Samsung Galaxy Note 10 battery unmasked... and it's good and bad news

We've just heard more information on what to expect from the battery powering the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and, honestly, it's a bit of a mixed bag. It largely depends on which of the two different Galaxy Note 10 models you plump for.

More evidence has emerged online, courtesy of TrendingLeaks, that the more affordable Galaxy Note 10 model, likely dubbed Note 10 or Note 10e, will have a very diddy 3,400mAh battery cell. For comparison, that's a pretty sizeable step-down from the 4,000mAh cell found inside its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

Things are looking better for the pricier model, likely dubbed Note 10 Pro, which will seemingly have a heftier 4,500mAh battery inside. If accurate, that puts it on par with the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, and 400mAh above the cell inside the Galaxy S10 Plus.

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The good news is that should keep things ticking along for a good while – despite the mammoth 6.75-inch AMOLED display that looks set to dominate the front of the handset. 

However, with Samsung is expected to launch a 4G and 5G version of both Note 10 models, we're now wondering whether the smaller 3,400mAh cell in the so-called Note 10e will be enough to keep users powering along on a superfast 5G network throughout a full day at work and well into the evening?

Most recently, sources speaking to XDA Developer contributor Max Weinbach have claimed the Note 10 will not come with 45W fast charging speeds. Previous leaks had suggested the productivity-focused range would boast charging speeds almost double what we've seen from Samsung on the likes of its Galaxy S10, and Galaxy A80.

Instead, the Galaxy Note 10 Pro will have 25W fast-charging, which puts it behind competitors like the OnePlus 7 Pro, which uses 30W Warp Charging. In order to keep down costs on the Note 10e, Samsung-centric blog SamMobile believes the phone will stick with the older 15W fast-charging system. If the battery cell is only 3,400mAh, that shouldn't be too much hassle and will definitely be forgivable if it helps Samsung get the handset down to a lower price.

But its disappointing that we won't see Samsung unveil a next-generation fast-charging technology to power its new flagship phone. For that, Weinbach claims we'll have to wait for the upcoming Galaxy A90.

This is part of Samsung's new approach to always bring its cutting-edge technology to mid-range devices before the flagships in order to stay ahead of aggressively-priced competition from the likes of Xiaomi, Honor, and OnePlus.

Samsung will likely power all four Galaxy Note 10 models with the latest-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 system-on-a-chip, or its own Exynos 9820, depending on the region. Elsewhere, rumours swirling around the Galaxy Note 10 suggest it will have a tweaked holepunch camera display, known as the Infinity-O design. While earlier rumours pointed to the Note 10 ditching all physical buttons from the chassis in favour of small touch areas, that no longer seems to be the case.

Of course, none of this is set in stone until Samsung mobile chief DJ Koh makes the announcement on-stage in August. Before then, expect to hear a flurry of additional reports and rumours on the forthcoming flagship.

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