Introduction
Last year, we reviewed the Galaxy Note10+, one of the best phones in 2019. Just recently, Samsung announced the affordable version in the Note10 lineup, and it is now available in Malaysia. Without further ado, this is the Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite review!
Design
Since this is the affordable variant, you can’t expect the phone to have the same build quality as its bigger brothers. The front is still all about the screen, it has a 6.7-inch screen with the Infinity-O cutout like its bigger brothers, but the bezels are now slightly thicker. Unlike its bigger brothers, there are no curves on both sides of the screen, I actually kind of prefer this.
Unlike its bigger brothers, the fingerprint sensor underneath the screen isn’t ultrasonic, but the optical one, which has a slower response time. Additionally, the phone isn’t IP68 rated for water and dust resistance as well. Even though it is the lite version, its haptic feedback actually feels pretty great and solid.
The volume rocker and power button are located on the right side, while the left side has the SIM slot. Like its bigger brothers, the Bixby button is now being integrated into the power button and you can configure it in settings.
The bottom of the phone houses the 3.5mm audio jack, USB-C port, mono speaker, and the S Pen slot. Yes, the 3.5mm audio jack is back! However, the Lite version now doesn’t come with stereo speakers, meaning the earpiece will just function as an earpiece.
The back is actually made of plastic, instead of glass. Our review unit is the Aura Glow variant, which also creates a beautiful shimmering effect, though it’s not as nice as its bigger brothers. The back is a fingerprint magnet and can get scratched quite easily since it uses a less durable material. Overall, the Note10 Lite has a more rounded design compared to its squarish bigger brothers.
Display
The Galaxy Note10 Lite has a 6.7-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with an Infinity-O cutout. Personally, I have no issue with the Infinity-O cutout since it is located at the center and doesn’t really block anything.
Even though it has an AMOLED panel, the quality wouldn’t be as good as its bigger brother since this is a normal Super AMOLED display. Samsung didn’t mention anything regarding HDR10+ tech support, which probably also means it doesn’t support HDR10+. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a great display with good color reproduction and deep blacks, but I felt that the screen is lacking a bit behind when compared to its bigger brothers.
Performance
The Galaxy Note10 Lite is powered by a 10nm Exynos 9810 processor with 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. It uses the same processor as the Note9, which is a 2018 processor. In terms of performance, the phone performs quite well. It handles Call of Duty: Mobile pretty well with middle graphics settings and high frame rate, there will be some hiccups when changed to high graphics settings.
Software
The phone runs on One UI 2.0 on top of Android 10, a more polished and faster software experience than before. The overall experience is actually quite similar to the Note10+, you still get features like Edge Panels and Edge Lighting even though it now has a flat-screen.
Unlike its bigger brothers, its S Pen is the same one as the one with Note9, which means there’s no six-axis motion sensor. Thankfully, you can still use it as a remote control for remote camera access and other functions. Sadly, the phone doesn’t support Samsung DeX.
Camera
In terms of camera, the Note10 Lite packs a triple-camera setup like the regular Note10 — 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide + 12MP f/1.5 main with Dual Pixel PDAF and OIS + 12MP f/2.4 2x telephoto with OIS. The main camera now doesn’t have a variable aperture, though. Selfie wise, there’s a higher-res 32MP front camera, but it doesn’t have autofocus.
Image quality generally is quite good, just like its bigger brothers. It still has the Night Mode, which captures nice low-light photos. You can capture Night Mode photos with the ultra-wide camera or the main camera. Once again, the Pro Mode doesn’t have wide controls, meaning astrophotography isn’t possible with this phone.
Battery Life
The Note10 Lite packs a 4,500mAh battery with 25W fast charging support. Based on my test with my own QC 3.0 charger, it took me less than 1.5 hours to fully charge the phone from 10%. The phone can last through a day easily with around 5 hours of screen-on-time. Not as good as the Note10+, think we can only blame the old chipset. Unfortunately, the phone doesn’t support wireless charging.
Final Words
Retailing at just RM2,299, the Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite is definitely a great phone to get. This is a phone for those who always wanted to upgrade to a new Note device but can’t afford to spend too much for a Note10 or Note10+. However, at a more affordable price, you’ll get a less impressive build quality and less powerful processor.