Samsung today unveiled its highly-anticipated phablet, Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Plus. Both devices don’t bring about revolutionary features and changes, but they are really tough rivals that challenge Apple iPhone lineup. It seems that Apple is feeling the heat from the South Korean firm in the premium smartphone segment.
In this article, we are going to put the iPhone XS and Samsung Galaxy Note 10 in a head-to-head comparison in order to help you decide which one is right for you.
Note 10 Release Date and Pricing
At today’s unveiling event, Samsung confirmed that the pre-order for the Note 10 is now available in select countries. The Note 10 will hit stores on August 23 in the US and UK, but it remains unknown when the device will launch globally.
When it comes to pricing, the Galaxy Note 10 will be priced at $945 in the US, which is slightly cheaper than the iPhone X’s $999 price tag. Meanwhile, the bigger Galaxy Note 10 Plus will start at $1,100 at launch, which makes sense seeing that we are now living in this $1000 smartphone universe.
Design and Display
Apple iPhone XS retains the same design from the X model, with all-glass body and stainless steel chassis. The XS is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful smartphones on the market.
With the Galaxy Note 10, Samsung continues to use aluminum body, thus offering a premium look. One of biggest design changes coming to the Note 10 lies in its full-screen display with a hole-punch selfie camera in the center front.
The adoption of punch-hole cutouts first appeared on the S10 and S10 Plus last year, which received mostly favorable reviews from users. In reality, users can be creative with those cutouts thanks to a host of fantastic wallpapers.
The notch on the iPhone XS is not bad, but many people don’t like it. To be honest, I am not a big fan of smartphone notches as they are pretty annoying and take up some screen space. I love the fact that Samsung is moving away from that trend and go for cutouts instead. At least, these cutouts don’t go to waste. Both Galaxy Note 10 and iPhone XS are IP68-certified for water and dust resistance and come with wireless charging.
The Note 10 comes with an enhanced S-Pen, something we’d love to use. The S-Pen now has a built-in Air Motion, a cool feature that lets you do a lot more things using your gestures. In other words, you can use the stylus as a wand now, which is pretty cool.
Of course, you cannot use your Apple Pencil on your iPhone, as Apple’s stylus is exclusive to the iPad lineup. If you are a big fan of stylus, then the Note 10 should be a better option.
The Galaxy Note 10 features a 6.3 inch AMOLED Display, while the iPhone XS sports a 5.8 inch OLED display. Basically, that’s the same screen technology on both device as Samsung is currently Apple’s sole supplier of OLED panels. To be honest, the Note 10’s screen has better brightness and contrast, but the XS has a higher pixel density.
Chipset
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is powered by Snapdragon 855 or Samsung’s own Exynos 9825 chipset. Both chips are powerful enough to handle all of your tasks you throw at your device. However, the iPhone XS still has its upper hand in terms of performance thanks to its A12 Bionic chip.
In reality, the A12 Bionic is a high-end processor that’s seen as the most powerful mobile chipset on the market. To be honest, there is no huge difference between the two devices.
When it comes to gaming, the Note 10 can run all games on the market. However, in Android fashion, you sometimes encounter lags and crashes. Meanwhile, most games are highly optimized for iPhone, so if you are a big fan of games, then the iPhone XS is your solid choice.
Camera
The Galaxy Note 10 won’t bring about a significant camera update over its predecessor. Basically, that’s the same technology we have already seen on the S10 and S10 Plus for months. Indeed, the Note 10 is packed with three rear shooters, including a 12MP regular lens, a 16MP ultra-wide lens, and a 12MP telephoto lens.
The iPhone XS features a dual-camera setup, with two 12MP snappers on the back. Both devices are undoubtedly among the best camera phones on the market, but I’d love to see something big in Note 10 when compared to the Note 9. In reality, the image stabilization technology has been enhanced, but it is not massive. I don’t think the reason to upgrade to the Galaxy Note 10 is the camera, as it comes with slight changes.
It’s hard to tell who wins in terms of camera’s performance. However, I noticed that the iPhone XS did a better job in processing photos in low-light conditions when compared to the Note 10.
Wrapping Up
The release of the Galaxy Note 10 will boost the smartphone market this year. Samsung’s latest flagship phone is a great option for any user considering that it is cheaper than the XS. However, the XS still stands out in terms of camera and battery life.
Are you planning to grab the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 on launch day? Let us know in the comments below.
