Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite is the cheapest smartphone with S Pen, which you can currently find in Polish stores. I have been working on it for over half a year and I suggest whether it is worth buying it in September 2020. Spoiler – oh, how!
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite is a very unique device in the portfolio of the Korean manufacturer. A relatively inexpensive smartphone with the S Pen stylus, good photographic facilities and a great battery. At the same time, it would be much better if it got a processor from the Galaxy S10 Lite, a brighter screen and a bit more RAM. I’ve been carrying it in my pocket for half a year now, and I’ve met it inside out.
Now it can buy for PLN 2,000, which is over two times less than the Samsung Galaxy Note 20, which basically does not have much more to offer – and certainly not more than twice as much. In my long term Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite review i am saying is it worth buying it in september 2020.
The housing has stood the test of time
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite differed greatly from last year’s Galaxy Note 10. First of all – the glass on the front is completely flat, which I take as an advantage here. In the case of other smartphones, I agree with the statement that the curved screen looks nice, and we don’t lose too much ergonomics. It is different here, because when using the S Pen, the bent edges only interfere. Samsung gets a definite plus for a flat display.
The second issue is the materials used to make the housing. Both the frame and the back panel are made of plastic, which the Korean manufacturer calls “Glasstic”. How should this be understood? Well, it scratches like plastic and collects prints like glass. On the other hand, during more than half a year of everyday wear without a case, there aren’t many scratches, and I tested the drop resistance several times and the smartphone came out unscathed. I don’t miss glass at all.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite / foot. gsmManiaK.pl
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The 3.5 mm headphone jack deserves a small plus. You can live without it, but sometimes it comes in handy when the wireless ones have died on a long journey. Just a pity there are no stereo speakers.
What’s missing from complete happiness? Same as most cheap flagships from China, because the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite was not equipped with a waterproof case (although I spoke through it many times in the rain and nothing happened to him) and wireless charging. I miss the latter a bit, but well – you can’t have everything.
On the front of the device we find a screen with a diagonal of 6.7 inches. It’s a large Super AMOLED matrix with FullHD + resolution and I’m generally happy with it, although there were a few small “buts”. The first is that it has 60 Hz that you can live with, but what a life it is. At the time of launch, inexpensive smartphones with a higher refresh rate were not that common yet, so this can be overlooked.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite / foot. gsmManiaK.pl
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However, the maximum brightness cannot be ignored. On sunny days, you have to take a close look to see everything on the screen of the Samsung Galaxo Note 10 Lite. Both in automatic mode, which with manual setting, the brightness is not satisfactory. In contrast, the minimum is perfect.
There is also a question a fingerprint reader that has been integrated into the screen. Although it is better than the solution from the Galaxy S10 series, it is far from perfect. It works quickly and efficiently only when the finger is perfectly dry. If you have a problem with it too, I recommend two tricks:
- in developer options, disable the unlock animation,
- configure the reader in a completely dark room – then it works noticeably better.
Alternatively, there is still face unlocking, but unfortunately I have no advice here – no matter what miracles I have not tried with the configuration, it still works quite sluggishly and the message about incorrect face recognition is the order of the day.
The camera is great
I praised the housing, I complained a bit about the screen, it’s time for the Galaxy Note 10 Lite’s strength. I will not insist it the best photo smartphone at this price. The problem is that for me nothing more is needed and this model perfectly suited my needs. After changing my smartphone, I will definitely miss its universality. The configuration of the main camera is as follows:
- 12-meapixel 27mm (1 / 2.55 ″) lens for daytime photos with f / 1.7 light, 1.4μm single pixel size, Dual Pixel PDAF technology, and optical image stabilization (OIS);
- 12-megapixel 52mm (1 / 3.6 1) telephoto lens with f / 2.4 light, 1.0μm single pixel size, PDAF, optical image stabilization (OIS), as well as double optical zoom;
- 12-meapixel 12mm ultra wide-angle lens with f / 2.2 world and 123 ° field of view.
Regardless of lighting conditions, twilight, sunset, portrait or wide angle, it’s always very good. Even the night mode using a telephoto lens is fine. Below are some photos that I took with this model in the last six months. You can judge for yourself whether the quality is sufficient.
The battery is a big plus
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite has been equipped with a 4500 mAh battery, which can be charged using the 15 W charger included in the set. contrary.
Discharging an inexpensive Note in one working day is a difficult task, and it takes about an hour and a half to recharge. None of these values are record-breaking, but they are sufficient for everyday use. SoT of 6-7 hours with mixed LTE and WiFi use is the norm.
Are cheap Note and S Pen “doing the job”?
Before I move on to computing power, a few words about the S Pen and its equipment in general. For starters, it needs to be clarified that this is definitely not the same stylus class as this z Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. When buying Note 10 Lite, you can not count on the fact that the handwriting on the screen will be completely delayed. It also cannot replace a graphics tablet even in basic sketches.
Neither of these disadvantages bothered me at all. Instead of using handwriting, I entered most of the longer texts, e-mails or news via Swype and S Pen – it works perfectly and works instantly. Thanks to the almost flat island of cameras, I could do it on the table – it is a definite advantage over the new models. The stylus is also great for photo editing and fast video editing – or for creating memes. For me, it fulfilled all the tasks.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite / foot. gsmManiaK.pl
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It is a bit worse in terms of performance. As long as the smartphone doesn’t heat up, that’s fine, and the apps stay well in memory. However, when we press the device harder, the processor power limitation is noticeable, and RAM is released on a regular basis.
It just so happens that earlier I tested the Galaxy S10 Lite, which has Snapdragona 855 and 8 GB RAM. If the same duo was driving the Note 10 Lite, I would have no hesitation in recommending this smartphone as the best S Pen model on the market (at least in Poland). These additional 2 GB and a more efficient (and more energy-efficient) chip would make Note 10 Lite an excellent and inexpensive tool for work.
There is also the question of the overlay. My copy is from the Orange network and the update rate is fine. Unfortunately, I haven’t got it yet September security patches and OneUI 2.5so I can’t comment on that. The system works fine, applications do not crash, and I have access to all the functions I need – how AirDrop na Androida.
Important information – Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite will be updated for 3 yearsso it should get Android 11, 12 or maybe even 13.
Is it worth buying a Galaxy Note 10 Lite in 2020?
Considering that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite currently costs money well over PLN 2,000then I can still recommend it. If the purchase is not a necessity at the moment, then I would wait for promotions, where you could buy it for PLN 1999 a few times and at this price it is the best choice on the market for me – for the reasons I wrote about earlier.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite / foot. gsmManiaK.pl
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It is not the most efficient for such money (in promotions you will find Xiaomi Mi 10 for so much). It doesn’t have the best camera, the prettiest screen with a higher refresh rate, and Exynos and 6 GB RAM are a bottleneck. Despite that, I don’t see any competition for him yet. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is twice as expensive, and basically suffers from the same disadvantages.
If you don’t care about the S Pen, go ahead and choose Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite. It only has a slightly inferior camera, and offers a brighter screen, much better performance, and at least an equally good battery. Below I leave a link to the other profitable smartphones that you can now buy for less than PLN 2,000.
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