Introduction
What is a Samsung Galaxy Note to you? If you understand it to be an ultra-high-end smartphone with a stylus, then the latest Galaxy Note10 Lite will have you disappointed. Not on the stylus front - it's got an S Pen alright, but on the top-level hardware. Let's try and figure out what the Galaxy Note10 Lite is and isn't.
It isn't a true flagship, that should be evident. For one, it's powered by a two year-old chipset - yes, it's a high-end chipset, but it's still from the S9 times. Then there's the display, a FullHD-only AMOLED that is just Super, but not Dynamic, and not even Plus like on the Galaxy S10 Lite.
A few other top-tier niceties are gone as well - there's no IP rating on the Galaxy Note10 Lite and no Gorilla Glass is mentioned explicitly, a single speaker fires out the bottom, wireless charging coils are missing, and the fingerprint reader is a bit slower than the one on the flagships. Storage is UFS 2.1, unlike the Note10's speedier 3.0 and there less of it - 128GB is the only option, which is half the real Notes' standard equipment, while RAM is an unthinkable (/s) 6 gigs in the base trim, 8GB tops. So no - not a flagship this one.
But... it does have the S Pen, and styluses are hard to come by in today's smartphones. Perhaps best of all, the Lite comes with the biggest battery on a Galaxy Note (smartphone, the Note tablets don't count) - a 4,500mAh powerpack managed to fit in here despite the S Pen silo getting in the way. The Note10 Lite is also packing a really promising camera system with a standard trio on the back (wide, ultra wide, short tele) and a big sensor/high-res selfie unit.
Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
- Body: 163.7x76.1x8.7mm, 199g; aluminum frame; Aura Glow, Aura Black, Aura Red color schemes.
- Screen: 6.7" Super AMOLED, 1080x2400px resolution; 20:9 aspect ratio; 394ppi; HDR support.
- Chipset: Exynos 9810 (10nm): Octa-core (4x2.7GHz Mongoose M3 & 4x1.7GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G72 MP18
- Memory: 6/8GB RAM, 128GB built-in UFS 2.1 storage, shared microSD slot.
- OS/Software: Android 10, One UI 2.0.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 12MP, 1/2.55" sensor, f/1.7 aperture, 27mm equiv. focal length, dual pixel PDAF, OIS. Telephoto: 12MP, 1/3.6", f/2.4, 52mm, PDAF, OIS. Ultra-wide: 12MP, f/2.2, 12mm (123° FoV), fixed focus.
- Front camera: 32MP, f/2.2, 25mm, 1/2.8", 0.8µm, fixed focus; 2160p@30fps video recording.
- Battery: 4,500mAh, 25W fast charging over Power Delivery 3.0 (25W charger supplied in the box).
- Misc: S Pen stylus; optical under-display fingerprint reader; NFC; single bottom-firing loudspeaker.
Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite unboxing
Lite as it may be, this Galaxy Note10 comes in the same box as its more premium stablemates. Inside it, you'll find a lot of the same accessories too. A 25W charger promises speedy top-ups and the Power Delivery happens over the included USB-C-to-C cable. A Note-specific set of S Pen tips with a tool to replace them is also part of the bundle.
A few things have gotten the 'lite' treatment. For one, it's not the nice AKG-branded headset with the braided cables you'd get with the flagships, but a less fancy-looking pair of earbuds instead in the Note10 Lite's box. Gone are the USB adapters the were a part of the Note10's reatail bundle, too.
Design
The Galaxy Note 10 Lite is the first Note in a while with a flat screen and that alone might be enough to entice the right crowd - never since the Note5 has there been a non-curved S Pen wielding Galaxy smartphone.
The flat display is not quite as trim around the perimeter as the ones you'd find on the Galaxy Note10 or Note10+ - those curved edges might be to everyone's taste, but they sure help with screen to body ratios. In that sense, the Note10 Lite doesn't have the high-end near-bezel-less look of its more upmarket brethren and instead resembles something more of an A-series smartphone. Even so, there's not a discernible difference between the top and side bezels, and the chin is a reasonable size as well, albeit thicker than the rest of the frame.
The Note10 Lite also takes a more conventional approach with its earpiece - a grille above the display replaces the minuscule slit+top port combo of the Note10s. It's also just an earpiece - there's no stereo speaker action on the Note10 Lite. One better than the real Notes, however, the Lite's front-facing camera peeks out of a much tinier hole, even though it matches their unit's aperture and has a bigger sensor - nice.
