In this article we’ll be comparing two of the best Samsung smartphones on the market. In one corner, we have one of the most powerful devices in the game, the stylish and feature-packed Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus. In the other, we have the most well-built foldable display phone you can buy today, the nostalgia inducing Galaxy Z Flip.
2019 was an amazing year for Samsung. The Galaxy Note 10 plus was hands-down the most feature-packed device of the year and they successfully launched the Galaxy Fold. Things are heating up even more in 2020, with higher expectations for Samsung’s second-generation foldable display phones.
STYLE
Both of its premium devices are designed really well. The Galaxy Note 10 Plus has a glossy finish on the back panel and utilizes an aluminum frame. The device comes in a variety of colours: black, white, blue, red and Aura glow. The phone is of high build quality with the curved glass on the front and back melted together creating a very clean look and premium feel in the hand. Now, this is a massive phone but it’s light weight and fits well in my hand and one-handed use was easy for me.
The Galaxy Z Flip on the other hand, has a form factor we haven’t seen in a decade. Yes, flip phones are a phenomenon again, meaning you get the full smartphone experience when you need it and the portability of a compact phone. The Galaxy Z Flip is an engineering marvel. It has a hidden hinge system in the middle of the device allowing it to fold inwards, protecting the display. The hinge is well developed and the phone feels much more secure than the Galaxy Fold. Samsung claims that the Z Flip can be folded up to 200,000 times which works out to roughly 5 years of usage. When folded, this innovative device is held together by magnets making it compact and very sturdy. The interior screen is made of ultra thin glass with a plastic layer on top. The exterior is made of glass, making the Z Flip a fingerprint magnet. Thanks to the sturdiness of the hinge, the device can also be folded partially into what Samsung is calling ‘Flex mode’. The phone is very long and narrow but one-handed use wasn’t an issue for me.
So, in terms of style and form factor, I’ve got to go with the Galaxy Z Flip. It’s clear that a lot of R&D went into perfecting this hinge system. I give a lot of credit to Samsung for picking up from where they left off with the Galaxy Fold and further improving the hinge. The Z Flip is by far, the most polished foldable display phone currently on the market.
STYLE: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
DISPLAY
When it comes to the display, the Galaxy Note 10 Plus has an immersive 6.8’ 3040 x 1440 AMOLED display. And it is absolutely stunning. What makes it even better is that the screen covers the entire front of the body and the bezels are almost non-existent. Rich vibrant colours, contrast, dynamic range, with a 90% screen-to-body ratio, this device is great for playing games and watching movies.
The Galaxy Z Flip on the other hand, has a 6.7 inch 1080p OLED screen in smartphone mode. The display is bright and vibrant with vivid colours. The screen is composed of an ultra thin glass layer which is 30 microns thick. To give you an idea of how thin that is, 30 microns is 0.03 millimeters. There is a plastic layer on top of the glass to protect it. Surprisingly, the screen is hard and feels like a regular glass smartphone display. There is no squishy, soft, plastic feeling. However, I found the Z Flip crease to be more noticeable than the one on the Galaxy Fold. Unlike the Fold, where the crease is vertical, you’re constantly made aware of its presence on the Z Flip and feel it every time you scroll or interact with the device.
The phone is long and narrow with a 21:9 aspect ratio. This does create problems when viewing content on the device. For example, when watching youtube videos on the Z Flip, you will get thick black bars on the sides. You can zoom in to enlarge the picture but that does chop off a large chunk from the top and the bottom. The crease is visible and detracts a bit from the video viewing experience. The device also has thick plastic bezels which you wouldn’t expect on a premium device in 2020. These bezels help create a gap between the two halves which helps prevent damage to the fragile smartphone display.
When folded, the Z Flip has a tiny 1.1 inch front screen. This miniscule 300 x 112 display is only useful for checking the time or being notified when you’ve received a message. It’s incredibly frustrating knowing how much better the Galaxy Z Flip could have been if it had a slightly larger front display, but I’ll delve into that later when discussing the user experience. So, when it comes to the display, the Note 10 Plus wins this one easily.
