Galaxy Note 10 Leak Details How the Cameras Will Differ

Cameras have become one of the key drivers when it comes to deciding which smartphone to buy, as that's what most of us have on hand when we want to capture life's moments. So new flagship phones are likely to put camera improvements front and center, and the upcoming Galaxy Note 10 should be no exception.

The Note 10 will add another lens to the Note 9's rear cameras. And that's not the only change.

The Note 10 will add another lens to the Note 9's rear cameras. And that's not the only change. (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

We already knew that Samsung was planning to put multiple lenses on the back of the Note 10, as it has with recent Galaxy S and Note releases. But a new report from WinFuture gives us a better idea of what to expect from those cameras when the Note 10 arrives next month.

The German site's report focuses entirely on the Note 10, the smaller of the two models that Samsung is expected to unveil at its Aug. 7 Unpacked event. (Besides the 6.3-inch Note 10, Samsung also reportedly has a 6.8-inch Note 10+ in the works.) You'll get a pretty complete picture of the Note 10's specs, but it's the information about the phone's cameras that really stands out.

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The Galaxy Note 10 will have three rear cameras, WinFuture reports — a main lens augmented by wide-angle and telephoto shooters. (If you're wondering where the time-of-flight sensor is, that feature is reportedly headed to the Galaxy Note 10+.) None of that's a surprise, really; after all, the Galaxy S10 released this spring featured three cameras.

The Note 10 will follow the Galaxy S10's lead with three cameras.

The Note 10 will follow the Galaxy S10's lead with three cameras. (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

But there are some key differences with the Note 10's rumored camera setup, and it should make quite a difference in the pictures you can capture with Samsung's upcoming phablet.

Let's start with the main lens, a 12-megapixel camera. It will feature a variable aperture, like previous Samsung flagships, but the Note 10 will reportedly let you choose between three different aperture sizes — f/1.5, f/1.8 and f/2.4. In contrast, the Galaxy S10 had just f/1.5 and f/2.4 as its aperture options.

The ability to settle on a midway point between f/1.5 and f/2.4 with the Galaxy Note 10 should give people greater flexibility when taking photos. Expect Samsung to tout the three-aperture approach as a way to further optimize photos based on the lighting conditions.

The Note 10's telephoto lens is expected to be a 12-MP shooter with an f/2.2 aperture while the 16-MP wide-angle lens has an f/2.2 aperture. Both those apertures are wider than what Samsung included on the Galaxy S10, so expect both wide-angle shots and zooms to let in more light. (For what it's worth, WinFuture reports that the Note 10 will support a 2x optical zoom.)

Up front, look for a 10-MP selfie cam with dual autofocus and an f/2.2 aperture. The report claims you'll be able to shoot 4K videos at 30 frames per second with that front camera, which is moving to upper center of the Note 10's display. On the Galaxy S10, the punch-hole cutout for the front camera was in the phone's right corner.

While the cameras are the most eye-catching thing about this latest report, you can also find more information about the Dynamic AMOLED panel featured in the Galaxy Note 10. WinFuture expects a 6.3-inch with rounded edges that are more narrow than what we saw on last year's Note 9. The new phone will be a centimeter shorter and half-a-centimeter narrower, according to the report.

Galaxy Note 10 Specs

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PhoneGalaxy Note 10 (Rumored)Galaxy Note 9
Screen Size (Resolution)6.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED (2280 x1080)6.4-inch Super AMOLED (2960 x 1440)
ProcessorSnapdragon 855+/Exynos 9825Snapdragon 845
RAM8GB6GB, 8GB
Storage256GB128GB, 512GB
Rear Cameras12-MP main (f/1.5, f/1.8, f/2.4), 16-MP wide (f/2.2), 12-MP telephoto (f/2.1)Dual 12-MP camers (f/1.5 and f/2.4)
Front Camera10-MP (f/2.2)8-MP (f/1.7)
Battery Size3,500 mAh4,000 mAh
Size5.9 x 2.8 x 0.31 inches6.3 x 3 x 0.34 inches
Weight5.9 ounces7.1 ounces

Other details in this latest spec dump mirror a report from earlier this week in the Greek blog Techmaniacs that detailed specs for both the Galaxy Note 10 and 10+. Both sites report that the resolution on the Note 10's display will be 2280 x 1080 — QuadHD+ resolution is apparently reserved for the Note 10+. That means the resolution on the Note 10 won't be as sharp as the 2960 x 1440 screen on last year's Note 9 — an interesting choice by Samsung if the new phone ends up costing around the same as its predecessor.

WinFuture's report also says the Note 10 will have a 3,500 mAh battery, matching the claim in Techmaniacs' report on specs though contrasting with earlier reports that Samsung was eyeing a 3,400 mAh power pack for its new phone. Whoever's right, it sounds like the Note 10's battery is definitely going to be smaller than the 4,000 mAh power pack in the Note 9.

Other Note 10 specs listed in the WinFuture report include an Exynos 9825 processor — an earlier report claims that Samsung will use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855+ processor for U.S. models — 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The Note 10's expected to measure 5.9 x 2.8 x 0.31 inches and weigh in at 5.9 ounces.

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If you'd like to get a sense of what the Galaxy Note 10 will look like when stacked up against the larger Note 10+, smartphone tipster Ice Universe took to Twitter to post an image of the two phones side by side.

Philip Michaels

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.