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Samsung's Galaxy Note 10 is expected to come with radical new camera and sound technologies

Published: Jun 20, 2019, 5:22 AM

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Samsung's Galaxy Note 10 is expected to come with radical new camera and sound technologies

The Note 10 and Note 10 Pro are likely to come with lots of cameras and lots of exciting imaging features

After very subtly refining the design of the Galaxy S9+ to come up with the S Pen-wielding Note 9, it looks like Samsung might actually be cooking up a radically different Galaxy Note 10 (or three or four) from the S10 lineup. Perhaps "radical" is a bit of an overstatement, but there are already highly credible rumors calling for a number of important cosmetic and under-the-hood changes, ranging from new locations for both rear and front cameras to various improvements of said imaging hardware, and yes, even thinner bezels... somehow.

The latest puzzle pieces revealed by trustworthy leaker Ice Universe, aka @UniverseIce, on Twitter further paint the Note 10 a pioneering picture, concerning two potentially groundbreaking technologies no previous Galaxy devices have offered. Without further ado, let's dig into the "what" and the "why" of these equations.

Three-stage variable aperture - a logical next step for Samsung's camera hardware

When the Galaxy S9 and S9+ were unveiled last year, most shutterbugs focused their attention on the latter model's dual shooter rear setup. But in addition to hyping that fairly obvious upgrade, Samsung took a lot of time to advertise a less conspicuous camera enhancement. Namely, you might remember that both the S9 and S9 Plus came with something called Dual Aperture.

Samsung's Dual Aperture feature made its debut on the Galaxy S9 and S9+

In a nutshell, that meant the two phones could automatically switch between F2.4 aperture for photos taken in bright environments and an F1.5 shooting mode when detecting poorer lighting conditions (for instance, at night). The same neat trick was implemented into the primary camera of the Galaxy Note 9, as well as the entire Galaxy S10 family, but according to "Samsung China engineers", the Note 10 aims to go to the next level by adopting three-stage variable aperture.

While it naturally remains to be seen how that will work in real life, we expect the upgrade to further improve imaging versatility, producing sharper snapshots in intermediate use cases and not just extreme low-light or super-bright scenarios. All in all, this is yet another reason to be excited about the photography prowess of Samsung's next big thing. Let's just hope both the Note 10 and Note 10 Pro will integrate the super-advanced feature rather than the latter model exclusively getting it at a potentially much higher price point.

Sound on Display tech - inching closer to the bezelless dream

Like the Galaxy S10, the Note 10 is widely expected to drill a small hole into its "Infinity" screen to house the selfie camera rather than adopting a "conventional" notch. But apart from the centered position of the new front-facing shooter, one other thing might be different about the face of the Galaxy Note 10. A purportedly "realistic" screen cover obtained by Ice Universe strongly hints at a very narrow chin (on the same level as the latest iPhones, thus contradicting recent device depictions), as well as a clean forehead with no speaker grooves whatsoever.

Yes, the Note 10 bezels are likely to be even thinner than that

That could only mean one thing, specifically that the Note 10 will come without a physical, traditional earpiece on Samsung's path to a truly "full screen" design. Taking a page from the LG G8's playbook, the phone might use its entire display as a speaker, vibrating to produce sound. While undoubtedly cool, the aptly named Sound on Display (SoD) technology is not necessarily good news for audiophiles. At least not yet.

The LG G8 ThinQ sports Crystal Sound OLED Speaker technology

Even with a bottom-firing Boombox speaker, the LG G8 ThinQ failed to wow us in terms of audio quality, as the screen vibrations were simply too quiet to help deliver crisp stereo sound. That obviously doesn't mean the Galaxy Note 10 will have the same problem, but typically, groundbreaking features like this come with initial trade-offs, so you may not want to get too excited just yet. Especially when also considering the near-certain absence of a headphone jack.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.