DISPLAY: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus
PERFORMANCE
Moving onto performance, lets first take look at the processors. The Note 10 Plus has a Snapdragon 855 octacore processor and 12GB of RAM. The Galaxy Z Flip on the other hand, has a Snapdragon 855+ processor and 8GB of RAM. Both are quick and I haven’t had a problem with performance on either device. Both phones allow users to easily keep a ton of apps open in the background and come with a base storage of 256 GB. However, the Note 10 Plus gives users the ability of adding up to 1 terabyte of additional storage through micro SD expansion, while the Galaxy Z Flip doesn’t allow for expandable storage. Both devices also have UFS 3.0 for faster data transfer. So, when it comes to performance, memory management, data transfer speed, storage and a fast user interface, both devices are pretty much even.
PERFORMANCE: Draw
BATTERY LIFE & CHARGING
The Galaxy Note 10 Plus is equipped with a massive 4380 mAh battery vs. a dual battery system in the Galaxy Z Flip with a combined capacity of 3300 mAh. The large batteries are necessary to power the amazing display on the Note 10 Plus which does consume a lot of power. I use my phone mainly for calling, texting, surfing the internet, social media, checking emails, listening to music, streaming videos and a bit of gaming. A full-charge on the Galaxy Z Flip got me through most workdays, without having to recharge until I got back home in the evening. Battery life on the Note 10 Plus is even better and a full charge can get you through multiple days depending on the usage. And when you do need to charge the phone, the Note 10 Plus recharges very quickly. It takes just over an hour to charge from 0 to 100 percent, which is faster than recharging the Galaxy Z Flip. The Note 10 plus also has the option of 45 Watt super fast charging and both phones support wireless charging and reverse power share. So, when it comes to battery life, the Note 10 Plus wins this one.
BATTERY LIFE: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus
PICTURE QUALITY
Front-facing cameras on both devices take outstanding pictures. Images are sharp and they do a nice job with their respective portrait modes. Both phones have a hole-punch cut out on the display, with a 10 megapixel camera. On the back, the Note 10 Plus has a 12 megapixel telephoto, a 12 megapixel wide-angle and a 16 megapixel ultra wide-angle camera, all aligned cleanly in a vertical housing. It also has a depth sensing camera which is able to capture information to optimize performance for AR. The Galaxy Z Flip on the other hand, has two 12 megapixel cameras, one wide-angle sensor and the other is an ultra wide-angle sensor. As always, Samsung’s HDR processing means that the pictures you take will look more vibrant and dramatic than real life. Images taken on both phones are great. However, cameras on the Z flip don’t fair as well in low light settings compared to cameras on the Note 10 Plus. Add that to the lack of the telephoto sensor and the Note 10 Plus wins this one.
CAMERAS: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus
VIDEO CAPTURE QUALITY
Videos taken on the Galaxy Note 10 plus and the Galaxy Z Flip are amazing. Both phones allow for 4k videos at 60 frames per second on the rear camera. What makes video capture even better is the video stabilization capabilities of both phones. This feature allows you to shoot steady videos even with slightly shaky hands. The Note 10 Plus also captures 4k videos at 30 frames per second on the front camera. Videos produced by both phones are sharp and the dynamic range is excellent but if I had to pick one, I would choose the Galaxy Note 10 Plus.
VIDEO QUALITY: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus
USER EXPERIENCE
Software user interface is one area where Samsung has been striving to make improvements. In the past, countless people have been put off by Samsung devices because of their distinct UI. The Galaxy Note 10 Plus and Galaxy Z Flip both run on Android 10 which offers a dark mode, 5g support, more obvious privacy controls and better security. On Android 10, the Note 10 Plus is running One UI 2.0, Samsung’s redesigned interface which is much more responsive and intuitive than the previous version. One UI 2.0 is really easy to use, with reduced bloatware and is much closer to stock android. There are also new navigation gestures and users have the option to either stick with the old One UI gestures or adopt the new Android 10 ones. Android 10 gestures are complicated but they become intuitive once you’re familiar with them. User interface on both devices is lightweight and fast. Taps and finger gestures are registered quickly and accurately. The Galaxy Z Flip on the other hand, is running One UI 2.1 but I didn’t notice much of a difference from One UI 2.0.
