Samsung generally launches its Note series flagship in August, which means this is the time that rumours and leaks about the phone start to crop up in numbers. In one such rumour, the Note 10 is reported to launch without any physical buttons and 3.5mm headphone jack. Android Police reports that the phone won’t have the power, volume and Bixby buttons, and they would be replaced by capacitive or pressure-sensitive areas. According to the report, these pressure sensitive areas will likely be highlighted by some kind of raised ‘bump’ and/or texture on the edge.
This is not the first time that reports have pointed about a button-less design of the Note 10. Previously, a Korean media outlet had reported that Samsung could have “mechanisms, gestures, and touch-based inputs” to enable functions like summoning the AI-powered virtual assistant Bixby, power on/off the phone and increase/decrease volume. There is no information on whether Samsung intends to carry over the same design to next year’s Galaxy S11 devices.
As far as the 3.5mm headphone jack is concerned, Samsung is probably the last company to get rid of the tech from its flagship phones. Arguably, the 3.5mm jack was one of the key reasons why people chose Samsung devices over others. Premium smartphone makers including, Apple, Google, OnePlus and even Xiaomi (Mi 9) have removed the headphone jacks from their devices, and are offering adapters instead to complement their devices. Samsung's decision to remove the headphone jack is likely to make space for a larger battery.
The displays are becoming more vibrant and its seems that OEMs are now understanding the need for large batteries in the phones. For example, Redmi K20 and OnePlus 7 Pro ship with 4,000 mAh batteries. Samsung Galaxy S10+ houses a 4,100 mah battery pack. Rumours have suggested that a variant of the Galaxy Note 10 might come equipped with a 4500 mAh battery, which is similar to the Galaxy S10 5G phone. Reportedly, the Note device will come with charging “faster than 25W”.