That's the essential question for the Note 10 Plus. It wasn't always this way: the Note line has meant a few different things over its eight-year history. It was the first phone that convinced us that big screens were great, the phone that proved there was a market for a super powerful Android...

Handwriting recognition OCR; Huge; beautiful screen; Well-made; with powerful specs

Samsung software backslides into confusion; Expensive; No headphone jack

If you're the person who's entire life revolves around their phone and like the idea of investing in making that experience the best it can be, you'll get a lot out of what the Note 10+ offers.

S-Pen; Dynamic AMOLED display; High-end performance

Camera can't compete with Pixel; Battery life still way less than it should be

The best big phone gets better

Massive; stunning display; Still the best stylus-equipped phone; Powerful and pretty

Expensive; Curved display can result in accidental presses; Not a huge upgrade over the Note 9

The Galaxy Note 10+ is the best big phone of the year (again), but Samsung plays it safe by not challenging the status quo.

It might be a bit too big for some, but if you can handle (and afford) it, you won't find a better phone than the Galaxy Note 10+.

Amazing screen that's big; bold; beautiful; and bright; Super fast and long lasting with tons of storage; An in-display fingerprint sensor that works,...

No headphone jack; Screen size will be too big for some hands; Camera doesn't really bring anything new to the table

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 was considered one of the hottest handsets of the year even though it boasted incremental upgrades over the Galaxy Note 8. With the Note 9, Samsung had once again proved that its Note Series was an all-inclusive device that featured zero compromises.

On paper the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ appears to one of the best Android phones you can buy. That's true in reality, too, having tested the phone as if it were out own for a week. But it doesn't mean it's the best.

Massive screen with neat punch-hole camera arrangement looks great; Speedy and smooth operation; Doesn't force Bixby upon you; Adept variety of cameras (wide; Standard; Zoom; S Pen stylus is integrated and adds an extra layer of control

Battery life not great for a phone of this size; Design a little too wide; Generally poor connectivity in our testing (using Three 4G SIM; Aura Glow finish will be love/hate; Cameras not class-leading; Closer than ever to S series

For the first time ever, there's a plus model of Samsung's S Pen smartphone. Here's why you'll want the Galaxy Note 10+ if you like having extras

“Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 Plus is half smartphone, half work of art.”

Gorgeous Aura Glow color; fantastic screen; Versatile and strong camera suite; Super-fast charging speed; Helpful Windows integrations; Speedy performance; UFS 3.0 support

Battery life could be better; Many unnecessary; gimmicky features

If you're looking for a smartphone with lots of power, sophisticated software, a great display and a good camera, the Galaxy Note 10 Plus is for you. However, you have to keep in mind that the Galaxy smartphone is quite expensive on the one hand and quite big on the other - the former has to be...

Great design; Outstanding display; Impeccable performance; Very good camera; New functions for the S-Pen; 5G option

Large and unwieldy; Keys on the left-hand side; Weak night photos; Expensive