Samsung Galaxy Note 10 laid bare: all-new design with Huawei P30-like colours

(Image credit: Samsung)

published 11 July 2019

There has been no shortage of leaks around the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. Ahead of the official announcement at Galaxy Unpacked early next month, we've learnt about a truck load of details, including the tweaked Infinity-O display design, the demise of the 3.5mm audio port, the zoom capability of the new camera, and the price.

But the latest leak has presented the clearest view yet of the all-new design.

The latest images come courtesy of oft-reliable tipster Roland Quandt at WinFuture and Twitter leakser Ishan Agarwal. The high-resolution images appear to be official renders from Samsung, which will likely be used in press material, on the Samsung Galaxy website, and in promotional material.

Provided the leak is accurate, it looks like Samsung will only launch two colour schemes for the Galaxy Note 10 – standard-issue black, and a shimmering, gradient blue-purple finish that looks identical to the Huawei P30 Pro. Huawei has enjoyed immense success with its shifting colour finishes. In fact, the P20 Pro was the first smartphone model to shift more units in a colour finish, than plain ol' black.

Elsewhere, the leaked renders seem to confirm a number of the rumours that have been swirling online over the last few months. Most notably, Samsung will bring the triple-camera from the Galaxy S10 Plus to the back of the Note 10, which will also benefit from a bigger screen because of the Infinity-O screen design.

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Unlike the cut-out used on the Galaxy S10 series, the Note 10 will sport its in-screen selfie camera in the middle of its display. As you'd expect from a flagship smartphone from Samsung, the screen gently curves over the side of the handset.

As there's no distinguishable fingerprint scanner to be found on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 in these images, it's safe to assume rumours of a sensor embedded inside the display are true. Samsung also seems to have dropped one of the physical buttons typically found on the Galaxy Note 10, although it's unclear whether this is the oft-maligned Bixby button, or the power button. Earlier rumours had suggested that Samsung hoped to ditch all buttons from the design in favour of capacitive touch areas on the chassis. Evidently, this was a little off the mark.

Finally, there is one detail these high-resolution render cannot tell us – and that is whether whispers of the 3.5mm headphone port meeting its maker on the Note 10 are accurate or not. Despite revealing the Galaxy Note 10 from almost all angles, there's no clear view of the bottom of the handset, where the port is typically found.

If the Galaxy Note 10 does decide to drop the 3.5mm headphone port, users will have to turn to USB-C wired headphones, Bluetooth earbuds or headphones, or a 3.5mm-to-USB-C adapter. Certain manufacturers, including Apple and Google, have bundled the latter in the box when moving away from the once-ubiquitous port.

Samsung is widely-tipped to mess with the formula and debut two versions of its Galaxy Note 10 series. According to Roland Quandt, the colourful Note 10 is the smaller of the two handsets, sometimes referred to as the Note 10 Lite, or the Note 10e. This will have a 6.3-inch AMOLED display, compared to the whopping 6.75-inch Note 10 Pro on the black version of the Note 10 pictured, which will also be revealed on August 7, 2019 at Galaxy Unpacked.

Some sources point to separate 5G variants of the Note 10 and the Note 10 Pro being launched – for a total of four different Note 10 handsets to pick from.

Despite the solid track record of the leaksters, it's worth taking these images with a small pinch of salt. After all, nothing is confirmed until it's produced on-stage from Samsung mobile wizard DJ Koh. As always, T3 will have all the news from Galaxy Unpacked as it happens, to stay tuned for the latest on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.

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As a former Staff Writer for T3, Aaron writes about almost anything shiny and techie. When he’s not barking orders at Alexa-powered microwaves or gawping at 5G speed tests, Aaron covers everything from smartphones, tablets and laptops, to speakers, TVs and smart home gadgets. Prior to joining T3, Aaron worked at the Daily Express and and MailOnline.