26 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 66HANDS-ON
been achieved by getting rid of the top and bottom
bezels. It’s now over 10mm shorter and just over
5mm narrower. It’s the top bezel that’s impressive
sinceit usedtohousevarioussensors.Nowthe
Note10is liketheS10witha ‘punch‑hole’ camera
notch, only the camera is in a central position now.
The Note10 is also slimmer than the Note9 at
7.9mm, though we think a lot of users would prefer
it to stay thicker. This is because the headphone jack
has been removed, which we’ll talk about later.
One major design change is that the power
and volume keys have been moved to the left of
thephone,whichis highlyunusualforanAndroid
handset.Thismakesit nicerforleft‑handedusersand
Samsungpointsoutthatright‑handers will find their
index finger naturally sits in that area. The dedicated
Bixbybuttonhasalsogone,thoughyoucanlong‑
pressthepowerkeytosummonthedigitalassistant.
ManyelementsarethesamesuchastheUSB‑C
port on the bottom along with the slot, which houses
the S Pen. In typical Samsung style, the Note10 is fully
dust and waterproof with an IP68 rating.
Finally, the regular Note10 comes in different
colour options compared to the Note10+. It’s
available in Aura Glow and Aura Black.Display
As we touched upon earlier, the standard Note10
is the smaller of the two new smartphones: it has a
6.3in screen compared to the Note10+’s 6.8in panel.
The display is also much more manageable thanthat
of its predecessor, the Note9, thanks to its edge‑