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I am of the mind that in 2020, buying the Galaxy Note 10 instead of a Note 20 is the better choice. For one, you get the premium build materials with shiny finishes, you get a curved display, and you get a relatively compact phone with an S Pen. The Samsung Note 10 is cute, functional, and it can be found much cheaper than the current-year Note 20, though you may have to shop around.
You don’t sacrifice much, either — the Note 20 doesn’t have a high refresh rate screen, so you lose nothing by going for the Note 10. The Note 20’s Snapdragon 865+ is the latest and greatest processor — sure — but last year’s Snapdragon 855 is hardly obsolete. The cameras are great on both phones and pretty much comparable.
The only reason one should go for a Note 20, I believe, is if they want a big screen without the curved edge or if they insist on having 5G.
Last year’s Note duo had a very obvious difference in size — the Note 10+ was this big, two-hand device – a trait the Note line is known for. But the Note 10 was this compact, comfortable, Galaxy S-sized phone, with a 6.3-inch (19:9 ratio) screen and an S Pen. It had its own following and with good reason.
The 2020 Note phones don’t differ much in size. The 6.7-inch (20:9 ratio) Note 20 is almost as big as the 6.9-inch (19.3:9) Note 20 Ultra.
Ergo, the size difference alone should be a pretty big factor when you are choosing between the 6.3-inch Note 10 or 6.7-inch Note 20. The latter is for media lovers who just can’t live without that big, big screen. The Note 10 is for those that want something a bit more portable but still enjoy jotting stuff down with the S Pen. You can rest assured that both AMOLED panels look fantastic with great contrast and popping colors.
When it comes to materials and build, the Note 20 takes another loss thanks to its matte plastic back and honestly dull selection of colors. A bronze-ish rose gold, a dull green, and an “exciting” dark gray. The Galaxy Note 10 comes with a shiny glass back and in a wide selection of colors — from the multi-colored Aura Glow to white, black, pink, and vibrant red.
The camera modules on the back also differ a bit — both phones have triple lenses, but the Note 20 has this bold design, while the Note 10 is more understated. This design choice is up to taste — I find myself liking both variants.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
Galaxy Note 20 vs Note 10: cameras, photos, video quality
There are some minor differences around these camera modules, but feature- and quality-wise, both of these Notes have excellent cameras.
So, the Note 10 and Note 20 both have a 12 MP main camera. Then, the Note 10 has a 12 MP telephoto camera, while the Note 20 has a 64 MP secondary camera that simulates a telephoto effect by cropping into the image. As a bonus, however, the Note 20 can use that 64 MP sensor to take higher-res photos, if you choose that special mode.
100% crop in the upper-right corner shows the difference in detail
< Note 20 64MPNote 10 12 MP >
The third camera on both phones is an ultra-wide shooter — 16 MP on the Note 10, 12 MP on the Note 20.
Enough numbers, here are some samples.
In every sample, we get fantastic dynamics, sharp details, and popping colors. Though, I will say that — in some photos — I like the colors of the Note 10 better — the sky definitely looks more realistic. In some photos, the Note 20 amps colors a bit too much. Sure, they pop, but they end up being a bit unrealistic.
The Note 20 does have advanced zoom — you can go up to 30x on that baby. Though, you may not want to… it gets a bit washed out when you go all the way up to 30. But think of it as zoom headroom — the fact that it’s there should mean that the phone can take better shots in mid-zoom levels.
And yes, in fact, a 10x photo taken with the Galaxy Note 20 is slightly sharper than a 10x photo taken with the Note 10: evidence provided above.
For selfies, you get a 10 MP front-facing camera on both phones. And — surprise, surprise — selfies taken with the Note 20 and Note 10 look pretty much identical.
The Note 20 does have a big upgrade in the video department — it can shoot 8K video at 24 FPS. It’s an impressive feat, especially considering that there aren’t many devices that can even play 8K video to begin with. How much it matters to you… is up for you to decide. The Note 10 is still capable of 4K at 60 FPS, which is nothing to snark at — recording at 4K is pretty much the standard right now.
As for extra features — you get Pro Mode, Pro Video, Live Focus video, Super Steady, and Super Slow-mo on both phones. All the bells and whistles, no bars held.
Galaxy Note 20 vs Note 10: performance and interface
At the time of writing this review, the Galaxy Note 10 runs Samsung One UI 2.1, the Note 20 runs One UI 2.5. Both are built on top of Android 10 and are almost the same interface. We’ve got the slightly updated Notes app on the Note 20, which can import PDFs and sync your audio recordings to your written words, so you can review your notes with better clarity of what was being said.
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Otherwise, it’s the same deal throughout — Dark Mode, Blue light filter, Samsung Daily board, Device Care, S Pen gestures, all the Samsung bells and whistles can be found on both phones.
When it comes to performance — the Note 10 is still very much a flagship. It may be running last year’s tech, but that doesn’t make it a slouch. The Note 20 does have the edge in benchmarks. But, in real-life use, I found both phones have the same ratio of enjoyable performance to annoying frame drops.
Samsung has recently committed to 3 years of support for the Notes. So, the Note 10 still has 2 more major updates to get — up to Android 12 —, the Note 20 will get 3.
But the Note 10’s older hardware means that it’d be easier to find it at a bargain price, so it’s quid pro quo.
AnTuTu is a multi-layered,comprehensive mobile benchmark app that assesses various aspects of a device,including CPU,GPU,RAM,I/O,and UX performance.A higher score means an overall faster device.
If the T-Rex HD component of GFXBench is demanding,then the Manhattan test is downright gruelling.It's a GPU-centric test that simulates an extremely graphically intensive gaming environment that is meant to push the GPU to the max. that simulates a graphically-intensive gaming environment on the screen. The results achieved are measured in frames per second, with more frames being better.
The Galaxy Note 10 has a 3,500 mAh battery — a dwarf, compared to the 4,300 mAh cell of the Galaxy Note 20. Difference in battery life? Well, it’s kind of there… the Note 20 can last a beat longer. But it’s nothing to really fret over.
Both of these are “one day phones” — overnight charging will not be off your schedule. But, should you forget to do it, the 25 W charger which comes with both devices will top you up pretty fast.
Preslav, a member of the PhoneArena team since 2014, is a mobile technology enthusiast with a penchant for integrating tech into his hobbies and work. Whether it's writing articles on an iPad Pro, recording band rehearsals with multiple phones, or exploring the potential of mobile gaming through services like GeForce Now and Steam Link, Preslav's approach is hands-on and innovative. His balanced perspective allows him to appreciate both Android and iOS ecosystems, focusing on performance, camera quality, and user experience over brand loyalty.
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