Cameras, you say - the Note10 Lite has three of those on its back. Arranged in a sizeable cluster in the top left corner, the three modules are kept company by the flash. This newly adopted camera design is to be found on all recent and future Samsung phones in one way or another, culminating in the monstrosity that is the Galaxy S20 Ultra (if the leaks do end up being the truth).
There are no labels on this one - a true blessing next to the Galaxy S10 Lite's entirely marketing-motivated 'Super Steady OIS' inscription we're not very big fans of. There's a Samsung logo lower don the back and some regulatory markings that you're likely to cover naturally when holding the phone.
Samsung doesn't say what the back panel is made of and we can't say for cetaing say that it feels closer to a proper Note in this respect than to one of the lesser A-series phones we have lying around. Of course, with no Gorilla Glass in the spec sheet, we can't say what it is.
We can confirm, however, that the frame holding things together is metal, aluminum if previous Galaxies are any indication.
The physical buttons are all on the right. The 'side key', which tries to handle the three main actions - Bixby, powering off and launching the camera, between just the two actions of the double press and long press is a bit higher than the midpoint, in a well-positioned location. The volume rocker is above it. The buttons click positively, if not all that premium-ly, though the same could be said of the Note10 proper, so the Lite isn't at fault here.
The card tray is on the left side of the phone, almost at the very top. It's the hybrid variety in that it will either take two nano SIMs or a nano-SIM and a microSD card, but not all three at once. On a single SIM version of the phone, it's obvious - a nano-SIM and a microSD only.
Down on the bottom, there's a whole bunch of things. The USB-C port is in the middle, and the S Pen is in its customary location on the right. The primary mic and the loudspeaker are placed in between them. That's not all, though - there's a headphone jack here too. Where's the headphone jack on the Note10 and Note10+?
The S Pen itself isn't as functional as the one supplied with the proper Note10s and is more of a Note9 type of deal. You do get the Bluetooth connectivity that lets you use the stylus as a remote, but it can only operate with button clicks - there's no built-in gyro for waving gestures. At 4096 discernible degrees of pressure, it's as precise as the one on the Note10 and Note9.
The Galaxy Note10 Lite is anything but light. At 199g it's 3g heavier than the Note10+ and tangibly heftier than the Note10 non-plus. The S10 Lite, meanwhile, is 13g lighter than the Note10 Lite too. The Note10 Lite measures 163.7x76.1x8.7mm - a footprint that is almost identical to the Note10+, but 0.8mm thicker, and that you can feel. Not to the point of being an issue and not a big deal in isolation, but a noticeable difference side by side. In any case, we appreciate that Samsung didn't prioritize thinness before battery capacity.
One of the compromises that go with the 'Lite'-ning up of the Note10 is the loss of the dust and water protection. The IP68 rating of the top-tier models may not be a guarantee for survival in an accident but offers some peace of mind that neither the Note10 Lite nor the S10 Lite can give you.
Mid-tier AMOLED for the Lite Note
The Galaxy Note10 Lite has a 6.7-inch display with 1080x2400px resolution in a taller than usual 20:9 aspect ratio.
As we've come to expect from Samsung on anything other than a very budget-focused phone, it's an AMOLED. The company's started differentiating the branding of its panels and this one is just Super AMOLED, in a world where recent true flagships have gotten the Dynamic AMOLED moniker, while the Galaxy S10 Lite's is Super AMOLED Plus. Irrespective of its AMOLED-ness, it's an Infinity-O unit, meaning a punch cutout for the selfie cam, centered in this case.
The brightness performance of the Note10 Lite's display was similar to other current Samsung midrangers and the flagships of yesteryear - there was no 800nits with Adaptive brightness enabled as you'd get on the S10 or the Note10 non-Lites. Still, a peak value of 622nits under direct light is more than enough, while under manual slider operation you'd be looking at around 400nits. Minimum brightness was 1.8nits - so perfectly good as well.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, |
White, |
||
| 0 | 381 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 794 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 410 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 622 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 367 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 658 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 385 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 793 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 429 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 596 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 500 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 708 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 511 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 717 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 330 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 603 | ∞ | |
You get Samsung's new-found way of dealing with colors that was introduced a year ago with the S10s. Out of the box, the phone comes in Natural mode, which is tuned for faithful reproduction of sRGB content and we measured an excellent average deltaE of 1.6 for our set of test swatches.
With accurate sRGB reproduction, however, comes a relatively lifeless output, which can be addressed with a switch to Vivid mode. Alongside the saturation boost, you should be getting accurate rendition of the DCI-P3 color space, which wasn't strictly our experience - we measured an average deltaE of 3.8 for the test swatches, with primaries way off (Red, in particular, was 9.4 units away from the target), and slightly bluish whites. A bump of the Cool-to-Warm slider one notch to the right improved the whites considerably and delivered an average deltaE of 3.2, though the primaries remained inaccurate.
