I’ll start my experience with the background.
For several years I went with iPhones (SE 1st generation and 7 Plus), and in February 2020 I decided to return to an android smartphone, but simpler (before that I had experience with Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 5, Meizu M3s Mini, Megafon Login +) … Even with such a relatively modest experience, it made me want to take exactly the Sony Xperia 10. Not even the Plus version, but the usual one, with the same Snapdragon 630 included. The budget was limited, and despite all the advice of friends in favor of Samsung, Huawei or even Xiaomi, the choice fell on Sony (as I later unsubscribed on Twitter on this topic, “a phone only for fans”).
In early August, it turned out that I was offered to sell by Sony and take a little used Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite (the person didn’t really like the camera, he switched to Huawei P30 Pro). Since my last “Samsung” was A5 2016, the offer interested me, and I decided to read a little about what has changed and why the Lite postscript was added to the Note.
As it turned out from several articles, this is the same Note 9, but still a little cheaper. Since I need a smartphone for social networks, music, Youtube and I spend a lot of time during the day in headphones, there was a lot of interest, will AKG headphones be put there, as in the Note 9? It turned out that both Note 10 Lite and S10 Lite use old and relatively good headphones with the EO-EG9003 index
(they are not quite, they look alike). They have huge plugs, they cannot be changed, since there are no replaceable ones in the kit, they did not fit me right away, they constantly fell out of my ear. But I ended up finding a set of replacement plugs (3 different sizes, from small to huge) from the Samsung Galaxy Mega. Again, this is my personal opinion – I know people who wear the same headphones without problems, but I cannot but warn about the possible inconvenience. I myself own the Razer Hammerhead Duo + Kraken Essential, Sony WH-CH510 and Apple Earpods + Airpods as headphones to choose from for every day. So far, I try to walk around in complete sets from a smartphone, and they sound good, in my opinion.
The original S View Wallet Cover was presented to the phone as a gift:
The first time I enjoyed it, until the phone itself rejected the call due to the closed lid during a conversation and tight contact of the phone with the ear. Perhaps I’m doing something wrong, but after that I switched to a simpler case (Wits) and I don’t give a second chance yet. The card compartment was very convenient for a pass at work, but what to do. Reviews on the official website indicate that I am not the only one in this issue suffered because of dropped calls.
What is the S Pen? I used to think that this was a whim of flagships, and even dreamed of something like this in the days of Note 7-8, but now it is in a relatively budget and fresh Samsung. At work, I often need to write down a phone number or some kind of quick reminder, the stylus gives me this opportunity. You can, of course, not use it at all, but then it makes sense to take Note, when there is an S10 in the Lite version for the same money? Yes, Snapdragon processor, cameras are a little bit motley. But as I understand it, a person before me also read Eldar’s review on the Lite versions of both smartphones. There, the S10 camera lost a little to the Note version.
There is another not-so-proven story with the use of a stylus: the included “quick commands” consume the battery very much. Literally 20 minutes, and there is no longer 20%. I don’t press the button on the stylus. If you turn them off, then everything is enough for a long time, no doubt about it. Samsung assured that the stylus works up to 10 hours, but did not answer my question specifically. My wife also liked the smartphone, but precisely because of the stylus: I’m just writing this article, listening to music from wireless headphones, and she is coloring another picture from the PenUP application on the phone. For comparison, here is my wife’s coloring (everything is drawn with a stylus) and my krakozyabras in the general gallery of drafts:
The first question that I had after going through the activation of my smartphone: what would be better to use in everyday life when there is a choice between Samsung Pay, Samsung Internet, Samsung Notes and the same from Google? The first time after moving from Sony, I used everything from Google, but recently I decided to try solutions from Samsung. And, frankly, I don’t remember if it was possible to add your own discount cards in 2017, but now it made the wallet a little easier, everything was successfully transferred, scanned and works (store, gas stations, etc.). Like opening Pay from the unlock screen, the thing is very convenient and repeats the Apple-way in terms of contactless payment. With Google Pay, as I understand it, payment takes place only after the phone is unlocked, which is not always useful for security, Samsung Pay will be better in this regard. Notes do not make much difference, the only difference is that all sketches with the stylus go to Samsung Notes, there is no integration with Google Keep and will not be. And comparing browsers is useless, because most often all passwords are in Chrome, and you can use a browser from Samsung, unless this is your first phone from the manufacturer and you have already used Samsung Pass. Transferring all your passwords is very long and monotonous.
As I said, the phone is mainly used for calls, social networks, YouTube and music. It happens that I play games, there is something like that. At the same time, the charge is stable enough for me for the whole day. Below are screenshots showing how and what I have most often. The first two or three applications are really open for so long, only if “Background” is not specified, which means that the YouTube video played only in audio mode or opened in the “picture-in-picture” format.
I will tell you separately about the biometric capabilities of this device. There is an optical fingerprint scanner and face recognition. Honestly, after the iPhone, the sensor in the screen is something new and interesting, but, unfortunately, there are not enough stars from the sky. The sensor behaves plus or minus as in the A-series, but face recognition works quite well for itself. At least, he will recognize me in almost any state, which is already nice.
I use the photo capabilities of my smartphone, but very rarely, because I take Nikon D5500 with NikKor 18-105mm for a walk. But for example – here are my not the best photos on it (I did not touch any settings at all, except for the “watermark” and aspect ratio):
It also so happened that I got the Galaxy Watch 46 mm with the phone:
The connection with the smartphone takes place very quickly through the Samsung Wearable application, there are no differences from iOS here, the clock is determined by the smartphone, updates are installed, Samsung Pay is tied, and good luck. From general impressions: after Apple Watch 3, the fact that notifications always come to the phone is inconvenient, and then the clock beeps. You can turn it off only in one direction, for example, you are using a phone, and the notification will only sound on the phone. That is, there is no logic here when you wear a watch and all notifications come only there, since you will need a phone for some really important business, the clock should replace it a little (typing text on a watch is quite convenient, owners of push-button phones should have remember the keyboard, and here this system is implemented with a bang, only it’s the same T9, in fact). There is also no notification compatibility with all applications. For example, Ozone does not display a notification on the watch, leaving it only on the phone (they are displayed on the watch if you go to the section of all received notifications).
There are really a lot of dials, but the standard package out of the box was enough for me. By the way, the charge of the watch is enough for me for one and a half to two days of use: Wi-Fi, NFC, geolocation and notifications with sound. I turned off the ticking of the clock, as it works strangely and only when the screen is on or in Always on Display mode.
I don’t think it will be useful to everyone, but personally I liked using the “Your Phone” application on Windows 10. Despite recent assurances that it only works with Samsung flagships so far, on my Note 10 Lite you can also open individual applications without taking phone in hand (there used to be a “Phone Screen” button, and it was launched in a huge window of the application itself, now it is a separate window in which the recording of your phone’s screen is started). A convenient feature, especially at work, so as not to be distracted by the phone (a shared Wi-Fi network for the computer and phone is required, otherwise a glitch occurs and the application does not work correctly, as if it does not see it).
What is the bottom line? I can confidently recommend the Note 10 lite to those people who like to write with a pen or want to give it a try, as the stylus will be very convenient for them. This smartphone is for those who want a ready-made and convenient solution for every day. And he solves this problem 100%.
Related Links
Share:
we are in social networks:
Anything to add ?! Write … eldar@mobile-review.com
