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Samsung Galaxy Note 10 'Unpacked' Event Set for Aug. 7

The Galaxy Note 10 will likely appear at the event, but will it be capable of nationwide 5G?

 & Sascha Segan Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

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Samsung tonight sent out invitations for its next "Unpacked" launch event on Aug. 7 in Brooklyn, which will probably herald the launch of its Galaxy Note 10 phone.

The image above features a pen and a camera; the pen is, of course, the signature feature of the Galaxy Note line. But just for fun, take another look. The pen is like a "1," and the camera lens is like an "0." Because it is, after all, the Galaxy Note 10.

With the Galaxy Fold indefinitely delayed, the Note may be Samsung's flagship for the second half of the year. We have a rumor roundup which gives a few details on the phone, including a phone with no physical buttons and no headphone jack and two different screen sizes.

Other rumors, covered by PCMag India, include 45-watt fast charging and, as usual, two CPU models: a Snapdragon 855-based model for the US and China, and an Exynos-based model for the rest of the world.

A Second-Gen 5G Phone?

The most critical question about the Note 10, though, is what it's going to do about 5G. Current, first-generation 5G phones do not support the long-range "nationwide" forms of 5G that AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all intend to start deploying later this year or next year.

Those networks will require the Qualcomm X55 modem, which Qualcomm has alternately said will be in phones "later this year" or "late this year." Both AT&T and T-Mobile have promised phones this year with support for features only found on the X55.

So that raises the question of whether the Note 10 will be the phone in question. An Aug. 7 announcement might be a little too early for an X55-based phone. But Samsung very well might announce 4G versions for immediate availability and a 5G phone on a one- to two-month delay.

Given that this phone will come to multiple major carriers, I can't see what other device it could be. LG has already played its large-phone hand with the V50; it could go for a V55, I guess, but if LG is buying a component, you bet Samsung has bought more of that component. No other manufacturer seems like a good fit.

We'll be at Samsung Unpacked to get all the details.

About Our Expert

Sascha Segan

Sascha Segan

Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

My Experience

I'm that 5G guy. I've actually been here for every "G." I reviewed well over a thousand products during 18 years working full-time at PCMag.com, including every generation of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S. I also wrote a weekly newsletter, Fully Mobilized, where I obsessed about phones and networks.

My Areas of Expertise

  • US and Canadian mobile networks
  • Mobile phones released in the US
  • iPads, Android tablets, and ebook readers
  • Mobile hotspots
  • Big data features such as Fastest Mobile Networks and Best Work-From-Home Cities

The Technology I Use

Being cross-platform is critical for someone in my position. In the US, the mobile world is split pretty cleanly between iOS and Android. So I think it's really important to have Apple, Android and Windows devices all in my daily orbit.

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 for work and a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro for personal use. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, although I'm probably going to move to an Android foldable. Most of my writing is either in Microsoft OneNote or a free notepad app called Notepad++. Number crunching, which I do often for those big data stories, is via Microsoft Excel, DataGrip for MySQL, and Tableau.

In terms of apps and cloud services, I use both Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive heavily, although I also have iCloud because of the three Macs and three iPads in our house. I subscribe to way too many streaming services. 

My primary tablet is a 12.9-inch, 2020-model Apple iPad Pro. When I want to read a book, I've got a 2018-model flat-front Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. My home smart speakers run Google Home, and I watch a TCL Roku TV. And Verizon Fios keeps me connected at home.

My first computer was an Atari 800 and my first cell phone was a Qualcomm Thin Phone. I still have very fond feelings about both of them.

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