What makes the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G tick?
Where the magic happens.
Samsung’s penned the death of the headphone jack with its newest phablet, the everything-but-thekitchen-sink Galaxy Note10+ 5G, but what does lie within that monolithic slab?
MAJOR TECH SPECS
■ 6.8-inch AMOLED Infinity-O display with 3040×1440 resolution (498 ppi), HDR10+ certified
■ Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 paired with 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage
■ 4,300mAh battery
■ Four rear-facing cameras (16MP ultra-wide, 12MP wide-angle with OIS, 12MP telephoto with OIS, VGA DepthVision camera), plus a 10MP selfie cam
■ Ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint sensor
■ S Pen stylus with Bluetooth connectivity and 6-axis sensor
■ IP68 dust and water resistance rating
KEY FINDINGS
■ As we slice away at the adhesive, we notice that the cover is contoured around the volume and power buttons. A few Phillips screws hold down the midframe assembly – nothing our tried-and-true Mako 64-bit kit can’t handle!
■ With the midframe removed, we encounter a radical change: the motherboard is solely at the top of the device, Pixel-style. While this allows for a wider battery, it makes the connection between mother and daughterboard trickier, necessitating annoying interconnect cables that block battery access. Our trusty iSclack gives some solid leverage on the battery, but it still takes a lot of isopropyl alcohol before the adhesive surrenders. If we called the Note9’s 15.4Wh battery “ludicrous,” the Note10+’s 16.56Wh powerhouse must be “plaid.” We jettison the SIM tray and release the motherboard, along with the f ive cameras.
■ Looks like Samsung stacked its motherboard for maximum space savings, but we quickly separate the boards. The daughterboard comes out without a fuss, bringing the soldered-on USB-C port and lower microphone in tow. Soldered-on isn’t our favorite flavor of USB-C port, but at least there isn’t much on this board, so replacements shouldn’t be too expensive.
■ The earpiece speaker looks ordinary, except that it’s trapped behind the screen. How do the songs get out? The speaker actually fires into a shallow metal chamber, which channels the sound waves into the tiny grille along the top edge of the frame. After some tedious heating and prying, we get to the back of the Samsung-made 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O display, the biggest, brightest, most coloraccurate display ever on a Note phone. The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor clings to the back of the display, just as it did to the S10.
■ Repairability Score: 3 out of 10 (10 is the easiest to repair). Equally-sized Phillips fasteners means you only need one driver for repairs. Many components are modular and independently replaceable, but no more headphone jack means double duty for the USB-C port. Every repair starts with painstakingly ungluing the fragile glass rear cover. Replacing the glued-down battery is tougher than ever, especially with board interconnect cables to work around. All-too-common display repairs require either a complete teardown or replacing half the phone.