Samsung Galaxy Note 10 launch

Here's what happened at Galaxy Unpacked 2019

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(Image Credit Samsung)

Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked 2019 launch event has finished, and it gave us three new pieces of hardware. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10 Plus were the headline attractions, but Samsung also took the covers off a new Windows laptop in the form of the Galaxy Book S.

You can see how events unfolded by looking back through out Galaxy Note 10 launch live blog below - but make sure you check out our hands on reviews with all the new devices for our take on what they have to offer.

And in case you missed the news in the lead up to the Galaxy Note 10 launch, Samsung also launched the Galaxy Watch Active 2 and Galaxy Tab S6, and of course we've been hands on with them as well. 

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Samsung Galaxy Note 10 launch: as it happened

All times in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)

5:11pm: Samsung Galaxy Unpacked is over, and so is our liveblog. 

But let's re-cap:

  • Samsung announced two Note phones: the Note 10 and Note 10 Plus. The Note 10 Plus is the bigger (see: 6.8-inch) phone, but it's also more expensive, and if you'd like the S Pen benefits on a smaller sized phone, go with the regular Note 10.
  • We also got our first official look Samsung Galaxy Book S, a new 2-in-1 Windows laptop that runs Qualcomm's 8cx chipset and meant for always-on productivity. There were some leaks ahead of time, so we're going to scurry off to see if there are hands-on opportunities with it. It's $999 and not due out until autumn.
  • Samsung already announced the Galaxy Tab S6 and Watch Active 6. We have hands-on reviews of both of them on TechRadar. 
  • Finally, the surprise of the event was that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella graved the stage to announce a Microsoft-Samsung partnership. the details were vague, but Microsoft's head honcho being here meant that we'll probably see better collaboration between the two big tech giants down the road. Maybe at the next Unpacked or Build.

5:08pm: Here's another partnership for Samsung: a United Nations rep is taking the stage at Unpacked. Small actions that can achieve big goals, especially with half the world not connected to reliable capable internet.

5:05pm: We thought there'd be more to it, but the fact that Nadella took the stage at Unpacked is a sign that Microsoft is looking to work more closely with its hardware partners, even though it keeps impressive with the Surface 2-in-1s and laptop hardware.

5:02pm: Surprise, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has taken the stage, touting the partnership between Microsoft and Samsung. He's vague on details so far.


5:01pm: It's a partnership with Samsung and Microsoft. And just as it happened, more flood warnings on people's phones are going on.

5:00pm: Samsung CEO did promise a special guest and he's teasing that surprise right now. This should make our Samsung Unpacked live blog interesting and newsworthy.

4:59pm: The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 prices have finally dropped at the end of this event, and it'll start at $949 for the Note 10 and $1099 for the Note Plus. The release date is also August 23, right alongside the Tab S6 launch.

4:55pm: The Galaxy Book S will cost $999 and launch in September, according to Samsung.


4:53pm: The Samsung Galaxy Book S has officially been announced at Unpacked and it's being touted as an always-connected way to stay productive on the go. It runs Windows and it's powered by the Snapdragon 8cx chip – the first we've seen with this processor. It's supposed to last 23 hours. 

4:51pm: You'll 'soon' be able to make and receive calls from your Windows PC using the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, which is handy if you're already at the computer and don't want to get up to fetch your phone when a call comes in. 

4:50pm: Yes, Dex works with Macs as well, but Microsoft's operating system just works better with a Windows PC, obviously because it's a more open system and Apple and Samsung aren't exactly buddy-buddy.

4:47pm: Samsung Dex extends the power of your phone to your PC, and Microsoft is making a guest appearance at the Samsung launch event. There's a "Link to Windows' button right in the Note 10 notification shade. And with this mode enabled, you'll be able to see notifications, texts and other messages integrated natively on a Windows PC.  

4:45pm: The rest of this watch segment should bore you, simply because our Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 review went up on Monday morning.

4:44pm: The Under Armour version of the Galaxy Watch Active 2 will cost $309. Samsung also briefly mentioned the Tab S6 release date of August 23.


4:42pm: The app MapMyRun is on the Active 2 Under Armour edition and pair with the UA "Hover Shoes" that help track your run. That seems like something our EIC Gareth Beavis needs to review if has hasn't already yet. Can you not already get MapMyRun on the regular Galaxy Watch Active 2? That's a question we'll be asking.

4:41pm: There's a Samsung Galaxy Active 2 Under Armour Edition of the new watch coming. Apple partnered with Nike, so Samsung is buddying up with Nike. They're about to tell us what it does.