The Note10 Lite makes few claims for HDR capabilities. It will play back Youtube videos in HDR, but won't play nicely with Netflix, despite having the appropriate Widevine security level. It could very well be up to Netflix to extend support for HDR to the Note10 Lite, but it's not there yet at the time of writing - meanwhile, the S10 Lite does support HDR playback in Netflix.
Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite battery life
The Galaxy Note10 Lite sets the record for battery capacity in the Note smartphone lineup at 4,500mAh, narrowly beating the current top-dog Note10+. The Lite does have the previous-gen flagship chipset at the helm and the 10nm vs 7nm manufacturing process is bound to make a difference. That difference goes out the window when comparing against the Galaxy Note9 but other variables get in the way like the Note9's higher-res display and different OS version at the time of testing.
Anyway, the battery life we got out of the Galaxy Note10 Lite wasn't life-altering, but it's more than solid. We clocked 14:37 of web browsing over Wi-Fi, which is a significant advantage over both the Note10+ (12:07h) and the Note9 (12:36h). The Lite couldn't match the other phones results in video playback, however, its 15:23h result falling short of the Note10+' whopping 18:50h or the Note9's 16:45h. In our voice call test, the Note10 Lite managed 27:03h.
In the end, the Galaxy Note10 Lite's overall Endurance rating worked out to 92 hours.
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSer App. The endurance rating above denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so that our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritty. You can check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
The bundled 25W adapter charges the Galaxy Note10 Lite from flat to full in 1:23h with 50% showing in the battery indicator 30 minutes into the process. It's more than a decent speed, considering the capacity and the battery life you can get out of that 50 %. Having said that, the Galaxy S10 Lite charges fully some 20 minutes faster.
Audio quality
Next up - evaluating the quality of the Galaxy Note10 Lite’s audio output via its 3.5mm jack. The smartphone did solidly when hooked to an active external amplifier reproducing the test track perfectly and at above-average loudness.
Headphones caused a moderate spike in stereo crosstalk, but overall didn’t have a notable impact on the quality. Volume remained unaffected too, which always a good thing and helps the Note Lite to a very good mark here.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| +0.03, -0.05 | -93.3 | 93.2 | 0.0010 | 0.0086 | -91.4 | |
| +0.14, -0.18 | -90.7 | 92.1 | 0.093 | 0.170 | -59.6 | |
| +0.04, -0.17 | -93.7 | 93.7 | 0.0016 | 0.0013 | -94.7 | |
| +0.05, -0.16 | -93.8 | 93.7 | 0.00327 | 0.021 | -71.6 | |
| +0.03, -0.05 | -93.0 | 92.8 | 0.0015 | 0.0070 | -94.3 | |
| +0.06, -0.03 | -92.7 | 92.5 | 0.0044 | 0.044 | -87.2 | |
| +0.04, -0.02 | -90.5 | 90.4 | 0.0014 | 0.013 | -93.0 | |
| +0.14, -0.23 | -90.4 | 90.3 | 0.0046 | 0.211 | -47.0 | |
Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
User interface
The Galaxy Note10 Lite runs Android 10 out of the box and that's one key area where it might make more sense than getting a Note9 today - while both have this latest OS version now, you could probably expect major OS updates on the 10 Lite, which the 9 wouldn't get. Solid maybe.
On top of Android 10, there's Samsung's updated One UI 2, which brings minor touch-ups on the already universally liked (not disliked?) One UI introduced on the Galaxy S10. Few of the changes are actually One UI's own, but there are ones brought by Android 10. Perhaps most notably, apps will now have three levels of accessing your location - in the background, only when actively using them, or not at all.
Next up is the system-wide dark mode. While it was available in the original One UI, it was limited to the in-house apps, and you had to manually enable it in the third-party apps that had a dark theme. Now on Android 10 and One UI 2, you switch it in settings and it automagically works in apps that support it (not Maps though, not yet).
Gesture navigation is the other area where there are new bits. You get to pick between the One UI 2 set of actions or go back to the One UI 1 way of doing things. The new way is similar to the current native Android 10 approach with a swipe-in from the sides for 'Back' and swipe-up from the bottom for Home or task switcher. The old way is by swiping up from three separate areas on the bottom that do what the on-screen buttons before them used to do. If you can't be bothered with gestures, the conventional onscreen nav bar remains an option too. It's also the only option if you insist on having the ability to quickly switch between the two last used apps.
System-wide dark mode • Gesture navigation
When it comes to biometrics, the Note10 Lite gives you two options - the fingerprint reader and face recognition. Recognizing your mug is only camera-based, so it's not overly secure, hence fingerprints will likely be used more. The sensor is an optical solution unlike the ultrasonic ones in the company's higher-end models, but it delivers a similar experience to those. As in, it's nowhere near a good, nearly-instant optical sensor found in, say, a OnePlus 7T. The less than ideal animations don't help with perceived speed, either. It's a usable reader, it's just not one we can praise.
Biometrics
Ah, it's a Note - there's an S Pen. It offers much the same features as on the Note9, but is missing some of the goodies introduced on the Note10, namely the gestures in the camera. Oh, well.
Other staples of S Pen functionality remain, however. Screen-off memo is available, letting you just pull out the stylus when the phone is in standby and go right ahead and write a note, which you can then pin to the always-on display or save for later reference.
When you pull out the S Pen with the phone unlocked, the Air command menu appears (though that's a setting that can be turned off, or set to create a note straight away). There are pre-set shortcuts here, which you can customize, and those can be either S-Pen features or shortcuts to apps.
S Pen settings • Air actions • Behavior upon removal • S Pen Remote • Air command • Screen off memo
Advanced screenshot capture is another of the S Pen's unique claims to fame. Smart select allows you to take differently shaped screenshots, extract text from them, or pin them on the screen. Alternatively, you can create short GIF animations. Then there's Screen write that takes a fullscreen snap that you can write on with the full set of different pens and brushes (and then crop, if you will).
There are numerous other smaller use cases for the S-Pen as part of the Air view set of actions. For, example, you can hover over an image in the gallery for an enlarged preview, or over a calendar entry for more details. You can also scroll up and down by hovering the S-Pen over the edge of the screen.
Air view
The basics of the UI are the same as on any other Samsung rocking One UI 2 and very similar to One UI One ones. The shift of actionable UI elements towards the bottom for easier reach has been widely praised, and the iconography is quite likeable too.
Lockscreen • Homescreen • Folder view • App drawer • Notification shade • Task switcher
Edge panels is a well-known, long-standing feature that gives you quick access to apps, actions, tools, etc. with a single swipe from the side. You can choose which side the handle is located on, as well as adjust its position along the edge of the phone. In the Edge screen sub-menu, you will also find Edge lighting - it's a feature that can light up different types of peripheral glow for notifications, and as you've probably guessed, there are tons of options and styles to choose from.
Edge screen
Synthetic benchmarks
One of the Galaxy Note10 Lite's most notable 'lite' touches is the chipset - not because it's bad or underpowered all in itself, but because it's old - the Exynos 9810 was introduced with the Galaxy S9 in the Spring of 2018, and it's the Spring of 2020 now more or less. It was the flagship chipset at the time, but today it needs to face stiff competition from current midrange silicon, as well as rival smartphones in the price range with 2019 high-end SoCs.
Anyway, the Exynos is manufactured on a 10nm process and has an octa-core CPU (4x2.7GHz Mongoose M3 & 4x1.7GHz Cortex-A55). The GPU is a Mali-G72 MP18. We have the 6GB RAM version for review, while an 8GB version is also in existence.
Samsung's pursuit of top single-core performance to rival Apple's chipset designs means the Mongoose of 2018 is still relatively competitive today. Single-core results in GeekBench 5.1 are within 10% of Snapdragon 855 devices like the LG G8X ThinQ, Samsung's own S10 Lite and the Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro. It's not quite so under multi-core loads, where the Note10 Lite is now lagging behind.
GeekBench 5.1 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Honor V30 Pro
3204 - LG G8X ThinQ
2870 - OnePlus 7T Pro
2803 - Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
2732 - Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
2732 - Oppo Reno Ace
2627 - Google Pixel 4 XL
2267 - Samsung Galaxy S10+
2190 - Samsung Galaxy Note10+
2154 - Samsung Galaxy Note9
2092 - Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
2027
GeekBench 5.1 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Samsung Galaxy S10+
827 - Honor V30 Pro
778 - Samsung Galaxy Note10+
776 - OnePlus 7T Pro
773 - LG G8X ThinQ
746 - Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
744 - Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
738 - Samsung Galaxy Note9
689 - Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
688 - Oppo Reno Ace
619 - Google Pixel 4 XL
591
For what it's worth, the Galaxy Note10 Lite pulls ahead of the similarly equipped Note9 in Antutu 8, though the different OS versions might have some say in that. Later models, however, are significantly in front of the Note10 Lite in this all-round benchmark.
AnTuTu 8
Higher is better
- Honor V30 Pro
500571 - OnePlus 7T Pro
493901 - Realme X2 Pro
467653 - Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
459497 - Samsung Galaxy Note10+
438622 - Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
437823 - Oppo Reno Ace
434063 - LG G8X ThinQ
411980 - Google Pixel 4 XL
403267 - Samsung Galaxy S10+
399901 - Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
341212 - Samsung Galaxy Note9
315447 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10
256717
Graphics performance isn't up to date either, or up to the price bracket's level, at least. The closest potential is the Huawei P30 Pro, itself using silicon due for immediate replacement.
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 7T Pro
80 - Realme X2 Pro
78 - Honor V30 Pro
76 - Oppo Reno Ace
72 - Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
71 - LG G8X ThinQ
70 - Xiaomi Mi 9
70 - Samsung Galaxy S10+
69 - Google Pixel 4 XL
69 - Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
69 - Samsung Galaxy Note10+
68 - Huawei P30 Pro
54 - Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
47 - Samsung Galaxy Note9
45 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10
30
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- LG G8X ThinQ
58 - Honor V30 Pro
57 - Realme X2 Pro
57 - Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
57 - Oppo Reno Ace
56 - Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
56 - Xiaomi Mi 9
56 - Huawei P30 Pro
50 - Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
41 - OnePlus 7T Pro
40 - Samsung Galaxy Note10+
38 - Samsung Galaxy S10+
37 - Google Pixel 4 XL
34 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10
27 - Samsung Galaxy Note9
25
GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 7T Pro
48 - Realme X2 Pro
47 - Oppo Reno Ace
44 - Samsung Galaxy Note10+
43 - Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
43 - Samsung Galaxy S10+
42 - Honor V30 Pro
42 - LG G8X ThinQ
42 - Xiaomi Mi 9
42 - Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
42 - Google Pixel 4 XL
41 - Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
29 - Huawei P30 Pro
29 - Samsung Galaxy Note9
28 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10
17
GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)
Higher is better
- LG G8X ThinQ
38 - Realme X2 Pro
37 - Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
36 - Honor V30 Pro
35 - Oppo Reno Ace
35 - Xiaomi Mi 9
35 - Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
34 - Huawei P30 Pro
27 - Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
25 - Samsung Galaxy Note10+
24 - OnePlus 7T Pro
24 - Samsung Galaxy S10+
23 - Google Pixel 4 XL
21 - Samsung Galaxy Note9
15 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10
15
3DMark SSE OpenGL ES 3.1 1440p
Higher is better
- OnePlus 7T Pro
6238 - Honor V30 Pro
6088 - Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro
5733 - Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
5641 - Google Pixel 4 XL
5538 - Xiaomi Mi 9
5450 - Oppo Reno Ace
5392 - Samsung Galaxy Note10+
4984 - Realme X2 Pro
4726 - Huawei Mate 30 Pro
4432 - Samsung Galaxy S10+
4420 - Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
4015 - Samsung Galaxy Note9
3342
3DMark SSE Vulkan 1440p
Higher is better
- Honor V30 Pro
5627 - OnePlus 7T Pro
5514 - Realme X2 Pro
5337 - Redmi
5000
4955
4905
4892
4763
4295
4233
4068
3706
3316
To sum up the Galaxy Note10 Lite's performance, we need to put it into context. If you're looking for a capable and speedy smartphone with a stylus, but you'd rather not pay top dollar for the current proper Notes, then the Note10 Lite is precisely that. If you don't care for the stylus, other phones on the market will deliver more power. But if you don't care for the stylus, maybe Notes aren't for you in the first place.
Classic triple setup takes quality pictures
The Galaxy Note10 Lite is equipped with a relatively orthodox triple camera system - it has a wide main camera, an ultra wide one, and a short telephoto. There is no ToF module and no macro/depth sensor units with questionable usefulness that you'd find on some midrangers (and on the S10 Lite for that matter).
All of the Note10 Lite's cameras have 12MP sensors. The main one is 1/2.55" in size and is paired with a 27mm-equivalent lens with an f/1.7 aperture - it's not the dual aperture lens of the flagships, but it's a reasonable compromise. The sensor for the telephoto cam is 1/3.6" while the lens is a 52mm equivalent, delivering roughly a 2x zoom ratio. Both these lenses are stabilized, and both cameras offer phase-detect autofocus.
Then there's the ultra wide-angle camera. Samsung quotes a 123-degree field of view, which corresponds to about a 12mm equivalent lens, while the EXIF data reports 13mm. In any case, you'd probably like to enable the software correction, losing a little coverage in the process. The lens has an f/2.2 aperture.
The camera is the now standardized Samsung One UI 2.0 solution with straightforward operation similar to most other camera apps out there. Swiping left and right will switch between all available modes, and there's also an option to re-arrange or remove some of the modes from the viewfinder. Vertical swipes in either direction will switch between front and rear cameras.
The settings icon is located in the upper left corner of the screen and gives you fine control over the cameras. The usual stuff like video resolution, grid lines, location data, etc., can be found there, as well as the ultra-wide lens correction, tucked in under the 'Save options' category. You can also turn on and off the Scene optimizer on a global scale and set the HDR to auto or manual.
There's a Pro mode too, and those come in two different flavors on various Samsungs, with the Note10 Lite getting the real pro version. You can select ISO (50-3200), push shutter speed around (1/24000s-10s), focus manually (peaking is gone, however), and select the white balance (by light temperature). Metering mode and AF area options are available too, as well as a set of picture controls for contrast, saturation, and whatnot. As usual, there's no live histogram. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S10 Lite gets the midrange-style Pro mode with just ISO, WB and exposure compensation.
Camera interface
Daylight image quality
Daylight samples out of the Note10 Lite are very similar to the ones you'd get from a proper Note10, and that's obviously a good thing. The level of detail is similarly good, to the extent that you can expect from a 12MP sensor. Samsung-specific processing means an artificial look to certain types of fine detail that it can't quite resolve like the balcony blinds in the first sample and grass in the first and second, but generally detail is rendered nicely. Noise performance is also up to the high Samsung standard.
Dynamic range is nicely wide and we found the HDR icon popping up every time it was needed. Colors reproduction is likable too, perhaps a notch less saturated than what we get out of the Samsung flagships, but by no means dull - the bland time of the year didn't help either.
Daylight samples, main camera
The ultra wide-angle camera on the Note10 Lite isn't the same that Samsung fitted on the Note10 proper, but the lower resolution doesn't make it worse either. We found it to capture very good detail and dynamic range was fairly wide as well. Colors do have a slight green cast to them, unnoticeable in isolation, but visible when comparing side-by-side with the main cam.
Daylight samples, ultra wide angle camera
Here's a quick comparison of the results that you'd get with the software lens correction enabled versus the coverage and distortion of the native output. A minor loss in the field-of-view and no real sharpness penalty in the corners sounds like a strong argument for keeping the lens correction always on.
Lens correction: Off • On • Off • On
The telephoto camera takes nice pictures too. As we've seen on Samsungs before, its output is slightly less contrasty than what the main camera delivers. Noise is also easier to spot in the zoomed-in photos, but only if you go out looking for it.
Daylight samples, telephoto camera
Low-light image quality
In our heads, we treated the Note10 Lite a bit like a midranger, and we've seen all too many midrangers with decent image quality in good light fall apart at night, and that applies to Samsung phones just as well. As it turned out, the Note10 Lite was keen to dispel our notion of its midrange nature - when it comes to image quality.
The Lite's low-light photos are comparable to the Note10+'s, though not without subtle differences. We shot three test scenes side-by-side, and the Note10+ does generally have a smidgen more detail and an overall sharper rendering, though the Lite isn't far behind. Additionally, we'd go so far as to say that the Note10+ rendition of the first scene, where it opted for a higher ISO (640 vs. 500) is noisier, though it does have an edge in the other two (lower ISO in the second one, same sensitivity in the third). All in all a very respectable showing from the Lite against its more premium counterpart.
Low-light comparison, main camera: Note10 Lite • Note10+ • Note10 Lite • Note10+ • Note10 Lite • Note10+
So the Note10 Lite's low-light images show excellent color preservation and dynamic range. Recorded detail is very good and noise is reasonably well controlled if still present.
Low-light samples, main camera, Photo mode
Night mode on the Note10 Lite improves highlight rendition noticeably. More peculiarly, it improves detail, bringing out specifics that weren't there in the regular Photo mode. Some of the noise gets wiped away and there's a boost in color too.
Low-light samples, main camera, Night mode
In fact, and that's more than a little surprising, the Lite can give the non-Lite a run for its money in main camera Night mode.
Low-light comparison, main camera, Night mode: Note10 Lite • Note10+ • Note10 Lite • Note10+ • Note10 Lite • Note10+
The ultra wide-angle camera of the Note10 Lite doesn't handle night-time shots quite as gracefully. Give it enough light and it'll produce quite usable images, but in darker scenes, you can expect softness, noise, desaturation, and large blotches instead of discrete pixels.
Low-light samples, ultra wide angle camera, Photo mode
The good thing is that Night mode helps immensely with all of these issues. Shadows and highlights get restored, detail comes back from the grave, colors have more punch - it's more than okay.
Low-light samples, ultra wide angle camera, Night mode
As for the telephoto camera, well that's one area where the Note10 Lite doesn't quite live up to the hype in the above paragraphs. It's note upgraded unit with the brighter lens found in the proper Note10s and thus the Lite defaults to the well-established behavior of using the main cam for 2x shots in the dark. There is no night mode for 2x zoom.
Photos aren't bad though if you can look past the noise. Dynamic range is quite alright, and the Lite manages to hold on to color well - as it does with the main camera, that's, in fact, taking these photos, after all.
Low-light samples, telephoto camera, Photo mode
Once you're done with the real world samples, head over to our Photo compare tool to see how the Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite stacks up against the competition.
Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite against the Note9 and the Note10 in our Photo compare tool
Portraits
As is the case with Samsung high-end models recently, you can take portraits with either the main cam or the telephoto, with the other cam helping out with depth detection. You need to pick your priorities - if you want detail and some sort of low-light performance, shoot on the main cam, but you'll compromise perspective. If you want the tele's much more flattering perspective and comfortable working distance, you'd better have a ton of light, and even then you won't be getting superb detail.
Portraits with the telephoto camera
Either way, you'll be getting excellent subject separation. HDR is also available while in Live focus, so you don't have to sacrifice dynamic range for blur.
Portraits with the main camera
As usual, you can use the Live focus mode on inanimate objects as well, with either camera.
Live focus mode applied to non-human subjects
Selfies
The Note10 Lite suffers from Samsung's mind-boggling decision to default to a cropped-in view from the selfie camera as opposed to the full coverage. It launches into that every time as opposed to remembering which one you prefer, and even if you switch to the full coverage in Photo mode and go into Life focus, it'll revert to the crop again. Not one person at the office is on board with this behavior but probably Samsung's focus groups think otherwise.
Selfie samples, cropped mode
The 32MP Quad Bayer sensor does 4-to-1 binning so you should be getting 8MP images when you insist on the full coverage option in the viewfinder. Photos are somewhat soft when examined up close, but the colors are on point and dynamic range is nice and wide.
Selfie samples
Portraits can't benefit from any extra camera support - the single punch hole can only house one module. Subject recognition is fairly decent, but it does get fooled when there's little distinction in color between subject and background.
Portrait selfies
Video recording
The Galaxy Note10 Lite has a lot of the markings of a flagship phone when it comes to video recording. It captures video up to 2160p@60fps, stabilization is available up to 2160p/30fps, and you can choose between the h.264 and h.265 codecs.
The bitrates the Note10 Lite uses for 4K are 48Mbps for 30fps and 72Mbps for 60fps, while 1080p footage gets 28Mbps and 14Mbps respectively for the two framerates. Audio is recorded in stereo at 256kbps.
Video quality out of the Galaxy Note10 Lite is very good overall, if not quite up to flagship standard. In 4K, the phone captures plenty of detail, particularly in 30fps. 60fps footage comes with some softening and loss in absolute detail, though it's still perfectly usable. There's no such thing in 1080p where we'd struggle to find a difference between the two framerates, and they're both looking excellent in terms of detail. It was a dull day for sure, but colors are rendered nicely and are true-to-life. Dynamic range is a non-issue too, the phone doing a great job with the scene half-filled with an overcast sky.
A behavior we saw on the Note10 we're now observing on the Note10 Lite as well - the telephoto cam says it has 4K60, but in reality, it uses the main sensor in this mode. It crops in to get to the required FoV and then upscales, predictably producing poor quality. Telephoto 4K30, on the other hand, is done on the tele camera and is great - actually better than the weirdly noisy output we got out of the Note10. As was the case with 2x 4K, zoomed-in 1080p 60fps capture happens on the main camera as well, and it too isn't as good as 30fps. 1080p 30fps is within the actual tele camera's domain and that is excellent.
Mind you, the zoom toggle isn't available when you've selected one of the 60fps modes, so technically the phone isn't misleading you to think it can capture 60fps with the telephoto cam. However, if you switch cameras to telephoto while you're in 30fps and then pick 60fps in settings, it'll record at that zoom level and that frame rate. When using the ultra wide-angle camera, the 60fps modes are grayed out in settings, so nothing to ponder there.
