With the next launch event from Samsung not far away, rumours about what will (or won’t) be in the Galaxy Note 10 are increasing in frequency. There’s always some rumours that seem a bit out of left field, and frankly, this one could well be there .. but it’s odd enough to be right.
According to XDA Developers writer Max Weinbach, he’s spoken to a few sources who’ve confirmed a few things about the upcoming Note 10 and Note 10 Pro. One of the most notable points is the omission of a microSD card slot for the regular-sized Note 10.
My source got to play with a Note 10 and Note 10 Pro. Here is what they said about it.
1. Both of the models he used had headphone jacks.
2. Renders are almost perfect.
3. SPen is almost the same as the Note9
4. Non-Pro has no micro sd card slot.— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) June 21, 2019
Yes, that right: the non-Pro Galaxy Note 10 might not have expandable storage.
If true, this will prove an odd move for Samsung, which has long included microSD expansion options in its premium smartphones. Rolling back on this pedigree would certainly alienate some, but on the flip side, how much expandable storage do we need in 2019 when even mid-tier smartphones are packed with 128GB storage, and at the pointy end, up to 1TB anyway?
There’s certainly some cases where that removable microSD is very helpful; if you’re taking lots of photos and want a way to quickly get them onto a computer for editing etc, then microSD is among the fastest ways to do it. Even then, you can tether your smartphone of choice via USB 3 cable to a computer, and copy photos off just as quickly these days.
So, perhaps Samsung is on to something here – ditching old technology that we just don’t need in a smartphone anymore. On that suggestion, it seems that Samsung has also ditched the headphone jack entirely, using “fake” headphone jacks on early units to throw off unsuspecting eyes:
Update: headphone jack was a fake. Samsung added a fake headphone jack to the unit to trick people. It obviously worked. Type C AKG earbuds in the box. https://t.co/B8PkUFPVCa
— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) June 22, 2019
Putting these two somewhat surprising revelations to one side, the rest of the rumoured Note 10 inclusions are a bit more middle of the road. It will be, for example, the first Note series handset with small bezels and hole-punch screen design that we first saw in the Galaxy S10 range.
It’s also suggested, though this seems a bit odd, that the stylus will move from the bottom of the Note 10 to the top, alongside the SIM tray.
Rumours or not, one thing we know for sure is that the Note 10 is coming, and it’s probably less than two months away.