4:39pm: Samsung is talking up 5G, although you won't find it on the standard Note 10 and Note 10 Plus. It's in a separate, more expensive version of the devices, and region defendant. For example, the Note 10 Plus 5G is the only 5G option in the US, and you'll have to sign a contract with Verizon for this faster version of the phone.

4:36pm: Super fast wire charging is premiers on the Note 10 and Note 10 Plus – 30 minutes with a 45W charger will last you 'through the day.' However, you won't find a 45W charger in the box. Instead it's a 25W charger (still better) in the box.

4:34pm: Samsung is partnering with Discord for social game experiences on the Note 10, and used a bunch of cringe-worthy acronyms to seem cool. 

4:33pm -David: These 3D scans are sharp, textured, and respond to lighting. Okay, the animation's janky, but the models themselves are the best we've seen.

Gareth: But we've seen this already with Huawei and Honor?

David: Totally


4:32pm - David Lumb says: The AR Doodle kind of stunned the audience - we really aren't used to an AR application that works, and is fun. Who knows if this will be ignored, too, but it's the most advanced we've seen.

4:31pm - Ever wanted to create 3D files by scanning objects you see in real life? That's the 3D scanning demo Samsung is showing using the Note 10. The presenter was able to scan a stuff animal named Bobby, transform Bobby into AR and have a friend animate Bobby's movement in real time.


4:29pm - "If I can draw it with the S Pen, AR Doodle can bring it to life," says D'anthes. She drew a spiral shape, and you could actually explore the drawing in 3D. Will use you this? Probably not more than once. Is it a neat tech demo? Definitely.

4:27pm - New stickers and effects are on there too - with the ability to make your own stickers as well. Samsung has launched a new experience that brings the S Pen and camera together - we've got illustrator Sha'an D'anthes to talk about 'AR Doodle'.


4.26pm - We're seeing how a content creator would use this camera now - there's a full video-editing suite on there now as well. Someone in the crowd just whooped so hard at that.

4.24pm - There's a 'sound zoom' feature, which can zoom in on both the video and audio, and some intelligent smarts inside can predict the motion of a camera when running around making a movie. It does look smooth indeed.


4.22pm - There's a lot more from the S Pen and creativity on the Note 10 - oh, and there's an upgraded camera too. There's a 'lens for every situation'.

The Pro-grade photography tools are being upgraded to the video as well; the video will now get bokeh effects on the fly, thanks to the uprated sensor inside.

4.19pm - The S Pen has new, fancy features - with a new six-axis acclerometer inside. Now we've got a travel vlogger to tell us all about it. Why would we want the product manager to do that, when we could have an internet person?


Eva Zu Beck is showing us how she can just start a vlog without needing to touch the screen. OK, we were getting a bit cynical, but the ability to use the S Pen as a motion controller is a game-changer in many ways. It's like a remote hand!


4.12pm - Drew Blackard, senior director of product marketing for Samsung US, is on stage now. He's confirming there are two sizes, if you want a smaller device, proclaiming it to be the thinnest bezel ever, but with the largest screen on the Note 10 Plus... for the Note 10.

And, as you can imagine, it's got an 'immersive, dynamic AMOLED display. The camera on the front is smaller than ever, right in the screen, and that's the 'secret camera' that was shown in the teasers.


4.10pm - We're now seeing a video of the Note 10 pair being launched in the 'video-dome' we're in. Remember, this is the first time Samsung has done a Note 10 and Note 10+, as usually it's just the simple phone.


4.06pm - Oh... well, it turns out we may have got some more information on these phones already *shamemoji*.

While DJ keeps talking about everything that's going on with 'app to cloud' and such, why not read about the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus... we've gone hands on with both!

4.03pm - We're hearing a little more about the Samsung Innovation Center now, and here's here 'to show us how Samsung is translating this vision into meaningful innovation' with new... stuff. Categories, products and partnerships.

Can you tell we're wondering where he's leading? He's now talking about 'Experience Innovation' - more than just the features on a smartphone, apparently.

Now we're talking about seamless use across many Galaxy devices. He keeps saying the word 'seamless' and then 'innovation'.


4.02pm - He's just told us we're going to see the 'world's most powerful Note'. Ruined that surprise, hasn't he? First we've heard of it, Koh.

4.01pm  - The dome-like screen is filled with images of Samsung... things now. Oh, and it's all gone dark. OH WAIT, DJ KOH JUST CAME ON STAGE LIKE MAGIC, whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....

4.00pm - It's go time!