Speaking of the ultra wide, it captures decent video itself, on par with what you can get out of the Note10 and Note10+.
The Note10 Lite's stabilization is excellent in all modes from all cameras. Walking-induced shake is ironed out well when shooting with the main and ultra wide cams, while the telephoto offers stable footage from a distance. Pans are smooth too. Unlike the proper Note10s, the Lite only has a Super steady mode when shooting with the ultra wide-angle cam - it comes with an improvement over the already plenty steady regular stabilization at the expense of a significant additional crop.
Here's a whole bunch of samples taken on the Note10 Lite exploring its stabilization capabilities in the different modes on the different cameras. Mind you, it's a long playlist that starts with a 4K60 clip where there's no electronic stabilization - just the OIS.
Here's a glimpse of how the Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite compares to rivals in our Video compare tool. Head over there for the complete picture.
Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite against the Note9 and the Note10 in our Video compare tool
Competition
The way we see it, if you're looking at the Galaxy Note10 Lite, you must be after a phone with a stylus. Being all out flagships, the regular Notes could attract a more general audience with the S Pen coming as a bonus or a nuisance. But the Note10 Lite's very existence hangs on the premise for offering the S Pen experience at a lower price than the current crop of stylus wielding flagships.
At €600 the Galaxy Note10 Lite costs about as much a Galaxy Note9 in Europe, while in India, the older model is actually a good 20% more expensive. The Lite comes with an extra camera (no ultra wide on the Note9) and, being newer, potentially longer software support. The Note9, on the other hand, has the IP rating to go with its more premium build and a sharper, top-quality display (not that the one on the Note10 Lite is bad).
A small premium to the tune of €50 will get you a Galaxy Note10 proper. You'd be getting the newer and more powerful chipset, IP rating and higher-tier display, though it is smaller than the Note10 Lite's. But that could be exactly what you're looking for - the Note10 is a lot more pocketable and lighter than the 10 Lite. The 10 also comes with twice the storage (faster too), albeit it's missing the microSD slot. It's missing a headphone jack too, and if you're particularly dongle-adverse the Lite has you covered.
That price difference of under 10% in Europe looks differently in India, however - the Note10 is nearly twice as expensive as the Lite, so we're heavily leaning towards the Lite as the better value.
Another stylus-equipped option comes from an unlikely direction - the just-announced Moto G Stylus. Its market release is a good two months away, but that's not really its main issue - it's packing inferior hardware across the board. With a lesser chipset, less capable camera setup, LCD instead of an AMOLED, it's nowhere nearly as exciting. Though it does have stereo speakers. Ah, and it's less than half the price of the Samsung. So it's not entirely unreasonable.
Samsung Galaxy Note9 • Samsung Galaxy Note10 • Motorola Moto G Stylus
Verdict
We were more than a little confused when the S10 Lite and Note10 Lite came out at the very beginning of the year. What were they and who were they for? The S10 Lite couldn't answer that question in a satisfactory way, but the Note10 Lite might actually make sense.
It has every right to carry the Note and the Lite branding, with the Lite in the end making a few excuses. It's up to you to decide how much of a dealbreaker the missing stereo speakers and IP rating are and whether you can live with a 2018 chipset. But finding a capable smartphone with a stylus has so far meant one of two things: 1) going for the current Galaxy Note and that's essentially Samsung's most expensive offering, or 2) opting for a year-old Galaxy Note with the implications that carries in terms of software support.
With the Galaxy Note10 Lite, however, you now have a third option. In a package more affordable than the Note10 and Note10+ (even half-price in some markets!) you're getting the S Pen, latest software, and some of the best image quality from a non-flagship device. The aging top-tier chipset is still a better option than the beefiest of current midrange alternatives, there's battery life to spare and the display is easily good enough, if not the absolute best. So, yes, the Galaxy Note10 Lite is well worth considering if you're looking for a stylus inside a great all-round phone, but you would rather not pay the heavy Note10 price.
Pros
- Has an S Pen, comes at 30% less than the Note 10+ or even half the price in some markets.
- Dependable battery life, speedy charging.
- Super AMOLED display that's plenty bright and good with colors.
- Overall great camera, surprisingly good low-light performance.
- Android 10 out of the box, One UI 2 has plenty going for it.
Cons
- Dated chipset isn't as powerful or power efficient as other options for the money.
- Lacks a premium look and feel.
- No IP rating, no information about the glass used in the build.
- Missing the S Pen gestures.
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