The Note 10 Plus and the Galaxy Z Flip might be running on the same operating system but provide a completely different user experience. It’s remarkable how much the form factor of a smartphone can impact its use cases. The Z Flip has a throwback form factor which induces nostalgia. However, the nostalgia of owning a flip phone wears off quickly once you realize how much better the phone could have been if it had more functionality when folded. I blame this entirely on the miniscule 1.1-inch front display which is only good for checking the time, answering calls or being notified when you’ve received a message. You can also double press on the power button while the device is folded to activate the camera and the front screen will become a tiny viewfinder. I highly doubt many people will be relying on it to take selfies. The experience of using this phone would be marginally better if the device had a bigger front screen. Even if it was, say a 3 inch screen, it would have added so much more functionality in folded mode. The ability to scroll through my music playlist while running or at the gym without opening up the phone, would have been great. Basically what I’m saying is that, Samsung could have added so much more functionality, which along with the portability, would make the Galaxy Z Flip an absolute joy to use as a daily driver. However, I really like that Samsung added App Continuity for smooth transition from the small front display to the main display when you open up the phone. Add that with the portability and the new 'Flex Mode' (which is great for watching videos without holding your phone) and the Galaxy Z Flip wins this round easily.
USER INTERFACE: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
FEATURES
Finally, lets look at which smartphone comes with better features. The Note 10 plus has an in-screen fingerprint sensor to unlock the phone while the Galaxy Z Flip has a fingerprint sensor on the power button. The Note 10 Plus has very good stereo speakers. Meanwhile, sound quality isn’t as great on the Galaxy Z Flip because it only has one speaker. Also, there is a 5G version of the Note 10 Plus, while the Z Flip is not a 5G phone, which is very disappointing, given its high price point. Both devices have USB type C ports and neither has a headphone jack.
One of the distinct attributes of the Galaxy Note series is the S-pen. The S-pen now has Bluetooth integration with the phone and also gives users the ability to interact with their device through air gesture. Aside from that, the S-pen is great for taking notes, sketching and photo editing. The Note 10 Plus also comes with a revamped version of DEX, which allows you to plug your Galaxy device into a computer and remotely control your phone and use the apps installed on it. The edge screen feature is also really useful and allows you to quickly open apps you use frequently on the Note 10 Plus. The Galaxy Z Flip has a similar feature where you can get a list of your favourite apps by swiping the edge of the screen. Multi-tasking is also very easy and both devices have multi-window support. Due to the large display, I found using split-screen mode on both devices to be an enjoyable experience.
The Galaxy Note 10 Plus is IP68 water resistant and can survive submersion in water up to 1.5 meter deep. It also has a cooling vapour chamber to prevent overheating making it a gaming and entertainment powerhouse. The Galaxy Z Flip on the other hand, is not dust and water resistant. Samsung says that there are tiny brushes inside the hinge which prevent dust from getting in the phone. That’s one of the major drawbacks of foldable devices, they’re a bit fragile and not resistant to the elements.
FEATURES: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus
VERDICT
So, if you’re in the market for a new phone, which one should you buy? These two phones are geared towards different set of consumers. The Galaxy Z Flip has a throwback form factor which gives a sense of nostalgia. It’s the most polished foldable display phone currently on the market and provides portability without sacrificing much capability. If you don’t like carrying large phones in your pocket and would like to try out a foldable device with specs similar to the Galaxy S10, the Z Flip might be a good choice for you. However, if you’re looking for a powerful device with 5G capabilities, a ton of features, amazing hardware, display and battery life, I would highly recommend the Galaxy Note 10 Plus. Personally, I can’t justify the steep price of the Galaxy Z Flip and wouldn’t pay that much of a premium for portability. The Galaxy Note 10 Plus is a productivity machine and would be my pick as the more reliable daily driver.
VERDICT: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus