Samsung kicks off global Android 10 updates for Note 10 and Note 10+
While one very specific version of the Galaxy Note 10+ runs the newest iteration of the world's most popular mobile OS out the box, all other members of Samsung's latest S Pen-wielding handset family obviously came preloaded with Android 9.0 Pie a few months ago.
As much as Note 10 and Note 10+ owners may have wanted to believe their hot new devices would be updated to Android 10 by the end of the year, Samsung could only vow to deliver this stable goodie pack in January 2020 across markets as diverse as Israel and India.
But surprise, surprise, the official rollout is reportedly already underway, at least in Germany for both Note 10 and Note 10+ users who participated in the company's public beta program. Everyone else needs to wait before getting a piece of the action, although if recent Galaxy S10, S10+, and S10e updates are any indication, an expansion to non-beta testers across various European and Asian territories should happen fairly quickly.
By the way, the S10 lineup was initially scheduled for a January 2020 jump to Android 10 as well, so all things considered, today's deployment is not all that shocking. Especially after Samsung also kicked off its first stable Android 10 rollout for a mid-range duo in India just the other day.
When to expect the Note 10 and Note 10+ to receive Android 10 in the US
We'll be honest with you, we have absolutely no concrete, official information on Android 10 US release timelines for any Samsung phones. But we can certainly make a few educated guesses based on how fast things have been progressing internationally. For starters, you obviously shouldn't expect the Note 10 lineup to beat the Galaxy S10 family to the punch anywhere around the world.
That's just how these things go, and it really doesn't matter that the Note 10+ is newer or pricier than the Galaxy S10+. Secondly, you'll want to keep in mind that Samsung needs to work together with US carriers to "optimize" this fresh batch of software tweaks and performance enhancements for every individual S10 and Note 10 variant. Of course, there are also unlocked models sold stateside that don't require any involvement from wireless service providers in this optimization process, but for reasons we have never been able to comprehend, these unlocked versions of Samsung flagships often take longer to score major OS promotions.
All in all, January 2020 still feels like the most realistic Android 10 ETA for many US-specific Note 10 and Note 10+ versions, but we're keeping our fingers crossed that carriers (we're looking at you, T-Mobile) will at least get the ball rolling for the S10 series in time for Christmas.
What is Android 10 all about?
The answer to that question differs significantly from device manufacturer to manufacturer, as Samsung, for instance, tends to stray pretty far from Google's stock Android vision with its proprietary skins. One UI replaced TouchWiz last year to almost universal acclaim, and the second iteration of Samsung's newest user interface for Android handsets goes a little lighter on the modifications, focusing on "everyday simplicity."
That doesn't mean your Android 10 changelog will be short, including everything from new full screen gestures (borrowed from Google) to a few small but important one-handed mode improvements, as well as various security enhancements (biometrics included), expanded digital wellbeing tools, a more detailed battery usage graph, and a whole bunch of revised built-in apps and tools like Samsung Internet, Contacts, Calendar, Reminder, and Calculator.
In terms of the overall look and feel of your OS, there aren't a lot of radical changes in the pipeline, but you should nevertheless expect the update to tip the scales at well over 1GB with loads of under-the-hood improvements in tow that you'll undoubtedly learn to appreciate with time.
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