours of usage from just a few minutes of charge. Very nice.

It's important to note, however, that a 45W charger is not included in the box, so that will be an extra thing you'll have to buy.

Jacqui Dent

Editorial Strategist

Jacqui Dent is an Editorial Content Strategist at WhistleOut Australia, where she writes about mobile phone plans, NBN plans and everything in between. Over her ten-year career, she has worked to provide informed advice to the public, first in the sphere of writing and now in the world of consumer tech. Jacqui has also written about consumer telco products for Business Insider, Pedestrian and the 50Up Club.

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