3.55pm - Steve Aoki on the stream at the moment, along with Millie Bobby Brown - they're unsurprisingly using Samsung phones as part of #TeamGalaxy. That's nice, isn't it? And the now-standard logo of the S Pen spinning around that camera.

Next up - Samsung trying to pretend that Bixby is really helpful. We keep being drawn in by the power of being able to book a table or get an Uber, or even beginning a run. Sounds good - but Bixby needs to start impressing us.

3.50pm - We're in our seats and the event center is filling up nicely - less than 10 minutes to go now!

3:30pm - There's just 30 minutes to go until Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event starts, and as we file inside why not take a moment to have your say in our latest Twitter poll?

3:04pm - As well as a number of distinguished media colleagues, we're also sharing the queue with some rather excited Samsung fans.

3:00pm - You know we said we expected rain? Well guess what, it's raining! And the umbrellas are out in force as we queue up to get into the event.


1:00pm: We're making our way to the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 launch rather early, although we expect it to rain in Brooklyn. That means we anticipate standing outside of the Barclays Center with an umbrella and hating life for a bit until the doors open at 3pm. The show starts at 4pm. It'll be worth it.

In addition to rain, we're hoping that Samsung has something brilliant and new to show us. The latest batch of non-Note 10 Samsung rumors surround the potential launch of the Samsung Galaxy Book S, which is supposed to be a 2-in-1 Windows laptop and a follow-up to the Samsung Galaxy Book 2.

So in total, there may be five Samsung Galaxy devices this month: The Galaxy Tab S6, the Galaxy Watch, two Galaxy Note 10 phones, and a Galaxy Book S. Please send help. There's going to be a lot of hardware for us to test before the iPhone launch.

11:30am - Just when you thought the mobile market may be starting to settle down, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 launch turns up, kicking off the next round of big phone announcements. 

At the start of September we could see the likes of the Sony Xperia 2 and LG G8X at IFA 2019, followed by the iPhone 11 a week later, and then the Google Pixel 4, OnePlus 7T and Huawei Mate 30 Pro in the following weeks/months.

In short, it's going to get real busy, real soon... again. And, as always, TechRadar will be with you every step of the way to bring you all the latest as it happens.

10:30am - As we near the 4pm start time, let's take a moment to round-up the key Samsung Galaxy Note 10 rumors.

  • Two handsets: Note 10 and Note 10 Plus
  • Central punch-hole selfie camera in screen
  • New S Pen stylus housed in the body of the phones
  • There may not be a 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Note 10 screen could be between 6.3 and 6.4 inches
  • While Note 10 Plus screen tipped for between 6.6 and 6.8 inches
  • Triple or quad-camera setups on the rear

6:30am - So does this mean we'll only get to see and learn about the Galaxy Note 10, and potentially the Galaxy Note 10 Plus, today? Well, maybe not.

A few weeks ago Samsung confirmed that it was ready to put its foldable phone on sale in September, saying that it had addressed and fixed the issues which plagued the device ahead of its planned launch earlier this year, which it then had to cancel. 

Today's launch event could be a good opportunity for Samsung to re-introduce the world to its foldable smartphone and explain in detail the progress it has made in an attempt to win-back consumers who may have been put off by the issues.

5:30am - Earlier rumors surrounding today's Galaxy Unpacked event hinted that we may see more than just phones announced on stage, but instead Samsung decided to launch a couple of new products ahead of the August 7 event.

First, we got the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 tablet, which is Samsung's new productivity focused 10.1-inch tablet aimed to compete with Apple's iPad Pro range.

Then, on August 5, Samsung announced the Galaxy Watch Active 2. This new smartwatch adds a digital bezel, ECG and a LTE option for those who want connectivity without relying on their smartphone's signal.

4:30am - And the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 leaks continue to flow, mere hours before the launch event, although this is a good one. Samsung has announced a new high-end chipset - the Exynos 9825 - just in time for it to be potentially included in its new Galaxy Note smartphone.

Previous Note 10 rumors suggested that the handset may well pack a new chipset, giving it a power advantage over the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus which launched earlier this year, so making the jump from the Exynos 9825 to the Note 10 is reasonable.

In the US, however, we're expecting the phone to carry the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset – we had seen one report claim the 855 Plus would be in this version, but that was retracted.

4:00am - In the Big Apple, everyone (well, most people) are still asleep, but that doesn't mean we're sitting back... oh no. There's potentially a lot to look forward to today, and Samsung has made some recent announcements you may have missed. 

Worry not though, as we'll take you through everything you can expect to see today, as well as what's already been announced, as we build towards the Galaxy Note 10 launch this evening.

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